Roy Blunt

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. If the gentleman will continue to yield, we expected, of course, to have the campaign finance bill on the floor tonight. That bill will not be on the floor because of the defeat of the rule, and I think we will just have to look further at the vote today and the structure of that rule and see when and if that bill can come back to the floor.

Mr. BLUNT. I mentioned we would go to Commerce-Justice, move to finish that and then move to Foreign Operations appropriations next week, if we meet our schedule.

Mr. BLUNT. I think it is most likely that that bill will come out of the Committee on Ways and Means to the floor next week.

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Michigan, for yielding. We have now finished the legislative business for this week. We will have a pro forma session on Monday. On Tuesday, the House meets at 10 a.m. We have votes scheduled beginning as early as noon. The flag-burning constitutional amendment will be on Tuesday; Commerce-State-Justice appropriations on Tuesday; then the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. Then the balance of the week we will finish Commerce-State-Justice; Foreign Operations appropriations; charitable choice; and hope to have a patients' bill of rights on the floor the balance of the week next week.

Mr. BLUNT. We do not know yet, but we are hopeful that that bill could be on the floor next week. We think it would be mid to late in the week, if we get it to the floor, but we are hoping that that is one of the things that will come to the floor next week. It is an important issue; needs to be debated and moved forward. We hope we can start and maybe complete that process next week.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 2 p.m. on Monday, July 16, 2001.

Mr. BLUNT

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

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate one of my former colleagues, Dr. David K. Winter, on his retirement after twenty-five years as President of Westmont College, a Christian liberal arts college located in Santa Barbara, California. He has overseen the growth of the Westmont student body to its present level of 1,200 students, and has put the college on a much firmer financial footing than when he arrived on campus. Prior to coming to Westmont, he serves as Academic Vice President and then Executive Vice President at Whitworth College (WA). He also served on the faculty at Wheaton College (IL) and Calvin College (MI). He received his Ph.D in Anthropology and Sociology from Michigan State University. Among many other accomplishments, Dr. Winter served for nine years with the Western Association of School and Colleges, and in June 2000, he completes a term as Director of the Council of Higher Education Accreditation, based on Washington, D.C. He has been named as one of the most effective college leaders in the United States, and in 1991, he was a recipient of the President Leadership Awards and Grants given nationally by the Knight Foundation. President Winter has also been a leader in the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities, a Washington-based group of over 100 U.S. schools with more than 50 affiliates in 17 countries. He is and I am sure will remain active in many local organizations in Santa Barbara. In 1998, the Santa Barbara News Press honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1999, the John Templeton Foundation selected him as one of 50 college presidents who have exercised leadership in character development. But most important of all, David Winter's real impact cannot be measured by awards and titles. His real impact has been on the thousands of students who have attended Westmont in the last twenty- five years. He has spearheaded the effort on the part of the entire Westmont Community to provide a thorough liberal arts education with a Christian foundation. His leadership and firm faith have led Westmont into the 21st Century as the Westmont community continues to turn out young people who are committed to being good citizens of the United States and the world. I want to wish David and his wife and partner in leading Westmont, Helene, the best as they enter this new phase of their life together.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the thirty five young men and women who comprise the 2001 National Championship Students in Free Enterprise Team from Drury University in Springfield Missouri. This is the first time in SIFE's 27 year history that a team from Missouri has won the national competition sponsored by this international organization headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. These outstanding young academics achieved their top rating in open competition with teams from 111 other four year U.S. colleges and universities. The team took top honors for their multi-media presentation detailing their year's accomplishments. Drury's SIFE team devoted more than 7,000 hours to 35 educational and community service projects. All of the projects were designed to develop leadership and communication skills through free enterprise education. Besides receiving excellent practical experience in business skills, the students were also investing themselves in their local and national communities. Among their almost three dozen projects this year the team continued to develop and expand the Young Entrepreneurs Association, a web-based organization devoted to free enterprise education for middle school teachers and students. Only three years old, the program now serves 510 middle schools, representing 17 countries and all 50 states. The Team also built on a three year relationship with an ``at-risk'' middle school in Laredo Texas and this year conducted a three day educational program built around the principles of free enterprise, ethical marketing and entrepreneurship. The project culminated with a ``mercado,'' in which 800 customers purchased products designed and produced by the middle school students. Their win qualifies them for the first SIFE World Cup, to be held in London on July 11-13. Teams from 23 nations will compete for the title of SIFE Global Champion. SIFE is a grassroots student movement active on more than 1,000 college and university campuses in 48 states and 20 foreign countries. Seventy five percent all four year colleges and universities in the United States participate in SIFE and their programs reach some 4 million students annually. I know my Colleagues, especially those from Missouri, join me in offering their heartiest congratulations to the team members and their advisors--Dr. Charles Taylor and Dr. Robert Wyatt at Drury University. I further offer the best wishes of all the Members of this Congress for a successful competition in London later this summer.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise at 7:40 in the morning on a Saturday morning to get this work done, to get this work done as Americans are going to work all over the country. Those who have the day off may be watching what we do and wondering how it is going to impact their family. The truth is that American families can spend their money for the benefit of their family in almost all instances better than the Federal Government can. We are going to hear a lot, not only today, but in the future, and just did, about the projections of revenue. We never hear revenue projections questioned when we talk about spending. We only hear revenue projections questioned when we talk about giving the money back to the people who are sending it in. There is a tax surplus; and even after we return this much of that tax surplus, there is still not only money left to grow the government at a rate much faster than inflation, but a contingency fund beyond that and money to secure the trust funds in ways that did not happen here for 29 years. Mr. Speaker, we are balancing the budget, we are letting government grow at a rate that many Americans would argue is too high, it is higher than their businesses are able to grow, it is higher than their home budgets are able to grow. But what we are doing today is giving the tax surplus, the money we have said in every projection of Federal spending we would need, back to the families that are sending it in. Mr. Speaker, this is the right thing to do. This is the right day to do it. This gives the American people the ability to plan what they can do for their families, how they can create jobs and growth in their small businesses. This bill will pass today, it will make a difference in America. It is what we should do.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Thomas) for yielding the time to me. Mr. Speaker, with the train metaphor that we are having here, it does seem to me that this bill and what is contained in it will be the engine that moves the train. We do need to respond to what needs to happen to get our economy headed back in the right direction. This bill helps do that. This discussion of rates, Mr. Speaker, is very important. It is very important to talk about this whole rate issue. I mean, no American, as our bill proposes, would establish this principle. No American taxpayers should pay more than a third of their income in Federal income tax. That is what this bill says. That does not say they would not pay more than a third of their income in taxes. That says the Federal income tax. You could argue this in a much more fine way than we are here today by saying that even that rate is too high because that does not consider the Social Security tax. It does not consider the Medicare tax. It does not consider State income tax. It does not consider sales tax. It does not consider gasoline tax. It does not consider tax on utility bills. It does not consider the 103-year-old Spanish-American War tax on your local telephone bill. This just says that on your income, with your Federal income tax there should be a limit. And it also says at the bottom levels that we are better off with a 10 percent bottom line bracket than a 15 percent bottom bracket. Those are the guidelines that we need to be debating, need to be working on. They need to be part of the conference with the Senate and passing this bill today, understanding that every taxpayer, every taxpaying family, has a stake in the economy and a stake in this tax surplus that has been sent to Washington. Mr. Speaker, I respect the work that is being done on the education bill that the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) talked about. I am convinced there is going to be money to do what the Federal Government needs to do. The problem will be if we leave this money in town that we have been saying that we did not need in the Federal Government, we will think of a way to spend it. Mr. Speaker, we have still allowed in our budget plenty of room for growth. In fact, we are wondering, in fact, if there is a way that we can keep the growth of the Federal Government to twice the rate of inflation. And many, including me, are saying the President will have won a big victory if we can hold the growth of the Federal Government to twice the rate of inflation, which just shows how far we have gone in the direction of Federal Government spending. One way not to spend the hard-earned money of American taxpayers is give it back to them. They will do a better job for their families and for this economy with their money than the Federal Government would. Moving this bill forward moves that process forward. It would be great within the next few days if we can send to the President's desk real, meaningful tax relief for every American taxpayer.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, in 1961 work began between two Germanies on a concrete wall 28 miles long which would divide a people and become the physical symbol of the division between two great world powers. In 1961 the international manned space race began in earnest with Russia beating the United States to the first major goal by placing Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit. In 1961 the robust air carrier TWA became the first airline to offer in-flight movies on international flights. In 1961 the former African colony of Tanganyika became an independent country In 1961 President John F. Kennedy was inaugurated as the nation's youngest President. And in 1961 two young historians and academics began their teaching careers at Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, Missouri. Forty years later the Berlin wall exists only in scattered pieces around the world and Germany once again stands as a single nation. American and Russian astronauts today jointly man the International Space Station. TWA has merged into American Airlines and Tanganyika has joined with Zanzibar to become Tanzania. President Kennedy was felled by an assassin's bullet. What has remained unchanged is that Drs. Harlie Gallatin and Frank Cunningham are still helping students at what is now Southwest Baptist University not only learn the details of history, but understand how events of past decades, centuries and millennia effect our lives today. I rise today to commend these two men who are scholars in every sense of the word, dedicating their lives to their discipline and their students. Near the beginning of their careers as a student and near the end as University President, I benefitted from their scholarship as well as their example in commitment to Faith and family. Through the years thousands of young people have not only learned about the heritage of our nation and world, but have developed a deep love and respect for history. Many of those students now make significant contributions to the betterment of our nation and world as civic and governmental leaders, educators, scientists, ministers and at least one congressman. At the end of this academic year Dr. Gallatin retires as Chairman of the Department of History and Political Science at the University where he has worked tirelessly to develop faculty, curricula, and students. He has seen the school grow from a junior college to a four year institution and finally to a University. Dr. Cunningham although retiring from the full-time faculty in 1996 continues to remain active in the department as Emeritus Senior Professor of History. Today, I want to thank these two men for their commitment both to the discipline of history and to their sharing a respect for and insight into history with all those young lives they have touched over the past four decades. Both these men repeatedly went out of their way to help struggling students understand difficult concepts, and learn to examine significant events with a discerning eye. They helped students view historic events without having to reject their religious faith. They have not invested their lives in vain. My colleagues in this chamber often wrestle with the issues of history: how our actions will impact future generations and how we will be viewed. I know they join me in thanking Drs. Gallatin and Cunningham for their work in helping us to use the events of yesterday to craft solutions challenges of tomorrow.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute Mayor Gerald Gilkey on his 42 years of public service to the Lamar city government. Mayor Gilkey retired from public life on April 16th, 2001. His exceptional career with the City of Lamar began in April 1959, with six years as a councilman in Lamar city government. In 1965, he was elected mayor, a position to which he would be re-elected 17 times; serving an astounding total of 36 years. Mayor Gilkey has diligently served the people of Lamar, Missouri for over three decades. His dedication to public service and to the community of Lamar is to be commended. The Mayor has worked tirelessly to ensure that Lamar continues to grow. Under his dedicated leadership, the city developed a 45 acre city park that includes a multiple outdoor sports complex, walking trails and picnic areas. Recently, Mayor Gilkey led the effort to build Southwest Missouri's first aquatic park located in the Lamar City Park. A $1.3 million water treatment plant was built due to the Mayor's leadership. Mayor Gilkey was instrumental in guiding the construction of an 800 seat, state of the art, ``Thiebaud'' auditorium that is used by the community, area schools and organizations. Mayor Gilkey is the recipient of numerous awards including the Lamar Chamber of Commerce, ``Man of the Year'' in 1990; in 1982 he shared ``top newsmaker'' with the city council. In 1994, he was honored with the ``Outstanding Community Service'' award from the Lamar Rotary Club. In 1997 at the Homemaker Cooking Show, he was awarded Lamar Democrat's MVP. Mayor Gilkey's presence can also be found throughout the Southwest corner of Missouri. He has served on countless boards and committees where his visionary representation helped influence the growth and improvement of the area. On June 18, 2001, Gerald and his wife Betty will celebrate their 59th wedding anniversary. Mayor Gilkey has had a great partner and in 1961, Gerald and Betty purchased what is now the Gilkey Automotive Group, and their son, Steve, is now the general manager. Mr. Speaker, it is clear that we will miss an inspirational member of the Lamar community with Mayor Gilkey's retirement from public service. I am sure that I speak for many when I say that his tireless work will not soon be forgotten and that we are all thankful. I would like to personally wish him well in this new stage of his life and know that he will continue to be a presence in Lamar, Missouri. I am certain that my colleagues will join me in honoring this remarkable man.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, the counties comprising the Seventh Congressional District of Missouri are quickly becoming a center of sports excellence for women's teams. Not only are we home to the Lady Bearcats of Southwest Missouri State University which reached the NCAA Final Four this past week, but also the state's 2-A High School Champions. The Lady Tigers of Stockton Missouri used their talent and hard work to turn personal tragedy into a commitment for achievement and success. In late September, 2000 17 year old Rachael Budd died of injuries suffered in a car crash. Rachael was a member of the girls basketball team and a leader on the court, in the classroom and among her peers. Additionally, the team lost two other starters to serious injuries that sidelined them for the entire season. The Stockton Girls High School Basketball team of 2001 was built around five seniors on the 14-member squad. They never lost to a 2-A school en route to a 25-win season capped in March by overwhelming Notre Dame of Cape Girardeau in the state finals. The team dedicated their final game to the memory of Rachael Budd. Along the way the Stockton girl's coach Tony Armstrong earned ``coach of the year'' honors and his daughter Jenna Armstrong was named to the First-Team All State squad. Girls high school sports in America have achieved a place of great pride. They have given young women a new platform for competition and achievement allowing them to showcase their talent, hard work and vision. Their teamwork brings communities together and forges new personal friendships. I know that my colleagues join me in commending the spirit, the competitive excellence and the community support that have shaped the girls basketball program at Stockton High School.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay honor to the Women's Basketball program at Southwest Missouri State University. The Lady Bears played their way into the NCAA Final Four in St. Louis before losing to Purdue University. For the second time in 9 years, the Lady Bears of Southwest Missouri found themselves in this select rankina of great women's teams in 2001 and though they did not play in the final game, they brought great pride and excitement to the residents of the Seventh District of Missouri and beyond. Southwest Missouri State University women's basketball ranks nationally among the top teams in fan attendance. Their legions of dedicated followers were charged with excitement over the team's success. The late season run of the Lady Bears packed Hammons Student Center every game and sent fans searching for tickets as they won their way through the NCAA tournament in Piscataway, New Jersey and Spokan, Washington for the right to play in the Final Four in nearby St. Louis, Missouri-just three hours from Springfield. Wherever the team played, a bus or an airplane filled with its loyal fans followed. The 2001 season for the nationally ranked Lady Bears was filled with milestones. Coach Cheryl Burnett won her three hundredth victory in 14 seasons. The 29-6 record is the second best in the Lady Bear's history behind the 1992 31-3 mark that also saw the Lady Bears in the Final Four. Five seniors anchored the squad: All-American Jackie Stiles, Tara Mitchem, Carly Deer, Melody Campbell and Tiny McMorris. Stiles was the nation's leader scorer with more than 30 points a contest and finished the season as the NCAA's most prolific woman's scorer ever with 3,393 points in her four year career. She was also the first woman to score 1,000 points or more in a single college season. While Stiles dazzled competitors with her scoring, it was team defense that played stunned competitors into submission. The Lady Bears fans understand the character of the team. Every young woman on the squad has a tenacious work ethic and they are tireless, never-give-up competitors. They played as a team of talented women who shared the glory of their successes with their fans as they represented a regional school in the Midwest competing and winning against better know teams trom larger schools. The Southwest Missouri State University Lady Bears are special not just because of where they are from but because of how far they have come in winning their way into the elite of their sport. The members of the Lady Bears of Southwest Missouri State University are models for other young women to follow and inspire them in their drive for academic success off the court as well as sports success on it. Over and over these young women said how proud they were to have played and represented SMSU on the court. We will miss them, but remember their accomplishments that are written in the history books of the great women's basketball teams in America. I know my Missouri colleagues will join me in applauding the great work of Coach Cheryl Burnett with the 2001 team, as well as expressing their belief that all of the senior members have bright futures ahead of them with the commitment to excellence they demonstrated during the 2001 season and that their underclass teammates will carry their legacy into the future.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise in support of the rule and of the bill. It is time to eliminate this tax. I heard my good friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moakley), earlier today say that 2 percent of the estates in the country are taxed. I think that is an accurate figure. I think we will hear that a lot today. But it is not the 2 percent that most Americans would immediately think it is. It is not the 2 percent that are the wealthiest families in America. In fact, half of all the estates that are taxed, I guess that would be 1 percent of all estates, half of all the estates that are taxed have values of under $1 million. Now, we all know there is an exemption for up to $675,000. I do not know what that tells my colleagues. What it tells me is that half of the people who pay this tax are people who never expected to pay it. Half of the people who pay this tax are people who would be shocked if they were still alive as their families are shocked to find out that their small business, their family farm, is worth more than $675,000. When that happens, 55 cents out of every dollar goes to the Federal Government. If your estate is worth $100,000 over $675,000, $55,000 of that goes to the Federal Government. That is just wrong. We just heard, I think, an accurate example, that the average estate pays a 20 percent tax. That is because many estates do not pay any tax at all and many other estates are barely over the exempted amount. If you took that $900,000 estate and figured out they were losing 55 cents on every dollar worth over $675,000, you would get a relatively low rate but you are taking their business and their livelihood. I do a farm tour every year in my district. Last year we stopped at a farm supply store because we talk to people who own farming businesses. We talk to people in agricultural businesses. I asked the people who ran the farm supply store first of all about the efforts they have made over the years to pass that business on to both of their sons who work in the business with them every day. He is not going to pay an estate tax, but he spent a lot of money to figure out how not to do it with all kinds of insurance and trusts and things like that. He said we have met lots of farmers who never have a problem financially paying their bill until somebody dies and when somebody dies, they have a big problem because they cannot figure out how to keep that asset together and pay that 55 cents on the dollar for everything that is suddenly worth a lot more than they thought it was going to be. People do not deserve to have everything they paid taxes on all their life taxed when they die. We need to pass this rule. We need to pass this bill.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) for yielding the time to me. Mr. Speaker, I do not want to speak but for a few minutes here, because I did not know Norm Sisisky nearly as long as or nearly as well as so many Members that the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) just talked about that, that long relationship from day 1 with Norm Sisisky. But it was so much of the Norm Sisisky that I have gotten to know in the last 4 years, seeing him sit back there with the gentleman from California (Mr. Condit) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), my good friend. I just had an opportunity less than a month ago to be on half a dozen military bases with Norm Sisisky over several days and several days where his health never came up. He was out there with the young men and young women who put their lives on the line, who give of themselves, to our country, as everybody probably in this Chamber has seen him do it one time or another responded in a beaming sort of way when those young sailors, those young airmen and women, young service people of all kinds would come to him at a breakfast or a dinner, he knew already many of the concerns they would have, because he was working on trying to solve those problems. He was a person who saw humor in life, and humor is one of the things that keeps this place going. In fact, whenever we fail to be able to see the human folly of some of the things that we all are a part of, we fail to enjoy life like Norm enjoyed life. I know on sitting with him on the airplane and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), my good friend, who is Chairman on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, he was with us on that trip, but sitting with Norm on the airplane, he was telling me of a recent visit to one of the military installations in his district. He said as he was walking through, he saw somebody and they said we knew you were coming today, we saw the message from the top brass yesterday, and the message was ``daddy's coming.'' And he saw himself in that role for the young men and young women that defend our country. And so for the rest of that trip after he told me the story, I would say daddy, it is time to go. Daddy it is time to do whatever it was time to do next. But he had that love for people, and there is a big bearlike reaching out to others. He loved the service in this body. He clearly was up for every moment of it. Again, just literally less than 4 weeks ago was in a period of about 4 days and 6 far-flung military installations checking to be sure that the people who are defending our country were getting what they needed and if they were not, get what they needed, trying to figure out how he could help get it for them. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have served with him. I am honored to get to be here on the floor today as his good friends recognize the service of a great American, of a great patriot, of somebody who really was in so many ways the epitome of what can happen in this country.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to speak on this proposal. I would point out that the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) suggested that the President was somehow responsible for the flattening out of the economy in the last 6 months of last year. I think 60 days into a Presidency is a little quick to do that. Mr. Speaker, I am here to speak in favor of this rule. We have passed marriage penalty relief in the House before, and it has been passed in the Senate before, and it has come out of conference before, and it has gone to the White House before. The difference is this relief will be signed into law if we do our job well here now and in the next few weeks. Mr. Speaker, we have a budget in the House. We will not vote on the final tax package until the Senate approves its budget next week, and this will be part of it. Government has traditionally taxed what it wanted to discourage, and subsidized what it wanted to encourage. For too long in America we have been subsidizing the wrong things and taxing the wrong things. We have been discouraging things we should have been encouraging, and encouraging things we should have been discouraging. This change in the Tax Code once again puts a premium on marriage and families as a foundation of our society. I hope there is still a bonus left for marriage in the Tax Code, and believe there will be when we pass this bill, because families and marriage is something that should be honored. If we subsidize families, that is a good thing and not a bad thing. If we help with things like the child tax credit, where we are moving today to double the tax credit on income tax returns, that has a positive impact on American families. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the rule. I strongly support the bill. It will pass the House, I predict, handily today, and this time it will be signed into law by the President of the United States.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Madam Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding time to me, and thank the Committee on the Budget for the great debate we are having here tonight and the hard work that has been done on this budget from both sides. Really the topics we are talking about are the kinds of topics that we should be discussing in Washington as we set out a blueprint for this budget year. The Farm Bureau today has joined in the call that this budget be adopted. Other agricultural groups, now that they have had a chance to look at this budget, are also stepping forward and saying that this budget does meet the needs of agriculture. It addresses the tax overcharge that we have collected in excess of what the government has said over the last several years we would need for the next decade. I have heard some of my friends on the other side stand up tonight and say that we need a tax cut not in the $1.6 trillion range, but about half of that, about $800 billion. I would just remind them that when we passed that tax cut of that amount, $792 billion over 10 years on the House floor just 2 years ago, many of the same people who are saying that this amount is too much, it is irresponsible, they were saying that amount was too much, when it is very apparent now that that amount was not too much. If we would have started with that $792 billion tax package that the House narrowly passed 2 years ago, we might not see some of the economic problems we see in the country today, and we would only be 2 years into a 10-year tax cut, 2 years into a tax cut that is the size that everybody now says we should be pursuing. I think a couple of years from now everybody will see that the tax cut proposed in this budget is equally modest, and is also as positive for the economy as that one would have been as a good start. This does set aside the Social Security Trust Fund. It does set aside the Medicare Trust Fund. It pays off all the debt in 10 years that we can pay without a prepayment penalty. It is a great blueprint for this year. I urge my colleagues to adopt this budget.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for working so hard to bring this legislation to the floor. Where I live in southwest Missouri, this is the beginning of the tornado season. We have, if you live in one, you know you live in it, a thing called a tornado alley which, for whatever reason, year after year seems to be the same path that kind of attracts the destruction, the disruption, the loss of property and, unfortunately, sometimes the loss of life that families have to suffer. This is a great addition to the Community Development Block Grant program. It is a way that people who live in manufactured housing can have the same kind of access to funds that people that live in site- based housing or in low-income apartments can have right now. It is such a good idea that it is amazing we have not done it before. I was reading an article in the Kansas City Star this morning; and my good friend, Sam Graves from northwest Missouri said, ``Every once in a while something is brought to our attention that makes all the sense in the world, and you wonder why it has never been done before.'' Well, we need to get this done. It is a great idea. Obviously, we are not going to hear many objections to this bill and objections to when we do it. Maybe we ought to go back to the Sam Graves' principle. The real question is not why the bill is on the floor today. The real question is, why has the bill not been on the floor before? Why have we not done it before? Why have we not provided this kind of protection to people that live in manufactured housing? Really, there are two most dangerous places in the tornado: in one's house or trying to get away from one's house in a car. This provides a place to go and access to the funds to help provide more safety for people who live in these kinds of housing. I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill today. I look forward to its passage.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory and tribute to Dr. M. Graham Clark who called the School of the Ozarks his home for the past six decades. Dr. Clark passed away on March 15, at age 92 at his residence on the campus. Dr. Clark led a life dedicated to the glory of God, and committed to the principles of hard work and educational excellence as he worked to expand and lead a free faith-based education to literally thousands of students who have attend the school in the Missouri Ozarks. Dr. Clark arrived at the School of the Ozarks in 1946. Under his leadership the high school was transformed first to a junior college and later into a four year institution of higher learning that is nationally recognized for its emphasis on character development, academic excellence and student work. Those who attend the School of the Ozarks--now named the College of the Ozarks--are offered a unique opportunity. In exchange for a world class college degree, students work for their tuition. They work daily as the college's maintenance, janitorial, secretarial and grounds keeping staff, security guards and food service personnel. This concept, which has won the school an international reputation as ``Hard Work U'', opened the doors of higher education to many who would never have dreamed they could achieve a college degree. Dr. Clark was a tireless campaigner and promoter for the College of the Ozarks in persuading donors to support the school located at Point Lookout, Missouri. His determination and leadership transformed the School of the Ozarks into a national model that has drawn students from all over the world for a classic education steeped in faith, work and service. College of the Ozarks is a unique blend of old fashion respect, daily application of the ``Golden Rule'', and modern technology mixed together with a strong emphasis on the work ethic. The legacy of Dr. M. Graham Clark will touch the lives of many people for generations to come because of the institution he nurtured and guided. Through the School of the Ozarks, he shaped the lives and faith of countless scholars, business people, government officials and ministers across America who continue to mold and shape the lives of the people in their own communities. Dr. Clark was known for his strength of character, great wisdom and insight. His legacy of leadership is reflected in the lives of thousands and is shared by Dr. Jerry Davis as he and the College of the Ozarks continue in the business of changing lives.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a young lady who has brought praise and honor to the sport of basketball and to Southwest Missouri State University by becoming the nation's all-time leading scorer in women's NCAA Division I basketball Jackie Stiles has been among the leading scorers in women's college basketball for four years. Her 31 points per game average is the best in the nation this year. She was the leading women's scorer last year and ranked second in the nation in her sophomore year. She was also the country's top scoring freshman in her first year of collegiate competition. Stiles has scored 20 or more points in college games 86 times, 30- plus points 35 times, 40-plus points 10 times and in two games she broke the 50 point mark. She is one of only two players in NCAA woman's basketball history to break the 50 point mark twice. Stiles broke the 12 year old NCAA Division I career scoring mark of 3,103 points during a contest at Southwest Missouri State University when her Lady Bears squad beat Creighton University Thursday night. Needing only 20 points to eclipse the old mark set by Mississippi Valley State's Patricia Haskins, Stiles finished the Creighton game by netting 30 in laying claim to the title of ``Women's Collegiate Basketball Scoring Champ.'' The SMSU Lady Bears squad has one more conference game and perhaps as many as three tournament games left in their season that will allow Stiles to raise the new bar even higher. The accomplishments of Jackie Stiles have been noticed by fans, other players and coaches who typically have guarded her with two and sometimes three defenders. She is the first player in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference to earn back-to-back ``Player of the Year'' honors and the first sophomore to earn that title. She has made the first team All-Missouri Valley Conference in each of her first three years on the court at SMSU. Jackie Stiles grew up playing basketball in Claflin, Kansas where she was highly recruited by colleges and universities nationwide as a perimeter shooting guard. Today, her 58 percent field goal percentage ranks among the 20 best in the nation. Jackie Stiles is an All American both on the court and off. She is as good a student as an athlete. Majoring in physical education, Stiles has maintained a sparkling 3.45 grade point average into her senior year and has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar- Athlete first team every year in her career. Stiles has become an icon on the basketball court in Springfield, Missouri. She is a role model for younger women who would like to follow the good-student, good-athlete trail she is blazing. She is a key reason that while some women's basketball games around the country draw crowds numbered in the hundreds, the Lady Bears' games often draw larger crowds than the men at Southwest Missouri State University. Thursday night's game at Hammons Student Center at SMSU drew the second biggest crowd in school history with more than 9,100 fans there to witness history. Fans in Southwest Missouri believe Jackie Stiles stands a lot taller than her 5 foot, 8 inch frame. I'd like to wish Jackie Stiles and her teammates continued good shooting in their pursuit of a crown in the Missouri Valley Conference and in the women's NCAA tournament later this month.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reynolds) for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support this rule and, more importantly, to support what this rule stands for. This rule stands for moving ahead with tax relief for Americans who have overpaid their tax bill. We are going to pay down debt. We are going to pay down debt faster than any American family would reasonably assume this debt could have ever been paid off. We have a tax overcharge. This is a tax overcharge. When one sees the price of what government is going to be needing for the next 10 years, and one sees that we are sending in much more money than that, what needs to happen is that families need to get that money back. This is a debate about what the tax rate structure should look like. Should there be a 15 percent bracket that affects every American family that is affected by it now or should we reduce that bracket to 10 percent? Should one pay more than a third out of every dollar that they earn at the highest bracket? This is a question about how high that highest bracket should be, and we need to move forward with certainty. The economy has flattened out. Small businesses that now pay that 39 percent rate need to know that their rate is going to go to 33 percent. They can then reinvest money back into their businesses, into the economy. Families who know they are going to get a $1,400 annual amount of their own money back to spend can make a decision about investing in their family's future, buying that new car, buying the washer and dryer, putting money aside for community college. I urge a yes vote on this rule and on this tax package.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I am also glad to see the Congress using for the first time the Congressional Review Act. It has been very comfortable for a long time to not use this act. This act was not on the books until 1996, and to say that we cannot do anything about regulation no matter what the cost, no matter what the cost to competitiveness, no matter how ill-conceived it is, no matter how unbased it is on true science, we could not do anything, has been a great excuse for the Congress to use for decades now. Many Members on the floor today voted in 1996 to give the Congress the authority to use the Congressional Review Act. My good friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), just said that this could not be addressed again. When we look at the legislative history of the Congressional Review Act, it is clear that this issue can be addressed again. In fact, the Secretary of Labor said today and earlier this week as well that she intended to start immediately looking at a more common sense way to really address these problems. The legislative history states that the same regulation cannot be sent back essentially with one or two words changed. It talks about not being able to send back similar regulation. When we look carefully, it is clear that we can send back regulations in the same area; in this case, regulations that still allow American businesses to compete, that ensure that we maintain jobs rather than lose jobs; that ensure that this set of regulations can be brought back in a much different and better way.

Mr. BLUNT

Mr. BLUNT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about a totally different kind of situation at school than the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) mentioned. I rise to pay tribute to a young lady who has brought praise and honor on the sport of basketball and to Southwest Missouri State University by becoming the Nation's all-time leading scorer in women's NCAA Division I basketball. Jackie Stiles has been among the leading scorers in women's college basketball for 4 years. She scored 20 or more points in college games 86 times; 30-plus points 35 times; 40-plus points 10 times, and in 2 games she broke the 50-point mark. She is one of only two players in NCAA women's basketball history to break the 50-point mark twice. She broke the 12-year-old NCAA Division I scoring mark of 3,103 points in a game last week with Creighton University. Jackie Stiles grew up playing basketball in Claflin, Kansas, where she was highly recruited by colleges and universities nationwide. She has also been on the all-American academic team every year of her college career. She is a great role model for students and young athletes and young women. Madam Speaker, I wish her and her team well as they go on to finish this season and to add new points to that overall record.