Jimmy Duncan

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the biggest news story concerned a car bombing in Baghdad which killed 13 people. Almost all major news outlets reported that immediately following this bombing there was a large anti-American demonstration by Iraqi citizens. They somehow were blaming the bombing on the U.S. and they burned an American flag. A few weeks ago, just before the release of the Iraqi prison pictures, CNN released a poll of 3,000 Iraqis. That poll found that only 19 percent of the people of Iraq view us as liberators, while more than 70 percent viewed us as occupiers. CNN found that 78 percent of Iraqis had an unfavorable view of the U.S. Even worse, at about that same time in another poll taken before the release the prison pictures, the survey found that 82 percent of Iraqis had an unfavorable view of the U.S. This poll was taken by the Coalition Provisional Authority, our own government. In other words, our own poll. It said 82 percent of Iraqis had a bad opinion of the U.S. This is a country, Mr. Speaker, where we have spent almost $200 billion in the last couple of years. This is a country for which we have done more than any other country has done for another nation in the entire history of the world. When I led a delegation to Iraq at the end of January, we were proudly told by one general he would have 110,000 Iraqis working for him, or, more accurately, for our taxpayers by July 1, and he controlled only about one-eighth of the population there. Apparently the only Iraqis who have a favorable view of the U.S. are the ones we have working for us. These people do not appreciate what we have done and are doing for them, and because we have such a huge national debt and such a huge deficit we are borrowing all these billions we are spending there. Some try to say that only a small portion, about $20 billion, is being spent to rebuild Iraq. This is false, or at least very misleading. Most of what the military is doing there, building roads, bridges, schools, setting up free health care clinics, fixing airports and telephone and power and water systems, would be called foreign aid in any other country. In fact, our operation in Iraq is the most massive foreign aid program in history. Saddam Hussein was an evil man, but his total military budget was just two-tenths of 1 percent of ours. He was no real threat to us. Harlan Ullman, a columnist for the Washington Times, who started out favoring this war, wrote a few days ago: ``Compared to Hitler and the might of the Third Reich, Saddam was a relatively minor villain. The original reasons for war; namely, weapons of mass destruction and links to al Qaeda, have drifted out of sight.'' Anyone who says it is isolationist to oppose this war is resorting to childish name-calling, rather than a mature discussion of the issue on its merits, or lack thereof. We should be friends with all nations and help out, in fact lead the way, during humanitarian crises, but we should not get involved in every political, ethnic or religious dispute around the world. This just creates more enemies for us and makes terrorism more likely. We need to follow a foreign policy of enlightened neutrality that relies on war only as a last resort when there is no other reasonable alternative. At the first of last week, the Chicago Tribune had a story about a young soldier who had just been killed in Iraq. Just a few days earlier he had called his mother and told her, ``This is not our war. We should not be here.'' When our handover of sovereignty comes on June 30, we should make this a real handover, not just in name only. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, the main architect of the war, told the Committee on Armed Services a few months ago we would be in Iraq for 10 years. I hope not. Some big companies and some military leaders want us to stay there that long because it means more money for them, but this decision should not be dictated by money. We should declare victory, Mr. Speaker, and begin a phased, orderly withdrawal. We should slowly bring our boys and girls home. We should all hope and pray that no more are killed or maimed for life. This should not be our war. Columnist Georgie Ann Geyer wrote recently: ``Critics of the war against Iraq have said since the beginning of the conflict that Americans, still strangely complacent about overseas wars being waged by a minority in their name, will inevitably come to a point where they will see they have to have a government that provides services at home or one that seeks empire across the globe.'' Mr. Speaker, there is nothing conservative about this war in Iraq. We need to start putting our own people first once again and turn Iraq back over to the Iraqis.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, President Ronald Reagan was an inspiration to me and millions of others throughout the U.S. and even all over the world. He saw the American dream come true in his life, rising from humble beginnings and achieving great, great success in almost every way. He will certainly go down in history as one of our greatest Presidents, but his greatness may have been achieved in large part because, as one of his closest friends said a couple of days ago, he did not worry about how history would view him. It has been said his greatest legacy will be leading us to victory in the Cold War, but his domestic achievements were great, too, especially in lowering taxes and helping curb the greed of government. I had the privilege of meeting President Reagan on many occasions, starting when he was Governor of California. He was always so kind to me and to everyone, and possibly one of his greatest attributes may have been in showing us that you can have strong views on important issues, but still treat opponents with kindness, compassion and even good humor. We are all better people, Mr. Speaker, because of the life and example of President Ronald Reagan.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, NPR News this morning had a report about why gas prices are now over $2 a gallon in some States and headed higher everywhere. The reporter explained that while demand has gone up, as everyone has known it would for many years, capacity has gone way down. He said due to environmental restrictions, no new refineries have been built in this country for more than 20 years, and the number of refineries in California has decreased from 37 to 13. Also, radical environmentalists have successfully fought and stopped oil production in the frozen tundra of Alaska and most other places where it can be safely and environmentally and economically done in the U.S. Environmental extremists almost always come from wealthy, or at least very upper-income, families; but they are really hurting the poor and the lower income and working people of this country, and even our national security, by shutting down so much oil production and refining here and making us overly dependent on foreign oil that is being sold at rip-off prices.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, Aaron Tallent, a member of my staff, has written a very interesting and entertaining article for the current issue of the Washington City Paper. He makes the very important point that just possibly some sophisticated city dwellers should not look down their noses at those millions around the country who live in mobile homes. There are many good and intelligent people who live in these homes, and I would like to call this outstanding article to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the Record. [From the Washington City Paper, Apr. 30, 2004] Daily Double-Wide (By Aaron Tallent) One night at the Capitol Lounge, after I'd been in Washington for a few months, I found myself talking to an aide for a Northern congressman. He was sharing a fact he'd picked up in a meeting with a housing-coalition representative that day: ``Trailers are not considered real housing, because they depreciate in value the minute they are dropped off the truck.'' Then he added, ``Have you ever been in a trailer? They're downright trashy.'' I let it slide. He didn't know that I come from Tellico Plains, Tenn.--population 900, according to the last census. Many of my closest friends still live in Tellico Plains. And many of them live in trailers. My friend Chris, for instance, spent more than three years living in a single-wide after college. He's a high-school English teacher now, and his wife is a schoolteacher as well. He's also an ordained preacher. With the money they saved living up on blocks, he and his wife are now homeowners at 26. No one in my group at the Capitol Lounge, freely cracking trailer jokes, was even close to owning a home. They weren't even able to take care of themselves. The Yankee socioeconomics expert ended the night puking on the floor. A self-proclaimed Southern belle kept talking about how frustrated she was because the guy she'd been hooking up with for two months still hadn't taken her out to dinner. I went out to get cigarettes with a lobbyist for a fiscally conservative nonprofit; he put Marlboro Lights on his Visa. You want to talk about trailer trash? Put down your Stella, turn-off your Blackberry, and listen: You are trailer trash. Just because your neighborhood is geographically broken down by blocks does not mean that you metaphorically don't live up on them. Urban America is full of trailer parks. You just have fancier names for them. Let's stop by your studio apartment, shall we? You're proud of the location, naturally. In Dupont Circle, on Capitol Hill, in Georgetown--so sophisticated! So many urbane attractions: Now let's go inside. Whoa! Almost tripped over your futon. Didn't expect it to be so close to the doorway! It seems your futon is the center of your place. Sitting on it, you can reach over to the bed and fluff your pillows with one hand, while you pop a DVD into your entertainment center with the other. How convenient! Of course, I caught you at a bad time. Normally when you're expecting company, you put the room divider up to hide the bed from the ``living room.'' That's about as concealing as hair in a can. In the kitchenette, you have a two-burner stove and a counter with just enough room to make a peanut- butter sandwich. Is there a dishwasher? I think not. We could go into your bathroom, but with the clothes hamper, there's no room to move. Your mini-estate, like a trailer, is simply the compromise you make to live on a lower income. And yours isn't necessarily the nicer compromise. Climb up on the porch and I'll take you inside a Tennessee trailer. How about that! There's a living room with enough space for a couch, love seat, and recliner. Stick your head in the kitchen--the separate kitchen--and you've got a four-grill stove and a counter big enough for preparing dinner parties. Still convinced your prison cell is nicer? Walk down the hall and see, not one, not two, but three bedrooms! Then to top it off, we have a bathroom that can hold a hamper, a magazine rack, and two people. If you want to upgrade, there's room for a Jacuzzi. On the inside, a well-kept trailer could hang with any nice apartment in the D.C. metro area. Step out the back door and . . . oh, look, it's a yard. Most efficiency apartments don't even have a back door. But that's not your real home, you say. You're not planning on living there forever. You've just come to Washington to work for a politician or a nonprofit that stands for everything you believe in. The efficiency is just a stepping-stone, a place to lay your head until you figure out where you want to go with your life and career. Or until you buy a condo in Arlington. Welcome to Tellico Plains. My college-graduate friends, starting out in nursing, physical therapy, or factory work, were able to buy or inherit pieces of land. They just couldn't build houses right away. So they bought trailers. Yes, their purchases depreciated fast. But not as fast as the $12,000 you threw away in rent last year. Now, some of the folks I went to school with may spend the rest of their lives in trailers. They've got low-income jobs and no means to find better ones. They can build a house now, or they can guarantee that their children will always have clothes on their back and three meals a day. It is no different from an urban family living in a cramped apartment. I have received an e-mail no less than 10 times titled ``Tennessee's Latest Lottery Winner.'' It contains a picture of a trailer with a limousine parked out front. Like most jokes based on stereotypes, it has some truth behind it. Growing up, I saw my fair share of broken-down trailers with new Corvettes in the driveway or satellite dishes in the yard. But for every trailer owner who blows a third of his modest paycheck on lotto tickets, there is a D.C. studio-dweller running up a $300 tab at McFadden's or Cafe Citron, then putting milk and bread on his credit card the next day. For every trailer with a brand-new, souped-up Ford F-150 in the driveway, there is a Washington efficiency with Brooks Brothers suits and a Burberry coat in the closet. And for every one of you who thinks a mobile home is the end of existence, trust me, there's someone who'd take one look at your one-room wonder, shudder, and thank the stars for his comfortable double-wide.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for investment in the infrastructure that provides our citizens with clean and safe water. Our Nation's communities are facing enormous needs in their effort to safeguard human health and the environment and to comply with Federal environmental mandates. The wastewater investment needs in our cities, counties, towns and townships are far greater than the amount of money now being made available at the local, state, and federal levels. The GAO, the EPA and the Water Infrastructure Network have all found shortfalls in wastewater infrastructure funding over the next 20 years in the hundreds of billions of dollars. It is critical for the federal government to do more to help meet these needs. Local ratepayers already pay 90 percent of the burden and face rising water and sewer rates every year. The federal government must once again become a partner with local and state governments to provide the necessary funds to protect our watersheds and citizens. Additional investment in the Nation's water and sewer systems also creates jobs for Americans. For every $1 billion spent on water and wastewater construction, 42,000 jobs are created. Billions of dollars are needed to help keep our water infrastructure strong and sound. The President requested $3.7 billion for water and sewer projects in Iraq, highlighting its critical importance to a working society. Yet we are neglecting our own wastewater systems here at home. We should not allow another Earth Day to pass without making a firm commitment to our citizens and our communities. The federal government must become a full partner and provide its share of the billions of dollars that are needed to safeguard the integrity of our Nation's water and wastewater infrastructure.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, the people of Taiwan have been some of the best friends this Country has ever had, and I would like to commend them on their longstanding friendship with this Nation. I also want to commend Taiwan for its continuing efforts in developing and sustaining a free democratic society and free markets. The people of Taiwan are to be further commended for their efforts seeking greater international recognition, including an increasing role and participation in the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Quite simply, Taiwan is too important an economic force and democratic ally to be shunned to the political backwaters of global isolation. I am encouraged with Taiwan's new administration's stated goal of pursuing better relations with the People's Republic of China. Taiwan's cross-strait dialogue with the PRC is crucial for resolving misunderstandings between Beijing and Taipei and Washington, which, Mr. Speaker, is the foundation for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and, indeed, for all of Asia. Mr. Speaker, congratulations to Taiwan, which has the support and best wishes of the United States Congress and the American people.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chairman, vicarious liability laws in 3 states (NY, ME, CT and DC) impose unlimited liability on car and truck renting and leasing companies for injury and property damage solely because they own the vehicles. Eight other states have some limited form of vicarious liability. Vicarious liability is ``liability without fault'' in that these companies have no involvement in or ability to prevent the accident. They cost consumers an average of $100 million annually. Companies nationwide are affected, not just in the few vicarious states, because the laws apply based on where the accident occurs, not where the car or truck is owned or registered. As a result, a car registered and rented in a non-vicarious state that gets into an accident in a vicarious state is subject to that state's vicarious laws. Companies have no way to protect themselves against these laws. I propose adding to H.R. 3550 (TEA LU) a provision to eliminate vicarious liability nationwide. Under this provision, only a company that is at fault or negligent in an accident could be held liable for damages. T&I Chairman Young, Highways Subcommittee Chairman Petri, and Highways Subcommittee Ranking Member Lipinski all support this provision; Ranking Member Oberstar is non-committal at this point. The amendment eliminates liability under state law for an owner of a motor vehicle who is engaged in the business of renting and leasing motor vehicles provided there is no negligence or criminal wrongdoing on the part of the motor vehicle owner; the owner must maintain the required state limits of financial responsibility for each vehicle in accordance to the state where the vehicle is registered; elimination of vicarious liability commences on the date of enactment; and defines ``motor vehicle'' and ``owner.''

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this very important legislation, which will improve our transportation infrastructure and create millions of jobs, and I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin, (Mr. Petri) for yielding me this time. I especially want to commend the chairman, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young); chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Petri); and the ranking members, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), all very close friends of mine, who are to be commended for their great leadership on this bill. Mr. Chairman, this is the biggest jobs bill that we will vote on in this Congress. I am sick and tired of seeing millions of American jobs go to other countries. All over this Nation there is tremendous concern about this. We are spending hundreds of billions in other countries. This bill is one that puts our own people first once again. But it is more than just a jobs bill, Mr. Chairman. This is a safety bill. I chaired the Subcommittee on Aviation for 6 years. Unfortunately, there are more people killed on our Nation's highways in just a little over 4 months than in all U.S. aviation accidents combined since the Wright Brothers flight of 1903. This bill is one that will make our Nation's highways much safer and will save many thousands of lives. We need to take terrorism very seriously, Mr. Chairman; but we are spending hundreds of billions on terrorism, when we count up all the military and Federal, State and local spending, and what all the private companies are doing on security. Yet, as the very respected National Journal magazine pointed out a few months ago, people are thousands of times more likely to be killed in a car wreck than by a terrorist. Surely we can spend $45 billion a year on our Nation's highways and our National Transportation System. This is an efficiency bill. One leading national magazine said recently, ``Congestion costs the Nation about $67 billion a year. Americans waste 3.6 billion hours and 5.7 billion gallons of gas sitting in traffic, all at an average cost of $1,160 per commuter per year.'' This bill will save huge amounts of tax dollars by speeding up the time in which projects can be completed. Everything in our economy, Mr. Chairman, everything in our personal lives depends on, or is affected by, a good transportation system. I am especially pleased that in this bill there is language promoting technology to decrease or cut down or eliminate the time that trucks have to idle at truck stops. I also want to work on the language, though, that is in the bill concerning parking areas for trucks along our Nation's interstate highway system so that those parking areas do not compete against companies in the private sector. No one on our committee, Mr. Chairman, wants to pave over the entire country, but vehicle miles traveled keeps going up at three to five times the rate of our population growth. This means we have to improve and widen our highways. Paul Craig Roberts, the nationally syndicated conservative columnist wrote recently: ``Before we can reconstruct the rest of the world, we need to stop deconstructing our own country.'' I have nothing against any other Nation, but this is one bill that is pro-American. It is not only pro-American, it is pro-jobs, pro-environment, pro-safety; and I urge its passage because this is one of the best things we will be able to do this year in this Congress.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time to consider a conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 3108) to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to temporarily replace the 30-year Treasury rate with a rate based on long-term corporate bonds for certain pension plan funding requirements, and for other purposes, that the conference report be considered as read, and that all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration be waived.

Mr. DUNCAN

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 rise tonight to speak about two separate issues but both related to the economic well-being, the pocketbooks of the American people. First, the trade deficit. The Washington Post reported on February 16 that our trade deficit reached a record $489 billion in 2003. The story said that ``while the trade report showed the robust growth in U.S. consumption, it also provided a stark reminder of problems on the economy's productive side. In particular, the lack of employment growth which is attributable in part to the loss of jobs to foreign competition.'' At a hearing before the subcommittee I chair, the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, the head of the World Shipping Council said ships were coming to the U.S. full but leaving empty. We cannot sustain this type of deficit for many more years. By far the largest trade imbalance is with China and will probably be around $150 billion this year. With a tiny bit less than 4 percent of the world's population, we buy 25 percent of the world's goods. This means that every other country desperately wants into our markets. We have tremendous trade leverage that we have not used as we should have. It has been used mainly to help large multinational companies which have had great influence, too much influence, in our government. However, our trade agreements have been detrimental to the majority of American small and medium-sized businesses and to our workers. I believe other countries are probably amazed that we have not been tougher in trade negotiations. We should tell any nation with which we have a large trade imbalance, starting with China, that we want to be friends, that we want cultural and educational exchanges, tourism, and especially trade; but we want that trade to be both free and fair. We should tell the Chinese and others to start looking for products they can buy from us because if they do not start bringing down the trade deficits within a reasonable time, we will have to renegotiate some of our trade agreements. William Hawkins, Senior Fellow, at the U.S. Business and Industry Council, summed it up best in a recent column in the Washington Times: ``Commerce is driven by competition, making trade rivalry a part of the larger struggle of nations for independence, security, and prosperity.'' Mr. Speaker, I am sick and tired of seeing so many millions of American jobs going to other countries, and there is tremendous concern about this all across this Nation. Secondly, Mr. Speaker, gas prices. Gas prices have risen to some of their highest levels ever, primarily for two reasons: one, we are being robbed by foreign oil producers; and, two, extreme environmentalists oppose any oil production in the U.S. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a 19.8 million acre site, 35 times the size of the Great Smokey Mountains. Yet some left-wing extremists oppose drilling on some 2,000 acres in the Arctic Nation Wildlife Refuge, about \1/100\ of 1 percent of the refuge, in a part that is a frozen tundra with no trees or bushes for many, many miles. We have not opened a new oil refinery since 1975, and something like 36 have been forced to close since 1980 due to too many rules and regulations. If we do not, Mr. Speaker, we will become even more vulnerable to foreign nations and damage both our economy and our national security. These environmental extremists almost always come from very wealthy or upper-income families, and perhaps they do not realize how much they are hurting the poor and the lower-income and the working people of this country, but we need to produce more U.S. oil to bring down these gas prices.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago, Curtis Williams, a great and patriotic American, passed away in Lenoir City, Tennessee. Mr. Williams, or Curtis to almost everyone, was a City Councilman in Lenoir City and a former member of the Loudon County Commission. He served on many boards and committees and worked with numerous civic and charitable organizations. He loved people and obviously wanted to help as many as he could. Curtis was not rich or famous, but much more importantly, he was a kind and good man. He loved his family first and his community and his Country next, and this shone through in everything he said and did. This Nation is a better place today because of the life Curtis Williams led, and I want to commend and praise the work he did. I want to also call to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the Record the article about Curtis that was published by the Knoxville News Sentinel. [From the Knoxville News Sentinel, Mar. 31, 2004] Councilman's Death Leaves Big Hole in LC Community (By Ann Hinch) Monday's presentation of a $215,000 FEMA grant at Lenoir City Fire Station No. 1 promises all the hallmarks of an event Curtis Williams Sr. would've loved: his little city and his firefighters benefiting from much-needed federal funds, politics and old friends. Sadly, the famously cheerful councilman will attend the April 5 presentation only in memory. Williams, 77, died of congestive heart failure at midnight March 15. He'd been absent from most of the semi-monthly council meetings in the months preceding his death, wanting to attend but ultimately too ill and tired to do so. He would have especially enjoyed Monday's event, as he was also the city's fire commissioner and helped snag the FEMA grant. ``He'd get ready to come to the meetings, but at the last minute, he'd just be too tired,'' daughter Debbie Cook explained. Cook, one of Williams' and wife Tiajaunia ``Ty's'' three children, said her father's doctor told the family in January that Williams didn't have long to live. In typical fashion, rather than mourn his mortality, she said her father asked frankly about funeral plans, regaled with old stories and made the most of time with family during his last weeks. ``I remember telling him that last weekend, how when I was growing up I remember him always helping the `little man,' `` Cook recalled, adding with a laugh, ``and he answered, `Well, I was the little man!' ``He saw himself as a true public servant. If someone called him asking for help to get a job, or a place to live, or food, he'd help them as much as he could.'' Williams served on the city council from 1997 until his death, but was hardly a political neophyte. He spent 11 years on the Loudon County Commission until a heart attack forced him to leave in 1980 and also retire from his job as assistant plant manager with the local Charles H. Bacon Co. textile plant. Taking a break from political office didn't mean a break in politics. An avid Democrat all his life, Williams volunteered for at least six boards, not including the committees he chaired and served on during his 18 years of elected office. And he even counted the occasional Republican among his political comrades, including Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., and his father, the late Rep. John J. Duncan. ``It seemed almost every time me or my dad came to Loudon County, we would see him,'' recalled Duncan, whose father began campaigning for office there while the younger Duncan was in high school. ``He was a real strong supporter of both of us.'' ``I think that he set a good example for anyone in public office. He had a heart for service and liked to help people.'' Duncan will make the grant presentation. Loudon County Attorney Harvey Sproul was county mayor while Williams served on the commission. He recalls the projects they worked on to modernize thle county, including being one of the first Tennessee counties to institute planning and zoning in 1972. ``He was supportive of trying to get things done and trying to establish a foundation for future county growth,'' Sproul said. ``He was almost unequaled in public service; he served on so many boards, and was very progressive.'' Duncan had the most contact with Williams through veterans' organizations. Williams was proud of his three-year tour of duty in the Navy during World War II; Cook said Williams was proud to serve his country, to the point of having his legal guardians (he and his siblings were orphaned young and lived with relatives) help him lie about his age at 17 so he could join the Navy in 1943. ``They didn't ask for anything (age proof) back then,'' Cook said. ``They just said, `Do you want to fight?''' Williams helped storm the beach at Normandy on D-Day and was a gunner in the Pacific. After the war, Williams returned to his job at Bacon, where he'd worked since he was a boy; he would work there 36 years. He married his childhood sweetheart, earned his GED, and attended classes at the University of Tennessee not toward a degree, but simply to learn more. Two of his three children-- Cook and Curtis Williams Jr.--followed him into local politics (daughter Bernita Gamble did not). He left behind a large family, including seven grandchildren and five great- grandchildren. He also left a hole on the city council, where his term would have ended next April. Mayor Matt Brookshire, who is now responsible for appointing the position, said, ``His presence here was missed for a long time, and he'll continue to be missed. He did enjoy (his work).''

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, last month Siemans announced that it was moving most of its 15,000 software jobs to China, India, and Eastern Europe. We have now lost 229,000 computer jobs since 2001. Pfizer and Levis now produce none of their products in this country, even though this is where they make most of their money. Yesterday, The Washington Post carried a story about a chemical plant in West Virginia closing this month, just after its 75th anniversary. The story said we have lost 100,000 chemical jobs in the last 5 years because of cheap foreign competition and soaring natural gas prices. The Clinton administration locked up 213 trillion cubic feet of natural gas due to pressure from environmental extremists. Conservative columnist Paul Craig Roberts, a Reagan Treasury Department official, wrote recently, ``The combination of war, job and income loss, unprecedented trade deficits, and the creation of Social Security entitlements for foreign nationals will break the U.S. long before another generation passes. ``Before the U.S. can reconstruct the world,'' he wrote, ``it must cease deconstructing itself.''

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, Dean Stone, long-time editor of The Daily Times newspaper in Maryville, TN, has written a really outstanding editorial about prescription drug prices. Mr. Stone frequently writes very thoughtful and informative editorials about issues of national importance. He points out in this editorial that we have drug prices that are far too high because the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, seems to be controlled by the giant pharmaceutical companies. I have consistently supported in committee meetings and in votes on the floor of the House the right of the people to purchase drugs from Canada. Mr. Stone points out that FDA concerns about safety are not supported by any evidence. I would like to call this fine editorial to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the Record. With More Than 600 Lobbyists, There's Little Chance on Drug Prices Know why we Americans will not get reasonable prescription drug prices? The pharmaceutical industry has more than 600 lobbyists in Washington, more than the total number of representatives and senators. They have spent $435 million to influence Washington from 1996 to 2003 and handed out $57.9 million in contributions between 1991 and 2002 to buy their way through Congress. They are well paid (we pay for them with exorbitant drug prices) and they do their job, cutting to pieces any legislation that might tend to lower the price of prescription drugs. The Feb. 2 issue of Time magazine contains an excellent article about how Americans are being ripped off with high prices from the manufacturers of drugs. And most of our drugs are manufactured overseas by American companies who moved there because of the tax breaks. And it is illegal for Americans to import these drugs. While the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) inspects these overseas plants when built to certify their products, there is little supervision later. Ireland is a favorite location and Singapore is getting new plants. This overseas production of drugs was $40.7 billion in 2002, a five-fold increase from 1995. The impact has given us a negative balance of trade in that field. Pfizer Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. enjoy huge profit margins compared with other U.S. firms. Pfizer's was 28.4 percent profit in 2002 while Eli Lilly was at 24.4 percent. Pfizer reported $9.1 billion in profits on $32.4 billion, a return of 28 percent and a rate more than twice that of General Electric, nine times that of Wal-Mart and 31 times that of General Motors. Our U.S. sales of prescription drugs is the highest in the world at $654 per person with an average life expectancy of 77 years. Japan is second at $421 with a life expectancy of 81 years. Americans pay on an average 40 percent more for their prescription drugs than do Canadians. And it has been ruled illegal for us to import them from Canada. Drug companies have threatened to cut off supplies to Canadian drug stores that sell to Americans. Despite all this, the cities of Montgomery, Ala., and Springfield, Mass., have negotiated with Canadian sources. Montgomery alone is saving $34,000 a month with its contract. Members of Congress, the FDA and all the rest who are in bed with the pharmaceutical industry who use the excuse of safety regarding Canadian drugs are just blowing hot air. So far there have been no reported incidents of any problem. In the U.S., 50,000 to 100,000 people die annually as a result of adverse reactions from FDA-approved drugs. Drug companies like to talk about the cost of developing new drugs. A report of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in 2000 dispels some of that. It found that the federal government, mainly through the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute and other public agencies funds about 36 percent of all U.S. medical research. Of the 21 most important drugs introduced between 1965 and 2002, a total of 15 was developed using knowledge and techniques from federally funded research. Best current figure we could locate indicates $2.5 billion was spent by the drug industry on advertising in 2001. There is absolutely no real effort by the President or Congress to take an honest look at the high cost of prescription drugs. We believe in the capitalistic system but not in those extreme profiteers whose huge profit is at the cost of our health. Canada does a good job of regulating prices and would be a good example to follow. Regulations always take away a little freedom from some segment of the economy but the government has seen fit to regulate the broadcast industry, the airline industry, interstate commerce and through taxes numerous other aspects of the economy. It is time to do something about runaway prescription drug prices. There is a Republican president, a Republican Congress and this problem lies largely on their shoulders, election or not!

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, I want to commend my friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), for his very kind and fitting and appropriate comments in regard to this legislation, and I simply would like to note that our congressional delegation from the State of Tennessee consists of five Democrats and four Republicans. I think we get along about as well as any delegation in this entire Congress. All nine Members of the House Congressional delegation from Tennessee very quickly and eagerly joined this legislation and cosponsored it. Ben Atchley has been a very loyal Republican, but he has as many friends on the Democratic side as on the Republican side. He is truly a great, great American, and I urge passage of this bill. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3769) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 137 East Young High Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee, as the ``Ben Atchley Post Office Building''.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 3769 would name the post office building at 137 East Young High Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee as the Ben Atchley Post Office Building. No tribute could be more fitting than to name a facility of the United States Government after one of our most patriotic public servants, Senator Ben Atchley. Ben Atchley has served for 32 years with great honor and distinction in the Tennessee State Legislature. He served for 4 years in the Tennessee House of Representatives and has served the last 28 years as a State Senator from Knox County, Tennessee. Senator Atchley has served for most of that time as the Senate minority leader, but in a coalition with conservative Democrats he has really had effective control of the Tennessee State Senate. However, I think it is fair, and I think people on both sides of the aisle would agree, he is perhaps the most respected and admired figure in the entire government of our State of Tennessee. He is a long-time personal friend. He is an outstanding family man, with his wife Sue and two children. He is a recognized and very respected figure in the Presbyterian Church, having received the very first Barnabas award, the highest award ever given to a lay member of the Presbyterian Church. He has served as the National Chairman for the Ethics Committee of the National Association of State legislators. He has been a leader in his business, in his profession of life underwriting and in the mutual fund business. He has received the Distinguished President Award of the Optimist International. Ben Atchley has been outstanding in every conceivable way in both public and private life. He also served from 1948 to 1958 in the Naval Reserves. He has served his community, he has served his State, and he has served this Nation. I think it is very accurate to say that this country is a better place today because of the service of Senator Ben Atchley. So it is with great pride and a special privilege that I have introduced this bill to name this post office facility after him in tribute to his years of public service, and I urge support for this legislation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration, H.R. 3769.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 439) honoring the life and career of Willie Shoemaker and expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to his family and friends on his death.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam 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 resolution under consideration, H. Res. 439.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. On behalf of the Committee on Government Reform, and particularly on behalf of the sponsor, our colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), I rise in support of House Resolution 439, which honors the life and career of one of horse racing's most legendary figures, Willie Shoemaker. Willie Shoemaker ranks second all-time among jockeys in career wins, with 8,833. During his unbelievable 42-year career, Shoemaker won each of horse racing's Triple Crown events multiple times. He won the Preakness twice, he won the Kentucky Derby four times, and prevailed at the Belmont Stakes five times. Remarkably, at age 54, while riding the horse Ferdinand, he became the oldest jockey ever to win the Kentucky Derby in 1986. After entering his first professional race at age 17 in 1949, Shoemaker made his last mount, number 40,352 of his incredible career, in 1990. The following year, he was involved in a tragic auto accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Shoemaker remained focused on his desire to return to horse racing in any possible capacity. Indeed, he returned to the sport he loved as a trainer in a supervisory role on September 29, 1991, less than 6 months after his accident. Madam Speaker, perhaps horse racing's greatest and most renowned jockey ever passed away in his sleep last October 12 at the age of 72 at his home in Santa Anita, California. I commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes) for working to honor Willie Shoemaker with this timely and deserved resolution, and I urge all Members to support House Resolution 439. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to urge support for this resolution.

Mr. DUNCAN. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DUNCAN

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, sometimes ordinary people do extraordinary things. We do not have to be rich or famous to leave a positive and lasting legacy to this world. Bob Graham, one of my constituents from Knoxville, TN, was one of those people. Mr. Graham was the long-time supervisor of athletic officials for the City of Knoxville and a long-time volunteer leader in our community. Bob Graham loved children, and he gave tirelessly of himself to thousands of young people throughout his career. Many people remember him from his days as a youth baseball, football, and basketball coach. Everyone who knew him remembered him as a great leader and role model for our children. This Nation would be a much better place if there were more people here like Mr. Graham. Bob Graham passed away following a lengthy illness on November 28th. He will be remembered fondly by his family and friends and the countless young people he helped through the years. Mr. Speaker, I have attached a copy of a tribute to Mr. Graham that ran in the Knoxville News Sentinel that I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and other readers of the Record. Helping Kids Was Graham's Focus Until His Death (By Chuck Cavalaris) Rare is the occasion when just three words can sum up the essence of a person's life. Such is the case with a great man like Bob Graham, who passed away Friday night. His three words were all about, ``Helping the kids.'' Bob always had a handy explanation for those 14-hour days and frequent weekends at a ballpark. ``I just want to do whatever I can to help the kids,'' he said. Anyone who had the privilege of knowing the supervisor of athletic officials for the city of Knoxville would agree: he is an all-time great in this regard. This stocky, blue-eyed former lineman and kicker from Oliver Springs High School became a youth baseball, football and basketball coach (1956-1982) who helped thousands of kids. He also found time in the 1970s to be a TSSAA football referee and was a baseball scout for the St. Louis Cardinals. To many people, Bob Graham was the tireless volunteer leader at Badgett Field. His passion led to a full-time job offer by former recreation department director Maynard Glenn. Talk about a great hire. ``Bob is probably the most-conscientious person I have ever known,'' said Norman Bragg, who worked with Graham for many years. ``Nowadays, you just don't replace someone like that. He did what he did without asking for a single thing in return--that was just Bob.'' Sure, he loved his children--all seven of them--and he was really proud of his grandkids. But he also cared deeply about the scruffy, undersized youngsters who didn't even know how to hold a softball bat or throw a baseball. He took great delight in working with these children and watching their self-esteem grow. That was Bob Graham. ``Dad just wanted all kids to have the opportunities in sports that he might not have had growing up,'' said his son, Mark. ``He loved doing that. I think he would rather be at the ballpark than anywhere else. It was his second home.'' Graham, who was 69, was instrumental in the planning, design and construction of the award-winning Caswell Park softball complex off Winona Avenue. He died at St. Mary's Hospice in Halls and had a rare brain disease called Creutzfeldt-Jacob (pronounced kroitsfelt- yakob). There is no known cure for CJD, which strikes approximately one in a million people worldwide between the ages of 55 and 75. The family received the diagnosis less than eight weeks ago, which left time to say goodbye. Considering the circumstances, they were thankful he did not suffer. He passed away quietly, just after speaking with close friend Willie Anderson. ``My mother (Judy) was holding dad's hand,'' Jeff Graham said. ``She was saying, `I love you, Bob I love you, Bob' when he took his last breath. I think he held on just a little bit longer to make sure everyone had the chance to say goodbye.'' Graveside services are set for 11 a.m. today at Woodhaven Memory Gardens. Bob Graham had a positive, uplifting impact on more lives than he possibly could have known. We love you, Bob. Many of us will never really and truly say goodbye. Donations can be sent to Beaver Ridge United Methodist (Family Life Center), P.O. Box 7007, Knoxville, TN., 37921 or The Fellowship of Christian Athletes Bob Graham Memorial Scholarship Fund, 406 Union Ave., Knoxville, TN. 37902.