Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to Johnny Rye, Sr., of Poinsett County, Arkansas, a great friend, and someone who has made countless contributions to his community.

Johnny was born into a sharecropping family on September 2, 1924, in Smithville, Mississippi but moved to Arkansas just 8 years later. After finishing school, Johnny started his own grocery business in the Black Oak Community. He has operated that grocery for more than 50 years, making it the oldest grocery business in all of Poinsett County.

In addition to being a great businessman, Johnny is an active member of his community. He is known for his generosity to many local charities, and has been a member of the Marked Tree Church of God since 1946. He has also taken the time to get involved in civic activities, serving as a delegate to the Democratic State Convention and helping Bill Clinton win Poinsett County in his 1982 race for Governor.

Johnny Rye and his wife, Maxine Branch Rye, have two sons, Johnny Rye, Jr., the Assessor of Poinsett County, and Randy Rye who works for the family business. They also have one granddaughter, Robin Rye who is studying to be a nursing major at the University of Central Arkansas.

I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me today in recognizing Johnny Rye, Sr. for his significant contributions to eastern Arkansas. He is a great friend, a great businessman, and a great American.

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to Lovis Clarisa Howell Downing of Hoxie, AR, a fine businesswoman, a friend, a devoted family member, and someone who spent her entire life trying to make others happy.

Lovis was born in Imboden on September 12, 1912. She grew up during World War I and the Great Depression, accepted a job as a school teacher, and eventually became the longtime owner of the Flower Basket in Walnut Ridge, AR, until she retired at the age of 79. Lovis also helped her father-in-law, Terrell Henry Downing, run the Downing's Ice Cream Parlor and Grocery from the mid 1930s until the 1950s.

In addition to being a hard worker, Lovis was an active member of the Hoxie Methodist Church and the Hoxie Hooking Club. She was known for her service to the community, and was a frequent volunteer in church and civic activities.

Lovis and her husband Brooks Downing have one son, Terrell Henry Downing, II, of Hoxie, and two daughters, Dr. Suzanne Gibbard and Dr. Frances Hunter of Jonesboro. They also have nine grandchildren, Kyle Downing of Fayetteville, Amy West of Jonesboro, Jason Willett of Jonesboro, Felicia Willett of Memphis, Mike Deloache and Scott Hunter, Jr., of Jonesboro, Lisa Melton of Houston, TX, Kelley Pillizzi of Libertyville, IL, and David Gibbard of Memphis, and six great grandchildren.

I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Lovis Clarisa Howell for 93 years of achievement and contributions to her community. She opened her home to so many during her life, and will be remembered as a wonderful mother, grandmother, great grandmother, friend, and a fine American.

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my great friends, Dr. Glen Fenter, President of Mid-South Community College, and the vision behind the economic renaissance converging in Arkansas' Delta. Glen is a true leader, who has accomplished more over the past decade than most will accomplish in a lifetime.

As a graduate of Hendrix College with an Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas, Glen is committed to bringing educational opportunities to some of Arkansas' poorest counties. A former principal of West Memphis High School, Glen accepted the challenge in 1992 to establish a new community college in Crittenden County. After securing local funding, and working with architects and board members to develop a master plan for $40 million of renovations, construction, and equipment, Glen led MidSouth Community College toward accreditation in 1998.

Glen's vision has not only enhanced the quality of education in Arkansas' Delta, but made a considerable impact on the surrounding business community. Since Glen accepted the position of President at Mid-South Community College, automobile companies have begun to notice the great possibilities in the region. They watched Glen secure millions of dollars for workforce training programs at the college, and they are excited at the possibility of working with highly skilled graduates prepared for careers in the automobile industry.

Thanks to the tireless commitment of Glen and his staff at Mid-South Community College, the Arkansas Delta has transformed into a place full of economic opportunity. I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in thanking Glen for his selfless work on behalf of all the residents in our community. We are fortunate to have such a strong leader, a true friend, and a great American working to improve the quality of life in Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to Cone Magie of Cabot, Arkansas, a great journalist and businessman who devoted his entire life to public service. As an owner of five newspapers, Magi provided reliable and trustworthy news to Central Arkansas for more than 50 years.

Magi's love of the newspaper business began as a young boy when he delivered papers for the Arkansas Gazette. He went on to serve as editor of the England High School newspaper, published a newsletter during his service in World War II, and upon leaving the service, studied journalism at the University of Arkansas. Magi took his first reporting job at the Madison County Record and eventually traveled to Washington, DC where he published a newsletter for the Arkansas and Iowa Farm Bureaus.

After mastering reporting, Magi bought the Cabot Star-Herald in 1955 and eventually added four other newspapers to his company, Magie Enterprises, Inc. His other newspapers include the Carlisle Independent, the Lonoke Democrat, the Sherwood Voice, and the Jacksonville Patriot. Magi served as president of the Arkansas Press Association in 1967 and frequently testified before the Arkansas Legislature on issues impacting the media. Magi and his wife, Betty, were inducted into the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville's Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism Hall of Honor in 2005 for their significant contributions to Arkansas' newspaper industry.

I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Cone Magie for a lifetime of achievement in journalism. His work informed thousands of citizens on local and international issues and inspired an active citizenry in central Arkansas. He will be remembered by many as a devoted businessman, a friend, and a great American.

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my good friends, Mr. Doug Sims, a great leader in agriculture and the cooperative movement in America. Doug will retire from his post as Chief Executive Officer of CoBank this June after serving farmers, ranchers, farm cooperatives and rural communities for nearly 37 years. This will mark the end of a very successful career, and a very successful period in CoBank's history.

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Doug Sims for many years. As a farmer and a farm cooperative member, I know CoBank has always been there for the cooperatives that serve farmers and the rural communities in which they live. I have worked with Doug on a variety of important issues during my time in Federal office, both in the Executive branch, and now in Congress. Like others who have had the pleasure to work with Doug, I always found these efforts to be collaborative, professional efforts at building consensus to benefit cooperatives, rural communities, and the farm families that depend on them for their livelihoods and quality of life.

Doug has steered CoBank through a long list of challenges since joining CoBank in 1988 as president and chief operating officer. Doug's success came from a long history of experience in the Farm Credit System, beginning as a credit analyst for the St. Louis Bank for Cooperatives in 1969. From this humble post, Doug rose to be president and chief operating officer of the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis.

While serving at the Farm Credit Bank of St. Louis, Doug acted as a key advocate for farmers, cooperatives, and the Farm Credit System, working with Congress and the Administration on critical legislation to protect the system from the agricultural economic and credit crises of the late 1980s. That far-reaching legislation paved the way for the modernization of the Farm Credit System, which has allowed the System to prosper and grow into the nation's largest single lender to agriculture and rural America, with over $135 billion in assets.

Doug guided CoBank to new heights during his tenure with the company. Under his watch, CoBank nearly tripled its assets to $34 billion and enhanced its services to agricultural cooperatives, rural electric cooperatives, rural telecommunications companies, and agricultural exporters. When the financial services' competitive landscape became increasingly challenging, Doug successfully oversaw mergers, opened overseas offices, and nurtured CoBank into a highly respected financial services company domestically and internationally.

Doug's service extends beyond CoBank's interests. He has served as Chairman of many other important organizations, including the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, the Federal Farm Credit Banks Funding Corporation, the Graduate Institute of Cooperative Leadership at the University of Missouri, and Lutheran Family Services of Colorado.

Mr. Speaker, these are all impressive achievements for an individual who began his education studying agriculture at the University of Illinois. But beyond all of these important accomplishments, what I admire most about Doug is his humble and inclusive leadership style. He is truly a leader who encourages teamwork, seeks to build consensus, bestows credit on those around him, and is not afraid to take responsibility when a leader is needed. I believe it is Doug's integrity that has made him a sought after participant and speaker for organizations ranging from the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland to the FarmHouse Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri.

While I am confident CoBank and the Farm Credit System will miss Doug's daily contributions, his leadership has established a strong foundation that will help these institutions continue to successfully support agriculture and rural America.

It has been my pleasure and privilege to know and work with Doug Sims for many years. I know that many of my colleagues will join me in wishing Doug and his wife Nancy many years of happiness, new challenges, and contributions in the years ahead.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, we have a crisis in this country and it needs to be dealt with on this bill. This amendment would provide for a real Medicare prescription drug benefit and save the Nation's taxpayers a minimum of $40 billion a year in the process. It would provide for continuous open enrollment for all of 2006 and lay any late enrollment penalties until 2007.

Currently, if a beneficiary misses the May 15, 2006 deadline, they will not have the ability to enroll again until November 15 of 2006. This means they will automatically be subjected to a 7 percent minimum penalty for the rest of their lives. This amendment would allow beneficiaries the option of changing plans once in 2006 if they have made a poor choice, and there is no possible way that they could have known it was a poor choice when they made it.

It would create a drug plan administered and run by Medicare. It would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for drug prices on behalf of the American people of our seniors that are enrolled in the plan, and they are the greatest generation. They built the greatest Nation in the history of the world and they deserve better than what they are getting.

This would not do away with any of the existing plans. It would just provide a much better option. It would provide lower prices and it would provide these prices that at no cost to the government.

Our rural pharmacies are going broke because of this crazy Medicare part D bill that we have forced on our seniors and on our pharmacists. It is unfair. It is absolutely overpowering to know that our own government did this to good people. This amendment will fix that. And our seniors are still not getting the medicine that they need and deserve to stay alive, stay healthy and have a decent lifestyle.

Once again by independent sources it has been verified that this amendment, if only half the eligible people signed up, it would save the taxpayers $40 billion. If all of them were part of this plan, it would save $100 billion a year, and they would still get their medicine cheaper than what they are paying for it right now. It only makes sense that we do this for the greatest generation and for those wonderful seniors that thought they were going to get treated a whole lot better by their own government.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, do I have any time left?

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois said it just like it is. Our senior citizens deserve better. We can provide better drug coverage, better health care for our seniors in this country and save money at the same time.

It defies logic that we would not take this opportunity to see that the wonderful generation that built this great Nation, they went through the Great Depression, they fought World War II, and then in their senior years to be treated like this only because we had a Congress willing to serve the pharmaceutical industry and allow them to rob our seniors and the rest of the American people, for that matter, and the insurance industry.

This is an opportunity to right a great wrong. It is an opportunity to correct and fix the sorriest, most disgusting piece of legislation ever passed by the United States Congress; and I would ask that this at least be allowed to come to a vote.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Point of Order

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to share an incredible story written by Timothy Scott Adams in memory of his father Harold Keith Adams. This story of love and service captures the powerful meaning behind our country's greatest symbol--the American flag.

My Father's Flag

My life changed dramatically on the morning of February 11,

2005, when my roommate woke me around 5:30 a.m. He said the

ship had called, and I should go into work. They had some

important news to tell me, so I unwillingly rolled out of bed

and stumbled to the sink. I still felt the side effects from

the night before. I had gone out with some friends of mine

the night before, and it had been a late one. As I began to

get ready I knew something had to be wrong. Why else would

the ship call me in so early? The only thought I had racing

through my mind was that something bad had happened at home:

somebody was hurt.

I remember walking up to the ship with my stomach in knots

fighting the anxiety overdose my body was going through. I

had no idea what to expect. The Quarterdeck Watch told me to

go see the Command Master Chief; he had something he needed

to talk to me about. I remember thinking to myself this can't

be a good sign having to come into work at 5:30 in the

morning to see the CMC. I was unconsciously traveling on a

long road to disappointment. He sat me down and told me that

the ship received a message that my father had passed away,

and he didn't have any details. I crumbled: ``No, this can't

be true. Things were supposed to be better! He had come so

far.'' The world around me had suddenly frozen. I felt like I

had fallen off the face of the Earth. I was all alone. My

heart was locked in a dark chamber of pain and grief, yet I

had no key: no answer.

The next thing I knew I was on an 8-hour plane ride home,

with my emotions running fiercely out of control. My thoughts

were full of anger and disgust. I kept asking myself ``Why?

Why now? Hasn't there been enough pain?'' I felt alone not

knowing what to expect when I saw my family. All I wanted to

do was try and sleep to hide my pathetic appearance from the

relentless curiosity of the public.

The plane touched down in Dallas with a three-hour layover.

The first thought that crossed my mind was to drown my

emotions and fears with my good buddy, Jim Beam. I took a

deep breath and came up for air. I knew that's not what I

needed right then. I forced some food down at one of those

typically priced airport cafes and waited to board the plane.

My chariot of disappointment was approaching ready to guide

me to the land of reality. I had no other options but to face

the facts.

The airplane took off from Dallas with one more stop: home.

The flight was only about an hour and a half long. It felt

like an eternity with the lack of sleep and emotional stress

I had put my body through in the last 24 hours. When I saw

the Mississippi River laid out like a big slithering python

surrounded by mosquito infested cotton fields, I knew I

was home. The first thought I had was of a country music

song, ``Walking in Memphis.'' How ironic. I was touching

down in the land of the delta blues in the middle of the

pouring rain. It's like they say, ``When it rains it

pours.''

I came down the 2 mile long escalator and saw my wife and

children waiting for me along with my childhood best friend.

It felt as if the emotional monkey had been knocked off my

back. I wasn't going to have to play this hell of a hand I'd

been dealt alone: ``Maybe they could help me find that key?''

The ride home was a good one. It relieved some of the

tension momentarily. We talked about how we've all been,

what's been going on in our lives, and not the fact that my

father had just lost his life. It may sound as if we were a

little selfish, but it was a healthy way for us to escape the

nasty reality of what's to come. My father had died and I

didn't want to believe it.

The morning of the funeral came and I felt as if I had been

the one who had died. The weather painted a perfect picture

to set the stage for the gloomy nightmare I was about to

face. The rain poured down profusely without any hope of

letting up and the wind blew an evil chill upon my face. I

felt the power of God upon my face, and I knew faith was all

I needed to help carry me through this. I hoped, I thought,

and I asked: ``Is this my key: faith?''

I had decided to wear my dress blues to the funeral. My dad

was in the Navy for 8 years, so I knew that he would

appreciate it. I felt it was my duty to honor him. He had

always told me how proud he was of me for joining the

service. He was the type of guy who thought every young man

should do a little time for this country. I polished my shoes

and pressed my uniform better than I ever had before for any

inspection. Everybody told me he would have been proud. I

thought to myself, ``He is proud.''

The whole family met at my grandparents' house so we could

ride to the funeral home together. I nervously got into the

limo with my brother and sisters still dreading the reality

of the situation we were facing. The ride to the service

provoked an inebriated sense of loneliness except for the

vague sniffles and whimpers I heard from my younger sisters.

The reality of the horrifying situation we were facing was

inevitable.

When the limo pulled into the parking lot of the funeral

home, my entire body was paralyzed with fear. The cars of the

people paying their respects were lined up for days. The

thought of having to walk into that place of death with all

the mourners in there was terrifying. I just sucked it up and

told myself to be strong for my younger siblings. I tried to

tell myself to be faithful: ``Faith! That could be your key,

Scott. Remember it can carry you through anything.''

My wife and I walked through the enormous wooden double

doors and into one of the most beautiful, yet horrifying

scenes I had ever experienced. Every step I took felt as if

time had stopped, and my heart had skipped a beat. I hoped

this memory wouldn't haunt me forever.

That's when I first saw it, the Stars and Stripes. A piece

of colored fabric that serves as a symbol of victory,

submission, pride, loyalty, and even hope. The flag that I

work to defend every day: the American flag, our flag, and my

father's flag. It was draped over his coffin like a

protective shield carrying him home, away from all his mortal

pain. My throat had begun to itch and lumped up; it ached

with pain. My knees began to feel weak and sweat dripped

from my hands. I felt my wife's hand squeeze mine and with

a comforting whisper she said, ``It's going to be

alright.''

I sat down and felt a great deal of relief after the

thousand-mile walk I had just made in 30 seconds of hell. The

preacher told stories of how great of a man my father was and

how he had enjoyed the fishing trips they had made together

in the past. It brought back memories of the same trips that

I had enjoyed with both of them, things I had forgotten, and

memories from my childhood that I had put away and buried.

Things that are sometimes taken for granted, and you don't

miss until they are gone. I felt guilty for forgetting the

times my father took out of his life to teach me what I

needed to know to become a man. Although the service was

short it did everything it was supposed to do. Families

shouldn't have to sit through a long public grieving.

On the way to the cemetery, I thought about how proud my

father would have been of the American flag he had been

honored with. I wanted to do something special for my

grandmother. At the graveside before the coffin was lowered

my father's best friend, an old navy buddy, and I folded the

flag ceremonially and presented it to my grandmother, in

turn, the most honorable experience of my life.

Later that afternoon I found out the flag had a history. It

was flown over the Nation's Capitol on October 15, 2004, at

the request of the Honorable Marion Berry. Then the flag was

presented to the Adams' Estate in honor of my grandfather. My

grandfather thought it would be nice to have it draped over

the coffin at the funeral, my dad being a veteran and all.

Later, my grandmother told me to keep the flag. At that very

moment I knew that the flag's journey wasn't over.

Four months later and thousands of miles away from Arkansas

on the 3rd of June, 2005 USS RUSSELL DDG 59 steamed out of

Pearl Harbor Naval Base with a new ensign flying high. With

the help of a couple of my loyal shipmates we had made the

tribute to the old sailor possible. We flew the ensign over

3,500 nautical miles across the mighty Pacific Ocean en route

to San Diego where it was brought down on the 14th of June,

the

day the flag was officially adopted by the United States of

America back in 1777. It was no coincidence the flag had been

saved to be flown from my homeport, Pearl Harbor, to the

former sailor's homeport, San Diego. The flag was torn,

tattered, and covered in salt just the way my dad would have

wanted it.

The material or size of a flag has nothing to do with the

importance of it. The importance lies in what the flag

symbolizes. It has been said that patriots express their love

of a country by hoisting their flag in honor. On June 3rd, I

hoisted our flag in honor of my father, fair winds and

following seas old man.

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my great friends, Mr. Jerry Bookout of Jonesboro, who is one of Arkansas' greatest public servants. With more than 40 years of work in the Arkansas General Assembly, Bookout has pioneered countless reforms in education, retirement, and especially health care.

As a military veteran, elected official, and community volunteer, Bookout has devoted his entire life to public service. He worked to elevate Arkansas State College to university status, strengthened the State's retirement system, and established the first doctoral and physical therapy programs at Arkansas State University.

Although Bookout has championed many issues during his lifetime, he has worked particularly hard to improve the quality of health care in Arkansas. From chair of the American Cancer Society, to a leader in Arkansas' General Assembly, Bookout has shaped health policy for many years. His achievements earned him several distinguished positions as chair of the Senate Public Health/Senate Health Services Committee, the Senate Health Insurance and Prescription Drugs Committee, and vice- chair of the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee.

Bookout and his wife, the former Loretta Langford, have one son, Paul, who serves in the Arkansas House of Representatives and a daughter, Jill Rogers. He and his wife also have three grandchildren, Morgan and P.J. Bookout and Rachel Rogers.

On February 25, 2006, our community will gather at the American Cancer Society's 1st Annual Daffodil Ball to honor Jerry Bookout for his remarkable contributions to health care in Arkansas. I ask my colleagues in Congress to join me in congratulating him on this occasion and thanking him for over half a century of dedicated service, as a great friend, and a great American.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I rise here today to commemorate a remarkable man, Mr. Freddie Bryant, on ninety years of endurance, patience, and strength of character. His selfless acts have touched so many, especially his twelve children, who thrived under his guidance and cherish the wonderful memories of growing up in Freddie's home.

Freddie has been a hard worker his entire life. He took on family responsibilities at the age of seven when his father moved to Hughes, Arkansas, and continues to plant a garden and raise livestock to this day. Although he only has a seventh grade education, he has an equivalent of a Ph.D. degree in agriculture, teaching, leadership, business, counseling, and theology.

According to Freddie's family--he does it all. He continues to sow and reap his land where he built the house, barn, and pasture from trees he cut down himself. Freddie always has a way to make a situation work. He would walk for miles with his old horse Pearl and a cotton sack on his back to feed his twelve children. When his eldest child wanted to attend college, he took a job at the granary in Helena, Arkansas, until he could send every one of his kids to college. To this day, whenever he meets a stranger, he always says ``let me tell you about my children.''

His children remember his ambition and sacrifice with such admiration. They remember the smells of childhood that bring them back so fondly to the shack in Lexa, Arkansas. Many events happened in this home that helped them grow into notable members of society. Throughout it all, it was in the arms of a loving father that guided them in the right direction.

Freddie Bryant has been married to the former Josephine Dunlap of Lexa, Arkansas, for 67 years. Josephine is a valiant woman, whose determination to raise her family goes unmatched.

On March 11, 2006 the community will meet to honor and celebrate the 90th birthday of

this simple yet great man who only refers to himself as ``Fanny's Boy.'' I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in wishing Freddie many more years of happiness, and thanking him for his service as a great father and great American.

Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my father's great friends, Mr. George Dunklin, Sr., who is a true leader in Arkansas' agriculture community. With more than 60 years of work in the cottonseed oil and fertilizer industries, George Dunklin, Sr. is one of the state's most gifted businessmen.

As the former President of the most successful cottonseed oil mill in the country, George Dunklin, Sr. knows how to run a successful business. From the day his father bought the Planters Cotton Oil mill in 1935, to his days as President of the cooperative, George Dunklin Sr. has worked hard to transform the cottonseed industry. He spent 66 years building a profitable enterprise, and left a lasting mark on MidSouth agriculture.

Years of hard work earned George Dunklin Sr. distinguished positions as the President of the National Cottonseed Association in 1975, a member of the Cotton Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Agriculture, President of the Mississippi Valley Oilseed Processors Association, and recipient of the 1990 Harvey W. McGeorge Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture. But George Dunklin, Sr.'s talents did not stop there. He was even elected to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 for his accomplishments in tennis.

George Dunklin has been married to the former Mary Elisabeth Black of DeWitt, Arkansas for 57 years and is the father of two children, Deborah Tipton of Memphis and George Dunklin, Jr. of DeWitt. He and his wife have five grandchildren, Megan Dunklin, Robert Tipton, Mary Tipton, Hillary Dunklin and Lauren Dunklin.

On February 21, 2006, our community will meet in Pine Bluff, Arkansas to honor George Dunklin, Sr. for his remarkable contributions to Arkansas agriculture. I ask my colleagues in Congress to join me in congratulating him on this occasion and thanking him for over half a century of dedicated service, as a great friend, and a great American.

Mr. Speaker, on January 31, just one day before the start of Black History Month, we lost one of our Nation's most important civil rights pioneers--Coretta Scott King. Black History Month is an appropriate opportunity to mourn her death, celebrate her extraordinary life, and reflect on the extraordinary partnership of Mrs. King and her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Although Dr. King was the heart and face of the civil rights movement, Mrs. King was its backbone. She marched alongside her husband in Selma to demand voting rights for African Americans. She marched with him again in Washington to demand a Federal law protecting the civil rights of all Americans. And she marched with her husband in Memphis one day before he was killed, to provide relief for the sanitation workers facing entrenched discrimination.

After Dr. King's murder in 1968, Coretta Scott King fought with enormous grace and determination to keep her husband's legacy alive. She founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change to further his dream of racial equality, and fought tirelessly to establish a national holiday to honor her late husband. Although it took her 15

years to accomplish this goal, Congress finally enacted a law in 1983 designating the third Monday of January as Dr. Martin Luther King Day.

Since her husband's death 38 years ago, Mrs. King continued her work as a civil rights activist, an advocate for women's rights, and a leader in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. She fought for the ideals that made this country great, and became the epitome of American strength and perseverance during a difficult struggle for civil rights.

In the spirit of Coretta Scott King, let us rededicate ourselves to give all Americans the opportunity and justice they need to meet the challenges of today. Through perseverance and a deep belief in God and humanity, we can go a long way to achieving a more perfect America.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is fitting and proper that we are here today to proceed with naming a post office in Jonesboro, Arkansas, for Senator Hattie Caraway. She obviously was the first to do a lot of things.

She was the first woman ever elected to the United States Senate in her own right. She was the first woman to chair a Senate committee, the first woman to take up the gavel on the Senate floor.

She was said to be called ``Silent Hattie'' by her colleagues in the Senate; and when asked why she avoided making speeches, and those of us that serve in this distinguished body I am sure can identify with this, she said, ``The men have left nothing unsaid.''

She might have gotten very tired sometimes of hearing it said over and over again, but she served with great distinction, not only the State of Arkansas but this wonderful Nation that we all represent, and broke the way for many people to do some good things.

She also was said to drink a beer occasionally, but she would never fill the glass higher than what her hand reached. I guess to be sure that she did not have too much. I think that is an interesting fact that has been included in the information about Senator Caraway.

She was a resident of Jonesboro, Arkansas, for nearly 50 years. She reared her family there, attended church, and actively participated in the Jonesboro community and civic organizations. Her husband, of course, was a United States Senator and was responsible for getting the post office set up on the Arkansas State University campus. The Caraways were great friends with V.C. Kays, the founding president of Arkansas State University. One year at Christmas, when Thad was dressed as Santa, Hattie supposedly jokingly locked him out of the party.

She made history again recently by becoming the first Arkansasan to ever appear on a stamp. On February 21,

2001, in Little Rock, the 76 cent Hattie Caraway definitive stamp was unveiled, which was the third in the Distinguished Americans series.

The new Hattie Caraway station will be an expansion of delivery services for the postal service in Jonesboro, Arkansas. It will be presided over by the postmaster, Hillrey Adams, who will do a wonderful job of expanding these services; and, again, it is fitting and proper that we name this station after Senator Hattie Caraway and congratulate her and those that have come after her for the wonderful job that she did.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York for her leadership.

I am absolutely amazed at you boys over there. I wonder what you are going to be when you grow up. For you to come to this floor and attack the Blue Dogs on fiscal responsibility demonstrates an unparalleled display of ignorance, stupidity, or just down-hard foolishness. I do not know which.

You stand there and say we are increasing spending, but we are cutting spending. I do not know whether you cannot add or subtract. I do not know

what your problem is. But I can tell you this, and you can be cute, you can be smart, and you may even pull this off, son, but I tell you one thing, you are young enough, you are going to have to live with it. You are putting a tax on the next generation that they cannot pay and they cannot repeal it, and you are going to have to live with it.

Do not ask for my time because I will not yield.

I can tell you this: you are going to suffer the consequences just like everybody else in the next generation and those to come thereafter. And I cannot believe that you have the audacity to come to this floor with this assault on women and children and try to portray it, as this other Howdy Doody-looking nimrod said, that he wanted to talk about family values and values. That is unprecedented in this House.

I have the time, Mr. Speaker.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. Speaker, I do believe that the Blue Dogs were referred to.

Mr. Speaker, as I do proceed, let me continue to tell you, if you cannot take it, go home. Do not do this to our children and grandchildren. You cannot take it, you are not man enough to pass these rules and pass these laws and build this dam on our children and grandchildren until they cannot carry it any longer.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Speaker, I love coming down here and listening to these whiz bangs on the other side talk about their fiscal responsibility and all of this foolishness that they have put forth to the American people. It makes me want a dip of snuff. It is almost like they cannot add and subtract. I know they cannot multiply and divide. But the great mystery to me will always remain why in 5 years' time when they have increased the national debt by $3 trillion and demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have absolutely no interest in being responsible, they would come here, present a budget that increases the debt by tens of billions of dollars more and try to tell the American people this is what you need; this is what we are going to do for you. You are going to have to answer to your children and grandchildren. And I would love to be there when they walk up to you and say, Grandmother, Grandfather, why did you do this to us?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the FY06 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.

Chairman Hobson, Ranking Member Visclosky, and their staffs have worked tirelessly to produce a good bill and they deserve much praise for their efforts.

This bill goes a long way in strengthening our Nation's water infrastructure. If this past hurricane season has taught us anything, it is that we must ensure an adequate level of protection for our coastal cities and those areas prone to flooding.

The modest investments included in this bill can save billions in disaster recovery needs.

Our Nation's water infrastructure is also critical to building the economy. Our waterways provide a low cost way to move agriculture commodities and manufactured goods to the world market. This bill will help maintain and strengthen these arteries, ensuring access for American producers.

This legislation also includes critical funding for Nuclear power and our ability to store nuclear waste, namely the Yucca Mountain repository. The funding level is lower than what the House agreed to earlier this year, but the lower funding is justified by the Energy Department's recent changes to the project. What is important is that the Yucca Mountain project and Federal spent fuel management moves forward.

The legislation's funding for the Corps of Engineers, nuclear energy R&D and the Yucca Mountain program helps ensure a vibrant future for American water ways, flood control and nuclear energy.

I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Chairman Hobson and Ranking Member Visclosky for their hard work and encourage all of them to support this bill.