Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I have been amused at some of the rhetoric tonight, but one of the questions that has been asked is what is our strategy?

We have a strategy. The strategy is to win. The strategy is to keep America safe.

We are winning the war on terrorism. We have gotten Saddam Hussein. We have gotten Zarqawi. But the problem is are there other Saddams, other Zarqawis out there that would threaten the very fabric of the life that we live in America?

We have a choice. We can fight that war on terrorism in other places around the world or we can fight it here in America. The right choice is to fight those terrorists where they are, where they are beginning to thrive, and keep them contained where they are.

If we get out too quickly, what are we going to tell those families of those young soldiers that paid the ultimate price for the freedom and democracy that we are sewing the seeds for in Iraq today? What are we going to tell the young men and women that are over there today that have volunteered, I repeat, volunteered, to come and serve a noble purpose?

I got a letter from a young marine named Kevin Hester. And Kevin enlisted, Mr. Speaker. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he enlisted in the Marines. And Kevin is in Iraq today. And Kevin wrote me a letter the other day, and he said, The Iraqi people trust us, and they trust us now and they are trying to help us help them by telling us who the bad guys are in their country.

We have been fighting the cause for America and keeping America safe for over 230 years coming this July 4. This is a war on terrorism. This is a different war than we have fought before. This is like the war on drugs. This is like the war on crime. The war on terrorism is a war that we will be fighting for many years to come, but it is a war that we cannot afford to lose. We cannot disgrace those young men and women that are representing and defending our country so greatly.

And so, Mr. Speaker, I encourage people to support this resolution in order to say to the young men and women around the world that are defending freedom and democracy, we love you, we appreciate you.

God bless them and God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, due to circumstances beyond my control, I missed Roll Call Vote 153 on Wednesday, May 17, 2006. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye.'' This was a vote to order the previous question on H. Res. 817, a rule providing for further consideration of the budget resolution.

Mr. Speaker, due to official business, I missed rollcall vote 146 on Thursday, May 11, 2006. Had I been present I would have voted ``aye.'' This was a vote on H. Res. 802, a resolution to encourage all eligible Medicare beneficiaries who have not yet elected to enroll in the new Medicare Part D benefit to review the available options and to determine whether enrollment in a Medicare prescription drug plan best meets their current

and future needs for prescription drug coverage.

I wholeheartedly agree with the message in H. Res. 802. To that end, I have worked diligently to notify my constituents of this new program wherever I go. I am pleased so many seniors have chosen to participate in this program and that so many are saving money.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 153 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise to honor an organization based in the 19th district of Texas that has played a vital role in West Texas for half a century.

In 1956, a group of West Texas cotton farmers and agricultural businesses came together to form Plains Cotton Growers. Today, PCG represents cotton growers in 41 counties throughout the High Plains and Panhandle of Texas. These growers produce nearly 20 percent of the nation's cotton crop each year. In the 50 years since its creation, PCG has attained a much-deserved reputation as an organization that producers can trust and rely upon for a wide range of services and information. Under the leadership of presidents from W.O. Fortenberry to Rickey Bearden, PCG has promoted regional cotton interests, served as a resource for cutting-edge agricultural research, and provided its members with information on important legislative matters.

If there is an issue in Congress affecting cotton farmers, then Plains Cotton Growers is on top of it. PCG provides the invaluable service of informing its members on agricultural policy being debated in the Capitols in both Washington, DC and Austin, Texas. PCG also ensures that its members have a voice in both Capitols as it keeps legislators abreast of the views and concerns of farmers.

To the staff and members of Plains Cotton Growers: Congratulations on your 50th anniversary and thank you for your service to the people of West Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Howard College for winning the NJCAA Region V Championship on March 12, 2006. Head coach Mark Adams led the Hawks to an 81-71 victory over their arch rival, Midland College, in spectacular fashion. With this victory, the Hawks have earned their first trip to the NJCAA National Tournament since 1969.

Even greater than their triumph on the court, the Hawks have overcome many obstacles and trials along the way. Last year, Howard sophomore Dezmon Harris lost his mother in the same week his team lost the Regional Championship game to Midland. With fierce determination and an unyielding desire to win, Harris led his team to victory this year and showed why he was recently named WJCAC Player of the Year.

Since 1945, Howard College has been a beacon of education in my district. It brings me great pleasure to honor the athletic achievements of an institution that continues to be a leader in educating the young people of West Texas.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, a couple of weeks ago, or several weeks ago, I think in February, the President of the United States sent over two supplemental bills, one for Katrina and one for our defense. Two bills. Because even the President recognized that these are two different issues, a $68 billion defense bill; a $20 billion Katrina bill.

Unfortunately, when this bill came to this body for consideration, it was combined, not giving Members the opportunity to determine what they think is the best policy, both from a defense standpoint and a domestic standpoint.

I am concerned about the fact that these emergency supplemental bills have really become appropriation bills, and the word ``emergency,'' I think, has somewhat slipped from that process. We should be able to come to this floor, and my bill allows Members to be able to give a vote for Katrina or a vote for our defense in an appropriate way that they feel is good for the American taxpayer.

One of the concerns I have, Mr. Chairman, is that in this 109th Congress, if we pass this bill today, with no offsets, by the way, and a previous speaker talked about there was no offsets for that amendment, in fact, there are no offsets in this bill, in the 109th Congress we will have spent as much money on emergency supplemental spending as we have spent in the previous five Congresses.

Mr. Chairman, I would say to you that I don't think that is good for the American people. What I think we ought to do, though, is have policy that does address the merits of what our efforts are in Iraq and Afghanistan and the merits of how we are spending the American taxpayers' money on Katrina relief. In fact, we have already approved in this body $100 billion worth of emergency spending in other relief for Katrina victims.

What is at issue here is the question of whether or not a lot of the issues that are in this supplemental should actually have been in this supplemental. But more importantly, it should not be allowed for piling on and adding things to these supplemental bills, which, in fact, become a free-for-all.

These are two different issues. How we spend the money defending the American people in our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan as we execute the war on terrorism and how we deal with the catastrophic events that have happened in Katrina are two separate issues. And I would encourage my colleagues to give the American people the benefit of their wisdom and judgment and have a vote on each one of these issues.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence).

(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

There has been a lot of discussion about what this bill does and what it does not do. What it does do is not take away Katrina funding; but what it says is let us break this bill into two pieces the way that the President of the United States sent this bill over to us, giving an opportunity for Members to express their opinions about our current defense policy, giving Members of Congress the ability to talk about and express their opinions about how they feel about Katrina policy and how it is going today.

One of the things that this amendment does, Members would be able to come back for debate on Katrina and have a separate vote at that particular time.

What we need to understand is this is no small sum of money. This is $92 billion as of the last count; and with the amendments, it is probably going to be more. We also know that $92 billion is in excess of 10 percent of our discretionary spending for 2006.

So it makes good sense for the American soldiers, the young men and women that are defending our Nation, that are executing the war on terrorism to have a separate vote. It makes good sense for the people in the devastated areas because of the hurricanes that we have had, for us to have deliberative talks and discussions about what is good policy for Katrina.

But let's don't leave the third set of people out that this body is charged to represent, and that is the American people. We need to make sure when we are making policy in this building and in this Chamber that it is good for the people in America. The American people are looking to us; and quite honestly, the people back in the 19th Congressional District of Texas are concerned about our spending. They question how much is an emergency and what is an emergency.

Quite honestly, Mr. Chairman, I think that combining these bills today is not good policy, and I urge my colleagues to come down and give a positive vote, vote for this amendment, vote for our soldiers, vote for the people in Katrina, but also vote for the American people.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Mr. Neugebauer

Amendment No. 11: At the end of title II, insert the

following:

Offered By: Mr. Neugebauer

Amendment No. 12: At the end of title II, insert the

following:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, Texas, for becoming the first base in 4 years to receive an overall outstanding rating following an Air Combat Command Operational Readiness Inspection.

Operational Readiness Inspections are demanding examinations of our Nation's combat operations. Inspections ensure expeditionary readiness by testing combat capabilities in stressful real-world situations. They allow our Nation's airmen to face deployment with increased confidence after practicing wartime skills at home that are executed in operations around the world including Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

This outstanding rating proves that the men and women of Dyess can take the fight anywhere. They are the very best in the Air Force because they have been well-trained and are well-prepared for any task or any challenge they will face in expeditionary operations.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor Thomas Jay Harris, the former editor of the leading newspaper in Lubbock, Texas who passed away on Sunday, February 26. During the course of his 87 years, Jay could call many people his friend and could point to many achievements. He was a war veteran, a community leader, and a proud newspaperman.

Jay began his 53-year journalism career in 1938 working for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal while still an undergraduate student at Texas Tech University. He then spent 3 years serving his country in the Air Force during World War II. Following the war, he returned to the newspaper. He would remain at the A-J for the rest of his professional career, the last 22 years of which were spent as the newspaper's editor.

As editor, Jay deftly balanced the need to report on issues of importance to the local community while still pursuing stories of national and international significance. It was this thirst for foreign affairs that led him to support the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech. This center introduced students and aspiring journalists to the cultures of foreign countries.

I had the privilege of knowing Jay. Almost every time I spoke with him, he had an idea on how to make Lubbock or Texas Tech better. Jay was persistent and always stuck with an issue until he got results.

Jay lived his life with passion. I will miss Jay and his enthusiasm for his work, for his community, and for his country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressmen Hensarling and Moore and Chairmen Oxley and Bachus for their efforts to bring H.R. 3505 to the floor today. Regulatory relief is much-needed by our nation's financial institutions, and I am pleased to support this legislation.

Since 1989, federal banking regulators have adopted more than 851 new rules and regulations. Regulatory costs, which total $38 billion, account for 13 percent of banks' non-interest expenses. It is time for Congress to provide relief.

I am especially concerned about the impact of unnecessary regulations on community banks and small credit unions, which are the types of institutions that serve much of rural West Texas. The regressive burden of regulations has contributed to the decline in the number of community banks and diminished the investments they are able to make in small communities.

H.R. 3505 includes a balance of regulatory relief among all types of financial institutions, and all institutions will benefit from the elimination of annual privacy notices when they do not share information or have not changed their privacy policy. There are provisions in this legislation that provide relief specific to community banks, national banks, credit unions and thrifts.

I am especially supportive of the much needed relief on Currency Transaction Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports. Last year banks filed more than 13 million CTRs and 300,000 SARs, overwhelming law enforcement with reports. Eliminating CTRs for seasoned customers will save institutions many hours of paperwork and redirect resources to the most useful reports. Focusing resources on transactions that pose the greatest risks benefits law enforcement, financial institutions and citizens.

I encourage my colleagues to support the long-overdue regulatory relief in H.R. 3505.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition today to S. 1777. One of the things that I am concerned about is we are spending billions of dollars every day on this Katrina emergency disaster, with very small results. We have people filing lawsuits against the government to keep them from being kicked out of apartments, while thousands of trailers are idle just a few hundred miles away.

Certainly, our hearts and thoughts go with the people who experienced this tremendous tragedy, but I think one of the things that I hear from the people in the 19th District of Texas is that they see we are spending billions and billions and billions of dollars, yet we are getting reports of mismanagement almost at every level of government.

One of the things that I think we have to do, and it is the reason I am going to encourage my colleagues today not to support this, is I think we have to step back and look at where we are spending our money today, the American taxpayers' money, by the way, and by the way, money that we don't have. Every dollar we are spending right now for Katrina relief is money that we are borrowing, and we are going to saddle our future generations with that debt.

So I believe that what we have to do is begin to assess what are the job creation opportunities going to be in that region. We are at a time in our country today, quite honestly, where we have record low unemployment, yet we are here today to extend unemployment benefits for another 13 weeks.

The question I have is not whether these people need a job, but the question is are we providing opportunities for them to get a job and moving them away from an environment of entitlement to an environment of empowerment, where we are investing dollars in those communities in such a way that those communities will be able to create jobs for those people that maybe lost their jobs because of this disaster that happened.

So, Mr. Speaker, I would encourage my colleagues today, let's vote this down. Let's sit back and assess where we are spending our resources. I know that we have a $20 billion additional supplemental coming to the floor of this House for debate, and I think as we keep throwing money at this problem, what we hear on the national news every day is the people living in these areas are saying they are not getting any of the help. The way to make sure you have accountability is not to give someone more money, but to bring in more accountability.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues not to support this.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to my colleagues' attention an important event in my congressional district. On February 27, 2006, the African-American Chamber of Commerce in Lubbock, Texas, is holding the third annual induction ceremony for the Educators Hall of Fame. This unique event honors Lubbock's local educators and recognizes the essential role they play in the community.

This year, the Educators Hall of Fame will honor six teachers who, among other accomplishments, prepared students for leadership before and during the civil rights movement. These educators are unsung heroes who helped build a foundation during those turbulent times for the march toward full equality promised by our Constitution. For the first time, three non African-Americans will be honored for their commitment to help African-American youth during that time. This year's inductees into the Educators Hall of Fame are Dr. Sam Ayers, Ms. Lottie Barrow, Lubbock Independent School District Superintendent Wayne Havens, Ms. Nora Hutchinson, Ms. Rose Mediano, and Ms. Mae Phea.

The Lubbock African-American Chamber of Commerce should be commended for their initiative to recognize the important work done by education professionals. These educators are being honored because they believe that America can be made a better place through education. Their years of service have touched the lives of many and improved our community, State and country.

Mr. Speaker, on February 17, 2006, a legend in Lubbock radio will celebrate 50 years in the broadcasting business. Mr. Paul R. Beane currently serves as general manager and morning radio program host at KRBL, 105.7 FM.

Mr. Beane's long career began in 1956 at KGVL in Greenville, TX, and he has worked in all aspects of radio since that time. Over the years, he has worked at 18 radio and television stations in Texas and Louisiana, spending the majority of time in and around my hometown of Lubbock. He is a familiar face and voice to the people of west Texas and we appreciate his efforts to bring us news, information and entertainment.

Many Lubbock residents have fond memories of Paul's broadcasts. I particularly remember his ``News Flash'' announcements before giving the news update.

In this day and age of weblogs, podcasts and e-mail updates, it is refreshing to turn on the radio, hear Paul's voice and get the news from a genuine reporter and trusted member of the community.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate Paul Beane on his 50th anniversary in broadcasting.