Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of my special order.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow I will introduce the American Parity Act which provides for American families, just as the supplemental appropriations which we approved last week provides for Iraqi families. It is simple, straightforward and fair. I already have 16 original cosponsors on the legislation.

Last week in the supplemental we provided $1.7 billion for the reconstruction of Iraq. All we are asking for today is the same for America. The same goals that we establish for Iraq, we establish for American families here at home. I have gone and looked at some of the plans that the administration has for Iraq, post this war.

In Iraq, we are planning 20,000 units of housing to be reconstructed. Yet in the budget approved by this body, we have only 5,000 units of housing planned for America: 20,000 for Iraq and 5,000 for America. Under education, there will be 4 million Iraqi children guaranteed early childhood education. Yet in the budget approved by this body for American families, we are cutting 28,000 children from Head Start.

Twelve thousand and five hundred schools will be deprived of basic books and supplies; yet in America teachers have to take out of their wages the dollars to buy supplies for their kids. Twenty-five thousand schools will be reconstructed in Iraq; in America the budget provides not a single dollar for modernizing American schools, and 40 educational programs here in America have been zeroed out by the administration's budget.

Under the area of healthcare for Iraq, let us look at the agenda for Iraq's healthcare. Thirteen million Iraqis, half the Iraqi population, will be given universal healthcare. In America we have 50 million uninsured, not a single dollar dedicated to the working uninsured in America. Every major city in Iraq will get a hospital. We will have 100 percent maternity coverage for the Iraqi women; yet we are cutting $100 billion from Medicaid where one out of three children are covered at birth. That is in the healthcare area.

Under infrastructure, 3,000 miles of roads for Iraq; yet we are cutting $6 billion from our Highway Construction Budget and Trust Fund. We have enough money to build a road from New York to California as it relates to Iraq; yet we are cutting our investment here in America. In the area of other infrastructure, there will be complete reconstruction, the only deep-water port in Iraq. In America our Corps of Engineers' budget will be cut by 10 percent under the administration's budget and under the budget passed by this Congress.

I support the reconstruction in Iraq. I think it is the right thing to do given what we have done there, what we need to do, the future we have to promise the Iraqi people; yet that should not come at the expense of the dreams of America's families.

This lays out every proposal that exists for Iraq versus what the budget the President and the Republican Congress proposed for America. I do not believe that the way we greet our soldiers when they come home is a smaller American dream, one that does not invest in healthcare, one that does not invest in America's schools, one that does not invest in America's roads, one that does not invest in America's housing.

In the last 3 years, the last 2 years, America has shed 2.5 million jobs, over 1 million manufacturing jobs. Four million more Americans have gone without healthcare who used to have healthcare. Nearly $1 trillion worth of corporate assets have been foreclosed on, and 2 million Americans have gone from the middle class to poverty. That has been the economic agenda and the economic record of this administration. As Ronald Reagan used to say, facts are stubborn things, and those are our facts.

In my view maybe what we should do for Iraq is to cut their capital gains tax and see if they can grow their way out of this problem. If cutting taxes are so great for America, why do not we use that as the economic program for Iraq and bring all those investments home to America? Since it seems to be that the agenda and the strategy for Iraq is to invest in its schools, invest in its roads, invest in its housing, and invest in its healthcare which will give Iraqi families a better future than the past and in America we are going to get tax cuts on capital gains and tax cuts dedicated to the wealthy, why do we not give Iraq the tax cuts and get all these investments back here at home since it is supposed to be a promising future for the Iraqi people?

Again, I want to be clear. I am going to support the reconstruction of Iraq, but I will not support the two budgets, the supplemental and the budget the President has laid down for America, one that offers a brighter future for the Iraqi people than it does for the American people. Either America will be brought up to Iraq's standard or Iraq will come down to America's standard.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as an original cosponsor and in strong support of House Resolution 149, expressing the sorrow of the House of Representatives in response to the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic earlier this month.

On behalf of more than 1,000 of my constituents of Serbian descent, I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde); the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) ranking member; as well as the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), the Europe Subcommittee chairman; and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler), ranking member, for their leadership in recognizing a truly remarkable reformer and a champion of democracy in the Balkans.

The world has lost a great friend and a true democrat in the Prime Minister. While our brave troops engage in another war-torn region, we identify with the war-weary citizens of Serbia and Montenegro who lived under Milosevic's cruelty.

Serbia has courageously demonstrated that it is willing to defeat a brutal tyrant and will not allow its democratic progress to unravel. As we mourn the Prime Minister's death, this resolution says loud and clear that America will work with Serbia to ensure that its path to democracy will never be deterred.

To all the young democracies of tomorrow, who, like Serbia, have also thrown off the yoke of dictatorship and totalitarianism and embraced the values of liberty and freedom, this resolution says to them that the United States, the House of Representatives, the people's House will stand with them no matter how many tomorrows it takes to achieve democracy.

The Serbian people are our fellow countrymen and allies because they embrace the values of democracy and freedom. Our nations share a mutual admiration for democracy, which is never a guarantee or a foregone conclusion. It is accomplished only through perseverance and courage. Democracy requires the force of vision and determination endowed upon great leaders like the late Prime Minister. His death at only 50 is a great loss for his family and friends, and it is also a tremendous loss for the democratic progress in the Balkans. The New York Times editorialized on the day after his murder: ``In countries that lack institutions, individuals matter greatly.''

After Yugoslavia fell apart following Marshal Tito's death, a common line that the nation had been held together by the force of his personality, Milosevic dragged Yugoslavia back to a darker time by igniting human genocide not seen in Europe since Hitler.

But the brilliance, the charisma, the force of vision of Zoran Djindjic steered Serbia away from an era of ethnic cleansing and towards liberty and equality. The Prime Minister was a reformer who envisioned a free and modern Europe. In less than 2 years he liberalized markets, elections, the press, and parliamentary debate. He showed that the human spirit and desire for freedom can never be extinguished.

Through calm persuasion he brokered a compromise with Montenegro, helped prevent further bloodshed in Kosovo, restored human rights and economic realization, the rule of law to a nation torn apart by four wars and two rebellions started by his predecessor, Milosevic.

After extraditing Milosevic and other war criminals, the world contributed more than $1 billion in economic aid which proved a tremendous boost to a people whose standard of living had long been the worst in Europe. He taught his countrymen to appreciate the rewards of integrating into the Europe of tomorrow, the Europe of the 21st century, and his steadfast pursuit of reforms gave democracy a foothold in Serbia and the people of Serbia a hope of tomorrow.

In these difficult times, Mr. Speaker, we stand with our friends in the Balkans as they mourn a fallen hero and search for a new leader dedicated to fulfilling the democratic vision of modern Serbia who will always be remembered in history for his honor, his greatness, and his selfless commitment to the public good.

Offered By: Mr. Emanuel

Amendment No. 5: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Offered By: Mr. Emanuel

Amendment No. 6: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of more than 25,000 of my constituents who are of Irish descent, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1208, which recognizes the importance of funding the peace process in Northern Ireland.

The people of Ireland, the people of Great Britain are long-standing friends and allies of the United States and the American people. In these difficult times, we are deeply grateful for their partnership in the coalition against terror and their invaluable contributions in the war in Iraq.

Our investment in the International Fund for Ireland contributes to strengthening relations and creating thousands of new jobs and businesses for Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Importantly, more than 80 percent of the Fund's contributions have targeted disadvantaged areas by offering job training programs for unemployed youth and through the economic, social, and physical regeneration of deprived areas.

We should continue to support the Fund's community-building programs promoting greater dialogue and understanding between Catholics and Protestants. We should also help advance the Fund's role in the development of a new generation of leaders in Northern Ireland in order to bring about a more peaceful and prosperous future in the region.

The Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which called for basic human rights and marked the first meaningful step toward reconciliation in Northern Ireland was suspended last year. Elections in May will determine the future prospects of the agreement, which makes this resolution especially relevant and timely.

Mr. Speaker, our shared goal with Ireland is for all Catholic and Protestant families to live

in peace, free from discrimination, terrorism, and intolerance. That is why I strongly support fully funding the International Fund for Ireland and encourage my colleagues to vote for this legislation.

Madam Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 1412, the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act. This is timely, essential legislation which ensures that those brave men and women who make enormous sacrifices for our nation do not forfeit their right to an affordable and accessible education.

Members of the armed forces often spend considerable time away from their families, stall other career and educational goals, and, most significantly, expose themselves to the risk of serious injury or death. These individuals and their families deserve our greatest respect, and certainly deserve the assurance that they will not be unfairly penalized for their time spent in military service.

The promise of higher education, and the availability of federal financial assistance to make this opportunity a reality, represent key components of the American experience. It is only right that we ensure access to higher education for those who work to protect the values and privileges that we enjoy as Americans.

I applaud Congressman Kline and the other Members of the Committee on Education and Workforce for introducing this critical legislation and bringing it to the floor today. It is a symbol of support for the brave men and women involved in Operation Iraqi Freedom and for all of those who selflessly devote their lives to protecting our nation and our freedom.

Mr. Speaker, believe it or not, Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center's basketball team has a chance at the state title. Now, that might not mean much to many of my colleagues, but for those of us who live on the North Side of Chicago, Von Steuben's appearance in the Elite Eight, their first since 1938, is a big deal.

Von Steuben's season did not begin that well. In fact, they lost four of their first five games, but the Panthers rebounded. On Monday, March 17, 2003, they convincingly defeated Brother Rice 65-56 to secure the Class AA supersectional.

Every student should be proud of Von Steuben, and not only because of their success on the basketball court, but because Von Steuben is truly a great school. There are many different types of Chicago Public Schools. Von Steuben is a ``science center,'' meaning it has stronger math and science curriculums than most of Chicago's public schools. It is this demanding and stimulating college preparatory curriculum, combined with the school's diverse student body, innovative teaching methods and state-of-the-art technological equipment which set it apart. I'm proud to represent Von Steuben and honored to congratulate its basketball team.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow the Panthers of Von Steuben will play Peoria Central. I wish Von Steuben the very best of luck and know that regardless of the outcome, the residents of Chicago and the Albany Park Neighborhood are proud of their accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, today is Great Lakes Day on Capitol Hill. This annual event provides Great Lakes policymakers and opinion leaders with an opportunity to report on the current and future state of the Lakes. Holding one-fifth of the planet's fresh surface water, the Great Lakes are the source of drinking water for 28 million Americans, including 2.8 million Chicagoans. Today it is my sad duty to inform the Members of this body who are not already aware, that the Great Lakes are in grave danger.

Thirty years after passage of the Clean Water Act, water quality has improved, yet the Lakes remain unhealthy and there is clear and convincing evidence that the ecosystem is deteriorating. In the past few years, state and local authorities have issued more than 1,500 fish consumption advisories. In 2001, bacteria from sewage overflows led to a record 599 beach closings. In Chicago, my home, there have been 152 beach closings since 1994.

Mr. Speaker, the Great Lakes, the largest freshwater system on Earth, are clearly in danger. In the mid-1990s, the Everglades, the source of freshwater for much of the state of Florida, faced a similar crisis. Congress responded with an $8 billion plan to restore the Everglades. I ask this body, are the Great Lakes, one of our nation's most valued national treasures, not worthy of a similar effort? I know they are.

This spring I will introduce legislation to create a Great Lakes Trust Fund. My bill will fund the Administration's ``Great Lakes Strategy 2002.'' Additionally, it would establish a dedicated funding source for Lakes restoration and revitalization. My proposal would also create an advisory board consisting of the governors of the eight Great Lakes states, representatives of the Federal Government, and members of the scientific and business communities. Further, the advisory panel would be tasked with developing a comprehensive Lakes management plan, a biennial report to Congress.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is blessed with tremendous resources. The Great Lakes undoubtedly rank among the most treasured of these resources, but if this body allows them to deteriorate further--if we can no longer drink the water, and no longer swim at our beaches--we will have failed the people of this nation. I refuse to let this happen. My plan will begin to heal the damage done by years of neglect. I urge my colleagues to support me in this important national endeavor and I strongly encourage them to cosponsor my bill.

Mr. Chairman, this budget resolution is a failed economic plan.

Fourteen months ago, this body passed a tax cut worth $1 trillion, a little over $1 trillion; and the net result has been 2.5 million Americans without work, 4 million Americans without health insurance, nearly $1 trillion worth of corporate assets have been foreclosed on, and 2 million more Americans have left the middle class for poverty. That is the net economic result and the economic effect felt by America's families.

In this budget resolution, Members of this body will be asked to vote for only 5,000 new units for affordable housing here in America. Yet, 3 weeks from now, 4 weeks from now in the reconstruction budget for Iraq, we will provide 20,000 units in Iraq. This budget calls for no new spending for health care for the uninsured who work full-time in America, yet the Iraqi reconstruction will call for $13 million, half the population of Iraq, to have basic health care, 100 percent maternity coverage; yet we cut Medicare and Medicaid in this budget resolution. In the area of education, the Iraqi reconstruction calls for 25,000 new schools to be rebuilt, yet we zero out 40 programs here in America.

I will support and work towards the reconstruction and funding for the reconstruction of Iraq because it is the right thing to do after this war when it is over, and we will win it successfully. But I want that same commitment, that same emphasis for here at home. Iraq matters; Illinois matters and the people there.

We need an economic plan that invests in America, our education, our health care, and puts our fiscal house back in order. That is what the proposal from my good colleague, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), has, is an economic plan that is balanced. It seizes the future by investing in the right areas of health care, education, and the environment, puts our fiscal house back in order so we can meet the needs of our retirement and our plans for the future.

What we are about to do today is the wrong choice for America's future. We will be asked in the next 3 weeks to do right by what we need to do in Iraq. Let us be balanced in our approach.

Mr. Speaker, the United States is at war. We have one Armed Forces, one Commander in Chief, one Nation. There are questions to be asked about how we came to this moment, about the diplomacy, about the relationships with our allies, about the shifting rationales we have been offered for war. These are serious issues.

They should and will be debated here by historians and scholars in the months and years ahead.

Today is not a time for that debate. There are hundreds and thousands of young men and women in harm's way, my neighbors and yours. Our attention should be focused on those young men and women, the success of their mission, and their safe return.

I had the fortunate experience of serving in the White House. I know firsthand what a solitary and difficult decision it is for a President to send our Armed Forces into harm's way. I well remember some Members of this body, in the midst of conflict, attacking the President, the Commander in Chief, even as he worked day and night to complete a mission to bring our servicemen and women home safely. It was wrong then. It would be wrong now.

I for one will not do that to our President, to our Commander in Chief. I want him to succeed. We should all want him to succeed. So long as our troops are engaged, we should suspend the debate over how and why, focus on the mission, unite as a country in prayer and resolve, hope for a speedy resolution of this war, with a minimum of loss. God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, this Republican budget resolution is a failed economic plan that proposes $1 trillion in tax cuts in search of an economic purpose. This budget follows President Bush's $1.3 trillion tax cut 14 months ago to get this economy moving and produce jobs. That was the argument behind the original tax cut.

The net result is 2.5 million Americans today are without work who had work prior to that tax cut, and there are 4 million more Americans without health care who prior to that tax cut had health care, 2 million more Americans who have moved from the middle class to poverty prior to that tax cut, and $1 trillion worth of corporate assets have been foreclosed on and hit Chapter 11. That has been the net effect of this tax cut.

Now, what are we about to do? We are about to put our foot on the accelerator 14 months later for another $1 trillion plus tax cut that will have the same effect of lost jobs, lost health care, lost corporations and family dreams, and more and more Americans moving from middle class to poverty.

We need to move the trend the other way. We need an economic plan, not just a tax cut. While we consider this budget, we as a Nation, as one Nation, as one country, are moving closer to war. We also have a plan now for that war and for after that war to rebuild Iraq; in the range of $100 billion they are talking about rebuilding Iraq. The administration's postwar request would build more housing, more schools, and go further in providing health care for pregnant woman in Iraq than this budget provides Americans. The Wall Street journal wrote on Monday that the postwar reconstruction of Iraq is ambitious in scope and speed.

I want to read some of the juxtapositions that are playing here, so as Members on the other side think about their vote, it just does not get glossed over by one fix or two in what we here in this Chamber call the manager's amendment.

Let me read under health care. Medicaid provides insurance coverage for over one-third of the live births nationally here in this country, yet Medicaid is scheduled for a $95 billion cut. In Iraq after the war, maternity care will be guaranteed for 100 percent of the population.

The U.S. budget we are about to vote on does not provide a single dollar of health insurance for the uninsured in this country, where we have 42 million Americans who work full time without health care. In Iraq after the war, 13 million people, half the population, will be guaranteed health care coverage.

Under education, the U.S. budget cuts Head Start for 28,000 children, cuts education spending by 8 percent, zeroes out 40 new programs, like technology, like Star Schools. In Iraq, there will be guaranteed books and supplies and 100

percent enrollment for 4 million schoolchildren in Iraq, with U.S. dollars.

Teacher quality programs in America are cut by $9.3 billion, more than 10 percent, and 25,000 schools in Iraq will be rebuilt and renovated at standard level of quality.

Housing, we only have in this budget enough dollars for 5,000 new affordable housing units; yet in Iraq the plan is for 20,000 new units of housing.

The Army Corps of Engineers is scheduled for a 10 percent cut in this country; yet our plan for Iraq calls for total reconstruction of the Umm Qasr port so it is fully opened for cargo traffic.

That is the plan for Iraq. That is also the plan for America.

Under Transportation, highway funding in America is cut by $6 billion over the next 10 years. In Iraq 3,000 miles of new roads will be rebuilt.

Now, after that juxtaposition, I am not against the reconstruction budget for Iraq. If you want to build democracy, that should be the commitment of our country. The plan for Iraq is robust. The plan for America must be robust.

The plan for Iraq has been thought through in an economic strategy. The plan for America must have the same strategy, the same care for its health care, for its pregnant women. The same care for its schools. The same care for its housing. The same care for its infrastructure.

This budget that we are going to vote on leaves too many Americans behind. Because of the impact of the 2001 tax cut, 2.5 million Americans without jobs, 4 more million Americans without health care, a trillion corporate assets foreclosed on, and 2 more million Americans who have gone from middle class to poverty. One could be cynical enough to think that what I just read about Iraq versus America could be distilled down to 30 seconds.

I want Members to think about this before they vote on this budget. Just papering over the differences on Medicare will not erase the differences between America and Iraq when it comes to our investment in education, health care, housing, our infrastructure. We need a robust plan for America. And this budget falls woefully short as it pertains to our future, our families' future and their children.

Now, I am committed to working, if we win this war, which we will win this war, to the reconstruction of Iraq. I want the same emphasis, the same desire, the same dreams, the same hopes that our President talks passionately about for Iraq for here at home. Because we cannot guarantee 100 percent of pregnant women in Iraq with basic health care for their pregnancy and yet cut $95 billion of Medicaid where one out of every three Americans get their health care as it relates to their child birth. We cannot cut 40 programs, zero them out, Head Start schools, technology schools, teacher quality, and yet guarantee 25,000 new schools will be built in Iraq.

We cannot talk about 25,000 new housing in Iraq and yet only provide the funding for 5,000 new affordable housing in America. That is not a dream for America. That is foreclosing on America's dream.

And I know there are good people with good values on the other side who think hard about what they are doing, and I want them to think hard about the vote that they are going to cast on that budget because they have to go back home and explain how Iraq got moved to the front and their families, their neighbors got moved back. That is not right. We can do better.

It need not be a Democrat-Republican issue. Let us make America first not only around the world but here at home.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my good friend from South Carolina for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about this Republican budget resolution. It is a budget that is a failed economic plan. It proposes $1 trillion in tax cuts, and these are tax cuts in search of an economic purpose.

Fourteen months ago, President Bush proposed a $1.3 trillion tax cut to get this economy moving, to produce jobs. Two and one-half million Americans are without work since that tax cut, four million more Americans are without health cut since that tax cut, $1 trillion worth of corporate assets have foreclosed since that tax cut, and 2 million more Americans have moved from the middle class into poverty. That has been the economic impact and economic effect of that tax cut. Now we are offering another tax cut to have exactly the same type of economic impact. It has been a job killer, and also been leveling to the economy.

We are about to vote on a budget in the next few days or weeks. The administration is also simultaneously proposing one of the largest rebuildings of another nation to the tune of about $90 billion request for fighting the war and for rebuilding Iraq. The administration's postwar request would build more housing, rebuild more schools, and go further in providing health care for pregnant women in Iraq than the administration budget does for America's children and America's families.

The Wall Street Journal just as recently as the other day wrote on the postwar plans for Iraq being directed by the new Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance in the Pentagon are striking in their scope and intended speed. The administration's plan to rehabilitate the Iraqi school system, for example, envisions the U.S. military forces to secure parts of Iraq and obtain the payroll lists and assess teachers' salaries for all of Iraqi schools, according to a 10-page USAID contract proposal. The contract, officials say, could total $100 million, will cover the cost of five pilot programs for accelerated learning to be launched within 3 months and then rolled out nationwide within 10 months, nationwide being Iraq. Only one-third of the Iraqi children are now enrolled in secondary school, but within a year the contractor will have all children in Iraq back in school.

Their plan also envisions books and other necessary supplies to 4.1 million Iraqi schoolchildren, while 25,000 schools would have all they need to function at a standard level of quality. They will rebuild 25,000 schools in Iraq.

I am not against, if we have to go to war, a reconstruction budget for Iraq, but as I just listed to you what they are planning for the schools and the schoolchildren of Iraq, I want you to note that this administration's budget calls for eliminating 40 specific educational programs here at home. The Star Schools, the Better Quality Teachers Schools, technology for our schools, rural education would be eliminated. Yet we are now talking about rebuilding 25,000 schools in Iraq; 4.1 million children in Iraq would get the basic school supplies. For the record, I think Illinois' children matter as well as Iraq's children.

Again, I want to stress that I believe that Iraq should have a reconstruction budget. I just believe America should also have its reconstruction and rebuilding budget.

Take a look at what the Wall Street Journal says about health care. In health care, there will be a 100 percent guarantee to the population for maternity care. Yet Medicaid will get a $95 billion cut here at home. Today Medicaid provides for one-third of the live births nationally, basic maternity care in this country. We will be proposing a $95 billion cut in Medicaid, and yet 100 percent coverage of maternity care for Iraqi women.

We have 42 million Americans who work full time without health insurance. The budget proposed by the Republican Congress, not a single new dollar to cover the uninsured, which is a cancer on our health care system, yet in a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, 13 million Iraqis will be guaranteed basic health care. What is the plan for the 42 million Americans that work full time without health insurance? Zip, nothing, nada. Nothing for them.

Also in the Wall Street Journal they state a reconstruction plan will have referral hospitals functioning in 21 cities in Iraq, yet America's hospitals in our cities are facing their worst financial crisis in the last 20 years. The Women, Infants and Children Program, which provides basic health care and prenatal care, is in for a 20 percent cut.

Higher education in America, again on education, the budget underfunds Pell grants by more than $500 million, while college costs have gone up.

In housing, recently in the Committee on Financial Services, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Martinez said that the entire budget for the administration proposes 5,000 new housing units here in America, yet, as the Wall Street Journal notes, there is a bid for 20,000 new homes to be built in Iraq. America, 5,000 new affordable housing units; Iraq, 20,000 new homes.

The LIHEAP proposal for heating for our poor, our elderly, is in for a 20 percent cut, yet we have a proposal on the books for 10 new power plants to be rebuilt in Iraq, and electricity will be restored to 75 percent of its pre-1991 level in Iraq.

The Army Corps of Engineers is having a cut here in America. Yet in the rebuilding plan for Iraq, it calls for the complete reconstruction of the Umm Qasr Port so that it is fully open to cargo traffic. Yet the Corps of Engineers, which is essential to America's security, America's economic growth, it produces jobs for our economy, moves goods and services, they are open for a cut.

Transportation. We will offer help to Iraq to build 3,000 miles of major roads and highways, yet the highway funding in America is cut $6 billion over the next 10 years as proposed by the administration's budget.

Now, as I said to my good colleague from South Carolina, as I asked for this time, I am not in the business of giving my good friends on the other side political advice; but as they plan to look at this budget and vote on this budget, I want them to know that for the American people, their vote on the resolution of the reconstruction of Iraq will also be weighed equally as their vote for this budget. And in this budget our proposals to eliminate 40 education programs that are essential to our children's future and to our families' future, houses, they will not be cut; but only 5,000 new affordable units, compared to 20,000 in Iraq.

My colleagues know that some people could take this down and make it understandable to Americans in a 30-second commercial. I want them to think hard about what they are about to vote on as it relates to America, and again I want to stress my view that I am not against a reconstruction budget for Iraq. I just believe America deserves equal and, as well, the same sense of intensity and the same sense of interest.

As I started off, I talked about the economic impact that we find ourselves in here at home. But as this

budget talks about areas of housing, health care, reconstruction for the health care system, the schools, the infrastructure for the housing area, it is a very robust, thorough plan for Iraq. Yet we underfund in each of these areas' basic needs here for America's families, America's economic future, our jobs, our health care, our retirement. We need the same type of reconstruction, the same type of commitment, the same type of energy, the same type of focus that is being focused on the reconstruction plan for Iraq.

So I would just like my colleagues on the other side to think real hard about this budget, to think real hard about the priorities that are laid out in this budget. Because the impact of the first economic plan has been 2\1/2\ million Americans without work, 4 more million Americans who have joined the ranks of the uninsured who work full- time, $1 trillion worth of corporate assets that have been foreclosed on. That is the record. And to quote a good friend of mine, a great President, President Ronald Reagan: ``Facts are a stubborn thing.''

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize one of Chicago's finest educators. Carol Kolberg has served the Archdiocese of Chicago for more than 32 years and has been principal of St. Bartholomew Montessori, an elementary school on the Northwest side, for the past thirteen years. Under her leadership St. Bartholomew has blossomed and today is recognized as one of the best elementary schools in the city. A lifelong educator, Ms. Kolberg was one of twelve principals in the United States selected by the National Catholic Education Association to receive the 2003 Dr. Robert J. Kealy Distinguished Principal Award. This prestigious honor is presented annually to an elementary school principal. In order to qualify an individual must first be nominated by their archdiocese. Once nominated, the Association selects the recipients based on their experience, community service, leadership, and educational philosophy. Carol Kolberg's credentials are outstanding in each of these areas and I am proud to recognize her.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to take this time to thank Ms. Kolberg for her service to Chicago. Across this country educators are being held to more stringent standards for preparing students. Carol Kolberg is a shining example of an educator, among many, who has devoted her life to school children. For 32 years Ms. Kolberg has selflessly given her best so that our children can learn and advance through life. I am proud to represent Ms. Kolberg and the other educators who serve the students of the 5th Congresional District.

I thank my colleague from Missouri for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, one of the first acts I did as a Congressman was to expedite the citizenship of a young man, Mano Catchatoorian, who is in the 416th Engineer Command, so he could ship out with his unit to Kuwait on February 24. I cannot think of a better thing than an individual who wanted to become a citizen and move out with his unit so he can join our forces but, most importantly, to be part of his Nation.

I want us all to think about what we are doing today, because we are supporting our troops, we are supporting their families, and we are supporting our communities that will be missing the Little League coaches, the folks who work at the boys clubs, the girls clubs, the Boy Scouts. This is an appropriate thing, because Mano, before he left, he called me the next day, thanked me for what we did to expedite his citizenship. He said to me, ``just do me one favor. Don't forget us.'' I cannot think of a more just act than what we are doing today, regardless of our party, regardless of where we come from, not to forget them.

Although we will vote in this resolution to support our troops, later on tonight I would like us all to put them and their families in our prayers.

Mr. Speaker, in the coming weeks I intend to introduce a bill to create the simplified family credit, real tax relief for working families with children. My proposal would help grow the economy, simplify the IRS code by merging an array of tax benefits, the earned income tax credit with approximately 4.3 million families eligible Americans, including 1.7 families with children, who, today, do not get, because of the complexity of the code, the child tax credit, the additional child credit, and the dependent exemption into a single credit, thereby shrinking well over 2,000 pages of the IRS Tax Code down to 12 easy questions.

This would also go a long way toward significantly reducing the marriage penalty, rewarding work and making the Tax Code more child friendly. Regardless of what political party we come from, we should all agree that these goals and that the Tax Code ought to reflect these values.

Despite the prospect of a war with Iraq, a stubborn recession, 2 million more unemployed Americans, urgent health care needs for the additional 4 million American that are without health care, we insist on debating a tax cut for the wealthiest in this country rather than focusing on those who need it most. A simplified credit in contrast is less, and far more responsive to the needs of working families.