Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, anyone following the news knows that tension is growing in our relations with Iran. But as we consider our response to this situation, let us be clear about where the problem lies.

The problem is with the radical new leadership of Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his extremist regime. It is not with the good people of Iran, who have shown openness to freedom and moderation.

Historically, Iran has been a center of culture and civilization. Millions of Iranians still value these things and seek a future with greater freedom and individual liberty. We must be reaching out to these people through diplomacy, person-to-person diplomacy and other ways to encourage their desire for freedom.

The idea of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of a leader who calls the Holocaust a myth and openly says Israel should be wiped off the map is unthinkable and must be addressed. But the best way to do that is through reaching out to the moderate people of Iran who want better for their country than the current regime, not through military action.

Mr. Speaker, I read recently that Planned Parenthood in San Francisco has launched a fresh marketing gimmick to drum up new business for its clinics.

Under its ``Tell A Friend'' campaign, girls can earn free movie tickets for referring a friend to Planned Parenthood clinics. These same area clinics are offering the chance to win a free iPod for scheduling an appointment by April 30.

While the idea of luring young girls into abortion clinics with gimmicks like free iPods and movie tickets may be outrageous, I guess it shouldn't be surprising. After all, Planned Parenthood may be feeling the financial squeeze these days.

Statistics show U.S. teenagers are having fewer abortions than any time since Roe v. Wade, and polling indicates that today's teenagers are more pro-life than previous generations.

Mr. Speaker, the pro-choice side likes to say that their goal is to see that abortion in America is safe, legal and rare; but those who truly seek to reduce abortion rates in America aren't baiting girls into abortion clinics with offers of free movie tickets and iPods.

Mr. Speaker, last week a disturbing report was released showing evidence of a security breach at U.S. Central Command in Doha, Qatar.

According to the report, Iraqi documents now in our possession show that Russian officials provided Saddam Hussein with intelligence on U.S. strategic planning during the lead-up to the war in Iraq. The documents say Russians provided the intelligence through ``their sources inside the American Central Command in Doha,'' specific details 2 weeks before our troops entered Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a small matter. U.S. CENTCOM in Qatar is the nerve center of our operations in Iraq. That's why it is absolutely vital that we have full confidence in the security of our operations there. With troops on the ground and in harm's way, it is essential that we seek to find out how this information was leaked and whether or not such leaks could still be happening.

While military officials have been slow to investigate, Congress should not be. Getting to the bottom of this should be a top priority of the House and Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committees. Nothing less than the security of our troops is at stake.

Mr. Speaker, Democrat leaders are planning to make big news at a press conference later today. What is the news? That they are tough on national security. This kind of claim coming from congressional Democratic leaders leaves the American people scratching their heads. It is one thing to hold an election-year conference full of tough talk on national security issues; it is quite another thing to back that talk up with your voting record.

Unfortunately, their rhetoric doesn't match their record. Where were the Democrat leaders when it came time to vote for the PATRIOT Act or for border security legislation or armed services recruiting or the REAL ID Act? Given the chance, they often line up against our Nation's national security initiatives, again and again and again.

It is Democrats who would like to censure President Bush for authorizing the NSA terrorist surveillance program. It is Democrats who want to unilaterally withdraw from the Iraqi front in the war on terror. A news conference to announce Democrat leaders are tough on national security, that certainly is big news.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month two more women died after using the abortion drug RU-486.

A premature death is always tragic, But the deaths of these women are even harder to bear because they simply did not have to happen.

We already knew RU-486 to be dangerous and life-threatening. These are not the first deaths linked to it. Yet, despite this knowledge, neither the drug's manufacturer nor the FDA, has been willing to pull it from the market.

Faced with this reluctance, Congress has the duty to take action.

We often hear advocates of abortion promote their cause in the name of women's rights and women's health. If they want to protect women, then they should add their support to H.R. 1079, Holly's Law, offered by my colleague from Maryland, Mr. Bartlett. This common-sense bill would withdraw FDA approval of RU-486 and subject it to a thorough review to measure its health risk.

Mr. Speaker, we should act in the best interest of women's health. Let us pass Holly's Law.

Madam Speaker, the demise of once-renowned South Korean embryonic stem cell researcher, Hwang Woo-Suk, has been well publicized. Once the darling of the research community, Dr. Hwang has since been disgraced, his research exposed as fraudulent, his methodologies shown to be unethical.

The fact that Dr. Hwang fabricated much of his research made big headlines. What was less noted, though, was that he coerced female members of his research team to donate their eggs for experimentation. This brought attention to a relatively unknown fact about embryo research.

It requires an enormous amount of human eggs, and the likelihood of women being exploited is great. This issue has brought together a coalition of pro-choice and pro-life women who are taking a stand against the exploitation of women by the biotech industry.

They point out that the egg extraction techniques required for this research can lead to infertility and even death. They are right to take such a stand against such exploitation, and we ought to stand with them.

Mr. Speaker, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan described the process by which perverse behavior slowly becomes accepted by society over time. He called it ``defining deviancy down.''

A recent newswire story illustrates his point. The story reports that Germany's sex industry is gearing up to handle a record demand for prostitution during the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament.

One man involved in the criminal underworld of German prostitution told the reporter, ``Football and prostitution are a great match. What else could you hope for?''

What else could you hope for? Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the evils of prostitution and human trafficking be condemned by society, not flaunted. I would hope for an end to sexual exploitation of women and children. I would hope for some sanity to prevail in the civilized country of Germany.

The story also reports that there are an estimated 15,000 victims of sex trafficking in Germany at any given time. That, Mr. Speaker, is the real cost of defining deviancy down.

Mr. Speaker, The New York Times published a front-page article earlier this month under the headline ``Scant Drop Seen in Abortion Rate if Parents Are Told.'' The story went on to say that laws requiring parents to be informed about a daughter's decision to have an abortion do not have the effect of reducing abortion rates.

I would just point out two things about this story, Mr. Speaker. First, other studies on the subject disagree with the findings published by the Times. Studies done by the Heritage Foundation and the Associated Press show significant drops in some States' abortion rates after the enactment of parental consent laws, such as 33 percent in Virginia and South Dakota and 25 percent in Texas.

I would also point out that all these statistics cloud the larger point of parental consent laws. The laws first and foremost seek to involve parents in one of the most important decisions their daughter will ever make. Minor girls dealing with a pregnancy desperately need their parents' involvement. That is what these laws promote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 190, urging the Russian Federation to protect and ensure religious freedom for all people in Russia.

Last year witnesses at a Helsinki Commission hearing on unregistered religious groups in Russia, provided alarming reports about the actions of local authorities towards unregistered or minority religious communities. Recurring reports of police harassment and criminal violence (that is rarely vigorously investigated) against these groups is jeopardizing the status of religious liberties in Russia.

Adding to the concerns are recent reports that the Duma is preparing legislation to regulate the activities of missionaries. Reportedly, the bill would create administrative and criminal penalties for ``unlawful missionary work connected with provoking religious extremism.'' There was also speculation in the Russian media that the Justice Ministry was looking to tighten the rules for granting visas to foreign missionaries. Furthermore, there are also reports that the Duma is considering an amendment to existing legislation that would require re- registration of registered religious organizations.

Mr. Speaker, these initiatives make evident that some people in the Russian government believe the role of the state is to control religious freedom rather than to facilitate and protect free expression. Officials know that it is very difficult for unregistered religious organizations to function effectively and freely--they know that limiting the actions of missionaries and restricting the distribution of visas would be the best option to control the growth of religious organizations.

The Congress must send a clear signal to President Putin and other Russian officials that religious freedom is a critically important issue and that we expect Russia to uphold its own constitution and its international commitments and protect the fundamental right of freedom of conscience. This resolution specifically urges Russia to fully protect religious freedoms for all religious communities, whether registered or unregistered, and to prevent the harassment of unregistered religious groups by the security apparatus and other government agencies. I strongly urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 190.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday was a good day for the millions of

Americans who own a cell phone. For several years, wireless phone customers have had more and more reason to question the privacy of their cell phone numbers. Right now a database of cell phone numbers is being compiled by the industry so that companies can offer wireless directory assistance in the future, but most Americans would rather not have their personal cell phone number made available to just anyone.

Yesterday after 2 years of effort on this issue, the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved my amendment to put the power back into the hands of consumers. The amendment simply forbids wireless phone companies from disclosing the cell phone number of any customer without prior express authorization from the customer. Just common sense.

America is counting on us to do something about this, and we have the power to do so. Let us bring this important legislation to the floor and protect Americans' privacy rights.

Madam Speaker, the front page of Monday's Washington Post carried a heart-wrenching story about sex trafficking in the Washington, D.C., area. The story detailed unspeakable tragedies, including the story of a 14-year-old girl forced into sexual servitude in order to meet her pimp's demand of earning him $500 a night at $50 per sex act.

Oddly enough, that wasn't the only front-page story Monday that mentioned pimps. Right above that story, The Post also reported that the song ``It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp'' was honored with an Oscar this year for being the best original song in a movie.

Should we really be shocked to read of the sexual horrors taking place on our streets when our most popular cultural awards show is handing out awards for songs that glorify prostitution and sexual violence?

This is outrageous and disgusting. Music that glorifies the men responsible for such atrocities, like exploitation of women and children, should be condemned, not celebrated with an Oscar.

Mr. Speaker, the leftward drift of American higher education has been well documented. On the modern-day campus, nothing is too extreme and all ideas and political philosophies are declared equal in the name of tolerance, often producing ridiculous results.

The most recent example comes from Yale University. In the name of tolerance and diversity, administrators there have enrolled a member of one of the most radically intolerant and nondiverse groups in recent history, the Taliban.

A few years ago, Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi was a spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban regime, the same regime that provided safe haven for the 9/11 terrorists and brutally oppressed women and nonMuslims. Today, he is in the Ivy League, a student at Yale.

Rahmatullah said it best himself: ``I could have ended up at Guantanamo Bay. Instead, I ended up at Yale.''

Mr. Speaker, we have come to a point where elite universities like Yale will tolerate the Taliban on their campus but will not tolerate the ROTC, political correctness in the extreme.

Mr. Speaker, in the coming days we will take up the Federal budget. While I am pleased to see the President's budget hold the line on discretionary spending, the Congress should also get serious about entitlement reform.

The numbers speak for themselves, Mr. Speaker. Three entitlement programs alone, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, currently consume about 42 percent of the entire budget. If we add defense and homeland security,

which most people would consider mandatory spending, along with all the other entitlements, we get 82 percent. Only 18 cents on the dollar really is discretionary.

Mr. Speaker, entitlements are important programs, but they will benefit no one if they go bankrupt. And we are headed for a fiscal tsunami in this country. So as we begin the budget process, let us keep in mind that runaway discretionary spending is wrong, and we would do well to rein it in.

But unsustainable entitlement spending is a greater problem that we should address as well for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Whether we like it or not, this is a very real problem. It is not going to go away.

Doing nothing is simply not an option. In fact, doing nothing is the worst thing we can do.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday in Cannon Caucus, I hosted an event for diplomats based in D.C. to watch portions of a film entitled ``Human Trafficking.''

We had 97 countries, over 160 diplomats, many ambassadors there. They were very interested to learn what other countries are doing, the cooperation and partnership between nations and leaders around the world to combat trafficking in persons. They are very interested in increased training for their staff, particularly consular staff, and the many NGOs and their resources that are available.

I want to thank the governmental leaders, the law enforcement personnel, NGOs, business people, and ordinary citizens around the world who are helping combat this horrible exploitation and violence against women and children.

I look forward to talking with them again about creative ways to stop trafficking, not just through stronger legislation and prosecution of traffickers but through other means, particularly providing assistance to victims, their families, addressing corruption, interdicting assets.

I commend to my colleagues this film, ``Human Trafficking.'' It will be shown on TV on April 22 to educate yourself on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of news coming from the field of stem cell research lately, but it is all just a new variation on an old theme: Ethical or ``adult stem cell'' research is working. Research that kills embryos, embryonic stem cell research, is not. While embryonic stem cell research's leading scientist has been disgraced for his research fabrications, adult stem cell researchers are announcing new breakthroughs.

One research group recently announced the development of a machine capable of taking adult stem cells from fat tissue and adapting them to treat other tissue damaged by heart disease and heart attacks. In a different study released recently, researchers have been able to turn adult muscle stem cells into cartilage, and in animal studies this regenerated cartilage has been used to treat damage caused by arthritis.

These studies add to the ever-growing list of treatments and cures that come from noncontroversial adult stem cells. Meanwhile, stem cell research involving the destruction of human embryos continues to be plagued by tumors, rejection, and research scandals. As we address this issue this year, we would do well to keep this in mind, what is working and what is not.