Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Madam Speaker, we have a wonderful gentleman who was a Tennessee resident, citizen and someone we are terribly proud of. His name is Alex Haley, and many around the world know of his writings. And one of the things that Mr. Haley would often say is ``Find the good and praise it''. And that is something that we have more or less adopted in Tennessee, when folks do things that should be praised. And today I want to recognize some of our outstanding citizens in our State.

One is Mr. Hubert Seaton of Henderson, Tennessee. And he was recognized during the annual Henderson, Tennessee Membership and Awards Banquet, and the Chester County Chamber of Commerce named him as their 2004 citizen of the year. What an outstanding honor for an outstanding man who was the first citizen of Chester County to be drafted during World War II.

He devoted himself to serving his country with honor and dignity and was awarded both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

In 1960 he was elected to the Chester County Quarterly Court and faithfully served his community for 42 years. While presiding as a county judge and chairman of the court he continued to demonstrate his devotion to the citizens of Chester County, a life well lived, an honor well deserved.

We also honor today Mr. Ed Rufo. He is the recipient of the Army Public Service Award, and it is the second highest distinction granted to a civilian by the Secretary of the Army.

As founder and president of Operation Eagle's Nest, Mr. Rufo has contributed enormously to providing both financial and moral aid to Fort Campbell soldiers and their families.

This started out as a fund raising endeavor to assist the families of soldiers deployed to Iraq. Operation Eagle's Nest rapidly obtained support from the Military Affairs Committees of Hopkinsville and Oak Grove, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee, which is in my 7th Congressional District. To date contributions total more than $250,000. It is clear that Eagle's Nest is having a substantial positive impact on the lives of our soldiers.

When our Nation called Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne to Operation Iraqi Freedom, they responded with enthusiasm and with dedication.

When Mr. Rufo saw an opportunity to thank the men, women and their families, he answered with Operation Eagle's Nest, and we thank him for that.

We have got a couple of educators that are doing great work. Since 1990 Dr. Ronald Griffeth has dedicated himself to the students and the faculty of Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee. He was the academy's president and headmaster. And while everyone in our community is sad to see him retire, we know that he is leaving a lasting legacy in the community. And in recognition of that legacy, the Tennessee Association of Independent Schools honored him with the distinguished Sawney Webb Award.

Not only has he helped to lead and expand the academy, he has been actively involved in the community with Boys and Girls Clubs and with working with young people in so many endeavors.

Mrs. Pam Stackhouse also works with young people. She has been recognized as the Wal-Mart Tennessee Teacher of the Year Award Winner. She received a $10,000 education grant to benefit her school, Selmer Elementary.

She has demonstrated tremendous enthusiasm for learning for her students, and for more than three decades she has devoted her energy and her talent to Selmer students. As a music teacher for the last 8 years she has given her students appreciation for all things good. The Selmer community is truly blessed to have her enriching the lives of their children.

And Madam Speaker, I rise to wind up talking about our Chester County girls basketball team. They have had a tremendous season, and Saturday night these young women won the Tennessee AA State Championship.

We know that great basketball brings small towns together across Tennessee, and in Henderson they have been coming together for years to watch the Eaglettes hit the hardwood. And while dedicated to their team, the fans have been waiting nearly 3 decades to take another shot at that title. The wait is over.

After 27 years the Eaglettes carried home the State championship trophy and had three players make the State All tournament team. One was the MVP, the other Tennessee's Miss Basketball. Congratulations to all of the team members.

Madam Speaker, we want to say congratulations to all these outstanding constituents who allow us to see their good and to praise it.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Fayette County, Tennessee, Mayor Rhea Taylor.

As the Fayette County Mayor since 2002 and a public servant for years, Rhea Taylor has been actively involved in planning for the rapid growth of Fayette County. And during their annual awards banquet, the Fayette

County Chamber of Commerce named Mayor Taylor the 2004 Citizen of the Year.

During Mayor Taylor's tenure, Fayette County has been designated as a Three-Star Pilot Program county by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. In addition to facilitating growth planning and recruiting industries to the county, Mayor Taylor is working to create a county-wide fire system and a justice complex.

The list of achievements goes on and on, but it is clear that Mayor Taylor has worked tirelessly on behalf of the County's residents.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Mayor Taylor on his record of achievement and thank him for his continued good service to the people of Fayette County, Tennessee.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Kentucky for yielding and allowing me to participate in this debate.

Madam Speaker, as we begin tonight, I tell my colleagues I just have to comment, listening to my colleagues from across the aisle, one would think if they were listening to this great debate that we are having here that they believe everything depends on the government; the panacea has to be the government; the solution to the problems, it has all got to be the government.

As we talk about Social Security, we want to welcome them and invite them to come participate in the debate, but I find it so interesting. They do not bring new ideas to this debate, and they keep saying let us let the government tend to it, but they do not want to talk about the importance of developing an ownership society. They do not want to talk about giving power to the people.

I always wonder when I hear someone say government is the solution, government has got the solution, leave it to government, let them work it out, let us grow a bigger government. I think about Ronald Reagan and how he always said it is all about the people. It is all about the people. That is where the solutions lie.

Whatever the debate is, whatever our colleagues across the aisle, whatever their view is on Social Security reform, I would hope that no one will oppose a discussion on this issue.

We are brought here to Washington, those of us that are elected, and we come to Congress to participate in big issues that are going to impact individuals' lives and the American people's lives. It is true that our country has a range of problems that we are facing right now, but I think it is fair to say and I think that my colleague would agree with me that strengthening and stabilizing Social Security is at the top of that list.

I would invite our colleagues from across the aisle to join us in this debate, bring some ideas and to participate in how we should look at Social Security for future generations. I think it is very unfortunate that so many across the aisle are following the lead of the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the minority leader, and nearly every Democrat in the House has chosen to stifle debate, rather than to engage in it, and I think that is not leadership. It is really obstructionism.

Madam Speaker, about a week ago, President Bush visited Memphis, Tennessee, which is just outside of my district, and I would have liked to have been there and been a part of that, but things did not quite work out that way for me on last Friday. That did not stop the Democratic National Committee from attacking both the President and me in a statewide radio ad.

Their ad was misleading at best, and it essentially said that we should not even debate reform. They are essentially saying that we should bury our head in the sand and ignore the problem until it just goes on and runs over us. I can tell my colleagues, the DNC attack ad generated two calls. Only two calls to my Shelby County, Memphis, area office in opposition to any type reform. They spent all their money, 70 stations, State-wide, and we got two negative calls. Fifty calls from people who said I think we can talk about Social Security reform but let us not squash the discussion.

In fact, I have an e-mail from a man in Collierville, which is in Shelby County near Memphis, and he says: I was listening to WREC radio today and heard a rather obnoxious DNC commercial telling me to contact you to vote against the President's effort to modify Social Security. I am contacting you but rather to encourage you to work with the President to pass a reform.

On the day of the President's visit, a front page article in the local news section of the Nashville Tennessean read, Bush trip puts Democrats' focus on Blackburn. President in Memphis for next stop in Social Security debate. All this because we want to have a discussion. We want to talk about a very real problem and what we are going to do about it.

Now, is it not amazing, here in America, here in the United States House of Representatives, here in Congress, when you want to lead on a discussion and bring to the attention of the American people something that is a problem, then it makes you a political target. That is absolutely incredible. Facing a problem, addressing and defining a problem and then working to find a solution, that is what is called leadership.

Since last fall, I have been holding town hall meetings and discussions across my district, and we have been talking about Social Security reform in these. We are letting constituents know the process that we are going through and how we are searching for the right thing, the right steps to take, and I will not sugarcoat things here. Some people are absolutely opposed to the discussion. They will not consider the idea of reform, any kind of reform, but that is not the norm. I found that most people are not only willing to discuss reform, but they have their own ideas of what we should do, and that tells me something. People are thinking about this issue.

The Democrats in the House are unwilling, really unwilling to discuss the topic. They refuse to come to the table and say, okay, let us see what we can do to fix this problem. They are out of touch with mainstream America. They were out of touch in the last election cycle, and they remain out of touch today.

I have brought with me today, Madam Speaker, a handful of the thousands of e-mails that I have received to share with you.

Here is one from a gentleman in Arlington, Tennessee. It is also in Shelby County, down near Memphis, and he says: While I agree privatization accounts should not be the number one focus, they are a significant factor in this issues reform. Please accept the correspondence as a vote in favor of President Bush's proposal. He goes on and details some of the things that he likes and does not like about what he is hearing.

On the other side, I have got one from a woman in Nashville, Tennessee: I am opposed to the privatization of Social Security. I am in favor of reform, but there are many people who could pay more into Social Security or maybe take less out.

Another man from Collierville, Tennessee: Can you help pass Social Security reform? I would appreciate the opportunity to invest a percentage of my Social Security payments.

Does that not sound like a pretty good debate. These people are not afraid to discuss it. America is discussing the issue. We would like to think that the Democrats would also.

We have several bills in the House and the Senate that are proposing different reforms, and I want Tennesseans to know that I am going to continue to review these ideas, to talk with them about the bills that are being brought forward, and we will continue to support committee action on a range of proposals.

Some of the e-mails that I have received ask why we are doing this now, why we cannot just put it off for another decade. It is similar to refinancing your house. You refinance your home mortgage today and get a much lower interest rate than you could probably 10 years from now. Why would you wait when conditions will never be better than they are now? Well, that is where with what we have to do with Social Security. Conditions for reform will not get any better than they are now. It makes no sense to wait.

Last week I wrote an op-ed that ran in the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper where I talked about four indisputable facts regarding Social Security that we should all be able to agree on regardless of our party affiliation or ideology. Those facts are these: in 1950, there were 16 workers paying into Social Security for every one retiree. Today there are only 3.3

workers for every retiree, and by the time my two children who are in their mid-twenties retire, there will only be two workers for every retiree. We have 13 years when the Social Security will begin taking in less money than it pays out to retirees.

It is time for us to move forward. We know that the American people are engaged in this debate. We know that they are participating in this debate. I have had a survey on my Web site running for a week now, and I have had a tremendous response to this. I will tell my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they had better start taking part in this very real, very lively discussion because there is a widespread view that we should do something and do it now. The only people willing to work on this are the Republicans and the Republican leadership in Congress.

It is a disservice to our Nation that our colleagues across the aisle do not want to participate. It is not why we were sent here to Congress.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize and congratulate Workforce Essentials in Clarksville, Tennessee, for its innovation and its attentiveness to the needs of the area it serves.

In Clarksville, we have a great program that is in place. It is an initiative called an Army of One Plus One. The program is attuned to the needs of the areas veterans, military spouses and retirees. Their good work was recognized last Friday night by the National Association of Work Force Partnerships as this year's recipient of the Theodore E. Small award, which recognizes the successful implementation of the program, which is a partnership with the 101st Airborne at Ft. Campbell and alongside the Tennessee Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of Defense by identifying the military as a primary sector of the workforce. The spouses of soldiers, the veterans and the entire community have benefitted from this partnership.

The CEO of Workforce Essentials, Ross Jackson and his great team plus the outstanding team at Ft. Campbell, led by General Turner and Colonel Ruggley, are to be commended for providing their great work.

Mr. Speaker, today is International Women's Day, and I come before the body this morning to salute our Iraqi women friends. I have with me a group of e-mails that I have received the past couple of days from the Iraqi women that we have been working with; and they are expressing their thanks to our military men and women who have fought so diligently and have worked right alongside with them and with their country to help their country go through successful elections, to recognize the freedom that they have sought and that they have fought for and longed for for 30 years. So it is with great excitement today that they are communicating with us as a free people and as free women.

Not only are they grateful to our military, Mr. Speaker, they are grateful to those of us in the Congressional Iraqi Women's Caucus, from both sides of the aisle here in this body, a group that has come together to walk with them as they walk toward opportunity and hope and freedom.

I would like to express my thanks for the leadership in that caucus to our former colleague, Ms. Dunn, who put a tremendous amount of leadership in this, and to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), who are continuing to work and lead this group as we seek to help the Iraqi women.

I would like to share with the body some of the e-mails and some of the communication that has been expressed from these women as women and as free people to speak on International Women's Day.

This e-mail says: this is the second year Iraqi women have contributed to this important international gathering as free and independent people. They had a goal of 25 percent representation rights for women in the National Assembly in Iraq. Iraqi women have reached a target beyond that, with 31 percent representation. Spectacular. Spectacular.

Another, ``Iraqi women are now in the future that we all dreamed of. Iraqi women are heroes. They deserve to be leaders. They deserve to participate in building the bright future for their children. We owe our brave brothers and partners their support and understanding. Together, we all celebrate the International Women's Day.''

And another, ``This day, March 8, is a sign of civilization and democracy. Let us celebrate together.''

Another, ``Your voice is reaching other countries in the Middle East. Our sisters in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait are also rising. People are speaking out and enjoying democracy. Congratulations to all, celebrating the spirit and courage and contributions of Iraqi women who have added to the vitality, the richness, and the diversity of Iraqi life. In this amazing transformation to democracy in our country, we must recognize women's historic accomplishments and always honor those who have left us behind to carry through.''

Mr. Speaker, I am so encouraged by the voices of freedom that we hear in this budding democracy. I stand today to salute the Iraqi women and to encourage them as they continue to work toward freedom, hope and opportunity in their country.

Mr. Speaker, we are going to talk about economic competitiveness in the economy tonight, but before we start on that topic, I just want to draw attention to a couple of things that have appeared in the newspaper and talk about Iraq and the Middle East.

There is an article that I pulled from the wires today, 2,000 demonstrate at an Iraqi bombing site, and this is really quite an amazing story, Mr. Speaker. This is from Baghdad: More than 2,000 people demonstrated Tuesday at the site of a car bombing south of Baghdad that killed 125 people chanting no to terrorism.

Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to those individuals and their families, those that have lost their lives, and certainly our hearts continue to go out to the families of each and every man and woman in our military service. I think we join with every one of them, all of our military families and with all of these Iraqis who love freedom and are loving having the opportunity to grasp on to freedom, and we join them in saying no to terrorism and standing strong for freedom.

Another article that I saw today from Newsday, Mr. Speaker, some

Arabs see beginning of a new era, and I think this is very important that we pay attention to this. One of my colleagues was talking about the headlines that we do not see on some of the national media, some of the leftist media, and I think this one is worthy of a mention.

It was a scene the Arab world's autocratic regimes have dreaded, and through the power of satellite TV, it could catch on as fast as the latest music video. Peaceful, enormous crowds carrying flags and flowers, bringing down a government. What happened in Lebanon this week, analysts say, is the beginning of a new era in the Middle East, one in which popular demand pushes the momentum for democracy and people's will can no longer be disregarded.

Mr. Speaker, our President has said that would happen. Repeatedly, he talks about how in the heart of every man and woman is the desire to be free and to seek that freedom and to have hope and to have opportunity. We have all heard our President say freedom is not our gift to the world; freedom is God's gift to all people.

It is so appropriate that we acknowledge that freedom, that we appreciate the sacrifice that is there for that freedom because it is through the expansion of that freedom that we enjoy the fruits and the benefits of a free society.

One of those is the opportunity to dream big dreams and have great adventure, have great successes and to see that lived out in our lives.

For many Americans, that is the opportunity to reach economic goals; to build businesses, to have a better life for their family. And tonight we are going to spend an hour discussing the Republican policies about encouraging entrepreneurship and economic growth in this great Nation.

We are going to highlight the Republican agenda for creating jobs in America. And it is clear that after battling the recession of 2001, weathering a terrorist attack cost us billions. There are even estimates that the cost to the American economy of September 11 and the travesty that took place there was $2 trillion, a full quarter of our Nation's productivity for a year.

After fighting an expensive global war on terrorism, being in the middle of that fight, we have faced significant challenges and we have made some very wise decisions. Over the past couple of years, despite very heavy criticism from some of our colleagues and from the tax-and- spend liberals, we, as a Congress, have made tax cuts, have reduced the tax burden that the American people are paying.

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly something that I know, as millions of Americans tonight are sitting down at their kitchen tables with pencil and paper and beginning to look at those forms, filling out their Federal income tax filings, that they are noticing the difference that the tax cuts we have passed are making in their lives. Certainly in Tennessee, I know there are Tennesseeans noticing for the first time in 20 years that they have the opportunity to deduct the sales tax they are paying from their Federal income tax filing.

It is amazing to me, and should be troubling to many Americans, that many across the aisle had the audacity to oppose this tax relief we have passed. They have opposed making some of these cuts and reductions. We are trying to be certain that the American public has more money in their pocketbook; that they have the opportunity to decide how to spend that money; and that they have the opportunity to grow those businesses.

We have known that small businesses and working families need tax relief, and we have fought hard to make that happen so that we see the opportunity right there for our economy, for the growth in our economy, for the opportunity for competitiveness not on just a local scale, not just on a local scale, but on a global scale.

Mr. Speaker, our support for tax relief has been vindicated, and we see that in the economic figures that are out there. This past week we found the economy grew faster than expected in the last few months of 2004. They revised the growth estimate up from 3.1 to 3.8. And for a lot of folks who are economic news junkies, they know that 3.8 is a pretty good rate. For those that are casual listeners, that is something we can be proud of, and we can talk about that. A 3.8 percent growth is very substantial.

In February, we had the twenty-first consecutive month, that is twenty-first consecutive months, of increased economic activity in the manufacturing sector. I want to be certain everybody hears and understands that: Twenty-first months of consecutive increases in economic activity in the manufacturing sector. That is nearly 2 years of growth. I think that is absolutely outstanding.

For some of the tool and die manufacturers that are in my district, from some of the manufacturers that we see of various component parts, of items that are being created, how exciting that they are seeing growth; that they are seeing growth in their jobs that they have right there in these local communities.

And that is not all of it. The overall economy grew for the fortieth, that is 4-0, the fortieth consecutive month in February. That is more than 3 years of solid economic expansion.

Mr. Speaker, these are figures that are hard to argue with. That 3.8 percent was our economic growth. That got revised up for the last quarter of 2004. We have had twenty-first consecutive months of increases in productivity in the manufacturing sector. We have had 40 consecutive months of overall economic growth. That means something is working right. Something is working right. Tax relief was needed, and we see that that tax relief is beginning to pay off.

I have another article here. I had the opportunity to do a little reading over the break, Mr. Speaker. This one is from the Financial Times. Look at this headline: ``U.S. Chiefs' Confidence Highest in 3 Years.'' Well, that is a pretty good thing. The people that are running the companies, the people that are deciding whether to expand, whether to make capital investments, whether to create new jobs, they have a great deal of confidence.

It says here: ``Confidence in the economy at the U.S. biggest companies has soared to the highest level in 3 years as increasing numbers plan to spend more on capital investment.'' Well, who would have thunk? You never would have thought that was happening if you were listening to some of our friends across the aisle. Because they do not want to talk about the good news. They do not want to talk about 21 straight months of manufacturing gains, 4-0, 40 consecutive months of overall economic growth.

Here is one that describes the results as ``extremely positive''; another one, talking about capital investments by business, ``are the best indicators of growth at this stage of recovery,'' and that this bodes well for the economy. Now, mind you, these are not small businesses. These are big companies. So we are seeing it with our small businesses, and we are seeing it with some of our new companies.

Republicans believe that government must remove the obstacles to growth. And it does not matter if you are a big or small company, it does not matter if you are an entrepreneur, it does not matter if you are new or some of our wonderful companies that have been there for 100 years. We have to get rid of some of the obstacles. And though some of our folks do not like to talk about rolling back taxes, rolling back those taxes is removing an obstacle. Another obstacle is the high cost of compliance with those taxes. Another obstacle is onerous regulation that comes from some of our Federal agencies.

Well, what do you know. When you start rolling that back, making the system easier to comply with, American entrepreneurs expand and they create jobs. That is something, is it not? Get the government out of the way, and you are going to see free enterprise go do what they are geared up to do, do what they are best at doing, do what they dream about doing, what they spend their lives trying to figure out how to do: how to create jobs, how to build a better mousetrap, how to get out there and sell that better mousetrap to people that are ready to buy improved products.

It is a great system. The way this economy works is something to get excited about, and I am thrilled that we have had the opportunity to see this kind of economic growth.

Mr. Speaker, I am joined here on the floor tonight by one of my colleagues, a gentleman from the freshman class I served in in the 108th Congress, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King). He knows a lot about how the economy works. He is a small businessman, a farmer, and he does a lot of thinking when he gets out there on that tractor, and he brings a lot of wisdom to this Chamber.

So, Mr. Speaker, I yield to him at this time.

Mr. Speaker, as we talk about the economy and talk about the need to have an economic Renaissance, to see this continue. As I said earlier, we have had 40 consecutive months of economic growth. A lot of times women do not look forward to that 40th birthday, but when we talk about the 40th month of economic growth, that is certainly a date that we want to celebrate.

The gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) mentioned tax reform and the cost of 22 cents of every dollar of manufactured good in this Nation being eaten up by compliance, and the importance of us having a wonderful debate about how we lower that cost so that every sector of our economy is going to see greater productivity and is going to see growth.

We know that working on our tax reform issues, working on tort reform issues to eliminate frivolous lawsuits, are going to be a way that we can begin to benefit, that we can see the products that are manufactured here be more competitive in a global marketplace.

As we look at the opportunities for trade in Tennessee, for example, where our exports have increased every year for the past 5 years, and we know that does equal jobs. Over the past 2 years, as the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) said, we created about 2.7 million new jobs, and that will soon in a couple of months be 1.5 million new jobs per year.

There are a couple of industries that have seen good growth in the past couple of months: Apparel, textiles, transportation and equipment, electronic components and equipment, chemicals, industrial and commercial equipment and computers, instruments, photographic equipment, metals, food, wood and wood products. Virtually every State in the Union can claim at least one of these industrial sectors. In fact, one of the things that we have seen about job creation is that in 48 of our 50 States we have seen jobs growth. That is impressive. Over the past year, 48 of our 50 States have seen jobs growth. That is why we are beginning to see this 40 months of overall economic growth, 21 straight months where we are seeing increases in the manufacturing sector, and we know all of this means jobs. It all means jobs that are being created. We know that there is a lot of work ahead that we need to do to be certain that this economy keeps growing.

Mr. Speaker, much of our focus this session is going to be on economic growth, economic competitiveness, doing the things that encourage, that create the right environment. Our government does not create jobs, it is this free enterprise system that creates jobs, and doing things so we help create the right investment, focusing on tax reform and trade issues, on regulatory reform and on energy independence. These are the areas that are going to have a tremendous impact on our economy as it expands. We will continue to see growth in those sectors.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) who is new to us this Congress. The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) has come to our Congress this year and is serving on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. And much of her focus, even though her Ph.D. is in education, she understands the importance of an educated workforce and lifelong learning and developing the skills that are so necessary to be productive in your job, to be satisfied in your job. The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) has some thoughts she would like to share with us tonight on economic competitiveness.

I thank the gentlewoman for bringing her perspective to the debate and for celebrating, allowing us to celebrate with the good people of Forsythe County, North Carolina, as they welcome 700 new jobs to their area. How exciting that is, and how exciting for us that we have a program like the workforce development programs that are very successful, that assist in retraining folks.

I know in my 7th Congressional District in Tennessee, we have seen tremendous success with the workforce development program. As a matter of fact, we have a program in Montgomery County, Tennessee, that is really attuned to the needs of our veterans and to our military spouses and our military retirees. And they are going to be honored later this week for their excellent work that they are doing for jobs retraining, helping people focus on the importance of developing and having that career.

Jobs and education, they go hand in hand. They are very important components of our economic competitiveness, just as tax reform, just as tort reform and the other things that we have discussed this evening.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to recognize a member of the freshman class, new to us, but with a tremendous amount of experience in his home State of Texas where he has been a part of the business community, has served as a judge, and is a skilled legislator. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) is going to speak with us for a few moments about some of the things that are happening in Texas as in the process with our economic competitiveness issues.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas. And I would like to commend him for meeting with the students and working with the students from Grace High School in Tyler, Texas, and for their study, their caring about the free enterprise system and seeking greater information on that. How exciting that they are doing that.

You know, Mr. Speaker, one of the things we are hearing from business schools all across the country, one of the things we are hearing from high schools, from tech schools is that more and more people are saying, I want to be an entrepreneur. I want to start my own business. I want to see if I can grab on to that American Dream of owning my own company, starting a company, having an idea, watching that idea come to fruition in the form of a company that creates jobs.

And it is so encouraging to me that the Republican leadership and our majority in this House is committed to

doing the things that are going to be necessary to continue economic growth, long-term sustained economic growth like we have seen over the past 40 months.

I have got another article from washingtonpost.com that I had pulled today. This one is really interesting. Construction spending rose a strong seven-tenths of a percent in January, a month when generally they are not going to see that kind of increase. This pushed total construction activity to a record high of just over $1 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate and followed an even larger 1.2 percent rise in December. What we are seeing is confidence and belief and the fact that people believe in the strength of this economy.

We have a freshman Member from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) who has joined this Congress this year. He is with us for just a few moments to talk about some of the good things that are happening in his State. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.

I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for talking with us a few moments about what he is seeing happening and his desire to see some changes take place here in the policies that we will make, the things that we will implement in this Congress, in the 109th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I do a lot and that I had the opportunity to do over the break is to visit with small business owners. I heard repeatedly from them that what they do not want and what they do not need is more taxes, more regulation, and more government. We hear them. The Republicans hear them. This majority hears them. We understand what they are saying. Unfortunately, I have a lot of colleagues who are not listening to these small business owners. I think it is important to note, small businesses in America represent over 90 percent of all employers and employ half of all private sector employees. They pay 44.3 percent of the total U.S. private payroll.

That is our small businesses and entrepreneurs that we have talked about today, the people that are starting businesses, that are creating so many of these jobs. Small businesses generate 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs growth annually.

That is why it is so important that we carry forth on this commitment to be certain that we have the right environment for an economic renaissance in this country. Small businesses are the Nation's economic engine, and Republicans have worked to reduce their tax burden so that they have the ability to create more jobs. We have passed legislation that will give them more affordable health care options for their employees, Association Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts.

Republicans have passed legislation to stem the tide of frivolous lawsuits, and we are continuing to do more on the tort reform issues.

We are planning and continue to work daily on trade and opening foreign markets for American-made goods so that our employers in our local communities have access to markets around the globe, ways that they can place their products before a world that is ready to buy them. And we are trying to make certain that manufacturers are not being treated unfairly and that they have the opportunity to be competitive in a global marketplace.

Republicans want to pass a comprehensive energy policy so that America's economic growth is not held hostage to foreign energy production. We want to harness more of our domestic energy. We believe excessive government growth in spending crowds businesses out of the marketplace. We know that when there is a need, if government fills that need, then the private or not-for-profit sector does not move in and fill that need. We know that the growth of government needs to be curtailed so that less of the taxpayers' money is being required to pay for the government, so that taxpayers keep that money in their pocket. Reducing the size of government is what we have talked about over the past couple of weeks as we have talked about rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse and reducing the size of the Federal Government.

Mr. Speaker, we have a plan that will drive economic growth, that will continue to drive economic growth. We have had 40 months of overall economic growth. We would like to see another 40 months of economic growth and job creation for Americans. We have had 2.7 million jobs created in just under the past couple of years. We have 21 months where we have seen manufacturing increases. We had our last quarter of 2004 with 3.8 percent economic growth.

The fundamental difference between Republicans and Democrats is that we have a plan to continue to drive economic growth. And all of our small business owners, myself included, we know the cost that regulation imposes and the importance of rolling back regulation.

Among the top complaints that we receive from small business owners has to do with the Federal Tax Code, the cost of compliance. The gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) spoke to that earlier. Twenty-two cents of every single dollar of manufactured goods in this Nation is spent in compliance. That is an obstacle that we need to get rid of, and we are committed to working on that. We know this Tax Code is overly complicated, it is time-consuming, and it is incredibly frustrating for millions of small business owners in this Nation. That is why Republicans are committed to a code that is flatter, that is fairer, and absolutely is simpler not only for individuals but for our Nation's small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, all over we have got a plan. It is the better plan. And we know the problems that are facing our Nation's economy. We know the problems that are facing this Nation's employers, whether they be small or whether they be large, whether they are small businesses or whether they are big business. And, Mr. Speaker, one thing that we know for sure in this 109th Congress, we are committed to moving forward on commonsense reforms that will continue to work toward greater effectiveness and greater competitiveness for our Nation's economy.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for providing some of that information. It seems that our colleagues probably are so wrong on this bill they cannot even talk about it. They want to come down here and talk about all sorts of other things that are not involved in class action.

They are talking about protection. Well, I would like the American people to know and our colleagues to know we are talking about protection. We are talking about protecting Americans' pockets books, because our constituents know somebody is going to pay, and if greedy lawyers are getting big settlements, they are going to be paying more at the cash register every single time they go buy something.

An entire industry has grown up over attorneys seeking cash in these class-action lawsuits. Our courts are to be designed for fairness, a forum of fairness and justice, but they have become a virtual ATM for greedy lawyers when it comes to class-action lawsuits. Lawyers go file a class-action lawsuit and collect millions of dollars, just as the gentleman from Georgia was saying; and the clients, who they barely know, most times they have never even met most of these folks, those clients are receiving pennies.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague spoke saying this would not help the victims. I would like people to know the Class Action Fairness Act does not restrict true victims from filing class-action lawsuits. It will prevent attorneys from choosing which State to file in, because we know sometimes they choose where they think they can get the biggest monetary award. We are putting the focus back on justice, back on justice in this bill.

In addition, the reform provides greater consumer protection by allowing our courts to scrutinize those settlements that provide victims with

coupons while those attorneys are getting millions and millions and millions of dollars.

Mr. Speaker, this is an overdue reform. We have worked tirelessly on this in the House, and I urge everyone to support it.

Mr. Chairman, our committee chairman is exactly right; we can go to page 384 in the 9/11 Commission Report. And I encourage all of my constituents to do this, look at this: ``For terrorists, travel documents are as important as weapons.'' And what is the number one travel document? It is a driver's license. It is a huge gaping hole that we have. That is why it is imperative that we pass the REAL ID Act today and we set a national standard.

Maybe that is just too much common sense for some of my friends that do not want us to do that, but if someone is going to use a travel document as a driver's license and use it as a way to circumvent our laws and harm our citizens, then it is imperative that we close that loophole. Having standards that all the States would follow is a great way to close that loophole.

I would encourage my colleagues to support the REAL ID Act.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis) for his good work on this issue, and I encourage our constituents to read this report and see the importance of the actions that we are taking today.

Mr. Speaker, it is certainly a privilege to stand here tonight and to talk with my colleagues

and discuss what we have going on with the President's budget that has been submitted, and also with the desire of the President and of our leadership to begin to get their hands around the spending issue and to address the spending issue.

Mr. Speaker, one of the things I hear regularly from my constituents in Tennessee is it is time to stop spending so much of the taxpayers' money. And one of the things that people in my district constantly remind me of, and a message they want me to bring to Washington is: it is not the government's money. The government is not creating a product; the government is not selling a product. It is the taxpayers' money, and they want accountability with that money.

Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, this morning I think that the taxpayers across this country woke to the kickoff of a national scare campaign, and it is aimed squarely at the President's budget and at this Congress' efforts to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in government. Listen to some of these headlines that we found in the newspapers out there.

This one from Illinois: ``Bush Budget Includes Steep Cuts.'' In Tennessee a paper said: ``Bush Budget Axes Scores of Programs.'' In Oregon, news sources said: ``Domestic Programs Sacrificed in the Budget.'' And in California, newspapers declared: ``The President's Budget Proposal Cuts Vital Funds For Safety Net.''

Now, all of this is coming about, Mr. Speaker, because finally, finally this Congress and this President are answering a need and a desire the American people have, and that is to reform government, to reduce the amount of money that we are spending, and for us to come up with a 21st-century delivery of government services that is more effective and more efficient, that is going to meet the needs of government, that is going to avail itself of new technologies, and that is going to be fair to the taxpayer.

That is what they want. They want to be certain that we, the Members of the U.S. House, are going to be good stewards of the tax dollars that they send here. Because they want to see a system that is more fair to the taxpayers, to the working men and women that every single day get up and leave their homes and go to work; and who, with every single paycheck, look at that paycheck and look at the amount of money that is withheld from that paycheck to do, what? To fund government services.

Mr. Speaker, since when did eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government become a bad thing? And to listen to some of my colleagues here on the floor this evening, one would begin to think that trying to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government is a bad thing. But my constituents and millions of Americans think this is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it.

Listening to my colleagues speak tonight, one would begin to think that demanding results, demanding positive outcomes of government programs is a negative. But I hear from constituents and Tennesseans every single day that say let us demand results. Let us be certain that programs are producing the right outcomes that we expect from them. That is a positive, not a negative; and the American people are ready to see that kind of accountability. Why, Mr. Speaker? Because it is their money. It is their money that they have earned that is coming into the government coffers and is being spent on programs that are to benefit the American people.

I would like for every American to know that President Bush and this Republican Congress are not content to sit idly by while even a penny of taxpayer dollars is wasted, and let me tell Members there is significantly more than a penny of waste that we can target in this budget.

I am proud of the leadership of this House, the Senate, and the President and his team for saying we are going to roll the spending back. I agree with them. We can save America one dollar at a time, and that is what we are going to do. We are going to take these first steps and put it on the road, saving America one dollar at a time.

What those headlines should be saying is this: President Bush and the Republican Congress believe taxpayer dollars ought to be spent wisely or not spent at all. Sounds like something ours grandmothers probably told us. If you are going to do it, do it right. If you are going to do it, do it right the first time. If you are going to make some money, save it. If you are going to spend it, spend it wisely or do not spend it. In Tennessee we call that good old common sense. It makes sense, but I guess that is why a lot of the liberals do not like it, because it is good old common sense.

That is what this is all about. It is about our firm belief that the American people work far too hard and far too long to have half their earnings taken in taxes and then squandered by the government. Taxes, that is the single largest part of a family budget. They spend more on taxes than they do for food, for education, or for transportation. Taxes, and it is an imperative that we be good stewards of that money, that we be accountable for that money, and that we look for every single possible opportunity to save and manage wisely those taxpayer dollars.

Mr. Speaker, according to the Congressional Research Service, there are approximately 1,200 Federal Government programs, and I hope Members heard me say approximately because that is exactly what I meant to say. There are so many programs out there, we do not even know how many programs we have. We know we have approximately 1,200 programs.

So what our President is saying is, all right, folks, let us look at 150 of these, the really egregious examples of waste, and let us find some savings. Let us start to whittle away and find what works and what does not work. Let us look at the programs that have outlived their purpose, their usefulness, let us find the things that are duplicative, let us find the things that have turned out to be failures and are not producing the outcomes that we want and have not yielded an acceptable return for the investment of taxpayer dollars that have gone into those programs.

There is not a single thing radical here. As I said earlier, it is common sense, it is fiscal responsibility and the Republicans are committed to it. Why should an agency have its budget automatically increased year after year? Most people do not get automatic increases every year. Ask a lot of the folks working in my district. It is not a given that they are going to get a raise every single year, so why should an underperforming Federal Department get a budget boost every 12 months?

For too long in Washington, a Federal spending increase has been a certain thing. It has been as certain as the sun rises and that it is going to set in the evening. It is time to reform that process.

Here are some great examples of things that we need to get behind: the Forest Service. They could not figure out for what purpose it spent $215 million out of its $3.4 billion operating budget in fiscal year 1995. They could not figure it out. They did not know what they spent $215 million on.

Has anyone mentioned that since 1992 the Rural Utility Services Electricity Loan Program has canceled $4.9 billion in debt? That essentially means it loaned $4.9 billion of taxpayer money and then said do not worry about paying us back. CEOs go to prison for things like that.

Did Members know that the State Children's Health Insurance Program, the SCHIP program, is currently insuring childless adults in two States at a cost to taxpayers of at least $330 million? The program, a good program, was created to provide health insurance to uninsured children, not uninsured adults.

This is not an isolated problem. We have other examples, and it is not a rare thing that programs waste taxpayer money. In fact, the Committee on Government Reform where I served last Congress found that the Office of Personnel and Management's Inspector General recovers $12 in fraudulent spending for every $1 spent by its office. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Veterans Administration, we know there are $3 billion in outstanding loans and that processing errors and program fraud account for $125 million annually in VA pension overpayments. These overpayments comprise about 4 percent of the $2.9 billion

in total pension benefits that the VA paid out in fiscal year 2001.

Mr. Speaker, given this information, how can we not work to reduce spending and insert accountability? How can we not say to these agencies no more funding increases until you prove you can handle what you have already got?

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to have an expert on some of these issues join us this evening here on the floor. The gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) is out of Mississippi's first district and he is a part of the Republican leadership here in Congress. He does a wonderful job for the people of Mississippi and does a wonderful job for our leadership. He is a deputy majority whip, a member of the Committee on Appropriations; and he knows a lot about our budget and what we can do to work on being more accountable in our government budget system.

Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I appreciate the gentleman's comments so very much, and I appreciate his insights and his wisdom that he brings to the discussion.

And he is exactly right. Government can do better, and it is our responsibility to challenge government to do better, to challenge our systems of accounting, to challenge our systems that we are using to track the agencies and the outcomes that are there. Everything is funded by the taxpayer's dollar, and we do want to invite the American people and our constituents to join us and be a part of this team as we look for ways to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in our system. We want to be certain that for future generations, for my children, for my grandchildren, that this is a healthy, vibrant nation where hope and opportunity continue to live and continue to be realized by every American man, woman, and child who seeks to find that American Dream.

And I agree with the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) that all too often some of the liberal elites, those that are government elitists, their answer to everything is, just give us a little more money and we can make it right. And we know that does not work. Higher taxes do not yield greater outcomes. What yields greater outcomes is finding ways to do things better, constantly challenging ourselves to do things better, constantly working to find ways to root out that waste, fraud, and abuse that have become so rampant in our governmental entities.

Mr. Speaker, we are joined tonight by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), who joined me in our freshman class in the 108th Congress, and he has been a leader in the effort to target waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal system. He has done a tremendous amount of work on this issue. He has made it his cause and his challenge. He is a member of the Committee on the Budget and lends to that committee much of his expertise on how we can go about creating a better budget process and strengthening our government and strengthening our freedom for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) for his thoughts.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) for being here to talk with us this evening and reminding us of some points that are so very important. I hear from my constituents, as he does, about that language of Washington and understanding when something is actually a reduction and when something is just slowed growth when some of the spending has been moderated. The gentleman is so exactly right.

What we would like to do, what the American people would like for us to do, is root out that waste, that fraud, that abuse of the system; get rid of the duplication of programs; eliminate the bureaucracy here that soaks up the money and allow that money to go to the local programs where the rubber meets the road and be certain that the dollars are spent wisely. As I said earlier, spend them wisely, or not at all; make sure we are making good decisions and being good stewards.

The gentleman mentioned a little bit about economic development and tax relief. As the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) said earlier, it is the reduction in taxes that has helped to spur economic growth, which is such a vitally important part of working on waste, fraud and abuse; the fact that we have a growing economy.

The other part, that we reduce spending; that we take a good solid commonsense approach to this; that we create the right environment for business to be successful; and that we continue to reduce programs that are not helpful to that, that add to the cost of free enterprise, that slow down the process of delivering government services. These are good, commonsense approaches.

I do applaud our President and our leadership for taking a stand and moving us in this direction.

Mr. Speaker, we are joined also tonight by a new Member of this body, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway), and we are so pleased to have him here with us. He is out of Texas' Eleventh District. I particularly like the fact that he has brought a lot of common sense to Congress with him. He is a good old Texas Aggie from Texas A&M, spent some time in the U.S. military, has appreciation for freedom, for protecting freedom, and understands the importance of protecting individual freedom and free enterprise.

At this time I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Yes, that is correct. I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for bringing that point up, because we were concerned about the use of credit cards, primarily looking at what was taking place in DOD, and knowing that there was an opportunity there to rein that spending in.

Last year, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) and I worked with Senator Grassley, and we did introduce a piece of legislation that would bring that into line, because we feel like there is an opportunity to save about $100 million annually by putting some proper controls and working to be certain that there is not waste and that there is not fraud in the use of government credit cards by employees. That is just one of the many ways, just one of the small ways.

As I said earlier, we can go about this one dollar at a time, because those dollars mount up to hundreds, to thousands, to millions, to billions of dollars. And over a period of 5 years or 10 years, which is really not that long a period of time, it is substantial savings for the American taxpayer as they are working to fund government.

It is so important, I say to the gentleman, as he has pointed out, that government can do better and that we realize that and that we challenge our constituents to work with us on this.

It is also important that we participate by being certain that we stop funding things that do not work. If it is not working, if it is a program that is not working or has outlived its usefulness or is duplicated in other ways, then we need to look for ways to be certain that we are not funding things that are not working.

Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield for just a quick point, it is so refreshing to see members of the freshman class come in and join us on this issue. My freshman class made waste, fraud, and abuse its class project.

The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), who was just here, was one of the founders of a group that we call the Washington Waste Watchers to draw attention to this subject. So we are so pleased, after having put a tremendous amount of work over the past couple of years on this.

Also, the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Davis), who chairs the Committee on Government Reform, has put an incredible amount of time over the past 2 years with that committee, holding hearings and having reports, getting things on paper so that we are beginning to find out what is and is not working; who is and is not accountable for their money, what agencies are producing results, what agencies are not producing results. We can go back and look at the Treasury books from the year 2001 to see that the Federal Government cannot account for $17.3 billion. Now, to my constituents and for all of us, that is not acceptable.

Mr. Speaker, that is right. The Office of Management and Budget in their budget of the United States Government, fiscal year 2003, people can go to page 48 in that report and they will see how the OMB shows us that 21 of 26 departments and major agencies received the lowest possible rating for their financial management, meaning that the auditors cannot even express an opinion on their financial statements. Our colleague from Texas, who is a CPA, understands exactly what that means. We had 21 of 26 departments and major agencies that got the lowest possible rating.

Now, what we are saying, as the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker) said, government can do better, we can do better. The American people, as taxpayers, expect us to do better. It is our responsibility, being a good steward of those dollars, that we do a better job, that we require government to do a better job. That is the purpose that we are setting forth.

I agree and I join each of the gentlemen who has spoken tonight in commending our President and our leadership in saying, the time has come to address this. We have to rein the spending in because we need to know what we are spending, where it is going, and what the American taxpayers' dollars are being used for.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for joining us tonight.

I yield to my colleague from Texas for any final remarks that he may have.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for joining us this evening.

Mr. Speaker, before I came to Congress, I had the opportunity to represent Tennessee's 23rd State senate district. While I was in that body, I had worked on government reform issues and came up with a plan that would have called for across-the-board spending cuts. I certainly believed that State agencies could get in there and find waste, fraud, and abuse within their operations, and they could cut it and better serve the taxpayers of my State.

Of course, at the time that I came up with my plan, the 5 Percent Solution, it was criticized by so many as being too harsh. The word was, well, people will not accept that kind of accountability. A few years later, many of those reductions were actually put in place. And do my colleagues know what? Things started working a little bit better in Tennessee.

Today, we see some of that same press in Tennessee calling the taxpayers and the President's plan, Congress' plan far too harsh. I read some of those headlines earlier. But I do not think that some of the media, the liberal media has been paying attention to what has been taking place in some of our States.

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers, in fiscal year 2002, 26 States implemented across-the-board spending cuts, 15 States downsized State government employment, and 13 States streamlined government programs. We hear all the time that our State governments are great laboratories for new programs and new projects and creative government solutions, and this should be a lesson to us here at the Federal level, because it is not impossible to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. It is our responsibility to do so.

Here are some of the headlines that we have found of what is going on in some of the States. In Alaska where Governor McCaskey proposed cutting 21 State programs and 200 jobs; in Colorado where the legislature passed an $809 million budget-balancing package which eliminated some 200 State employees.

We are looking forward, Mr. Speaker, to working with the leadership in rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.

Mr. Speaker, there are few greater causes than serving your Nation. Generations of Americans from every single walk of life have dedicated themselves to defending our Nation as part of the United States Armed Forces. They are worthy of our thanks, our praise, and over the past few days we have watched them bring great honor to our Nation.

Yet today many of our country's law schools are treating America's military with disdain and disrespect.

I bet there are millions of Americans who have no idea that many of the Nation's elite law schools, schools that receive tax dollars in the form of loan subsidies and grants, are refusing to allow military recruiters on campus. They allow the well-heeled law firms from New York, from Washington, Chicago on campus to recruit; but they say no to this Nation's military.

I ask all my colleagues to join the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) in his efforts today to ensure that our institutions of higher learning treat the American military with the respect and the access that it deserves. I ask them to support House Concurrent Resolution 36.

Mr. Speaker, it is impossible to declare these elections in Iraq anything but a success, and we Americans join the Iraqis in their celebration, and rightly so.

I have been in e-mail contact with some of the Iraqis that I have met during my visit there, and I heard from some of our men and women in uniform, and they are proud of what they have achieved, and they are ready to keep working hard.

But, Mr. Speaker, no discussion of the election success is complete without recognizing the active duty, Reserve, and National Guard men and women who have given their lives in this war on terror in the Middle East. It is their sacrifice that is putting terrorism on the run. We cannot forget them, and we must not forget their families.

That is why the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson) and I have introduced the Blackburn-Wilson Honoring Our Families and Fallen Soldiers Act today. We are joining Senator Allen in this effort. I ask my colleagues to cosponsor the legislation to increase to $100,000 the death gratuity benefit the family of a soldier killed in combat receives. Our bill would also make this benefit retroactive to October 1, 2001.

Mr. Speaker, it is the right thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I want to say thank you so much to the gentleman from Georgia for taking the time to bring this issue not only to the Members of this body, but to the American people. Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the gentleman from Georgia for taking the time to bring this incredible photograph to the floor and let us continue to just feast our eyes on the contentment and the joy that is expressed in this Iraqi woman's face as she has dipped her finger in that blue ink which has become the indelible mark of freedom, which shows the world that she, as a free woman, has exercised her right to vote. I thank the gentleman for that.

Because we watched this take place, and what an incredible display it was as we saw the Iraqi people stand and fight back terrorism and to rejoice in the work that they have done. The entire nation rejoiced. Our military men and women rejoiced with them, and I think the entire world has gathered to offer praise and congratulations.

At the same time, it was amazing as this took place to listen to some of the liberal leaders in Washington and around and about talk about how important it was to not overhype these first elections. The gentleman from Utah provided some wonderful perspective to that.

Mr. Speaker, I can understand why those on the left and some of those that have harangued the President for months would start to feel as if they are feeling some political heat because, indeed, I think they are. They were wrong. They were wrong. They had too little faith in America, they had too little faith in our military men and women, and they had too little faith in the Iraqi people and the power and the desire for freedom and what that would do in their country.

Some of those liberals like to say that Iraq was out of control and that the terrorists would destroy the election, and America was losing and that we should postpone the elections. Certainly, some like Senator Kennedy even called for an almost immediate withdrawal of American forces. They wanted us to tell the world that the United States did not have the strength and the determination to defeat terrorism, and they were wrong in every instance. This President stood tall. Our Armed Forces did not waiver. The American people refused to yield to tyrants and terrorists, and we watched the Iraqi people refuse to yield to tyrants and terrorists and the pressures.

Today we know that our President was right. Despite all the doom and gloom and despite the constant focus on every single failure that could have possibly taken place in Iraq, despite seeing those ``two steps forward and one step back'' as we marched towards success, we somehow managed to hold safe and orderly elections in Iraq. And I think that tells us all something. It tells me that the national media had already decided in their minds that Iraq was not going like it ought to go, and they reported everything and anything that they thought could make it look like it was going to be hopeless. They ignored every little single shining success. They thought that they could ignore it. They ignored progress and heroism and they had their version of what they thought they wanted Iraq to be. They were against the war, and they manipulated coverage to suit their personal views.

Thankfully, the American people did not believe that national media. They stuck with the President, and today the Iraqi people are seeing what freedom means. Today we know that America has struck a demoralizing blow against terrorism. We are taking valuable territory from the terrorists. They no longer have an assured safe haven in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

Pakistan is working with us to track terrorists. Libya has even begun seeking diplomatic relations with the United States.

Mr. Speaker, over the past 2 years I have had the opportunity to be in Iraq and to make friends with some folks in Iraq, and it is amazing. We have had some of these women come here to America as we have been there to visit with them. Some of these I e-mail with frequently, and we have shared our vision for what an alliance can be between our nations. Other Members of this body have joined in working with some of these folks. It has been absolutely extraordinary. It would have been unthinkable 4 years ago, and this is how we are going to win the war on terrorism, is building these relationships.

In the hours just after the election, I received several e-mail messages from some of my Iraqi friends, one in particular from an Iraqi woman who ran for Congress, and I would like for you all to just listen to this for a moment.

It says, ``Dear American Friends, a warm hug of appreciation from Iraq to the good hearts in the United States. Congratulations for us and for you on Iraqi Elections Day.

``Today we are not only free but we have stood united in democracy. Today we marked our history with bright words of Winning the War Against Terror Against Dictatorship. Today we won our identity in front of a watching world. Today Iraq is for us and we are for Iraq, while yesterday Iraq was Saddam and Saddam was Iraq.

``Today Iraq is for all: Arabs, Kurds, Assyrians, Turkomans and many others, while yesterday we were all looking for a home of dignity, humanity and peace.

``After all this, just tell me how can I say thank you. Thank you for every spirit you have given from families and friends to Iraq. Thank you for every minute you contributed from your life to Iraq. Thank you for every word of support, for every courage moment. Thank you for every aid, every project, every rebuild. Thank you for being the best friend Iraq ever had. Thank you on behalf of or tortured men and women in the prisons of Saddam.

``Thank you on behalf of all Iraqi innocents who have given their lives for the freedom price. Thank you on behalf of next generation of love and peace in the Middle East. Thank you and a warm hug from Iraq to the brave hearts in America.''

Mr. Speaker, that message is for all of us. It is for our country, it is for our President, and it is an absolutely beautiful thing. I know some of those across the aisle will continue to criticize our every move in Iraq; and, sadly, much of that criticism comes from the powerful leaders of the left. But to my colleagues across the aisle who know better, speak up, challenge your leadership, work with us in Iraq rather than against us.

To our allies in Iraq, America says a hearty congratulations. We are ready to stand by your side as you rebuild. We will not cut and run. America looks forward to your help as an ally in the war on terror.

Mr. Speaker, God bless our active duty, our Reserve and our National Guard men and women as they work to protect us all over the world tonight.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 12 I was in the Chamber seeking recognition but the vote was closed. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted ``no.''