David Dreier

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I have been listening to our colleagues talk about the fact that we are approaching Memorial Day, which we are. It is a very important time to remember the war dead and people who today are continuing to sacrifice. I have had the privilege of serving here for nearly a quarter century, and I remember very well in the 1980s when U.S. military men and women were struggling side by side with freedom fighters in Central America to ensure that we could see self-determination, the rule of law, and the development of political pluralism and democratic institutions. Madam Speaker, we are going to, in the coming weeks, be voting on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Every single president in Central America has made it very clear to us that if we want to maintain the things for which U.S. men and women in uniform gave their lives, along with many Central Americans, we must lock it in by ensuring passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. We need to think about that sacrifice made a decade and a half ago in Central America as we proceed with the prospect of keeping freedom alive.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, in 1999 young Tessa Wick was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. She began the laborious process which changed her life and she dedicated herself to doing everything that she possibly could to ensure that no one would have to suffer as she has. During that period of time, she has worked to raise large sums of money. She has testified before the United States Senate, and last Friday her father told me that she said to him not a lot has been accomplished yet. We have not yet found a cure. And her father said to me that we need to do everything that we possibly can to ensure that we do find a cure. We are all supportive of umbilical cord research, but I believe that it is proper for us to pursue embryonic stem cell research, Mr. Speaker. In a week and a half, we mark the first anniversary of Ronald Reagan's passing. Everyone knows how passionately Nancy Reagan feels about the need for us to pursue this research. I believe it is the appropriate thing to do. Now, there are no guarantees. We all know there are no guarantees at all, but passage of this legislation does provide an opportunity for hope, hope that we will be able to turn the corner on these debilitating diseases from which so many people suffer. And so I hope very much that we can pursue a bipartisan approach to this important measure. And while I am concerned that there is disagreement with the President of the United States, I hope that we will be able to, at the end of the day, work out a bipartisan agreement that will include the President of the United States in this effort.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me this time, and I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying legislation. We are about to embark on a very new experience for us. We all know that September 11 of 2001 changed our lives forever. We obviously have had to focus for the first time on our homeland security. We know that shortly after September 11 the President of the United States stepped up to the plate and put into place this now Cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security, but it obviously took a period of time for us as an institution to put together the structure that would allow for adequate oversight. At the beginning of this Congress, we established a new permanent standing Committee on Homeland Security, and we selected my extraordinarily able colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), to serve as chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security dealing with jurisdictions that fell within a wide range of other committees. We had our committee chairmen and ranking members agree to come together on establishing this new Committee on Homeland Security. Obviously the jurisdiction is very far-reaching. It is jurisdiction which focuses on a lot of new things for us. The fact that when we refer to men and women in uniform on the front line, they are no longer just the men and women in our Armed Forces, they are now men and women who wear the uniforms of firefighters and law enforcement officers. We now have, because of the threat, a greater focus on border security. We have focused on ensuring that people who pose a terrorist threat to us are not able to get documents that have been easily fabricated in the past. Frankly, I will say that we are continuing to work on that, and I urge my colleagues to join in cosponsoring H.R. 98, which will help us produce a counterfeit-proof Social Security card so we can diminish the flow of illegal immigration with the magnet of jobs that draws people across our southern border and instead allow our Border Patrol, which is increased in this authorizing legislation, to focus their attention on criminals and those who pose a terrorist threat to the United States of America. Now what is it that we have done with this rule and the legislation? With the rule, I am very proud of having had, as the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Sessions) so ably said a fair rule, and I am proud of the work he has done. He was a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. He was unable to serve on the committee in this Congress because of the exclusivity of the Committee on Rules, but as the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) pointed out, he is serving as the Committee on Rules liaison focusing on these very important new homeland security issues. One of the things that we can do, as we increase the Border Patrol, if we can pass H.R. 98, which will decrease by 98 percent the flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border, is letting the Border Patrol put their time and energy into trying to diminish the flow of criminals and those who pose a terrorist threat to us. I urge my colleagues to support that effort. But I would note that the rule which has been put together allows for the consideration of 25 different amendments. We will be having a full 5 hours of debate on this issue, and I am pleased we made in order a Democratic substitute which is 221 pages long, a full substitute which frankly includes many of the amendments that have been proposed by both Republicans and Democrats. A number of those are included in the substitute. I am also very proud of the fact that we were with the daughter, son- in-law and grandson of our distinguished ranking minority member, the gentlewoman from Rochester, New York (Ms. Slaughter), and we were able to make in order two amendments which the gentlewoman has proposed to the committee. I will say that of those 25 amendments, 13 of them have been offered by Democrats, made in order, 10 by Republicans, and two are bipartisan amendments with Democrats and Republicans coming together to deal with this issue. So I will say, I believe we are moving into an extremely important area. We are going to address a wide range of concerns. Yes, there are other concerns that we hope can be addressed. But the mere passage of this legislation, the mere passage of this legislation and moving it to the President's desk will, I believe, help us address a lot of the concerns that some whose amendments were not made in order have been trying to address. I appreciate my colleagues' support in this effort.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo and Subcommittee on Water and Power Chairman George Radanovich, for their hard work in moving H.R. 802 as a part of this larger resources package bill, H.R. 540 as amended, to the House floor. I introduced this Inland Empire Water Recycling Initiative, H.R. 802, to authorize $30 million total for the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) and the Cucamonga Valley Water District (CVWD) to assist in constructing two water recycling projects which will nearly 100,000 acre-feet of new water annually to the area's water supply. It is imperative that we continue to approve measures preventing water supply shortages in the Western United States. This recycling initiative will help meet the water needs of the Inland Empire and begin a strategic federal-local partnership to bring a significant amount of new water supply to the region. I am pleased that this initiative has the support of all member agencies of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, as well as the water agencies downstream in Orange County. IEUA encompasses approximately 242 square miles and serves the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, Fontana, Ontario, Upland, Montclair, and Rancho Cucamonga. IEUA and CVWD are replacing water-intensive applications like landscape and agricultural irrigation, construction, and industrial cooling with high-quality recycled water, fresh water can be conserved or used for drinking, thereby reducing the dependence on expensive imported water. In addition, by recycling water which would otherwise be wasted and unavailable, these agencies provide that the water available goes through at least one more cycle of beneficial use before it is ultimately returned to the environment. I want to reiterate my thanks to the House Resources Committee, as well as to my colleagues, Ken Calvert, Grace Napolitano, Gary Miller, and Joe Baca for cosponsoring H.R. 802. And last but certainly not least, I appreciate the visionary leadership of Mr. Robert DeLoach, General Manager of the Cucamonga Valley Water District and Mr. Rich Atwater, CEO and General Manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Madam Speaker, I have taken this time today to announce the introduction of legislation. Today my very distinguished colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), has joined me in introducing legislation that calls for making it a Federal crime to kill a law enforcement officer and flee the country. Just yesterday we saw the memorial held for the fallen peace officers, and we had here in Washington the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Lee Baca, who is really the progenitor of this legislation, along with the Chief of Police of the City of La Verne, Ron Ingels, who was representing the California Police Chiefs Association and the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association. We have had over the past 3 years a very tragic case in Southern California. Three years ago this last month we saw the tragic murder of Deputy Sheriff David March by a Mexican national, who chose to first shoot Deputy March and leave and then return and put the gun to Deputy Sheriff March's head and kill him, and then flee the country, knowing full well that he would face, if extradited, the death penalty, and that would prevent the Mexican government from extraditing him. Well, over the past 3 years, in a bipartisan way, my colleagues the gentleman from California (Mr. McKeon), who represents the March family, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), whom I mentioned, the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman), and a wide range of Members, especially of the California delegation, have come together trying to deal with this issue. While the introduction of today's legislation will not directly deal with the March case, it clearly is legislation that is designed to ensure that as we look at the prospect of someone killing a law enforcement officer and fleeing the country, we will have the full force of the Federal Government behind our quest for a resolution. This does not in any way preempt the opportunity for county and State jurisdictions to pursue with vigor a case such as this, but it does provide the option for the Federal Government to be involved, and also to deal with any kind of negotiating that might be necessary to ensure that someone can be extradited. Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join as cosponsors of this legislation, which will federalize the crime of killing a law enforcement officer and fleeing the country. As I say, the bill is going to be introduced today, so I would encourage as many of my colleagues as possible to join on board in this bipartisan effort to help ensure that we bring the killers of law enforcement officials to justice.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the importance that the Dominican Republic--Central America Free Trade Agreement will have on stabilizing the democracies of the participating nations. While we have witnessed firsthand the benefits than free trade has on emerging democracies, no one is in a better position to describe the benefits than President Enrique Bolanos of Nicaragua. His country continues to face serious challenges to democratic reform, yet he is unwavering in his commitment to DR-CAFTA because he knows it will lead to further democratic progress. Last week, President Bolanos gave an address at the Nicaraguan Embassy here in the United States where he presented Senator Richard Lugar and Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick with the Order of Ruben Dario, the highest honor of Nicaragua. I am including his remarks in the Record to reiterate to my colleagues that this trade agreement is about far more than trade. Speech by H.E. President Enrique Bolanos Embassy of Nicaragua--May 13, 2005 Distinguished Guests and Dear Friends: I am in the United States this week with my fellow Central American Presidents. Together, we are here as the singular voice of Central America bringing a crucial message to the United States Congress. That message is as simple as it is important: pass the Central American-- Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement and pass it as quickly as possible. There is a common misunderstanding about DR-CAFTA in the United States. The misunderstanding is that DR-CAFTA is primarily about trade. Yes, it is true that DR-CAFTA will bring very important trade and economic benefits to both the United States and to the nations of Central America and the Caribbean. This is an undeniable fact. But to truly understand DR-CAFTA, you have to get underneath the surface and see what DR-CAFTA is really about. In its central core, DR-CAFTA is really about ``democracy.'' It is about rewarding a region who has fought so hard to build their democratic institutions and increase the security of the region. Democracy has made very important gains in Central America in the last 15 years. But many of those gains are not irreversible. As we have seen recently in some of the countries of South America, some people are beginning to question whether democracy and free markets can solve their country's problems. But they are wrong. This well-negotiated free trade agreement will consolidate the democratic gains and ensure that the region does not back slide into the insecurity and violence of previous decades. DR-CAFTA binds the United States and Central America not only economically, but more importantly, democratically. DR-CAFTA should be seen for what it really is: a chance to lock in the democratic future for Central America with all economic and security benefits that implies for the United States. I want all Americans, particularly members of Congress, to understand that CAFTA is a democracy issue more than a trade issue. Today, Nicaragua's democracy faces a new set of threats. Yesterday's enemies of democracy used pure military force. Today's enemies of democracy have evolved and refined their techniques. Today's enemies of democracy leave the outside facade of democratic institutions intact, while at the same time they hollow out these institutions from the inside, leaving nothing but the hollow shell. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the enemies of democracy are attempting to do in Nicaragua. As many of you who are following events in Nicaragua know, democracy is under a direct threat. The assault is being led by what the Economist magazine called an ``unholy alliance'' of the extreme left, led by Daniel Ortega, and of the extreme right led by ex-President Arnoldo Aleman who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence. Together these two party bosses, or caudillos, as we say in Spanish, are attempting to dismantle some of democracy's most sacred principles--principles such as checks and balances and the independence of the judiciary--principles without which no democracy can be called a democracy. When the military dictatorship was ended and freedom was restored to our country in 1991, many believed that progress towards building fully functioning democratic institutions would be linear, that is to say forever upward on a steady course. This has not been the case, however. And once again those who value democracy and believe in democracy for Nicaragua are being called to the ramparts to defend it. My administration will never cease to fight for the independence of the judiciary, will never cease to fight for the separation of powers, will never cease to fight against corruption by government officials. And my administration will fight on every front: we will rally Nicaraguan people who crave democracy and functioning democratic institutions; we will fight to enforce the ruling of the Central American Court of Justice which in a historic decision on March 29, 2005 ruled against the attempts of the Nicaraguan National Assembly to strip the Presidency of its powers and declared it a violation of the principle of separation of powers. And we will fight if necessary in the Organization of American States with its wonderful and powerful Democratic Charter. And we will fight with the help of the many friends of Nicaragua that are here tonight who have supported the cause of freedom. Finally, I would like to point out, only eleven days ago, on May 1st at the May Day ceremonies in Havana, Cuba, Daniel Ortega was hugging the dictator Fidel Castro and calling the United States ``an enemy of humanity.'' This would be a scene intimately familiar to both of our honorees here tonight from their days of defending democracy in the 1980s. All of which proves that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, and with the help of all our friends here tonight, together we will meet the new challenges with the same courage and resolution that was brought to the earlier challenges to democracy in Nicaragua in the past.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying legislation. I want to congratulate my colleagues, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), for his management of this rule; and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) for the hard work that he has put into this effort. It is amazing, as we listened to those numbers that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes) used, talking about the fact that this would be the sixth largest army on the face of the earth, between three- quarters of a million and 850,000 gang members, 21,500 gangs out there; the fact that it has become such an international entity. It is clear that we need to do everything that we can to take action. Mr. Speaker, I believe that this rule will provide us with an opportunity to do just that. At the close of his statement, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) bemoaned the fact that we do not have enough amendments to be made in order by Democrats. The fact of the matter is the gentlewoman who just spoke, my very good friend from Dallas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), is going to have an amendment made in order under this rule. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar) is going to have an amendment made in order under this rule. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is going to have two amendments made in order under this rule. The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) who is sitting here on the floor along with the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is going to have an amendment made in order under this rule. The fact is six of the 10 amendments that are going to be made in order under this rule are being offered by members of the minority, creating an opportunity for us to consider a wide range of alternatives in dealing with what everyone acknowledges is an extraordinarily serious problem. I want to take a moment to talk about three other amendments that are made in order under this rule that are very important, and I urge support for those amendments. They are being offered by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood). The fact is many of the problems that are gang-related stem from an issue which we have just begun to deal with by passing the REAL ID Act and that has to do with the problem of illegal immigration. We know when we look at the number of gang-related homicides that have taken place in Southern California in the last 5 years, in the county where I live, Los Angeles, we have had 307 gang-related homicides. And now the number of those murders is spilling over into San Bernardino County. One of the things that we found, tragically, is that much of this is directly related to the problem of illegal immigration. An overwhelming majority of the people who come into this country illegally, Mr. Speaker, come here for one reason and one reason only and that is to feed their families, to make sure that they can make a better life for their families. But of the remaining 2 percent who come in, tragically many of them have been perpetrating crime and tragically they are attracted to gangs. As was said earlier by the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), many of these gangs are managed from inside of prisons, outside of prisons, boards of directors, and there is an international component to this which must be addressed. So I will say that the amendment of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), which I think is a very good one, will actually call for an additional 5 years of incarceration if, in fact, the gang member, the criminal, is found to be here illegally. One of the things we need to make sure that we do, Mr. Speaker, is that as we increase that level of incarceration for that illegal immigrant felon, it is essential that we make sure the Federal Government provide the resources for that incarceration. That is something that must be done. It is done under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, the SCAAP program; and we have to make sure that we provide those resources there, but it is correct and very important for us to do what we can to ensure that those people who are here illegally and perpetrate crimes against our fellow citizens are penalized for that. I believe we have a very good piece of legislation here. It will help us turn the corner on what is a very serious problem. We also need to do everything that we can to, as has been pointed out by a number of people, train and provide incentive and create opportunity for young people so they are not attracted to the gang life and a life of crime. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues' support of this very fair and balanced rule and, as I said, urge support for the underlying measure and urge support for the Goodlatte amendment and the two Norwood amendments.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, it is with a great deal of sadness that I rise today to report to our colleagues of the passing of the father of our two very distinguished colleagues, the gentlemen from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart) and (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart). Rafael Diaz-Balart passed away last Friday after a brief illness of about 3 weeks. And he was one of the most incredible men I ever had the privilege of knowing. I will say that, as we all know, the Diaz-Balart family has long been great champions of the cause of freedom and democracy in Cuba. And the greatest champion was the father, Rafael Diaz-Balart. He had a very, very distinguished and varied career. He served as the majority leader in the Cuban House of Representatives, during the time of the Cuban Republic. Later, from exile, he founded the White Rose Party to fight the communist dictatorship. He served 14 years as a Costa Rican diplomat, and was a legal advisor to the Spanish Government. He always continued to do everything that he possibly could to encourage the cause of democracy and freedom in his homeland. He is an individual who was extraordinarily dedicated to his family. He had four wonderful sons. And I had the chance to talk to our two colleagues just last Friday shortly after he passed away. And I was struck with some of the things that were said. As I said, it was a brief illness. And the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz-Balart) told me that his father said to the doctors, whom he had just met, he said, ``It was worth getting sick just to have the chance to meet you wonderful guys.'' And the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart) said to me that our father taught us how to live, and now he has taught us how to die. And I will say that for me personally it will be a great loss, because I had the opportunity to spend many wonderful times with Rafael Diaz-Balart, and I know that we all, as we think of his passing and the wonderful life that he led, will redouble our efforts to ensure that his dream of freedom and democracy finally come about for the Cuban people.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, at the end of last week, we got reports of an unanticipated surge in revenues to the Federal Treasury. Many people on this House Floor from the other side of the aisle for a long period of time decried the prospects of the Bush tax cuts, saying that they would take our economy right into the tank and ensure that we would never be able to balance the Federal budget. Well, the fact of the matter is, Democrats and Republicans alike now talk about the need to focus on fiscal responsibility and turning the corner on the massive Federal deficit that we have. The single most important thing that we can do is to make sure that the economy is growing. And we, by virtue of putting into place the tax cuts in the last 3 years, have actually dramatically increased through those tax cuts by 29 percent the flow of revenues to the Federal Treasury, beyond what had been anticipated. Our policy of making sure that we grow the economy is critically important. Another component of that will be passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which we will be voting on in the not-too-distant future. It is critically important that we keep this pro-growth agenda moving so that we can, in fact, have the revenues we need to balance the budget.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary have until midnight tonight to file its report on H.R. 1279.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of not only this rule, but the conference report as well. I want to congratulate my colleagues, the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), and I know we are going to be hearing from the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) in just a few minutes some very thoughtful remarks. But I want to begin by saying that this is the first supplemental appropriations bill that our very good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) has brought to the House floor. And I take my hat off to him, as I know both Democrats and Republicans will, for the phenomenal job that he is doing as the new chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. This bill is one which encompasses, as we all know, the very important aspect of ensuring that our men and women in uniform, as we are in the midst of the war on terror, including Iraq, have what they need. It also is focused on ensuring that we provide some relief to those who were hit so badly by the tsunami that took place at the end of last year. This also is, Mr. Speaker, a very great testament to the commitment that was made by the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) last fall. I had the privilege of serving with a number of our colleagues as a conferee on the intelligence reform package, the implementation of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. And we know that border security is a very important aspect of that. Those of us who were House conferees on the Republican side pushed very hard to make sure that we could deal with the driver's license issue, the asylum issue, and the effort to close the 3\1/2\-mile gap in the border fence which has been discussed here many, many times. We had an amendment that was offered by our then former colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose), to complete that 3\1/2\-mile gap. We worked very hard to ensure that when it came to the issues of driver's licenses, that we did not impose a mandate on the States. We simply said to the States, as is included in this measure, that if a State chooses to give driver's licenses to people who are here illegally, then those driver's licenses cannot be used for any Federal purpose: getting on board an aircraft, going into a Federal courthouse, applying for any Federal program. So States are still free to do whatever they would like; but this provision is addressed, I think, very adequately, focusing on our security. Well, these issues that we discussed and tried to include in the 9/11 Conference last fall unfortunately were not able to be included because our colleagues in the other body chose to resist. And we had a commitment from Speaker Hastert that the first must-pass piece of legislation would include the very important border security items which are so important for us. And I am happy to say that Speaker Hastert and Chairman Lewis have included these provisions. I also wanted to compliment President Bush who has strongly supported the effort to include the Real ID Act in this measure. This is a very important first step towards dealing with the issue of border security. I am pleased, we are planning next week to hold hearings on H.R. 98, our goal of putting into place a counterfeit-proof social security card, so that we can also play a role in diminishing that magnet which draws people illegally across the border; and in so doing, we can allow the Border Patrol to focus their attention on the potential terrorist threat coming across our borders and other criminals. And so we have got very important things that we are doing. No one knows whether this is a panacea. It is still a problem with which we have to contend, but the measures that are included in this supplemental appropriations bill are critical to dealing with that challenge that we face. I thank my friends for their hard work on this. I generally congratulate the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) and all who have been involved on both sides of the aisle in implementation of this important measure.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules may meet the week of May 9 to grant a rule which could limit the amendment process for floor consideration of H.R. 1279, the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005. Any Member wishing to offer an amendment should submit 55 copies and one copy of a brief explanation of the amendment to the Committee on Rules in room H-312 of the Capitol by noon on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. Members should draft their amendments to the bill as reported by the Committee on the Judiciary on April 20, 2005. Members are advised that the report of the Committee on the Judiciary is expected to be filed today, Thursday, May 5, and Members are also advised that the text of the reported bill should be available for their review on the Web sites of the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Rules by this evening. Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that their amendments are drafted in the most appropriate format and should check with the Office of the Parliamentarian to be certain their amendments comply with the rules of the House. Mr. Speaker, with that I wish my colleagues a happy Cinco de Mayo and a Happy Mother's Day.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules may meet the week of May 9 to grant a rule which could limit the amendment process for floor consideration of H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding For First Responders Act of 2005. Any Member wishing to offer an amendment should submit 55 copies of the amendment and one copy of a brief explanation of the amendment to the Committee on Rules in room H-312 of the Capitol by noon on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. Members should draft their amendments to the bill as reported by the Committee on Homeland Security on April 21, 2005. Members are advised that the report of the Committee on Homeland Security, House Report 109-65, was filed on April 28. Members are also advised that the text of the reported bill will be available on the Web sites of the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Rules. Members should use the Office of Legislative Counsel to ensure that their amendments are drafted in the most appropriate format and should check with the Office of the Parliamentarian to be certain their amendments comply with the rules of the House.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am planning, as soon as this fascinating colloquy is completed, to ask unanimous consent to make a formal announcement to our colleagues which will request that amendments be filed with us upstairs for consideration of the measures.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow in the Committee on Rules and on Thursday on the House floor under the able leadership of the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis), chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, we will be considering and voting with, I am sure, strong bipartisan support, we will be voting out the conference report on the supplemental appropriations bill focused on providing very important assistance to our effort in Iraq, the men and women there, and also aid to the victims of the tragic tsunami that we saw take place last year. We also are very pleased that included in that legislation is an item which the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) made a commitment to last fall that would be there when we were working on implementations of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, the intelligence conference report. To refresh the memories of our colleagues, there were many of us, Republican conferees on the House side especially, who were pushing to include very important border security provisions. Unfortunately, our colleagues in the other body refused to include those. We went ahead and passed out, again with strong bipartisan support, the legislation that implemented the recommendations of the 9/ 11 Commission, including the establishment of a new Director of National Intelligence and very important measures to increase the size of our border patrol as well as other important items dealing with the issue of intelligence. We were unable, because, as I said, our colleagues in the other body would not include it, to have the border security issues which we are going to be including in this supplemental appropriation bill. Again, Speaker Hastert made a very good commitment that we would have it on the first must-pass piece of legislation. Those provisions, Mr. Speaker, are very, very important. They are designed to ensure that driver's licenses do not get into the hands of people who are here illegally. It also is designed to complete the 3\1/ 2\-mile gap in the border fence which exists along the border between Mexico and the United States, between San Diego and Tijuana. We, I believe, are going to be much better off with these items that are included. But as we move beyond this issue, it is important for us to also focus on other priorities that we have legislatively to deal with the border security issue. Next week we are scheduled to have a hearing in the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration on H.R. 98, a measure which enjoys bipartisan support. I am proud that the lead cosponsor of the legislation is the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), former chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, and we have support from a wide range of Members. H.R. 98, Mr. Speaker, establishes a counterfeit-proof Social Security card. We know that there are employers out there who are required under the employer sanctions provisions of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act to ask for documents when they are hiring people, a birth certificate, driver's licenses, other things. The existence of a counterfeit-proof Social Security card will make it easier for the employer with a card like this, and they will simply take and swipe this card or call a toll-free number and be able to determine whether or not someone is an American citizen, here on a work permit or what their status is. If they do not have this card, they will not be able to get a job; and if employers hire them, we have increased by 400 percent the penalty for those employers and we call for the establishment in H.R. 98 of 10,000 enforcement agents who will make sure that employers are actually complying with the law and not hiring people here illegally. The bill is called H.R. 98, Mr. Speaker, because according to T.J. Bonner, the president of the National Border Patrol Council, it will reduce by 98 percent the number of illegal border crossings. So we believe very strongly that implementation of a national counterfeit- proof Social Security card, which is not a national identification card, only required for people who are looking for a new job, is one of the most important ways that we can deal with our very, very important border security issue. We look forward to the passage of the supplemental appropriations bill here on the floor on Thursday. We also look forward to what we hope to be very, very growing support for passage of H.R. 98.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding me time, and congratulate him on the fine job that he has done on this and as a member of the Committee on the Budget, as well as the Committee on Rules. This a great day, Mr. Speaker. We are at the point where, once again, we are continuing to do the work of the American people. We have spent weeks and months focused on this very important budget issue. We have now seen both houses of Congress address these questions, and we have come together with a conference agreement. It is a conference agreement which is going to allow us to focus on a number of priorities of the Federal Government, that is, our national defense and our homeland security, but at the same time we are focused on very important societal needs that are out there, as well as the fiscal responsibility. We know that economic growth is a very important part of that, and as I listen to my colleagues decry this issue of spending and deficits and all, we know that the single most important thing we can do to deal with this deficit issue is to continue to see the economy grow, and that is exactly what the tax cuts in this measure will do, as they have done. In fact, in last year's budget, we saw the deficit $109 billion lower than anticipated. Why? Because of the economic growth that followed our tax cuts. Mr. Speaker, this is a very fair rule allowing a conference agreement. Members have had a great deal of time over the past several weeks and months to focus on this issue. Let us continue to do what we have done throughout this great 109th Congress: Get the work of the American people done. I thank my friend for yielding me time.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, the distinguished minority leader just made a very compelling case for the bipartisan legislative accomplishments that we have had in this House in the past few months. We have had between 41 and 122 Democrats join with Republicans in passing legislation dealing with bringing the price of gasoline down by passing the energy bill, passing bankruptcy reform, passing the class action bill, passing Continuity of Congress legislation, and making sure that we deal with a wide range of concerns the American people want us to address. Unfortunately, the minority leader did not vote for any of those pieces of legislation, along with that large number of Democrats. We are going to deal in a bipartisan way with the ethics issue. We feel strongly that we were absolutely right in saying that Members should be entitled to choose their own lawyer and absolutely right in saying that there should be due process, and we were absolutely right in saying that Members should not be left out hanging, there should be a resolution to their case. But the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) has in his wisdom said it is very important for us to move ahead in a bipartisan way to do what those editorial boards correctly say should happen: we should be able to have a Committee on Standards of Official Conduct that works. That is what we believe is the right thing to do. I take my hat off to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert) for stepping up to the plate and making it clear that is just what we should do. Vote for this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my very good friend, the gentleman from Chattanooga, Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the Chair how much time remains on both sides.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 1\3/4\ minutes to the gentleman from Marietta, Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), a very hard-working new member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado Springs, Colorado (Mr. Hefley), the very distinguished former chairman of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, our friend.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 1\1/4\ minutes to the gentleman from Columbia, Missouri (Mr. Hulshof), another former member of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. (Mr. HULSHOF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Goddard, Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt).

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\3/4\ minutes to the gentleman from Madison, Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), a former member of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.