Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, 2005 will be remembered as a year of good intentions, bad disasters and promises kept. This spring, Congress adopted the toughest budget since the Reagan years, and the Appropriations Committee reported one bill after another, on time and on budget.

Then came the heartbreak that was Hurricane Katrina, 90,000 square miles of the gulf coast destroyed. Congress responded by speeding relief and recovery funds totaling $60 billion in 6 days to rebuild the families and communities destroyed by this storm.

After the storm, many in Washington thought that fiscal discipline was the last thing Congress should be thinking about, preferring raising taxes or raising the national debt to making tough choices, but not this majority.

Seeing that a catastrophe of nature could become a catastrophe of debt, dozens of House conservatives challenged the Congress to offset the cost of Hurricane Katrina with budget cuts. And I will always believe that their effort, which came to be known as Operation Offset, helped spark a national debate that propelled us to this moment tonight.

The American people wanted Washington to pay for Katrina with budget cuts, and Washington got the message. In direct response to President George W. Bush's call for offsets, Speaker Dennis Hastert unveiled a bold plan we consider tonight, to find budget cuts from every area of the Federal Government. The Hastert plan with the across the board cut included in this bill and the more than $40 billion in entitlement savings in the Deficit Reduction Act will become a reality today. This legislation includes $33.5 billion in spending offsets, $23 billion reallocated of unspent FEMA funds, a 1 percent across the board cut, saving $8.5 billion and $1.6 billion in additional rescissions.

But with a national debt of $8 trillion, Mr. Speaker, nearly $26,000 for every American, completing the task of putting our fiscal house in order will take time. But tonight, the task begins.

In 1994, the American people said yes to a vision of fiscal discipline, limited government and reform. Some called it the Republican Revolution. With the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act and the across the board cut in spending in this legislation, I say with great sincerity the Republican Revolution is back.

By showing that we can make tough choices even during tough times, Congress is renewing our commitment to the principles of fiscal discipline and limited government that minted this majority. And in so doing, we are beginning the task of ensuring the continued prosperity of our Nation and our national government for future generations.

I thank the chairman for yielding.

As a member of the International Relations Committee, I rise in strong support of this resolution and take a moment to express our prayers and good wishes to the author of this resolution, who labors at the side of his namesake at this very hour in a hospice in Illinois.

It is extraordinary day today, Mr. Speaker, as a Member of Congress that has had the privilege to travel to Operation Iraqi Freedom on three different occasions, the news that 11 million Iraqis, with Iraqis on point handling the security during these elections, 70 percent of Iraqis turned out. It was, in no uncertain terms, a victory for democracy in Iraq. And it is my privilege and honor to rise this morning on this floor in support of the rule and the underlying resolution that confirms this great day in the history of freedom, December 15, 2005, when millions of Iraqis defied terrorists to say ``yes'' to democracy.

I stand also in support of the affirmative statements in this resolution that this House of Representatives is committed to achieving victory in Iraq and sees this election as a crucial victory for the Iraqi people and a defeat for the terrorists in that country. It is also in this resolution an effort to state emphatically the rejection of the wisdom of an artificial time line and also to recognize the extraordinary sacrifices made by members of the United States Armed Forces and their families. It is about them that I rise especially today, Mr. Speaker.

This week at my office in Muncie, Indiana, a group of the citizens that I

have the privilege of serving came to protest our military presence in Iraq, to urge the withdrawal, as some have done and continue to do, of our forces from this nation. And while it is their right to do so, let me say emphatically, it is my duty to stand with our Commander in Chief, to stand with our soldiers in the field, and to stand with the good people of Iraq until we achieve a total victory for freedom in this nation.

I derive that sense of duty from seven names that I felt obligated to mention today. They are the names of the soldiers that I represented until they stepped into eternity, who fell in Operation Iraqi Freedom, from eastern Indiana.

Lance Corporal Matthew Smith.

Private Shawn Pahnke.

Specialist Chad Keith.

Staff Sergeant Frederick Miller, Jr.

Sergeant Robert Colvill, Jr.

Specialist Raymond White.

Lance Corporal Scott Zubowski.

These seven men didn't leave their post, and this Congressman won't, either. It is them and to their credit and to their grieving families that I rise in support of this resolution today. It is the sacrifices of over 2,000 American soldiers who laid down their lives for the freedom that we saw demonstrated in the streets of every corner of Iraq yesterday that I support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize fellow Columbus, Indiana native Tony Stewart, not only for winning the 2005 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship this year, but also for consistency and determination to finish each race.

Before winning the 2002 Nextel Cup, Stewart declared, ``If we're going to win the championship, then we need to have consistency . . . winning helps too, but consistency--front-running consistency is what it's all about.''

Tony's racing legacy began at age seven, Tony started his career like many young aspiring auto racing drivers: behind the wheel of a go-kart. In 1983, when Tony was 12, he won his first championship.

In 1989, Stewart moved from go-karts to open wheelers, winning his first championship in the National Midget category in 1994; followed by the U.S. Auto Club's Triple Crown the very next year.

It was in 1997 that Stewart began his NASCAR career racing in both the Indy Racing League and a full Busch schedule with team owner Joe Gibbs.

By 1999, Stewart had taken the Winston Cup Racing Series by storm. That year the Indiana native debuted on the front-row of his first Daytona 500 and went on to score three more victories, more than any rookie driver in Winston Cup history. He also obtained two poles, 12 top-five finishes, and 21 top-10 finishes, snagging 1999 Rookie of the Year.

The hometown crowd was there this past August when Stewart, already a winner on short tracks, super-speedway and road course, capped an emotional day by clinching the Indianapolis Brickyard. And now, Stewart has out-dueled his rivals to take a second Nextel Cup title.

Congratulations, Tony. Just like 2002, you got the job done with consistency and determination that makes Hoosiers proud.

I thank the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin for yielding me time and for his extraordinary leadership of the Judiciary Committee on which I serve. I also congratulate Chairman King for his hard work on this important legislation.

As the grandson of an Irish immigrant, I believe in the ideals that are enshrined on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. America has always and will always be a welcoming Nation, welcoming under the law any and all with the courage enough to come to this shining city on a hill. But a nation without borders is not a nation, and across this country Americans are anxious about the security of our border. Night after night they see news images of people sneaking across the border in the dark of night; they hear tales of people paying thousands of dollars to so-called ``coyotes'' to smuggle them into the country; they worry that drugs will make their way into the hands of their children more readily; and they rightly fear that our porous borders make it more likely that terrorists will cross with deadly intentions against our families.

This year alone, some 115,000 illegal aliens from countries other than Mexico have been apprehended by our Border Patrol; and simply as an ordinary American, I share this concern. That is why I support the legislation before us today.

Estimates vary, but it is generally accepted that around 11 million illegal aliens are living in our Nation today. The great majority of these people entered America by making an illegal border crossing. We cannot allow this trend to continue.

In today's legislation, the Department of Homeland Security is required to develop and submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for securing the border, including surveillance plans, a timeline for implementation, 1,000 additional port of entry inspection personnel, 1,500 additional canine units and beyond.

Also, importantly, this legislation takes a giant step towards ending the current practice of what is known as ``catch and release'' that plagues the border by requiring mandatory detention of illegal border crossers until an immigration removal hearing can be held. As part of a well-developed strategy, the bill mandates that Homeland Security use every available detention bed and authorizes new detention space.

Finally, this bill addresses the need to enforce our employment laws by instituting an employer verification system whereby employers will be required to submit information to the Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration for verification. Providing this verification system will ensure that only Americans and legal visitors to the United States of America are living and working in our Nation.

We have before us today an important first step in securing America's borders and stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into our Nation. I rise again in strong support of the Border Protection, Antiterterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. With gratitude for its authors, I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, on December 3, 2005 at the annual Firefighter Holiday Dance & Awards in Anderson, Indiana, firefighter Matt Cunningham was named Anderson's Firefighter of the Year. Mr. Cunningham, thirty years old and a lifelong resident of Anderson, was honored with this award because of his dedicated service to the community and outstanding record within the Anderson Fire Department and Engine Co. 6. The award, a medallion for his dress uniform, was presented by the Evening Exchange Club of Anderson.

Mr. Cunningham exemplifies all that is good with this Nation's local first responders. During this year alone, Mr. Cunningham has assisted with or single-handedly pulled four individuals from burning structures. His courage, selflessness and devotion are to be commended and serve as an example to us all.

Only in his third-year of firefighting, Mr. Cunningham clearly has found his calling. At the awards ceremony he stated that firefighting ``was something I stumbled into and I'm elated I did.'' He continued, ``I love being in Anderson. I love it. The fire department in Anderson stays busy.''

Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to hear such enthusiasm. Matt Cunningham serves his community as a firefighter of the highest caliber, and I am proud today to honor and recognize him for being named Firefighter of the Year in Anderson, Indiana.

Mr. Speaker, back in Indiana, when a tree falls on your house, first you tend to the wounded, then you start the clean-up, then you sit down and figure out how to pay for it.

Well, the Congress of the United States in the wake of the worst national catastrophe in our Nation's history responded to the need of the wounded and the clean-up, appropriating more than $60 billion in 6 days. But this week, in conjunction with the Senate, this Congress will come together to figure out how we are going to pay for it.

After passing the Deficit Reduction Act, which found more than $50 billion in savings in entitlement spending over the next 5 years, Congress this week will come together on that measure as well as, it is our fondest hope, an across-the-board cut in this year's Federal budget. It is absolutely imperative that this Congress demonstrate the ability to make tough choices even during tough times to put our fiscal house in order.

President John F. Kennedy said it best when he said, To lead is to choose. In this week perhaps at some late hour into the weekend or early next week, we will see who is willing to come to the floor and make the hard choices to put our fiscal house in order. We must do more, Mr. Speaker, but we dare not do less.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul).

Mr. Speaker, despite what many Americans may see on cable television networks over the last several months, as I learned again today in a meeting with the President of the United States; the Secretary of Defense; with General Casey, the four-star general in charge of Operation Iraqi Freedom, through a satellite link, Mr. Speaker, we are winning the war in Iraq. And 7 days from today in the midst of an ongoing victory for the freedom of tens of millions of Iraqi people, we will once again see the people of Iraq use the freedom won by the American soldier in forming their own government and adopting parliamentary elections.

The ongoing victory in Iraq was described by the President at a speech just 1 week ago at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; and like the meeting that I attended at the White House today, I had the privilege of joining the President for that address, and there he described his strategy for victory.

And let me say that while there have been sometimes loud and cacophonous debates on this floor about the need for a plan or the lack of a plan, what is available today, Mr. Speaker, at whitehouse.gov for all Americans to examine is a recently declassified version of what has always been the plan. It is, in effect, a three-track approach that involves political, military, and economic initiatives to achieve a free and stable and democratic Iraq, and we are winning in this cause.

With less than 7 days to go before the Iraqi people will engage in parliamentary elections, I am delighted to report to the Members and any looking on that the American people, the people in Indiana that I serve, will be proud to hear what I have heard, to see what I have seen in my three different trips to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and they too would conclude inexorably that we are winning the war in Iraq.

On the military front, as General Casey described today, over 200,000 Iraqis have been trained and equipped, both military and police personnel. For the national elections that took place earlier this year, there were 80,000 fewer Iraqis in uniform. Today there is one full Iraqi division, four Iraqi brigades, four Iraqi battalions that are leading the fight in places like Najaf, Karbala, the dangerous road to the airport in Baghdad, in Tikrit. In one city

after another, these Iraqi military personnel are on the point. They are leading the fight, along with 160,000 American military personnel.

And the Iraqi people themselves are becoming more involved in advancing their own security and stability. Here is an interesting fact, Mr. Speaker, that I just learned today: in March of this year, there were essentially 400 tips by Iraqis of insurgent activities, tips made to U.S. and coalition forces. In the month of November, we logged more than 4,700 tips from regular and ordinary Iraqis. The people of Iraq are partnering in their own security and in their own freedom, and that 10-fold increase of that partnership speaks for itself.

On the economic front, we have seen 30,000 new businesses. And GNP per capita in the last year has more than doubled in Iraq for ordinary Iraqis. It is an extraordinary record of success.

Politically, we have around the corner parliamentary elections; and as we speak, Mr. Speaker, there are 327 political entities, or as we might call them, parties or organizations, and 7,000 candidates that will be answering the call of millions of Iraqis who will put themselves, as 8.5 million Iraqis did in January of this year, in harm's way to exercise their own freedom.

It is my fondest hope, Mr. Speaker, that when the President of the United States comes into this well on January 31 of 2006 that maybe in this Chamber, in a seat in this Chamber, might be a legislative leader, or two, of the newly elected Iraqi Parliament.

I have been to Operation Iraqi Freedom three times. I have sat even today with our military commanders and the President of the United States. As we go into this weekend, let the word go forth from here: we are winning the war and winning the peace in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, each year at the National Association of Broadcasters Annual Marconi Awards dinner, the evening ends with the awarding of the Legendary Station of the Year. The fraternity of radio stations that can call themselves ``legendary'' is an exclusive club. And this year, WIBC-AM Indianapolis joins that group.

For 67 years WIBC has been the 50,000-watt News and Talk of Indiana. The WIBC News Team is the largest in the state, offering 24-hour Local News. It has won a record number of AP and Sigma Delta Chi awards and has received the Murrow Award for three consecutive years. Further, WIBC has been named a Marconi recipient for Station of the Year for the second straight year.

The National Weather Service called WIBC's weather coverage ``life- saving.''

WIBC is the flagship station of the Indiana Pacers and home of the Indianapolis 500 for 51 years.

In the community, WIBC is known for its charitable acts, having raised almost $1 million for the Salvation Army and collected thousands of teddy bears for police to give to traumatized kids.

WIBC's Race for Riley with John Andretti has raised over $500,000 for the Children's Hospital and the station runs thousands of PSAs each year for many more deserving organizations.

WIBC is home to news and personalities that reflect the lifestyle of mid-America. It is the most popular news/talk station in Indiana.

Mr. Speaker, when you talk radio legends, one voice is clear. WIBC.

Mr. Speaker, it was a Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, and the planes came down and Pearl Harbor entered the history of infamy in the United States of America. Days later, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would use that term from this very podium in describing the holocaust of that day. But from the tragedy of Pearl Harbor came a galvanized Nation that rose as one man to confront imperial Japan and Nazi and Fascist Europe.

I was here on another morning such as that, another clear day when the planes came down and the holocaust of September 11, as December 7, galvanized a Nation. Let us learn from the Greatest Generation that saw the horror of our enemies at Pearl Harbor. Let us allow September 11 to galvanize our resolve in the war on terror. Complete the mission as our President has challenged our Nation to do.

Mr. Speaker, some say the U.S. will not win in Iraq, but in the American political debate, we can do better than that.

Last week at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, the President of the United States did just that. President Bush delivered a forceful and effective defense of our strategy and the stakes facing our Nation in Iraq.

Along with thousands of other midshipmen, I had the privilege of joining the President that day, and I have to tell you, from inside the arena, it appeared that the President was both at ease and determined. He pounded the facts about enemy, their aims and our progress in Iraq into the American debate.

From the outset, the President set the tone defining the first war of the 21st Century with the declaration that the enemy must be defeated. He cited their war against humanity, while he released a recently declassified national strategy for victory, which Americans can read at WhiteHouse.gov.

For me, the central message came when the President said, ``We will stay as long as necessary to complete the mission.'' This clarion call and the continued determination of the American people was timely and meaningful, and an important challenge to a Nation that believes in freedom and has always demonstrated throughout our history that when the mission is just and the mission is clear, Americans complete the mission.

Mr. Speaker, I rise simply to express profound gratitude for the leadership that Chairman Ralph Regula has provided in bringing this extraordinary measure to the floor. I also commend the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from California, for his leadership.

The challenge of being in the spending branch of government is to fund the Nation's priorities and to live within our means. And this legislation for fiscal year 2006, with Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, does just that.

The story goes that Chairman Ralph Regula was at the White House, saw Ronald Reagan and they talked about the fence at the Reagan ranch. And a day later, Ralph Regula received a handwritten set of instructions about how to build a fence that is on the wall of his office today.

What is clear today to House conservatives is that Ralph Regula learned more than just how to build a fence from Ronald Reagan. He learned how to fund the Nation's priorities with the fiscal discipline that characterizes this governing party. And for that, I am grateful.

Mr. Speaker, back in Indiana when a tree falls on your house, first you tend to the wounded; then you start to clean up; then you sit down and figure out how you are going to pay for it.

Well, tonight, thanks to the leadership of Speaker Hastert, in the aftermath of having spent over $60 billion in 6 days to meet the real needs of the families and communities affected by Hurricane Katrina, tonight Congress is going to figure out how to pay for it.

In the Deficit Reduction Act, Congress will achieve more than $50 billion

in savings over the next 5 years to offset the extraordinary cost of Hurricane Katrina. While this is an important first step in restoring fiscal discipline, there is still work to be done. As has been said by my colleagues in the Democratic Party tonight, with an $8 trillion national debt, with more spending on hurricane relief just around the corner, it is imperative that we not only pass the Deficit Reduction Act but that we move immediately on to the other serious work, to look for an across-the-board cut in this year's budget, ensuring that the cost of Hurricane Katrina will be borne by the entirety of our Federal priorities.

We must do more, but we dare not do less. Tonight we will do that which is of first importance: we will begin the process of putting our fiscal house in order. President John F. Kennedy said it best when he said: ``To lead is to choose.'' And this is such a moment.

Tonight, whatever the outcome of this vote, this is a moment of truth, where we will set aside the rhetoric on this blue and gold carpet, and the American people will see for themselves who in this Congress is willing to make the tough choices in tough times to put our fiscal house in order. Bring the vote, and I urge my colleagues of goodwill on both sides of the aisle to adopt the Deficit Reduction Act.

Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in American history, Congress responded with generosity and more than $60 billion in 6 days. But this week, thanks to the leadership of President George W. Bush and Speaker Dennis Hastert, Congress is going to figure out how to pay for it.

In the Deficit Reduction Act, this Congress will achieve more than $50 billion in savings in the next 5 year to offset the extraordinary cost of Hurricane Katrina. But there is still work to be done.

This legislation is an important first step toward restoring fiscal discipline, but it is just that: it is a first step. With an $8 trillion national debt and with more spending on Hurricane Katrina awaiting around the corner, it is imperative that we pass the Deficit Reduction Act, move on to an across-the-board cut in this year's budget, and reopen the highway bill and rescind earmarks that are anathema to the American people.

It is written that if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? The Deficit Reduction Act is a clear call to begin the process of putting our fiscal house in order, and I urge all of my colleagues, Republican and Democrat, to support it.

Mr. Speaker, Marines arrived at Barbara Weitzel's doorstep this Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in New Castle, Indiana. She said, my first question was, ``Which one?'' Two of her sons are Marines. Both are in Iraq.

She learned in that moment that her brave son, Lance Corporal Scott Zubowski, died in Iraq on 12 November 2005. While fighting to defend America and secure Iraq, he was a rear passenger traveling with four other soldiers near Fallujah when a roadside bomb exploded beneath his vehicle.

Scott and his family moved to New Castle in 1991 where he attended Greenstreet Elementary School for first and second grade. His teachers quickly recognized his gifts. They placed him in the gifted and talented program, an accelerated academic program at Sunnyside Elementary.

Scott did not grow up dreaming of a life in the military but, as is the case with younger brothers, he respected his older brother David. Sergeant David Zubowski enlisted in the Marines. Scott noticed the growing confidence in his brother, and he wanted to enlist as well, which he did after graduating from North Manchester High School in 2003.

Mr. Speaker, Lance Corporal Scott Zubowski is a hero. I offer my deepest condolences to his parents, Barbara Weitzel and Richard Zubowski; his lovely new wife, Klancey Zubowski; his two brothers, Brian and Sergeant David Zubowski; and all the family and friends who loved and admired this courageous young man.

Scott's mother recently told the hometown newspaper, ``He gave himself for us, and we can't forget.''

He did give himself, Mrs. Weitzel. No greater love has a man than this, that he should lay down his life for his friends. We will never forget your brave son.

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