Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the Budget Committee for yielding me this time, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to talk about the importance of keeping the economy growing. And this budget certainly does that.

But let me take a moment, if I could, and respond to some of the comments by the minority leader with regard to the Social Security system. First, to say the criticism that your budget, Mr. Chairman, does not include Social Security, is kind of an unusual one, given that as the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) knows, under the Budget Act of 1974, Social Security is off budget. And even if the Budget Committee, in all of its wisdom, decided we were going to reform Social Security, we would not have the ability to. You cannot do it in the budget.

And, secondly, although we heard a lot of criticism about some of the President's ideas and some of the other ideas to indeed modernize and save Social Security, we did not hear even outlines of a plan on the other side. So it is kind of hard to put a budget together, even if you could under the Budget Act, when there is no plan.

There is lot of denial about the problem we just heard. And there is a lot of criticism about those who would like to address the problem. I commend the President for addressing it. There can be no greater sense of leadership around this place, Washington, D.C., than someone who is willing to take on the third rail in American politics, Social Security.

Traditionally, it has been one that politically is very tough, hard to take on, referring to that third electrified rail in the New York subway system. You grab it and you are electrified. The President is taking it on, as are Republicans, because it is the right thing to do. It is the right thing to do for our seniors, to be sure they have strong Social Security. And as the President said repeatedly, anybody who is age 55 or older will not have their benefits changed one bit.

But more importantly, it is important for those succeeding generations. I have my 14-year-old son with me today. We want to be sure that his generation has an opportunity to have the same kind of peace of mind in retirement and the retirement security that we have all enjoyed.

And quite frankly, the math does not lie. The Social Security system was funded in a way that does not permit us to continue to provide those benefits to future generations because of the fact that we have people living longer, because we have more people who are about to retire, my generation, the baby boom generation, and because therefore we will have fewer people working to pay in those benefits.

We need to do something. We need to do it on a bipartisan basis. We need to put aside this notion that everything is off the table and criticism and denial and, instead, address the very real problem we have. And the very obvious solution is to do something sooner rather than later because the sooner we do it, the less impact it will be on our economy, on our budget, and on our young people.

The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) talked about the reckless tax cuts that have driven us into debt. Well, what have we seen over the last 4 years? It is not tax relief that drove us into debt. Over the last 4 years we have seen remarkable changes in our Nation's economic picture after having endured the bursting of the stock market bubble, the corporate scandals, a recession, the terrorist attacks and their aftermath and, of course, the uncertainties of an international war against terrorism, including our conflicts in Afghanistan and now in Iraq.

These things have resulted in two things. Number one, because of the recession, less revenue. And of course that is the number one reason we find ourselves with a growing deficit over the last few years. And all the data supports that, from CBO, from OMB, all the nonpartisan actuaries looking at this issue. All those who analyze it say the same thing. When you have less revenue coming in, lower capital gains, lower corporate income tax, lower individual income tax because of recession, that is the number one reason.

The second reason is increased spending. And, yes, this Congress has increased spending, and in a few areas as has been talked about earlier today, it was necessary. One, of course, is Homeland Security. Once again, this budget provides for substantial increases in our Homeland Security budget because we need it to protect our country against the terrorist threat.

Second is with regard to defense. We inherited not only a recession over the last 4 years, but also a deficit in terms of our defense. We needed to rebuild defense. And again today we will vote on a budget, or this week on a budget, that will increase substantially our commitment to the defense of our country. So some spending has been increased, and some other areas as well.

Tax relief is specifically focused on growing that economy, getting us out of that recession, moving us to a point where we have increased revenues coming in. And you know what? The strength and resilience with which our Nation has responded to the challenges I talked about earlier, the recession, the terrorist attack, the stock market bubble, the corporate scandals, has been incredible. And it has been because of the tax relief. The tax relief, as opposed to the less revenue from the recession, as opposed to the increased spending, the tax relief has actually enabled us to move out of a recession into economic times where we see good economic growth.

We have acted together to address those deficits in our Homeland Security, our national security, and also put in place through tax relief the necessary incentives to grow our economy. Because of that, we are in a very different position today than we were 4 years ago.

In fact, the general consensus of both public and private forecasters is that the US economy is in a sustained expansion growth period, with real solid GDP growth over the last year and going forward, real growth and payroll jobs, low unemployment and very low historical inflation.

This chart shows the GDP growth. Starting in 2003 going up, real GDP growth has increased for 13 consecutive quarters. In 2004, our real growth was 4.4 percent. That makes us the envy of the developed world. It is the strongest growth we have had in 5 years and one of the strongest in 20 years.

The Budget Committee recently heard from Chairman Alan Greenspan from the Federal Reserve who said the U.S. economy delivered a solid performance in 2004 and thus far activity appears to be expanding at a reasonably good pace. The Fed projects we will have real GDP growth this year of between 3\1/2\ and 4 percent, and again good growth in the proceeding year.

This growth is because, again, the tax relief is beginning to work. This includes real business investment, increasing at a rate of 15 percent over the last year and a half. The best performance in real business investment and equipment over the past 7 years, shipments of nondefense capital goods, which is a key measure of private business investment, has rebounded very strongly.

Homeownership has also increased dramatically. We are now seeing the best homeownership rates that we have seen in our country's history. Housing construction is at its best in 20 years. This shows a record high in homeownership, including among minorities.

Unemployment is also a good story. If we look at what has happened since the tax relief was put in place, payroll employment has increased by 3 million jobs over the past 21 months. Just last week we saw job gains of 262,000 new jobs, more than a quarter million new jobs in February. Again, that is something that we should be proud of as a Congress, something we should be very pleased about. Significant improvement in jobs and labor markets has occurred and is expected to continue as new claims for unemployment insurance are at their lowest level in over 4 years.

Even the stock market is rebounding. Despite all the problems we have gone through with the markets we talked about earlier, the Dow-Jones Industrial Average has been at its highest level in 4 years. The Dow has nearly tripled in value over the last 4 years. These are not just figures or abstractions; these mean real jobs for real people we represent. It means we have higher investment in plants, in business, and equipment. We have higher business income; we have higher wages, higher take-home salary. This is happening in America right now. We need to be sure that continues.

Expanding job opportunities and solid income growth is what this budget is all about so every American who wants to work can work and find a job. That is what makes this a Nation of opportunity and prosperity. Today, because we have an improved economic picture, things are better; but we are not finished. We need this momentum to continue. We need to be sure we continue to see the kind of economic growth we have seen, and that means we need to continue the tax relief we passed in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

The minority leader earlier talked about the reckless tax cuts that caused the deficit. We talked about what caused the deficit. Here is what has resulted from those reckless tax cuts: 3 million jobs in the last 21 months. There are a lot of factors in the economy; but the one we can control is the

fiscal side, and that is our spending and our tax relief.

What this budget does is it says we need to continue that tax relief. We are not going to increase taxes just now as our economy has finally gotten back on track, as the people we represent have finally seen the kind of opportunity we all want them to have. We are not talking about new taxes; we are talking about keeping the tax relief that was in place in 2001, 2002, and 2003 by this Congress, put in place by this Congress, so we can continue to have good economic growth.

The speed and the strength of the economic recovery of the past several years has been due in large part to this tax relief. We cannot forget that as we look at this budget. We also need to keep spending under control.

Earlier this month, Alan Greenspan told us that the notion of raising taxes in response to deficits ``posed significant risk to economic growth and the revenue base'' and that in his judgment we should aim to ``close the fiscal gap primarily, if not wholly, on the outlay side.'' That is what this budget does. It makes some tough choices in nondefense discretionary spending, some tough choices in terms of our entitlement growth. Our entitlement programs are growing well beyond inflation.

As the gentleman from Iowa (Chairman Nussle) has laid out today, this budget calls for a lot of responsible ways for Congress to help itself to control spending, controlling discretionary growth, allocating discretionary spending to defense and homeland security priorities, as we talked about earlier, and calling for reconciled reductions in the amount of growth on the mandatory spending side. None of it is going to be easy.

A lot of us here in Congress have gotten pretty comfortable in signing off on big spending increases and free-flowing new spending. But success at keeping taxes and spending down is critical to a strong economy and with it higher standards of living for our Nation's workers and our families.

The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) talked about the good old days in the 1990s when we did have an opportunity to get the deficits down and get some surpluses. We did it very simply by keeping taxes under control and keeping spending under control. That is what this budget provides for, so we can reduce the deficit in half in 5 years and see that opportunity continue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the gentleman from Florida's legislation that would make clear that property owners who participate in hazard mitigation projects will not be taxed on the mitigation assistance. This legislation is very important because it reverses a June 2004 IRS ruling which determined that Federal FEMA hazard mitigation assistance represented taxable income to participating individuals and businesses.

I want to commend the gentleman from Florida for his legislation and for his leadership on this. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) also for ensuring its expeditious consideration today on the floor. This legislation is very important to Ohio. Passage of it will encourage our disaster impacted communities and our citizens to seek out mitigation assistance and limit damage to property and to people.

Mitigation is absolutely crucial to ongoing disaster recovery efforts in my State of Ohio which in the past 18 months has had seven Federal disasters. In most cases mitigation assistance is used to elevate the homes to a better level of protection or move families out of harm's way. It is often the only hope for repetitive loss disaster victims. The intent is to prevent those homes from suffering future losses, protect the people and reduce the rate of Federal disaster response and recovery cost increases. Many of the people who have taken advantage of such assistance are people living in lower valued property in the flood plain who could not afford to move on their own.

In Ohio, the hazard mitigation grants through FEMA are administered by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency. Currently in southwestern Ohio there is one project in the district I represent, the village of Fairfax, and there is one right near my district in the city of Fairfield.

Through community support, both of these mitigation projects are in the process of removing people from repeated flooding areas and making homes more resilient to flooding. A total of 46 participants in these two projects include many families who will likely not have to suffer severe impact to their homes the next time it should flood, and it will flood again. They also, very importantly, would be unlikely to need any other Federal or State disaster assistance. The total cost of these projects is about $4.5 million. Taxing this investment into these communities and the lives of these homeowners like those in Fairfax will discourage future participation. If the IRS rule is allowed to stand, these communities will be hesitant to participate in mitigation because of that liability.

This IRS policy undermines our Nation's efforts to lower the costs of future disasters through mitigation. It also discourages individuals who are affected by repeated disasters from removing themselves from harm or taking action to prevent repeated damage loss and property loss, the very actions we are trying to encourage as the Federal Government. Today we have an opportunity to correct this disincentive.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 1134 and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Petri) and want to congratulate him for his patience and persistence and for getting H.R. 3 to the Floor, again. I rise today, Mr. Chairman, in very strong support of the transportation bill and special support for something within it, and that is called the drug impaired driving legislation. It is something that is very critical for our Nation's future, along with having more roads and bridges and infrastructure.

It would probably surprise some of my colleagues to learn that for the most recent year for which we have data, almost 11 million Americans drove a car or a truck while under the influence of illegal drugs. Driving under the influence of illegal drugs, of course, caused thousands of accidents, fatalities, and property damage. Over the past decade, we have had a lot of success in getting at the problem of drunk driving. We successfully reduced the number of drunk drivers on the road by detecting and dealing with the issue. We have not done the same with regard to illegal drugs.

The nation's users of illegal drugs have faced no similar effort. They continue to drive under the influence of drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamines, marijuana and other drugs that do impair your judgment and do create these accidents and fatalities.

A more effective public policy for detection and prosecution will not only involve traffic safety and create a deterrent, but it will also get those drivers off the road. They are already violating our laws; we need to get them off the road and get them into treatment.

The Drug Impaired Driving Research and Prevention Act is bipartisan legislation I introduced last year, along with the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ramstad), and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hobson). It provides critical guidance and assistance to the States as they begin to address drug impaired driving.

It calls on the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to craft a model State drug impaired driving law. It also enhances the training of police officers and prosecutors to be able to detect, enforce and prosecute drug impaired driving laws. It also funds research to develop field tests to be able to identify drug impaired drivers, which is a critical part of this.

This legislation, Mr. Chairman, will greatly improve traffic safety and will reduce traffic fatalities as we have seen with drunk driving laws. It is time to deal with these undetected dangers on our roads and highways before more danger occurs, before more damage occurs and before more lives are lost.

I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Ranking Member Oberstar) for including it in this legislation, and I congratulate the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Petri), the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), and others for bringing this legislation to the Floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Tom and Mary Ellen Cody, friends and constituents who on April 30, 2005 will be named 2005 Cincinnatians of the Year by the Cincinnati Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is the central resource for information about type I juvenile diabetes, and raises funds to support research to find a cure for diabetes.

Tom and Mary Ellen are being honored for their extraordinary service to the Cincinnati community. They have been active members since they moved to our area in 1982, when Tom joined Federated Department Stores, Inc. Currently, Tom is vice chair of Federated with responsibility for legal and human resources, internal audit, external affairs, and the company's philanthropic activities. Prior to joining Federated, Tom was with Pan American World Airways, Inc. He serves on the Boards of Trustees of Xavier University, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Life Center, and the National Conference for Community and Justice. In addition, he is a past chair of United Way of Cincinnati and the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees. A native of New York City, Tom received a B.A. from Maryknoll College and a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law.

Mary Ellen is a member of the boards of Dominican Community Services, 4Cs (Community Coordinated Child Care), Dress for Success Cincinnati, and Friends of the University of Cincinnati College--Conservatory of Music (CCM). She attended the College of Mount Saint Joseph.

The Codys have 4 children: Thomas, Jr., Mark, Anne, and Amy, and 7 grandchildren.

All of us in the greater Cincinnati area congratulate the Codys on their extraordinary community service, and on receiving this prestigious honor.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks), and I thank the Members who have been out here this afternoon talking about this critical issue and recognizing this resolution.

I represent the Maupin family in Clermont County, Ohio. Their son, Keith Matthew ``Matt'' Maupin, Army Specialist, was captured in Iraq in April of last year. We are approaching, therefore, the 1-year anniversary. I rise today to pay special honor to Matt Maupin and to all our brave servicemen and women who are putting their lives on the line for us again on the sands of Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Specialist Maupin has been missing, as I said, since April 9, 2004. His convoy came under attack. He was taken captive. He is still missing. He went to Iraq because he believed in the fight. He went to Iraq for the freedom of the Iraqi people and to make America and our world a safer place. He is truly an American hero.

In our part of southern Ohio, there has been an outpouring of support for Matt; prayers, but also yellow ribbons have cropped up everywhere: on cars, on highway overpasses, and at places of business. His father is a veteran, Keith Maupin; his brother, Lance Corporal Micah Maupin, is a Marine stationed in Miramar, California, currently. Specialist Maupin comes from a family that strongly supports the military and strongly supports our military families.

In fact, Matt's family has taken it upon themselves to establish a Yellow Ribbon Support Network to support families throughout our part of Ohio and, indeed, throughout our country who have their sons and daughters in harm's way.

I again want to thank those who have brought this resolution to the floor today, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks) and others, for their strong support and those of our brave men and women who are missing in action. In the case of Matt Maupin, we remember the Army's ``Soldier's Creed,'' which states: ``. . . I always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. . . . I am an American soldier.'' This is Specialist Matt Maupin.

We take care of our soldiers. We leave no soldier behind.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend, fellow Ohioan, and former colleague, Ambassador Tony Hall, upon overwhelming House passage of legislation to designate the building located at 200 West Second Street in Dayton, Ohio as the ``Tony Hall Federal Building and Courthouse.''

Currently United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, Mr. Hall is well known to those of us from Ohio and in the House. But for those who are not familiar with his distinguished career, permit me to relate just a few of his many accomplishments.

Prior to serving as Ambassador, Mr. Hall represented the people of the Third Congressional District of Ohio for nearly 24 years. During his service in Congress, he was a founding member and Chairman of the House Select Committee on Hunger and Chairman of the Democratic Caucus on Hunger. Ambassador Hall also founded and served as a steering committee member for the Congressional Friends of Human Rights Monitors.

In Congress, Ambassador Hall wrote significant legislation supporting food aid, child survival, basic education, primary health care, microenterprise and development assistance programs for the world's poorest nations. He has made over one hundred trips to poverty stricken and war torn nations in his efforts to observe first hand the important work of these programs.

His tireless advocacy for hunger relief and humanitarian programs around the world resulted in his being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times. He has also received the UNICEF 1995 Children's Legislative Advocate Award; the U.S. AID Presidential End Hunger Award; the 1993 Oxfam America Partners Award; and the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award.

A graduate of Denison University, Ambassador Hall was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. He and his wife, Janet, have two children.

The naming of the federal building and courthouse in Dayton is a fitting tribute to Ambassador Hall's work for the people of Ohio and around the world. I join my colleagues in congratulating him on receiving this important honor.

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 10 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Crowley

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor William C. Portman II, my father, who will be formally honored on February 24, 2005 as a Great Living Cincinnatian by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Recipients of this prestigious annual honor are chosen on the basis of professional achievement; leadership; vision; and community service. Past honorees include such Greater Cincinnati leaders as Neil Armstrong, Albert Sabin and Charles Scripps.

Although my father has always been an extraordinary role model for me, he has also been a role model for so many others in our community. Throughout his lifetime, he has led, trained and motivated people with integrity and by example.

Dad was born in the Pleasant Ridge neighborhood of Cincinnati, and graduated from Walnut Hills High School in 1941. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Dartmouth College in 1946, after interrupting his studies to serve as a lieutenant in World War II. After the war, he went on to earn an M.B.A. from Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Business Administration in 1947.

He began his career in Cincinnati with Procter & Gamble's chemical division, and then joined the Clark Equipment Company as sales manager. He enjoyed the material handling business, and in 1960, he decided to strike

out on his own and start his own business. Along with my late mother, Joan, as bookkeeper, the Portman Equipment Company began modestly, with two salespeople and two mechanics. The company was started with borrowed funds, and it took a few years to turn a profit.

Today, the company employs over 400 people, handles multiple lines and services, and is one of the largest material handling distributors in the United States. Dad would tell you that's because he hired outstanding people, which is true, but it is also because he is a good leader and a hardworking entrepreneur.

He was the first equipment dealer in the country to recognize the importance of operator safety and mechanic education. In 1972, Dad initiated a training operation, now called the ``Learning Center,'' which offers twenty industry courses, has instructed over 80,000 students worldwide, and is the largest regional training site for Caterpillar and Mitsubishi forklifts. Portman Equipment Company, now run by my brother, William C. ``Wym'' Portman III, is now one of the country's largest Cat Lift Truck distributors, and was listed as one of Cincinnati's top 100 privately held firms twelve times.

Dad always recognized the importance of giving back through community service. In 1975, he became the first small businessperson to chair the Greater Cincinnati United Way campaign. He was the first chair to visit all 105 agencies that received United Way funding, and fundraising set a new record. He has served on the boards of United Way; Community Chest & Council; the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce; and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. He has held leadership positions with the Cincinnati Business Committee; the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland's Small Business Advisory Council; the Hamilton County Regional Airport Authority; and chaired the Chamber's first Leadership Cincinnati class, which is one of the country's most prestigious leadership development programs.

In all his business and community endeavors, he was strongly supported by my mother, Joan, who herself was an accomplished civic leader. Among her accomplishments, she was named a Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year in 1979, and was the recipient of the Jacob E. Davis Volunteer of the Year Award of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation.

Our family, including my wife, Jane; brother, Wym; sister-in-law, Jan; sister, Ginna; brother-in-law Allan; and Dad's nine grandchildren; are proud of all of Dad's accomplishments, and congratulate him on being named a Great Living Cincinnatian.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Donald A. Spencer, Sr., an educator, real estate broker, community activist, musician and composer, who will be formally honored as a Great Living Cincinnatian on February 24, 2005 by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Recipients of this prestigious annual award are chosen on the basis of professional achievement; leadership; vision; and community service. Past honorees have included Neil Armstrong; Dr. Albert Sabin and Charles Scripps--and Mr. Spencer's energetic wife of 64 years, Marian, a former vice mayor of Cincinnati and longtime community activist. In fact, Mr. Spencer is the first recipient of the award to be married to a Great Living Cincinnatian.

Born in Cincinnati, Mr. Spencer graduated from Walnut Hills High School and earned

bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Cincinnati before embarking upon an eighteen year teaching career at Douglas Elementary and Stowe and Bloom Junior High Schools.

He enjoyed teaching, but became interested in selling real estate in 1944 after he and Marian purchased their first home. He opened a real estate office while he continued teaching for six years. Eventually, Donald A. Spencer and Associates grew to 23 employees in two offices, and flourished for thirty years. In 1986, Mr. Spencer was the first African American member of the Cincinnati Board of Realtors, and served on its statewide legislative committee. Later, he was named President of the Cincinnati Association of Real Estate Brokers, and was active with the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.

Mr. Spencer has remained active in education. He co-chaired the Cincinnati Public Schools' successful 2001 school levy campaign, and in 2003, he co-chaired the Cincinnatians Active in the Support of Education, which helped pass a $485 million school levy to build 35 new schools and renovate the remaining ones.

A lifetime member of the NAACP, Mr. Spencer has also served on the boards of Ohio University; Family Housing Developers; Friends of Cincinnati Parks; Walnut Hills High School Foundation; and Ohio Valley Goodwill. Among his many awards are the Ohio University Board of Trustees' Founders Citation and the Cincinnati Charter Committee's Charles P. Taft Civic Gumption Award.

The Spencers have two sons and two grandsons.

All of us in Cincinnati congratulate Donald Spencer on being named a Great Living Cincinnatian.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor J. Mack Swigert, a friend and constituent, who will be formally honored as a Great Living Cincinnatian on February 24, 2005 by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. The recipients of this prestigious annual award, presented since 1967, are selected on the basis of professional achievement; leadership; vision; and community service. Past honorees include Neil Armstrong; Dr. Albert B. Sabin; and Charles Scripps.

Mr. Swigert is well known for his work on the historic National Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, better known as the Taft- Hartley Act, which is still the critical center of America's labor law. At the time, Mr. Swigert was a young associate attorney representing employers at the Cincinnati firm of Taft, Stettinius and Hollister. He was asked by U.S. Senator Robert Taft to draft some suggested amendments to the Wagner Act, the 1935 law protecting the bargaining rights of unions. While he believed that the Wagner Act had generally good features, Mr. Swigert felt some key changes were needed. Eventually these important amendments were passed over President Truman's veto. Although Mr. Swigert credits Senator Taft's political acumen with getting the changes passed, the law's endurance today is truly Mr. Swigert's legacy.

Ironically, Mr. Swigert never intended to become a lawyer. Born in Illinois and raised in Iowa, he graduated from Harvard. He met his late wife, Alice, in 1930 while visiting his parents in Tennessee, and she encouraged him to attend law school. Following a brief stint with a Chicago law firm, in 1936 he was asked by Charles Taft to work in the labor department at Taft, Stettinius and Hollister, one of Greater Cincinnati's largest and most distinguished law firms. He was named partner in 1948, and in 1979 was named managing partner and chairman of the Executive Committee. He still retains the title ``Of Counsel'' with the firm.

In Cincinnati, Mr. Swigert has held leadership posts with the Queen City Club; Cincinnati Country Club; Queen City Optimists Club; Cincinnati Tennis Club; Recess Club; and Harvard Law Club. In 2004, the Cincinnati Bar Foundation presented him with its Lifetime Achievement in Law award. Mr. Swigert has two living children, David and Sally, and five grandchildren.

All of us in Greater Cincinnati congratulate Mr. Swigert on being named a Great Living Cincinnatian.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Richard W. Vilter, M.D., a leader in our medical community, who will be formally honored as a Great Living Cincinnatian on February 24, 2005 by the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce. Recipients of this prestigious annual award are chosen on the basis of professional achievement, leadership, vision, and community service. Past honorees include Neil Armstrong, Dr. Albert Sabin, and Charles Scripps.

A native Cincinnatian, Dr. Vilter has said that not only did he want to follow in the footsteps of his father, Dr. William F. Vilter, he never considered doing anything else. After graduating from Hughes High School in 1929, he earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard. Dr. Vilter promised to join his father in practice when he returned to Cincinnati, but, tragically, his father died of leukemia before he could do so. Dr. Vilter has said this is what led him to pursue his distinguished career in blood diseases.

After graduating from medical school in 1937, Dr. Vilter earned an internship at Cincinnati General Hospital specializing in internal medicine. In 1940, he was named senior resident, and later became chief medical resident. He went on to hold many leadership positions at Cincinnati General, including founding director of the Division of Hematology and Assistant Director of the Department of Internal Medicine. In 1956, he became the Gordon and Helen Hughes Taylor Professor of Medicine and director of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati, positions he held until 1978. He still serves as the Gordon and Helen Hughes Taylor Professor Emeritus of Medicine, continuing his teaching and consulting work. Dr. Vilter has also spread his practice of medicine internationally, acting as a consultant for the United Nations' World Health Organization, traveling for the Pan American Sanitary Bureau, and serving as chair of the National Advisory Committee's Malnutrition Research Center in Thailand.

Dr. Vilter has held leadership positions with many organizations, including the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Medical Heritage Library Board; the American College of Physicians/American Society of Internal Medicine; American Society of Clinical Nutrition, where he was the first president; the American Clinical and Climitalogical Association; and the Cincinnati Society of Internal Medicine. He received the American College of Physicians Ohio Chapter's Laureate Award in 2002; the American Medical Association's Joseph Goldberger Award for outstanding contributions in the field of nutrition; the National March of Dimes Foundation's Dan Tehan Humanitarian Award; the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine's Daniel Drake Award for major and lasting contributions to the College; and the University of Cincinnati Excellence Award.

In August, 2003, Dr. Vilter lost his beloved wife of 70 years, Sue. He lost his son, Richard Jr., in 1990.

All of us in Cincinnati congratulate Dr. Vilter on being named a Great Living Cincinnatian.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House.

Mr. Speaker, Americans turned out in record numbers and their votes have been counted. President Bush won with more votes than any other Presidential candidate in the history of our great country. In Ohio, in fact, the votes were counted and then recounted, and President Bush won by over 118,000 votes in my State.

No election is ever perfect. They never are. But there is absolutely no credible basis to question the outcome of the election. That is what is going on here today. I heard my friend from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) say, this is about the right for every vote to be counted. No one on this side of the aisle will disagree with that. We could not agree more. That is why we have HAVA. That is why we are going to refine it further. That is why we need to continue our work, as many speakers on our side of the aisle have said, to be sure that every vote is indeed counted.

But that is not what this objection is about. This objection from the other

side of the aisle, and I am going to quote one of my colleagues who said, it is about ``massive and widespread voter irregularities in the State of Ohio.'' Not so.

I also read in the challenge lots of irresponsible conspiracy theories about what happened in Ohio. I was there. It did not happen. I also heard today from the other side of the aisle that no one has answered any of these questions. That is wrong.

One of the concerns that has been raised time and time again, most commonly raised, is that in Warren County, a district that I represent and a city that I represent, that somehow there was not a fair election because people were locked out. Yes, the media was locked out in the Warren County board of elections. It happened. But here is Jeff Ruppert, a lawyer for the Kerry-Edwards campaign who was inside and saw nothing unusual: ``It was as clear and open as it could possibly be,'' he said. Other witnesses included, of course, the Democratic members of the election board and several Democrats who were hired to help count the votes.

As has been said time and time again in Ohio, we have got a pretty good system. It is totally bipartisan, two Democrats, two Republicans, every single board in every county of our 88 counties in our great State.

This is not the time, ladies and gentlemen, to obstruct the will of the American people. It is time to get our work done. It is time to govern, not to object. Let us be clear. This is not Americans forcing their will on the American people. This is the views of Ohioans that have been clearly expressed. Every objective observer agrees. In fact, every newspaper in the State of Ohio agrees. Every editorial page agrees.

We have heard some quotes today. Here is one I love from the Cleveland Plain Dealer. It says: ``The 176 Democrats who sit on Ohio's 88 county election boards pondered their jurisdictions' results, accepted their subordinates' good work, and are now turning their energies toward the future. Are they all dupes in some Machiavellian Republican scheme? Or do they simply have a firmer grasp of reality than that displayed by a handful of unrelenting zealots still ranting in the January rain 8 weeks after the election?''

Maybe we should look at some other States. Again in Ohio, President Bush won by over 118,000 votes. John Kerry won New Hampshire, but by 9,200 votes. John Kerry won Minnesota, but by only 98,000 votes. John Kerry won Wisconsin, but by only 11,300 votes.

I want to thank my Republican colleagues today for not raising objections to those results in those States. We need to move on. I hope what we will do today, Mr. Speaker, is that we will vote overwhelmingly, Republicans and Democrats alike, just as the other body has just voted. I am told the vote was 74-1 to turn down the objection in the United States Senate. I hope we will come together as Democrats and Republicans today to vote down this objection, not to continue this cynical political ploy to try to somehow delegitimize the Presidency of the United States and his election, but rather to move forward and get on to the very important work that we have before us today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentleman from Cincinnati, Ohio (Mr. Chabot).

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Jim King, who is Director of Broadcasting and General Manager of WVXU, Xavier University's public radio station in Cincinnati. He retired December 31, 2004 after 28 years of dedicated service to our community, and will return to a full time Xavier faculty position.

A native of Cheboygan, MI, Jim had an early interest in music. He began his interest in broadcasting while still a youngster with his own ``pirate'' radio station, and even then, he knew he wanted a career in radio. Later, he gained his first full time job in radio as a high school sophomore. At Western Michigan University, Jim earned a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in English Literature and Ancient History. Happily, he also met his wife of 37 years, Kathy, there. In 1969, Jim and Kathy moved to Ann Arbor and in 1973, Dr. King earned a Ph.D in Radio, TV and Film from the University of Michigan.

In 1976, Jim joined Xavier University as its full time professional manager of WVXU, which was then a small 10 watt FM station. Jim also serves as Professor of Communication Arts at Xavier.

Over the years, WVXU has increased its power several times, and today, the station is 26,000 watts. Under Jim's visionary leadership, the station became a member of a regional network of seven stations in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. WVXU is now housed in a 12,000 square foot broadcasting complex on the Xavier University campus, employs 25 radio professionals, and has won almost every honor in broadcasting, including the George Foster Peabody Award, the industry's most prestigious award.

Simply put, Jim has improved the quality of life for all of us in the community by treating us to WVXU's mix of vintage radio shows; award- winning news programs; financial information; and a beloved variety of music.

All of us congratulate Jim on his retirement and wish him luck in the new challenges to come.

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, November 13, 2004, I participated in the Second Annual Madisonville Neighborhood Luminaria in Cincinnati, Ohio. As part of the program, I had the privilege of honoring two tireless community advocates and volunteers, Kathleen Garrison and Ruth Ann Busald.

Kathy's dedication to the Madisonville Community Council, the Department of Justice/Madisonville Weed & Seed Strategy, and the Students Concerned About Today and Tomorrow is unequaled and makes Madisonville a better place to live and work.

Ruth's dedication to researching, archiving, and sharing the history of Madisonville, for more than a decade, is unparalleled. Her lifelong commitment to Madisonville has kept the community history alive, enriching all who live and work in the community.

Kathy Garrison and Ruth Ann Busald's generosity is an example of that admirable American spirit of volunteerism that motivates and enriches not only the local community, but also the country as a whole.

All of us in the Second District of Ohio appreciate their service to our area.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a very dear friend and Brown County, Ohio, constituent, John Ruthven, who was selected by President Bush to receive the National Medal of the Arts, the highest award to an artist or patron in the United States. I was honored to join John and his wife, Judy, and members of his family today at the White House for the medal presentation by President Bush.

He is one of the most talented artists in the Nation, and we are proud to know him as one of our neighbors in southern Ohio. We cannot think of anybody more deserving of this honor.

John is an author, lecturer, naturalist, conservationist, and internationally acknowledged master of wildlife art. We consider him a modern day Audubon. His love of nature is infectious. So many, including my own family, have joined John on his naturalist tours of the woods of his beloved farm.

His original paintings have been shown at the White House, the Hermitage Museum in Russia, here at the U.S. Capitol, the Ohio State capitol rotunda, and many other prestigious venues around the world.

The National Medal of Arts, Mr. Speaker, is a very prestigious award. The President may award up to 12 medals per year. There were only seven other individuals to receive the national medal today.

All of us in southern Ohio congratulate John on receiving this most prestigious national award.