Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be withdrawn as a cosponsor of H.R. 1108.

Madam Speaker, we are voting later today on the Democrat budget.

I am not surprised that it represents larger government and higher taxes. That is the type of government our friends on the other side of the aisle generally prefer. I am surprised, however, that at a time when our economy is shaky and American families are making difficult budget decisions at their kitchen table, that our friends have chosen not to make the difficult decisions necessary to craft a responsible budget.

Their proposal represents what will be the largest tax increase in American history; $683 billion in increased taxes. It is nothing short of irresponsible to simply ignore the coming fiscal crisis, a tsunami, represented by increased spending and entitlement programs.

Perhaps if our friends on the other side of the aisle would ask their constituents what they think, they would hear what I heard from a constituent named Debra in Pennsylvania who said she is working two jobs to pay taxes and oil bills. She said, ``There is no way I can afford to pay more taxes. Enough is enough.''

Well said, Debra.

Mr. Speaker, the 21-day FISA extension that our friends on the other side of the aisle fought hard to pass 2 weeks ago would have expired this week. This extension was the Democrat alternative to a permanent bill to provide our intelligence community with the tools they need to fight the war on terror, and yet we still have not voted on the bipartisan Senate bill, or any alternative bill for that matter. We've done nothing.

I believe this exposes the House leadership's plan for what it is, an abdication of their duty to provide our intelligence community with the tools needed to protect the United States.

It has been 17 days since the Protect America Act expired. In the words of the Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, our intelligence gathering capabilities have already been ``degraded.''

Contrary to what some say, there is urgency in this matter. We are losing out on obtaining new and evolving intelligence to enable our fight against terror. There are enough votes in the House to pass the bipartisan Senate bill. It's time for the Speaker to bring the legislation up for a vote.

Mr. Speaker, the press in Great Britain has reported that British Olympic athletes will be required as a requirement for their inclusion on the Olympic team to sign a contract promising not to speak about China's appalling human rights record. I'm surprised and dismayed that a country with a history such as Britain's would be so short- sighted. The country that paved the way for the enumerated rights of individuals in the Magna Carta is now restricting the free speech of its athletes from condemning some of the most brutal human rights violations in the world today.

The country of William Wilberforce, the man who was so outspoken in his campaign to end the slave trade, must have forgotten its history as a society dedicated to human rights. It is deeply disappointing that our closest ally has chosen to kowtow to the Chinese regime.

Wilberforce's friend, another British statesman, Edmund Burke, once said, ``All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.''

Madam Speaker, recently there have been a number of stories in the Western media bashing Afghanistan President Karzai. One in the Washington Post even raised doubts about his anti-Taliban activities before he became President. This is deeply disturbing.

President Karzai has a proven track record of being a very strong ally of the United States and a courageous and visionary leader for his own country. His record of activities against the Taliban are well- known and well-documented. He testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the year 2000. And in a policymakers' forum, right here in this Capitol building in 1999, he warned us of the dangers of neglecting Afghanistan and the threat the cruel and brutal Taliban posed to the stability and security of Afghanistan and the region and, indeed, the world.

This rash of articles is perplexing. Karzai is a leader who clearly holds the best chance of leading his country towards lasting peace, unity and democracy. The international community and the United States must continue to support President Karzai.

Mr. Speaker, in August of last year, Congress passed the Protect America Act to close a dangerous loophole in our ability to collect intelligence information on foreign targets in foreign countries.

When this legislation expires on Thursday of this week, our intelligence community, responsible to collect intelligence on terrorist enemies, will lose their eyes and ears. Congress has stalled for 6 months to review the policy and come up with a solution to bring FISA up to date with our 21st century technologies and give our intelligence community the tools they need to fight terrorism.

Now the House wants to pass a 30-day extension. The Senate can't even agree to that. Democrats in Congress want to empower judges and lawyers in their discovery proceedings and frivolous lawsuits over intelligence needs.

The laws governing our intelligence collection should not be dealt with in the same way one pays rent for an apartment, month to month. We need to pass legislation to permanently create a solution that gives our intelligence community the tools they need to fight terrorism that threatens the security of every American.

Madam Speaker, over the break I had the opportunity to travel to Iraq to meet with our troops and military commanders on the ground there.

Two observations: the morale of our troops is high, and the surge is working. General Petraeus has crafted a highly sophisticated counterinsurgency strategy that has put the terrorists on

the defensive and brought some level of security to many Iraqi communities where there had been none before.

Now I know it's hard to admit when you are wrong, but there are many in this Chamber who came to this floor and opposed the surge saying it would be a failure. Well, it hasn't been. It has been a success. In fact, even the United Nations is recognizing the success of the Petraeus strategy. The U.N.'s top envoy in Iraq acknowledged the improvements in security and even tentative steps towards national reconciliation this week.

Even for the war's opponents, it is now time to admit the success of the surge strategy in Iraq. But, instead of honoring the great work of our troops, all I hear is silence.

Madam Speaker, the world has watched over recent months as the brutal dictatorship in Burma has arrested and killed Buddhist monks and democracy activists and as it continues to attack, rape and kill ethnic minorities. The House has just passed an excellent bill imposing further sanctions on Burma, the JADE Act.

Amazingly, in the Senate, leading Democrats don't want the House version of the bill. Instead, they want to allow for cash money to go to the ruling regime for humanitarian purposes. Hello? Aid that goes through the regime does not get to the people of Burma. The rulers simply enrich themselves with any moneys coming into the country.

In addition, certain Senators wish to give the Treasury Department an opening one could drive a Mack truck through so that Treasury could make any regulation it likes regarding U.S. money going into Burma. I hope those Senators will read the reports and look at the photos from Burma. The democracy activists, monks and ethnic minorities are the ones who should get our support, not the brutal military regime.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1201, the Freedom and Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007.

Madam Speaker, the Pentagon said last week that layoff notices for Army employees could start going out the middle of this month.

``Merry Christmas, here's your pink slip'' may sound like a harsh way to greet an employee this time of year, but that is what the Defense Department will be forced to do with civilian employees and contractors in the run-up to Christmas.

Because congressional leaders refuse to negotiate with the President to fund our troops in the field, the Department of Defense has been forced to cut spending in other areas in order to pay the bills for continued operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even as our troops have made major security gains in Iraq, the Democrat majority wishes to pull the plug by cutting the funding to support their mission.

I believe we're sending exactly the wrong message to the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces: not funding our troops. Each day that goes by without such a bill is a failure of the leadership of this dysfunctional Congress.

Madam Speaker, last week, America lost a true statesman when Henry Hyde passed away at the age of 83.

Representative Hyde was a student of American history, a constitutional scholar, a thoughtful legislator, and a skillful orator. But above all, he will be remembered as a man of integrity who stood for the most basic principles of liberty, justice, and, above all, respect for life.

On November 5, President Bush awarded Mr. Hyde the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the very highest honor the President can bestow on an American citizen.

In his first term, Henry Hyde offered an amendment that ensured that Americans who believe in the sanctity of life would not see their taxpayer dollars go to the funding of abortion. That was just the beginning of Henry's long legislative career spent working to protect the sanctity of human life.

I urge the Democrat leadership to bring the bipartisan H. Res. 843 to the floor for a vote. It would be a mark on this body if we did not honor the life and work of a man of character like Henry Hyde.

Mr. Speaker, as we vote on H.R. 3887, I would like to express my thanks to those Members, like Chris Smith and Frank Wolf, who continue to provide leadership on human trafficking issues. I strongly believe we must work to ensure that we fix any loopholes in our laws or regulations that the brutal human traffickers might use to exploit their victims.

In light of Congress's desire to ensure that we do all in our power to support trafficking victims and prosecute traffickers, I would like to associate myself with the concerns expressed about the bill by the Departments of Justice, State, Homeland Security, and USAID. It is important that Congress works with the administration in order to amend the legislation to appropriately address their concerns. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate on these concerns and on human trafficking issues in general.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to a new report by Human Rights Watch detailing the use of child soldiers in Burma, particularly by the brutal dictatorship there.

Past reports have suggested that there are approximately 70,000 child soldiers in Burma, the largest child soldier army in the world. It is difficult to know the exact number. But we do know that not only does the SPDC regime refuse to allow democracy and engages in ethnic cleansing, it also deliberately, as policy, targets children for military recruitment, training, and battle.

Children are targeted simply walking down the street or waiting for a train. If they don't have their ID cards, so-called ``recruiters'' tell the children they will be sent to prison or they can join the army. If the children try to run away, they are severely punished.

Children are also forced by the SPDC to participate in human rights violations such as burning down villages or shooting villagers on sight, women and children included.

Mr. Speaker, the SPDC dictatorship must go. It is time for democracy in Burma.

Madam Speaker, several States held elections this week, and now the 2008 Presidential elections are just 1 year away. This is a good time to reflect on the importance of voting and the integrity of our election process.

The right to vote is one of the most important freedoms granted to citizens in the United States. It's a right and a privilege that should not be taken lightly.

Our voter registration process needs to be reformed in order to ensure that only American citizens are eligible to vote. It is alarming that eight of the 9/11 hijackers were registered to vote.

The sanctity of the ballot box must be paramount. If we can't ensure the integrity of our elections, our representative form of government breaks down.

When a person gets a driver's license, they can check a box to register to vote, and there's no guarantee that the person's eligibility to vote will be verified. There are House seats that have been decided by just a few votes per precinct. The American people deserve to know that elections will be won and lost by legal, rightfully registered voters.

Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to this ENDA bill. This bill, if signed into law, will have serious long-term implications on one of our most basic and treasured institutions, marriage. A Federal ENDA will provide activist judges with the legal ammunition to move toward the legalization of same-sex marriage. In fact, State ENDA laws are already being used by activist judges to impose gay marriage and civil unions on States.

One example is the landmark decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Court which determined that there was ``no rational basis for the denial of marriage to same-sex couples.'' And this decision used the State ENDA laws in their argument. Another example took place in Vermont where the court ordered the State legislature to pass either a same-sex marriage or civil union law. Again, this case referenced existing State ENDA legislation. Another example is the New Jersey Supreme Court, which gave the State legislature 6 months to either pass a same-sex marriage law or civil union law, and the court cited New Jersey ENDA laws in defense of this ruling.

Although ENDA is bad legislation on its face, more importantly, it is just one component of a larger strategy. An editorial in an activist publication recently compared this approach to building a house. It explains that hate crimes legislation is the foundation, ENDA is one of the walls, civil unions is the roof structure, and marriage is the shingles.

The author states, ``When all the various above issues have been resolved, think of all the money that would be freed up to focus on marriage. We can lobby the President and Congress on repealing DOMA, while targeting the weakest States to repeal their one man-one woman amendments.''

The strategy as laid out above is clear. ENDA is merely a building block for efforts to overturn traditional marriage laws and to impose same-sex marriage on States. I urge you to protect traditional marriage and oppose H.R. 3685.