Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we are losing our industrial base in this country. U.S. manufacturers have laid off 95,000 workers just in the month of April; and since July of 2000, we have lost 2.2 million manufacturing jobs in this country.

We have an obligation through the money we spend in this country to make sure that our companies are buying American. We need to strengthen the Buy American Act and strengthen the Berry amendment, which requires the Department of Defense to buy U.S.-made products.

Currently, we are buying our titanium from Russia to make military planes, and we are buying our tires for armored vehicles from France. Meanwhile, the average U.S. taxpayer is paying $1,000 a year to fund the defense of this country.

We are willing to stop eating French fries to protest France; but where the rubber meets the road, the Department of Defense is out to lunch. The sad part is they are probably eating French fries.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Kent State University's Washington Program in National Issues, known as WPNI. On May 1, 2003, WPNI will celebrate its 30th Anniversary. This anniversary not only marks WPNI's 30th year in Washington, D.C., but also symbolizes the impressive achievements of those faculty, staff, alumni and students who are and who have been dedicated to the success of WPNI. Dr. Carol Cartwright, President of Kent State University, has been a very strong supporter of the program and has contributed significantly to its continued success.

WPNI has three primary objectives: (1) to facilitate learning about the U.S. political system and its policy issues; (2) to develop an understanding of the interrelationship of public issues and structures of government; and (3) to encourage individual initiative and provide for experiences in internship and research. Dr. Carol Cartwright and Dr. Richard Robyn, Director of WPNI, have worked extremely hard to ensure that these objectives are met.

WPNI is a full 15-week academic program offered each Spring semester by Kent State University. Since its creation in 1973, WPNI has sent more than 600 selected juniors and seniors from various academic disciplines to Washington, D.C. to live, work and study. Throughout the course of the program, the students are required to participate in an academic curriculum and maintain an internship position in government, a company or an organization of their choice. The academic and professional benefits this program brings to its students are extraordinary. At the same time, government entities, companies and organizations benefit enormously. I know this first-hand as my Washington office had the good fortune to have Sarah Jones from Hubbard, Ohio, as a WPNI intern since February 2003. Sarah made an invaluable contribution to the day-to-day operation of my office and we will miss her greatly.

I commend Dr. Cartwright and those at Kent State involved in the foundation and the continuation of this meaningful program. I also congratulate all of the students who have taken part in this wonderful experience over the past 30 years. I am certain, that with continued support, the Washington Program in National Issues will celebrate many more anniversaries to come.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my special order at this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the American Parity Act sponsored by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel), and I would like to thank him for his leadership on this particular piece of legislation and also thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for articulating such a fine point that none of us here believe that we should somehow rob the Iraqi people from the taste of democracy or from the taste of a free society. But the argument that we are trying to make tonight is that we want this to happen. We want healthcare for the Iraqi people. We want infrastructure. We want schools. We want them to read and experience all the best that the democracies have to offer around the world. But we cannot do this, we should not do this, and forget along the way the priorities of the United States of America and the citizens that we have here.

I want to share with the American people here tonight a study that was recently done by Goldman Sachs, not exactly a liberal think tank. They said, and this is their forecast, if the President's proposed new tax cuts are enacted, a Medicare prescription drug benefit approved, the alternative minimum tax adjusted, and appropriations grow modestly, the deficits over the next 10 years will total $4.2 trillion. And that is if the Social Security surplus is included. If it is not included, the deficit would be $6.7 trillion.

The gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) suggested maybe we offer this tax cut to the people of Iraq and allow them to grow their economy, but the problem with the tax cuts and having normal priorities is that the burdens with the baby boom generation needing support in their later years, the children and grandchildren of the citizens of this country's payroll tax will be 33 percent, 33 percent payroll taxes for their children and grandchildren, long-term deficits. We will not be investing in alternative energy sources. We are going to raise the interest rates. We are going to raise the interest payments. We are going to tie our hands with the international problems that we need to be committed to. We are not fully funding IDEA where the disabled children in this country are not getting the full 40 percent that was promised, and worse yet, we are cutting veterans' benefits by $28 billion. So we are sending our soldiers out, asking them to achieve these goals, and when they come back, they are going to have $28 billion less in services and healthcare benefits that will be a smaller and more diminished American dream for our soldiers when they return back to this country.

Mr. Speaker, this is a question of priorities. This is the wealthiest country on the planet.

This is the freest society on the planet. If we want to create democracy in Iraq, we will. If we want the young school children to have 12,500 more schools, enroll 4 million more children, rebuild or renovate 3,000 schools, we will, because we have the power and the ingenuity and the spirit to make it happen. But we should not do it at the expense of the people and the children of this country, the veterans of this country, the seniors of this country, the disabled children in this country.

This is eerily similar to the administration of 1990 and 1991, where we have completely taken our eye off the domestic ball and we keep it on foreign policy at the expense of the American people. And we are over there because we believe in the Iraqi people. We believe that when the sweet taste of democracy touches their lips, that they will respond in kind.

But let me just say this in closing, Mr. Speaker, that maybe if we were making the investments in this country and gave the faith and the devotion to the people of this country, like we have for the citizens of Iraq, maybe one day the citizens of the United States of America will be up cheering in the streets, saying yes, our government is responding to the needs of the people of this country.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the HEROES Act introduced by my colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline), and thank him for doing so. This HEROES Act is appropriate at this time, as we have become very familiar over the past few weeks, watching the war unlike we have ever watched a war before. To address this very serious issue of the student loan repayment, this is altogether fitting and proper.

This is a great first step for this Chamber to make; but Madam Speaker, I believe that as we continue to watch and become aware that this war is not going to be as quick as we thought it was going to be, as this war begins to extend, and as our troops who were activated for possibly months or a year, this conflict now may stretch to 2 years or to 3 years, specifically dealing with the student loans, as we talk about forbearance in that the Secretary will have the opportunity to forbear a loan as our servicemen and servicewomen are activated, this will allow them not to pay on their student loans for the time that they are active.

Unfortunately, while they are still serving our country, making great sacrifices, the interest on their loan will still be accruing; so this is a great first step, but I think we can do much better. I think we in the Chamber, as we go forward in the next few weeks, should continue to try to extend these benefits, possibly allow these soldiers to defer their loans, and to subsidize the interest, so when they get back after serving this country, they will not owe more than when they left. I think that is a small step that we should make in order to support our troops as we should.

I have a bill that is the Active Reservists and National Guard Student Loan Relief Act which would do this, and I think we should look into it. Some soldiers who have $50,000 in student loans will accrue $2,600 in interest if they are serving for only 1 year. When they come back, they will owe $2,600 more.

Madam Speaker, I urge us to vote in support of the HEROES Act, but continue to be open-minded with other options in which we can show support for our troops.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I would also like to thank the chairman of the committee for all of his work also on this effort. He has been great to work with; and I think, again, this is a good first step for us to take. And while he is here, I just wanted to mention a couple of people, one who is from my district in Ohio, Krista Rosado, Madam Speaker. She is a Reservist in my district. She has been called to duty for up to 2 years for the war on terror. She is a technical sergeant, and she has student loans in the amount of $11,400 with a 7 percent interest rate.

Now, under the current legislation that we are dealing with, she will accrue over $1,400 in additional interest on her loan. So when she does get back from service, she will owe this money. And I think the natural next step for us to take is to say to Krista, thank you for your service, thank you for your sacrifice, and we will take care of the interest on your loan while you were over serving your country.

I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman, and I look forward to working with him.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I also want to thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne), who is also a colleague of mine on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. I do not think there is a Member of this Congress who has more experience dealing with some of the hardships that young people deal with when in college. He mentioned that some of the Reservists who are on active duty and who have been activated that the HEROES Act is going to help. Sixty-seven percent of the Reservists have some college education with which this bill will be able to assist them, some college education or more; 25.8 percent have some college education but not yet have received a degree; and then of which the HEROES Act will also help 12.1 percent have an associate's degree; 20 percent have a bachelor's degree; 7 percent have a master's degree; and 2 percent have a doctoral or some professional degree. So this HEROES Act is going to address a significant number of people who are currently serving their country. Again, I commend the gentleman for introducing this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I would like to thank the gentleman for his fine work on the committee and his pledge of support to work with us. I think given the intellect of this body, we should be should be able to figure out a way to make this happen and to make sure that the soldiers over there who are sacrificing and risking life and limb for our own freedoms in this country, we should be able to work it out.

In closing, Madam Speaker, again, this HEROES Act is a great first step for us. As we said earlier, this addresses a number of people who are soldiers, who are making sacrifice for this country and really for freedom around the world.

Again, just to reiterate, the forbearance is a great first step. I think the intention of forbearing a loan, again, is for more of the shorter conflicts where our soldiers are just going to be activated for maybe a few months, where the accrual of interest would not be that significant. But as we see this conflict start to extend from a year to 2 years, or how long the President decides, we need to understand that the accrual of that interest needs to be taken care of, because these soldiers who, many as we know are making great sacrifices not only physically, but economically at home, and many of these soldiers who are over there are not earning nearly the amount that they would be earning if they were working here in this country.

They are taking significant pay cuts, taking enormous physical risks, and so the forbearance for a short conflict, the subsidies and deferment for longer conflicts where there is an opportunity to have significant accrual of the interest, I think that is a next logical step.

We are here to support these young men and young women who are fighting for this country, not just the soldiers on the front lines, but also those following whom we have seen become prisoners of war and missing in action. This is a very dangerous endeavor that we have taken.

I thank the gentleman again and very much look forward to working with him to take this to the next step and to the next level. I very much look forward to working with the gentleman and the chairman of the committee to do that.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I would like to thank the gentlewoman, also, for holding this Special Order tonight.

I would also like to thank the gentleman from Ohio whom I share Mahoning County with in northeast Ohio. He has done a fine job and been quite a leader on veterans issues.

Madam Speaker, is it no wonder that people do not vote? Is it no wonder that people are disconnected from their government when they see the duplicity that we have seen in the last week or so in this Chamber? It has been stated many times tonight and I hope it will continue to be stated, where on one hand we are falling all over each other to say we are supporting our troops in Iraq and at the same time in the wee hours of the morning we are cutting veterans benefits, $15 billion in benefits, $9.7 billion in health care.

All of a sudden, we say that we can afford a tax cut that is primarily going to the top 1 and 2 percent in this country, which is going to lead to more debt. At the same time, we have more seniors, we have more veterans, we have more challenges and need more aid to spread democracy around the world. We need more aid to heal and mend the international relationships that we have ruined over the past few months. We have more of a demand for education in this country.

Madam Speaker, let me make some recommendations. We need to index the GI bill for inflation so that our veterans can afford to be educated. We need to increase the service-connected compensation and death benefits.

One thing that I constantly hear back in my district is the concurrent receipt, where someone who has been issued disability benefits, veterans disability, they leave their limbs on the battlefield all around the world, they come home, and they do not just take the benefits, they go out and they work and they get a Federal job and earn a Federal military retirement. And then we have the audacity to say you are not allowed to get both. You can leave your limb in Europe, but you are not allowed to get any benefit from it.

If we say we support our troops now, then we can only really mean it if we support our troops from wars gone by. And so I urge this Congress to reevaluate the decisions we made in the wee hours of the morning last week. Let us not be duplicitous, let us not contradict ourselves by saying one thing and doing something completely different and, more importantly, let us respect the sacrifices that have put us all in this Chamber, the respect for freedom and the dignity and what this country really stands for. Let us honor our veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to speak a little bit about H.R. 1168, which is the Active Reservists and National Guard Student Loan Relief Act of 2003.

As we heard the President speak last night, this country will soon be going to war, and we will soon be sending many young men and young women off to fight for this country. Some of these soldiers who will be fighting in the Middle East and around the world have attended school, have attended college. They have student loans that they owe back to the government, and my legislation is very simple. It does two things.

Once a soldier is activated, there is an automatic deferment of the loan, and the Federal Government will pay and subsidize the interest on that loan. I believe that is the least we can do for the soldiers that are going off and sacrificing. Many of these soldiers have mortgages, car payments, expenses. They are leaving their wives, their children behind, and many of them are taking a cut in pay.

I think it is a very simple piece of legislation. I encourage this body to pass it and include it in the supplemental. This was included and used by the first President Bush during Operation Desert Storm, and I think it should be promised to our troops today.

One example is that if a soldier has $50,000 in loans taken out, that the Federal Government will step in and

will save this soldier $2,600 a year. If a person is off, they are away from their family, they are away from their kids, can we please provide a little bit of peace of mind for some of our soldiers who will be over there?

I think the Active Reservists and National Guard Student Loan Relief Act of 2003 has received thus far strong bipartisan support. The liberals, the conservatives and everyone in between have supported this legislation, and I think it is because it is good for the soldiers and it is good for this country, and I think it sets a tone, Mr. Speaker, that we are behind our servicemen and women. We are behind our soldiers, and those of us who have been opposed to the war and those who have been supportive of the war, regardless now, our job is to support our troops, and this is a simple piece of legislation I think where we can put the talk into action and make sure that we provide a little bit of peace of mind for some of the soldiers who have been in college and have student loans.

I encourage this body to pass this piece of legislation, and it really should be included in the supplemental that is going to fund the war.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, we know that the premiums are high, and we know the doctors are suffering; but this bill is not going to address the problem. And I would like to just take a minute, Mr. Speaker, to point out some of the inconsistencies from the majority party, the party that says we need to give all the power to the States. In this bill they are taking power away from the States. This is the party that says we are for individual responsibility, unless that individual is in the jury box, then we do not want to give it to them. This is the party that is for less government and less regulation, but at the same time they are putting price controls on attorneys. That is not free market.

Like a leading malpractice insurer in California said, I do not like to hear insurance company executives say it is the tort system. It is self-inflicted. That, in this bill, is not going to address that problem.

Mr. Speaker, I am afraid that all the faces and the names have turned to numbers in Washington, DC. This is not the answer. Real people are going to get hurt. We would like to welcome everybody back to the era of caveat emptor, or buyer beware.

Madam Speaker, I rise to discuss the legislation that I introduced yesterday, the Active Reservists and National Guard Student Loan Relief Act of 2003. The purpose of this act is to ease the financial burden shouldered by our many Reservists and members of our National Guard who have been called to active duty.

Right now, there are approximately 180,000 Reserves and National Guard members deployed in the United States and abroad. My legislation is a promise to the members of the National Guard and Reserves that their student loans will be taken care of while they are called to protect and fight for our country.

For members of the Reserves and the National Guard, being called to active duty often means a drastic cut in pay. This legislation will not eliminate that burden, but it will reduce the financial obligations placed on these brave men and women during their time of active service.

The legislation is quite straightforward. Specifically, it assists members of the National Guard and Reserves who have been called to active duty in two ways. It allows those members to defer their student loans while on active duty, and it subsidizes the accruing interest on those student loans which have been deferred.

The act effectively gives eligible servicemembers the same status that they had when they were students; and this will ensure that they do not return to student loans, after serving their country, that are larger than when they were called to serve. This is critically important legislation because it helps our Nation's men and women who have left their jobs, often in higher salaries, to serve in this time of crisis.

One example is a gentleman, first lieutenant from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who has $50,000 in student loans. He has a master's degree in information systems, and he was called to active duty on January 2, 2003, for 1 year of service. This particular piece of legislation would save this gentleman approximately $2,600 this year in total interest. When we talk about families who have student loans, mortgages, car payments, this $2,600 will provide some peace of mind, while they are also taking a cut in pay, to hopefully allow them to focus on their duties abroad.

Congress must support our men and women who have been called to active service. This is a benefit that our troops enjoyed under the first President Bush during Operation Desert Storm, and it should be promised to our troops today and for the future. I urge Members to support this legislation, and thank the strong bipartisan support that we have already received.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concerns with certain provisions in H.J. Res. 4, specifically the provisions that expand logging in federal forests and prevent any administrative or judicial review of the Tongass Land Management Plan. These changes are detrimental to our environment and our country.

When faced with a decision that may potentially damage our environment, I try to follow the lead of President Theodore Roosevelt, who founded the National Wildlife Refuge System in 1903. 1 share his philosophy that our environment is essential to our lives and is of the greatest importance. As President Roosevelt said, ``. . . the conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.'' And here we are now, 100 years later; I would like to think that we will continue to be a part of the vision that began a century ago.

I am also concerned with the provision that allows FY 2003 Bureau of Land Management funding for exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic Refuge is one of our country's largest refuges and is among the most pristine and undisturbed ecosystems on Earth. The Refuge belongs to the people of the United States, not to a select few. President Roosevelt's National Wildlife Refuge System created ANWR, ``For the purpose of preserving unique wildlife, wilderness and recreational values . . .'' Let us render to our future generations a world more enriched than we have found it.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in sponsoring H. Res. 10 to congratulate the Ohio State Buckeyes and Coach Jim Tressel on their first National Championship since 1968. The hard work and dedication that they exhibited this year has allowed them to achieve their goal in historic fashion. Coach Tressel and his team have set a standard of excellence that is unmatched.

Ohio State has proven that hard work and dedication will always persevere over doubt, and that people should always pursue their dreams against all odds. In the championship game, and throughout the entire season, the Buckeyes were able to work together and triumph in the face of adversity.

I also want to offer congratulations to both teams on an outstanding effort and for playing a game in which they both can be proud. Both teams demonstrated extraordinary sportsmanship and displayed the professionalism that a sporting event of this magnitude deserves.

I know that Coach Tressel will continue to field quality teams that compete at the highest possible level. Thanks for a great season. Go Bucks!

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be here and honored to be here with such a fine group of gentlemen who have spoken so eloquently on the issues that need to be addressed in this country.

Let me touch base on what the gentleman from Washington stated about having a goal and a vision. That is what we all look for when we listen to the State of the Union, and I hope tomorrow we have an opportunity to hear the President share his vision for some energy independence in this country.

Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to represent the people of the 17th Congressional District in Ohio, the good folks back at home, who I think want solutions, not just rhetoric. Whether it is talking about prescription drugs and seniors really having a need, where they are moving in with their children, their grandchildren, they are making the choice between food and drugs in the 17th District in Ohio, but even industries in the 17th District of Ohio want a meaningful prescription drug plan. We can do this, and I believe we should do this.

The gentleman from New York touched upon education and the Leave No Child Behind Act was supposed to be the answer to all of our problems; but now it seems that the only thing that has been left behind is the money to actually fund the program. I think when we are talking about economic development and salvaging our economy, the best investment we can make is into education.

American workers all over the country, but especially in the 17th Congressional District are also suffering, whether it is unemployment benefits or whatnot, and the President has an economic stimulus package that really is not going to stimulate the economy. That again has been touched upon here tonight. A stimulus package, money invested into a stimulus package, should first stimulate; and second, the money should be spent in the first year.

The President's proposal spends only 15 percent of the money in the first year. That is not a stimulus package; that is a tax reform package. And I think we need to begin to determine if we want to stimulate the economy, the best thing we can do is if we are going to give tax cuts, give them to low- and middle-income people who are actually going to go out and spend the money. The wealthy people will save their money. And with all of the talk of war, we can give them all of the money back they want, they are not going to invest it in an environment where we keep talking about war.

Another investment which I think would stimulate the economy, which

economists have said time and time again, is investments in the infrastructure. For every billion dollars we invest in infrastructure, we create 42,000 jobs. That is a real economic stimulus, and I hope the President will talk a little bit about the Democrats' stimulus package that we have offered.

Finally, I would like to speak about homeland security and how it fits into a stimulus package. If we really want a secure homeland, we need to talk about providing police, providing fire protection, and hazardous material funding to those in the inner cities. Those people have a right as much as everyone else in this country to have a safe, secure homeland, and that is what some funding should be spent on.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that the President understands that our Nation really and truly can only be strong if the poorest and the most vulnerable and the workers of this country are strong. That is what we hope to hear tomorrow night.