Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, can you imagine having thousands of enemy rockets rain down on American soil, on American cities? How threatened would we feel?

This is exactly what Israel is facing today again. The recent, unprovoked attacks on Israel are deplorable. They are made all the more concerning because of the commendable unilateral Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, which vividly demonstrated their desire for peace.

With United Nations Resolution 1559, Lebanon was charged with controlling their southern territory and disarming Hezbollah. The world should seize the opportunity now to assist and finally accomplish 1559.

America must strongly support Israel's right of self-defense while, at the same time, working to strengthen the democratically elected government in Lebanon.

I am encouraged by the unanimity of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in condemning the action of Iran and the actions of Hezbollah.

The war on terror is truly a global war, and the civilized world must condemn these attacks and strive to work together to end the scourge of terrorist violence.

Mr. Chairman, thank you. I would like to engage in a very short colloquy with the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner).

Do you agree with me that nothing in this legislation should be construed to allow the Supreme Court to say who is or who is not a minority community's candidate of choice simply because of a candidate's party affiliation?

I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

I thank the chairman for his perspective and I thank him for his good work on this.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support the undisturbed right of all Americans to freely exercise their right to vote. I support the extension of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). H.R. 9 is not extension of the Voting Rights Act. This is not your parents Voting Rights Act.

The 1965 VRA was a monumental step in the right direction--correcting past sins--and it has worked extremely well.

In Georgia in 1964 there were fewer than 25 minority elected officials.

In Georgia today there are 61 minority elected officials.

In Georgia in 1964, 27.4 percent of minority citizens were registered to vote.

In Georgia today, 64.2 percent of minority citizens are registered to vote.

In Georgia in 1964 there were NO minority statewide elected officials.

In Georgia in 2004 there were 9--out of 34--minority statewide elected officials; including our State Attorney General, our State Labor Commissioner and the Chief Justice of our State Supreme Court.

Great progress has been made. The Georgia of today is not the Georgia of 1964.

In fact, minorities in Georgia are enfranchised to a greater degree than those in many States not currently covered by the VRA--and States that will never be covered by the VRA--because of H.R. 9.

Why? Because this legislation will perpetuate the myth that nothing has changed, that no advances have occurred in minority participation in the voting process. This legislation perpetuates the right that there are no new jurisdictions in our Nation that are currently challenged in providing for minority participation in the electoral process.

So how will this Nation decide whether an area needs to be included under this Bill? It will be based upon the 1964 Presidential election. That's right! An election contested over 40 years ago! This is not a Voting Rights Act--it is a Voting Discrimination Act!

Because voters in States that are promoting and accomplishing the enfranchisement of minorities are being discriminated against--and

States that currently have discriminating practices will continue to do so--with no fear of being caught or covered by the same rules as those under the jurisdiction of the Voting Rights Act.

And America loses--

What we are doing today is not a renewal of the VRA. We are putting into law the undemocratic notion that minority citizens can only be appropriately represented by members of one political party. This is a notion that should be anathema to all Americans.

The original and rightful intent of the VRA was to ensure that all Americans could exercise their legal right to vote. Recent court decisions have revealed that the judicial branch believes that the VRA should not only ensure the legal right to vote, but that it must also ensure the victor in any given election as a fait accompli.

I support extension of the current VRA--for all of America.

I support the enfranchisement of every American legally able to vote.

I look forward to the day when Members of Congress may work together positively, to solve the challenges that confront us--together.

Unfortunately, that day is not today.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman and the subcommittee chairman for their leadership on this issue, and I want to thank Mr. Fitzpatrick, the gentleman from Pennsylvania. I appreciate his leadership on this and on so many other issues. The citizens of Pennsylvania are truly fortunate to have you fighting for them, and I am honored to call you a colleague and a friend.

Mr. Chairman, this bill, H.R. 2990, addresses credit ratings, or judging the financial worthiness of companies. Credit ratings play a real and significant role in our economy. Investors rely on these ratings to determine risks of default of companies, both large and small, as well as governmental entities. Currently, these ratings are often the determining factor as to whether companies and, hence jobs, will expand, or whether local governments are able to finance major municipal improvement projects.

Presently, competition is severely lacking among credit rating agencies, as there are only five companies designated by the SEC. The current process fails to provide a reasonably clear path for potential new rating agencies. H.R. 2990 solves this problem by establishing an unambiguous registration process with appropriate oversight to ensure integrity and reliability in the rating process.

In addition to facilitating competition, the legislation would provide critically important information currently not available to investors. The bill would require disclosure of ratings processes so investors can better evaluate the quality of the ratings themselves. Further, rating organizations would be required to publicly disclose their policies relating to conflicts of interest and their organizational structure. Finally, they would be held accountable for ratings they issue if they don't follow their disclosed policies.

Mr. Chairman, these are all extremely important advances and improvements for our entire economy, and I urge adoption of H.R. 2990.

Mr. Speaker, I offer a resolution (H. Res. 902) and I ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today pursuant to this order, it adjourn to meet at noon on Monday, July 3, 2006, unless it sooner has received a message from the Senate transmitting its concurrence in House Concurrent Resolution 440, in which case the House shall stand adjourned pursuant to that concurrent resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday, July 12, 2006.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Financial Services have until noon on Friday, July 7, 2006, to file a report on H.R. 2990.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 4761, including corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering, and cross-referencing and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues what most Americans know all too well and that is that our tax system is broken. Many would say it is broken beyond repair. Our Tax Code contains over 50,000 pages of confusing, contradictory, inconsistent, and intimidating regulations. Filing a tax return often takes months of preparation and Americans spend billions of dollars getting expert assistance just filling out the forms.

But there is a solution, the FairTax. A national retail sales tax would provide common sense to the current mess. The FairTax would simplify the process and allow individuals to keep all of their hard- earned pay check and determine for themselves when they save or they spend or they invest their money. It would encourage investments, spur economic growth, and be less regressive than our current system. For far too often we have chosen to try and fix problems with our Tax Code by adding to it. It is time to start over. It is time to remove the redundancy of the Tax Code. Tear out those unneeded pages and adopt a fair plan. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 25 and deliver smart and fair tax policy for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in frustration over the recent leak by the New York Times of a vital national security program. In a time of global war, this leak is a disgrace to all Americans and especially a disgrace to those risking their lives every day to keep us safe.

This disclosure raises grave concerns about why some in the media seem determined time and again to simply hand over our playbook to barbaric terrorists. Our ability to emerge victorious in this war on terror hinges on the success of these legal, appropriate and needed programs.

This is a war that more than any other in our history relies heavily on sophisticated data gathering. Giving away these details only empowers our enemy. Freedom of the press is an important right. However, the media must practice responsibility with classified intelligence.

Not just American prosperity is on the line, Mr. Speaker. These counterterrorism programs exist solely to protect the lives and the freedoms of American citizens. It is time that American lives are given greater priority than selling more newspapers.

Madam Speaker, sending troops to control our borders has already proven to be successful. Instead of being buried on page eight, this should be front-page news. The press should know that the story is no longer about what is happening here in Congress, but what is happening at the border.

During the first 10 days of June, total detentions of illegal aliens declined by 21 percent compared to the same period a year ago. That is pretty good for just 55 National Guard troops who didn't arrive on the border until June 3.

While the National Guard is certainly not the final answer, their presence clearly demonstrates that added resources on the border is pivotal to controlling our illegal immigration emergency. Strong enforcement decreases the influx of illegal aliens. Promises of amnesty only encourage illegals to storm our borders in greater numbers.

Madam Speaker, our laws must be taken seriously by both those who would violate them and those charged with their enforcement. Thanks to our National Guard troops for their vital work in bringing order out of chaos.

Mr. Speaker, what a pleasure it is to come back to the House floor this evening, even though it is for really just a few short minutes, and bring the latest edition of the Official Truth Squad.

The Official Truth Squad is a group of Republican Members who began with a group of freshmen Members of Congress in their first term this past year, who got together and said, why on Earth do we have all of the misinformation and disinformation and distortion that you hear oftentimes on this floor over and over and over again, and nobody, nobody, refutes it. What is going on? So what we did is we formed the Official Truth Squad.

We have heard some items just this evening that deserve some truth. So I am pleased to come this evening to the floor, Mr. Speaker, and to bring some facts, some facts, to the issues, because facts are important when we are talking about issues in Washington. If you don't deal with true facts, then it is extremely difficult to get to the right solutions.

We in the Official Truth Squad have a saying that we are fond of, a quote that we like to identify and like to call to people's attention. It is from the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He said everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts. That is important, Mr. Speaker.

We have just heard from what has been described as the fiscally conservative Blue Dogs. Well, I am here to tell you, Mr. Speaker, these folks have perfected, perfected, saying one thing at home and doing something here. In fact, as I was sitting here tonight, they have perfected saying one thing here and doing something different here.

To point that out, facts, Mr. Speaker, the truth, Mr. Speaker, here they tout the importance of the line item veto. We believe in the line item veto. A number of years ago we had an opportunity to demonstrate our belief in that by a vote on the floor of the House. This vote was back in 1995. At that time, eight Democrats voted in favor of the line item veto.

This is a bill that would give the President an opportunity to control spending, to assist in making sure that we move toward a balanced budget, and in fact eight Democrats voted yes. 194 Democrats voted no. Most of those, most of those that were in the Blue Dog contingent, were in the no column.

I haven't updated this, Mr. Speaker, but as you know, last Thursday we voted on a new line item veto bill on this floor of the United States House of Representatives. I have got to update this, because the numbers are staggering. The numbers are staggering. 156 Democrats voted no. It is a fact, Mr. Speaker, they voted no on the line item veto. In fact, half, virtually half of those folks who call themselves fiscally conservative Blue Dogs, voted no.

So, as I say, Mr. Speaker, they have perfected the fine art of saying one thing here and doing something different here, not just saying one thing at home and doing something different here.

You heard about a balanced budget tonight, how strongly they support a balanced budget. Well, what about when given the opportunity to vote for a balanced budget, Mr. Speaker? What happened then? This is very recent, just this year. Roll call vote 156 this year, 2006, the balanced budget substitute was an amendment to the fiscal year 2007 budget. This is a bill that the Republican Study Committee put on the floor of the House and it would in fact balance the budget, which is what most folks say they desire and what they say they want.

But when given the opportunity to speak up, what they say they want with true action, what happens? You see it right there, Mr. Speaker. Not a single, not a single Member of the minority party voted in favor of that bill, including, including all of the Members of the Blue Dog Group.

So, Mr. Speaker, I know facts are difficult, because they are tough to argue with and they are tough to refute. But truth and facts are important. And there are individuals here trying to do very responsible things as it relates to the economy and as it relates to our budget, and as it relates to being responsible with spending hard-earned taxpayer money.

And the vast majority of those folks are in the majority party. And the reason that I say that with such confidence is because the actions that have been taken by the Republican majority have resulted in a remarkable economy. A remarkable economy.

Now, you will not see that on the nightly news, and you will not hear about it on the radio, likely, and you will not read about it in your local newspaper. But it is important stuff that is going on. It is important and exciting activity that is going on in our economy. And I would just like to highlight a few of them. We have got some charts that we would like to show that demonstrate that.

The economic boom that we are currently under is almost unprecedented. Today, at this point, last month America had 75,000 new jobs, 75,000 new jobs created, which is in addition to 1.9 million new jobs in the last 12 months. This is really exiting news, Mr. Speaker.

More than 5.3 million new jobs since August of 2003. Now, the unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent. Unemployment rate at 4.6 percent. That is lower than the average of the 1960s, the 1970s, the 1980s, and the 1990s.

Mr. Speaker, this is all great news. It is remarkable that we do not hear that

kind of positive news coming from many folks on the floor of the House. We have had the fastest real gross domestic product growth in 2\1/2\ years. Productivity has increased at a strong rate, 3.7 percent in the first quarter, increase this past first quarter.

Real hourly compensation, real hourly compensation, all of the times you hear folks say that real wages are not going up. In fact real hourly compensation rose at a 3.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of this year.

Personal income. Oftentimes you hear things that are not the truth on the floor of this House and across this Nation. They talk about people not having an increase in their income. Personal income, the facts are, Mr. Speaker, the truth is, Mr. Speaker, personal income increased at an annual rate of 6.7 percent in April.

And since January 2001, real after-tax income has risen by 12.9 percent. That is a remarkable, remarkable achievement for this economy, which continues to grow.

Real consumer spending increased at an annual rate of 5.2 percent in the first quarter. Employment increased in 47 States over the last 12 months ending in April. Industrial production. We often times hear about lagging industrial production. Industrial production increased 4.7 percent over the past 12 months.

And manufacturing production which has been criticized as lagging behind in this recovery, in fact it is showing strong rebounding with, over the past 12 months, manufacturing production increasing by 5.5 percent.

Those are facts, Mr. Speaker. Those are facts. That is the truth about a remarkable economy that really is going along extremely well and continuing to improve. There is a reason for that. We are going to touch on that in just a minute.

But I think it is important when we talk about our economy, the American economy which is strong, and is growing stronger by the day, that we use some benchmark. And probably the best benchmarks to use are other large developed nations and developed economies. How are we doing compared to the rest of the world?

And I have here a paper from the Joint Economic Committee, which is a bipartisan group that reports on economic activity, not just in the United States but around the world. And it states here that although some people have expressed dissatisfaction about the performance of the U.S. economy, the economic data show that since 2001 the United States has outperformed every other large developed economy.

Mr. Speaker, did you hear that? The United States has outperformed every other large developed economy since 2001. Now what does that mean? Well, the United States ranks first in economic growth among the other large developed economies.

It is first in job creation. As I mentioned 5.3 million new jobs since August of 2003. In terms of industrial production, the largest cumulative increase in industrial production, 4.6 percent. That is compared to nations, other large developed nations that have not seen that kind of growth.

First in labor productivity growth. Remarkable productivity growth that we have seen in our Nation. And when we compare it to our nations, that have large developed economies, remarkable, remarkable progress and remarkable improvement. And we ought to be celebrating that, Mr. Speaker, we ought not be casting aspersions on the kind of policies that have had a direct affect and a district positive, positive result on the United States economy.

And so folks say, well, why is the economy booming? What is happening out there? In addition to the hard work of Americans all across this land, I think it is important to appreciate that one of the reasons that the economy is doing so well and that we continue to improve is because of the tax policy that was put in place by this Republican Congress and this Republican administration in 2001 and 2003.

And the reason that that is important to look at is because you often times hear the other side say, well, we in fact they say, well, you need to be more responsible with spending. You need to decrease spending. You need to have greater accountability. But then immediately out of their mouth is the programs that they would spend more money on, in fact billions, billions more money on.

And their solution to how to get more money into the system is the tried and true system that they use all of the time, and that is to raise your taxes, Mr. Speaker. That is the tried and true method that they have.

But we believe and can demonstrate clearly that by decreasing taxes, by decreasing taxes, you increase revenue to the Federal Government. And this demonstrates it so very, very clearly. This is a graph that shows the increase in tax receipts over each year from 1982 on through 2005 and 2006.

In the last 3 years you see a significant increase. In fact, in 2005- 2006, a $432 billion, 2-year increase. That is a significant increase. And the reason for that is because people had more money in their pockets, they spend, they save, they invest as they choose. And in fact that drives the economy in a much greater way.

And it sometimes seems counterintuitive, but if you look at this graph, this is the growth, projected growth of revenues. And the 2001 and the 2003 tax relief being made permanent. And what you see here is the historical average of the percent of gross domestic product that comes in as revenue. That is this green line right here that is straight across. And what we see with the red line is what happened with the tax policy previously, and the recession and the affects of 9/ 11.

But what happened at this point is that tax decreases, appropriate tax decreases, were put in place, often times opposed, most often times opposed by the minority party. But what we have seen is a significant increase in receipts to the Federal Government because of, because of the appropriate tax policy that was put in place.

So tax decreases indeed help increasing revenue to the Federal Government. Our good friends on the other side often times talk about the debt. And they talk about the deficit. And we have shown that in fact when given the opportunity they do not support a balanced budget, but they often times talk about the deficit and not being responsible enough with hard-working taxpayer money, and we can always be more responsible.

But I think it is important to appreciate that what is happening under current policy is that we are decreasing the deficit significantly. This graph shows the deficit over a 40-year historical average of 2.3 percent. That is that dotted black line straight across the chart here.

And what we are seeing is a continual decrease in the deficit of hundreds of billions of dollars, put in place because of appropriate tax policy that allows individuals to have more money in their back pocket, again, and decide when they spend or they save or they invest. And that drives the economy to a much greater degree, Mr. Speaker, as you well know.

So we are making progress. We are making good progress, in a wonderful economy that is moving along in the right direction. What we need to do is greater fiscal responsibility, yes indeed, but also making certain that we continue the appropriate tax policies that allow individuals all across this Nation, hard-working American taxpayers to have more of their own money in their back pocket.

I think it is also always important when we talk about taxes to get a lot of distortion and misinformation that often times comes from folks in Washington when they talk about who is paying taxes. You often times hear that. Well, you know, it is just, the rich do not pay their fair share. And you get this class warfare going on that is really destructive, it does not help anything, it does not solve any of the challenges that we have, and it is not positive in terms of its presentation.

But I am struck by the amount of tax revenue that comes from different sectors of our society. And if you look at the percentage of taxpayers, and if you look at the share of individual income taxes that those percentage of taxpayers pay, the top 1 percent, remember this is what the other side call the richest of the rich, and they continually denigrate them and belittle their participation in our system.

In fact, the top 1 percent, Mr. Speaker, pay over 30 percent of the taxes in this Nation. The top 1 percent pay over 30 percent. And you can see that as you get to the top 5 percent, it is over 50

percent. So the top 5 percent of individuals in our Nation pay over 50 percent of the taxes.

Mr. Speaker, I think that probably really shows, one, the facts and the truth, but it also makes it so that the argument that the other side brings forth over and over and over about the class warfare just is so destructive, and it is not even true. It is not even true.

So the foundation of their argument does not even hold any water. And that tall bar over there, Mr. Speaker, that is the top 50 percent, and in fact the top 50 percent pay about 96 percent of the taxes.

The hard-working Americans taxpayers, hard-working American taxpayers. But this is a very progressive scale. And it is important that we appreciate that. It is also important that we remember that. It is important that we talk about it, because when you try to define these issues as they relate to taxes in terms of class warfare, it does not help.

It is not a positive solution. It does not bring us together as a people. We have so many challenges out there, Mr. Speaker, they are not Republican challenges, they are not Democrat challenges, they are American challenges. And we do best when we work together.

I encourage my friends on both sides of the aisle to make certain that we do indeed talk about facts, talk about truth, try to make certain that we work together as we move through the remarkable challenges that are present in our Nation today.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be able to come tonight and bring that positive information about the economy, positive information about where we are going as a Nation, and as a United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, we live in a wondrous and a remarkable Nation, a Nation that remains the land of opportunity for all who are here. It is indeed a beacon of hope and a vessel of liberty to men and women around the world. It is such a privilege for me to have the opportunity to come tonight and to share that kind of positive information with not just Members of this body, but with you, Mr. Speaker, and with the men and women around the Nation.

So I thank you and the leadership so very much for the opportunity to be with you tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at midnight), the House adjourned until today, Wednesday, June 28, 2006, at 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, today we will be debating the line item veto. Now, if you ask my constituents, this is an issue that doesn't need much debate. Giving the President the ability to cut wasteful spending should go hand in hand with fiscal responsibility.

Since coming to Congress 1\1/2\ years ago, it has become crystal clear to me, as it was to President Reagan, that Washington doesn't have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem.

The line item veto is a commonsense solution. Greater transparency to the earmark process and backing it up with a 2-week window for Congress to ratify the President's actions will allow us to address unnecessary new spending, one of the biggest long-term challenges of the Federal budget. Mr. Speaker, when we use tools to cut wasteful spending and work toward achieving a balanced budget, the beneficiaries are hardworking American taxpayers. If we truly stand for fiscal restraint, we must pass the line item veto. I call on all of my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, to support this commonsense, positive move to provide greater responsibility to the budget process.

Mr. Speaker, today I proudly rise to honor and congratulate some spectacular student athletes from Georgia's Sixth District. This month, two of our hometown high schools won a State baseball championship.

Marietta's Lassiter High School and Roswell's Blessed Trinity High both took home their respective class' State championship in dominating fashion. These skilled young men showed what is possible with hard work and unending determination.

Lassiter took home the school's second State title after beating another Sixth District team, Kell High School. The Trojans ended their season with 19 straight wins, sweeping every round of the playoffs.

Blessed Trinity amazed everyone with their ascendancy to the State title in only 6 years of existence. Similar to Lassiter, the Titans went through the playoffs losing only one game and sweeping four out of five series.

These student athletes will forever cherish the memory of this season. The players, their families, and their classmates who cheered them on will always look back at the 2006 season as a source of pride, accomplishment and satisfaction.

Mr. Speaker, congratulations to all from Lassiter and Blessed Trinity High Schools.