Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 2 p.m. on Monday, January 8, 2007.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday next.

Mr. Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 11) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during the 110th Congress, the Speaker, majority leader, and minority leader be authorized to accept resignations and to make appointments authorized by law or by the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during the 110th Congress, all Members be permitted to extend their remarks and to include extraneous material within the permitted limit in that section of the Record entitled ``Extensions of Remarks.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that during the first session of the 110th Congress:

(1) on legislative days of Monday when the House convenes pursuant to House Resolution 10, the House shall convene 90 minutes earlier than the time otherwise established by the resolution solely for the purpose of conducting morning hour debate; and

(2) on legislative days of Tuesday when the House convenes pursuant to House Resolution 10:

(A) before May 14, 2007, the House will convene for morning hour debate 90 minutes earlier than the time otherwise established by that resolution; and

(B) after May 14, 2007, the House shall convene for morning hour debate 1 hour earlier than the time otherwise established by that resolution; and

(3) on legislative days of Monday or Tuesday, when the House convenes for morning hour debate pursuant to an order other than House Resolution 10, the House shall resume its session 90 minutes after the time otherwise established by that order;

(4) the time for morning hour debate shall be limited to the 30 minutes allocated to each party, except that on Tuesdays after May 14, 2007, the time shall be limited to 25 minutes allocated to each party and may not continue beyond 10 minutes before the hour appointed for the resumption of the session of the House; and

(5) the form of proceeding for morning hour debate shall be as follows:

(a) the prayer by the Chaplain, the approval of the Journal and the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag shall be postponed until resumption of the session of the House;

(b) initial and subsequent recognitions for debate shall alternate between the parties;

(c) recognition shall be conferred by the Speaker only pursuant to lists submitted by the majority leader and by the minority leader;

(d) no Member may address the House for longer than 5 minutes, except the majority leader, the minority leader, or the minority whip; and

(e) following morning hour debate, the Chair shall declare a recess pursuant to clause 12(a) of rule I until the time appointed for the resumption of the session of the House.

Mr. Speaker, your committee appointed on the part of the House to join a like committee on the part of the Senate to notify the President of the United States that a quorum of each House has been assembled and is ready to receive any communication that he may be pleased to make has performed that duty.

Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 2) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution (H. Res. 3) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the resolution just adopted, I call up House Resolution 6 and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

First, Mr. Speaker, let me say, this is truly a proud and historic moment for this institution, the people's House in our Nation. Today, for the first time in our history, the Members of this great body have elected a woman, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), to serve as our Speaker. I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Speaker Pelosi, as well as her husband Paul, and her children and all of her family.

Last November 7, the American people delivered a resounding message that was heard in every corner of this Nation. They want change and a new direction in our Nation. Today, as we open this new 110th Congress, with hope and great optimism, we will take the first steps in offering the voters precisely that by changing the way business is done in Washington.

As we open this new chapter in American history, we will seek to elevate results over rhetoric and put progress before partisanship as we affirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and civility.

Mr. Speaker, this rules package includes sweeping ethics reforms that begin to address some of the most egregious transgressions of the recent past. Among other things, we will ban gifts, including meals and tickets, from lobbyists and the organizations that employ them. We will ban lobbyists and the organizations that employ them from financing travel for Members or their staffs, except for one-day travel to visit a site, attend a forum, participate in a panel, or give a speech, all obviously in the pursuance of the Members' duties. We will require Members and staff to obtain preapproval from the Ethics Committee for permitted travel; and, Mr. Speaker, we will end the K Street Project, a practice that brought shame on this House when some Members promised access in return for patronage hiring.

Now let me say, very frankly, as importantly as these rules changes are, they alone will not ensure the integrity of this institution. Rather, the Members of this House will ensure the integrity of this institution when we conduct ourselves with integrity and hold accountable those who fail to abide by these rules and the highest ethical standards.

Thus during the next 2 years, we have an obligation, each and every one of us, to ensure that the Ethics Committee does the job that it was constituted to perform. The implementation of rules, while vital, must be followed by effective, real enforcement.

Through this rules package, Mr. Speaker, we also signal our sincere intent to foster an environment in which civility, consensus, and compromise are nurtured. The American people are tired of partisanship. They are rightfully demanding progress on the critical priorities that face our Nation. Surely we will disagree on many issues, but that does not require us to be disagreeable, and we surely can disagree without impugning or questioning the motives, the character of our colleagues.

In addition, Mr. Speaker, this rules package restores fiscal discipline by reinstating the budget rules that helped us produce record budget surpluses in the 1990s and which previously were supported on a bipartisan basis.

Mr. Speaker, we simply cannot continue on our current fiscal course. In the last 72 months, our Nation has turned a projected 10-year budget surplus of $5.6 trillion into a deficit of

more than $3 trillion. It is, in my opinion, Mr. Speaker, immoral of this generation of Americans to force our children and grandchildren to pay our bills. Our current course threatens our economic as well as our national security. Pay-as-you-go budget rules will help us restore the fiscal discipline that the American people demand. These measures represent the foundation of our mission and the basis for the good work we will do together as one body with the best interests of those we serve at heart.

Mr. Speaker, we have a profound responsibility to fulfill and make hard choices. However, we also share an extraordinary opportunity that is distinctive in the American experience, to heal a deeply divided Nation, to conquer national doubt and restore public confidence in the United States Congress. I look forward, Mr. Speaker, to working with each and every one in this body in our pursuit of that progress.

In conclusion, let me leave you with the words of our 35th President, John Kennedy, who said this: ``Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.''

Mr. Speaker, let us now embrace our responsibility and fulfill the trust that the American people have placed in us to lead, to govern effectively, and to make the greatest Nation on Earth even greater. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would ask unanimous consent that the remaining time allocated to me be controlled by Mr. Hastings of Florida, a member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, through rain, sleet, and snow George Gould has been a Voice of reason in a complex and significant area of American life--the delivery of our mail.

George's professionalism, integrity, and expertise have been real assets to both the National Association of Letter Carriers and the United States Postal Service. It is no coincidence that in the 27 years George has served NALC, relations between the 300,000 employees represented by NALC and the USPS have been harmonious. George's contributions to making the USPS the most efficient and reliable public postal service in the world have been significant.

In fact, George is the longest-serving lobbyist in NALC's history, and served two NALC presidents as Assistant for Legislative and Political Affairs. Before joining the union in 1979, he worked for 15 years on Capitol Hill, the last three as the staff director of the House Subcommittee on Postal Operations and Services.

Over the years, George served as chairman of the FAIR Coalition (the Fund for Assuring an Independent Retirement), a postal-federal employee grouping that fought to protect and enhance federal employee pensions and other benefits.

George's work for NALC helped bring about greater political freedom for federal workers through the reform of the Hatch Act in 1993 and has advanced the cause of postal reform legislation. Indeed, it is a fitting tribute to George that Congress on this very day stands ready to complete its work on this critical legislation.

``America's letter carriers have benefitted tremendously from George's many years of service as NALC's chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill,'' said NALC President William H. Young.

I wish George, my friend for almost three decades, and his wife Diane, nothing but happiness and success a they enter the next chapter of their lives.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize the contributions of my friend and an excellent, committed public servant for Prince George's County and the State of Maryland, Lynn Skerpon of Upper Marlboro.

For six years, Lynn served as the very effective, efficient and competent Register of Wills in Prince George's County. She was appointed to this position on August 1, 2000, and then was elected to a four-year term in November 2002.

As the Washington Post noted in an editorial this past September: ``The register of wills is not, as some have suggested, a mere court clerk but a significant job that in a given year administers some 4,000 estates, collects millions in taxes and fees and sorts through increasingly complicated legal issues.'' In fact, one of Lynn's proudest moments was assisting families of the September 11th victims and working with the federal government and other agencies in expediting aid to the those families.

Lynn is an accomplished, successful lawyer, who also has great experience in the legislative arena. She graduated from Princeton University in 1975, and then acquired her law degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law three years later.

Early in her career, Lynn practiced as a sole practitioner and in firms, focusing on estates and trusts. She was an assistant legislative officer in the Office of the Governor from 1982 to 1984, and a hearing examiner with the Maryland Tax Court from 1984 to 1986. She also served as sessions counsel to Prince George's County Senators in 1997-98, and in the legislative office of the County Executive in 1999-2000.

In addition to her professional service and achievements, Lynn also is active in her church, schools and civic and community associations, including the Board of Trustees of Capital Hospice, the Board of Trustees of Prince George's Community College, and United Way of Prince George's County.

As Lynn moves to a new phase of her already successful career, I wish her and her family nothing but the best and know that she will continue to serve the community that she has called home for more than 20 years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5466, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Designation Act. I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of this legislation which was introduced by my colleagues Jo Ann Davis of Virginia in the House and Paul S. Sarbanes in the Senate.

Nearly 400 years ago, after helping establish the Jamestown colony and enduring capture by the native Powhatan people, Captain John Smith embarked on two voyages to explore the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. He and his small crew set off in an open, 28-foot shallop seeking greater knowledge of the region, its inhabitants, and its resources, while also attempting to find the Northwest Passage.

During these and other expeditions, Captain Smith and his crew explored more than 3,000 miles of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In what is now Maryland's Fifth Congressional District, the team surveyed the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers and disembarked in present day Calvert, St. Mary's, Charles, Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties.

In 1612, Captain Smith published a map of the Chesapeake Bay region which remains quite accurate and was used for nearly a century by European settlers who colonized the region.

The legislation we consider today will take a critical step in marking Captain Smith's remarkable voyage and underscores the continued importance of the Chesapeake Bay to the people of our region and this Nation.

Passage and enactment of H.R. 5466 will amend the National Trails Act to include the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail-- joining such historic routes as the Lewis and Clark expedition and the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery. However, unlike existing national historic trails, the Captain Smith Trail is unique in that it is almost entirely water-based.

In many instances, those experiencing the trail will have the opportunity to marvel at some of the same sites that Captain Smith and his crew beheld 400 years ago. They will also be able to visit a number of museums and parks along the trail, such as the Calvert Marine Museum, Jefferson Patterson Park, and Piscataway Park, which will help tell the story of this magnificent voyage.

This legislation is supported by the National Park Service, which determined that Captain Smith's Chesapeake Bay voyages meet the criteria for national historic trails as set forth in the National Trails Act. It also has the support of a wide cross section of groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the National Geographic Society, and the National Parks Conservation Society.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to underscore my strong support of H.R. 5466 and I urge my colleagues to join with me in voting for this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, the tragic loss of Second Lieutenant Emily J.T. Perez, a young soldier from Prince George's County, MD, who gave the ultimate measure of sacrifice for our Nation in Iraq, saddens all of us.

And today, I want to pay tribute to this outstanding young American, as well as express my deepest condolences to her family, including her parents, Vicki and Daniel, and all of her friends and loved ones.

Second Lieutenant Perez of Fort Washington died on September 12 after a roadside bomb exploded under her Humvee. She is the first female graduate of West Point to die in Iraq.

But she should not be remembered solely for how she passed from this life and into God's hands. She must be remembered for the outstanding and inspiring way in which she lived and those she touched during her 23 years.

Emily Perez was a trailblazer and a star in every sense of the word.

She rose to the top of her class at Oxon Hill High School. She became the first minority female command sergeant in the history of the U.S. Military Academy. And she excelled at everything from track to the gospel choir.

As the Washington Post reported, friends and family members nicknamed her ``Kobe,'' after Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant, because ``everyone knew she could make the shots, in whatever she did.''

Second Lieutenant Perez was best known for her tenacious leadership, first as a wing commander of Junior ROTC and then on the campus of West Point. She leaves behind a collection of young cadets inspired by her patriotism, as they prepare for military careers defending our Nation.

While incredibly strong willed, Perez also is remembered for her sensitivity to others, organizing an HIV-AIDS ministry in high school after family members contracted the virus.

Yet it was being a soldier that was Perez's true calling. She was born into a military family in Heidelberg, Germany, and knew from a very young age that she wanted to serve. After graduating from West Point, she was assigned to the Army's 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and deployed to Iraq in December.

One of her mentors, Roger Pollard, told the Post: ``I clearly remember thinking that she would definitely be the first female president of this country.''

Lost at the age of 23, we will never know what was in store for this extraordinary young woman. But one thing is certain: She heroically served her Nation in defense of our freedom, and we should all be proud of the full life she led in her short time here.