Max Burns

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3734) to designate the Federal building located at Fifth and Richardson Avenues in Roswell, New Mexico, as the ``Joe Skeen Federal Building.''

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues' support of H.R. 3428, and thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her comments. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BURNS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 3428 introduced by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), designates a portion of the United States courthouse located at 2100 Jamieson Avenue in Alexandria, Virginia, as the Justin W. Williams United States Attorney's Building. The full courthouse is known as the Albert V. Bryan United States Courthouse. This bill has the bipartisan support of the entire Virginia delegation. Born in New York City in 1942, Justin Williams earned his bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1963, and his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1967. After graduation, Justin Williams embarked upon his legal career. From 1967 to 1986 he worked for Department of Justice, Criminal Division. He served as Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney in Arlington County and the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, based in Alexandria. In 1986, Justin Williams was appointed Chief of the Criminal Division and served in that capacity until his death in 2003. As U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, he supervised over 100 prosecutors and oversaw such high-profile cases as U.S. v. Aldrich Ames, U.S. v. Robert Hanssen, and the prosecution of the Virginia Jihad Network. In recognition of his achievements, Justin Williams received numerous awards from the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General's Award for Excellence in Furthering the Interests of U.S. National Security. Justin Williams passed away August 31, 2003. Shortly after the 1-year anniversary of his death, it is my pleasure to bring to the floor this bill which honors a dedicated American who spent his entire career making America safer for everyone. I support this legislation, and I courage my colleagues to do the same. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURNS. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3428) to designate a portion of the United States courthouse located at 2100 Jamieson Avenue, in Alexandria, Virginia, as the ``Justin W. Williams United States Attorney's Building''.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my colleagues for passing H.R. 4571, which is the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act. In the NFL, a coach can challenge a referee's call; but if he is wrong, he has to give up a time out. It seems fair. But there is no personal risk for an unscrupulous trial lawyer to file a lawsuit against a company or a person and then offer to settle a dispute for less than the cost to defend the case in court. In the criminal laws, this would be termed extortion. But under the tort laws, it becomes a thriving industry. Mr. Speaker, when the Senate passes the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act, it will be illegal to sue someone for an imaginary offense and cause them to pay thousands of dollars in legal fees in order for a judge to make a final official ruling. When one of these cases is deemed without merit, the attorney filing the suit will be responsible for paying the legal fees of the defendant. It seems like a simple commonsense approach to me. I urge my colleagues to join me in asking the Senate to take immediate action to pass lawsuit abuse reduction in the United States.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, September 7, was ADD Awareness Day. Millions of Americans suffer from attention deficit disorder. Fortunately, when ADD is accurately diagnosed, it can be effectively treated. Unfortunately, when it is misdiagnosed, the treatment can be harmful. Last year I introduced in this body the Child Medication Safety Act, H.R. 1170. It passed 425 to 1. Unfortunately, it has seen no action in the other body. It has been blocked by the objections of a single Member in spite of overwhelming congressional and public support. This medication is not antimedication. This legislation is not antimedication. It is not antischool. It does not limit teacher or school involvement. It is designed to protect children. It does provide for parents and medical professionals to determine if a child needs medication for ADD. This legislation is simple. It prohibits schools from requiring children to take a stimulant such as Ritalin or Aderal or other drugs as a precondition for attending that school. Mr. Speaker, I urge the other body to take immediate action. We must protect children from inappropriate medication, and we must allow parents and medical professionals to determine the medical treatments for their child.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) for yielding me time. I thank the committee for allowing me to bring this legislation to the floor today. This is common-sense legislation. It does something positive for America's working families. H.R. 4841, the Tax Simplification for Americans Act will clear up a number of confusing issues that ordinary people, people like you and people like me, struggle with as they prepare their tax forms and begin to pay their taxes. H.R. 4841 does several things for the taxpayer. It widens access to the time-saving forms of 1040A and 1040EZ. It clarifies confusing issues in the Tax Code, and it eliminates a number of outdated and unnecessary provisions. My bill will benefit working families. It will save them both time and money. Mr. Speaker, the Joint Committee on Taxation concluded that this bill will have only negligible effects on revenues. H.R. 4841 permits more taxpayers the opportunity to use the simpler 1040A and 1040EZ for their filing. Taxpayers with up to $100,000 of taxable income will be able to use these time-saving forms. The previous cap, Mr. Speaker, was $50,000 set in 1982, 2 decades ago, over 2 decades ago with no adjustments for inflation. Over time the old Tax Code has forced nearly 2 million taxpayers, 2 million taxpayers out of being able to use this simplified, time-saving short form. The new limit that this bill provides is for $100,000 and will be indexed for inflation so this body will not have to again address the issue of a 1040EZ or a 1040A. We are going to allow more taxpayers to use these time-saving forms. Another provision of the bill will allow the taxpayer who has interest income of more than $1,500 to also use the 1040EZ subject to certain IRS requirements to report the services on those interest incomes. The IRS has concluded that it takes 28 hours of taxpayer time to prepare a 1040, 28 hours, as compared to 4 hours for a 1040EZ. So the challenge we face is, let us simplify the Tax Code; let us allow more Americans to use the 1040A and the 1040EZ. The changes will allow over 1.6 million taxpayers to file these simple forms. The other thing this bill does is it provides for elimination of some deadwood provisions, those provisions that are needlessly complicating our Tax Code, and they are obscuring the true meaning of the tax laws. So we need to take the opportunity, while we are increasing the limit on the use of the 1040EZ, to eliminate some of these deadwood provisions. The tax burdens on Americans is great, and it is as much about how we pay taxes as the amount of taxes we pay. This bill makes it a little easier and a little simpler for Americans to pay their taxes. It is common-sense legislation. It restores reason to the taxable income limits for 1040A and the 1040EZ use. It clarifies confusion in the Tax Code, and it removes deadwood. Mr. Speaker, I cannot imagine anyone opposing common-sense tax simplification, and I want to urge all of my colleagues to support this bill today.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on S. 1167, the Senate bill just passed.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 1167. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Blunt), the distinguished majority whip.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of Representatives to pass S. 1167, the Senate companion to H.R. 2304. This legislation provides a mechanism for the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers to resolve boundary conflicts between the Mark Twain National Forest and adjacent private landowners. The dispute over boundaries stems from recent surveys conducted by contractors to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which have frequently been found to be severely flawed by the State. The measure sets a process for dealing with the disputed boundaries. A landowner would notify the Secretary of Agriculture of a disputed boundary, prompting a new land survey. If the Secretary determines the boundary conflict is the result of a reliance on a previous land survey, the land in dispute can be returned to the private property owner. It is important to note that the bill does not require the conveyance of any particular lands. Where a new survey shows that the lands in question were surveyed improperly, the Forest Service can either execute a quit claim to the land, assert Federal ownership if the Federal Government has improved the land, or compensate the landowner for the land. This is a case where the Federal Government has not exercised adequate due diligence in maintaining their land surveys to the detriment of their neighbors. Rather than redrawing map boundaries from Washington, we are creating a process where these folks can address their claims closer to home. The Committee on Agriculture regards this as an equitable solution to a local problem created by the Federal Government. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1167) to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone Counties in the State of Missouri.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Chairman, in 2001, the FDA approved the pain killer OxyContin, knowing that it had a high probability of being diverted for illicit use. We felt that the gain was worth the risk. The abuse, unfortunately, of OxyContin is now a nationwide epidemic. In spite of the fact that, unlike OxyContin, there are safe and effective and legal alternatives to smoking pot for pain relief, we are now considering the use of marijuana for its medical purposes. The active ingredient, as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) pointed out, is readily available in an FDA-approved capsule. This pill delivers THC, it does not carry the dangers inherent with smoking marijuana, nor does it undermine the law enforcement efforts that fight illegal drug use. Mr. Chairman, the legalization of medical marijuana is simply the first step in a scheme to overturn all the substance abuse laws that we work hard to enforce today. We need to vote ``no'' on legalization of marijuana and its use in America.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, we enjoy our current prosperity because of the American work ethic, that hard work, sacrifice, perseverance, and doing the right thing really pay off in the end. Unfortunately, the visa lottery teaches the exact opposite to those who would immigrate to the United States. It condones crime by allowing illegal immigrants to apply. It promotes fraud by allowing these illegal immigrants to enter the lottery under multiple different names. It lets those who did not work, who did not sacrifice or persevere to step in front of those who did by giving all an equal chance at a visa regardless of skills, education, or even humanitarian needs. To allow the lottery system to continue to bring 50,000 people a year into our country while completely circumventing our legal and moral code is a crime against every American. I urge my colleagues to join me and cosponsor the SAFE Act, H.R. 775, and repeal this visa lottery scam.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his hard work over the past year in bringing this legislation to the floor and for his willingness to continue working with us, even though we may still face some differences of opinion on several issues that relate to the Savannah River site. As the chairman knows, we had an amendment that would have requested continued action in the coming year on one of those issues, the selection of a site for a new modern pit facility. I believe that Savannah River site is the leading candidate for the site, and a timely decision on this project would help in planning future operations and also on job levels. However, I would like for my good friend, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Barrett), to further express the interests of the Savannah River site.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. I have heard a lot of baloney, and there appears to be a good bit in the House. I have great respect for the minority whip, but there is beef in the gentleman from Wisconsin's (Mr. Obey) job-cutting proposal. This is about jobs. This is about taxes. This is about spending. And I have only been here a short time, but this has got to be one of the worst ideas I have ever seen come from our colleagues across the aisle. It is bad for the Nation. It is bad for working America. We are going to cut the heart out of a recovering economy. We are going to destroy the momentum that we are enjoying all because the Democrats want to tax, and they want to spend. They want to tax, and they want to spend. And they want to do it at America's expense. At America's expense. Just last week, just last week, they were complaining about our not doing enough to create jobs. We created 1.1 million jobs just this year. They want to take away that momentum. It really is about the people who create jobs, the small businesses, the farmers in the 12th District of Georgia. It is about people who create jobs; 200,000 hardworking taxpayers, of which 80-plus percent are small businesses, will see their taxes go up. And that is the engine that creates the jobs for America. These are precisely the small businesses and farms that we need to protect and to encourage by providing them the deserved tax relief that they currently enjoy. Mr. Speaker, we need to finish this business pretty quickly because there is no telling whose jobs or whose money the Democrats are going to go after next.

Mr. BURNS

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

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ford), for his leadership in H. Con. Res. 13, recognizing the importance of blues music. The blues is America's music. The blues celebrates life, it celebrates growth, it celebrates struggles; but I think most of all it celebrates America's progress. I urge strong, bipartisan support for this resolution.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

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

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

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 13, which recognizes the importance of blues music. Blues music is one of the most influential forms of music indigenous to the United States and has inspired contemporary music heard around the world including rock and roll, jazz, rhythm and blues, and country. Blues music documents 20th Century United States history, especially during the Great Depression and in the areas of race relations and pop culture. Various forms of blues music traced the transformation of the United States from a rural, agricultural society to an urban, industrialized country, and the blues is an important facet of the African American culture in the 20th Century. Accordingly, blues music is considered by many a national historic treasure, which needs to be preserved and studied for the benefit of future generations. Every year people in the United States hold hundreds of blues music festivals, and millions of new or reissued blues albums are released, and blues musicians from the United States, whether old or new, male or female, are recognized and revered worldwide as unique and important ambassadors of the United States and its music. House Concurrent Resolution 13 is simple and straightforward. It recognizes the importance of blues music with respect to many cultural developments in United States history. It calls on the people of the United States to take the opportunity to study, reflect on, and celebrate the importance of the blues and requests that the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States and interested organizations to observe the importance of the blues with appropriate ceremonies, activities, and educational programs. I urge my colleagues to support the resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Con. Res. 13.

Mr. BURNS

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