Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky) for yielding me this time.

While we do not agree on the issue that I will be speaking on, he is a very good friend and a very good Member of Congress, and I appreciate his courtesy today.

I would like to begin by thanking the Committee on Rules for not allowing language that would have allowed budget gimmicks to pay for the Yucca Mountain Project.

I strongly oppose funding for the proposed Yucca Mountain Waste Repository. There is no single greater threat to the health and safety of Southern Nevada residents than the Bush administration's plan to dump high-level nuclear waste in the Silver State. The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, not a friend of the State of Nevada, has said that there is no question that canisters stored in Yucca Mountain will corrode, allowing deadly nuclear waste to escape and contaminate water supplies.

Listen to the language of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. They said the canisters will leak and deposit thousands of tons of radioactivity into the groundwater at Yucca Mountain.

Decades of scientific study have failed to answer even the most fundamental questions about Yucca Mountain's ability to withstand earthquakes, volcanic activity, and now perhaps more immediate coordinated terrorist assault.

No plans have been put in place to address the risks that will be created by thousands of shipments of nuclear waste, traveling past schools, hospitals, churches, and through communities across 43 States in this country, across hundreds, literally hundreds, of congressional districts, to be buried in a hole in the Nevada desert. One terrorist strike or accident involving a load of high-level nuclear waste could seriously injure or kill those living nearby and cause millions of dollars of environmental damage.

Who will pay for this damage? Who will pay for the loss of property? Who will pay for the environmental damage? Who will pay to clean up the spill? Who will pay for the loss of life?

Fire and police departments are unequipped and untrained to deal with the hazards presented by nuclear waste, and no study has been completed to date on the vulnerability of shipments to a 9-11 terrorist-type attack.

I would also remind my colleagues that despite the administration's approval of Yucca Mountain, a license to construct the repository has yet to be issued, and with close to 200 scientific and technical questions left unanswered, the project is in real danger of collapsing as a result of a long list of problems that have been identified and remain uncorrected.

And if the Members want to have a chilling conversation, I invite them to speak to the representatives of the GAO, who did an exhaustive 10-month study and determined that there are over 200 remaining scientific and technical problems to work out before this project can be approved.

The State of Nevada has filed numerous lawsuits that are now pending in federal court which raise serious questions about the legality of DOE's design for the repository.

It is sloppy science. The State of Nevada would also like to recover the oversight funding stripped from the State of Nevada. So we do not even have the money to protect our own people.

Rather than waste one more cent on this dangerous and ill-conceived project, it is time that we put the health and safety of all Americans above the profits of the nuclear industry. Transporting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain will require decades of shipments that will leave our communities vulnerable to accident and will provide inviting targets for would-be terrorists.

It is beyond comprehension that the Members of this body would accept this. I urge Members on both sides of the aisle to reconsider their position and vote against this ridiculous, expensive, dangerous project.

Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of Eshoo amendment given the fact that Enron has stolen more than $1 billion from Nevada's ratepayers by ruthlessly gouging our consumers and our utilities nearly went bankrupt, and that is why the Eshoo amendment is so important.

The Western United States has suffered an artificial energy crisis created by Enron to rake in enormous profits. The company executives deliberately and maliciously manipulated the energy market. Enron stole more than $1 billion from Nevada's ratepayers by ruthlessly gouging consumers. This is just the tip of the iceberg. It is likely that Enron made more than $10 billion in profits by breaking the law.

Not only did Enron's actions cost Nevada's families more than $1 billion, our utilities nearly went bankrupt. We cannot allow this rampant corporate misconduct to continue. After years of asking for answers, people in my state are still waiting for this administration to take measures to correct this wrongdoing and hold Enron accountable.

I urge you to support the Eshoo amendment and ensure that the Enrons of the world cannot collect another fraudulent dime from Nevadans.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to this most fiscally irresponsible Republican budget enforcement bill. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are right on one thing, this Congress does need to

control the outrageous budget deficit that is fast approaching $500 billion. However, if we want to make serious progress in reducing this deficit, PAYGO rules must be applied to spending and tax cuts. Exempting tax cuts from these budget enforcement rules makes no fiscal sense. Additionally, it threatens to increase the deficit and the burden on our children and our grandchildren; the one that they will have to bear is unfathomable if we do not act responsibly today.

The original PAYGO rules passed by Congress and signed by the first President Bush were essential to restoring this country's fiscal health the last time we faced record deficits. Those rules worked because they applied it to both sides of the equation, spending and tax cuts.

If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are serious about fiscal responsibility, they would be offering a PAYGO proposal that applies it to entitlement program spending as well as tax cuts. Failing to apply PAYGO rules to tax cuts is little more than a smoke screen that seeks to hide the major contributing factor of this Nation's growing deficit.

As this country faces record deficits in increased spending on homeland security and the war in Iraq, now is the time for fiscal discipline.

When I was a freshman, the thing I was most proud of, the issues I was most proud of serving were that we had a good surplus, we had low unemployment, and we had a good budget.

This is a shame to all of us that are here. We ought to act responsibly on a bipartisan basis and come up with a decent budget proposal that not only affects spending but tax cuts as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to speak out against the continued pattern of anti-Semitism and racism by the Saudi royal family.

Last month, Crown Prince Abdullah was quoted as telling Saudi television that ``Zionists'' were behind the May 1 attack on contractors at the Saudi oil facility in Yanbu. The Crown Prince was also quoted in a story appearing in a Saudi newspaper as saying, ``Our country is targeted; you know who is behind all of this. It is Zionism.''

Enough is enough.

This is not the first time I have come to the floor to protest hatred emanating from the kingdom. It is the first time that I have come to the floor to protest the scapegoating of Israel and the Jewish people when, in fact, it was Saudi radicals who perpetrated these attacks. And it is not the first time that I have spoken of the danger of fueling the fires of religious extremism and hatred.

The irony is that it is the Saudis who have exported their homegrown terrorists throughout the world and have financed these murders for over 20 years. Only now when their own terrorists have turned back against the Saudi Royal Family are they remotely concerned with anything about terrorism.

Continually spreading and advancing of hateful and anti-Semitic rhetoric only provides ammunition who those who would support and condemn terrorism. Enough is enough. The Saudis have to stop.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), ranking member of the Committee on International Relations; the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros- Lehtinen); the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer); and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay) for their leadership on this very important and urgent issue.

I rise today in strong support of this resolution, in support of America's closest ally in the Middle East, and I rise with the hope that a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be achieved.

No country in the world is more familiar with what Americans experienced on September 11 than Israel. Since Yasser Arafat turned his back on peace with Israel and fled Camp David to oversee the latest wave of violence, there have been over 130 suicide bombings responsible for the death of over 500 Israelis. Thousands more have been injured, and little progress has been made in forging a lasting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

This resolution sends a strong, bipartisan message of support for strengthening the security and well-being of Israel.

The peace process is dead because the Palestinian Authority continues to refuse to fulfill its most basic obligations under the roadmap. It refuses to stop the terrorist attacks against Israel, dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, and begin a process of political reform.

It is time for the Palestinian leadership to express their desire for a Palestinian state living side by side peacefully with Israel rather than a Palestinian state in place of Israel.

Israel has the right to secure and defensible borders that reflect the demographic realities. The time is long past for the Palestinian people to reject terrorism and violence. America will never condone terrorist acts. America will never support those that perpetrate them, and America will stand side by side with Israel in its struggle against terrorism.

This resolution, once again, sends a clear message to the supporters of terrorism and the enemies of Israel. America will always side with democratic and peace-loving people. America should and does stand side by side with the people of the State of Israel. I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, on the 4th of July, families in Las Vegas will celebrate the anniversary of our Nation's independence with great fanfare, including parades, watching the fire works, singing our National Anthem, honoring our veterans. Also on this day, I will join in the local effort to provide meals to the homeless veterans in my community.

Sadly, the Bush administration and many in Congress have fallen short on the promises made to our veterans. President Bush shortchanged our veterans when he proposed to increase the prescription drug copay and create a $250 user fee for veterans who use the VA. Republicans shortchanged our veterans when they underfunded important veterans programs and underfunded veterans health care by $1 billion.

We must not only remember and thank our veterans on holidays like Independence Day; we must send a message to them every day that we as Americans are eternally grateful for their service and sacrifice by meeting our promises, the promises made to our veterans to provide health care and other important benefits.

Mr. Speaker, this week the House has voted on energy bills that do absolutely nothing to help Nevada families with the cost of power or skyrocketing gas prices. These bills only help this administration's special interest friends. The Republican energy bill is riddled with billions of dollars of taxpayer giveaways to nuclear, oil, and gas industries. I am appalled that we would spend one more cent on nuclear energy when there is no way to safely store radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. This administration continues to dump money into the Yucca Mountain project despite the fact that it is unsafe and a ridiculous proposal.

I am outraged that not one of these bills puts an end to fraud and abuse perpetrated by companies like Enron. Enron's deliberate and malicious manipulation of the market stole over $1 billion from Nevadans and other Western ratepayers.

I am disgusted that we are doing nothing to reduce gas prices at a time when oil companies are reaping record profits. The FTC must investigate this industry and its practices.

Now is the time to create an energy plan that weans this country from its reliance on foreign oil and to harness renewable energy sources.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to strongly support the DeFazio amendment to eliminate the 45,000-person cap on the number of TSA screeners.

When Congress created the Transportation Security Administration and tasked them with protecting our aviation, rail and transit systems, it was expected that Congress would provide the agency with the necessary resources. However, Congress has not done its job.

Last year, a cap of 45,000 was placed on the number of Federal screeners at our Nation's airports. This number is not only an arbitrary figure; it does not give our airports enough personnel necessary to screen passengers. We have an obligation to enable the TSA to hire the number of people needed to ensure the security of the flying public in the safest and most efficient way.

Now, I cannot speak for the airport in Clinton, New York; but I can speak for the airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. Officials at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas have struggled to manage the long lines as a result of inadequate personnel. In January, departing passengers stood in line for up to 4 hours after attending one of our largest conventions. This is absolutely unacceptable for a community that depends on its airport to deliver tens of millions of annual visitors.

Not only does this cause passenger frustration; it poses additional security risks. Thousands of people jammed into a small area could create yet another potential terrorist target.

In our attempts to secure one aspect of our aviation system, we should not expose another flank to potential attack. TSA has worked with the Nevada delegation to temporarily reduce wait times by giving the Federal security director more flexibility and personnel. But McCarran screeners are working over 50 hours a week to meet the demand. We cannot expect them to continue to work these hours. At some point, they are either going to quit their jobs or their efficiency and effectiveness will be compromised, which in turn will impact on passenger safety. We must find a long-term solution.

McCarran International Airport is the life blood of the Las Vegas Valley. Last year, nearly 36 million people came to Las Vegas; 46 percent of them arrived by air. Passenger traffic at McCarran has grown 15 percent just this year alone, and this growth is expected to continue. New airlines have added service and established airlines continue to expand their existing networks to include more flights to southern Nevada.

Officials at McCarran and local FSD have worked tirelessly to improving the screening process for passengers. This summer, seven new checkpoints will be opened by next fall and an inline baggage screening system will be operational. We have at McCarran the latest technology, but it is time for Congress to do our part.

Instead of mandating a cap on a screener workforce, let us give the TSA the resources it needs to secure our skies. Give the TSA the ability to hire the screeners it needs to achieve its mission, keeping the flying public safe.

This is about more than aviation security. This is about national security. We cannot cut corners or attempt to play politics with something as important as the lives of our pilots, our crew members, our passengers, and America's airport personnel.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my sincere condolences to former first lady Nancy Reagan and the entire Reagan family. And I join our Nation in expressing profound sorrow at the loss of our 40th President.

Ronald Reagan had a special place in the hearts of Nevadans. Long before he came to the White House, Ronald Reagan in a another life headlined on the Las Vegas Strip as an entertainer in the early 1950s. Later as Governor of California, he worked with his counterpart from Nevada, former U.S. Senator and Governor Paul Laxalt, to address environmental threats to Lake Tahoe.

While in the White House, Ronald Reagan would often turn to his old friend from Nevada, Senator Laxalt, who was one of his closest advisers during his time in our Nation's Capital.

Ronald Reagan served our Nation with honor and distinction. He will long be remembered for his warm wit, his quiet strength, and ability to inspire through his words and his deeds. His actions as President reshaped the course of the 20th century, and his unbridled optimism helped restore America's faith in itself.

Today we also remember Ronald Reagan for his leadership and for his unwavering vision that Americans remain for all a land of hope, promise, and opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, May is Osteoporosis Prevention and Awareness Month. Osteoporosis and low bone density affects over 44 million Americans over the age of 50, many of whom were unaware of their risk for osteoporosis and were not able to take steps to prevent it. While both men and women are at-risk of developing osteoporosis, women comprise 80 percent of those who develop the disease. Even though the risk of a hip fracture for a woman is equal to her combined risk of breast, uterine, and ovarian cancer, most adult women are unaware of the risk factors for osteoporosis.

Like many Americans, I had no idea I was at risk for developing osteoporosis. I believed I simply had bad posture and was reluctant to be screened for osteoporosis. Yet, as I was running for Congress in 1998, I was diagnosed with this disease.

Fortunately, within 10 months of treatment I was able to stop my bone density loss and my bones actually began to strengthen again. Because of my personal experience with osteoporosis, I am committed to ensuring Americans are aware of the importance of strong bones, so they can reduce their chances of developing the disease.

I commend the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) for their efforts to educate the public during the month of May. This month, the NOF has reached out to healthcare providers and consumers with the message, ``Osteoporosis. Chances are . . . it could be you.'' Throughout the year, the NOF is dedicated to promoting lifelong bone health in order to reduce the prevalence of osteoporosis and osteoporosis related fractures and they continue to work to find a cure for the disease through research, education, and advocacy. For all those who have this disease and those who may in the future, I will continue to work with and support NOF's efforts to raise awareness of the risk factors and ways to prevent osteoporosis.

Mr. Speaker, when Congress passed the Medicare prescription drug bill, seniors expected real prescription drug coverage. Instead, seniors are receiving a sham discount card that guarantees no savings and will not lower drug costs.

Many seniors already use a drug discount card available at their pharmacies which provides savings up to 25 percent. Seniors are able to use as many cards as they need.

The Medicare discount card will limit the options available to our seniors. Seniors will be allowed only one card, and drug prices can vary week to week. In fact, drug companies are already starting to increase drug prices so they will not lose any money.

Democrats are committed to not only fighting for a prescription drug benefit for our seniors but for lower drug prices and giving seniors real choices.

The administration's drug benefit will mask inflated prices and give huge

subsidies to drug companies. I am disappointed, as a matter of fact I am heartsick, that many seniors who desperately need our help will not save one dime on their medication bills under this administration's program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for the motion to instruct offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moore).

It is our duty as lawmakers and the voices of our constituents to demand a budget resolution that is fiscally responsible and meets the needs of our country. This motion a very simple motion would require that any increase in spending and tax cuts must be subjected to a pay- as-you-go rule.

As this country faces record deficits, increased spending on homeland security and the war in Iraq, now is the time for fiscal discipline. The Federal budget deficit is fast approaching $500 billion and will only continue to grow. Unless we act now, our children and

our grandchildren will be paying for our fiscal irresponsibility.

Remember 1990 when America also struggled with record deficits. Congress faced the same choice that we do today. Ignore the realities of fiscal irresponsibility or confront it head on and resolve the problem. In 1990, the Democratic-controlled Congress made the responsible choice. It included PAYGO legislation as a part of 1990 budget agreement.

PAYGO was extended in 1993 and 1997 and was essential in restoring this country's economic health. The sky-high deficits of the late 1980s and early 1990s turned into substantial budget surpluses by the late 1990s. When this administration took office, there was nearly a $400 billion surplus and a projected surplus of several trillion dollars.

Despite this success, the administration's irresponsible choice to allow the PAYGO rules to expire in 2002 has contributed to the record deficit we face today. The time to act is now, before our Nation slides further and further into debt. We must include PAYGO rules that apply to both spending and tax cuts in this year's budget resolution.

If I could add something personal. My husband is not only a Republican, he is a Heritage Foundation Republican, a fiscal conservative in our personal life; and he believes that this is outrageous. He is astounded that the Republican-controlled Congress is behaving in this irresponsible fiscal manner. He will not have it and neither will I.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 195.

Mr. Speaker, I am here on the floor to talk about an extraordinary event that took place in our Nation's Capital today and what it signifies to me.

I attended the Holocaust Memorial and Remembrance Program that took place in the dome of the United States Capitol. I was struck by two different feelings as I sat there and I listened to one extraordinary remembrance and speech after another. The first was, of course, that feeling that always startles me; that man's inhumanity to man knows no bounds, and that a mere 60 years ago 6 million Jews were exterminated throughout the world. Their only transgression was the fact that they were Jewish.

I was also struck by the incredible fact that 60 years after this most heinous episode in our civilized world's history, that there we were, generation after generation after generation of survivors, those that survived, their children, their grandchildren, and their great- grandchildren, all gathered under the dome of the United States Capitol, the very seat of power, the most important and strongest Nation in the world. And here we have a seat at the table where we are welcomed, where we are valued as citizens, and where we have an opportunity to participate in our government as we have never been able to participate before. Here we gather not only to remember those that lost their lives in the Holocaust, but to ensure that something that happened 60 years ago could never ever happen again.

I am second-generation American. My grandparents walked across Europe to come to this country. My mother's side of the family comes from Salonika, Greece. Prior to World War II, prior to the Nazis, there were 80,000 Jews in Salonika. By the time the Nazis finished, there were merely 1,000 left. I am not presumptuous enough to think I would have been among the 1,000 selected to live.

On my father's side, the Russia-Poland side, there were no towns, no Jews. Hundreds and hundreds of years of a rich culture and civilization obliterated, exterminated in the course of the Second World War.

When my grandparents came to this country, they could not speak the language, they had no money, they had no skills, but they had a dream, and that dream was that their children and their children's children would lead a better life here in the United States than they had where they came from. My grandparents, who could not speak English, have a granddaughter who serves in the United States House of Representatives. It does not get better than that.

Last year, I had an opportunity to go back to Greece, back to Salonika to meet with the 1,000 Jews that survived and their children and grandchildren. I was there to help rededicate the Holocaust memorial, and I remember standing there in a beautiful plaza with Greek Orthodox and Jewish Greeks knowing that if my grandparents had not gotten out when they did, that memorial would have been to them, and I would not exist.

So for those who organized this extraordinary day of remembrance, to all those that spoke, to everybody that participated, and to all our fellow countrymen, let me give you a hearty and heartfelt thank you for giving me the opportunity I have to live in this incredible country, but also tasking me with a responsibility that future generations of our world citizens will never, never have to go through what this world went through 60 years ago.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) for allowing me to speak on this very critical issue. As he well knows, I voted for the first Bush tax cut, and I voted to eliminate estate taxes and to eliminate the marriage penalty tax, so I am hardly opposed to cutting taxes. But I do rise tonight to voice my strong objections to the Republican budget, which threatens increased deficits and neglects many of our Nation's top priorities in favor of continued and irresponsible tax cuts.

The President and the Republican leaders of the House talk about their commitment to reducing the deficit and the tax burdens on families, protecting the security of our Nation, guarding the Social Security Trust Fund and improving the health care and education systems in this country. However, when it comes to funding these important initiatives, their words are simply not supported by their deeds.

The 2005 Republican budget proposal is reckless, in my opinion, fiscally irresponsible, and filled with misguided budget priorities. Let me give some examples.

The Republican budget drastically cuts nearly all domestic programs after 2005, an interesting date since the election is 2004, including cuts to critical education and training programs, health care and environmental programs, and veterans' medical programs. Additionally, we are a country at war, yet in his budget the President provides no funding for the war in Iraq. This simply defies logic.

This Nation has gone from a projected $5.6 trillion surplus in 2001 to a projected $2.9 trillion deficit in 2011, as the gentleman so eloquently stated in his opening remarks. This year's deficit is fast approaching $500 billion and will only continue to grow under the GOP budget.

Ultimately it is our American families that are going to pay now and will continue to pay for this administration's fiscal irresponsibility. American baby boomers and retirees will suffer greatly under this Republican budget. The Republican proposal spends the entire $1 trillion Social Security surplus from 2005 to 2009 by creating additional and unwise tax cuts. The total cost of the Republicans' latest tax cut is more than enough to make up for the Social Security and Medicare solvency for the next 75 years.

Foolish spending threatens the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of retirees in my home State of Nevada and millions of retirees across America, not to mention the financial security of future generations. But as my colleague from South Carolina knows, perhaps the most egregious cut of all are the cuts in funds to our veterans' programs.

As thousands of brave men and women are fighting for this country in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and elsewhere abroad, it is outrageous that the Republican budget calls for cuts in funding for veterans' programs.

Mr. Speaker, the House Republican budget provides $1.3 billion less than what the Committee on Veterans' Affairs on which I serve has determined is needed just to maintain vital health care programs for our veterans. All of these cuts are certain to result in decreased spending on long-term care programs, which veterans in Las Vegas and throughout the country depend on. Many aging veterans in Las Vegas require more care than their families can provide. Our veterans must know that they can count on our VA to supply the care they have earned through their military service.

Those on the front line who are sacrificing their personal safety should not have to worry that the VA budget cuts will deny them the quality health care they need and deserve. We must send them a message that we are indebted to their sacrifices and that we remain committed to our promises to increase funding levels to meet their needs in Las Vegas and throughout the Nation.

We have all heard Republicans talk about their commitment to education. Yet their budget provides $8.8 billion less than what is authorized for education programs in the Leave No Child Behind Act. This lack of funding will mean cuts in such vital initiatives like drop-out prevention programs and after-school programs. These programs are especially important to my district and the community of Las Vegas that I represent because we have one of the highest dropout rates in the Nation.

Republicans also shortchange higher education in their budget. The Republicans propose to freeze the Pell grant award level for the third year in a row, making the dream of higher education unattainable for thousands of lower- and middle-income students. These are the very people that I represent. They are first generation college goers who want to go to Nevada colleges and universities, and they cannot afford it without Pell grants.

Families in Las Vegas and across the country will receive little assistance in obtaining health care coverage under this budget. The Republican plan forces severe cuts in the Medicaid program, shifting most of the cost of Medicaid onto the States, many of which are already, like the State of Nevada, facing their own fiscal crises. In Nevada, this shift would result in children, the disabled, and families being cut out of the Medicare rolls, as well as reduce benefits and increase cost-sharing for those who need the assistance the most.

The Republican budget also cuts training for nurses. Without adequate training for nurses, Nevada, which has the lowest ratio of nurses to the population, will be unable to hire the trained nurses needed to provide quality care. But despite all of our needs, despite the cuts in education and veterans benefits and health care, all of the issues that make quality of life in this Nation, and certainly in my communities, important, the President has called for a nearly $900 million increase in funding for the Yucca Mountain project, which will result in 77,000 tons of toxic nuclear waste being dumped in Nevada less than 90 miles from Las Vegas.

The President's call for this additional funding flies in the face of his repeated promises to protect the security of the United States here at home in the wake of September 11. Under the Yucca Mountain project, thousands of shipments of nuclear waste would cross this Nation on their way to Nevada. One terrorist attack on a shipment could unleash high-level nuclear waste, the most deadly substance known to man, potentially threatening lives and causing billions of dollars in environmental damage.

The Republican budget is a blueprint for disaster. While the President and the Republican majority talk a good game, our veterans and our students and teachers and police officers and fire fighters, our nurses and our seniors will all suffer as a result of the misplaced priorities inherent in this 2005 Republican budget.

When I came to Congress, I came to represent the people of southern Nevada. If we do not speak up and if the rest of Congress does not join you in this clarion call to take another look at this budget and do what is right by our American citizens, who will speak out for them? I want to thank the gentleman from South Carolina for sharing with the American public exactly what is going on in this Chamber and hopefully changing minds so we can get some fiscal responsibility and do what is right for the people we represent.

Mr. Chairman, before I begin my remarks, I would like to also add my voice to thanks for the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), ranking member. Sometimes I think they represent my community as well as I do, and I appreciate the help; also the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski) for their leadership in getting this bill to the floor today.

This bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we will vote on in this Congress. While the amount is significantly less than what I would like and what I believe the country needs, I rise in strong support. This bill will alleviate congestion, address air quality needs, and improve the quality of life in all of our communities. My district, the Las Vegas Valley, is the fastest growing community in the country, and we are struggling with the needs for new roads and highways and more transit options. Without this investment in our transportation programs, Las Vegas will be unable to complete the projects needed to keep traffic moving and to keep our commuters safe.

Sitting in traffic takes precious time from families spending time together, and it forces businesses to pass along higher costs for goods and services, and it adds to air pollution problems as drivers sit stuck in traffic wasting gas and money. Without this bill we will also increase the risk to drivers as too many cars crowd our roads causing accidents to rise. Increased funding for pedestrian overpasses, new traffic safety devices, and information systems to alert drivers to dangers ahead are all investments in saving lives.

And finally, Mr. Chairman, this is a jobs bill. In the past 3 years we have seen the highest job loss in this Nation since the Depression. Today we have a chance to do something about it. For every billion dollars invested in highway and transit programs, we stand to create 47,000 jobs, real good-paying jobs. This is 12,500 jobs in my home State of Nevada.

I cannot emphasize the importance of this particular highway bill. I urge all of my colleagues to join me, join with the people of the State of Nevada, and let us vote for this legislation with great enthusiasm.