Marsha Blackburn

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to come before this body this evening and to talk for a few minutes about some things that are very important to us here in the House. You know, we stand here many times, many evenings, and we debate the role of government here in this body. We certainly have heard it here tonight, as our colleagues across the aisle have talked about their desire to see things done differently as we look at our budget process. Certainly there are those of us like me who think that government is overgrown. While there are others in this body that think that government cannot do enough, there are those of us who want to prioritize and reduce the budget, and there are those who do not want to prioritize or reduce the budget. They feel like something to do is to keep the status quo and raise taxes and approach our responsibilities in that way. A couple of points I did want to touch on, as they have talked about the budget and talked about the deficit and talked about the concerns that we have for that, is we look at the overall economic security of this great Nation. One of the things that we did when we passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which was a plan brought forward by the majority in this House that would reduce what the Federal government spends and yield a savings for the American people, what happened with that Deficit Reduction Act was, yes, we did achieve a reduction in what the Federal Government spends. This is the first time in about 20 years that this has happened. We had a reduction in our discretionary spending. Mr. Speaker, I think it is noteworthy that we received not one Democrat vote for that bill for reducing spending. While it is easy to say, and certainly makes for great discussion and conversation, that the deficit is too big, and that we are spending too much, the proof is in the pudding. The proof is, when it comes time to vote, are you going to vote to raise taxes and spend more and keep the status quo, or are you going to vote to make some reductions, to get in there and prioritize that budget and decide what is going to be the best way to allocate the resources of the Federal Government, because we have to bear in mind it is not our money, it is not this government's money. It is the taxpayers' money. The taxpayers are overtaxed. They are paying too much. They want Uncle Sam to get his fingers out of their pocket, off their paycheck, and leave that paycheck to them. I will remind my colleagues across the aisle also, they talk about we have to raise taxes to pay for this. Well, 2004, 2005, the U.S. Treasury received $274 billion more than they had estimated in revenues. Mr. Speaker, there is a reason for that, and it is because tax reductions work. We know that they work. You lower those rates, and the economy, this great, wonderful engine of the U.S. economy, works. It works. We certainly have seen that happen. The reductions that were passed in 2003 have certainly paid off. There is another point I would like to address that did come up. A couple of the colleagues said, we need to have some honesty as we look at this budget process. I am not going to disagree with that. I certainly think as we get ready for Presidents' Day and thinking about President Lincoln and the moniker Honest Abe that he carried with him, we certainly need to remember that and have honesty. But part of that honesty is looking at this and reminding the American people one of the reasons we are faced with the budget we have is because of this huge, enormous bureaucracy, huge bureaucracy that grew out of 40 years of Democrat control of this body, a bureaucracy that basically is a monument to them. It is so difficult and people have such a tough time working through the bureaucracy, whether it is paying your income tax, figuring out that process, figuring out that Tax Code; whether it is the local university, trying to get over here and get the bureaucracy to help them with some program that is needed for that university; whether it is our local community and county governments trying to figure out how to work with different agencies and comply with different regulations. It is a cumbersome, overgrown, bloated bureaucracy; and certainly as we address the issues of oversight through the ratings tools, through the President's management initiative, through the CFO act, those are all accountability measures that have come into play since Republican control of this body took place in 1994. So there is plenty that we can discuss and we will look forward to discussing over the next month as we look at the budget, look at the process, look at the need to put those parameters in place that will help us get the budget under control and still address the areas of responsibility that we have. One of those areas of responsibility that I think we all can agree on and certainly should be agreeing on is that of national security. There is truly a reason that our founders included the words ``provide for the common defense'' in the preamble to the Constitution. They knew that national security was an imperative in order for this Nation to be able to survive. They knew that in order for children to dream big dreams, in order for small businesspeople to be able to go out and take that idea that they have and grow it into something that is wonderful, that creates jobs for their community, that yields back and gives back to that community, that security was an imperative. It is an imperative. Tonight, several of my colleagues and I are going to take a few moments and talk about guarding this Nation and talk about the issue of national security, because we as a party, we as a majority, are focused, first and foremost, on that issue. Mr. Speaker, I cannot think of a single better time to do this than on Valentine's Day, because there is nothing more important or caring that we can do for our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors and those we love than to fight to be certain that every child has the opportunity to grow up in a safe, a free and a secure world. It is one of those foundational building blocks. And we Americans are free today because of the sacrifices that our parents and our grandparents chose to make for them, for us, and on our behalf. Until this world is a far different place, it is very clear that we must continue our support for a strong military and defense presence. That is the only way that we are going to be able to be certain that our kids inherit the America that we know today. Mr. Speaker, we are going to look at some issues, as I said, of national security. We are going to look at the border security issue; we are going to look at the war on terror and how important it is for us to win in this war on terror and how important it is for us to realize that it is going to be a long war, that it is about freedom, and it exists not only in faraway lands like Iraq and Afghanistan but it is something that we have to address on our border, our Nation's border, as we look at the issue of border security. The first Member who is joining me tonight, Mr. Keller from Florida, has just returned from spending several days down on our southern border working with some of the border guards and the security agents that are there. Mr. Keller is going to talk with us about some of the activity that is taking place on our Nation's southern border.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for his comments. He is so correct in talking about the importance of the PATRIOT Act and being able to protect our families. And I appreciate so much that he and the other speakers tonight have talked about the implications of what happens here on our homeland and the importance of keeping that homeland safe, keeping that homeland secure, and have talked about the great work that is done by our first responders, by our local law enforcement members, that community that works so diligently; the work that is done by our border guards and those who are patrolling our borders. Because, yes, indeed, national security means that we secure this great Nation. Because this is a war on terrorism; it is going to be a long difficult war. And it is the reason, Mr. Speaker, that we have taken military action in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and it is the reason that we are working to reshape that region of this world. And we are making progress. And I know it is frustrating sometimes when we feel like we are taking two steps forward and one step back. But, indeed, there is a mighty work that is being done, a very good, consistent and productive work that is being done by the members of this great Nation's military. And tonight we are joined by the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake). The thing that is so wonderful about Mrs. Drake's district is the presence of the military that is there, whether it is our men and women of the naval forces that are out there working or those in the Air Force who are flying. So from land to air to sea, you have it all covered, and we appreciate your constituents. And, Mrs. Drake, I join you in wishing the families of all of those men and women who are deployed a wonderful Valentine's Day. And I join you in standing here tonight to say ``thank you'' that they are working to be certain that these children grow up in a safe, free, and secure America. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Florida; and I thank him for reminding us of the importance of protecting that border so that we do provide for the common defense, we do have a secure Nation, and we are alert and watching. As he has mentioned so well, his State of Florida, the area that he represents, their estimated cost of dealing with illegal entry into this country is $2 billion a year, and that is for those that choose to enter this country illegally. The gentleman mentioned some of the things that we have done, employer verification, looking at continuing to secure the border, whether you are looking at a wall or whether you are looking at technology, but putting that surveillance into place. Now, Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), who is on the International Relations Committee and the Terrorism Subcommittee. Judge Poe likes to remind us that it is just the way it is time and again as he comes to this floor and reminds us of the importance of viewing immigration and appropriate and proper immigration, abiding by those laws and what an important component that is to this Nation's security and how important it is that we abide by those immigration laws as we are right now battling in this war on terror. With that, I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. The gentleman from Texas is correct. That is the way it is. That is the duty of government. And as the gentleman stated so well and so eloquently, the business of government is protecting this country, as well as that being a duty. And one of the things, Mr. Speaker, that we have altered is the way that we do business here in America by tightening some of our immigration rules. Looking at drivers' licenses, tightening our drivers' license requirements to prevent those documents from being used in ways that they are not supposed to be used. The Judiciary Committee has led on that issue, and Chairman Sensenbrenner has done a tremendous amount of work on strengthening our border, taking steps to strengthen that. Certainly our party as a whole is focused on the national security issue as one of the central issues that we must address. That is one of the reasons that we as a party fought to get the PATRIOT Act passed. We know that on 9/11 our security net had significant holes in it and it had to be fixed and addressed, and we now hope that our colleagues across the aisle will join us in supporting the reauthorization of the bill. It has been successful, and there are things we need to do to continue that focus on this issue. A gentleman who is spending a good deal of time working on our homeland security issues and looking at the global war on terror and America's response there is the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), or Judge Carter as we do like to refer to him. He is on the Homeland Security subcommittee, on the Appropriations Committee, and he is going to speak with us for just a few moments about what is being done to address some of our homeland security issues.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlelady from North Carolina, and thank her for reminding us that this is a global war on terrorism. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway) for some additional thoughts on the global war on terror.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, America was built by entrepreneurs. We wouldn't be the powerhouse we are without the millions of people who had an idea, grew that idea, and turned that idea into a business. In America small business owners create the most jobs and drive economic growth. Today I want to honor someone who has fought for those entrepreneurs. As president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business, Jack Faris has been a tireless advocate on behalf of small business owners. He understands the pressures facing our entrepreneurs and he has fought to be certain America doesn't stifle the freedom that gives so many the opportunity to go out and build a business. Jack Faris believes in dreaming big dreams and turning those into reality. Jack knows our prosperity and our freedom are tied to a thriving small business community and he's never shied away from making certain policymakers understand that fact. Even though Jack is retiring as president and CEO of the NFIB, we know he'll continue to support our small businesses. We thank him for his work on behalf of such a worthy cause.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, our constituents expect us to not only guard the economic and national security of this Nation; they expect us to preserve the moral security that has made this Nation great. Just the other day, I had the chance to deliver the keynote address at an event for the Tennessee Boy Scouts. Mr. Speaker, in this job we do as Members of Congress, there are times when you speak to a group and you can just feel that they are doing the right things. The Boy Scouts fit in that category. They are teaching our boys what it means to serve their community. We are a Nation built on shared moral values. Families across the country know that our communities are strong and that this country is strong when those values are respected and protected and preserved for future generations. House Republicans know this, and we will be working here each and every day to protect this Nation's security.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, in the past several weeks we have all been back at home spending time in our districts talking with constituents, and I cannot even begin to tell you how energizing that has been. We have talked about tax policy. We have talked about the war or terrorism. We have talked about the ways we can reduce government spending. There are a lot of great ideas out there. And we have discussed the border security issue. Last year, we enacted several spending cuts. Great work for us. Our men and women in uniform eliminated key al Qaeda figures, and we eliminated or cut some duplicative and wasteful government programs. We have a lot more to do. And we also passed legislation to work on our illegal immigration problem. Mr. Speaker, this is going to be a great year. We are going to build on the successes of 2005, and we are going to act on the issues that matter to our constituents. Let's get to work.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam Speaker, the world is watching democracy in action today. I applaud our Iraqi allies and thank our men and women in uniform for making this historic election possible. We are reshaping a region responsible for creating terrorism that murdered nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11. Today's election is a step in the right direction. Madam Speaker, I also want to commend Chairman Sensenbrenner for leading the House in the effort to get a hold on our illegal immigration problem. In both the 108th and 109th Congresses, I introduced the Federal Contractors Security Act to tackle the problem we have seen, a documented and publicized problem, of illegal entrants working for Federal contractors at critical infrastructure sites. I am pleased the Judiciary Committee inserted many of the provisions of my bill into H.R. 4437 to implement the worker verification system. Chairman Sensenbrenner listened to our concerns and his bill will do so much to address the problem of illegal entry into this great Nation.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Sensenbrenner and Chairman King of New York for their extraordinary efforts on this bill. I do rise in support of H.R. 4437 today. We do have a border crisis on our hands, and it is time that we do something about it other than talk. The chairmen have done a great job in bringing this forward. Everywhere I go in my district, Democrats, Republicans, everyone is united in the belief that our border enforcement is out of control and we have to give our border agents the tools they need to protect this great Nation. My constituents see this truly as an issue of national security and of grave importance to our country. It is one we cannot wait to handle. We have to do something to secure those borders. I am especially pleased to see that the Judiciary Committee has inserted several items on the bill that I had worked on while I was a member of the committee. During the 108 and 109th Congress, I introduced the Federal Contractor Security Act to tackle the problem of illegal entrants working for Federal contractors at critical infrastructure sites, at sites that are sensitive to our national security. And now the bill makes it mandatory for all employers, including Federal contractors, to use the worker verification system. This is a system that employers can use at no charge, at no charge, and provide the sense of security that is needed by American citizens that the individuals working are indeed who they claim to be. The legislation removes the guesswork about a worker's status and separates illegal entrants well before a business has invested time and money to train them. Again, I want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner and Chairman King of New York. I want to thank the leadership for their work and encourage support of H.R. 4437. This is something that is good for business. It is good for our Nation's security.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, today we are here on the eve of the elections in Iraq, and it is a significant victory within itself. We congratulate our Iraqi friends on that victory. Also, in Nashville, there is going to be plenty of purple to be seen because that is a voting site for Iraqis in America to gather and cast their vote. We have to congratulate the Kurdish population there on that victory. I just returned from Memphis holding town halls speaking to a Rotary club. Our citizens understand this. This is a significant step. They are talking to our men and women from the 278th who have returned, families of the 101st who are currently deployed. They know progress is being made. The Army has just surpassed its projections; 5,800 new recruits have signed up because they are committed. They understand the vision. And to celebrate all of this achievement, Moveon.org is taking petitions to our district offices, calling for immediate withdrawal. They just do not understand the significance of today. We celebrate the success of the victories in Iraq.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize the achievements of Suzanne Griffith. For 21 years Suzanne has served with the Bartlett, Tennessee Chamber of Commerce. She has truly helped make our community a better place to live and work, and for that we can't thank her enough. Suzanne began her career with the Chamber as the first full-time employee, and today she serves as its President. That sort of dedication is rare these days and we should all take a moment to mark the occasion. During Suzanne's years at the Chamber she helped foster remarkable commercial development in Bartlett. What started as a rural community has become a thriving, economically diverse town that has given thousands of families a wonderful place to live and grow. From 1984 to 2004, Tennessee recognized Bartlett as a ``Three-Star'' recipient for consistent strong economic growth, expansion, and capital improvements. Suzanne was instrumental in helping Bartlett achieve this record of achievement, and it's a credit to her work that today Bartlett has surpassed the requirements of the ``Three-Star'' program. The Bartlett we know and love is in no small part due to Suzanne Griffith's work. We thank her for her vision, her hard work, and wish her well as she retires from the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the underlying bill and to oppose the substitute. And this is the reason why: my state, Tennessee, has seen more than $250 million in taxpayer savings a year from the sales tax deduction we passed in 2004. The Tax Relief Extension Act that we are passing today will extend that. There is no excuse not to support this matter of tax fairness for States like mine. It is great for our economy; it is great for Tennessee's Main Streets. And those hundreds of millions of dollars are being pumped back into those local economies. My State should not be penalized for choosing an alternative tax system. It is a better tax system. We want to keep it. I know many of my friends who are Blue Dogs supported the tax cut, and I hope that they are going to join us today and vote for the majority's bill. Tennesseeans are watching this vote. Mr. Speaker, I do not know how many different ways we are going to have to talk about this economy and the fact that it is booming, jobs creation, home sales up, productivity soaring; but some never let facts get in the way of their political agenda. If you read the New York Times, the Washington Post, or listen to many of my colleagues, you believe that our economy is dismal and we have not created a single solitary new job. One important thing the Federal Reserve noted: since we passed these tax relief measures in 2003, American households have increased their nest eggs, their retirement security, their savings by $10.5 trillion, $10.5 trillion net worth development by American households. Finally, Mr. Speaker, this bill before us today, this bill has a provision that helps our Nation's songwriters. As chairman of the Congressional Songwriters Caucus, we worked to correct an inequity in the Tax Code that penalizes them when they sell their life's work. The bill solves that. I thank my friend from Kentucky (Mr. Lewis) and Chairman Thomas for their work on this issue.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, you know, you can choose to be negative. You can choose to be positive. And with this economy and this great Nation there is a lot to be positive about. Everybody is writing about it. Even the good old Washington Post talking about we are going to move to cut taxes another $94.5 billion. That is one of the things that makes this economy work. It is why we are seeing record economic growth. Over 4 million jobs created. And today this body is going to take action on H.R. 4297, which already extends tax relief for millions of American families. There is a provision, sales tax deductibility for States. Sales tax deductibility for individuals who, when they go to file their Federal income tax every April, they can deduct the sales tax they pay every year from that Federal income tax filing. This affects over 60 million individuals, hardworking Americans. We are going to give them tax relief today. I encourage all Members of this body to support H.R. 4297.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. The gentleman is accurate on that. Individuals that vote no on this tomorrow would be voting to increase that on our Nation's teachers. They would be voting no on State sales tax deductibility. They would be voting against that, for all of our constituents in Tennessee and Texas and Washington State and Wyoming and other States across the Nation that enjoy that sales tax deductibility. Another one they would be voting no on is the savers' tax credit for low-income workers who contribute to retirement savings accounts. We talk about doing things that will assist those who are working and need a hand up and need a little bit of help. Focusing on that savers' tax credit, that is something we want to do and we want to see that continue. The gentleman from Georgia is exactly right, that is something that is included in this bill, the provisions for our Nation's teachers.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina for a couple of minutes. She is going to talk with us about her time on the road this week with the President as the President visited in her area in North Carolina, and she had the opportunity to not only talk tax reforms with the President, but to listen to her constituents in North Carolina and to hear what was on their mind as they enjoyed that visit and as they had prepared for that visit. At this time, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank the gentleman from Texas, and I thank him so much for being here to talk with us tonight about why this is important legislation and why it is important that we stop a tax increase on the American people. And we have talked about so many of these issues tonight. Mr. Speaker, this economy is booming. Inflation is low. Unemployment is near historic lows. We saw that 4.1 percent growth with the quarter that ended in September of 2005. And I think it is important to realize that this just did not happen. It did not just happen. And I know that my constituents certainly remember the recession the President confronted when he took office, and they remember the impact that September 11 had on our economy. We did not bury our heads in the sand when that happened. We rolled up our sleeves. We got to work. We passed tax reforms and tax relief, and tomorrow is our opportunity to extend that. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members of this body to join us in supporting H.R. 4297 tomorrow.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. If the gentleman will yield, I want us to talk a little more about the deficit dropping, because that is one of the true benefits that we do see from this. And individuals who are at home and watching and listening to this conversation that we are having tonight, they can go to the Treasury Department Web site, they can go to the Congressional Budget Office and they can pull up these figures so that they can see these are solid figures. These are not our numbers. This is not political spin. These are figures and facts. This is what has been reported. We know that Federal tax revenues increased in fiscal year 2005 by $274 billion. We know that that is the reason this deficit is $138 billion lower than it had been estimated to be. Now, this is the reason that we are seeing such a change in what the deficit is. This is the reason we are seeing growth. The gentleman mentioned the policies, the robust economy and what are some of the benefits that come from this. What happens with small business when there is more money left at the end of the month and they can get in there and say, you know, we want to do some things. Business investment. Reinvestment in the business that you own. That is up over 10 percent. It is up over 10 percent. That is men and women that believe in what they are doing.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I will gladly yield, yes.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. If the gentleman will yield, let us talk about some of these provisions that are in the bill that is going to be before us. Because we do not want the Democrat tax increase to take place, and that is why the leadership in this House is working to be certain that we pass our Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act. And if individuals are going to go on and look at this, it is House Resolution 4297. I think they would like to see some of the provisions that are in here. The gentleman from Texas and I have worked long and hard on one provision which is in here, which is continued deductibility of State and local sales taxes from your Federal income tax filing. In my State of Tennessee that is something that is mighty important, because we are one of those great States that does not have a State income tax. We have fought hard in Tennessee to be sure that we stay income-tax free, and we are. We want to continue this deduction. It is a deduction that we worked hard last year to get restored, and we thank another gentleman from Texas, Mr. Brady, for his incredible leadership on this issue, and we thank the leadership of the House for working so closely with us on it. But that sales tax deductibility is something we encourage everyone in this body, everyone who is in a State that does not have a State income tax to support this legislation tomorrow because it is so important to the individuals in our States. It is estimated that in Tennessee this is worth about $1 billion a year to the State of Tennessee.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. If the gentleman will yield, yes, for those of us in nonincome tax States that means that you are voting to take that deduction away from them. Another one that you would be voting to take away is the above-the- line deduction for out-of-pocket teacher-classroom expenses. Extending that deduction for our Nation's teachers is included in this bill. I have so many of my friends that I went through college with who are teachers, and many of them have been teaching for about 30 years now. This is something that is important to them, because they spend a lot of their out-of-pocket money buying little things, buying little things that are going to enrich the classroom day. The above-the-line deduction for higher education expenses, as I was saying earlier, the research and development tax credit, now that is something that is so important to our companies in this country. When you talk about the BioShield projects, biotech developments in agricultural products, in pharmaceuticals, when you talk about technology and the needs that we have there for our Nation's first responders, for our military, all of that comes in research and development. When you talk about looking at what businesses are investing in as they are working, our small business manufacturers, whose output is up for the first time in a couple of decades, they are investing in this research and development to build a better mousetrap. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas for comment on this.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is exactly right because that is what it would be. At this time of year, coming in and voting a tax increase, voting a tax increase on our Nation's small businesses, voting a tax increase on our Nation's families. To us, that is unacceptable. We know that the rate of economic growth in this Nation, the jobs growth, has shown that the tax reforms that have been passed work and they yield results. Another provision that is included in this bill is the welfare-to- work tax credit. As the gentleman from Texas was saying, individuals who may not have had a job are able to get a job because of the growth we are seeing in the small business sector. And the welfare-to-work tax credit for those businesses that are hiring individuals who have received public assistance for an extended period of time, that would go away. So then it becomes a tax increase on those businesses if they are no longer able to avail themselves of that. The 15-year depreciation period for restaurants and for leasehold improvements for that industry, that is included in this bill. I know in so many of my towns in the 7th Congressional District in Tennessee, this is very important to these small businesses. They depend on this. They need this. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, there are over 91 million Americans who own shares of stock in companies in this country, 91 million Americans who have invested in that capital creation process, invested in these companies. When we talk about capital gains and dividends, sometimes we think as you are saying, well, that is just somebody else. That does not apply to me. But for individuals that have 401(k)s and retirement plans, yes it does. What we are seeing is that 51 percent of our tax- paying senior citizens are claiming dividend income, and 47 percent of total dividend income earned in America is by senior citizens.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is precisely right on that. Again, the bill tomorrow is H.R. 4297. It is the Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act, and it is called the tax relief extension because these are reliefs that were passed in 2003. As we have continued to talk through the evening, these are the provisions that have really created this robust economy that we are seeing, 4.1 percent GDP growth just this last quarter. I think it is so important that we keep our focus there. This is a booming economy. This is a growing economy. We are seeing regularly that there is jobs creation that is taking place in our communities. I love it when I am out in my community, and I know the gentleman from Texas has the same experience, and you are driving down the street and all of a sudden you see an entire group of new stores that are going in. Generally they are small businesses. You walk inside and there is an excitement and energy there that is just indescribable. There is so much of that happening in this Nation's small businesses. As people have seen their rate of taxation reduced, they have had a little bit more income left with those businesses that they can go back in and reinvest in those businesses, or gather that capital together to start that business or start that small manufacturing plant. That is why we see the business reinvestment dollars up 10 percent. That is why we see jobs creation taking place, why we are seeing over 4 million jobs, 4.46 million jobs created since we started down this path of reforming taxes, reducing those taxes and freeing up free enterprise.

Mrs. BLACKBURN

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, we are saluting our veterans from World War II today. Last week, I had the opportunity to spend time with members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team of the Tennessee National Guard, and the 115th Field Artillery Regiment from the Tennessee Army National Guard. Tennessee was welcoming them home after a year of service in Iraq and around the world. They have done great work. We are proud of them. And I believe their sacrifice is what does keep this Nation free. Mr. Speaker, it was with sadness and a little bit of disbelief that I heard yesterday of Democratic Party leader Howard Dean's comments that we cannot win in Iraq, and that we are in the same situation as Vietnam. The pessimism and historical ignorance contained in those statements is simply staggering, Mr. Speaker. I do not know if this is simply wishful thinking by a Democratic leader looking for an angle to slam the White House, or whether Mr. Dean actually believes it. Both options are frightening. I have been in Iraq. I have seen the progress. It is undeniable. It is good for America. It is good for the freedom-loving people in this world. Thank you to the men and women in uniform for their sacrifice.