Shelley Capito

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. In terms of the death penalty, I think that is definitely at the discretion of the prosecutor, and there are two sets of offenses there. One is a 20-year and one is a 30-year minimum, and I think that is also at the discretion of the prosecutors. That is my understanding.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the comments of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott). I would like to say that in working through this amendment, we did work with the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. We are also trying to reform an act here, the 1940 Wrecking Trains statute, that is sorely outdated and full of gaps. When it was conceived, there was no conception of a terrorist bombing on mass transportation. I think we know, obviously from the events in Spain, that that is a very real possibility in terms of acts of terrorism. Mr. Chairman, the purpose of my amendment is to not only pull that 1940s Wrecking Train statute into the modern era, but also to combine it with other mass transportation sections so that not only the deterrent but the prosecutorial powers are available to our prosecutors to be able to use the most stringent and severe punishments that could possibly be available to try to use as a deterrent to terrorism. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark the passing and honor the life of and contributions of a former first lady of the State of West Virginia, Hovah Hall Underwood. Hovah was a young wife and mother when she and her husband, Cecil, moved into the Governor's mansion in 1956. Cecelia was a toddler, and Craig and Sharon were both born while the family lived in the mansion. She served as a gracious first lady, all the while focusing her energies on the task of raising three very young children. In 1996 the citizens of West Virginia once again elected Cecil Underwood as Governor, and Hova was once again our First Lady. Building upon a lifelong dedication to the work of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, she always liked to say that this term she focused her energies on all the children of West Virginia. She was the driving force behind new programs to strengthen early learning and volunteerism in our State. She took seriously the charge to serve others each day of our lives, and her legacy is the many thousands of lives that she touched. Our thoughts today are with Governor Underwood, their children, Cecelia Baker, Craig Underwood and Sharon Underwood, grandchildren Christopher and Coleman Richardson, Mary and Quinton Baker, and Jordan and Myles Underwood. All West Virginians have indeed lost a very special friend.

Mr. CAPITO

Mr. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great West Virginian, constituent and friend, Robert Harman. For the past forty years, Bob has served as the Chief Executive Officer and Administrator of Grant Memorial Hospital. His service makes him the longest-tenured hospital chief executive in our nation's history. Bob has worked tirelessly to ensure the citizens of Grant County, West Virginia have access to high quality health services. His shrewd fiscal management of the hospital has resulted in very few years where the hospital operated at a deficit; which is quite an accomplishment for an industry that has faced financial problems as a whole. He has often been on the leading edge of implementing new technologies to improve services and make the hospital more cost effective. In addition to his service at Grant Memorial, Bob has been a leading advocate and expert on rural health issues. Over the past thirty years, Bob has served on numerous state and national committees, boards and task forces pertaining to the delivery of health care in rural areas. He has shared his experiences and advised members of the West Virginia Congressional delegation. I am proud to call Bob a friend and fellow West Virginian and am honored to be able to share in this great accomplishment.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Rogers).

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons).

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My amendment to H.R. 5025 seeks to keep the collection of taxes in the IRS and not to a private debt collector. I wish to make it clear today that I am in complete support of efficient and effective enforcement of tax collection activities at all levels of the Federal Government. I also realize that we must recover the billions and billions of dollars in uncollected and delinquent tax revenue, but at what cost. If we authorize the Treasury to allow the IRS to contract with private companies to collect delinquent Federal taxes, I am extremely concerned that harm could result from handing over sensitive personal and financial tax information to private sector businesses to carry out what OMB and IRS have officially characterized as an inherently governmental function. Allowing for private debt collection contracts could create a multitude of problems. For instance, any negligent or criminal disclosure of sensitive taxpayer data by private sector tax collectors could result in fraudulent charges through identity theft and ruined credit histories for innocent taxpayers. Moreover, the potential for harassment by debt collectors is compounded by the private sector tax collection practice of using incentive-based commission compensation. In other words, the more aggressive one is in their collection practices, through misrepresentations or threatening to take actions a person should not take, the more money they can personally make as a private sector tax collector. This system could encourage much more confrontational and abusive tactics that could violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Additionally, the Federal Government has tested this concept of private sector tax collection in the past. In 1996, a pilot program provided $13 million to examine the impact of private tax collection. The General Accounting Office reported that private companies collected $3.1 million in revenue while incurring expenses to the Federal Government in the exact same amount. Moreover, the GAO found that the pilot program caused the Internal Revenue Service to lose as much as $17 million in lost collection opportunities. We cannot afford to implement this type of inefficiency. Mr. Chairman, the Reagan administration rejected private sector tax collection in 1986; and they stated: ``The public must be assured at all times that the person collecting taxes derives no personal benefits from that activity and that the integrity of the tax system will not be compromised.'' I urge my colleagues to support this amendment so that we can continue to ensure the integrity of our tax system and the American taxpayers are protected. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson).

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson). (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to thank the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) for not only her advocacy for this bill before us today, but for her advocacy for small business. She is one of the staunchest cheerleaders for small businesses across this Nation, and I appreciate her service and her ability to get things done. I thank our chairman, the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Manzullo), who is not with us today, to thank him also for his small business advocacy. It is good to know that we have a bipartisan opinion on this bill. I look forward to its passage, and I look forward to all of us working together to see that small business not only grows but thrives under this bill and also under further legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. While reauthorization is extremely important, I think it would behoove us at this time to really think about all of the things that have been done and are in the process of being done for small businesses here and across America. Twenty-five million small business owners will receive tax relief, totaling $75 billion. That is real savings. The rate reductions in the tax benefit plan is more than 90 percent small business. We also have raised the small business expensing limit from $25,000 to $100,000, and I can tell my colleagues in my home State of West Virginia, small businesses are beginning to do and beginning to feel the growth effects of being able to hire another person, being able to buy that extra piece of equipment as a result of the tax incentives. Regulation, which is another burdensome thing on small business, this administration has slowed the growth of burdensome new rules by 75 percent. Also, small businesses saved $7 billion last year in regulatory costs, and that is significant. We have worked a lot to try to incent and grow our small businesses, and there is always more, much more, that can be done. But in terms of government procurement, for the first time in many years, the Federal Government exceeded its small business goal by providing a record $65.5 billion in prime contracts to small businesses. That is a significant increase over past years. So, in conclusion, I would like to say that reauthorization of SBA is exceedingly important to small business, and what we are doing here today in extending the authorization is extremely important. But much has been done and much needs to still continue to be done to help small business, which is the backbone of our American economy. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this bill extends until September 30 the programs of the Small Business Administration not covered by an appropriation, including the Preferred Surety Bond Program, SBA's Private Sector Cosponsorship Authority, the Small Disadvantaged Business Procurement Assistance Program, the Small Business Development Center Drug-Free Workplace Assistance Grants Program and the Very Small Business Concerns Program. Last June, the House acted responsibly by passing H.R. 4478 to extend the programs of the SBA, but the other body failed to act. These programs have been in limbo since June 4, and it is important that they are extended while we continue to work on an SBA reauthorization bill. In addition, H.R. 5008 would help many existing Women's Business Centers keep their doors open. Passage of H.R. 5008 would free up the remaining $4 million already appropriated for the program this year to provide at a minimum approximately $70,000 to each Women's Business Center and sustainability status. Finally, H.R. 5008 corrects a legal problem regarding how the SBA pays fiscal transfer agents, who provide a vital role in the secondary market. For nearly 10 years, the SBA's fiscal transfer agent has been paid by a float on interest on the pools of securitized 7(a) guaranteed loans. Recently there has been some confusion as to whether or not this practice violates the Anti-Deficiency Act. The SBA has proposed a fix to this problem, and that solution is incorporated in section 3 of H.R. 5008, which essentially codifies the existing practice. Passage of this legislation is needed in order to prevent the crippling of the SBA's 7(a) loan program, because without the liquidity of a secondary market banks will not make as many 7(a) loans as in the past. This bipartisan bill has the support of the ranking minority member, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), and it has the support of the Bush administration. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5008. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPITO. 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 H.R. 5008.

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5008) to provide an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 through September 30, 2004, and for other purposes.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1576, the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park Boundary Revision Act of 2004. Harpers Ferry is at the eastern-most portion of my congressional district and borders on Virginia and Maryland and has a very historic significance in our Nation's history. This legislation represents cooperative efforts among local civic groups and the National Park Service to preserve an additional 1,240 acres of West Virginia's historic and pristine wilderness from development. In addition, expanding the park will help make a significant investment in the local tourist economy by attracting an estimated 25,000 additional visitors to the eastern panhandle of West Virginia each year. New visitors mean more revenues for area businesses, and that keeps the local economy moving forward. Expanding the park represents a reasonable and necessary investment in the future of this national treasure. This portion of West Virginia is undergoing tremendous growth; and placing these additional 1,200 acres under the governance of the National Park Service will preserve this area of West Virginia from further economic development, but more historic development. Last summer I walked the Murphy Farm, an area in the proposed expansion. I was able to see a part of America rich in Civil War and civil rights history as well as breathtaking beauty. The passage of this legislation will allow the local community, the National Park Service, and various nonprofit organizations to work together in partnership to preserve a historic part of our country's heritage, a section of America which is now West Virginia that Thomas Jefferson once remarked was ``worth a trip across the Atlantic.'' Madam Speaker, I can assure all of my colleagues that this legislation is worth their support, and I urge them to make a trip across Maryland to Harpers Ferry where they can visit a beautiful parcel of West Virginia, Harpers Ferry National Park.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Texas for yielding to me and for working with us on this hour to talk to the Nation about the good news that we have on our economic front. I have been here almost 4 years now, and for some reason good news seems to get buried a lot, and it is deeply concerning to me when we are talking about something as critically important as our Nation's economy, people working, families. So I think it is extremely important for all of us to give a good viewpoint to our Nation on how our Nation is moving in the right direction. I would like to talk about my home State of West Virginia. Many times in terms of economics, West Virginia has had difficulty with our State economy. We have not moved with the rest of the Nation when the rest of the Nation is surging economically. We have sort of puttered along a little bit, and so in my home State people will say to me, Shelley, I hear that national indicators are good and that we are creating 1.4 million new job with President Bush's programs, but what is happening in West Virginia? Is that really occurring in West Virginia? The great news is, yes, it is. The indications today were just brought out by the State Department of Employment Programs. It announced today that in the month of May we saw the largest period of job growth this year, 4,400 new jobs created in the State of West Virginia in May. Our unemployment rate, which has been steadily below the Nation's unemployment, dropped another 3/10ths of a point to 5.2 percent. These are not happenstance. This is not just a blip in the radar screen. This is a constant indication that the economics of West Virginia are improving, just as the economics of the Nation are growing and thriving. Being home last weekend, I talked to many folks, miners, realtors, bankers, schoolteachers, truck drivers: How is business? How is it going? Every single one of them has a positive, uplifting message to give. They are either hiring more people, ordering new parts, or increasing their equipment, all the things that are the great indicators of economic growth. The tax savings in West Virginia is being reinvested, just as the President's Jobs and Growth Act had planned, and new workers are being hired. There are also other good signs. Not only is West Virginia being included in the upturn of the Nation's economy and settling into new jobs, but other things are occurring, and I think it is important to be pointed out. We have heard about outsourcing and we are all concerned about any job that leaves an American shore and goes across the sea where we want to keep that job on our shores, but in West Virginia interestingly one in five of our manufacturing jobs in West Virginia, they are working for a foreign-based company. Those jobs have been in-sourced to the State of West Virginia, and I think that is over 27,000 workers in the State of West Virginia are in that position. The pride of Buffalo, West Virginia, which is in my District, is the Toyota manufacturing plant where over 1,000 West Virginians build the engines that are in the Toyota Camrys that are parked in our driveways, and can my colleagues imagine the impact that 1,000 of those manufacturing jobs in a small area such as Buffalo, West Virginia, has on the total economy of that location and that area and region of our State? We also saw personal income rise in the latter part of 2003 to a total of $44.7 billion, and that is one of the highest numbers ever reported in the State of West Virginia. Our exports have increased by over $100 million. Personal tax collections are forecast to increase by 3.1 percent this coming year. That is an indication that more people are working. They are working at higher salary levels, and they are enjoying the prosperity a boom economy can provide, and the prosperity the Jobs and Growth Act of 2003 that President Bush put forth is working. We also have many in West Virginia who are enjoying the tax benefits that were a part of that on an individual basis. We have several hundreds of thousands who are enjoying the marriage tax penalty: 400,000 individuals paying fewer taxes; and over 100,000 small businesses enjoying the tax relief that was so vitally important to jump-starting this economy and moving it in the right direction. So, while we always seem to want to have the gloom and doom news take the headlines, I think it is time that the Americans see the headlines that are the reality of our economy here in the United States, and that is we are moving in the right direction. There is more work to be done, and States like West Virginia are feeling the impact, are being able to take hold of the movement and the surge in the economy. More jobs are being created, more families are feeling that, and for me to be able to say that this Congress, with this President, put these policies into place makes me proud to go home every weekend to West Virginia and say we are moving in the right direction. We are going to keep up the momentum, and things are on the rise. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for granting me the time.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Madam Speaker, America has lost a great patriot with the passing of President Ronald Reagan. My fellow West Virginians join me in mourning his death. As our President, he shepherded America through tough times, cutting taxes and invigorating our Nation's economy. President Reagan's service as a statesman reflected the good freedom could do when waged against tyranny. In June of 1987, President Reagan stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Germany, calling upon Mikhail Gorbachev to ``tear down this wall.'' Reagan aimed to replace the instability brought by fear of nuclear war with the firm backing of freedom. When the wall fell, a wave of sovereignty rolled through Eastern Europe, washing away suppressive governments and leaving in its wake democracies firmly backed by individual liberty. Americans will always measure their President against the high bar Ronald Reagan has set for the Presidency. But along with being a statesman, a peacemaker, and a leader, Ronald Reagan was a kind man who I was very honored to have met, a loving husband and father, and a compassionate human being. I will always remember Ronald Reagan for his ability to lift up the American people, inspiring us to rely on ourselves, not on our government, to overcome challenges in our lives. His legacies will be remembered for years to come. Freedom over fear, the individual before its government, and the strength of America overall. May God bless America, and may God bless our President, Ronald Reagan.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I am exceedingly proud to be the sponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 413. I am also extremely proud that all 62 women Members of Congress are cosponsors on this legislation as well. During World War II, a remarkable band of women picked up the rivet guns left on factory floors and shipyard docks by departing workers. Many of those workers were husbands, boyfriends, sons and dads; and those women started building the tanks, airplanes, and ships that America needed to win the war. This group of women became known as Rosie the Riveters, the bandana- brazing, tight-muscled woman depicted in posters with the slogan ``We Can Do It.'' Earlier this month, I called on all the Rosies from West Virginia to send me their stories so younger generations of West Virginians could learn about this important part of their history. It is clear the important role that the Rosies played during the war. I received a letter from a woman from Elkview, West Virginia, who worked on the wing sections of B-29 Superfortress bombers at the Goodyear plant in Akron, Ohio. The B-29 was the military's most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber. Another Rosie from Winfield, West Virginia, worked as a riveter at General Machinery in South Charleston, West Virginia, building rockets that her husband used thousands of miles away in the Pacific. Just last week, several Rosies came to Washington to tell their stories. Leona Phares from Elkins, West Virginia, came; and she had a very touching comment. I asked her what she did when her husband left her. Her husband was originally in the factory with her, and he was called to duty. I said, What did you do? She said, I worked as long and as hard and as fast as I could, because I wanted him home as quick as he could get there. We also learned that one of the Rosies from the district of the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) was held upside down for 15 minutes at a time because her hands were so small she could get up under and rivet in certain areas. Extraordinary women. We always say we can do twice as much in half the time, but upside down at the same time? This resolution honors the extraordinary contributions of the women pioneers who have inspired future generations, whose dedicated service on the home front during World War II was instrumental in achieving an Allied victory. The resolution urges citizens to study, reflect upon, and celebrate the stories and accomplishments of the Rosies. The Rosies are a vital part of American history. This band of remarkable women should be honored and remembered.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud co-sponsor of H.R. 4359. Last year, this House increased the child tax credit by $400 per child. This increase from $600 to $1,000 per child has benefited families across the country. Under current law, however, the child tax credit is scheduled to decrease to $700 per child in 2005, increase to $800 in 2009, return to $1,000 in 2010, and fall to $500 in 2011. Mr. Speaker, if parents are to take advantage of this tax credit to purchase new clothes, school supplies, or a new computer for their child, or to invest in their child's future, they need to know that these tax cuts are not here today and gone tomorrow. This legislation corrects the problem in existing law and makes the $1,000 child tax credit permanent. When the underlying legislation we are considering today becomes law, parents will know from year to year the amount of money they have for their children. The President's jobs and growth plan has helped to get our economy back on track. Over 500,000 jobs have been created in just the last 2 months. We must continue the tax cuts we passed last year to benefit American families and the American economy. This bill is another step forward. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this rule and in supporting the underlying legislation.

Mrs. CAPITO

Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, but I am not in opposition.