Kevin Brady

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, common sense tells us the best way to balance the budget and pay down the debt is to get people back to work. Everyone knows when you are unemployed, you are not paying your Federal taxes, you are not paying any Social Security, you are not paying into Medicare, you are not helping States balance their budgets either. The best way to balance a budget and pay down our debt is to get people back to work. This jobs bill creates more than a million new jobs in America at a time we desperately need them. Every State is going to see new job creation. In our State, we will create, over the next 2 years, 42,000 new jobs each year. That is equivalent of building two new Pentagons in our State and filling it with new Texas workers every year. That is real jobs. Our belief in the President's jobs bill is if we help people afford the cost of raising children, if we stop penalizing people for being married so they have more money to go to the mall, more money to buy new tires, it is good for the economy. We believe if you help small businesses buy that new piece of equipment and hire that new worker, and say yes to that new sales force, it is good for the economy. We are convinced if we help people rebuild their retirement nest egg, to keep more of what they are saving for, that is good for the economy. We do not believe that spending more is the answer. We do not think it helps the economy to buy more $300 hammers, to spend millions of dollars helping more salmon swim upstream, and we do not believe that you need to create the hundredth new program to duplicate the 99 that are already in existence. We believe creating jobs, getting people back to work is going to balance this budget, pay down this deficit and get this economy going. America creates jobs; Washington gets in the way of it.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight, like many others, proud of our colleague and chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Larry Combest. They say that you make a living by what you get but you make a life by what you give, and by that measure Larry Combest has enjoyed a very rich life. He has given back so much to his community, to our State of Texas, and, of course, to the Nation he loves so much. At times like this it is tempting, I think, to focus on his achievements because there are so many ways, so many ways he has made a difference for the better in this country. But I think you need to be most impressed by Larry Combest's attributes, his qualities as a man. He has so much integrity, remarkable amount of integrity. He is so thoughtful about the issues. He does his homework so much. He is like the rural community he represents, incredibly hard working. His advice truly is honest. And he not only has principles and values, he lives his principles and he lives his values each day. He is a wonderful role model for younger Members of Congress, for his colleagues, his peers, for all who have worked with him. He is just a remarkable man. And as much as we are going to miss him, the fact is we are overjoyed that he and Sharon will be sharing their time together. They have given so much back to America. We are anxious to give them time together. God bless.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, common sense tells you the best thing we can do to balance the budget and pay down our debt is to get people back to work, because when you are not working, you are not paying Federal taxes, you are not paying into Social Security, you are not helping States balance their budget. In my home State of Texas, the President's job bill will create 42,000 new jobs each year. That is the equivalent of taking the Pentagon, the world's largest office building, building it in Texas and filling it each and every year with new Texas workers. This is real jobs at a time when we need it the most. And with so many new jobs waiting to occur, we ought not wait another day to get this to the President's desk.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I regret that I missed rollcall votes 127, 128, and 129 earlier today. I was in a meeting with the five Central American presidents in town today to discuss the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on all three bills: the Conference Report on S. 151, the PROTECT Act; H. Con. Res. 141, expressing the sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 should be fundamentally reformed to be fairer, simpler, and less costly and to encourage economic growth, individual liberty, and investment in American jobs; and H. Res. 165, expressing support for a renewed effort to find a peaceful, just, and lasting settlement to the Cyprus problem.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, there is a great deal of misinformation being spoken today. This has nothing to do with our soldiers overseas, because they do not have a loophole; or our firefighters or police officers, because they do not have a loophole. This does have a lot to do with the widows in America who do not have a loophole and are losing $450 million of their Social Security because one group has a loophole that no one else in America has. Let us look at the average family in Texas because we have heard a lot of these examples. This is where the husband has made $1,000 a year as his retirement and the wife's retirement is $700. When he passes away, what happens? For almost everyone in America where both people work in Social Security, that benefit is $1,000. For other families that work and have a government pension, like our firefighters and policeman, or Federal workers, for example, who paid into their own private plan, they keep more, $1,233. They get more than most families in America. But look at our Texas teacher. Because we have a loophole where they can go to work 1 day in Social Security and contribute $3 and collect over $100,000 more, they pull down $1,700 a month for widow's benefits that no one else in America can achieve. Not other teachers in other States, not the elderly in other States, no one in America. And because of this, this is draining not just $450 million now, but if we keep this loophole open, we will do more and more damage to everyone else in America who pays into Social Security. Let me make a final point about this. Everyone's Social Security is offset. Members have what is called a dual-entitlement offset. That is 100 percent. Government workers is less, only 66 percent, two-thirds. Texas teachers, no offset whatsoever, so they receive many more benefits than the next-door neighbor who works hard, than Texas nurses, store clerks, the woman who takes care of our elderly in nursing homes, they do not have a loophole. We are not going to have an America where there are two classes of citizens, those who have loopholes in Social Security and those who do not. This is about protecting the integrity of our Social Security system for every generation. If we do not close this loophole, we have lost all claim to protecting Social Security for the future.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. Let me address my remarks toward the teacher loophole portion of this, because this is what we are discussing the most. I admire teachers. They are hardworking and incredibly dedicated, as we all know. They are my friends, my sister-in-law, and my next-door neighbor, literally. But keeping open the Texas teacher loophole is terribly unfair. The loophole practice was first reported to the fraud hotline of Social Security a few years ago. A subsequent investigation by the General Accounting Office followed and, upon their finding that millions of dollars were being siphoned from Social Security, the recommendation was made to Congress to close it. The Senate voted 99 to 0 to close it. But that is why we are here today in the House, to preserve the integrity of Social Security. This is how the loophole works in Texas, in my State. Teachers in the State retirement system do not pay into Social Security. They have opted out. They pay instead into a substitute retirement plan, the teacher retirement system of Texas. As they near retirement, a Texas teacher resigns from her school district. She pays then another school district that is in Social Security; she pays them between $200 and $500 to work for them 1 day, in the cafeteria, doing maintenance, or as a clerical aid. Typically, for that 1 day of work, the teacher contributes $3 into Social Security and thanks to the loophole, collects nearly $100,000 in Social Security benefits over her retirement. That is $3 into Social Security, $100,000 taken from Social Security. This is terribly unfair. It is unfair to all of the teachers in other States who have no loophole. It is unfair to all the working families in Texas, in America, who have no loophole, including our soldiers overseas; and it is certainly unfair to our elderly who, even if we close the loophole today, will see $450 million drained from their Social Security Trust Fund. On the Web site for the Texas Federation of Teachers, their President, John Cole, describes the loophole as a trick and proudly proclaims the gimmick is perfectly legal. The gimmick is perfectly legal. Well, the gimmick may be legal, but is it right? Virtually no other worker in Texas or America can take a job in a school cafeteria for a day, contribute $3 into Social Security, and walk away with nearly $100,000 more than their next-door neighbor. How do we justify this? We would not allow someone to spend 1 day as a substitute teacher and take home $100,000 in teacher retirement, so why would we allow a teacher to work 1 day in Social Security and take home $100,000 they did not earn? Alarmingly, this 25-year-old obscure loophole just recently discovered is now being institutionalized. In Texas, in my home State, teachers groups regularly hold retirement seminars to instruct their members on how to take advantage of the loophole. Some school districts make as much as $280,000 a year. That is a quarter of a million dollars a year, charging fees to teachers to work for them for just a day. During the General Accounting Office investigation, they even discovered one Texas university has gone so far as to regularly schedule 5 days per year where university professors can work their last day as a janitor under Social Security, contribute $3, and receive an extra $100,000. That is $100,000 that university professors in other States cannot earn, because they do not have a loophole. And it is $100,000 the janitor they worked alongside of cannot earn either, because they do not have a loophole. We are not going to create two classes of citizens in America, those who have loopholes and those who do not. Congress has a clear choice. We can keep open this lucrative loophole for a few that is draining $450 million from everyone else's Social Security, or we can stand up for our seniors, stand up for our elderly, stand up for the 99 percent of America's workers who are playing by the fair rules. If we insist on keeping this loophole open, Congress, I think, has forfeited any future credibility to claiming to protect Social Security for our seniors. We will rightly be labeled hypocrites. What can we do to help our teachers, but still be fair to America? The question has been raised today, and it is a fair one. I am convinced the answer lies in repeal or at least modification of the windfall elimination provision, which docks workers who have earned both the Social Security retirement and the government pension. I think the principle we should be applying is this: if you have earned two pensions, you should receive two pensions. I have asked the chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), to hold hearings on the windfall provision; and he has agreed. I appreciate his willingness to promptly study the impact and fairness of the windfall provision as it relates to today's retirees. I think we will find when we do study it, and I am in total agreement with our teachers on this, that the windfall makes it much more difficult to recruit into teaching the professionals who have had other careers. I think it penalizes educators who held a second job in order to make ends meet. Teachers tell me this would go a long way towards helping them. And best of all, it is not a gimmick. It is fair for them, and it is fair to the rest of America. I urge the House to pass H.R. 743 without amendment. We must not allow our precious Social Security to be drained away; and most importantly, we cannot create two classes of citizens in America, those who have loopholes and those who do not.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, others may not like the facts either. My younger brother has been deployed as an Army medic in the 67th Brigade. He will be watching out for the 4th Infantry Division in the Persian Gulf, his second tour of duty. He does not have a loophole. He cannot work 1 day and collect $100,000. Yes, he has an offset like the rest of America has an offset. When we hear this said no one else has an offset, it is absolutely untrue. What we are trying to defend here is some of America that has a loophole and all the rest of us, firefighters, widows, the elderly have no loophole. We are protecting the security of Social Security.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Chairman, we are at war, and I think most taxpayers understand you spend what it takes to win a war. We are in a recession as well, and taxpayers understand you spend what it takes to keep people in their jobs and to create new jobs for those who have lost them. But what taxpayers do not understand and will not accept is when we use it either to go on a spending spree that keeps us from balancing the budget, or keeps us from paying down our debt, or keeps us sending pork home to America and taking it out of their tax dollars. This budget supports a strong national defense, promotes new jobs in a stronger economy, but it holds the line on spending. It says, let us tighten our belts in Washington; let us start to balance the budgets sooner than other budgets, and let us get people back to work. This budget also includes a Federal sunset act, an encouragement for Congress to pass a bill to balance obsolete agencies, to eliminate duplication among our agencies, and to begin asking agencies to put up or shut up; to produce, to succeed, to support our taxpayers. What we are trying to do is conserve our dollars, identify wasteful spending within our agencies and within our programs so that we have enough dollars for a secure America, for health care, for education, and to send dollars back home. Mr. Chairman, I support this budget. It makes a lot of sense, and perhaps because it makes sense is why it is getting so much resistance here in Washington.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. I appreciate your leadership, and I think you have really concluded on the right note at the right time. We are facing history in a war that is so unique. It is unlike any other. I think what some people do not understand is that the international community has ranked those nations around the world who are the champions of state-sponsored terrorism, and have for many years. Of those countries, Iraq has topped that list for many, many years. Their ability and willingness to allow training of terrorists to occur, to allow financing of terrorists to occur, to allow safe haven and transit and medical treatment to those terrorists around the world all place them in a unique situation. I will tell you that this past weekend we remembered the victims of Saddam Hussein's terrible chemical weapons attack on the people of Halabja, a city in northern Iraq, and other village attacks in the Al- Anfal campaign. On March 6, 1988, 15 years ago, the Iraqi Air Force dropped a devastating mix of mustard and nerve gas on citizens in this city. Five thousand of Hussein's own people were killed immediately at his hand, several thousand died later, and an estimated 10,000 people were maimed and still are suffering the effects of this attack. If you wonder if this gentleman is capable of launching an attack, if not today, in the future as he grows stronger, all we need to do is look at his attack on his own people. With this, I will conclude. I understand that the President's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, has just announced the disarmament of Iraq has begun. The President will address the Nation at 10:15. I believe we are at this moment in time reflecting on, in the words on the wall of the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, ``Let every generation understand the blessings and burdens of freedom. Let them say we stood where duty required us to stand.'' Tonight, under the President's leadership, yet again we will stand where duty requires us to stand.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the leadership of the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis) on this issue and many other issues. He is a colleague of mine on the House Committee on Ways and Means. He plays a crucial role on a number of issues from tax reform to preserving Social Security and Medicare to trying and open up new markets around the world. But it is his, I think, vision on national security and this war on terrorism that prompted me to be here tonight. I appreciate him allowing me to be part of this program on an evening that I think history will mark as a very important next step in the war on terrorism. Recently, I had the privilege of attending two rallies for America back in Texas, in my home region. The first one a couple of weeks ago was coordinated by KPRC radio in Houston. Two of the on-air commentators, Chris Baker and Pat Gray, put together a rally just on a week's notice, a mere week's notice, just basically invited the community to come together and support our troops and support this country. It was a remarkable rally. It was a cold and dreary day, not one that attracts a lot of people naturally; but yet in this plaza in downtown Houston there were between 8 and 10,000 Americans there to show their support for this President and support our troops or military men and women. And then last weekend in Woodland, Texas, where I live, not three blocks from where Cathy and I live with our two young boys, we had a rally for America as well. This one was organized by Dr. K.P. Reddy, who is an immigrant from India, a legal immigrant who came here with very little money in his pocket but a desire to live the American dream. He organized this rally basically to remind America what a remarkable Nation we live in and what remarkable freedoms and blessings we possess. And both of these rallies were to me remarkable because they were just a grass roots outpouring of people who understand the importance of our security to our families and to our Nation. I had a chance to talk to the groups at both of these rallies and here are the thoughts I shared with them: back home 1,200 miles from here in Washington, D.C., back home in College Station, Texas, is the George Bush Presidential Library Museum. Captured in these magnificent engraved letters high on the granite walls on the museum where each afternoon if you drive past, the beautiful Brazos Valley sun captures these words, and I think they are very appropriate to our time in our Nation. And the words say, ``Let every generation understand the blessings and burdens of freedom. Let them say we stood where duty required us to stand.'' As we stand today on the eve of liberating Iraq and striking another blow against international terrorism, thousands of our young men and women stand watch on foreign soil. Our soldiers are on patrol in Bosnia-Hersgovenia, Kosovo and Macedonia. They are hunting al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan and the Philippines. They are on patrols in the skies of Iraq and on the seas throughout the world. They are unloading the equipment near Turkey and training in the deserts of Kuwait. These patriots and their families are suffering hardships and making great sacrifices at this Nation's behest. There is a good chance in the next few hours that we will ask even more of them. Another generation of Americans is standing where duty requires them to stand, and we are standing with them. For all our faults, America remains a good, good country. We did not deserve the attacks of September 11, nor the celebrations that followed in some parts of the world. And as happens in times of crisis, 9/11 brought out the best in America. We sensed a Nation turning back toward what is truly important, our faith, our families and our precious freedom. We saw it in the thousand flags flying, in overflowing hearts and in overflowing churches. You may recall in his September 20 speech to the Nation, to the joint session of Congress, President Bush spoke for all of us then when he vowed that America would not rest until we had rooted out terrorism around the world. He said that countries harboring terrorists would be treated as terrorist nations themselves; that if you financed terrorists, if you trained terrorists, if you provided them safe harbor in your country, that you would be treated as a terrorist nation yourself. He cautioned wisely that the coming war would be a long one, to be measured in years rather than months. As we have been reminded repeatedly by the recent al Qaeda attacks in Bali and Kenya, by the audiotape of bin Laden and his second in command predicting more terrorist attacks in America, as we have been reminded in the announcement that American intelligence have quietly thwarted more than 100 separate terrorist efforts, the question is not if America will be attacked again at home, but when and by whom. Instead of crashing airplanes into our downtown buildings, the terrorists of the future may well turn to dangerous chemical and biological weapons, suicide bombers, attempts to poison our air and water, disrupt our energy supply, our electronic commerce, and destroy our economy and the jobs that we and our neighbors rely upon. They will direct these weapons of terrible destruction toward America, because standing as the world's lone superpower also means standing as the world's biggest target. Despite what Hollywood and others are trying so desperately to sell to you, our homeland, our communities, our schools, our neighborhoods and millions of American lives remain at risk as we speak tonight. We are going to fight this war on terrorism one way or another, either overseas at its source or here at home when it lands right on top of our neighborhoods. We choose overseas, at terrorism's source. Personally I can tell you that casting a vote for war is the most difficult vote you ever cast. I have a younger brother Matt, who is a medic in the Army. He was deployed to Desert Storm a decade ago. Since then, he and his wife have added two young children to their family, Mattie and Caitland. He recently got word he is headed back to Turkey. Any time you cast a vote that will send your family to war, any time you cast a vote to send anyone's family, anyone's son or daughter, to a war they may not return from, you think hard and you pray hard over it. Yet I know it was the right vote to cast, and Matt feels even more strongly than me. I am certain because the first responsibility of our government is to defend American citizens. It is not the United Nations' responsibility, it is not France's nor Germany's. It is ours. The Afghanistan campaign was certainly the first step in the war on terrorism, but does anyone believe all terrorism begins and ends in Afghanistan? Does anyone believe there is only one terrorist, Osama bin Laden? Does anyone seriously believe Saddam Hussein has disarmed? Of course not. By any measure, Saddam Hussein presents a grave threat to the safety, the security and the well-being of Americans here at home. Disarming Iraq and its support for state-sponsored terrorism is the next logical step to secure peace for our families and the world. I served as a member of the House International Relations Committee for a number of years. Serving on that committee, it became clear to me that terrorism expands according to our willingness to tolerate it. Terrorism expands according to our willingness to accept it. For too long the world has turned a blind eye to terrorism. We have been afraid to confront it. Terrorism has grown strong because the actions of our world leaders never really matched their tough words. That is over now. That all changed September 11. That all changed with President Bush as our Commander in Chief, and that all changed with a Nation that supports him. For the sake of our community and our security, we have to mean what we say. And for the sake of our children's future, we must follow through on our vow to end terrorism. We know from experience that America's security at home depends upon our strength in the world. The value of our military to deter attacks and maintain peace depends in great measure on the value of our word. If the United Nations fails, and unfortunately they have as of tonight, although President Bush has bent over backwards to reach a diplomatic solution, the bottom line is you cannot give someone a backbone. They have to have one themselves. I think the exercise with the United Nations in which we tried so hard proves what global security experts have long suspected. Many nations in the world want terrorism to end, but few want the responsibility of actually doing it. If Saddam Hussein chooses to continue to arm himself and harbor terrorists, then America must act. Words alone are not enough. And when we send U.S. troops overseas, it must be to win and to return home as planned. President George Washington said, there is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet an enemy. We know the enemy. We know the difficulty. We know the duty, and we know the strength of America's military men and women, and we will not undermine them here at home. Despite what some believe, as Americans our rush is not for war, it is for peace, a secure peace, so that back in Texas where I live and in communities across America, when our families leave home each morning, they return home safely to us that night. That is not too much to ask. As the United States has shown in every world war, we are fighting not just for our Nation, but for a world free of fear, free from the horrors that fill our television screens too often, free from the threat of weapons of mass destruction which grow and grow each day, free from all that terrorism spawns. If you think war is expensive, try living in terror. How much would we pay, how much would we give to have prevented the attacks of 9/11? To those who protest the war, I respectfully ask, was September 11 not enough? Was not September 11 enough to convince you this is not a game? This is not politics as usual. This is not Vietnam. This is like no other war. This is the prospect of a holocaust on our shores, on America's shores, among our communities, killing our families, injuring our neighbors, destroying our way of life for generations to come. And all the made-for-media protests, all the petitions and the slick TV ads in the world will not stop the next terrorists from attacking innocent Americans here on our shores again. By standing tall, by standing firm, I believe President Bush has demonstrated what we all know in our hearts. Leadership is never easy, nor is it always popular, which is why we are so grateful for the nations and the leaders who stand with us, more than 30 of them, the third largest coalition in a century, people who are willing to say to international terrorism, enough. Enough. I am convinced, looking back, if more had stood with us, if France and Germany had put world security ahead of their shortsighted political ambitions, that we may well have disarmed Iraq and exiled Saddam Hussein without a shot being fired. Sadly, we will never know. In some ways, I do not really worry about those in the free world who question the war. I worry about those in the world of terrorism who question the resolve of the American people. As you may recall, within days after the attacks of September 11, many around the world predicted that America would not have the heart nor the attention span nor the fortitude to mean what we say. They will soon learn they are wrong. No one knows better than Americans that if a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom. The irony of it is that if it is comfort or it is money that it values more, it will lose that, too. I have great faith in the American people. We will stand with President Bush. We will stand with our American military. We will stand where duty requires us to stand. On the issue of defending America and disarming Saddam Hussein, people often ask, why Iraq and why now? To that, let me yield back to my colleague from Colorado, who speaks so eloquently about the need to defend our America and to secure peace throughout the world.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, clearing up a couple of misconceptions there, I would love to be able to tell my Texas teachers, whom I love, what they want to hear. But I respect them too much to do that. I want to tell them the truth. The fact of the matter is, this was not snuck in. This was passed in the Senate last session. And this Republican House, with Texas lawmakers from both sides said, let us discuss this in open debate and make sure it is the right way, which is exactly what we are doing. Both parties have had a chance to work on this issue since 1983. We have not come up with a solution yet. We are working to do that. Finally, I want our Texas teachers to be treated fairly. I want our Texas waitresses and nurses and other moms to be treated fairly, too.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we are right to be concerned about our teachers. They are overworked. They are underpaid. We are concerned about them. I think had it not been for study over the last year or so, I would be giving the exact same speech today as my Democratic colleagues from Texas because we are all concerned. It turns out this is not exactly the case I thought it was. Recently we held a hearing on this legislation. We wanted to hear from our Texas teachers, so we requested the chairman invite our Texas State Teachers Association, our Texas Federation of Teachers and the Association of Texas Professional Educators to testify. Unfortunately, they were not able to because of various reasons, the snow being one of them, but we submitted their testimony on their behalf and urged members of the subcommittee to study it. During the hearing, it was shown that teachers in government pensions are not being singled out. They are not. The government pension offset affects more than just teachers. It affects more than 5 million people in all sorts of State, local and Federal Government pensions who do not pay into Social Security. This is important to know because a lot of my teachers feel like they are being targeted, being singled out. My main concern during the hearing that I expressed that my teachers are so upset about, that a widower who has worked a lifetime to earn their government pension, like a Texas teacher, will keep less of their deceased spouse's Social Security than a widower who has worked and paid into Social Security. The Social Security Administration conclusively proved this is not the case. It turns out it is just the opposite. Teachers in TRS are able to keep the same, or more, of their spouse's Social Security benefits than other widowers who have worked, like nurses or waitresses. That is because the government pension offset law reduces their husband's or their deceased spouse's Social Security by two-thirds of their pension. But for other widowers, for waitresses, nurses and others who paid into Social Security, their husband's benefits are reduced even more, 100 percent of their own benefit. What I think confuses teachers and many is that if someone has not worked, they have worked inside the home all their life, have not earned Social Security, they keep all of their husband's or their deceased spouses's benefits because they depend upon it more. Social Security is extremely complicated. There is a great deal of misinformation going around the Internet and by well-meaning individuals and organizations these days. What frustrates me most is that teachers were not told about this situation years ago. They feel they have paid into Social Security for years and they do not get the help when they need it the most. It would have been so much better if this would have been reformed years ago, where you put aside your own contribution to Social Security into a traditional retirement account, where that money grew for you over the years, you could take it with you, it was yours to own and you would not be surprised by some government formula done 20 years ago. That is where we need to head. How we can help teachers today and others I think is to focus on the windfall elimination provision. It sounds complicated, but the principle is, for me, if you have worked hard and paid into Social Security and you have worked hard and paid into a government pension, you should receive more of both. I am thinking here of teachers who have contributed their hard-earned pay into Social Security through a second job, teachers who have contributed to Social Security in another State before moving to Texas or Georgia, thinking of future teachers who already have a career, we would like to get them into the classroom to help but they are afraid of losing their retirement benefits. I believe the best and the most timely solution to help these people, these teachers, and others who have earned two pensions, is to modernize the windfall elimination provision to make it more fair. I have asked our subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw), to hold hearings on the windfall elimination provision. This is where I think we can take a formula that is outdated, I think a bit arbitrary, and focus on the principles if you have paid into Social Security and you have paid into your government pension, that you keep more of the Social Security that you have paid into.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2003 which we are debating right now. The goal of the legislation is to make U.S. manufacturers, our American companies, more competitive, and strengthen the jobs of the workers that they employ. We do this by reducing or eliminating some of the import duties on materials and products used in production of goods and services here in America. I am especially pleased that the bill contains legislation that I have authored in the past to change duty drawback and other trade laws in order to make the way they work less complicated and much easier to administer, both by the businesses here in the country and by our U.S. Customs Service. The goal of that and I think the result of that is that we will ease some of the regulatory burdens and some of the paperwork burdens imposed currently on U.S. companies. The way duty drawback works is that if you are an American company and you bring a product in from overseas in order to manufacture and then sell it back outside the country, if you bring it into the country, we charge you a duty, say, of $10 on this widget. When you manufacture it yourself, a similar product, or put it into yours and sell it back outside the country, you get a refund on that duty, so that you are competitive and your products do not cost too much more, or you are at least competitive with foreign companies when you are selling product outside this Nation. Drawback levels the playing fields, allows U.S. companies to remain competitive, strengthens jobs and overall helps us compete in a world where competition is very fierce. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I regret that I missed roll call votes 18 and 19 on February 5, 2003. 1 was on my way to attend the funeral for a family member who passed away earlier in the week. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on the Motion to Recommit H.J. Res. 18 and voted ``yes'' on H. Res. 51, expressing the House of Representatives condolences to the families and crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. David Romei, a veteran and Executive Director of the Arts Council of Brazos Valley. Over the past two years Dr. Romei led the Brazos Valley community in the creation of a Veteran's Memorial dedicated to the preservation of the memory of all Brazos Valley Veterans and as a reminder of their sacrifice to future generations. This week I was privileged to share a speaker's platform with Dr. Romei at the dedication of this memorial and was so moved by his words that I felt compelled to relay them to you. Dr. P. David Romei's Brazos Valley Veterans Memorial Dedication Ceremony Speech, November 11, 2002 Today, today upon this sacred site, blessed by all the powers of our eternal and infinite Creator, we celebrate the lives and mourn the deaths of America's heroes. We see in this bronze representation not only realistic truth and imaginative power united that enwraps our hearts in pangs of longing and suffering, but also an emotional grandeur that gives new birth to our core foundation of strength and courage. We see a soldier carrying his dying comrade from a field of violent horror. We feel the warm and weakening breath of a dying soldier upon the neck of his friend, the last friend he will ever have, but for a greater friend no one could ask. We imagine his eyes closing as his falling helmet fades, fades away into the distant horizon of the unknown. And, then, then his heart reaches out to his loved ones, slowly, painfully, reluctantly, and says goodbye. Parting from those whom he loves to join the ranks of America's eternal warriors, those men and women who have died with the words DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY upon their lips; untainted by the cynicism of time. The gallant soldier may be felled by the enemy, but the cause for which he fights shall never succumb. The American soldier's soul is a fragrant garden, and his colors never melt into the light of the moon. The freedom for which he fights stands in glory before the mightly rays of the midday sun and, and we call it America. We who survive have the ultimate responsibility. It is we who must make immortal the memory of those who have sacrificed all that they were, all that they are, and all that they were promised to be. It is we who must allow no one to ever say that the sun has set, that darkness possesses the day, and time passes, time passes and these men of valor must lie alone. To honor America's warriors is not a celebration of military triumphs that some people falsely associate with America's great victories. We are remembering. We are expressing our gratitude; the gratitude of a grateful nation to those who have served, suffered and died. But, even more importantly, we are saying to every man and woman who has served this nation that time does not pass on, life does not go on, nothing is the same because of you. Your deeds and sacrifices have altered our destiny and our lives are forever entwined with your life and, indeed with your death. The goal of history is not to separate out events of different dimensions at a particular point in time, but to show their continuous interaction in an evolving story. There are those who see history as something we paint on a canvas, while others see history as something we record in a book and store upon an old dusty shelf. History is neither; it is as alive and as deep as the currents of the vast oceans. As civilization evolves so does history, and as people evolve so do nations. Today we speak of the history of individuals, not nations. We speak of a fellow soldier, a friend, a brother wounded who stretches out his hand for help, a bloodied hand that we cannot reach, for duty demands we fight on, we cannot pull him from death here, but in heaven we shall embrace him in eternal life. It is the memories of those who live, the memory of holding our dying buddy in our arms, of embracing his tired and broken body, of closing his eyes as the last tears streak his tender cheeks, because, because it is our duty. Our goal today is not to separate America's warriors from Americans and hold them up as more important than others. Every soldier knows that without a supporting nation, without a loving family and without an ethical code of conduct his actions and his mission are worthless. Our sacred purpose is to demonstrate that it is only the soldier who is called upon to give his life to ensure freedom. We soldiers are the guardians of America's promise to the world. We show here today that the will that permits one to lay down his life for family and country separates those with pure souls fueled by courage from those who have yet been given such an opportunity and privilege. Those of us who have put on the military uniform of our country have done so with the expectation of receiving no reward. We have been privileged to serve in the defense of freedom and liberty. There is no sense of entitlement; there is only a sense that we have been honored that you, those whom we serve with honor and love, the love of our entire hearts, have entrusted us with your lives. It is your trust that illuminates the soul of every American fighting man and woman with pride. It is your trust that sees us through the long, dark, cold and lonely nights as we stand watch. It is your love and trust that gives us the courage to leave our beloved parents, to say goodbye to our tender-hearted wives, and to ask God in silent prayer to watch over our children while we are away. Today we recall the countless graves of brave Americans from the smallest islands in the great Pacific to the unforgiving shores of Normandy. We also remember those who froze to death at Valley Forge and who fought upon the burning sands of the Persian Gulf. From our nation's birth until this very moment, we have endured every cost and paid every price to protect, to defend and to serve our beloved nation. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have given their lives in far away lands for us. Many are now interred in the earth of those distant lands, but their memories, their memories, we shall never yield, for those memories are our most valued treasure. Wherever an American soldier is buried, there also is a part of America. It is in the memory of our heroes, friends and loved ones that we gather today. The Brazos Valley Veterans memorial is a sacred tribute that commemorates for time immemorial the sacrifice made by America's heroes. It honors those men and women who will never return to bless us with their smiles, to hold their children in their arms, and to share with their wives and husbands joys and sorrows that we take for granted. Indeed, even if some forget their names, no one must ever be allowed to forget their sacrifice. By the labor of our hands and hearts we have ensured that the generations that follow, even for a thousand years, will recall with pride our veterans' unselfish love for this light unto the world that we call America. Some say our fallen heroes hear the grass growing over their graves and the leaves of autumn rustling above in the stilled heavens, finally bringing the loud guns of war to silence, but those of us living will never know peace until we pay in full the debt we owe them. This is the debt we honor today. Do not look at the place where life has left an American warrior, do not say how the smoke of dreams has risen. This is the way one moment deserts another, and this is the way that the all-powerful sun suddenly deserts the world. Do not say this, for we shall always remember and our sun shall never desert our world. It is our faith that keeps America's flame of freedom alight. Let me challenge each of you today. Look upon this work of art, an expression of Robert Eccleston's genius. Prepare your hearts, open your minds and allow the better nature of your souls to rise to a new level, a new level of historical purpose. Try to wrap yourselves in these soldiers' experience. Whose heart does not explode like a million stars when looking upon this beautiful symbol of our love and respect for America's fighting men and women? Witness the bullet hole in the soldier's helmet and shudder, share the suffering of the wounded soldier and bleed, and behold the valor of the soldier who never leaves his friend behind--then, pray to God that you would do the same. Dare if you will to touch the name of a veteran, any veteran whose name is engraved in this Texas granite, and know that you are united with an American hero. Never forget that when the bow of God's wrath is bent, America's fighting men and women are the arrow that finds heartless evil and draws from it all life. We are the instrument of God's justice, and we are the men and women who preserve civilization itself. Now, as we dedicate this holy monument and leave it to the generations that follow us, be assured that we have done our duty. Let it never be said that we have forgotten those who have given the ultimate for our freedom. Let it be said that we have preserved their memories upon sacred ground. We shall forever toll the bells in their honor. We raise our flags in their memory. We believe they have life eternal. May flowers always bloom under the shade of these trees. Let the sun break forth from tomorrow's sky and send its golden rays upon all the rays of our lives and the lives of generations upon generations that follow in the noble American dream. Let us ask God from the depths of our most prayerful souls to welcome our heroes and to hold them in His loving arms. Let it never be said that we forgot those who have given their all for our freedom--those whose courage and sacrifice define this land we call America. To this we put our names. To this we pledge our honor. This is the sacred bond that makes us Americans. God Bless America.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. 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 the bill just passed.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Ways and Means be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 5596) to amend section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate notification and return requirements for State and local party committees and candidate committees and avoid duplicate reporting by certain State and local political committees of information required to be reported and made publicly available under State law, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us is a necessary and timely piece of legislation introduced with the leadership from my colleague from Texas (Mr. Doggett), my other colleagues, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter), the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy), the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) to correct some of the duplicate reporting requirements that many State and local candidate committees and State and local political action committees face under the current section 527 disclosure requirements. In short, as my colleague has stated, this legislation eliminates most of the duplicative reporting burdens that State and local candidate committees now face. That allows us to focus on the true intent of the legislation, those stealth Federal PACS, and for those organizations that monitor campaign activity, the bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to help upgrade their Web site to improve the searchability of the public data provided to the IRS. This legislation was negotiated on a bipartisan, bicameral basis. It has support from groups such as Common Cause and Public Citizen, Campaign Finance Institute, the National Council of State Legislatures, the American Society of Association Executives, as well as our Senate leaders, the Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Lieberman, the Senator from Texas, Mrs. Hutchison. It addresses most of the concerns the parties have. Is it a perfect bill? No. There are areas I personally would like to see changed but I think it is an excellent compromise. It is a solid, solid improvement over the current law for everyone, and I think the broad range of support demonstrates it is a fair bill. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Texas (Mr. Doggett) for his passion and dedication and leadership on campaign finance issues. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5596. I introduced this legislation with my colleagues Lloyd Doggett, David Vitter, Earl Pomeroy, Chris Shays, and Marty Meehan to correct some of the duplicate reporting requirements that many state/local candidate committees and state/local PACs face under the current Section 527 disclosure requirements. This legislation was negotiated on a bipartisan, bicameral basis and I believe is a good compromise at addressing most of the concerns had by all the parties interested in this issue. Is it a perfect bill, no. But, it will improve the current law for everyone and I think the broad range of support demonstrates it is a fair bill and a win-win for everyone. In short, this legislation the bill eliminates most of the duplicative reporting burdens state and local campaign committees now face. And for those organizations that monitor campaign activity, the bill requires the IRS to upgrade their website to improve the searchability of the public data provided to the IRS. Under current law, within 24 hours of establishment, virtually all 527s must file a short form (Form 8871) notifying the IRS of their existence and providing information about who they are, the top people who work for them, where the organization is located and how it can be contacted. This bill removes state/local candidates and state/local party committees from filing this form. Federal candidates and committees already reported to FEC never had file Form 8871. So now, the only filers of Form 8871 will be state/local PACs and non-FEC filing groups active in federal elections. The bill will now also require these groups to update form if they move or if some material change occurs, etc. Additionally, 527 organizations must file reports (Form 8872) identifying contributors who give them more than $200 and expenditures of over $500. H.R. 5596 exempts ``qualified'' state/local groups that engage in only state or local activity and that are subject to a state reporting regime. It also places restrictions on federal candidates or office holders from materially participating in a 527 group that receives an exemption. Regarding Form 8872, the bill requires a 527 group to add the date and purpose of expenditures and the date of contributions as required information on the Form 8872. And, 527 groups with contributions over $50,000 will be required to file electronically. The 2000 law added Section 527 organizations to the list of tax- exempt organizations that have to file annual, public information returns to the IRS--so-called 990 forms. 990s contain aggregate information about the filing organization's income and expenditures, among other things. The law also directed most 527s to file Form 1120 tax returns, even if they did not have taxable income. The bill removes the filing requirement for organizations with gross receipts of $25,000 or more. With respect to Form 990, H.R. 5696 exempts all PACS that report to FEC from filing Form 990. It exempts all state/local candidate and party committees, as well as qualified state/local PACS, except those with over $100,000 in annual receipts from filing Form 990. But to make all this information more user friendly, the bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to upgrade their website to improve the searchability of data. H.R. 5596--Legislation to Reform Section 527 Political Organization Disclosure Purpose: To amend section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate notification and return requirements for State and local party committees and candidate committees and avoid duplicate reporting by certain State and local political committees of information required to be reported and made publicly available under State law, and for other purposes, the bill makes the following changes to current law: Initial Registration (Form 8871) The bill removes state/local candidates and state/local party committees from filing. Federal candidates and committees already reported to FEC never had file Form 8871. The only filers will be state/local PACs and non-FEC filing groups active in federal elections. The bill will now require these groups to update form if they move or if some material change occurs, etc. Periodic Reporting (Form 8872) The bill exempts ``qualified'' state/local groups that engage in only state or local activity and that are subject to a state reporting regime. The bill places restrictions on federal candidates or office holders from materially participating in a 527 group that receives an exemption. The bill requires a 527 group to add the date and purpose of expenditures and the date of contributions as required information on the Form 8872. The bill requires 527 groups with contributions over $25,000 to file Form 8872. Those with contributions over $50,000 are required to file electronically. Annual Income Tax Filling (Form 1120-POL) The bill removes the filing requirement for organizations with gross receipts of $25,000 or more. Information Reporting (Form 990) The bill exempts all PACs that report to FEC from filing Form 990 The bill exempts all state/local candidate and party committees from filing Form 990 The bill exempts qualified state/local PACs, except those with over $100,000 in annual receipts from filing Form 990. The bill requires the IRS to modify Form 990 to make it more useful. Other New Provisions The bill requires the Internal Revenue Service to upgrade their website to improve the searchability of data.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute Ann McKennis who later this month will be retiring from nursing after more than 41 years of service. Ann is not only a constituent, but someone I am proud to call my friend. During her distinguished career in the nursing profession, Ann McKennis has worked tirelessly to assist her patients and community with a selfless commitment to professionalism, excellence, and compassion. She has also made it here goal to advance nursing care for the both the caregiver and patient, alike. Most importantly, what makes Ann a great nurse and special person is that she believes that the role of a nurse is not only devoting hours on the job to the care of patients, but a lifetime role through which she can work to improve the lives of all of those she comes into contact. Since moving to Texas in 1985, Ann has served as a surgical staff nurse in the Otolaryngology Operating Room of The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. During this time Ann McKennis has not only excelled within the medical environment--demonstrating an unwavering commitment to her patients and coworkers--but also has worked to advance the nursing profession and improve the level of nursing care throughout our state, nation and around the world. She was recently elected to the Nominating Committee of the National Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head Neck Nurses (SOHN) and currently serves as the Chairman of its Government Relations Committee. Additionally, Ann is a member of the American Nurses Association, as well as of the Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Interest Group at the Royal College of Nursing in Great Britain, the International Association of Laryngectomies and the Harper Hospital Alumni Association in Detroit, Michigan. In Texas, Ann is a member of the Texas Nurses Association and Texas Council of Operating Room Nurses (TCORN); has served three terms as President of the Greater Houston Chapter of SOHN, as well as spending four two-years terms as Chairman of its Legislative Committee; and has served as President of the North Harris County Chapter of the Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN), where she also served on three of its committees--Legislative, Research, and Policy. Ann has also been highly honored her for her contributions to the field of nursing. She was awarded the 2001 Brown Foundation Award for Outstanding Nursing Service for her many years of excellence in service to nursing, the 2001 AORN Outstanding Achievement Award for Perioperative Patient Education, the Texas Nurses Association's Outstanding Nurse in the Houston Area for 1993, the SOHN Honor Awards in 1993, 1997, and 1999, and has consistently been recognized as a Who's Who in American Nursing. However, Ann's talents go beyond nursing. She has received numerous awards for her writing, including first prize at both the 1993 and 1995 SOHN Literary Awards. She has served on the Editorial Boards of several professional nursing journals including AORN Journal, ORL-Head & Neck Nursing, and Nursing Avenues and has published more than twenty-six pieces on nursing technical practice, ethics and care. Ann continually works in the community performing a variety of tasks to encourage people both young and old the importance of health care in lives--and most notably, working to discourage the use tobacco products. Among her many activities, she has worked annually at the Houston Rodeo to promote the ``Through With Chew'' program to diminish the use of smokeless tobacco products and serves as a support team with local laryngectomee patients who have lost their vocal chords due to throat cancer. Mr. Speaker, Ann McKennis has spend all of her career working to selflessly support and care for others. I therefore urge my colleagues to join me in wishing Ann McKennis much luck in all her future ventures and thanking her for her fine contribution to nursing for more than forty years. However, I am certain her support and compassion are sure to continue long after she retires.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the kind gentleman for his leadership on human rights and on safety throughout the world. You have to ask yourself at a serious time like this, was not 9/11 enough? Was not 9/11 enough to spur America's resolve to defend our own country? I support this resolution because the first responsibility of our government is to defend American citizens. The government of Iraq, like our terrorist nations, presents a grave threat to the safety, to the security, to the well-being of every American that hears this debate tonight. We are in the early stages of what is likely to be a very long war against terrorism. In his September 20th, 2001, address to a Joint Session of Congress here in this Chamber, President Bush vowed that America would not rest until we had rooted out terrorism around the world. He said the countries harboring terrorists would be treated as terrorist nations themselves; that the coming war would be a long one, to be measured in years, rather than months. The Afghanistan campaign is the first step in putting that pledge into action, and much remains to be done. Does anyone seriously believe that terrorism began and ended in Afghanistan? Disarming Iraq and its support for state-sponsored terrorism is the next logical step to secure peace for our families and for this world. As we were reminded again this afternoon with the released audiotape of bin Laden's second in command predicting yet more terrorist attacks on America, the question is not if America will be attacked again here at home, but when and by whom. Instead of crashing airplanes into our downtown office buildings or into our Pentagon, the terrorists of the future will turn to dangerous chemical and biological weapons, attempts to poison our air and water, disrupt our energy supply, our economy, our electronic commerce, destroy the jobs we rely upon each day. Yes, they will direct these weapons of terrible destruction toward America, because standing as the world's lone superpower means standing as the world's biggest target. Our homeland, our communities, our schools, our neighborhoods and millions of American lives are at risk as we speak tonight. It is clear to me we are going to fight this war on terrorism in one of two ways: either overseas at its source, or here at home when it lands in our neighborhoods. I choose overseas at its source. America's security at home depends upon largely our strength in the world. Terrorism expands according to our willingness to tolerate it. For too long the world has turned a blind eye to terrorism, afraid to confront it; and terrorism has flourished because the actions of our world leaders never matched their harsh words. Well, that is all over now. That all changed September 11. That all changed with President Bush. For the sake of our homeland, we must mean what we say. For the sake of our children, we must follow through on our vow to end terrorism. If the United Nations efforts should fail, if Saddam Hussein chooses to continue to arm himself and harbor terrorists, then America must act. Words alone are not enough. And when we send U.S. troops overseas, it must be to win and to return home as planned. Our first President said there is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well-prepared to meet an enemy. We know the enemy, we know the difficulty, we know the duty, and we know the strength of America's military men and women. The resolution before the House tonight is not a question of the President's persuasiveness. It is a question of Congress' resolve to whip this terrible war on terrorism. We know where the President stands. The question is, where does Congress stand, and do we stand with him? I do, and I am proud to do so. Make it clear, our resolve is not for war today; it is for peace tomorrow. Our resolve is not for security for America alone, but for security for the world, a world free of fear from horror, from the incredible weapons of mass destruction, from all of that terrorism spawns. All I seek and all Americans seek is a simple request: when our families leave our homes each morning, that they return home safely each night. Was not 9-11 enough for America to act to protect our citizens? It is.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding me time and thank him for his leadership in this very bipartisan effort to increase and protect retirement savings. Let me, as an aside, tell you that retirement security is very important in my district. I have many Enron workers in my district. Many of them are my neighbors who have lost their jobs, lost their whole retirement savings through no fault of their own. Listening to the debate tonight, I continue to be ashamed of those in Congress who continue to try to score political points off the misery of our Enron workers and shareholders. We have an opportunity, both in urging the Senate to take this bill off their calendar and to help us protect retirement savings, and we have it in this resolution as well, where we are trying to protect improvements that have been made to help people save. We simply do not save enough in America. For the life of me, I do not know why Washington insists on creating obstacles to savings, punishing people for trying to put money aside for their education or their retirement or for health care, for a rainy day. Under the bill that we passed in a very bipartisan way, we helped remove those obstacles. Unfortunately, unless we make those incentives permanent, in 10 years we are going to make it harder again for people to save. Without the Senate taking this bill from the calendar, where it has remained for quite some time, too long, the maximum amount that you and I can contribute to our IRA each year will be cut from $5,000 to $2,000, at a time we need it the most. The most that we can contribute to our savings plans at work will be cut almost $5,000, again at a time when inflation adds up and we need those savings the most. This catch-up provision for people, especially women, who worked at home while others set up their business or worked, who can make catch- up retirement contributions, that will be eliminated. Also the portability, which means when people move from job to job, like a backpack they can take their pension retirement with them easily, that will be erased as well. So we have added expenses and obstacles and disincentives to savings that simply do not belong there. Congress was wise to remove it. We would be much wiser to make it permanent. I support this resolution, and anyone who truly cares about savings ought to do the same.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mr. Michael Richmond, President and CEO of The Woodlands Operating Company, as he prepares to retire from 30 years of dedication and service to The Woodlands Community. Michael Richmond is a visionary. He shared in the original vision for The Woodlands almost from the very inception when he joined George Mitchell and his team in 1972. During these past 30 years, Michael's career moved rapidly within The Woodlands Corporation and then into The Woodlands Operating Company. He became treasurer, then senior financial officer and moved into the operations area as senior vice president of commercial development. In 1985 he was named executive vice president of the company with responsibilities encompassing commercial, The Woodlands Conference Center and Resort, investment properties, apartments, office buildings, industrial development and retail shopping centers. Today, thanks to Michael's leadership, The Woodlands is a model of success. In his three decades of service and exemplary performance in developing The Woodlands, the new owners Morgan Stanley and Crescent Operating, Inc. named him president and COO in November 1997. He was named President and CEO on November 1, 1998. Currently, Michael is serving on numerous boards and is affiliated with many community services. When he heard Michael was retiring, George Mitchell stated ``I hate to see it, Mike is a very knowledgeable person. He did a great job of keeping the vision alive.'' Mr. Speaker, please join me and the citizens of The Woodlands, Texas, in thanking and congratulating Michael Richmond on a job well done.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Ray M. Bowen, President of Texas A&M University, America's 5th largest university. At the end of this month, Dr. Bowen will be stepping down as the university's 21st President, a position in which he has served with distinction since he took office in June 1994. Under Dr. Bowen's leadership, Texas A&M has become one of the finest universities in our nation. Academic programs have been enhanced and recognized for excellence. Most recently, Texas A&M was invited to join the prestigious American Association of Universities. Additionally, during Dr. Bowen's tenure, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum Center was opened and formally dedicated. Dr. Bowen seized this opportunity to increase the stature of the university throughout the world. And, he has initiated an ambitious program, ``Vision 2020,'' which is designed to propel Texas A&M into the ranks as one of the top-ten best public universities in the nation by the year 2020. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Bowen has also successfully completed a major capital campaign exceeding its $500 million goal by more than $137 million and has already begun a second campaign entitled ``One Spirit, One Vision.'' Dr. Bowen's extensive educational background began when he received 5Bachelor of Science and Doctoral degrees from Texas A&M in the field of Engineering. He earned a Master's degree at the California Institute of Technology and served with distinction as a faculty member at Louisiana State University, Rice University, and the University of Kentucky. Immediately before joining Texas A&M, Dr. Bowen served as interim President and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Oklahoma State University. Additionally, Dr. Bowen served as a staff member on two occasions at the National Science Foundation, where he most recently served as Deputy Assistant Director for Engineering and Acting Assistant Director for Engineering and earlier as Director of the Division of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics. Along with carrying the title as educator, Dr. Bowen served his nation serving in the United States Air Force, where he functioned as a faculty member of the Air Force Institute of Technology. Mr. Speaker, to express their profound appreciation for the work of Dr. Bowen, the Board of Regents at Texas A&M University has conferred upon him the title of President Emeritus, to be effective on the day after his departure from the role of President. For my part, having the privilege of representing the Aggies for the past six years in Congress, I fail to find adequate words to express my appreciation and deep respect for this unique gentleman. Dr. Bowen is quiet and intelligent, wonderfully organized and highly disciplined. He has a commanding presence, yet he is as much at home mingling with students and watching an Aggie baseball game as he is discussing education policy with Texas and America's political leaders and advanced technologies with the nation's brightest scientific minds. As you would imagine, he has surrounded himself with an outstanding and dedicated staff and faculty which reflect his innate leadership as well as his desire to bring out the best in those around him. I will not soon forget the tragic Bonfire collapse in November 1999, nor Dr. Bowen's calm, compassionate and reassuring leadership during those terribly difficult days and months. Through it all, in public and private, he remained steadfastly focused on the families of those injured and the Aggie family that leaned upon him so heavily. It is said the times that future generations elect to recall are not those of ease and prosperity, but of adversity bravely borne. Dr. Bowen and his team bore this unimaginable adversity with dignity and purpose. I am proud to call him my friend. This university and this nation are better for his service. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of all the students, faculty, former students, and friends of Texas A&M University, I am proud to recognize Dr. Bowen for his outstanding achievements and contributions bestowed not only upon Texas A&M University, but also this great nation.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we have waited far too long to have the ability to sell American products overseas. It is just critical, critical to America's economy and jobs that we get back into the game, that we start to sell American products, because we have been on the sidelines since 1994. The rest of the world is running circles around us. It is Lewis and Clark days out there and every Nation is out there staking out markets for their country except America. The potential is just huge for our Nation. Ninety-six percent of the world's population lives outside of the country. As of last year, half of the adults in the world, half of the adults, have yet to make their first telephone call, their first telephone call. That means that if European countries land those contracts, they will create European lands. If Asia lands those contracts, they will create Asian jobs. But if America has the opportunity to get out there and compete, we will create American jobs. These international trade jobs, they pay more than our domestic jobs here at home. They are less likely to be laid off. In Texas, in our region, in manufacturing alone, since NAFTA, we have created enough new manufacturing jobs to fill every seat in the Astrodome twice over. Two out of every three new jobs we are creating in our State comes from international trade, and we have $1 billion of environmental projects along our border with Mexico: clean air, clean water, waste water and sewer that we would never have without trade. Trade is good for our jobs, good for our economy, good for labor rights. There is a principle here. The principle is if Americans build a better mousetrap, we should be free to sell it anywhere in the world without discrimination. And if someone else builds a better mousetrap, we ought to be able to be free to buy it for our families and for our businesses. We should not retreat from fair trade competition; we should embrace it, because competition is what America is about. It is the key to our high-wage and our high-tech future. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is, we do not have a salesman. America needs a sales force and a sales leader out there. We are providing the President with that. We should support this rule.

Mr. BRADY of Texas

Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4946. I want to commend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) from the Committee on Ways and Means for introducing this very important legislation. This will provide immediate tax relief to assist individuals in getting, and in keeping, long-term health care for themselves, for their parents, and for their dependents. I am pleased, too, that this bill incorporates legislation that I introduced, the Orphan Drug Tax Credit Act of 2001. Orphan drugs are drugs that address rare diseases, those which do not have large populations, but that are very serious. The act has really worked well getting these new drugs to the marketplace, but a glitch has developed that we want to correct. Delays in the designation process unfortunately stop drugs for about 6 months to a year from coming to the market, and that means we are not able to help the approximately 20 million Americans who suffer from more than 5,000 different rare diseases such as Lou Gehrig's, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and Huntington's disease, for example. This legislation merely removes that timing problem, and allows the tax credit to be taken from the time they apply. Our goal here is to get more of these drugs and therapies into the hands of patients in a safe and quick and more affordable manner. We do that by eliminating unnecessary delays and costs, encouraging biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to research, to develop, and to manufacture these drugs, even though the market for them may be relatively small. Without continued research into orphan drugs, people with rare diseases will not see the medical breakthroughs the patients with more common diseases may enjoy. Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation. It is endorsed by the Biotechnology Institute and a number of patient groups with the rare diseases. I appreciate the leadership of the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) and the Committee on Ways and Means in bringing this legislation forward.