Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, all across America following the death of a loved one, people of modest means are all too often faced with the grim prospect of selling a family farm or small business just to pay the taxes that come due. Such was the case in my own family when my cousins had to sell the farm that had been in our family since the early 1900s just to pay the taxes. This is simply wrong.

I rise in strong support of the Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act. Like many others in the House, I continue to strongly support permanent repeal of the death tax. Americans should not have to pay this onerous double tax on savings and capital.

Currently, we are scheduled to have a 1-year full repeal of the death tax in 2010, but if Congress fails to act, the death tax will return full force in 2011, reducing exemption levels and restoring maximum tax rates of nearly 60 percent.

Mr. Speaker, this bill before us institutes permanent relief for those subject to the death tax and restores predictability and certainty to small business owners and family farmers planning for the future. It boosts exemption levels and adjusts them for inflation, and with maximum rates tied to capital gains rates, those still subject to the tax will see their burden significantly reduced.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, September 11, 2001, proved that our enemy is determined to kill Americans. Instead of sitting idle, our Nation went on the offense. We removed the Taliban from power in Afghanistan. We removed the regime in Iraq that had invaded neighbors and financed terrorism. And we have kept terrorists on

the run, limiting their avenues of attack, disrupting their finances and eliminating safehouses around the globe. Mr. Speaker, it is not by coincidence that our Nation has not suffered another attack here at home.

Some have doubts about our mission in Iraq. But I believe Americans can find solace in the midst of sacrifice and hope in the midst of hardship. The reason is simple: we are clearly on the road to victory and success in Iraq, and our Nation is safer today because of it.

Since the fall of Saddam's regime, 70 percent of eligible Iraqis for the first time in history elected a national unity government. They have ratified a democratic Constitution for the first time ever, and they helped us eliminate al Qaeda's mastermind, Zarqawi.

Mr. Speaker, progress in Iraq makes America safer. Terrorists are being pursued, not harbored. We have seen movement toward democracy in neighboring countries. Work remains, but freedom is making progress. And freedom, Mr. Speaker, lays the foundation for a more secure future for America.

Mr. Speaker, I have also had the privilege of visiting our troops in Iraq. They are outstanding young men and women, and they overwhelmingly believe in their mission. I urge my colleagues to offer their unqualified support to our troops abroad until their mission is complete.

Mr. Speaker, gas prices are at a record high in my northern California congressional district. Part of the reason is that America's refining capacity is stretched to the limit. Yet effort to expand our refining capacity faces up to 10 years of bureaucratic red tape. At that pace, it is no wonder America has not built a new refinery in 30 years.

This legislation cuts through some of that red tape by simply requiring that the Federal agencies work together and stay on schedule when refinery projects are being considered. I do not think it is too much to ask that Federal bureaucracies work more efficiently. Families and businesses throughout this country have to meet deadlines. Mr. Speaker, the government should have to as well.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5403) to improve protections for children and to hold States accountable for the safe and timely placement of children across State lines, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the subject of the bill under consideration.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 5403, the Safe and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2006. I am pleased to be an original cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation sponsored by the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay).

Throughout his career, the gentleman from Texas has been an outstanding advocate for children and foster care. As chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee, as a long-time colleague in this body, and as someone who shares his passion for helping children, I would like to personally commend him and thank him for his dedication to helping at-risk children across this country.

Mr. Speaker, the subcommittee I chair has conducted numerous hearings

examining the Nation's child protection system. Every witness at these hearings has agreed that our current system fails to adequately protect children.

In December, Republicans in this Congress took the lead in providing $100 million in new funds over the next 5 years to better equip courts and ensure collaboration among judges and social workers. We also added an additional $200 million over the next 5 years for improved services for families, including preventive services to protect children and keep them from having to enter foster care in the first place.

Importantly, we pay for this new funding by ensuring States comply with Federal law and do not misspend other Federal funds. I believe these new resources will go a long ways towards better protecting children.

While these are important steps, we also must do more to ensure children are not needlessly lingering in foster care. The legislation before us today would require States to expedite the safe placement of foster and adopted children in homes across State lines.

Currently these placements take an average of 1 year longer than placements within a single State, delaying permanency with loving families for thousands of children. This legislation also would establish deadlines for completing home studies that assess whether a home is appropriate for a child.

The legislation authorizes up to $10 million per year for incentive payments to States that complete home studies in a timely manner. In addition, the bill includes provisions to better ensure safety for children in foster and adoptive homes, and to give foster parents and relative caregivers a right to be heard and notice of any court proceedings held concerning a child in their care.

I thank my colleagues across the aisle for their assistance in bringing this bill to the floor today. I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation so we can ensure children are placed in a timely and safe way with loving families.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Pryce).

Mr. Speaker, I hear these touching stories, and regrettably they are true, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza) and some other stories we have heard, some 12 hearings of the tragedies that we see take place with these foster care children, not only being transferred seven times, as the gentleman from California mentioned, but maybe 50 or 60 in some cases.

Now it is my great pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the author of this legislation, someone who we have been hearing a lot about, who has spent years, both he and his wife, working in this area, to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay).

I yield 3 minutes to our distinguished majority whip, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a member of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, the distinguished gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation we are considering today is an important step that will ensure timely and safe homes for children. This bill would help speed up the interstate adoption process so that children could be placed in permanent, loving homes more quickly.

I thank my colleagues across the aisle, the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark) and others, for their work on this bipartisan legislation, and I again wish to thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas, Mr. DeLay, for his tireless work to improve the lives of abused and neglected children.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.

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

Mr. Chairman, it's time for Congress to start making tough choices. Projected growth in mandatory spending threatens to crowd out all other spending and choke our economy unless we act now. Over the next 75 years, Medicare's unfunded liabilities amount to a staggering $30 trillion--more than 5 times as much as Social Security's. We're on a fiscal path that we simply cannot sustain, presenting our children and grandchildren with a legacy of enormous debt or stifling tax increases.

There are difficult decisions that have to be made, but we must be responsible, tighten our belts, and live within our means. I applaud the RSC for its work on this budget alternative, and urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, here is a real-world example of why this legislation is so crucially important. In 1995, a storm leveled 30,000 acres of forestland in the northern California district I represent. This blowdown increased the fuel load in the forest by as much as 500 percent. Immediate action was needed to protect the landscape and, thereby, communities from catastrophic fire.

Forest Service experts said it is not a matter of if a fire will occur, but how extensive the damage will be unless restoration proceeds immediately. But timely restoration work was mired in paperwork, appeals, and frivolous litigation. Four years later, the Megram fire swept through the area, fueled by the timber that was left to die on the forest floor. Thousands of acres that could have been protected were destroyed and will take a lifetime to recover.

These two photos demonstrate the consequences of delay and inaction. This first photo, taken in 2004, shows the results of prompt reforestation efforts following the volcano fire of 1960. In 1960, Federal managers were able to act quickly and reforestation was successful. Today, foresters cannot act quickly because of red tape, and destroyed landscapes that you see on the left is the result. This other photo, taken in the Tahoe National Forest, shows just how deadly catastrophic fire can be to the forests and surrounding environments.

Mr. Speaker, delay is a recipe for disaster. Swift action is needed to protect our forests and communities from future tragedies like that which occurred in my district. I urge support for the rule and H.R. 4200.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the tax relief before us. Of the major provisions of the tax reconciliation, two particularly stand out as encouraging economic expansion and continued job creation: the 2-year extension of the current 5 percent capital gains and dividend rates and the continuation of section 179 expensing limits.

I have long supported enhanced small business expensing through legislation, and I am pleased this provision was included in the final bill. Studies show that a majority of small firms benefit from expensing, helping to speed up cost recovery on new investment, contributing to small business growth. Since small businesses provide roughly two-thirds of new job creation in the United States, such growth translates into new jobs for Americans.

I have also heard from northern California seniors about the importance of capital gains and dividends to their retirement income, and they are not alone. Future tax rates on investment earnings affect the decisions that families and businesses make today. Extending the lower rates for capital gains and dividends provides tax certainty, helping to boost investment. For proof, we need look no further than today's Dow Jones Industrial Average, again reaching historic highs.

According to a Wall Street Journal piece from a few days ago, capital gains tax Federal receipts rose 79 percent after the new rates went into effect in 2003; dividend tax receipts rose 35 percent. This is further evidence that the lower rates actually produce increased revenues.

Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone's support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5254 to streamline the permitting process of oil refineries.

My constituents in rural northern California are paying some of the highest gas prices in the Nation.

Red tape is stifling the construction of new and expansion of existing refineries and technology to make refineries cleaner and more efficient. In fact, America has not built a new refinery since the 1970s.

I am reminded today of what President Reagan said in 1981, ``Government is not the solution. Government is the problem.'' We need to streamline government regulation and start expanding our oil refinery capacity.

Families and businesses throughout this country have to meet deadlines. The government should have to as well.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to refer for a moment to how the seniors of our country feel about this. I stand firmly against today's motion to instruct.

I recently received an e-mail from a senior citizen in Chico, California, in my northern California district, underscoring the importance of tax relief for capital gains and dividend income. I quote: ``Please do what you can to see that the 15 percent tax rate on dividends is extended, and, when the time is right, to see that it is made permanent. I am one of the retired who are not rich and not poor, but over time have saved enough and invested enough so that I am comfortable. I depend on the money from investments to put me in the `comfortable' area. The President urges people to save for their retirements. It is only fair that the fruits of those efforts are given their due.''

These comments highlight a part of the debate frequently ignored. A majority of seniors benefit from reduced capital gains taxes and dividend tax rates.

They also track with the study by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation which states, ``As stock ownership becomes more universal in America, stock owners are becoming increasingly middle-class.'' It continues. ``A sizable percentage of taxpayers who claim dividends or capital gains are over age 55, and the majority of taxpayers over age 55 claim some form of capital gains or dividend income.''

Again, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject the motion to instruct conferees and in so doing support the extension of capital gains and dividend rates.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 25 and 26 I was unavoidably detained meeting with constituents. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues today in support of S. 1932, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which provides needed reform to several programs and slows the growth of mandatory spending. This conference report achieves important savings through the modification of certain programs, while making significant new investments in child care, child protection, and the promotion of marriage and families, among other changes.

This legislation includes a compromise on child support for families that provides more support directly to families, especially those who have left welfare. It saves $1.6 billion by ending state ``double dipping'' on Federal child support incentive funds. Additionally, this legislation provides $300 million for court improvements and services to assist families involved with foster care and adoption programs. Technical changes to the Supplemental Security Income program save an additional $725 million.

Importantly, this conference report reauthorizes the nation's welfare reform law, which was originally signed into law in 1996, expired in 2002, and has been temporarily extended a dozen times. Welfare reform has been a success in reducing poverty, ending dependency, and promoting work. Child poverty has fallen sharply since 1996 with 1.4 million children being lifted out of poverty. Meanwhile, work among welfare recipients has more than doubled as welfare caseloads have fallen by more than 9 million.

Despite these successes, we still have work to do. Currently, 58 percent of welfare recipients are not working or engaged in training programs to acquire necessary skills. Two million families continue to be dependent on welfare. In addition, far too many families break up or never form; these broken homes leave millions of children and parents at a higher risk for future welfare dependence.

The welfare reauthorization contained in this conference report will continue and strengthen the reforms enacted in 1996. While this legislation does not include all of the provisions

passed by the House in 2002, 2003, and 2005, it includes the essential features of those proposals. With passage of this legislation, we will help even more low-income families and parents support themselves by promoting more work and stronger families. Child care funding will be increased by $1 billion over the next 5 years and States will continue to receive Record Federal welfare funds, despite huge caseload declines since 1996.

To complement these reforms, the conference report also provides $500 million for the promotion of healthy marriages and $250 million for programs to encourage responsible fatherhood. Independent studies show one of the most effective ways to reduce child poverty and improve child well-being is by promoting healthy, stable marriages. These programs are an important part of preventing future welfare dependence. Despite the often heroic efforts of single parents to work and care for them, children raised by single parents are five times more likely to live in poverty, five times more likely to depend on welfare, two to three times more likely to show behavioral problems, and twice as likely to commit crimes or go to jail. These parents and families need more help to overcome such obstacles, and this legislation provides funding for services to help parents lead fuller lives and better support their families without needing welfare.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, which builds on the success of the 1996 welfare reforms and offers brighter prospects for the future of millions of low-income families.

Mr. Speaker, today's legislation contains a number of important tax relief provisions, including an expanded research and development credit to keep American innovation competitive; and one supported by my friend from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan, which would adjust the qualified veterans mortgage bond program and expand access to affordable home loans for California veterans who served after 1977.

In addition, the bill before us includes a measure that I have long supported to facilitate greater small business growth. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, representing over half of all jobs and economic output. The section 17 extension in this bill will enable small businesses to write off new capital investment up to $100,000 per year, spurring further economic growth and helping to generate new jobs.

In 2003 alone, 4.6 million small businesses used $44.1 billion of section 179 expensing. According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses' November report, 61 percent of small business owners reported capital outlays over the past 6 months, including new equipment and vehicle purchases, furniture purchases, existing facility expansion, and improvement in new facility construction.

Small business expensing works and it helps drive job creation in areas like my own northern California Congressional District. Unfortunately, the current expensing limits are set to return to significantly lower levels if we do not extend this provision.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Thomas and the members of the committee for their support of small businesses, and I urge my colleagues to vote for the legislation before us today.

Mr. Speaker, without today's legislation, the number of Americans ensnared by the alternative minimum tax is estimated to grow from 3 million now to an astounding 21 million in 2006. The problem is so great that the Treasury Department has estimated that by 2013 an AMT repeal would be more expensive than a repeal of the entire income tax.

In my own Northern California congressional district, in one particular area, nearly 3,000 constituents face a significantly higher tax burden because of this onerous tax.

In February of 1986, a levee broke on the Yuba River, causing a flood that submerged the community, resulting in millions of dollars in damage. Now, after nearly 20 years, the courts have found the State liable for damages to these victims in the amount of $428 million. Unfortunately, because individual claims have to add back attorney fees as AMT taxable income, the flood victims may end up paying some

form of tax on 100 percent of their award even though this is money they never saw. This is double taxation, and it is unfair.

I urge my colleagues to vote for the Reynolds extension before us.

Mr. Speaker, because of time constraints during Floor debate, I was unable to present my full remarks in support of H.R. 4096, the Stealth Tax Relief Act of 2005. I would like to request that the following comments be published in the Congressional Record for Wednesday, December 7, so my remarks in support of H.R. 4096 are reflected in the Record in their entirety:

Mr. Speaker, without today's legislation, the number of

Americans ensnared by the Alternative Minimum Tax is

estimated to grow to an astounding 21 million in 2006.

The problem is so great that the Treasury Department

estimates that by 2013, an AMT repeal would be more expensive

than a repeal of the income tax.

In my own northern California congressional district, in

one particular area, nearly 3,000 constituents face a

significantly higher tax burden because of this onerous tax.

In February of 1986, a levee broke on the Yuba River

causing a flood that submerged the community, resulting in

millions of dollars in damages.

Now, after nearly 20 years of legal battles, a court has

found the state liable and ordered it to pay damages to flood

victims in the amount of $428 million.

Unfortunately, because individual claimants have to add

back attorney fees as AMT taxable income, the flood victims

may end up paying some form of tax on 100 percent of their

award, even though this is money they never saw.

This is double taxation, and it is unfair. The attorneys

have already paid income tax on the amount they earned

through representation.

Mr. Speaker, it is unfair that these flood victims--who

have waited so long to be justly compensated--now should be

subject to the AMT.

The AMT is sorely in need of fundamental reform. It's time

once and for all to do away with this middle class tax trap.

I urge my colleagues to vote for the Reynolds extension

before us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Congress must make the hard decisions to rein in Federal spending. The legislation before us today does just that by reducing or eliminating waste or unnecessary Federal spending across a range of programs.

I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) and my fellow Ways and Means Committee members for their support in bringing this legislation to the floor this evening. Overall, the provisions in this legislation produced by the Ways and Means Committee saves over $8 billion over the next 5 years through common sense reforms that fix or clarify current law.

These changes target spending on administration, not benefits meant to be paid under current law. For example, this legislation ends double dipping on certain child support bonus funds. The bonus funds will continue. The double dipping will end. This change will save $1.6 billion over the next 5 years.

This legislation also extends and improves the 1996 welfare reform so even more parents will be able to leave welfare for work. It provides full funding for the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Programs despite a 60 percent welfare caseload decline. It increases child care funding to support more work, and it encourages and supports healthy marriages and stronger families to further reduce poverty.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support these common-sense reforms.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1894) to amend part E of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide for the making of foster care maintenance payments to private for-profit agencies.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1894, the Fair Access Foster Care Act of 2005. This legislation has recently passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

S. 1894 makes a technical change that will ease the administration of payments to families who assist foster children. It does so by permitting the transmission of foster care maintenance payments through any agency that assists families caring for foster children in licensed settings. Current law prevents the transmission of these payments through private for-profit agencies.

As we have come to learn, public and private agencies that assist families who serve foster children play a pivotal role in promoting child safety and well-being.

While we allow States the flexibility to determine what agencies can best serve children, current law creates administrative burdens that deter the transmission of Federal funds through private for-profit agencies. This legislation would rectify that inequity, ensuring that all public and private agencies that assist families caring for foster children are treated in the same way.

Mr. Speaker, S. 1894 is identical to bipartisan legislation introduced by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), and I thank him for his work on this legislation. The legislation is supported by the American Public Human Services Association and the Child Welfare League of America. The Congressional Budget Office has informally estimated that the cost of this legislation would be insignificant.

Mr. Speaker, everyone agrees our Nation's children's welfare system is in need of improvement. Unfortunately, this change will only relieve one small facet of a much larger set of administrative burdens that today too often get in the way of ensuring child safety. This legislation is an important step in the right direction, and we must continue to pursue broader reforms in our Nation's child protection programs.

I thank all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support of today's legislation. I urge all Members to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I thank the gentleman from Washington for his support for this legislation. I appreciate the concern expressed across the aisle, but the concern is not valid. It is important that we accurately explain the policy included in the spending reform bill, what it will do.

This legislative fix would not alter Federal eligibility for foster care and adoptive assistance. Instead, it would ensure that every State uses the same eligibility criteria for receipt of Federal payments. Promoting child safety and well-being must remain the goal of these programs. And Federal law must be applied evenly in all States. We are doing just that with this policy fix.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), who is the author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments on the other side of the aisle. However, almost none of what was just discussed has anything to do with what is on the floor today. The bill before us is a good one and one every Member should support. Members will soon have a chance to support needed spending reforms to reduce deficits and help balance the budget. That should be a goal for all of us.

But what we hear today from the other side of the aisle is what we always hear: one, ``no'' on any savings in Federal programs; and, two, ``no'' on commonsense reforms; but, three, ``yes'' on raising taxes on the American people. Unfortunately, it is just the same old liberal wine in the same old bottles.

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today is an important step towards improving our Nation's child protection programs. It would ensure that all public and private agencies that assist families who care for foster children are treated in the same manner. It is good legislation and would help States focus their efforts on promoting child safety and well-being.

I would like to again thank my colleagues for their work in this area, and I urge all Members to support this legislation.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on subject of the bill now under consideration.

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

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