Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, we are all joining together to sponsor this resolution. Before I speak, I want to commend both the gentlelady from California and the gentlelady from North Carolina for the exceptional work that they have done on this issue.

We all are on the Health Subcommittee. They have worked diligently on this and have continued in their efforts to raise awareness on heart health for women. The resolution is timely. It is something that we hope tomorrow is going to share the limelight a bit with Valentine's Day as we raise awareness on the importance of heart health for women.

It is also something that is important as an educational tool as we each individually, and then all working together, continue our outreach efforts to make certain that women are aware of the signs of the disease, they are aware of the precautions, and they are then properly informed of the steps that they need to take.

Again, I commend my colleagues for their diligence and work. I appreciate the opportunity to sponsor the legislation with them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 971, and appreciate the efforts of Mr. Gordon to bring the resolution forward.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have spoken about being on the ground and seeing firsthand the devastation and, of course, Congressman Tanner, Congressman Cohen and I all have counties that were affected by this.

We had nine counties that saw devastation and destruction with the impact of this EF-4 tornado. We had Shelby County, Fayette, McNairy, Hardin, Hickman, Perry, Wayne, Williamson, Montgomery County. Each saw devastation, destruction of property and loss of life.

Mr. Speaker, indeed, we extend our condolences to those families who have lost their lives, and to their loved ones who have seen that loss of life. And we also extend our condolences to those families who have lost their livelihood because, indeed, as has been stated, the destruction is unimaginable.

I have a poster right here from Sunday afternoon when we were in Hardin County at Sharon Baptist Church, which was a wonderful church and school. It was completely obliterated. All six buildings on the campus of that church were obliterated.

And while you see the destruction that is just unimaginable, what you also see is the rising of the human spirit and neighbors who are reaching out to help. I asked Dr. Spencer, who pastors that church, what next? How do they move forward? Because they had nothing left. They had a hymnal that was found two counties over, but other than that, nothing left.

And he said, well, tomorrow morning we start to rebuild. And tomorrow morning we're going to be pulling out the scrap metal, and we're going to be moving the rubble to the street. And tomorrow morning is a new day. And that is the spirit that we see of individuals pitching in, neighbors coming to help.

Now they've also been so well supported by FEMA, by Director Paulison, by TEMA, and the team that is on the ground, by our State and local elected officials who didn't sit around and wait for someone to say they're coming to take care of it. They took action and said, we're going to get this done. It has been a wonderful testament to the volunteer spirit of our great State of Tennessee.

I commend all of those who have served, who have shown up to help and again extend my condolences to those who have lost family members and have lost the means of their livelihood.

Thank you so much.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for yielding the time, and I thank my colleagues for taking the time to come and talk to our colleagues and also to the American people a little bit about the issue of spending.

You have the right to know how we spend your money. Madam Speaker, I think that that is something we need to think about. This is not our money. It is not the government's money. This is the taxpayers' money. And to each and every individual, each and every taxpayer who is listening, you do have a right to know how your money is being spent.

The gentleman from South Carolina spoke so well to the issues that are encapsulated in the budget process. Some of you may be wondering about that budget document. Yes, the President did get it out to us last week. You can actually download the budget document if you want to see it. It is about 2,000 pages.

You think about how small the Constitution is and how big the budget is for this one year. But at Whitehouse.gov/OMB/budget/FY2009, the fiscal year 2009 budget, you can go to that Web site and you can actually print it off and go through and search and look at it, as the gentleman said, entitlements, and the entitlements that are there, the mandatory spending, as it is called, even though it is items that just don't seem to be addressed.

They are put on auto pilot, if you will. And it really takes strength to get in there and address Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security and those items that have been put on auto pilot.

Are these items things that are going to continue to grow every year? Yes, indeed, they do. Do they need to be addressed? Absolutely, they need to be addressed. And the gentleman is right in that, as he was pointing out the amounts of money. And then just making a small little reduction in that spending, you have a Budget chairman who is saying, oh, my goodness, draconian cuts. We can't do that.

So it is important to keep up with actually what is in that document. And I do encourage everyone to print that out, look at it, and stay in touch with us as we continue on a regular basis to come to this floor and talk about how this body spends your money.

Now to follow the good members of the Budget Committee, the gentleman from South Carolina and a couple of Members you will hear from yet a little bit further tonight and to follow some of the process, the process of getting this budget together. The President proposes that budget. You can go to budget.house.gov/republicans, and you can follow the actions that are going to take place as we talk about spending, talk about how the limits are going to be set for the different categories in the budget, as we go through amending that budget and the House putting its mark on that budget. We are the keepers of the purse. And I invite you to follow those actions.

Those of us that are in the Republican Study Committee, which are bringing you this hour tonight and this discussion, you can follow what we are doing with the budget at house.gov/hensarling/rsc, and we encourage you to do that.

We do recognize this is your money, it is not the government's money, and you deserve information on what is happening with spending. As you have heard from the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), and also from South Carolina (Mr. Barrett), you deserve that info so that you can decide if you think you are getting a good value for the tax dollars that you are sending into the Federal Government. So work through this with us, and then you make the decision as to what kind of value you think you are getting.

Now I will tell you, I am one of those that thinks the President spends too much. I have disagreed with how much he spends. I think this body spends too much. There are all sorts of good ideas that are out there. But every time there is a good idea, you have a price that has to be attached to that. And it is not only a price as to what we are spending here, but it is also the price that is paid because neither the private nor not-for-profit sector is going to fill that need or address that need if the public sector is doing it.

I think as we talk through the issue and as you are listening to the Members that will speak to you tonight, you will agree, government spends too much. As you have heard tonight, taxes are too high. The American people are overtaxed and government has overspent. The bureaucracy is bloated and the bureaucracy needs to be trimmed back. Every year they take a little more and a little more and a little more and go through this process of baseline budgeting, never going back to dollar zero like you do, like we all do with the family budget. Every year they just add on. So the bureaucracy is bloated. And in this season of a new year and new resolutions, the Federal budget is one that needs to be put on a diet. But we all know that government has an insatiable appetite for the taxpayers' money.

There are some actions that need to be taken. As you have heard tonight, you see the mandatory spending, the things that are on auto pilot approaching 60 percent of this budget. It's time to get our hands around that. We're looking forward to beginning some of that process this year, just as we've begun it every year with the budget discussion and driving that debate a little bit further to make certain that fiscal responsibility is restored to this House, to make certain that future generations of Americans have a free Nation in which they can grow up, which they can dream big dreams, where they can have great adventures and they have the confidence of knowing they have a government that is going to work well, a government that is going to be efficient and effective in the tasks that they undertake and the services they provide.

I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the accomplishments of Cecil Scaife and other key individuals who helped transform Nashville, Tennessee, into Music City, USA. Tonight at the historic Ryman Auditorium, Belmont University will present Nashville Celebrates Elvis! to highlight Elvis Presley's important contributions to the recording industry in Nashville. The event will also honor the contributions of Cecil Scaife and benefit the Cecil Scaife Music Business Scholarship Fund. The work done by Cecil, Bob Mulloy, and other industry leaders to found and nurture what would become the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University built upon the success of Elvis and other early pioneers to cement the place of Nashville in the entertainment landscape of our country.

Beginning in radio in the 1950s and then moving into the recording business, Cecil Scaife eventually became the first promotions manager for the legendary producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records in Memphis. Cecil would play a key role in the early careers of not just Elvis, but also Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. He also worked in the first three-track recording studio in Nashville and the RCA Victor Studio B where Elvis recorded some of his greatest hits.

Not content with enjoying his personal success, Cecil Scaife joined with others in 1971 to lay the groundwork for the music business program at Belmont University. He taught there, established a scholarship to honor his wife, Sherytha, and made sure all of his children were educated there. His work helped ensure that the program would become a model for other music schools around the country. This program ensured that Nashville would never run short on talented. well- prepared, home-grown music business professionals ready to lead Nashville's music industry into the future.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Cecil Scaife, Belmont University, and all those who have worked so hard to make sure Nashville, Tennessee, will always be one of the musical and cultural treasures of our country.

Madam Speaker, due to the state of emergency in West Tennessee caused by a devastating tornado storm, I was unable to return to Washington in order to vote on the evening of February 6, 2008. If present, I would have voted ``yea'' on the following three bills: Rollcall No. 29 for H. Res. 867; Rollcall No. 30 for H. Res. 942; Rollcall No. 31 for H. Res. 943.

Mr. Speaker, as we begin to talk about our national security and our troops and the surge and the success of that and why our troops choose to defend this great Nation, I want to stop and just join Mr. Gingrey in congratulating his mother on her 90th birthday. Certainly, Helen Cecelia Gingrey sounds like the type of woman that truly takes a leadership role, first of all, in her family and role models that leadership and how to carry that out in how to encourage children to dream big dreams and have great adventures in their life and to desire that.

That is something you learn at a mother's knee. That is something you see role modeled by parents, and Mr. Speaker, that is something that we need to keep in mind as we are here on the floor of the House in this body, as we make decisions about how our Nation moves forward in this 21st century.

We need to remember that there are future generations that are relying on us to be certain that this Nation stays secure. There are future generations that are looking to us that go every single day and say, what will my tomorrow be like? Is my community going to be secure? What is America going to look like when I am 20, when I'm 30, when I get ready to retire?

We would do well to be mindful of that every single day as we make decisions that affect America's families and realize, yes, indeed, those families are our greatest treasure. Those precious minds of those precious children are indeed what we are to be protecting and be certain that they have the ability to dream those big dreams.

So to Dr. Gingrey's mom, Helen Gingrey, happy birthday. We all congratulate you, and we are so pleased that we live in a free Nation and we can stand on the floor of this House and celebrate those birthdays and join your son in wishing you happy birthday and many, many more.

Mr. Speaker, I recently did return from a trip to Afghanistan and Iraq to visit with our troops. And tonight I want to spend some time talking about what has been going on in Iraq and the success that we have seen there, the success that our troops have brought to bear on Iraq and on the environment that is there.

Just about 3 weeks ago, we had the 1-year anniversary of the surge, and everyone had a lot to say about that surge and a lot to say about how successful they thought it would or would not be. I think, Mr. Speaker, it's very easy for us to be Monday morning quarterbacks or armchair quarterbacks and to always have our opinion of how we think these things are going to work out.

The 101st is in my district in Tennessee. We also have the National Guardsmen from our State that have been deployed, Reservists who have been deployed, and we would always say we need to be listening to the troops that are in the field and the commanders that are there on the ground.

We saw a change about a year ago. The change was in the form of the surge. The implementation of that surge was carried out by General David Petraeus. He was joined by Ambassador Crocker as they moved forward with the preparations and the implementation of that surge, and we have seen results.

Over the December and January period of time, we had the opportunity to visit, and I am pleased to be joined tonight by my colleague from Texas (Mr. Burgess) who has been on the ground in Iraq several times, I think six times he has been to visit our troops in Iraq. And he wanted to join me tonight for a few minutes and talk about what he saw and give a firsthand account of what he saw.

I'm so pleased that he has chosen to join us because one of the things our troops mentioned to us on our trip was, We are fighting every day. We are in a war. And we are winning significant battles every single day. And we want the American people to know we are fighting. We are giving it our all, and yes, indeed, we are winning every day.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I think it's important for us to realize that a lot of times, success comes in odd ways. Progress comes in unexpected ways. And it is not just on a trajectory where every day is better and better and better. We take a few steps forward, we take a few steps back. We take a few more steps forward, we take a little step back. But when you add it up, you are trending the right direction.

That is certainly what we have seen in the success of the surge. We have seen every major news outlet declare it a success. The American people know that it is a success. And our troops are to be commended for that success. Certainly, the President was right in making that commendation last night.

As I said a moment ago, Dr. Burgess from Texas who's been to Iraq six times wants to join us and share his impressions of what he saw on the ground in Iraq, and I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

If the gentleman will yield.

I would like to put that photo back up, if you do not mind.

Now, I think it is significant that you're talking about Ramadi, which is in al Anbar Province. And you're talking about a photo that was made during the summer, July 14, 2007, which is the photo stamp date that is there on the photo. And if I am picking all of this up, it looks like tools and implements that are hanging in the ceiling of the shop, and plastic buckets, rubber buckets, and probably some plastic hampers that are there. And when I was in Iraq, I noticed that there was lots of produce that was also being sold in some of the shops.

But one of the things that is of interest to me is the photo that you're showing indicates to us that we do have import and export that is taking place, and we do have commerce that is taking place. And so, as you were on that street in Ramadi, how many shops did you see; do you remember a number? How many were lining the street? And how far did you drive from the base into town to begin to see this type of commerce and the happy kids that are obviously learning how to do a little bit of retail merchant work there?

I yield back to the gentleman.

If the gentleman will yield, a dozen shops in any of our towns in our districts is a pretty good number of shops. So, we've got a lot of commerce that is beginning to take place there. And I yield back.

I thank the gentleman for yielding back the time. And I am so pleased to see these pictures. And I appreciate so much his participation in this, and the conversation about the establishment of commerce and how he witnessed this firsthand with shops that were open. As he said, one little side street where they went there were about 12 shops that were on that. And indeed, these are more like stalls that we would have at one of our swap meets or flea markets. But as you can see, they're full of kids that are happy, that are playing, that are enjoying being around the normalcy of a life. They are full of commerce and goods, items that are coming in for sale. We even saw soft drinks, Coca-Cola. In Afghanistan, we saw cell phones that were being sold. So, in this region of the world, the commerce that is there on the ground.

And in talking about Iraq, the gentleman mentioned the local stability. And indeed, that was something we had the opportunity to witness, also, and we're pleased to see that. We had a visit to Urbil in Kurdistan, had the opportunity to go to the home of the Prime Minister of Kurdistan. We drove to that home. Mr. Speaker, I want to be certain that everyone realizes what I just said. We drove to the home of the Prime Minister of Kurdistan for lunch and joined him where he thanked us profusely for all that the U.S. Armed Forces have done for that region, not only in the past few years, but for the decade prior.

While we were in Iraq, we had the opportunity to go to the home of Deputy Prime Minister Barzani, to his home in the Green Zone to meet with him. And I will tell you, we visited with him about how hopeful we had experienced the mood of the people. There is a sense of hope that things are getting better, that there is a return to normalcy in their everyday life, and how encouraging to us it was to witness this hopefulness.

His comment to us was, we know that sometimes people get frustrated with us, but do not give up this mission. Do not give up on this mission because things are trending the right direction. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, it's all important components in winning, in having Iraq be a nation that can function with some predictability, stability and self- governance.

It is also important because, as we look at defeating terrorists who want to defeat us, it is important that we win the war of ideas. And the photos that Dr. Burgess shared with us, the young men in those photos, we have to win the war of ideas with them to reach them, to make certain that over the next decade, as they begin an adult life, that they make a choice to live in freedom rather than choosing a life under a dictator.

Indeed, our job is also to make certain that our troops have what they need to do their job. And that is a responsibility of this House, as the President said last night. And certainly, as we are in the midst of a swing, a dramatic swing, if you will, in the momentum in Iraq, especially on the security situation, it is imperative that we pay close attention to meeting the needs of those troops.

Now, quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, I will tell you, I do not think it is helpful to this situation that we debated over 30 different resolutions about Iraq and timelines and withdrawals and trying to micromanage what is taking place on the ground because there has been a swing and a shift. We have transitioned from 2.5 years of increases in violence with more than 24 weeks of a steady decline.

Now, Dr. Burgess mentioned, when we go to Iraq, and I want to clarify one thing here before I move on, this week I had the opportunity to visit with the Tennessee Marine Family Association, and what a wonderful, wonderful group of moms and dads and brothers and sisters and marines who have retired from active duty. And I enjoyed my time with them tremendously. And one of them said, you know, tell me, when you go to Iraq, why do you go? And are you taking the troops' time away from work in the field? And I said no, we go because we are asked to go, especially those of us that have posts. As I've said, Fort Campbell, the 101st is in my district, and they invite us and ask us to come and see how they are carrying out their mission and experience that firsthand with them.

But as Dr. Burgess said, when we make those trips, we have the power points and we have the briefings from the commanders on the ground and we have the opportunity while we are there to hold a town hall meeting, if you will, with our troops that are deployed and are carrying out this mission. So I have put some of that endless power point onto some charts that I would like to share with those who are watching us this evening.

The first chart that I'm going to show you is one that comes from our commanders there in Iraq, and it shows their assessment of al Qaeda Iraq. And many times people will see AQI, that is, the abbreviation for al Qaeda Iraq, and where they were when the surge began last year. And you can see the dark red areas. It shows where they were operating, and the pink areas show what were their transit routes. And you can see how in the city of Baghdad where they were operating, and then as you look at the country you can see where they were transiting in and out of the country and then where they were holding their primary areas of operation. Again, the pink shading is their transit areas, and the red is where they were operational and where they were working. And the inset is Baghdad and what we saw in Baghdad and how that looked before the surge began.

Now I want to move to the second chart and show you what this looks like today. This is what Iraq looks like today. And, again, this is not my chart. This is a chart from our commanders on the ground in Iraq. This is their assessment.

So, Mr. Speaker, to the American people that are watching this tonight, I will simply say this is the chart that is your commanders' assessment of where al Qaeda is as of December 2007. And, of course, al Qaeda is still a threat. Of course, they are still there. But as you can see, by looking at the pink areas and the red areas, this has been diminished. They have been pushed out of the urban centers, look at the inset, with Baghdad. You can see where they have been squeezed down and where they have been moved to and how much smaller their area of operation is and how much smaller their transit area is. They know that the Iraqi people, the Iraqi forces, and the U.S. Armed Forces and our coalition forces mean business on this.

Look at the map of the entire country. When you can see their egress, ingress with the surrounding countries, and then see the pockets where al Qaeda Iraq is still operational. So they have been pushed out of many of the urban areas, and they have been moved over into some of the isolated rural areas.

I want to touch base too on our troops' contribution to this because it has been significant. Our U.S. Armed Forces and the 30,000 that went in for the surge made a marked difference. And I think there is, of course, the physical strength that our troops brought to this, the firepower, if you will, and the training and the strength and the determination. There are no better forces on the face of the Earth than the U.S. military. And we also have to recognize the Iraqis and the force that they brought to bear on this.

When we talk about the surge, sometimes many of us think only in terms of the 30,000 of our troops that have led the way in this fight. What we have to realize also is that we have 110,000 Iraqi troops that have lent their power to this effort, 110,000. They were joined in this effort by 70,000 local citizens.

Dr. Burgess mentioned earlier the local stability, and there is a reason for that. You had 70,000 Iraqi citizens that basically banded together in what we would call a ``neighborhood watch,'' and they decided to take things into their own hands and to take responsibility. And in many of these areas in the surge the Iraqi troops would lead. They were coached. They were trained. They were supported in so many ways by our U.S. military and by our coalition forces. And the local Iraqi citizen groups would work with those military forces, those combined forces. So together you had 180,000 Iraqis working with our 30,000 U.S. troops that have made this surge successful and have changed that map so that it looks today like it does, with al Qaeda being moved into some isolated areas and with more of the country being able to function with a sense of normalcy.

Now, we've already talked a little bit about al Anbar province and the success that was there because that is where al Qaeda Iraq had planted its flag. It was the capital of the caliphate, and that is where they were going to put down roots, if you will. What we saw happen in al Anbar province during the surge, I think, is just nothing short of remarkable, and the photos that you've just seen from the streets of Ramadi and the commerce that was taking place and the difference that the surge has made there. Basically, the citizens of Ramadi and al Anbar province said we are sick and tired of this. We do not want al Qaeda Iraq to be running the show in our town. So they joined with the Iraqi troops and the U.S. troops, and they literally threw al Qaeda out.

So many of the experts tell us that this is the first place that the Arab people have stood up to their own and have rejected, openly rejected, al Qaeda and have defeated al Qaeda. And I think that that is significant. And, Mr. Speaker, I believe and I certainly am hopeful in believing that we are going to see other areas follow the lead that al Anbar has set.

Now, we have seen some other effects of that team effort over the past year, and I want to move on to a couple of other charts. Now, this is the overall attack trends, Iraq attack trends; and it shows you what has happened, if you look from December 2006, and where your attacks were in December 2006, with over 5,000, and then you go up into April and May where they reach their height, and then you can see where they have dropped down, less than half, and the reduction that is there. It is actually down about 60 percent by the time you get to December 2007. That is the difference that the surge has made. From December 2006, where you're up above 5,000 attacks and then coming down where you have seen that number drop by about 60 percent. That's the difference that the surge has made in the overall attacks.

Well, let's look at the IED explosions. This is something that our constituents always ask us about because they hear so much about the explosive devices and the way these IEDs and these IED systems are developed and set up and the way those explosions are carried out.

You can see, if you go in here and you look at December 2006, where they are. They move up in June to a high of about 1,700, and then take a look over here, about 700 in December. And there you go from beginning to the end of surge, the year of the surge, and what you have seen. It is almost as if you have al Qaeda jumping in here and saying we're not going to let them get the best of us. They give it a shot, and then in June look how every single month you're dropping. And that's the difference that a year of the surge has made.

Let's move on to another figure on this chart, the killed-in-action figure. And as we look at this chart and we see the dramatic drop that is here, Mr. Speaker, we feel so deeply for the families that have experienced a loss, and at Fort Campbell we have seen some losses recently, and we just continue to hold those families close. And we are grateful, so grateful, to them for their service, for their sacrifice, and we grieve with them in those losses. And we know that over the course of the year we have seen a dramatic decrease in those losses.

Now, chart number six, the Iraqi civilian deaths attributed to violence, these have dropped significantly. And you can see in December 2006, where we were at about 3,000 and then where we are way down, well under 1,000 by the time we get to December 2007. So this shows us how security is improving. Ethnosectarian violence has dropped by about 85 percent. All of these are the right type trend. And it shows how things are moving a little bit at a time, moving in the right direction.

We know there are no guarantees. This is tough. Our military men and women know that they are fighting and winning every day. But, Mr. Speaker, I will tell you they do know that they are seeing some successes, that security is improving, and that they are seeing some success with economic issues. And I want to give you just a couple of examples of these.

I had made a comment as we were leaving Baghdad the other night, and it was in the evening; so you could see the lights in Baghdad. I had been going in and out to visit our troops since 2003, and for the first time it really looked like a city. You could see the lights on all over the city and cars driving on the streets. You could see outdoor restaurants. You could see colorful awnings. You could see fruit stands and market areas. And it really was beginning to look like a city. And I did a little checking to see what kind of success stories we could find with the work that USAID and some of our organizations are providing to the area to see that commerce stand up and that sense of normalcy return. So let me tell you a quick little story, Mr. Speaker, and I think this is great.

We love success stories. We love it when we have someone who by their bootstraps pulls themselves up and realizes a wonderful dream of having a business or building a company. We as Americans love that entrepreneurial spirit. And I loved this story of Amhed who is in the Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad, and he was able to get a $2,500 microgrant. Now, I know many of our constituents may have been reading in the paper about some of the microgrants and the microbusinesses that are going into Iraq and other countries also to help entrepreneurs start these businesses.

Well, Amhed used his grant to buy chest freezer shelves and an awning to open a store. And the store is now self-sufficient. It is supporting him and his family. He now is a merchant with his store, his produce store, on a corner there in the Mansour neighborhood in Baghdad. And it came about because there was a grant that helped him to get that store in place.

Now, this is important, Mr. Speaker, because you wouldn't go take out a loan and you wouldn't be approved for that loan if there was not the ability to put things in place and begin to see some success in that neighborhood.

Well, we also have another one, a juice merchant, that used a USAID microfinance grant and opened a juice factory in Baghdad. There's lots of pomegranate juice and orange juice and the different juices they are beginning to manufacture and bottle and sell. This juice factory in Baghdad, with a microfinance grant from our USAID, has created 24 full- time jobs in Baghdad. That one little grant. And that gentleman is now making that juice. Of course, I said, well, I hope that Ahmed is one of the customers of the juice factory and selling that juice in his store on the corner, his produce store on the corner.

Now, I know that there are some who want to say that the security improvements aren't meaningful because we are not seeing enough political progress in Iraq. I will tell you that, and I think we all agree, that that political progress has not moved forward as quickly as we would like to. But we were reminded last week as we visited with Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus that the Washington clock and the Baghdad clock move at different speeds. You know, I guess that as impatient as many times as we are, we do have to realize this is a country that was under a dictator, a very brutal dictator for over three decades.

We are beginning to see some very encouraging signs of political progress, and I think this year is going to be a year when we see some more of that. Just over a week ago, the Iraqi Parliament did pass what was for them a very difficult law. They have taken a long time to look at de-Ba'athification reform, and that was passed. It has been difficult for them to address that central question of how the Iraqi people are going to deal with their past and with the legacy of Saddam Hussein.

The law has gone through their parliament, and it has passed. It was passed with Shiite sponsorship, which is significant. We have also seen some key Sunni political blocks return to parliament, to return to their work to be a part of the process.

Those are very encouraging steps. They are steps in the right direction. Certainly, the success of the surge has allowed the ability for this to take place. We have also seen the Iraqi Government has developed and is working on an ambitious budget. We are certainly hoping that they are going to do the same thing as they work through this current year. We have seen some encouraging signs of critical power sharing arrangements within the Iraqi Government. Their Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, is apparently more willing to share power with the three-person presidency council, which represents each of the major sects in Iraq. So that is another sign that is very encouraging to us.

Anybody who is a serious and objective observer can say that the surge has worked. They admit that. We know that we are going to face more debate in the coming year over the length and nature and the size of our mission in Iraq. I would encourage all of my colleagues to take the success of the surge to heart and to be certain that they are not trying to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory, but that they are being fair to our troops, that they are recognizing the success that these troops have given us in the surge, and that they are taking time to commend and thank the troops and the commanders that are on the ground.

I think it's fair to say, Mr. Speaker, that we all, I know I certainly appreciate those troops and their families, and I appreciate having the opportunity to support them and to let them know how much I appreciate having that opportunity to support them and also to honor them and to honor their families. My hope is that as we go through 2008 and as we look at our legislative agenda, Mr. Speaker, I hope that the work of this body will honor those men and women who honor us every single day, who honor the legacy of freedom every single day by the way that they choose to carry out their job and by the way they choose to represent this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 279, 110th Congress, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 8 o'clock and 20 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until Wednesday, February 6, 2008, at 2 p.m.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mary Lois McMillan upon her retirement as a Career Counselor at WorkForce Essentials.

Since joining the Franklin Career Center more than fifteen years ago, she has been a cornerstone in the center's efforts to prepare Williamson County citizens for new and challenging careers. During her tenure, the Williamson County office was recognized as Career Center of the Year and received the Business Services Award on multiple occasions. Employers in the county trusted that any candidate she sent to them would be a viable and well-prepared applicant. Mary Lois McMillan is known throughout WorkForce Essentials as a dedicated team player with a tremendous work ethic. She will clearly be missed.

In addition to her efforts at the Career Center, she has consistently given back to the community through her volunteer work with the Williamson County Chamber of Commerce, the Carnton Plantation, the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, and the Dress for Success program.

Please join me in thanking Mary Lois McMillan for her contributions to our community and to Tennessee. We should all be proud of the work she has done.

Madam Speaker, this weekend, the Family and Children's Services of Nashville, Davidson County, TN will honor the dedication and service of a trusted and treasured volunteer, the late Jeannie Hastings.

Jeannie loved the organization and served it well, providing both guidance and leadership as it worked to fulfill its mission to provide

needed services to Nashville families. Jeannie Hastings loved people and loved doing good for her community. It was apparent in how she chose to spend her time and energy--working for a better quality of life for everyone.

Mrs. Hastings graduated from Milan High School and with honors from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. With her husband Jim, she raised three sons and co-founded Hastings Architecture Associates, LLC. As a community leader, she served as president of the University of Tennessee National Alumni Association, chairman of the Nashville Symphony Board and was a member of the Volunteer Council Board of Directors for the American Symphony Orchestra League and the Nashville Chamber of Commerce Board.

She also chaired the Nashville Downtown Partnership Board, the Women's Fund of the Community Foundation Advisory Board, the TSU Foundation Board, the Nashville Symphony Guild, the Arthritis Foundation Nashville branch and the Heart Gala Board of Directors.

She also found time to serve on the Family and Children's Services Board, the Nashville Sports Council Board and the University of Tennessee Alumni Board of Governors. She was also a member of the Downtown Exchange Club and Leadership Nashville.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in reflecting on the remarkable example of balancing family, business and community service that Jeannie set. I am so pleased to count myself among the many Tennesseans who are better for having known her.

Madam Speaker, I think we all know that the best economic stimulus is a job. It is a job that you can sink your teeth into, that you can go to work every day and you can use this job to provide for your family. So, as the debate ensues, let's keep our focus on how policies affect the environment in which job growth takes place. Of course we all want to see lower marginal rates on our income tax rate. We want to lower cap gains. We want to lower the corporate tax rate. We want to see full and immediate section 179 expensing for our small businesses. And for those of us that live in States that do not have a State income

tax, we want to see deductibility of State sales tax extended. All of these are good things and, Madam Speaker, we are working for all of these. I hope that we also will keep in mind that actions speak louder than words. So this body should use this conversation about economic stimulus as an opportunity to prioritize and reduce what the Federal Government spends. Reduce the budget. Let's spend less. And remember, the best economic stimulus is a job.

Madam Speaker, I am rising today to urge a ``no'' vote on the SCHIP veto override.

You know, it seems like we have done this over and over and over again. But to my colleagues across the aisle, the time to have started this discussion was this time last year. And if they were so concerned about children's access to health care, the timely manner would have been last year to start this debate, not the end of the year.

Now, as we have heard in the discussion here today, this issue is decided. This body passed S. 2499, that's Senate bill 2499, which very closely mirrors the Barton-Deal bill that the ranking member mentioned earlier today, and it came very close to extending the program with its original intent.

Now, how many times in this body do we hear programs have strayed from their original intent, they're not what they started out? And that is how we went about making certain that this program was put in place through March 2009, getting through the Presidential debate so we didn't have to come back to the floor and talk about this. But instead, the majority wants to keep their focus on H.R. 3963.

Now, in that bill what you would find is it will increase the number of adults on SCHIP, which is the State Children's Health Insurance Plan. Why do we need to be putting adults on SCHIP? It would also allow illegal immigrants to fraudulently enroll in SCHIP. Why should illegal immigrants be getting taxpayer-funded health care? And it would create a flawed tobacco tax scheme to the tune of $70 billion.

Madam Speaker, let's vote to sustain the veto. Let's vote ``no'' on this veto override. It is disheartening that the Democrats cannot put aside their partisan agenda for children.

Madam Speaker, it is so interesting to look at today's Whipping Post and see the myriad and vast range of the issues that are coming before us. And many of these are issues that should have been addressed months ago.

One of those that we are going to address first off this morning will be S. 2499. This is an issue that is going to deal with Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP, the State Children's Health Insurance Program. This should have been handled months ago. It has been running under a continuing resolution.

Madam Speaker, I am so pleased that the congressional leadership has decided to finally take the politics out of this and to support SCHIP as it was currently put in place in 1997 by a Republican Congress and to keep the focus on children of the working poor who need access to health care.

I support this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to do likewise and to continue to support SCHIP as it was originally put in place in 1997 by a Republican Congress.

Madam Speaker, I want to compliment Mr. Barton and Mr. Deal for the extraordinary amount of work they have done on this issue this entire year. I know that they are pleased that the congressional leadership has joined them in working to be certain that we take the politics out of this issue and we keep the focus on how we address the health care needs of our Nation's most vulnerable, our children and our elderly.

A couple of things that we are going to see in this bill, as you have already heard, the Medicare physician payment schedule, the cut that was to take place is not going to. They are going to see a half percent increase through June 2008. My hope is that we will be able to have the majority work with us to resolve this issue.

I think it is just unconscionable that every single year this SGR gets revisited and we try to work it through. We know that this is something that we are going to be providing. It is a service. Health care is going to be provided for our Medicare enrollees. And, Madam Speaker, this needs to be dealt with and the problem needs to be solved.

I am also pleased that SCHIP is going to be extended through March 2009 and that we are keeping the focus there on standing in the gap between those children that are not eligible for Medicare and those that have the ability to afford private health insurance. This gets back to the original intent of that program to be certain that the children of the working poor are covered.

I am also pleased that this contains the 6-month extension of critical funding for the Tennessee Medicaid DSH payments to our hospitals.

Madam Speaker, there should be some lessons learned from the 1115 waiver process that my State of Tennessee has been through and through the experiment of Hillary Clinton health care and the failures of that. As we move forward, I hope we look at those lessons learned.

I appreciate this legislation does provide those DSH payments to these hospitals. I look forward to working with the majority.

I thank our ranking member from Texas.

I find it so interesting, Mr. Speaker, that so many of our colleagues refer to this as a historic day. I think, in some regards, it certainly is. Certainly the New York Times regards it as a historic day, and I quote from the New York Times this morning where they say, and I am quoting, ``This is one of the most ambitious dictates ever issued to American business.''

Now, Mr. Speaker, I think that that happens, because in this 805 pages, the 16 titles of this bill, we don't do anything to produce energy, and this is not a bill that is focused on energy independence. But what it does do is pick winners and losers, Mr. Speaker, and that is something that the American people and American business are going to realize very, very quickly.

Now, I also find it interesting, and I think it is historic from another point of view. What has happened to the price of gas at the pump since the majority took control in January? Since that time, it has gone up by over 33 percent, and we know that our families are feeling it more. In January, an average mom in Tennessee's Seventh Congressional District that I have the honor to represent paid about $34 to fill up her 15-gallon tank. Today, she is paying $45. Moving us toward energy independence should be a goal for this Congress, and it is unfortunate, and maybe it could be termed historic, that this is a piece of legislation in 805 pages that is not going to do that.

So we are seeing those prices increase. That mom is going to spend an extra $528 this year in order to fill up that pump. So what we should be doing is focusing on how we best move this Nation to energy independence, how we best achieve that goal, and how we best represent our constituents.