Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the City of McMinnville, which next week will celebrate its bicentennial.

Named after Governor Joseph McMinn, who helped write the Tennessee state constitution in 1796, McMinnville has been the center of economic activity for Warren County for the last two hundred years. Agriculture and horticulture have long been staples of the people who live in middle Tennessee, and McMinnville is no exception. McMinnville's position on the Cumberland Plateau makes it uniquely suited to growing a wide variety of crops and plants. Home to about 650 nurseries specializing in everything from evergreen trees to flowering shrubs, it's no wonder that McMinnville is known as the ``Nursery Capital of the World.''

For a rural Tennessee community, McMinnville has given our country its fair share of notable statesmen and entertainers. Carl Thomas Rowan grew up in McMinnville before attending Tennessee State and Washburn Universities. He was later appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of State by President John F. Kennedy, served at the U.S. Ambassador to Finland, and became the first African American to hold a seat on the National Security Council.

In keeping with Tennessee's musical tradition, several McMinnville residents have become well known musicians in Nashville and throughout the United States. McMinnville native Uncle Dave Macon, also known as ``the Dixie Dewdrop,'' became one of the first stars of the Grand Ole Opry. Dinah Shore moved to McMinnville with her family in 1924 and went on to become a television star and singer, performing alongside stars like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Born and raised in McMinnville, Dottie West was made famous with her role as ``Miss Country Sunshine'' in a Coca-Cola commercial and her performances at the Grand Ole Opry.

As residents in McMinnville and across Warren County prepare to mark the city's 200th anniversary, I encourage them to take a moment and reflect on the history and heritage of their community so that it may be preserved as the city begins its third century.

Debbie, it is certainly good to be here. And as I have listened to the debate, the discussions that we have had about creating jobs in America, I think personally to go back and check a little bit of history, I represent a unique congressional district, but so do 434 other Members of the U.S. House. The district I represent is the fourth most rural residential congressional district in this country. It has the third highest number of blue collar workers.

We are hurting in the Fourth Congressional District, as we are throughout America. And what we have been seeing in the last several years is an administration and those who truly do not understand, not only rural America, but those who live in urban and inner-city as well.

As an example, starting on January 1st, 2008, through October 31st, 2009, we lost eight million jobs in this country, eight million moms and dads, eight million working sons and daughters who lost their jobs starting in January. I am not talking about 2007, I am talking about just in that 22-month period alone, eight million jobs. During the

Bush administration, around one million jobs were created, new jobs in the time January 1st of 2001 through the time that George Bush left office on January 20th of 2009.

If you take that growth number during that period of 8 years and look how long it would take us to find the jobs to replace the eight million that were lost, it would take 64 years at the same growth rate during the Bush administration.

So for the folks on the other side of the aisle, start using math. When you use the math, be sure it adds up to what you are saying.

When we look at eight million jobs that we have lost starting in January, the last 13 months of the Bush administration, through October 31st of 2009, if we were to create 200,000 jobs a month--during the Clinton administration that is what happened, about 250,000 on the average jobs per month during the 8 years that Clinton was President. But if we take those numbers, it will take over 3 years to just replace the eight million jobs we lost as a result of the trade policies and the policies of the Bush administration.

So if we want to start analyzing and blaming folks, let's get the facts straight. Let's get the figures right. People in my district don't care who it is, whether it is Bush or whether it is the Obama administration, whether it is the Clinton administration. They want jobs.

How will we create those? Through the eighties, in the area I represent, the apparel industry and the textile industry was a great part of the low wages, quite frankly, and some of the low-skilled jobs that we had.

My brother worked at a garment factory that worked almost 1,500 people in 1983. As a result of the trade deals that we cut with the Caribbean steel initiative and the Andean region, as the result of the tax policy that we had, we reduced taxes on the richest people in America from 70 percent, as it was on January 1, 1981, to 28 percent was the max.

I am not complaining because we had a tax cut, but here is what I do disagree with. We also during that period of time told small business folks, I am sorry, the depreciation schedules you had, 10 to 15 years, are no longer in place. It is going to take you 30-plus years now. So in essence what we told small business folks, you no longer have the tax breaks that you had at one time. You no longer have the tax incentives to create jobs for folks who live in rural America and inner-city or urban areas, because what we are doing is giving the tax breaks to the wealthiest individual wage earners, not small business folks.

When the other side talks about helping small business engage, let's really get serious about a tax policy through depreciation schedules that will encourage small business folks, the creator of 70 percent of the jobs in our country, an opportunity to start revitalizing America again.

In 1970, one out of four people worked in manufacturing in this country. Today it is one in 10. Let me repeat that. One out of four people worked in manufacturing. One in 10 does today. Where are those jobs?

In 1998, we signed an agreement, this country did, and I have to blame the Clinton administration and perhaps Mr. Rubin, who was the Treasurer at that time, we signed trade deals called GATT, General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, and we brought two large countries, India and China, which has a third of the world's population, into the

Would you yield?

I notice there's a chart up showing the huge deficits. When Barack Obama was elected President, the first 30 days of his term he had to renew a trillion dollars and pay the interest on it. If John McCain had been elected, he would have had to renew a trillion dollars that he didn't bring to the table. Whoever was elected President and sworn in on January 20 in 2009, the next 30 days we had $12 trillion in total national debt. You look at that on a monthly basis, that's a trillion a month we have to renew and pay the interest on it. It didn't matter who it was. So as we look at the national debt, please, America, yeah, we need to reduce the deficit. And we're working on that. We call that pay-as-you-go. We need performance-based programming in our budget.

And so I would just want to remind you: 8 million jobs lost, starting on January 1, 2008, America, and the current President, regardless of who it is--Barack Obama or if it had been John McCain--had $1 trillion every month since they'd been President to renew and pay the interest on.

Mr. Speaker, I want to talk about jobs: where we were, where we are, and where I hope that we will be in the next 10 years.

In the last 3 months of 2008, we lost an average of approximately 650,000 jobs per month. The first quarter of 2009 saw us lose over 700,000 jobs per month. In the first quarter of 2009, our economy shrunk by 6.4 percent.

We have stopped the bleeding. We have added jobs in six of the last 7 months, averaging almost 200,000 jobs, the majority originating in the private sector. If this pace continues, this administration will have added more jobs in 1 year than the previous Bush administration did in 8 years. I repeat, 1 year compared to 8 years. Our economy grew by 3 percent for 3 straight quarters of economic growth, 9 percent in 12 months. After February of 2009, household wealth grew for 10 straight months, regaining nearly 30 percent, $5 trillion of the $17.5 trillion of household wealth wiped out during the former Bush administration in its final 18 months.

We have stopped the bleeding. The economic policies of this Congress is investing in America. There is no snap-your-finger fix to our economy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mr. and Mrs. William Robert ``Bob'' and Betty Grigsby Campbell of Franklin, Tennessee. They are long standing residents of the community which I represent and have raised five children in the area. Their children have added twelve grandchildren to the family tree and it is one of their grandchildren that have notified me of this special year of celebrations, the occasion of their 80th birthdays and their 60th wedding anniversary.

Bob grew up in Nashville, TN as the eldest son of a printer and secretary. He attended Vanderbilt University before owning his own business. Betty grew up in the Grigsby family home in Elkton, TN. Her family farmed the home place that was surrounded by cotton fields. Her father was an engineer and her mother was actively involved in the Methodist church and community.

Bob and Betty met on a blind date. They wed in a double wedding ceremony with Betty's sister, Dorothy (Mrs. John Brevard), who also resides in Franklin, TN. Bob and Betty settled in Nashville, TN and their children Bobby, Cindy, Nicky, Cathi and Chuck were born and have fond memories of camping and taking family vacations to Florida in the back of many station wagons. As their children moved on, Betty worked caring for children at their church and Bob continued to develop his small business.

During their retirement they have enjoyed traveling with their friends both throughout the country and internationally. They continue to be active members of the Baptist Church, while Bob maintains his small business restoring antique furniture. They regularly see their grandchildren who are spread from California to Louisiana to Washington, DC. Their grandchildren tell me they are looking forward to enjoying many more holidays with their ``MaBet and Papa'' in Franklin.

It is clear that the world in which Bob and Betty were born in 1930 was quite a different world than what their grandchildren experience today. But they have taught their children and grandchildren traditions that stand the test of time. Bob and Betty have been role models for their family in Southern hospitality and grace. They have taught the generations that true character is shown by commitment to each other, responsible engagement in community, dedication to God and strong family ties. These values last throughout time, throughout the economic turmoil and throughout the latest fad. I have no doubt that the Campbell family will continue to carry on these traditions for the rest of their lives due to the strong foundation provided by Bob and Betty.

I want to congratulate Bob and Betty on their banner year and wish them and their Campbell Clan good health, safe travels and much more shared laughter.

Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman.

I rise in strong support of House Resolution 873. On several occasions, I have had the opportunity to visit Iraq and had the privilege of visiting the Kurdistan Region. I have seen firsthand the stability in this rapidly developing part of Iraq. Which is why on October 27 of last year, I joined Congressman Rohrabacher in introducing H. Res. 873, a resolution that would encourage the State Department to establish an American consulate in Erbil, which is the capital city of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Almost 20 other countries, including developed European allies and other world powers, have already set up their consulates in the Kurdistan Region, and America, I believe, should do the same. Establishing a consulate in Iraqi Kurdistan should be part of our transition in Iraq, from a military presence to a civilian and diplomatic one. This is an important step on Iraq's path to normalization and recognizes the growing stability in that part of the world and in northern Iraq.

A consulate in Erbil will serve both U.S. and Iraqi interests. A consulate will aid in fostering the growing economic, potential commercial and cultural/educational ties between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the U.S. The lack of a consulate is putting America at a disadvantage in the region and is a disservice, I believe, to our Iraqi Kurdish partners.

Since introduction of this resolution, the State Department has released plans to set up two permanent consulates in Iraq, readying itself for a larger role in the country as the U.S. military presence prepares to leave. The administration is requesting funds in the military supplemental for a consulate in Basra and one in northern Iraq. I believe the one in northern Iraq should be located in Erbil.

Erbil is one of the longest contiguous residential cities in the world, and as we have engaged in Operation Iraqi Freedom, not a single soldier, not a single American life has been lost in combat in the northern part of Iraq. America's friends throughout the world and America's friends in Kurdistan I believe deserve the presence of a consulate in this country in Erbil in northern Iraq.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with a poetic tribute penned by Albert Carey Caswell in honor of one of Tennessee's finest, SGT John Moore of Dickson Tennessee. On January 6th 2009 in Diyaoa Province in Iraq, SGT Moore was almost killed in an IED explosion. Like many of our nation's heroes who cheat death, they must then come back home and continue to fight another war. While John fought valiantly to try to save his leg, he lost that battle . . . but his courage and faith has helped sustain him through his darkest days. As he is a shining example to us all, as he inspires us all with his courage and positive attitude.

All The Moore

In this our Country Tis of Thee . . .

There have been such fine patriots, so indeed!

Whom, have so given up so much for Country!

All to insure this our land of the free, for us . . . so much

would endure you see . . .

As generation after generation, have so served this our fine

nation . . .

Who have so given up life and limb, all in those darkest of

days war . . . so then . . .

Who have so given, All The Moore!

How can one so ask for more?

Putting one's country first, while their own fine precious

lives so last . . .

Yet, knowing of the worst!

From places, like Tennessee . . . have come such fine men, so

indeed . . .

Who are but The Toast of Tennessee!

Men like John Moore, heroes who so boldly marched off to war

. . .

Leaving behind, all that they so love and adored!

A man, of The 1-25 Stryker Brigade Combat Team . . .

For this is how Angels are made it seems!

So boldly marching off to war, as was John so seen . . .

When, in the midst of hell . . . a bomb would almost take all

of his future dreams . . .

Coming back from the dead, he fought for five months until it

was said . . .

John, your leg is dead . . .

As in that moment, as in that fight . . . as he reached down

into his soul, so bright!

And asked, for All The Moore . . . faith and courage, to

endure!

As he began to shine, and begin a new battle once more!

All The Moore!

As on that morning he awoke, as to him his fine heart spoke .

. .

I've got a life to live, I've got so much to this our world

to give . . .

I will not feel sorry or sad, just to be alive I'm glad . . .

For I have fine brave Brothers, who now lie in the ground . .

.

And it's for them also the courage, I've found . . .

Until, the day they lay me down . . .

For ever in life, Striking Hard! I will be found!

Arms and legs we all need, but without a heart one can not

surely breathe . . .

And I will walk, and I will run . . . and I will face the

morning's sun!

All with what's inside of me, All The Moore . . .

While, all of this pain and heartache I will defeat!

All for my Country Tis of Thee . . .

As I will be Walking Tall In Tennessee

All The Moore, this you must believe!

Mr. Speaker, the Upper Cumberland region of Tennessee is known throughout the country for its unparalleled natural beauty. Its rivers and streams, rolling

hills, farms, fields, and forests all come together to create the rich tapestry of the region. But just as the beauty of the land contributes to the character of the place I am proud to call home, so does the remarkable beauty of the people. The teachers and statesmen, the war heroes and artists of the region are the vehicles that have carried our most cherished traditions throughout the ages.

Out of these great men and women, there is one in particular that I am proud to call my friend. Never one to shrink from a challenge, but he has always been ready and willing to dedicate his time and resources to the service of others.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Millard Vaughn Oakley, an accomplished Tennessean who has tirelessly dedicated his life to public and community service. Whether through his law practice, his service in the General Assembly, or his fight to improve education, Millard has always been a staunch advocate for the interests of Tennesseeans. Although it would be impossible to qualify and quantify the total impact that Millard's work has had on our communities, countless lives have been enriched because of his faith and his friendship.

A lifelong resident of Overton County in the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau, Millard graduated from Livingston Academy in 1947, attending Tennessee Technological University, and graduated from Cumberland Law School in 1951. Almost immediately after earning his law degree, Millard began his general law practice in Livingston, Tennessee, which he continued until 1971.

During that time, he was elected to four terms in the General Assembly and served one term in the State's constitutional convention. He has had numerous positions in Tennessee government, including county attorney, and served as our State Insurance Commissioner.

Millard has always fought to improve education throughout Tennessee. He serves on the Tennessee Board of Regents, and through his financial support helped create the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Center at Tennessee Technological University to bring a world-class research center into the heart of Tennessee.

In his hometown of Livingston, he was instrumental in coordinating local officials and private investors to construct the public library that now bears his name. He also established the Oakley First National Bank Foundation which provides scholarships for financially challenged high school seniors in Overton County.

Through his philanthropy, Millard helped build a campus for Volunteer State Community College in Overton County, which now serves students across the Upper Cumberland.

I am proud to be counted as one of Millard's friends, and I join them in wishing Millard success in all his future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a public servant that has dedicated his life to improving and enriching communities across the state of Tennessee.

Lee Holland will retire this June from his position as President of the Tennessee Municipal League's Risk Management Pool. For more than two decades, Lee has demonstrated integrity, professionalism, and efficiency while serving the people of Tennessee. During his tenure, TML's Risk Management Pool became the leader in providing insurance and risk management to Tennessee's municipalities. The Pool today provides a vital public service by insuring over 40,000 public employees and over $5.8 billion in municipal property.

Before starting his career in the insurance industry, Lee served as the city manager for Collegedale, Tennessee. Beginning in 1975, his stewardship brought revitalization and new industry to a city in disarray. If you drive through Collegedale today, you can see for yourself the positive impact that Lee brought to the city.

Today, I am proud to honor Lee Holland's tireless work on behalf of the people of Tennessee. He has truly earned not only our respect and admiration, but also a well reserved retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a remarkable Tennessean.

Mr. Robert Bryson Brindley, Sr. is remembered by everyone who knew him as a man of great integrity and principle.

In 1960, Mr. Brindley, along with his father, founded Brindley Construction in Pulaski, Tennessee. Due to the tireless work and steadfast commitment of his devoted employees, Mr. Brindley, together with his father and sons, grew Brindley Construction into one of the leading general contracting companies in middle Tennessee.

Mr. Brindley, equipped with his legendary moral character, earned himself the highest distinction among his peers and colleagues. He was recently posthumously awarded the prestigious Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors of North Alabama. This annual award honors the contributions of the recipient for a lifetime of work in the field of construction.

While I, along with his family, employees, church, community and peers within the construction industry continue to mourn his passing, we will continue to remember and commend the life he led.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding time, and I will make some very brief comments.

As we look across America, we look at our rivers, our streams, our oceans and our lakes, the scenic mountains of Tennessee, the scenic mountains, obviously the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachians. Our artists that will paint portraits and paintings on canvas, our literature, through great authors of our time, our character, as a Nation, our heritage, our family traditions, our family values, and, yes, our music are part of this great American heritage.

Our music, music of those like Flatt and Scruggs that, when I was a child growing up, listening to a radio operated by a battery on a Saturday night was one of the special times when the family got together. But certainly for this particular occasion, for that hour- long session, the ``Grand Ole Opry,'' we would hear such performers as Bashful Oswald and Stringbean and, yes, Flatt and Scruggs, that became an entity in the mid-forties.

Lester Flatt was born in Sparta, Tennessee, in a district that I now represent in White County. And from that, he basically learned his art in church by singing with the choir. He learned his art by self- teaching and by instructions from others in the community of how to play different instruments. And

he became someone that those of us who loved mountain music, who loved the mountain music, loved to hear him. The songs that he sang, the songs that he composed--most he sang himself, and some were sung by others. But he gave us, all of us who live in America and all of those of us who love bluegrass music on a Saturday night, or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and gospel music on Sunday night that's bluegrass style, kind of have a great deal of respect and reverence for Lester Flatt.

It is my honor as a Member of Congress and it is my honor as the Congressman who represents the area where he was born and later moved to North Carolina and Kentucky to perform to audiences that were blessed with his voice, which was unique and his music, which was unique and the three-finger roll that was brought by the banjo to make that music even better. So it's my honor today to recognize this giant who was one of the first three that became a member of the Hall of Fame in 1991, and it's fitting that he did. So it's fitting that we here today honor this giant of bluegrass music.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my name as a sponsor of H.R. 4191.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 790, designating October 30th, 2009, as American nuclear weapons program workers remembrance day. I want to thank my good friend, the gentlelady from Nevada, for introducing this resolution.

During World War II, countless men and women across the country sacrificed to ensure victory for our common ideals of democracy and freedom and to defeat tyrannical forces committing grave atrocities. This sacrifice continues to be true of the men and women who work in the nuclear weapons program, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers.

In my home State of Tennessee, the Oak Ridge National Security Complex remains at the forefront of nuclear weapons development and manufacturing, providing security for the American people and our allies. These facilities have provided employment opportunities for East Tennesseans for decades.

Unfortunately, throughout the years, nuclear workers have endured many physical dangers, including exposure to ionic radiation and other toxic substances. These patriotic workers are, at the very least, owed recognition of their great sacrifices. That is why I rise today in support of this resolution.

As we look back to remember America's nuclear weapons program workers, it is important to look forward in our attempts to develop and improve protective equipment in order to create a safer workplace. We have made strides in protecting nuclear workers in recent times, and this government has a responsibility to continue that commitment.

So, Mr. Speaker, I rise to say to these workers in Tennessee and around this great country, thank you for your service that continues to contribute to our national peace and security. Your patriotic sacrifices do not go unnoticed.

I thank the chairman and ranking member for their work in bringing before the floor the conference agreement between the House and the Senate.

I rise in support of the conference agreement for H.R. 2997, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010. I believe this is a robust investment in America's farming and rural development needs, and it ensures a brighter economic future for all Americans.

I am particularly pleased with the investment in America's farmers, both through funding for agriculture research and for farm production. As a long-time farmer, and also a former employee of the United States Department of Agriculture, I understand firsthand how focused investments make concrete differences in America's food production as well as the folks that work tirelessly to provide it.

Contained in this conference agreement, the Agriculture Research receives a 5 percent increase from the current level of funding. This vital service provides research in a variety of areas, including bio- based products, bioenergy, floriculture, and nurseries. Included in the approximate 100 research locations nationwide that are funded by ARS is the University of Tennessee; the Institute of Agriculture, which is conducting bioenergy research on converting switchgrass into cellulosic ethanol. Research on clean bioenergy is vital to America's quest to become energy independent.

Also included is increased funding for research to provide early warning technologies for the detection of crop disease to prevent crop failure from natural causes or a terrorist event. The research addresses needs to produce such a system that could take advantage of biotech advances to develop a precision agriculture tool for guarding America's crops.

Further, I am pleased by the increase in funding for the Farm Service Agency. The FSA administers major commodity programs and farm loan programs such as the Farm Ownership and Farm Operating loan programs. Farm Ownership loans, which received a 47 percent increase through fiscal year 2009 funding levels, often provided the initial investments to help farmers acquire and expand land ownership. Farm operating loans, which receive a 43 percent increase from fiscal year 2009 funding levels, allow farmers to purchase equipment, livestock, and seed. This funding is critical to ensure the continued role of America as the world's greatest agriculture producer.

As a lifelong farmer representing the district with the fourth largest percentage of rural residents, I am proud to support these investments and urge passage of the conference agreement for H.R. 2997. Saying that is the fourth largest congressional district, as far as rural residents that I represent, means we have a variety and probably one of the most diverse agriculture districts in America: cotton, soybeans, corn, nursery stock. We have timber; both beef cattle and dairy cattle.

We also have a large poultry, the broiler industry, across the Cumberland Plateau, in the southern part of the plateau and the northern part of the plateau.

I am pleased that in this legislation it at least addresses import and reimportation of poultry that may be produced here in America. There are some guards and some guidelines that I think we must have.

I have been a poultry producer of broilers as a youngster growing up on a farm in Fentress County, Tennessee; and I know if we allow the poultry industry to be run out of business, it will destroy many of the farms in the Fourth Congressional District that I represent.

So I am pleased that our chairman was willing to work an agreement that would at least require certain inspection to be sure that safe food was imported into America from poultry and to also help protect our poultry industry in America and certainly in the Fourth Congressional District.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and celebrate the life of Inis Puckett on the occasion of her 100th birthday.

Inis Beasley Puckett, the oldest of six children, was born to E.J. and Lecie Fly Beasley, on August 12, 1909, on a farm in Primm Springs, Tennessee. She moved to Centerville with her family when she was 16 years old.

The family quickly became active members of the Centerville Church where her father served as Bible school teacher, treasurer, Sunday school superintendent, song leader and Elder for 30 years until his death in 1958. Her mother died in 1981.

Inis has been a member of the Centerville Church for 82 years. She has taught many Sunday classes, Vacation Bible Study classes, and served as supervisor of the primary department for 20 years.

Inis graduated from Hickman County High School and George Peabody College. Her teaching career, spanning 43 years, began at Bon Aqua teaching third and fourth grades, then to Little Rock for all eight grades, then to McFarlan for all eight grades. There, she rode the bus to Five Points, walked two miles and built the fire in the wintertime. After school, she walked back to the highway, and after dark, caught the bus home. She was transferred to Haley's Creek with all eight grades for 5 years. She then moved to Centerville Elementary School where she taught first grade for 32 years.

After her retirement, she worked with her dad and husband in Beasley Furniture Store until it closed in 1979.

Inis and Paul Puckett were married on April 12, 1934. Paul died on their 60th wedding anniversary. Inis' sight began to deteriorate in

1981. She has had 13 surgeries on her eyes with little success.

In her lifetime she has enjoyed many activities such as gardening, baking and still enjoys playing the organ. Due to the failure of her eyesight, she has memorized 56 selections.

Her present residence has been her home for 67 years.

I ask that my colleagues rise and join me today in wishing Inis a happy birthday as she continues to grace us with her rich, full presence in Tennessee.

Madam Speaker, it's an honor to thank my friend and pastor, Dr. Ivan Raley of First Baptist Church in Byrdstown, for joining us here today. Pastor Raley has served our church at home since 2002, and is retired after 10 years of service as regional vice president of the Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes in Brentwood, Tennessee.

While serving as pastor, Dr. Raley has traveled on mission trips to Venezuela, Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, and in September of 2001, he went to New York to serve as a chaplain with the police and firemen involved in the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. He also served with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention in Rwanda during the wars there in 1994.

I want to thank Ivan for being here today and for serving our church family for the past 7 years. I have looked to him for ministry as we continue our work in Congress to build a stronger America for our children and our grandchildren. Through the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and now in the midst of a difficult economy, I appreciate Pastor Raley being there to join me in search of guidance and wisdom.

On behalf of my colleagues, I welcome Dr. Raley, and again, I thank him for delivering our invocation here this morning.