Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, Roll Call reports that the Democrats are going to unveil an ``ambitious security plan'' tomorrow.

Well, bless their hearts. If they have not noticed, those of us on this side of the aisle have been focused on the issue and passing security legislation for more than 5 years now.

President Bush has made national security his priority mission. House Republicans have been talking about it for months. We have been working with our leadership on it. They consider national security priority number one, not a political tactic to trot out 7 months before an election.

We passed the PATRIOT Act to target terrorists. The Democrats voted against it. We passed the REAL ID Act to make it harder for potential terrorists to use valid State-issued identification documents. They opposed that.

We are pushing a border security bill to strengthen our border control, and Democrats in the Senate are threatening a filibuster. Mr. Speaker, Americans are going to see right through their last-ditch effort to look engaged on security.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his leadership on this issue and for his leadership in continuing to bring the Truth Squad to the floor every evening, so we can talk about the issues that affect our constituents and the American people.

Mr. Speaker, we have as a party and as a conference been talking about the security agenda for many months now, looking at energy security, moral security, retirement security, economic security for this great Nation. A big part of this security agenda is our national security and we continue to address this issue. We talk about the war on terror. We talk about protecting our Nation, and that is where the border security component comes in.

In December, we passed a border security bill to address so many of these issues that are before us. And, of course, as typically happens and many times happens here, those of us in the House roll up our sleeves and get to work and we pass a bill. It crosses the Rotunda to the other side, to the other body, and maybe it languishes or does not move quite as quickly. But the Members of the House have taken action on this issue.

It is indeed one that deserves our attention, and as we talk about border security, there is one component that I would like to highlight this evening, just one component as we talk about border security and the importance of keeping this border secure.

When we talk about illegal immigration and illegal immigrants, I think it is imperative that we turn the focus to illegal entry. That is the action that an individual outside this country is choosing to commit--the act of illegally entering our country, and we need to keep our focus on that: Why would they choose to enter illegally? Why would they choose to circumvent our laws? Why would an individual choose to circumvent the rules? Why would they choose illegal entry?

Mr. Speaker, I think that you and I would probably agree that we are going to work diligently to protect our homes from illegal entry, and I am going to work just as hard to protect this country from illegal entry as I am going to work to protect my home from illegal entry.

I think it is important that we realize that individuals who decide they are going to illegally enter somewhere maybe come with a different agenda, but we have to recognize that they do not come as an invited guest.

We have rules in place that individuals are supposed to follow, and those individuals that follow those rules are then invited and brought into the process of being able to seek citizenship, of working to attain that citizenship, to being able to be a part of the bounty and the richness that this country offers.

We are a Nation of immigrants, but we are a Nation of laws, and it is important that we continue to recognize that, as we look at the debate, that we realize that entering this country illegally, that action is something that circumvents our laws.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia for his leadership on the issue. I thank you for including me and allowing me to come to the floor and be a part of the Official Truth Squad and continue to put the focus on the issues that are important to my district in Tennessee and important to so many of our constituents.

Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority has carefully guarded the economic and national security of this great Nation. Our tax policies have helped create over 4.7 million new jobs in 30 months, and that is incredible progress.

On the national security front, we are taking apart the al Qaeda network piece by piece. The PATRIOT Act, our call monitoring program, our aggressive action in the Middle East, each of these actions are making it more and more difficult for terrorists to operate on U.S. soil.

Mr. Speaker, President Bush deserves a great deal of the credit for this tough stance on terrorism. The Senate Democrats are talking about censuring the President, though. They are opposed to his aggressive approach to fighting terrorism. But I hope that the Democrats in this body realize America wants us to do everything possible to defend our homes, our communities and this Nation, and that is what the President is doing.

Mr. Speaker, 10 days ago Democratic Senators were calling President Bush weak on national security. Now they are seeking to censure him for being too aggressive in going after terrorists. Well, they can't have it both ways.

Congressional Democrats have no serious plan for national security. Maybe that is why they are doing this. They have a plan to use the security issue in their campaigns; they have a plan to try and kill strong anti-terrorism measures, like the PATRIOT Act; but they have no plan for securing our homeland.

Instead of supporting the PATRIOT Act, instead of supporting the intelligence community's work to monitor phone calls that could yield information that will save American lives, Senate Democrats are going to push a motion to censure President Bush.

If they are pushing this censure in order to distract from the fact they do not have a security plan, it is not working.

Mr. Speaker, as we come to the floor this morning, there is a common theme. It is all about America's security, from cell phones to ports to reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. Our goal is to keep America secure and put the focus on America's security agenda, our economic security.

And tomorrow we will have new numbers out, and we know they are going to be strong for our unemployment rates, for our productivity growth, for new jobs creation. We are looking forward to those announcements.

This body continues to focus on the moral security of this great Nation: our retirement security; our energy security; and, yes, our national security. And I congratulate the Members of this body and thank our leadership for reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act this week. Our focus: keep America secure so that future generations have the opportunity to live those big dreams that today they dream.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing the achievements of 2-time Olympic medalist and 11-time NCAA All-American Rochelle Stevens.

A native Memphian, Rochelle has racked up accomplishments both on and off the track. She is a credit to our community, and her determination and commitment to helping others are an inspiration.

For the past 15 years, The Rochelle Stevens Foundation has hosted an invitational track meet in Memphis that has funded scholarships and new shoes for athletes across the southeast.

Rochelle has made a difference. She has inspired our community by her example and her spirit, and we know our state is a better place for her work.

On February 24, 2006, Rochelle was elected to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in Nashville where she represents Memphis well.

We wish Rochelle all the best and thank her for giving back so much to our community.

Mr. Speaker, it's not every day that I get the opportunity to recognize someone who has dedicated so many years of service to our country.

It's with thanks and appreciation that I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Gordon L. Zeine for his service as a member of the U.S. Navy, and for his work supporting our country's defense efforts in the years that followed.

Gordon's 8 years in the Navy and his decades working on technology that has enhanced our security are wonderful achievements--achievements that will have a lasting impact on our country. It's an impressive thing to be able to say your work has made America safer.

We're grateful for Gordon and his contributions to America, and we know he has certainly earned his retirement. We'll miss his tremendous knowledge and dedication nonetheless, but we will build on his work.

We know his daughter, Tina, who joined the Navy and was the fourth generation to complete boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois, is already building on her family's record of service. It's because of families like Gordon's that America is strong.

Tennessee and America are proud of Gordon and we're thankful for his service. God Bless.

Madam Speaker, we are going to keep coming down here telling the story of America's economic progress, and it is a great story. This majority is working for America, and one of those ways is we have tremendously low unemployment. This economy has created millions of new jobs, and we are expecting growth this first quarter of somewhere higher than 4 percent. Those numbers are coming out Friday. We are looking forward to it. It is remarkable. It is almost as remarkable how little attention the mainstream media has given to this data, to this great economic news.

Madam Speaker, I look forward to supporting legislation to make permanent the Bush tax relief package that has helped drive this growth. And I hope our colleagues across the aisle will start to get the message: higher taxes do not lead to more jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding and for his leadership and the energy that he is putting into being certain that we communicate the message from our Republican agenda. Thank you for this, and thank you and the freshman class for tackling this project and being certain that we are talking about the things that are happening in our economy and the good news that is there to share.

A couple of points that I would like to make tonight as we are talking about the economy and the growth in the economy is Mr. Westmoreland was just talking about leaving more money with American families, with all of our constituents, with their families. That is what one of our goals is, to be certain that we take less from those paychecks, so that the family, when they sit down to work out their budget, they have more that they are working with.

I think that it is an absolute travesty that the single largest item in a family's budget is taxes. How did we get to this, that the largest item a family is left with is taxes? More than food, housing, clothing, transportation and education, more than lessons for children. How did we get to the point that it is taxes?

How wonderful that we could make decisions in 2003, we had the opportunity to vote to roll back some of those taxes so that we take less. It is time that we end the Federal Government having first right of refusal on your paycheck and let you and your family have that paycheck and make those decisions of what to do with those hard-earned dollars.

When we talk about women's issues, all issues are women's issues. Economic issues are definitely women's issues.

One of the things that I hear regularly, wherever I am in this great and wonderful land, is that wherever you have the fastest-growing sector of that town, of that county, of that area's economy, most likely it is going to be women-owned small businesses, and I think that is so exciting that that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.

One of the first issues that women will raise with me are taxes, the overburdensome nature of taxes, the cost of compliance for small businesses, how they would love to be growing that business, but with the taxes, with compliance costs, then they have less to spend in growing that business.

So as we look at extending our tax reductions, as we look at being certain we do not raise taxes, that they do not go up, that we hold what we have in those tax reductions, it is so important that we realize that that benefits so many American women who are starting those businesses and are realizing the American dream and those gifts and opportunities and prosperities for their themselves and for their families.

If the gentleman will yield, yes, indeed, that is the case. You know what we are trying to do is hold the line. We are trying to hold the line, and to keep them from pushing tax increases over that line, and that is our goal, to hold these reductions we have been able to put in place, to be certain that we do not see taxes raised on our families, on our small businesses.

It is so important for these small businesses. I had a young lady in my office this week, and it is such a great story. She said, Mrs. Blackburn, 4 years ago I was working at McDonald's; I thought, well, I will never get that higher education. She attended a career college, and she gave me her business card where she is working.

I hear story after story after story of this, of women who have moved back in to see their educational dreams come true, to get that degree, to get that diploma, to complete that trade school and move into either working for themselves or working with someone else, but having that job, earning that paycheck, and they all want to be certain. We have a focus on what we are going to do about keeping their taxes low, what we are going to do about creating, creating the right environment so that jobs growth can take place.

I know that you join me in looking forward to the numbers that are going to come out on Friday when we are going to see about jobs growth for this first quarter of the year, and everybody is excited about looking at this because we know that this economy is on a good, solid track. We are seeing plenty of help in it, and much of it has to do with reducing regulation, reducing taxation and putting the focus on what we do to be certain that we have a healthy economy.

One of the things we talk about so often in my district, because I have a district where we have a lot of small businesses, small businesses are the number one employer. Upwards of 90 percent of all the jobs are attributed to small business growth, and my constituents, they keep me honest, and I love it because they remind me regularly that government does not create jobs, that they are the ones that are creating jobs. It is our job to be certain that the environment is right for those jobs to be created, and I am always running around with these little plastic pens with somebody's logo on it. I pick these up from employers in my district, and it reminds me these are the guys that are putting the pen to the paper, and they are the ones that are making jobs growth happen in our district.

And I will yield to the gentleman for this poster which tells the story.

So many of these jobs, sometimes I have people say, tell me where these are being created, tell me where these jobs are being created.

What we have seen happen is that we are into the knowledge economy. We are into a technology-based economy, and we are seeing this jobs growth in different areas, and it is so wonderful because so many of the individuals that live in our districts are jumping in there. They are getting jobs retraining, they are getting computer skills retraining, and they are working in a million different careers that they never, ever thought would be available to them.

And as we are watching the technology growth in our districts, all across this country, it is small business manufacturing industries that are growing. Their numbers are better than they have been in 10 years. I think that is such a sign of encouragement. Or whether they are working in service industry-related jobs, what we are seeing is new jobs, in new industries, which tell us that an economic renaissance is on that horizon. It is imperative that we make certain we do not see tax increases and that we do not see regulation increases and we keep an eye on having that right environment take place.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, in the early 1990s the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards began a voluntary certification process for teachers who excel in the classroom and demonstrate an exceptional knowledge of their subject field. Nationwide, only 1.5 percent of teachers have been awarded this certificate. It's clearly quite an achievement to attain this level of mastery.

Today I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the three Seventh Congressional District teachers who have earned this distinction.

It is my privilege to congratulate and thank Lorrie Graves of Moore Elementary in Franklin, Rebecca McDuff of Grassland Elementary in Brentwood, and Jennifer Prather of Crosswind Elementary in Collierville for their hard work.

Each of these teachers has shown an incredible aptitude not only for teaching but for the specific area of study in which they specialize. They are improving the lives of their students, and we all thank them for their hard work.

Mr. Speaker, heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States. The numbers are staggering. Each year heart disease claims the lives of more than 475,000 women and yet less than 15 percent of women know that this disease is a major threat to their health. Clearly education is critical to fighting this disease.

The American Heart Association's ``Go Red for Women'' effort is a movement committed to wiping out heart disease by educating women on steps they can do to reduce their risk.

On May 4, 2006 hundreds of women will be gathering in Franklin, Tennessee to show their support for the ``Go Red for Women'' campaign. I want to join them in speaking out on this issue and thank our community for focusing on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor one of Tennessee's exceptional teachers. Lisa Roten of Adamsville received the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year Award for our state in 2005. Her award is accompanied by a $10,000 education grant for her school. I know that everyone at Adamsville Elementary School is thrilled for Lisa and proud of her achievement.

She has shown herself to be an enthusiastic and dedicated teacher while working with our sixth grade students. As a mom, I know the importance of a good teacher. Lisa clearly knows that nurturing the unique gifts in each of our kids is critical to education.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Lisa for her exceptional work.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today to honor Rhonda

Kennedy. Rhonda was named Tennessee Principal of the Year in 2005.

We all know how important principals are to our communities. Anyone with children can tell you it's the principal who sets the tone for a school and the huge impact that has on the quality of education our kids receive. Rhonda has shown that she is innovative, energetic, and dedicated to our kids and we can't thank her enough for that.

Among her achievements is the successful implementation of a program to assist special needs students. Rhonda also created a ``Learning Lab'' to improve literacy skills at her school.

Principal Kennedy's work has helped improve achievement at her school and brought parents, students, and our teachers together.

Mr. Speaker, it is always a privilege for me to rise and acknowledge outstanding Tennesseans. Today I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Nancy Sanders Peterson, the president and CEO of Peterson Tool Co. Inc., for her contribution to our community in Tennessee.

Nancy has been recognized many times for her business success and she was recently inducted into the YWCA's Academy for Women of Achievement. This distinction honors women for their community leadership and Nancy is a wonderful addition.

She is a dedicated volunteer who has contributed her time and talents as a mentor for young women. Whether teaching money-management skills to Girl Scouts or speaking on university campuses, Peterson is a wonderful role model. And Nancy has counseled fellow female entrepreneurs on how to expand their businesses.

Congratulations and many thanks to Nancy Peterson for her unlimited energy and enthusiasm and her service to so many young women.

Mr. Speaker, all too often our local, State and Federal governments turn to tax increases rather than responsible budgeting in order to balance the bottom line.

In 1990, Mike Walker became city manager for Brentwood, TN, just after a property tax increase had been implemented. This was the last property tax increase in Brentwood. Mike has refused to use tax increases to balance the budget, instead he's been a responsible steward of our tax dollars. It's no wonder he was named City Manager of the Year by the Tennessee City Management Association. He's done a great job.

With clear vision and detailed planning, Mike has increased the parkland in Brentwood

from 50 acres to 575 acres and he helped shepherd the construction of a new 43,500 square foot library.

Mike is a consummate professional and a talented leader. We all thank him for his work.