Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First of all, I would tell my dear friend the legislation that we passed last week, number one, is not a whale; and, number two, it is not languishing. And I am informed, I know I am not supposed to mention the other body, but I would wonder how I could get this fact across without doing so, the conference has begun. The conference has begun this morning. Or they have agreed to go to conference. Today there has been the agreement to go to conference precisely on the legislation that is not a whale. And, thus, the whale that is not is not languishing.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, again I do not know the answer to that, but I would say the following: I would say to my good friend that, number one, I cannot get into the brain of all the conferees. I think we have to allow them to meet so that there will be a meeting of the minds, number one. But we certainly do not think that it is a whale to increase the child tax credit of $1,000 per child through the year 2010. We do not think that is a whale. We do not think it is a whale to eliminate the marriage penalty in the child credit. We do not think it is a whale to accelerate the increase in the refundable child credit. We do not think it is a whale to provide tax relief and enhance tax fairness for members of the Armed Forces. We do not think it is a whale to suspend the tax exempt status of designated terrorist organizations or to provide tax relief for astronauts' families, those who died on the space mission. So we think it is very important what the House did last week. Now, another statement was made before by one of our friends on the other side of the aisle that the President does not support the measure that the House passed last week. Oh, no, no, no. The President is fully in support of the measure that the House passed last week. So the legislation that we passed last week we are extremely proud of and the President supports it. But we are also very proud of and we are also strongly in support of what we are trying to do this week, Mr. Speaker. Because we believe that it should not only be the large corporations that have the ability to use their great leverage of numbers to offer health insurance to their workers with the best possible terms. We think small business, which is the backbone of the American economy, and hires the majority, employs the majority of the workers in this country, that small business also should have the opportunity to pool their numbers to acquire leverage in negotiating terms with those insurance companies and bring down the rates and offer the best possible terms to the millions of workers precisely because they work for the backbone of the American economy, small business. That is what we are doing this week. So, no, what we did last week is not a whale. What we did last week is something we are very proud of, and we have the support of the President of the United States. But what we are doing this week is also very important, Mr. Speaker, and that is why, with all due respect, I tell my friends on the other side of the aisle that we have brought this important piece of legislation to the floor today with a rule that is fair, a rule that provides the minority party a substitute, the opportunity to bring forth any concerns they may have in the form of a substitute; and, in addition, to be doubly fair, we grant our friends on the other side of the aisle the opportunity to present a motion to recommit with any further and additional concerns they may have. So we are very fair this morning, Mr. Speaker. We are very proud of the legislation that we are bringing to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we say vote yes. We say vote yes to allowing small businesses to have the leverage and purchasing power that large businesses have, to increase significantly the number of American workers, the majority of whom work for small businesses, who can have health insurance. We think the issue is that important that we should vote yes. Vote yes on the previous question, vote yes on the rule, and let us get to the underlying legislation, legislation which is as important as the legislation we passed last week.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today I bring to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives the case of Cuban political prisoner Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, known as Antunez. This young man has been in Castro's gulag since 1990, since his high school days, for failing to keep silent. An extraordinary leader of unlimited courage, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez was sentenced to 18 years in prison for so-called ``verbal enemy propaganda.'' Antunez, Mr. Speaker, is the face of the real Cuba. Those who visit Cuba to have a good time, to take advantage of the regime-encouraged child prostitution, or simply to dine with the tyrant, may avoid seeing Antunez these days. But, sooner or later, Antunez will be free, Cuba will be free, and those who collaborated with his jailers and torturers will have to face him and many others like him.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, today we speak of a heroine, an extraordinary woman and leader who languishes in Castro's gulag, Marta Beatriz Roque, sentenced to 25 years for speaking her mind on behalf of freedom and democracy. To those who wish to send billions of dollars to the dictatorship in Cuba by sending U.S. tourists to savor tropical drinks in the tourism apartheid resorts and take advantage of the regime-encouraged child prostitution, I think it is worthwhile to listen to Marta Beatriz, one of the last statements before she was picked up and sent to a gulag for 25 years. We exhort all the governments of the civilized world not to prolong the agony of the Cuban people, not to finance the tyranny, not to support the tyranny; that they condemn the tourism apartheid, that they condemn the exploitation of laborers, the prostitution of our youth, the traffic of stolen property, the plunder of the Cuban nation. Solidarity is required today with those who advocated freedom in Cuba and those who also advocated freedom in exile. Marta Beatriz Roque and all of the Cuban political prisoners, we do not forget you for one day. We will continue to fight until you are free and until all Cubans are free.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in case some colleagues are perhaps listening to the debate on television in their offices, we have brought forth the rule to consider the aviation reauthorization bill, the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. The Federal Aviation Administration is of extreme importance to the safety of not only the flying public in the United States, but really to the economy of the United States. One of the pillars of the economy of the United States is precisely the superb system of aviation that we have. But that does not happen by chance. We have an obligation to fund and reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, and this legislation that we are attempting to get to today with this rule not only does that, but deals with a number of very important collateral issues in the area of aviation. So, again, to be clear with regard to what we are attempting to do today, what the Committee on Rules has done, we have passed a rule to bring to the floor legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration in the context of very important legislation entitled Flight 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. That is what we are discussing today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 265 is a structured rule providing for the consideration of 2115, the Flight 100 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. The rule provides 1 hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. The rule provides ample opportunity to discuss this important reauthorization before us today. H.R. 2115 is a bipartisan bill introduced by the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) as well as the ranking members, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio). This reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, appropriately titled for the 100th anniversary of powered flight, continues a tradition of funding the promotion of safety in our skies. Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight some of the important provisions in the underlying legislation. First, this legislation reauthorizes the FAA at $3.4 billion next year raising $200 million in the year after that. The FAA, nearly 45 years after it was created, takes an ever-present role as we take important steps to ensure America's security. The FAA is primarily responsible for the safety of our Nation's skies through activities ranging from the continued monitoring by air traffic controllers to the development of new air space technologies. Within my district is Miami International Airport, which I have the privilege to represent, and is consistently one of the Nation's busiest for both international and domestic travel. I am impressed by the level of public-private cooperation between organizations such as the FAA and Miami International Airport. Mr. Speaker, following the tragedy of September 11, 2001, our Nation's airports and airlines were forced to deal with the ever- growing and obvious problem of security. I believe that this bill contributes to this endeavor while ensuring that those affected by these horrible acts are helped. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2115 provides for an extension of war risk insurance for both international and domestic flights while ensuring that this important insurance is extended to manufacturers and airline vendors through the Department of Transportation. This Congress was quick to assist airlines following September 11, and rightfully so. The economic benefits from the movements of people and goods that airlines provide, I think, demanded our attention. I think we also have to consider that smaller aircraft that were restricted for months following September 11 would also need attention of the Congress. Congress, I think, should act, and I think it will through this underlying legislation to help general aviation return to some stability by providing compensation for the hardships on their businesses. The bill authorizes $100 million for these general aviators that were also greatly affected by increased security requirements. H.R. 2115 is a good piece of legislation, Mr. Speaker. It is important to the continued needs of the FAA, obviously, and to the flying public. The underlying legislation was reported favorably out of the committee by voice vote. I take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the chairman, for his great leadership on this issue, as well as the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the distinguished ranking member. Due to the importance of the FAA's role in the security of the United States, as well as in the economic well-being of the United States, I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. I think it is important that we move forward and reauthorize the FAA, and we are doing that today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 265 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, again, in case somebody would like to determine what we have brought to the floor today, because obviously any students of political science who may have been watching this debate will have confirmed today that there is certainly no rule requiring germaneness in debate in the House of Representatives, the issue that we have brought to the floor today, that the Committee on Rules passed a rule in order to be able to do so, we did so yesterday, is the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. In order to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, the relevant committees worked long and hard on a very important piece of aviation legislation which we bring to the floor today. It is H.R. 2115, the Flight 100--Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. So that is what we are doing. Now, since there is obviously no germaneness requirement with regard to debate, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have talked about other issues, and they are certainly welcome to do so. The semantic of the day had to do with the word ``tax.'' We are very proud of our record since we were honored by the American people with the majority in this Chamber with regard to the issue of taxes. I remember in my first term here, Mr. Speaker, as a freshman Member, we were still in the minority and our friends on the other side of the aisle controlled the agenda, they were the majority, being faced with one of the largest tax increases in the history of this country. We on this side of the aisle opposed that tax increase, and our friends on the other side of the aisle pushed very hard, and at that time they had a Member of their party in the White House, to impose that record tax increase on the American people. Every time we have been able to since we were given the majority by the American people, we have tried to do the opposite. We have tried to lessen the tax burden on the American people, and we are very proud of that. So with regard to when it is germane to the debate on taxes, we are extremely proud of our record. That debate will continue, and I think it is a fundamental difference between the parties. We believe in and have every time we have been able to reduce the tax burden on the American people. But today the debate that we bring forward, the legislation that we bring forward, is the important reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration. We believe, Mr. Speaker, that because of the importance of the Federal Aviation Administration, not only to the flying public and to the aviation industry in this country, but to the economy of the United States, as well as to our national security, that we should move forward and reauthorize that very important Federal agency, as well as effectuate the other important programs and initiatives that are included in this very significant piece of legislation. With that in mind, I remind our colleagues what we are doing, the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. That is correct.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have been hearing some interesting arguments today. I thought it was very interesting that one of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle said that by virtue of the fact that the tax cut is set to expire, or parts of it at the end of the year 2008, that that will diminish the incentive for people to invest in the stock market and have the stock market thus increase and contribute to economic growth. But what was failed to be pointed out is that the opponents of the tax cut have so diligently fought the tax cut that they were able to reduce the amount of the tax cut for the American people, the reduction of taxes for the American people; and thus that portion will expire previously before we would have wanted it to have expired. I do not think it is logical to be able to say I am going to fight the tax cut. You reduce it, and then they say since it expires sooner than it was meant to, then its effectiveness is to be questioned. Wait a minute, do you want the tax cut or do you not want the tax cut? In a sense I thought that was somewhat incoherent, that argument; but of course there is a right to make any argument in this wonderful body.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 249 waives clause (6)(a) of rule XIII requiring a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Committee on Rules. The rule applies the waiver to a special rule reported on the legislative day of May 22, 2003, providing for consideration or disposition of the bill to provide for reconciliation pursuant to section 201 of the concurrent resolution, any conference report thereon, or any amendment reported in disagreement from a conference thereon. This rule is the starting block to allow the House to consider legislation that will infuse our economy with job-creating tax relief, investment incentives, and overall economic growth. The House initially passed the Jobs and Growth Reconciliation Tax Act earlier this month, and with today's action we can demonstrate our continued commitment to spurring economic expansion and providing stability to American workers, businesses and families. Our economy needs a healthy dose of meaningful relief. This Congress has once before exhibited the leadership and sense of purpose needed to create jobs and protect workers. If we delay, we put American jobs and the strength of our economy at risk. As we prepare to consider legislation extending unemployment compensation, I can think of no better complimentary action for Congress to adopt than legislation to boost employment levels, lower the tax burden, and grow the economy. It is imperative that we move forward at once. Thus, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this rule so we can proceed with a debate on this very important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we believe it is important to move this legislation forward to grow our economy, to create jobs, help people who do not have jobs find jobs; and we strongly support it and strongly support this rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we believe it is very important to be able to get to this debate. We need to pass this rule, and then we will debate this matter further. It is obviously a fundamental matter. We believe that we need to do everything that we can to incentivize economic growth and job creation. That is why we are bringing this matter to the floor today.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it is wonderful to see the imagination on the other side of the aisle. In case somebody is watching this debate or listening to it, I would like to get us back to what we are debating. H.R. 2185 will provide for a 13-week extension of benefits for the unemployed in the United States, and the legislation once again provides a total of 26 weeks of benefits to those in designated high- unemployment States. I recall the debate we had last week when the ``theme du jour'' was that these unemployment benefits were going to expire before the end of May. Well, we are acting today so that they will not expire, and there will be another 13 weeks of benefits, plus 26 weeks in the high- unemployment States that are designated as such. So that is what is before us today. It is an important piece of legislation. That is why I will continue to urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserving the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 248 and ask for its immediate consideration.