Jimmy Duncan

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this very modest tax relief proposal and the rule that brings it to the floor, and especially in support of the deduction for State and local sales taxes which is so very important to my home State of Tennessee and many millions of people throughout this Nation. Every day we read stories about how wasteful the Federal Government is, and certainly it has been proven over and over again how the least efficient, most wasteful way to spend money is to turn it over to the Federal Government. Every dollar we can keep in the private sector helps to create jobs and lower prices. And who benefits the most from job creation and lower prices: the poor and the lower-income and the working people. The wealthy are always going to be all right, but this is a bill that helps the poor and the lower-income and the working people more than anybody else. It contains breaks for the rich like tax deductions for teacher classroom expenses, expenses that classroom teachers pay out of their own pockets. It contains another deduction for the rich for deducting tuition expenses. That is certainly a deduction for the wealthy; and, of course, I am saying that sarcastically. It contains expensing for brownfield environmental cleanups, something that is very good for the environment. It contains breaks for our veterans and those who have been and are in combat at this time. It contains increases for small businesses, and certainly that is something that is very, very important to millions of people throughout this country. Mr. Speaker, this is a very modest proposal. I think it is about a 2 percent tax break. I urge passage of this bill.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, in August of 2002, 2 months before Congress voted for the war in Iraq, Dick Armey, then our Republican majority leader, gave a speech in Des Moines, Iowa. He said, ``I don't believe America will justifiably make an unprovoked attack on another nation. It would not be consistent with what we have been as a Nation.'' The very popular conservative columnist, Charley Reese wrote, before the war, that it was ``ludicrous'' to believe Iraq was any kind of threat to us. Mr. Reese added, ``This is a prescription for the decline and fall of the American Empire. Overextension, urged by a bunch of rabid intellectuals who wouldn't know one end of a gun from another has doomed many an empire. Just let the United States try to occupy the Middle East,'' Mr. Reese said, ``which will be the practical result of a war against Iraq, and Americans will be bled dry by the costs both in blood and treasure.'' The conservative columnist, Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Reagan wrote, before the war, that a ``U.S. invasion of Iraq is the beginning of World War IV.'' He considered the Cold War as World War III. Mr. Roberts added that going to war in Iraq ``will not solve the Israeli-American conflict with militant Islam. On the contrary, it will widen it.'' Jack Kemp wrote before the war, ``What is the evidence that should cause us to fear Iraq more than Pakistan or Iran. Do we reserve the right to launch a preemptive war exclusively for ourselves or might other nations such as India, Pakistan or China be justified in taking similar action on the basis of fears of other nations?'' Mr. Kemp said, based on the evidence that he had seen, there was not ``a compelling case for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.'' James Webb, Secretary of the Navy, under President Reagan, wrote a column for The Washington Post, before the war, saying if we invaded, we would have to occupy Iraq for 30 to 50 years and that American soldiers would ``quickly become 50,000 terrorist targets.'' He added, ``These concerns and others like them are the reasons that many with long experience in U.S. national security issues remain unconvinced by the arguments for a unilateral invasion of Iraq. Unilateral wars designed to bring about regime change and a long-term occupation should be undertaken only when a nation's existence is clearly at stake.'' Many other conservative columnists, such as Doug Bandow, Pat Buchanan, Joseph Sobran, Steven Chapman, the late Sam Francis, and many others, wrote columns opposing this war before it started. Later, William F. Buckley said if he had known in 2002 what he knew then, in 2004, he would have opposed the war. Lewis Lapham, writing in Harper's Magazine, before the war, said, ``the Iraqi Army, never formidable, is less dangerous now than when it was routed in the 4 days of the Gulf War, Iraqi Air Force of no consequence, the civilian economy too impoverished.'' U.S. News and World Report in October of 2002, before the war, carried a lengthy article entitled ``Why War, Why Now?'' and said, ``Many question the rush to attack.'' Fortune Magazine, long before the war, carried an article entitled ``Iraq, We Win. What then?'' The article said a ``military victory could turn into a strategic defeat'' and that an American occupation would be ``prolonged and expensive,'' and ``could turn U.S. troops into sitting ducks for Islamic terrorists.'' When they found out I was against the war, the White House had me and five other members down for a briefing by then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet and John McLaughlin, the two top people in the CIA. I asked how much Saddam Hussein's military budget was in comparison to ours. I was told a little over 2/10 of 1 percent. I asked if you could get by the traditional conservative positions of being against huge deficit spending and making the U.S. the policeman of the world and placing almost all of the burden of enforcing U.N. resolutions on our people, was there any evidence at all of an eminent threat? Mr. Tenet said no, there was not. And he later confirmed this in a speech at Georgetown University the day after he resigned. According to Bob Woodward's book on the war, the President received a briefing from these same CIA officials on December 21, 2\1/2\ months after the Congressional vote and responded with words to the effect, ``Is that the best you've got. That will never convince Joe Public.'' Quoting Charley Reese, the conservative columnist again, the war in Iraq was ``against a country that was not attacking us, did not have the means to attack us, and had never expressed any intention of attacking us, and for whatever real reason we attacked Iraq, it was not to save America from any danger, imminent or otherwise.'' Many conservative leaders and columnists were against this war from the beginning because it went against almost every traditional conservative position and there was nothing conservative about this war. The traditional conservative position was stated many years ago by Senator Robert Taft who said, ``No foreign policy can be justified except a policy devoted to the protection of the American people, with war only as the last resort and only to preserve that liberty.''

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to assume the time of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the primary sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons).

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

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3963 to extend the authorization of appropriations for the Long Island Sound program under the Clean Water Act. More than 8 million people live within the Long Island Sound watershed. The sound generates more than $5 billion annually for the regional economy from boating, swimming, and commercial and sport fishing, plus other activities. The Long Island Sound, like many estuaries around the Nation, supports multiple uses and demands and provides habitat for a multitude of fish and wildlife species. Yet despite its value, the sound is experiencing stress from increasing population growth and development. Storm water and agricultural runoff, wastewater discharges with high nutrient levels, industrial pollution, and commercial and recreational waste all have led to water quality issues arising in the sound. The Long Island Sound is one of the estuaries in the EPA's national estuary program. A long- term estuary management plan has been developed and approved for the sound. The Long Island Sound program was created in part to help carry out the goals of the sound's estuary management plan. H.R. 3963 reauthorizes the current level of funding for the Long Island Sound program to continue implementing the sound's estuary management plan. This includes $40 million annually through fiscal year 2010 for the EPA to make grants to State and local parties for projects and studies aimed at improving water quality in the sound. H.R. 3963 will help the local States and the EPA to restore and protect Long Island Sound, which is so important to the economy of this very important region of our country. I want to especially congratulate the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for sponsoring and pushing this bill to the floor here today. I urge all Members to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I will close simply by saying, as has been pointed out, 8 million people live directly within the Long Island Watershed, 28 million people within 50 miles, and millions more visit those areas each year. This is a bill that is very important for the environment and very important for the economy. Both of these bills amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, and both the BEACH Act and the Long Island Sound legislation are good bills that all Members on both sides can be very proud of.

Mr. DUNCAN. 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3963) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to extend the authorization of appropriations for Long Island Sound.

Mr. DUNCAN

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

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

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1721 to extend the authorization of appropriations for Clean Water Act programs aimed at improving the quality and safety of our Nation's recreational coastal waters. Beaches are a very important part of American life. Each year, over 180 million people visit coastal waters for recreational purposes. This activity supports over 28 million jobs and leads to investments of over $50 billion each year in goods and services nationally. Public confidence in the quality of our Nation's waters is important not only to each citizen who swims, but also to the tourism and recreation industries that rely on safe and swimmable coastal waters. To improve the public's confidence in the quality of our Nation's coastal waters and to protect public health and safety, Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, commonly called the BEACH Act, in the 106th Congress. Under the BEACH Act, the EPA has been developing new water quality criteria to protect human health from disease-causing pathogens, and States are updating their water quality standards for recreational coastal waters to incorporate these more protective critical. The EPA also has been making grants to States to help them implement programs to monitor beach water quality and to notify the public if water quality standards are not being met. H.R. 1721 reauthorizes the current level of funding for these programs. This includes $30 million annually through fiscal year 2011 for the EPA to make grants to help them implement their coastal waters monitoring and public notification programs. H.R. 1721 will help protect public health and safety and continue to improve the quality of our Nation's recreational coastal waters that are so very important to the economies of our coastal communities. I certainly want to congratulate our colleague, Mr. Bishop, on sponsoring this bill, and I urge all Members to support this very worthwhile legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I will simply close by saying that this is a very strong bill for the environment. It is a bill that is important to thousands of cities, towns and small communities along the coast of this country. Not every bill that claims to be for the environment is really a good bill because some of them drive up prices and destroy jobs and hurt the poor and lower income and working people, but this is a pro-environment bill that helps sustain and even creates jobs. I do not know of any negatives with this bill. I think it is something that all of our colleagues can support. I urge its passage.

Mr. DUNCAN. 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1721) to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize programs to improve the quality of coastal recreation waters, and for other purposes.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, last week The Washington Post reported that our U.S. Border Patrol agents are wearing uniforms manufactured in Mexico. One agent said, ``It is embarrassing to be protecting the U.S.- Mexico border and be wearing a uniform made in Mexico.'' There are plenty of companies all over this country that could make these uniforms, yet some brilliant bureaucrat has decided to give jobs to Mexicans rather than to Americans. I have nothing whatsoever against Mexico, but the first obligation of the U.S. Congress should be to our own people. Not only is this a jobs issue, but there are security implications as well. Having these uniforms made in another country makes it more likely that these uniforms could end up on a black market and be sold to drug traffickers, illegals wanting to cross the border, or even worse, terrorists trying to come here. I hope all Federal officials will start trying to give as much business as possible to American companies and workers instead of giving even more jobs to those in other countries.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, every Boy Scout of America Troop deserves recognition, and I am proud to have many active Troops in my District which are making a tremendous difference in our communities every day. I rise today though to recognize Boy Scout Troop 20 of the Toqua District, Great Smoky Mountain Council in Knoxville, Tennessee. Troop 20 is celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. For half of a century Troop 20 has been practicing the outstanding principles of Scouting and making Knoxville a better community. I believe every Member of this body shares the gratitude I have for this Troop, its leaders and scouts, both past and present. Troop 20 has actively participated in collecting food goods for the homeless as part of the ``Scouting for Food'' program. The Scouts and leaders of this Troop have made countless improvements to area churches, parks and community facilities. They have assisted in many other civic oriented projects and have always displayed a sincere desire to serve those around them. I have had the distinct honor of presenting many Scouts of Troop 20 with a United States Flag as they are awarded the prestigious Eagle Scout designation. Every Scout though of Troop 20 has distinguished himself as an upstanding member of our community and a fine citizen of our Nation. Mr. Speaker, I ask that the United States House of Representatives join me in saying congratulations to Boy Scout Troop 20 for 50 years of service and distinction.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest leaders and one of the finest women I have ever known is receiving the highest honor awarded by the Urban League, the Whitney M. Young Award. Sarah Moore Greene has devoted her life to serving her community. In East Tennessee, she is a pioneer in education, politics, and civil rights. She worked very hard throughout the 1950s and 1960s to desegregate lunch counters and theaters. She was also the first African-American to serve as a Tennessee delegate to the Republican National Convention, as well as the Knoxville Board of Education. Her extensive service on the Board was so groundbreaking that the Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy in Knoxville is named in her honor. I have come to know Sarah quite well over the years. She worked in a part-time capacity for me, my late father, and Howard H. Baker, Jr. Mr. Speaker, this Nation is a better place today because of the life led by Sarah Moore Greene. I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the Record the following article from the October 27th edition of the Knoxville News Sentinel. [From the News Sentinel, October 27, 2005] Magnet for Admiration (By Chandra Harris) ``When people come to Knoxville'' and hear about Sarah Moore Greene, ``they want to meet me,'' the 93-year-old said. That's because she has both an elementary school and a day named in her honor. She's the go-to person for her East Knoxville neighbors looking for work. Her name is linked with kindergarten implementation in schools, after she was named the first black to serve on the Knoxville Board of Education. When talk turns to civil rights in Knoxville, her name comes up for her tireless efforts to desegregate lunch counters and theaters. In politics, her name comes up for being the first black to serve as a Tennessee delegate to the Republican National Convention. Hundreds of awards, accolades and praise from Urban League and NAACP affiliates speak to what Greene won't. Her humbleness won't allow her to drum on about her pioneer days on fronts no one else had yet touched. The Knoxville Area Urban League will let Greene's light of greatness shine by bestowing on her tonight its highest honor, the Whitney M. Young Award. Greene said the award, named after a former National Urban League executive director and civil rights leader, ``touches my heart the most.'' She will receive it during the league's annual gala at the Knoxville Convention Center. She puts her humility aside when speaking of her ways with a stove and the secret ingredients she uses to create mouth- watering homemade rolls and Key lime pie. On Sundays in the kitchen Greene hobbles on what she sometimes calls her ``bad legs'' to put together a meal that leaves faint smells of home-cooking throughout her quaint home on Linden Avenue. Her quaint house, outfitted outside with containers of flowers, was partially destroyed by a fire in the late '90s but was later restored at the wish of Greene. ``I want to stay right here with my people,'' she said. ``I don't desire to move. I can do everything from right here,'' she said. ``I still drive.'' Grocery trips and visits to the beautician are a regular occurrence for Greene behind the wheel of her Dodge Stratus. At 6 a.m. ``I am hitting the floor and once (``Today Show's'') Katie (Couric) and Matt (Lauer) go off, I know it is time to start my day and answer phone calls,'' said Greene. Moving at a snail's pace doesn't hamper Greene, who counts her blessings daily for the movement of her limbs. The 50-year-plus member of Mount Zion Baptist Church said she doesn't need ``spoiling'' just yet from the community, ``but when I holler for some help, I hope somebody will come and help me,'' she said. For now, ``as the young people say, 'You've got to roll with the punches,' '' she said. It's something she has been doing since the age of 5 when she lost her mother to cancer. ``I didn't know what it meant to have a mother,'' Greene said, reflecting on her days growing up in Madisonville, Tenn. The second oldest of four children--her two brothers and sister are deceased Greene said her father was all she needed to make it in a world where ``I didn't even know I was discriminated against.'' Walking beside her to school every day was ``a little white girl. She lived right down the road from me. She was one of my best friends,'' Greene said. The two would walk together for two miles before parting ways; Greene would walk another mile to get to her school, the colored school. Her father, a horticulturalist, believed in education, even though he could neither read nor write. But Greene didn't figure that out until her teen years ``when I saw him with the (newspaper) upside down.'' ``He bluffed me all that time,'' she said with a chuckle. The son of a slave, Greene's father didn't teach ``bitterness or hatred to us.'' The lessons of hate came later, after she moved to Knoxville in her early 20s. ``I really didn't know I wasn't liked because of my skin color until I came here,'' Greene said. ``I was all about equality and fair treatment of everyone,'' said Greene of her roles during the civil rights movement. Education was and still remains a passion of hers. ``This is what I dedicated my life to and I have no regrets,'' said Greene, who was married for more than a decade before divorcing. Knox County has ``not always had kindergarten,'' said Greene, who operated a private kindergarten in East Knoxville during the 1930s. ``This was something I pushed as a school board member. I was laughed at . . .'' ``That was my platform.'' A platform she has not wavered from. Times have changed and technology has evolved but Greene still believes children are the most precious beings of our time. ``Your beliefs and dreams will come to pass if you have some hope and someone believes in you,'' said Greene, who doesn't have children of her own but considers the children of Knoxville hers. When she was a child it was family members and friends who planted her seeds of hope: ``They tell me I was walking at 8 months and my mother said I was going to be somebody great,'' she recalls. Children at the Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Academy don't realize the enormity of the Knoxville matriarch when they ask: ``Why did your mother name you after our school?'' She gives a sheepish smile, knowing her legacy is one they will come to know. Greene spends her days striving for the betterment of all people. ``If we all spent time doing this, in a unified way, then all the problems of the world would be solved,'' she said. ``Some may consider me old, but age is just a figure, not a mindset,'' she said. ``I am going to do all I can, for as long as I can, for all people.'' ``I want my name to be always attached to the betterment of all of God's children, which I hope we all are.''

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, you can never satisfy government's appetite for land or money. They always want more. Today the Federal Government has taken and controls over 30 percent of the land in this Nation. States and local governments and quasi- governmental units have taken and control another 20 percent. Tremendous amounts of land in my home area of east Tennessee have been taken by numerous Federal agencies and departments. Not all of this is bad, but people in government have never been sensitive enough about taking other people's property. They just do not seem to realize how much this can hurt a person or a family. In fact, very few people get concerned about this until it is their land or their home that is being taken. Fortunately, this has not happened to me or my family, and I am not on some personal vendetta, but many people in east Tennessee have had this heartbreaking experience happen to them. These people were for the most part people like many of my ancestors, good, intelligent, hard- working people, often poor, often with not a lot of education, but people with common sense, and often smarter in reality than the elitist do-gooders who came in and used the power of the Federal Government to take their homes. To show how much this can hurt, I would like to read a letter that was published in the Knoxville News this past Sunday from a man who no longer lives in my district, but whose family home was in my district. This is the letter from John Webb of Gainesville, Georgia, a man whom I have never met. He wrote, ``In the spring of 1964, there was a storm that hit Marion County, Tennessee, that resembled the recent storms of Katrina. It left behind people who were devastated and lives that were changed forever.'' He says, ``I was only 12 years old at the time and was on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts when I was told that I had to go to the hospital to see my father. There was a good possibility that he would not live through the night. ``The name of the storm was the Tennessee Valley Authority; my father had a stroke during a battle with the government agency which had condemned his farm of 110 acres on the Tennessee River. ``A panel of judges decided during the next 12 months of deliberation that the offer made by TVA to purchase my father's farm for $240 per acre was indeed too low and that it should pay the outrageous sum of $400 per acre. ``Court records show that the TVA experts stated under oath that this property had no present or future value as anything but farmland.'' Mr. Webb continues, ``Even as my father lay in bed completely paralyzed on his left side from the stroke, unable to be present at proceedings, the court system granted TVA its wish, using the power of eminent domain. ``With the simple stroke of a pen, my father's farm was gone, completely against his will. ``Left behind was a woman with two teenagers to raise, a husband who required 24-hour medical care at home, and a future that looked as bleak as those victims of the hurricanes.'' ``For the next 3 years,'' Mr. Webb writes, ``we learned a lot about bed sores, bed pans, and what it was like for a once proud man to lose his health and his humility. ``My father finally succumbed to pneumonia, and my mother lived for another 20 years with the aid of family, friends and Social Security. ``I still wonder about how all of our lives would have been different if it had not been for the power of politics and money. John E. Webb of Gainesville, Georgia.'' Mr. Speaker, if we do not wake up and realize how important private property is both to our freedom and our prosperity, we are going to destroy our Nation. Politicians love to create parks, and this sounds so good, but when we continue to take more and more private property, we have to continually raise taxes on the property that remains in private hands, and we drive up prices on that remaining land. More and more young people cannot then afford homes, or they have to be jammed together in high-rises, condos or homes on postage-stamp-sized lots. In addition, the government cannot and does not take as good of care of land as private owners do. We need to put more people in office who understand how hurtful it is when government takes property and takes people's homes and farms, and we need to put more people in office who will pledge to take better care of the land government already has and stop government land grants and give poor and lower-income people a chance to own property and appreciate this very important part of the American dream.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton).

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my admiration and respect for Mr. Jack C. Smith, the creative entrepreneur and community leader responsible for K-VA-T Foods, Food City. Although Mr. Smith resides in Virginia, his impact has reached thousands of households in East Tennessee. As Members of this body, we frequently have the opportunity to recognize the achievements of our constituents and these achievements are quite often remarkable. Today, though, we have the distinct honor to recognize a man who has consistently embodied what we respectfully call the great American spirit. Mr. Smith was born into a small rural coalmining community in Southern Virginia. From an early age he showed signs of leadership and recognized the greatness of his Nation. Young Jack set as his life's goal service in the United States Navy and on Flag Day, 1944, Jack Smith joined the ranks of our Navy's finest as a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy. In 1947, he graduated from Annapolis and was married to his wife, Judy Smith. From 1947 until 1954, Mr. Smith served his Country with distinction. Following an honorable discharge, Mr. Smith and his wife returned to the hills of Virginia. It was here that Mr. Smith's eye for business became focused. Recognizing the community's need for a supermarket style grocery, Mr. Smith, with his family's support, set about to meet that need. Today, 50 years have passed since that first grocery store opened its doors, but the focus on excellence and the determination to support local communities has only grown. Through expansion and acquisition, Mr. Smith's small family company has grown to 92 stores with a service reach of over 2.5 million people in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee. In addition to being a successful businessman, Mr. Smith has demonstrated his appreciation for local communities through countless philanthropic efforts. Under his leadership, Food City has donated over $7 million to schools in three states and has partnered with local farmers giving them an avenue to bring their produce to a broad and profitable market. Communities throughout its service region know that if a Food City store opens in their neighborhood, their neighborhood will become stronger. Food City stands as an example of the great success that can come from one man's commitment to doing the very best he can do. Food City continues to be a family owned company. As possibly the most impacting testimony of all, his children and grandchildren possess the same remarkable character that set one young man from a rural coalmining community on a path that we celebrate here on the Floor of the United States House of Representatives today. Congratulations to Mr. Jack C. Smith for 50 years of business success and thank you for 50 years of setting an example each of us can follow.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I would also like to commend the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird), a member of our subcommittee, a very active member, for his work on this legislation; and as I mentioned earlier, it has broad bipartisan support, so I urge its passage. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 3765) to extend through December 31, 2007, the authority of the Secretary of the Army to accept and expend funds contributed by non-Federal public entities to expedite the processing of permits.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, on September 20 of 2005, the House passed H.R. 3765, which provided a 2-year extension of the authority of the Corps of Engineers to accept funds to help process permit applications. This program, which has broad bipartisan support, expired on September 30 of this year. Unless it is extended, some regulatory personnel will have to be reassigned or let go, reducing the Corps' ability to process permits in a timely manner. On October 7 of 2005 the Senate passed H.R. 3765 with an amendment to extend this program for only 6 months, until March 31, 2006. To prevent a reduction in the Corps' ability to process permits, Congressional action is urgently needed. For that reason, I ask Members to agree to the Senate amendment. This issue of how long the authority to accept funds to process permits should be extended will be revisited in the House-Senate Conference on the Water Resources Development Act, after the other body passes their WRDA bill. This is an important thing for the Army Corps of Engineers. This is very helpful to them and it is important particularly to the west coast. It is limited to public entities such as ports and highway departments and other similar public entities. It is available throughout the Nation but it is used primarily on the west coast because it is important to them. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.