Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, country music mega-star Darryl Worley ``Has Not Forgotten'' his community or his country in his rise to the top of his profession.

By practicing what he preaches in his Gold Record #1 hit Have You Forgotten, he has spent many days each year traveling to the Middle East and entertaining and encouraging our troops.

He has also never forgotten his friends and neighbors. He sponsors and performs at the ``Darryl Worley River Run'' each year in his home county, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars for local charities, this year expanding to benefit St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis.

And he has not forgotten his family. This year he presented the Hardin Medical Center with a check for $40,000 in memory of his grandfather who suffered from cancer. In his honor the recently renovated hospital named a new wing the ``Darryl Worley Outpatient Chemotherapy Clinic.''

Darryl Worley is a great American, and a true hometown hero to Savannah, Tennessee, and today we honor his commitment to our great nation.

Mr. Speaker, Tennessee is known as the ``Volunteer State'' because we have a proud tradition of giving back to our community and our country. Today the students at Heritage Elementary School in Thompson's Station, Tennessee are reaffirming our state's reputation for volunteerism by working to support America's military families.

Our men and women in uniform have sacrificed for our security, and their families bear a burden each and every day. The students at Heritage Elementary have made it their mission to give all they can to Operation Stork Support, a program that presents gift baskets to expectant mothers in the Fort Campbell community. These moms-to-be are separated from their loved ones by war, but we can help lessen their burden and show them how much we care. The Heritage Elementary students have raised $740 in pennies--that's 74,000 pennies--for Operation Stork Support. I thank them for their contribution, their concern, and not least, their love for our military families.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the Speaker, Majority Leader, Chairman Hunter and Chairman Sensenbrenner for their hard work on this important piece of legislation. Unfortunately, I must oppose this bill. It contains provisions to reform our intelligence procedures, and it includes a provision to help private security companies--like Guardsmark, which is headquartered in my district-- access criminal history background about prospective employees who guard the nation's critical infrastructure. However, this legislation does not contain essential provisions included in the House-passed bill to improve our asylum process or driver license procedures. The 9/11 Commission report found that a number of terrorists abused the asylum system, and that once they found a way into the United States they often remained in the country by committing immigration fraud. The House bill also had a provision that would keep aliens who have received military-type training from terrorist organizations from being admitted to the United States--unfortunately, this provision was stricken from the conference report. This conference report removed the provision from the House bill that requires temporary driver's licenses to expire when an individual's visa expires. Finally, the conference report does not include important provisions that would prevent certain states from issuing driver's licenses to individuals who cannot demonstrate that they are lawfully present in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the service and commitment of a beloved Tennessean.

Dr. Adrian Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church of Memphis, Tennessee, will be retiring in the spring of 2005. Under his leadership since 1972, Bellevue has grown from 8,000 members to almost 30,000 members.

Through his Love Worth Finding ministry, Dr. Rogers is able to reach listeners around the world everyday. Through television and radio, Dr. Rogers' message is seen on over 14,000 screens and heard on 1,100 radios in the United States and in 150 countries across the globe.

Pastor Rogers has been called three times to lead the Southern Baptist Convention, which is the world's largest Protestant denomination with over 14 million members. He is the only man to have served three terms in that capacity under the present bylaws.

Dr. Rogers is an accomplished author and is considered one of America's most respected Bible teachers. Throughout his career he has been praised for his work. The Reverend Bill Graham has this to say about Dr. Rogers:

``We need for ministers of the Gospel to defend the Bible as the infallible Word of God . . . I believe in my heart that Adrian Rogers is such a man. I know God's hand is upon Adrian Rogers as he proclaims the Bread of Life from his church and through radio and television.''

Though, perhaps of all the titles that have accompanied Dr. Rogers: doctor, pastor, teacher, pioneer, and author, the most cherish is husband, father, and grandfather.

It is with great appreciation that I rise to honor Dr. Adrian Rogers for his ministry and service to our community, to Tennessee, and to the nation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take time today to recognize someone who has been a true public servant in Williamson County, Tennessee. Few communities are fortunate enough to have someone like Mary Mills. But we in Tennessee have been blessed by her hard work and dedication for years now.

Williamson County Commissioner Mary Mills has consistently and without fanfare worked to improve her community. As a former educator and an active member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Commissioner Mills has been a leader in everything she does.

This week she's being recognized by the United Community Resource Foundation with a Lifetime Achievement Award, and I join the people of Williamson County in thanking Mary for her dedication.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our chairman for the excellent work he has done this session as we have looked at immigration issues and have worked hard to be certain that we address the things that are of great concern to the American people and to our constituents.

And it is of concern that we have this motion to instruct to strip apart H.R. 10. And, of course, our opponents of H.R. 10 and our colleagues across the aisle are using impassioned talk to generate emotion on this issue, but what we have contained in H.R. 10 and in the provisions that they are wanting to lift out of that bill, wanting to move away, are just good, solid, common-sense legislation.

I disagree with my colleague across the aisle. He was talking about law enforcement officials and asking if they had lost their minds. I do not think they have. The ones in my district definitely have not.

They are very concerned about this, and I have been working with them since my days in the Tennessee Senate, working to address the driver's license issue and how that affects the American people. And they would choose to remove that from H.R. 10, and it is important.

We have got to be certain, as we look at our Nation's security, that we take very careful steps not to reward individuals who are going to choose to break the law to get here. We have to have great respect for the rule of law and be certain that we continue to have policies that require and reward those that respect the law.

Section 3052 that they are wanting to pull out does address the driver's license situation, having legal documents for driver's licenses. It is not a mandate. It does not set up a national database, and this section has been worked on very carefully. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) out of the Committee on Government Reform, and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller), who was secretary of state, have worked diligently on this issue to be certain that we know that the people who are getting a driver's license, a valid government I.D., are here in this country lawfully, that they have an official passport to be here lawfully. And it gives guidance to our States so that States can continue to have reciprocity for the use of those driver's licenses.

The provisions that are contained in 3052 are good, solid, common- sense provisions. It is something that our States, every single State in this great Nation, will know that they can depend on, that other citizens will know that they can depend on, that the individuals that work the TSA, that are looking at driver's licenses, that are allowing people to get on planes, they will know that this is a valid document and that the person who holds that document in their hand is who they say they are and that they are here and having presence in this country legally.

I would encourage my colleagues to oppose the motion to instruct. I would encourage my colleagues to support H.R. 10, the provisions that have been worked on, the provisions we have worked on with our State legislators so that we help them, help them to have the assurance that the documentation that is before them is real, it is valid; and so that the immigrant community knows that we are honoring those that choose to obey our laws, to work hard and to come here seeking hope, opportunity, and freedom.

Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about homeland security; and it is an honor for me to stand here and honor one of those unsung heroes, our law enforcement officers. This is a gentleman who is a hero in our community, in Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District. He has been named Tennessee's Sheriff of the Year. And it is our Montgomery County Sheriff, Sheriff Norman Lewis.

Sheriff Lewis is a 48-year veteran of law enforcement. He began his career as sheriff after retiring from the Tennessee Highway Patrol. He has dedicated 4 decades of his life to keeping us safe, and we really cannot thank him enough. Not only has the sheriff set an example for his colleagues in the field, Sheriff Lewis has also worked to ensure that our State's laws are sufficient to protect our citizens and our law enforcement officials.

He has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty for his community. And today I join many who are congratulating him and extending thanks to Sheriff Lewis, our Tennessee Sheriff of the Year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the rule, and I also want to commend the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), for his excellent work, the work of the Committee on Rules and also to commend the conference committee for their good work on this issue.

This is a fair rule. It is a good conference report. And it is time for us to take action on this. The issue that we have before us is about tax fairness, it is about equity, and it is about jobs growth. Mr. Speaker, as I was listening to my colleague from across the aisle talk about tax cuts, you would think that they think that the tax cuts are bad, that reducing the tax burden on the American citizens is a bad thing to do. I am here to tell you from my constituents in Tennessee, reducing that burden is a very good thing to do. It is something that the jobs growth bill does. And so I do rise to enthusiastically support it.

There is a provision in this bill that is of great importance not only to my constituents in Tennessee but to 55 million Americans. As we were hearing from the chairman, he mentioned this was help for farmers, help for Main Street, and help for Main Street is what I want to talk about, because restoring the deductibility of sales tax to the Federal income tax filing for those of us that are in States that do not have a State income tax, that choose to fund our State governments by sales tax, that is an issue of tax fairness.

It is also a way to help out Main Street and provide an economic boost that is truly needed in our communities. This is a provision also that is very important to thousands of female-owned small businesses: increasing expensing, leasehold provisions, deductibility of sales tax that provides more traffic on Main Street for our thousands of female- owned businesses. This is a very positive move.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor one of my constituents, someone that many of my colleagues may know, Darrell Waltrip. My colleagues might know him by his 84 racing victories, third best victory in NASCAR circuit or from his newest career in broadcasting. In middle Tennessee, we also know that he is a successful businessman.

But to those suffering with Multiple Sclerosis, he is more; he is a hero.

This year, Darrell is being honored by the Mid South Chapter of the National MS Society with the MS Hope Award for his outstanding dedication to helping end this devastating disease.

Darrell has given of his time and of his heart to educate the public on what we can do to help eradicate MS, and his support of the Mid South Chapter has been to expand the advocacy and research.

Today, I want to join those honoring Darrell Waltrip and thank him for his continuing fight against MS.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a legend as she celebrates her 80th birthday.

Phyllis Schlafly has been a national leader of the conservative movement since the publication of her best-selling 1964 book, A Choice Not An Echo.

Mrs. Schlafly worked shoulder to shoulder with other conservatives to create a movement. In 1972 she started a pro-family organization based on the values she knew that Americans shared with her, and helped America regain its moral footing.

For the next three decades her work helped guide young conservatives, and to this day, the organization she created, the Eagle Forum, continues to fight for conservative ideals.

This year the Phyllis Schlafly Report begins its 36th year, her syndicated column appears in 100 newspapers, and her radio commentaries are heard daily on 460 stations across the nation.

And, what I know she'd consider one of her crowning achievements, Mrs. Schlafly raised six children and was named Illinois ``Mother of the Year'' in 1992.

President Ronald Reagan said it best when referring to Phyllis Schlafly's work as ``an example to all those who would struggle for an America that is prosperous and free.''

Mrs. Schlafly serves as an inspiration to all of us who work to preserve our important American values--family, faith, and freedom.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our majority leader for his leadership on this issue. It is an honor for me to stand here with my colleagues today to protect marriage. To my colleagues who oppose this amendment, they want to argue that marriage is a right that should be extended to relationships beyond those of one man and one woman. They want to claim that the effort to protect marriage is about discrimination.

Mr. Speaker, I have a statement I want to enter into the Record. It is from one of Boston's most respected African American leaders, Reverend Richard Richardson of the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, standing in support of marriage, working to help protect marriage.

The statement is as follows:

``As an African-American, I know something about

discrimination. . . . The traditional institution of marriage

is not discrimination. And I find it offensive to call it

that. Marriage was not created to oppress people. It was

created for children. It boggles my mind that people would

compare the traditional institution of marriage to slavery.

From what I can tell, every U.S. Senator--both Democrat and

Republican--who has talked about marriage has said that they

support traditional marriage laws and oppose what the

Massachusetts court did. Are they all guilty of

discrimination?''

Mr. Speaker, there is an emotional appeal to their arguments, but we are not here to legislate on emotion, and this is not comparable to the civil rights movement. We are here today, Mr. Speaker, because logic, because reason, because experience tell us that marriage is something that is worth preserving and protecting. Despite what some of my colleagues will say, we are not here for malicious purposes. We are here to ensure that our marriage laws protect an institution that is part of the bedrock fiber of our society.

To determine whether or not a law is discriminatory, you have got to have an understanding about something of the purposes of that law. Is Social Security age discrimination because only people of retirement age are affected by that? Of course not. Similarly, common sense, experience, and social science will tell us that the purposes of our marriage laws are neither ugly nor invidious.

Marriage is a social institution. Individuals freely decide to enter marriage, but they do not have a right to redefine its basic nature because they disagree with our shared American understanding of what marriage is. They do not have that right any more than an individual can privately redefine the meaning of other basic social terms like ``property'' or ``democracy'' or ``church'' or ``corporation.''

A vote for this amendment is a vote to preserve and protect an institution that is critical to the well-being of American families and children. Mr. Speaker, today we are going to stand with a basic element of our society. We have an obligation to preserve it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation that is offered by my colleague from Indiana. The gentlewoman from the District urged us to respect her and the District residents where the city's gun laws are concerned, and I trust that she will be pleased to know that is exactly what this bill proposes to do. This is because right now residents of the District do not have an option. The law prohibits them from using a firearm to defend themselves and their families in their own homes and it prohibits them from acquiring handguns and other guns whether for defensive, sporting, hunting, or recreational purposes. This bill will give them an option by taking those prohibitions away.

If anyone from the District does not want to have a gun in their home for protection, they will not be required to do so. If they do not want to use a gun for target practice, recreation, hunting sports, they are not required to do so.

The only purpose of the bill is to give people an option, to let them decide whether to have a gun for protection or any other of the legitimate uses.

If no one in the city steps up to buy a gun, then that is fine, because it is their decision. I suspect, though, that many of my colleagues realize that there will be quite a few law-abiding Washingtonians who will want to exercise their individual right to arms and their right to engage in shooting sports and recreation as millions of Americans do. This bill protects their rights.

Mr. Speaker, several of us are coming to the well this morning to celebrate the decade since those revolutionary, visionary Republicans gained a majority in this House and helped put America back on the right track.

Today, Americans are paying lower taxes. We have a stronger, more well-trained military, and we fight every day to decrease regulation and to get at the heart of waste, fraud and abuse in our government. None of this, not any of it, would have happened without those passionate patriotic Republicans.

We understand that small businesses are what fuel this economy, so we have worked to help create and expand jobs. We have created health savings accounts, which give Americans more control over their health care dollars, greater choices.

Our historic tax relief has helped push America out of recession and helped to protect the American Dream for future generations. Republicans know that government does not create jobs; small business does. And we celebrate 10 years of success.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak against this amendment. The amendment would eliminate many of the contract reforms that we have worked so hard, so very hard to pass in order to increase the efficiency of government operations.

Contrary to statements of supporters of this amendment, competitive outsourcing is not outsourcing or privatization. I do not know why the supporters of this amendment oppose demanding the most for our taxpayer dollars because that is what we are doing when we talk about competitive sourcing. These contracting reforms create an environment where Federal employees can compete against each other and the private sector to provide services for the government. This is much of what our the government reform efforts are about in this Congress.

Competitive sourcing allows the commercial functions of the government to be contracted out to whomever offers the best deal for the taxpayer. That is called getting the most bang for your buck.

Mr. Chairman, that is what my constituents constantly talk about, is having government work efficiently, having it meet our needs, and having it do so making the best possible use of that taxpayer dollar; being the best steward that we can possibly be of the taxpayer dollar.

If this body adopts the Van Hollen amendment, the progress we have made in eliminating waste in the Federal bureaucracy, much of that will be undone and millions of taxpayer dollars will be spent needlessly. We cannot allow this to happen. We are on the road to making some great strides in reforms.

I urge my colleagues who are serious about having an efficient and effective government, a smaller government that serves the needs of the American people, to vote against the Van Hollen amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my Special Order at this time.