Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have Pastor Carl Toti with us today delivering the opening invocation for the United States House of Representatives.

Pastor Toti currently serves as the senior pastor of Trinity Church in my hometown of Lubbock, Texas. He is a graduate of Rhema Bible Training Center. He has also earned a master's degree in theological studies from Vision University in Ramona, California.

Just as Pastor Toti speaks to diverse audiences through his ministry, so does he today speak to a diverse audience here in our Congress. Although Members of this body come from different parts of the country and varying beliefs, I hope his words will unite and guide us all today as we conduct the business of the people of the United States of America.

Madam Speaker, I rise today and I am proud to follow my good friend from Texas, Mr. Johnson, and support his bill, H.R. 511, to say to those men and women across the world that are defending freedom and democracy on our behalf, we will not let you down; we will support you.

One of the things that there is a lot of debate in this House on and will be is about whether our mission is the right mission or not. But let there be no mistake that we cannot fail in our mission, and we cannot afford for our young men and women to ever doubt that this United States Congress will support them.

Also, I rise to honor today a great American, Roy Velez, Jr., who will be my guest tonight for the President's State of the Union message. Roy paid the ultimate price for our country in that he gave two sons to our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Madam Speaker, we cannot let our men and women have any doubt of our support, nor can we let their families doubt the support of this Congress.

So I rise in support and encourage all of my colleagues to support H.R. 511, to say to the men and women and our troops, thank you, God bless you, and we will support you.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 323, the Seasoned Customer CTR Exemption Act.

I appreciate the work of Chairman Frank and Ranking Member Bachus to introduce this legislation and get it on the floor quickly in this Congress.

The last Congress succeeded in passing some much-needed and long overdue regulatory relief for some of our financial institutions. Unfortunately, the provisions that originally were passed in this body as related to the CTR exemption were not included in that very important legislation.

In passing H.R. 323 today, the House is saying once more that we believe financial institutions, their customers and national security will be better served by exempting institutions from filing CTRs for their very qualified and seasoned customers.

Banks in my district have been telling me for the past few years that this legislation is needed. They tell us about the countless staff hours that it takes to file reports for customers that they have had relationships with for 20, 30 and 40 years just to be in compliance with the current regulation.

Under H.R. 323, instead of filing a form every time one of their long-standing seasoned customers comes in with a transaction over $10,000, they will file a one-time exemption for that customer to be recognized as a seasoned and qualified customer. I think that makes more sense for the American people. I think it makes more sense to use common sense.

Someone told me recently that the District of Columbia geographically is a 10-square-mile area, some have said it is a 10-square-mile logic- free environment. Well, we have an opportunity to overcome that feeling today by bringing some logic to the way we handle these cash transactions.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 323. Let's bring some common sense and logic back into the way government handles national security and recognize that banks and their seasoned customers, those relationships are long-standing and that time would be better served in looking at other opportunities.

I thank the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of ethical, moral, and effective stem cell research. This debate is not whether embryonic stem cell research is permitted. It already is. This debate is not about whether the Federal Government should fund embryonic stem cell research. It already does. What I do believe is that embryonic stem cell research crosses ethical boundaries, and that is the bigger question today. But given the track record of stem cell research, where should we focus taxpayers' dollars today?

Now, this is bowl season in America, championship season. So we go to the scoreboard to see where we are with stem cell research in this country today, and the score is very clear. Adult stem cell research, there are 72 clinical applications currently available today and more being developed. Where are we with embryonic stem cell research today? We are at zero. So the score today is 72-0.

So you can talk about the ethical and the moral issues, and certainly I stand on the side of life. But when we start talking about one of the other stewardships that this body has, it is what is our responsibility to the taxpayers with the limited amount of dollars that we have for research in this country today. Certainly one of the things that we should be looking at is results, a novel thing for Congress sometimes to look at.

I come from the private sector recently to Congress. We didn't invest our money in things that were losers. One of the things we know today is that currently embryonic stem cell research is not yielding any clinical applications that we can use in an effective way.

So doesn't it make sense that as we sit down and allocate our resources, look at our research patterns as we move forward, we ought to be investing our money where we are getting results? Certainly there are a lot of people who will get up and talk and make emotional appeals. I am not insensitive to that.

There are a lot of people that have huge issues going on today in their lives. One of the things we want to do is make sure that we are applying Federal resources in a way that we can actually benefit from them and not talk about the politics.

So if you want to vote for effective stem cell research in this country today, you are going to want to vote against H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007.

Well, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and just like him, I haven't been in the State legislature. I have been a small businessman all of my life.

What we know about small businesses is that they are the number one job creator in America. As we heard the gentleman say awhile ago, over nearly 7 million new jobs have been created in this country in the last 3\1/2\ years. Quite honestly, most of that has been from small businesses all across this country.

One of the things that a lot of people don't know that have not had their own business is that small businesses are also big taxpayers. What they do not also realize is that in some cases we ask our small businesses to pay more taxes than we do other folks. That is because our small business people, in addition to income tax, have to pay self- employment tax.

The way you build a business in America is that you do it by taking money that you are making and reinvesting it in your business, and that is the way you grow your business. It is these growing businesses in America that have been growing America.

When I first got in the home building business, I had a young man who was a plumbing contractor, and he too was starting his new business. And he was starting it with basically one truck

and a helper. So when we started together, I had a small building business and he had a small plumbing company. What I watched my friend Bobby do over the years is build his business one truck at a time. He would work hard and pretty soon he had built up his business and he had to go buy another truck. You know what happens when a plumbing company buys another truck? They have to hire what? More people. And pretty soon he worked hard and he had to buy another truck. And you know what happened when he bought another truck? He had to hire more people.

But Bobby couldn't have bought those trucks if he hadn't been building his business, having money and capital in his business to be able to go to his banker and say, you know, I am building a business here and I have equity in my business. But what happens is the American Government says, oh, Mr. Small Businessman, you are making money, so we are going to reach in there and in some cases take half of that small business's money. So that causes the business to grow at half the rate as it could if it wasn't paying exorbitant taxes.

I would say to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, as you know, it is not just Big Government taxing, but it is the regulation that also our small businesses all across the country are worried about. When you add onto small businesses not only the carrying of a tax burden, but all of the burdens of regulation that we put on these small businesses, and on top of that you put a lawsuit environment in this country that on any given day a small businessman can lose his business, I say to my friend that small businesses are about to be entered onto the Endangered Species List.

Because, quite honestly, we have policy in this country that is not friendly to small businesses, the very businesses, the very people that have built this great Nation. And so when I hear folks on the other side of the aisle talk about we have a plan, well, I hope that plan is not to continue the trend that they have done in the past, and that is taxing small businesses out of existence. And you get a little nervous when they change the rules in this House that, as the gentleman said a while ago, that instead of taking three-fifths of this body, it only takes a simple majority to increase taxes.

Now, I do applaud our friends, the Blue Dogs, for one of the things that they said tonight, and that is that we do need to do something about deficit spending in this country. And I am ready to join across the aisle with my friends and say, let's do that by addressing spending.

If you really want to do good things for America in the future, you don't do it by taxing our small businesses out of existence. You do it by making America a more fiscally sound country. You ask the American Government to do the same thing that these small businesses do. They are not able to, whenever they need more money, to go get it from somebody else by just reaching in. You don't go to a customer after you finish the job and say, ``you know, what, I told you it was going to be one price, but I am going to charge you another price.'' You don't keep your business very long. So I want to join our friends to do that. But I do not want to join our friends on a path of taxing because I would tell you, in 2003, the unemployment rate in America was 6.1 percent. Today it is 4.5 percent. More people are employed today in America than any other time in the history of this Nation. More people own homes today than any other time in the history of this Nation. This is a prosperous time. And we got here by leaving the decision on how people spend their money to the people who make the money and not big government. Big government doesn't grow America. Americans grow America.

I thank the gentleman for having this time tonight, and I look forward to continued dialogue with my colleagues as we really talk about making sure that our American businesses don't end up on the endangered species list.

The gentleman from Pennsylvania is correct. I think one of the concerns I have about the death tax is, in many cases, it has the potential to rob some of the smaller communities in America from some of the mainstays in their community. I think about the farmer who worked for 20, 30, 40 years putting together pieces of land, making his operation a little bit larger so that he can compete today in a global economy and wants his son, our sons to be a part of that business in the future. But as the gentleman, my good friend Mr. Conaway, my neighbor to the south, said: Depending on what day he dies, he may not have any land to leave his sons, or they may have a new partner.

I do a number of town hall meetings as I travel through out my district. I have a very large district, 29,000 square miles, 27 counties. And one evening I was talking to a group of citizens in a little small community, and after that was over, I had a young woman come up to me and say, ``You know, Congressman, we have had this ranch in our family for nearly 100 years, and recently my father passed away, and we are faced with the fact that we may have to sell a part of this ranch to keep some of it.'' And I think about a small auto dealership that the founder of that built up over the years, worked hard, paid taxes already.

I think the egregious thing about this death tax is we have been talking about the taxes that have been imposed on these small businesses over the years, and they work hard and in spite of paying all those taxes, property taxes, income taxes, employment taxes, then at the end, we say, ``You did such a great job of building that business, we are going to tax it one more time.'' And in many cases, it has the potential to put those businesses out of business and take away in some cases a fairly major employer in that community.

So I think one of the things that we have been kind of saying tonight, and my colleagues, is that we are at a crossroads here, and we have some very important decisions to make on behalf of the American people here for the next few years, and I am concerned, as many of you are, that some of these businesses, if we don't act in a way to be friendlier to small business, keeping many of these tax cuts permanent, and if we don't look at permanently eliminating the death tax, that again we could really penalize these small businesses.

The gentleman makes a great point. Not only does, in many cases, it affect the families that own that property, but in many cases, let's say you have got a heating and air conditioning business here that employs 50, 60 people. And all of a sudden the founder passes away, and the next day the family has to come and say to these employees, ``I don't know whether we are going to be able to continue this business or not because we are going to have to borrow a bunch of money to pay the taxes.'' And in many cases, putting a bunch of debt on a new business or even an existing business requires servicing that debt and has an impact. And so then it is a ripple effect because that tax base that has been in that community for a number of years is in jeopardy, and the commitment and the contribution that that small business has made to that community sometimes disappears.

I think the fact that we said earlier, and I think all of us said, that America was built by these small businesses, small ranchers, doctors, entrepreneurs all across this country, we built this country that way, but we have the danger of tearing it down with a poor taxing policy.

Mr. Speaker, I am recorded as ``not voting'' on rollcall vote 519 on November 13, 2006. However, I intended to vote ``aye'' and believed I had done so during the rollcall vote. I support H.R. 5602 and the extension of Normal Trade Relations Treatment to the products of Vietnam.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Lubbock Christian University on reaching the milestone of its 50th anniversary. LCU was established in 1957 with a mission to teach students the spiritual dimension of life, provide a quality education, and impart a system of values for living and for service to family, community, and church. This mission has led to a half century of striving for the best in education.

Lubbock Christian first opened as a junior college with F.W. Mattox as president, a new class of 110 students and was completely surrounded by farmland on the west side of Lubbock. In the fall of 1987, the college advanced to university status. Since this time, five presidents and numerous faculty and staff have contributed to the success of LCU. At one point, the faculty and staff sacrificed a month's salary in order to provide financial assistance for the university.

Through the past 50 years, LCU has been able to achieve a stature worthy of great praise. The university now has more than 2,000 students, offers 34 bachelor's degrees and 10 master's degrees, more than 30 buildings, and a passion for changing lives by education and teachings from the Word of God.

Many things have changed in our world and in education over the past 50 years. To enable graduates to stay competitive in our ever-changing economy, our higher education system must be a key source for America's competitive advantage around the world. Lubbock Christian University is helping to make this idea a reality. Keeping Christian values at the forefront of their teachings will help to bring about great leaders for many years to come. I am proud to join the citizens of Lubbock in extending my appreciation for all the hard work of LCU's administration, faculty, staff, and past and current students. Our community would not be the same without the unparalleled contributions of the school.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Bob Hunter has served the people of Taylor and Nolan Counties honorably in the Texas Legislature for the past 20 years. He truly is a statesman and a scholar. Now, as he leaves the Texas House of Representatives, I would like to take time to recognize his tireless service to the State and her people.

Dr. Hunter was born in California, but his home is firmly in Texas. He has left a legacy of service that began with the Navy in the South Pacific and has spanned the six decades since. He has been a champion of higher education and a servant to the people of Abilene and the surrounding area.

Dr. Hunter began his relationship with the region with his enrollment as a student at Abilene Christian University in 1948. He took his first job after his Navy service back at ACU in 1956 and remained a vital part of the university's administration until 1993, when he retired as Senior Vice President. The degrees he earned in his time at ACU were just his first. He has gone on to be honored with no fewer than seven honorary doctorate degrees.

Dr. Hunter received many honors in gratitude for his work to open the doors of academic choice for all Texans. He was instrumental in passage of the Texas Tuition Equalization Grant program, which helps Texas students to attend the Texas private college or university of their choice. While an ACU administrator, he was appointed to the State's Advisory Council for Technical-Vocational Education and served as Executive Vice President of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Texas, serving 40 institutions statewide.

In 1986 Dr. Hunter was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and since then has served the citizens of his district faithfully, chairing several House committees and working on issues such as higher education, economic development, tourism and veterans affairs. While a State Representative, he has continued to serve his alma mater and the people of his district through involvement in civic organizations and charities.

As Representative Hunter retires from the Texas Legislature to return to his wife, three children and four grandchildren, I congratulate and thank him for his many years of service to the Abilene area and the State of Texas.

Mr. Speaker, this morning I come to this House with a very heavy heart. Earlier this week, PFC Andrew Velez was killed while tracking Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

It is always a tragedy when we lose one of our young soldiers, but this loss is especially tragic because less than 2 years ago, Andrew's older brother, Freddy, was also killed while protecting this country in fighting the war on terrorism.

The Velez family now has made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and democracy not once, but twice. Andrew and Freddy Velez are American heroes. We must never forget the sacrifice of these two brothers for freedom.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Andrew's father, Roy; his stepmother, Carmen; Andrew's wife, Veronica; and his three children, Jasmine, Jordan, and Jacob as they mourn the loss of their son and their husband and their dad.

Mr. Speaker, the price of freedom has never been cheap, but I have to say that the Velez family has given an extra measure for freedom and democracy. I hold them in my prayers and ask all Americans to do so at the same time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the definition of a marriage as between one man and one woman. I think really what we are doing on the floor today is determining how America will define itself. Thousands of years and many civilizations have defined a marriage as the union between one man and one woman. With few exceptions, those civilizations that did not follow that perished.

Forty-five States, as the gentleman just said, have determined by people that were elected by the people of that State that marriage is the definition of one man and one woman. So, today, we are really on the floor to debate whether America will continue to define itself and the definition of marriage on a godly institution that was established thousands and thousands of years ago that one man and one woman would come together and become one and produce families, families that all across America have said that the definition of marriage is between one man and one woman.

I urge my colleagues today to define America as a moral country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in special recognition of U.S. Air Force Colonel Garrett Harencak and I wish him good luck as he makes a permanent change of station to Air Combat Command.

Colonel Harencak commanded the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas from August 2003 to July 2006. Throughout his service at Dyess, he has worked diligently to improve the quality of life for base personnel while providing combat-ready B-1 aircraft, crews and combat support for the United States military.

His tenure in the Big Country is markedly impressive. Team Dyess has won over 40 organizational and individual awards since 2003. Earlier this year, Dyess became the first bomb wing in 13 years to receive an overall outstanding rating following an Air Combat Command Operational Readiness Inspection. In addition, Dyess has received more energy awards than any other military base in the Nation.

Furthermore, Colonel Harencak and his wife, Tanya, were the privileged recipients of the ACC level of the General and Mrs. Jerome F. O'Malley Award for 2006. This distinguished award recognizes the wing commander and spouse whose contributions to the Nation, the Air Force and the local community best exemplify the highest ideals and positive leadership of a military couple in a key Air Force position.

Colonel Harencak truly demonstrates what it means to be a great principal of our country. He has served the Air Force, the men and women of Team Dyess, and the local Abilene community proudly. There is no doubt in my mind that Colonel Harencak has contributed significantly to defending freedom and saving lives. I also know that, as a result of his leadership Dyess will flourish. And it will remain one our Nation's most important bases for years to come.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend Colonel Harencak for his dedicated service to our country. I wish him the best of luck in his next assignment at Air Combat Command.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the fiscal year 2007 Science, State, Justice Commerce Appropriations bill. I am particularly pleased that Chairman. Wolf included language that directs the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to renew agreements with local governments housing federal criminal aliens, as long as the facilities meet Bureau of Prisons' standards and a fair and reasonable price is offered.

This provision of the bill is notably important to Big Spring, Texas and Garza County, Texas, both of which are located in my district, because these communities currently house federal criminal aliens and operate under an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the BOP. Renewing IGA's in west Texas will ensure that the federal government can meet the increasing demand for the incarceration of criminal aliens and continue to build upon already strong relationships for the long term.

This language also proves that Congress is committed to fiscal discipline. Big Spring and Garza County offer secure facilities to house dangerous individuals, while providing the American taxpayers some of the lowest per diem rates in the Nation.

Mr. Chairman, in closing I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California-- and fellow homebuilder--Congressman Miller, for his sponsorship of this resolution.

More Americans own their home than ever before. Nearly 70 percent of American's are homeowners. So it is a good time for us to asses the positive impacts of homeownership on families, communities and on the nation's economy.

When a family owns their own home, they have a greater stake in their community. In addition to shelter, that family also has an asset that appreciates in value.

Communities with high rates of homeownership often have residents who are more involved in local schools, civic organizations and churches.

Housing has led our nation's economic expansion over the past few years, accounting for 16 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. New housing starts and home sales hit record levels from 2003 through 2005.

Although housing sales and starts have cooled to more typical levels, the housing market remains strong and sound. Without the expansion of homeownership and the strength of our housing market, our nation would not have the economic growth we are experiencing today.

It is important that Congress pass tax, regulatory and housing finance polices to continue this growth and to help make the dream of homeownership a reality for even more Americans.

The Housing Subcommittee has advanced legislation this year that modernizes the Federal Housing Administration. In order for FHA to continue to offer assistance to first-time buyers and buyers with lower incomes, FHA needs more flexibility to keep pace with changes in the mortgage marketplace. The House needs to approve H.R. 5121.

When regulations on the housing industry are reasonable, the cost of housing goes down. Regulatory relief is needed to make housing more affordable to more Americans.

One step Congress should take to make regulations more reasonable is passage of H.R. 5558, which makes common-sense reforms to storm water permitting.

Before coming to Congress, I spent a lot of time in the housing business. The housing market has been through ups and downs, but through all the changes, home ownership continues to be vital for families, communities and the nation's economy.

This resolution today affirms Congress' support for homeownership and the importance of homeownership in our country.

I urge support for the resolution and support for sound housing policies in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, due to official business, I missed rollcall votes 290 and 291 on Monday, June 19, 2006. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on both votes. Rollcall vote 290 was a vote to pass H.R. 5504, legislation to designate a post office in Mission, Kansas for Larry Winn, Jr. Rollcall vote 291 was a vote to pass H. Res. 826, a resolution expressing support for the creation of a National Youth Sports Week.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support this legislation, H.R. 5540, to designate the post office in Dimmitt, Texas, as the Sergeant Jacob Dan Dones Post Office. I would like to give a special thanks to the distinguished chairman of the Government Reform Committee, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis) and the distinguished ranking member of that committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) for their prompt assistance in marking up this legislation and sending it to the floor so quickly.

As we have learned about Sergeant Dones is that he was a leader, he was a hero, he served his country with great distinction, and he gave the ultimate gift that any American can give our country: He gave his life.

As I read about Sergeant Dones, it was interesting to hear what his commanders and the people that worked with him said. One of the quotes was, ``I wish we had more men like Sergeant Dones to serve this country.'' He was awarded many medals for his service, including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. He also was classified as an expert infantry rifleman. Unfortunately, on October 20, 2005, he was killed in the line of duty.

One of the interesting things is just a few days before his life was taken, he served as an election support team for the referendum of the Iraqi Constitution, something that he was fighting alongside the Iraqis to bring a new government, a free government to this country. According to the people that served alongside him, he was happy, and he shouted out to the Iraqi people, and I am probably mispronouncing this, but ``Abebe, Abebe.'' He was saying to them, ``I love you. I love you.'' He was known as a great ambassador for our country, and the Iraqi people loved him. Whenever there was a call for a volunteer, Jacob was always the first to volunteer.

He leaves behind a large extended family, including his parents Danny and Rosa Dones, his daughter Alyssa. And I would like to thank his cousin Joe Alvarez, who has been extremely helpful in making this idea of renaming the post office a reality.

He was a greatly loved family man, a community leader; and he will be sorely missed. I cannot think of a better way to show a small token of our appreciation than to rename this post office after a brave American.