Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his introduction.

Now, one of the realities that we must recognize as we debate our budget are the realities of today's economy and those facing our municipalities, our cities, and our States, and our families today. The reality is that when we have this economic slowdown, all of those entities that I just mentioned have made tough decisions to cut their budgets. I hear about families doing it all the time. The city of Omaha has done it, the State of Nebraska has done it. But yet when we are in the Federal Government, because we do not have a balanced budget amendment, heck, we just sit there and say, spend, spend more, give away all the money at a time of economic slowdown, at a time when we have to protect American citizens.

So I am proud to stand in support of a budget that recognizes those realities today that face American families, that face our municipalities, that face our States, and make the same tough decisions that they have. I am proud that this budget, the Republican budget, controls spending. Yes, I would like to see it control spending even more. There is a lot of areas of this budget that I, frankly, do not think we are restraining the spending. In fact, I believe that the budget for veterans, actually we are increasing veterans spending under this proposed Republican budget.

But what we are asking for in this budget, we are asking agencies to save taxpayers' money, just as Americans are sitting down at their tables trying to find ways to save money in their family budgets. And our economic growth is contingent upon responsible spending in all sectors of our economy: business, personal spending, and government.

Now, this budget protects the fiscal soundness of our government and incorporates cost-cutting provisions that will pay dividends well into the future. Through responsible tax cuts, we are returning the power back to the people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and the bill.

The consequence of allowing human cloning would be dire. Human embryos would be created for the sole purpose of being experimented on and killed. Cloned humans would likely have serious defects such as premature aging which may have led to premature death of Dolly, the cloned sheep. Women could be exploited through the buying and selling of their eggs for medical research, and children could be manufactured with specific genetic traits, making them commodities rather than precious gifts from God.

This bill would prevent those horrifying scenarios from reality. This legislation would ban reproductive cloning and research cloning, which both involve creation of human life.

As elected leaders, we have a responsibility to safeguard the future of humanity by placing clear, ethical limits on medical research. Our scientists should concentrate on promising avenues which raise no moral concerns such as adult stem cell research. Allowing human cloning would only devalue human life and permit women and children to be exploited.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the rule and

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003.

The welfare reform law of 1996 is a resounding success. The welfare rolls have been cut in half, the number of welfare recipients working for pay has more than doubled, the employment rate of single mothers has nearly doubled, and child poverty has reached a 25-year low. Millions of families have been freed from the shackles of government dependency. They are holding their heads up high as they earn a living, care for themselves and their families, and improve the future for their children.

Today we have the opportunity to help more families escape from the vicious cycles of poverty and despair. I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 4, which continues the truly compassionate policy of providing a hand- up instead of just a hand-out. By coupling temporary financial assistance with opportunities for higher education and vocational skills training, more families will achieve financial independence and improve their quality of life. As the saying goes, you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day, or teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.

H.R. 4 also continues the landmark program which has dramatically lowered teenage pregnancies in our nation. This program provided $250 million over five years for states to educate teenagers about abstaining from sex until marriage and remaining faithful afterwards. From 1994 to 2000, the number of unwed teenagers who became pregnant fell from 46.6 to 39.6 per thousand. The abstinence movement profoundly influenced this trend.

Newsweek magazine recently reported that ``more than one-third of U.S. high schools teach abstinence until marriage and 700 abstinence programs spread the sex-can-wait gospel in all 50 states.'' The majority of these programs are a result of the 1996 welfare reform law. Their success can be measured by new Federal data revealing that virginal teenagers now outnumber sexually-active ones. The Youth Risk Behavior survey found that the number of teenagers who say they have never had sexual intercourse rose by 10 percent between 1991 and 2001. We must improve upon this success to give more teenagers the positive message of abstinence until marriage.

There is a great need for this message. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, three million teenagers contract a sexually-transmitted disease each year, and over half of high-school seniors lose their virginity before graduation. This is a tragedy of epic proportions. Thousands of young women are sterile for life after contracting the sexually-transmitted disease Chlamydia. Many will enter marriage without knowing they cannot conceive children.

Abstinence until marriage education will save millions of teenagers from the heartache of infertility, the pain of having an incurable STD, the regret of giving too much of themselves too soon, and the anguish of being sexually abused. Many abstinence programs help teenagers protect themselves from sexual abuse by teaching them to recognize emotional blackmail and inappropriate sexual pressure.

Failed ``comprehensive sex education'' and misleading ``abstinence plus'' programs have for too long given teenagers the message that ``anything goes'' as long as a contraceptive is used. These destructive programs have done incalculable damage by failing to inform teenagers about the full risks of STDs, the failure rates of contraceptives, and the strong emotional bonds formed during intercourse. Authentic abstinence education programs give teenagers the full truth: there is no contraceptive for a broken heart, and no guaranteed protection against pregnancy or STDs except abstinence until marriage and fidelity afterwards.

Presdient Bush has rightly said that ``for children to realize their dreams, they must learn the value of abstinence. We must send them the message that of the many decisions they will make in their lives, choosing to avoid early sex is one of the most important. We must stress that abstinence isn't just about saying no to sex; it's about saying yes to a happier, healthier future.''

I am proud that H.R. 4 continues this commitment to our children. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation to help lift more families out of poverty and protect more teenagers from the dangers of sexual activity outside of marriage.

Mr. Speaker, among the many tributes to the brave men and women aboard the space shuttle Columbia, let me add my condolences to each of the families that suffered a loss in this tragedy. These seven individuals devoted their lives to advancing our dreams of space exploration. In their hometowns, in our schools and communities, as well as in space, they worked to enhance our appreciation for their mission. They took time to educate everyone from the youngest aspiring astronauts to those of us who simply marveled at their achievements.

In particular, Michael P. Anderson affected the constituents of Nebraska's second Congressional District. Michael was born in Plattsburg, NY, but was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska from 1986 to 1990. At Offutt, Michael flew EC-135s, or Looking Glass, missions. By 1990 he had earned his master's degree in physics from Creighton University in Omaha. Then in 1994, Michael was selected to join NASA as a future astronaut. In 1998, on his first mission to space, he became the first African-American to visit a space station. Even though he logged over 211 hours of space flight time, Michael never forgot his time in Nebraska.

Michael's friends and former professors at Creighton frequently corresponded with him via email, even when he was in space. His continued relationship with the university provided unique opportunities to students and faculty. Michael's determination to inspire young people was evident in his visits to schools not just in the district I represent, but in communities across the country. His lessons still resonate with the students of Jesuit Middle School he visited in 1998. Before making his visit, Michael stepped into his NASA uniform and just as easily stepped into the role of hero to his young audience.

Michael, as well as the other six astronauts aboard the Columbia, left a legacy of proud service. They were all active in their communities and all of them touched many lives. We will miss them, in Nebraska and around the world, and we will not forget their inspiring influence.