Accomplishments of the 109th Congress

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE 109TH CONGRESS -- (House of Representatives - May 03, 2005)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding to me. It is a real honor to be a Member of this freshman class. Folks keep telling us we are a good group, and we know that from ourselves.

I rise this evening to support our majority leader, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay). Congressman DeLay has done a remarkable job in providing strong leadership and guiding the Congress to make many positive changes for our country. It is a shame that Democratic party leaders are playing partisan games in order to distract the American people from what is important, all of the progress that is being made in this session of Congress. But rest assured, they will not distract my colleagues and me from getting the job done. It is time for the Democratic leaders to put partisan politics aside and work together on the issues that really matter to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to report that the first 100 days of the 109th Congress have been a tremendous success. We have been working hard in a bipartisan fashion to make many positive changes for America.

Mr. Speaker, I get up lots of mornings 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock and leave home, and I am always astonished at how many people there are on the highways of western North Carolina going out to do their jobs, and I think those people expect us to do the same thing, I say to the gentleman. That is what they want us to be doing, and that is what we are doing.

I am proud of that. In the past 4 months, we have fought to reduce taxes and the burdensome rules and regulations that plague hard-working Americans. When those people get up every morning and go to work, they do not want to be burdened with taxes and rules and regulations.

And just last week, the House passed a budget resolution conference report that will implement $106 billion in tax cuts over the next 5 years. Our fiscally responsible budget funds our top priorities, such as national security and defense, while stimulating our economy and creating jobs.

It also reins in spending and reduces the Federal deficit. You know, with the loss of sense of history and civics, many people have forgotten that the number one role of Federal Government is to provide for the defense of our Nation. If we do not provide for the defense of our Nation, nobody else can or will, no other level of government can. So that has got to be our top priority.

We have also acted to repeal permanently the death tax, which is an unfair burden on thousands of American families, small businesses, and family farms. The death tax has caused many of these small businesses and farms to go out of business. I am happy that we have acted to bury this unreasonable burden.

We have strengthened our national security by passing the REAL ID Act. This bill will require rigorous proof of identity and strong security requirements for all applicants for driver's licenses and State-issued identity cards. The vast majority of the States have recognized the privilege that a driver's license brings.

However, 10 States, and regrettably including my home State of North Carolina, issue valid driver's licenses and identification cards without requiring proof of legal status. And according to the 9/11 Commission report, these travel documents are just as important as weapons are to terrorists. I am pleased that the REAL ID Act will help solve this problem.

We have passed an $81.4 billion war-time supplemental bill that provides the funds necessary to continue fighting the war on terror, while providing our men and women in uniform with vital equipment and training. I am proud we are supporting our troops who are performing magnificently under difficult conditions.

Just last week, a young man who was injured in Iraq came to see me. He lost both of his legs above the knees. He has the most wonderful spirit and most wonderful attitude about this country, and about keeping the faith that this country has given him. And it is an inspiration to me to meet people like him.

I am proud that we are supporting him and others. They are helping to spread freedom and democracy throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world. Without their sacrifice, Americans would not be able to continue to enjoy the freedom we cherish. We have hosted Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko who has become a leading symbol for the promotion of democracy in his part of the world. How wonderful it is that the values of freedom are being adopted across the world.

We fought to support the Boy Scouts of America, by encouraging the Department of Defense to stand up to the liberal extremists and continue to permit the Scouts to use their facilities. The Boy Scouts is an outstanding organization that teaches young boys time-honored values such as loyalty, preparedness, citizenship, and character. We must do everything we can to support them.

We voted for a responsible transportation bill that will improve our roads, increase driver safety, and create many new jobs. We have passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which will encourage personal responsibility and ensure that bankruptcy in America is available for all who truly need it and not abused by those looking to game the system.

We have all been affected by high gas prices. To forge a long-term solution, we have passed a comprehensive energy bill that will lower energy prices, strengthen the economy, generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and encourage greater energy conservation and efficiency. This bill will also reduce our dependency on foreign oil and encourage investment in alternative energy sources.

These are just a few of the many positive changes that we have made. We have seen changes in vocational education. We are going to be dealing with more of that in the next few days. But rest assured we are going to continue to work very hard, and we have a lot left to do.

I look forward to working with my colleagues in a bipartisan way to make more positive changes in the next quarter of the 109th Congress.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

http://thomas.loc.gov