Jimmy Duncan

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

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

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 179) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14 3rd Avenue, NW, in Chisholm, Minnesota, as the ``James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office Building''.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding me this time. This bill, Mr. Chairman, will streamline the Forest Service planning, allowing for more forest thinning, reducing wildfire damage, and creating much stronger Federal forests. More national forest thinning means fewer forest fires. I served for 22 years on the Natural Resources Committee. Several years ago, I was told that there were 6 billion board feet of dead and dying trees in the national forests; yet we were cutting less than 3 billion board feet a year. This was leading to a tremendous buildup of fuel on the floor of these forests, leading to millions more acres being burned because we weren't cutting enough trees. In the late eighties, we were harvesting 10 to 11 billion board feet a year. We had 3 to 6 million acres lost to forest fires each year at that time. Now, we are harvesting a little over 1 billion board feet a year, and the acreage lost to forest fires has gone way up: 10 million acres lost in 2006, 9 million in 2011, and on and on and on. It is a shame. Allowing this renewable resource to be used, everything made with wood--houses, all types of wood products, everything else made from wood--would be cheaper. This would help lower-income people most of all. If we allow more trees to be cut, thousands of jobs could be created not just for loggers, but also in construction and in businesses making wood products. This also would help lower-income people most of all. We shouldn't just let these forests burn. We should use them to help people. If you want more forest fires, vote against this bill, but if you want to help preserve our national forests and make them healthier and help the economy in the process, then you should vote for this bill. This is a very moderate response to what has become a big and fast growing problem. We should not give in to extremists and oppose this bill. This is good legislation, and I commend Chairman Peterson, Chairman Conaway, and Chairman Thompson for bringing this very intelligent, sensible legislation to the floor.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, David Keene for 27 years headed the American Conservative Union and is now opinion editor of The Washington Times. Last month he wrote that, as a result of our wars and attempts at nation building in the Middle East, there ``is a generation of young Americans who have never known peace; a decade in which thousands of our best have died or been maimed with little to show for their sacrifices, our enemies have multiplied, and our national debt has skyrocketed.'' Now we are about to spend $82 billion in the OCO account for our unnecessary wars and nation building in Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East. This is over and above our regular defense budget. This 1-year, $82 billion appropriation would more than pay for a 6-year highway bill, which everyone on both sides say they want. Let's stop trying to foolishly rebuild the Middle East and start rebuilding America. Let's bring all those hundreds of thousands of jobs home.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, the week before last, the greatly respected conservative columnist Thomas Sowell wrote: What lessons might we learn from the whole experience of the Iraq war? If nothing else, we should never again imagine that we can engage in nation building in the sweeping sense that term acquired in Iraq--least of all, building a democratic Arab nation in a region of the world that has never had such a thing in a history that goes back thousands of years. The week before last, the longtime conservative leader David Keene wrote in the Washington Times about our Middle East wars: The concept of U.S. national interests was stretched beyond any rational meaning with the argument that ``democracies don't go to war with democracies,'' so rebuilding the world in our own image was seen as our ultimate national interest. Mr. Keene went on and said: America took on more than we could possibly handle. The result is a generation of young Americans who have never known peace, a decade in which thousands of our best have died or been maimed with little to show for their sacrifices, our enemies have multiplied, and the national debt has skyrocketed. The week before last, the publisher of The American Conservative magazine, Jon Utley, wrote an article entitled: ``12 Reasons America Doesn't Win Its Wars.'' The Magazine said: Too many parties now benefit from perpetual warmongering for the U.S. to ever conclude its military conflicts. Mr. Utley quoted conservative columnist Peggy Noonan, who wrote: We spend too much on the military, which not only adds to our debt, but guarantees that our weapons will be used. She quoted one expert, who said: Policymakers will find uses for them to justify their expense, which will implicate us in crises that are none of our business. Conservative icon William F. Buckley, shortly before he passed away, came out strongly against the war in Iraq. He wrote: A respect for the power of the United States is engendered by our success in engagements in which we take part. A point is reached when tenacity conveys not steadfastness of purpose but misapplication of pride. He added that if the war dragged on, as it certainly has: There has been skepticism about our venture, there will be contempt. A couple of weeks ago, we saw an Iraq army, which we have trained for years and on which we have spent megabillions, cutting and running at the first sign of a fight. We should not be sending our young men and women to lead and/or fight in any war where the people in that country are not willing to fight for themselves. Mr. Speaker, fiscal conservatives should be the ones most horrified by and most opposed to the horrendous waste and trillions of dollars we have spent on these very unnecessary wars in the Middle East. Last week, 19 Republicans voted for a resolution saying that we should bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Republican leadership of the Foreign Affairs Committee did not want any Republicans to speak in favor of that resolution, so Mr. Jones, Mr. Sanford, and Mr. Massie requested, and received, time from the Democratic sponsor, Mr. McGovern. I did not want to do that, but I at least wanted to point out today that there has been nothing conservative about our policy of permanent, forever, endless war in the Middle East. In his most famous speech, President Eisenhower warned us against the military industrial complex. We should not be going to war in wars that are more about money and power and prestige than they are about any serious threat to the United States. I think President Eisenhower would be shocked at how far we have gone down that path that he warned us against.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, June 8, William Walter Howard passed away in Johnson City, Tennessee, at the age of 87. Bill was one of the finest men I have ever known, and I knew him from my teenage years until his passing. Bill was very accurately described in his obituary as being the ``epitome of sweetness,'' and he certainly was. He was a kind, soft- spoken man, and I never knew anyone who said anything but good things about Bill Howard. He was married for 67 years to his wife Carolyn, who passed away just a short time ago. He was a devoted husband and father and loved God, family, and country. He was proud of his service in the Navy and was very patriotic. He sometimes gave me conservative tapes and expressed similar views in our conversations. He worked very hard for me in several of my campaigns and had great concern about the direction of this Nation. He was a successful banking and savings and loan executive and also did accounting work in the hotel-motel industry. He served the community through the Kiwanis club and also had me speak at the church where he was a Deacon. Bill Howard was a great man, successful as a husband, father, businessman, community and church leader, and political activist. This country is a better place and many, many people are better because of the life Bill led and the example he set. This Nation needs more people like Bill Howard. He was quite simply, a good man, and I will miss him greatly.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I wish to honor a man whose service and personal fortitude brought great distinction to Tennessee and this Nation. Kyle Testerman, a former two-term mayor and the youngest person ever elected to that office in my hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, died recently after a long life filled with family, faith and service. Mayor Testerman is one of the finest public servants I have ever known, and he was a longtime friend of my father and family. As a young man, Mayor Testerman played basketball and tennis at the University of Tennessee. As most people know, University of Tennessee athletics is one of the highest levels of sports in this Country. In recognition of his love of tennis and accomplishments in public service, the City of Knoxville named the tennis complex in Tyson's Park in honor of Mayor Testerman. Following college, lie rose to Mayor after serving on the city council. More people are moving to East Tennessee to live than almost any other part of the Country in large part because of the contributions Mayor Testerman made towards making the region one of the best places to live. From rescuing the city's zoo from closure, establishing a cultural exchange center, and funding the first Mobile Meals program, to starting the Knoxville-hosted 1982 World's Fair and constructing TVA's headquarters, Kyle Testerman's legacy remains in every corner of the town he loved. Mr. Speaker, Mayor Kyle Testerman devoted his entire life to East Tennessee. I call to the attention of my colleagues and other readers his inspirational service and offer my deepest condolences to his family.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, Thomas Sowell is one of this Nation's most-respected economists and syndicated columnists. His latest column is about the lessons we should learn from our seemingly-endless war in Iraq. Mr. Sowell wrote: ``Going back to square one, what lessons might we learn from the whole experience of the Iraq War? If nothing else, we should never again imagine that we can engage in ``nation-building'' in the sweeping sense that term acquired in Iraq-- least of all building a democratic Arab nation in a region of the world that has never had such a thing in a history that goes back thousands of years.'' Mr. Sowell is right. It has been a horrible mistake for this Nation to spend trillions of dollars on unnecessary wars in the Middle East. We should never have gotten involved in all these civil wars between Shi'a and Sunni. Yet, we keep on pouring mega-billions down these ratholes, voting for even more billions over there as recently as yesterday. When will we ever learn?

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, on June 9, 2015 I was absent for recorded votes #309-#318 due to a flight cancellation from Knoxville. I would like to reflect how I would have voted had I been present: On Roll Call #309, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #310, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #311, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #312, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #313, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #314, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #315, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #316, I would have voted No. On Roll Call #317, I would have voted Yes. On Roll Call #318, I would have voted Yes.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago, I spoke to about 200 people at the famous Willard Hotel in Washington in a program put on by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. I had been told that this was a group of CEOs and owners of major companies in southern California--obviously, a very upper-income group. I got to a point in my speech when I said: ``It is long past the time we need to stop trying to run the whole world and start putting our own people in our own country first once again.'' Much to my surprise, the audience broke into applause. Middle- and lower-income people have applauded when I have said similar things in my district and around the country. Many upper-income people claim to be moderates, and contrary to popular belief, conservatives lose most very wealthy areas 2-1 or worse. I have spoken to a very wide variety of groups in Washington and around the country and in my district, and I have gotten an overwhelmingly positive response every time I have said it has been a horrible mistake to spend trillions on unnecessary wars in the Middle East. When I was a teenager, I remember reading a publication from the Republican National Committee that read: ``Democrats start wars. Republicans end them.'' There was a time, until recent years, when the Republican Party could make a legitimate claim to being the Peace Party. I sent my first paycheck as a bag boy at the A&P--$19 and some cents--as a contribution to the Barry Goldwater campaign. I have worked on Republican campaigns at the national, State, and local levels for over 50 years, and it saddens me to hear almost all of the Republican candidates for President try to outdo each other in their hawkishness. Based on the response I have gotten, I think it is a recipe for defeat if my Republican Party becomes known as the party favoring permanent, forever wars--wars without end. All of our candidates try to convince people that they are like Ronald Reagan. President Reagan once wrote: ``Our troops should be committed to combat abroad only as a last resort--when no other choice is available.'' Reagan was certainly no warmonger Republican or a man eager to go to war. President Eisenhower, one of our greatest military leaders, was another ``peacenik'' Republican. He knew of the horrors of war, unlike many modern day chickenhawks. He famously warned us at the end of his Presidency about the dangers of being controlled by a very powerful military-industrial complex. I think he would be shocked at how far we have gone down the road that he warned us against. In his book ``Ike's Bluff,'' Evan Thomas wrote: ``Eisenhower would periodically sigh to Andy Goodpaster, his Chief of Staff: `God help the Nation when it has a President who doesn't know as much about the military as I do.' '' Pat Buchanan wrote on March 20: ``In November 1956, President Eisenhower, enraged he had not been forewarned of their invasion of Egypt, ordered the British, French, and Israelis to get out of Suez and Sinai. They did as told. How far we have fallen from the America of Ike.'' Senator Robert Taft, who was sometimes referred to as ``Mr. Republican'' in the 1940s and 1950s, once said: ``No foreign policy can be justified except a policy devoted . . . to the protection of the liberty of the American people, with war only as the last resort and only to preserve that liberty.'' Most of the Republican Presidential candidates have attacked President Obama for acting in some ways that are unconstitutional, and he has. But where in our Constitution does it give us the authority to run other countries as we have been doing in Iraq and Afghanistan--even making small business loans and training local police forces? My Republican Party was always the party of fiscal conservatism. Yet, with a national debt of over $18 trillion, how can we justify continually spending megabillions in religious civil wars between the Shia and Sunni? Some people and companies that make money off of an interventionist foreign policy always very quickly fall back on the slur of isolationism, but most conservatives believe in trade and tourism and cultural and educational exchanges with other countries and in helping out during humanitarian crises. We just don't believe in endless war. We are told, if we don't support an interventionist foreign policy, that this means we don't believe in American exceptionalism, but this Nation did not become exceptional because we got involved in every little war around the globe. It became exceptional because of our great free enterprise system and because we gave our people more individual freedom than any other country. I have said in thousands of speeches that we are blessed beyond belief to live in this country and that the United States is, without question, the greatest country in the history of the world, but there was much less anti-Americanism around the world when we tried to mind our own business and take care of our own people, and this Nation had more friends when we followed the policy of peace through strength, not one of peace through endless war.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, costs simply explode on anything that the Federal Government subsidizes because there are simply not the same incentives or pressures to hold down costs as there are in the private sector. Over the last several weeks, many thousands of young people have graduated from our colleges and universities burdened with sizable student loan debts. It shocks the students of today when I tell them that tuition cost only $90 a quarter my freshman year at the University of Tennessee in 1965-66--$270 for a whole school year. I once heard House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer say it cost only $87 a semester when he started at the University of Maryland. Students today think the Federal student loan program is one of the best things that ever happened to them. Actually, it may be one of the worst. Until that program started in the mid-1960s, college tuition and fees went up very slowly, roughly at the rate of inflation. After the Federal Government decided to ``help'' students and start subsidizing these costs, tuition and fees started going up three or four times the rate of inflation almost every year. Last year, columnist Kathleen Parker wrote in The Washington Post that since 1985, the cost of higher education has increased 538 percent, while the Consumer Price Index--inflation--over the same period has gone up 121 percent. Colleges and universities were able to tamp down opposition to fee increases by telling students not to worry, they could just borrow the money. When I was an undergraduate at UT and later in law school at George Washington, students could work part time, as I always did, and pay all their college expenses. No one got out of school with a debt because of tuition and fees. Now almost everyone does. Now, 40 million Americans owe money on student loans. Outstanding student loan debts now total over $1.3 trillion. Some analysts think it may be a bubble about to burst. Floyd Norris, writing in the International New York Times, said: ``Student loans are creating large problems that may persist for decades. They will impoverish some borrowers and serve as a drain on economic activity.'' Hedge fund manager James Altucher wrote that ``we're graduating a generation of indentured students.'' Ohio University economist Richard Vedder several years ago wrote a book entitled, ``Going Broke by Degree.'' Richard Vedder, in an article last August, wrote that ``a political storm is brewing in Washington over the consequences of rising college costs.'' He added that ``the biggest single cause of this financial problem, and a contributor to many other weaknesses in our economy, is the dysfunctional, Byzantine system of Federal financial assistance for college students.'' Mr. Vedder pointed out that before the late 1970s, Federal financial aid programs for colleges were modest in size, and tuition went up an average of only 1 percent above the inflation rate. ``Since 1978,'' he wrote, ``in an era of rapidly growing Federal financial assistance programs, annual tuition increases have been 3 to 4 percent a year beyond the inflation rate.'' In 1987, William Bennett, the Secretary of Education, said: ``Increases in financial aid have enabled colleges and universities to raise their tuition, confident that Federal loan subsidies will help cushion the increase.'' From 1939-1964, Federal student aid--mainly the GI bill--averaged just 2.5 percent of university spending. From 2002-2014, Federal student loan aid spending averaged a whopping 33 percent of university spending. Several things, Mr. Speaker, could and should be done to start helping solve this problem. First, Federal and State legislators, parents, and even students themselves should speak out against tuition increases higher than the rate of inflation. Secondly, colleges and universities that hold these increases down, or hopefully someday even lower their costs, should be given priority and rewarded in Federal and State grants and appropriations. Third, the Congress and State legislatures should hold hearings that feature people who have been victimized by taking on heavy student loan debts at the start of their careers. Fourth, every college or university that receives Federal money--99.9 percent--should be required to give financial counseling or at least some type of simple, easy-to-understand document to every person receiving a student loan warning about potential problems. Lastly, but most important of all, Federal and State governments should give incentives to schools that require professors to teach classes rather than writing for obscure journals or doing esoteric research that produces no tangible results. Too many professors have lost their desire to teach. They seem to think 6 hours a week is heavy load. The result is that too many students cannot get the classes they need to graduate, and it is now taking 5 or 6 years to get a 4-year degree. This is a very serious, fast-growing problem, Mr. Speaker, that needs major reforms sooner rather than later.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the combined rule, bringing all three of these very important bills to the floor today. However, I rise to speak primarily about H.R. 622, the State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Fairness Act, which is so vitally important to the people of my home State of Tennessee. Some people refer to today as tax day, the day on which individual income tax returns are due to the Federal Government. But actually, Mr. Speaker, for most Americans, every day is tax day, counting sales taxes, gas taxes, property taxes, all of the taxes that people pay directly, and then all of the hidden indirect taxes we pay on everything in the cost of goods, taxes that are passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices because, to stay in businesses, businesses have to pass their taxes on to the consumer in the form of higher prices. We are an overtaxed nation, Mr. Speaker. Most taxpayers will pay more in taxes of all types this year than on food, clothing, and housing combined. Per person, the Federal Government collected a near record amount in revenues over the past 12 months: $3.3 trillion just to the Federal Government, and another $1.5 trillion, or perhaps even more, to State and local governments. Despite what some people say, Washington does not have a revenue problem; it has a spending problem--and higher taxes won't solve it. Tennessee is a prime example of that. It is an example for the Nation, leading the way, because it is a low-tax State. The State and Local Sales Tax Deduction Fairness Act is especially important to my State because it will help Tennessee families make ends meet by keeping more money in the pockets of hard-working individuals. This deduction is a matter of fairness for Tennesseans to ensure that they are treated the same way the Federal Government treats those in States with State income taxes. The State and local sales tax deduction allows residents in States with no State income tax, such as Tennessee, to deduct their State and local sales tax payments from their Federal income tax. This puts Tennessee on equal footing with taxpayers in other States who can deduct their State income taxes from their Federal tax obligation. This is a matter of fairness, Mr. Speaker. As the gentleman from Ohio just said, Tennesseans shouldn't pay a larger share of taxes than other taxpayers simply because we pay sales tax and we rely on sales tax instead of income tax. Making this deduction permanent will provide certainty to Tennesseans who itemize their taxes and allow them to plan their family budgets. People all over the country, Mr. Speaker, are moving from the high- tax States to the low-tax States. Tennessee benefits from this. Jobs are being created. Our State's economy is one of the strongest in the Nation because we keep our taxes low. This is an example the Nation should follow and certainly not one that the Nation should penalize in any way. I urge support for this legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me this time. I rise in very strong support of this legislation for all of the reasons that were just stated by Chairman Denham, who has been a great chairman of the Railroad Subcommittee. This is a major reform bill that I think every Member should be very proud to support. It is especially a very fiscally conservative bill. It will save $2.3 billion over the next 4 years, and it is moving this Congress and this legislation in a new direction, a better direction, from a fiscal standpoint. It also is going to save a very substantial amount of money on food service. According to The New York Times, train food service lost $800 million over the last 10 years. This bill will, in a graduated way, remove the subsidy for train food service until it gets on a self- supporting basis, so it is fiscally conservative and commonsense legislation in that respect also. It speeds up the environmental review process. This is an area that we try to do in all of our transportation bills because we have been doing all of our major transportation projects in such a convoluted, complicated bureaucratic way that we have always taken about three times as long as any other developed nation to do the things to improve our infrastructure that needs to be done. This bill also introduces opportunities for competition. This is another good thing about this bill because, if we really believe in the free market and in free enterprise, we need to give more companies and more people a chance to get into these businesses and make all of our industries have greater ease of entry. Another thing that I think is good about this legislation--this major reform bill--is that it empowers States to get involved by setting up a new State-supported route advisory committee. This has the potential of creating new train service in States, such as mine in Tennessee, that don't have passenger train service at this time. For all these reasons and for all the reasons that Congressman Denham--Chairman Denham--just mentioned, I think this is a bill that deserves the support of all the Members on both sides of the aisle. I rise in strong support of this legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from North Carolina yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this rule and the underlying bill. I was one of I think 45 Members who voted against the No Child Left Behind law when it originally came up in the House of Representatives several years ago. This turned out to be one of the most popular votes I ever cast with public school teachers. I have heard from many of them throughout these years that that bill has been in effect. It was a bill written primarily by Senator Kennedy and Congressman Miller, and it was a very far-to-the-left type of bill. So I am especially pleased that this H.R. 5 today is a major rewriting of that bill. I especially support the very strong alternative certification provisions in the bill. It has never made any sense to me to say that a person with a Ph.D. and long experience in a field cannot teach and some young person with a degree in education would have to be hired. A Ph.D. in chemistry who worked 30 years at Oak Ridge in our scientific lab couldn't be hired to teach, and some person who had had a few hours of chemistry, some 22-year-old with a bachelor's degree, would have to be hired. Our boards of education should have the flexibility to hire people who have a great education or long experience in a particular field in those types of situations. I wish that the provisions were even stronger than they are now. Mr. Speaker, many years ago, I taught at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria. I taught American government and journalism. I very reluctantly gave up that teaching job so that I could finish law school sooner. I can tell you that my grandmother taught school in Tennessee for over 40 years, and my older sister taught for over 33 years. I have spoken over 1,000 times to schools and school groups, and I can tell you also that the teachers and principals of east Tennessee have enough sense and intelligence to run their own schools. They don't need bureaucrats from Washington dictating every move that they make almost, and we need much more local control. This bill does that.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and of both of the bills that this rule brings to the floor: H.R. 529 and the Student Success Act. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I am especially pleased that the Student Success Act is a major rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law. I was the only member from the Tennessee delegation--the 11-member delegation in the House and Senate, and I think one of 45 in the House--that voted against the original No Child Left Behind law, which was a great overreaction to failed school systems in a few of our Nation's biggest cities, and we certainly didn't need it in east Tennessee. That, much to my surprise, turned out to be one of the most popular votes I ever cast among public schoolteachers in east Tennessee. I am here primarily today to speak in support of H.R. 529, which this rule also includes. Richard Vedder, an economist from Ohio University, wrote a few years ago a book called ``Going Broke By Degree,'' talking about how difficult it was to pay for higher education in this country today. Around the same time, U.S. News & World Report came out with a report that said college educations were almost becoming out of reach for most middle class families. We need to be doing everything we can to help families pay for college education, and we certainly don't need to be encouraging students to go further into debt. It shocks students at the University of Tennessee when I tell them that it cost me $90 a quarter my first year at the University of Tennessee, $270 for the whole year. I heard the minority, the respected minority leader, Mr. Hoyer, give a speech one time. He said his first year at the University of Maryland it cost him $87 a semester. But then in the mid-1960s, the Federal student loan program came in, and the colleges and universities around the country started using that as a way to tamp down any opposition to tuition or fee increases, and college tuition and fees have just gone out of sight since that time. I have been speaking out for years about how harmful the Federal student loan program has become for college students and their families. Now many others are saying the same thing. Kathleen Parker, writing in The Washington Post in January of 2013, said: Since 1985, the cost of higher education has increased 538 percent, while the consumer price index (inflation) over the same period has gone up 121 percent. That is four-and-a-half times as much on the increases in college education. Floyd Norris, writing in the international New York Times last February said: ``Student loans are creating large problems that may persist for decades. They will impoverish some borrowers and serve as a drain on economic activity.'' Hedge fund manager James Altucher wrote: ``We are graduating a generation of indentured'' students. I can tell you, when I went to the University of Tennessee, people could work part time, as I always did, to pay all their tuition and fees. Almost no one got out of school with a debt; now, almost everyone does. Total outstanding student loan debt is now well over a trillion dollars. I think it is $1.3 trillion, and some people think it may be one of the next bubbles to burst. So what does H.R. 529 do? It makes it easier for families to save for college educations. We need to do this. We also need to give bigger grants and so forth to the universities and colleges that hold their tuition and fees below the rate of inflation. We need to incentivize the colleges and universities to stop raising their tuition and fees at four and five times the rate of inflation. Until we do that, H.R. 529 is the least we can do to help out the middle class families of this country that are having so much trouble paying for their students, their children to have college educations. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I support these two bills.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, one of the things that make the U.S. the greatest country in the world is volunteerism. No other country in the world has as many civic and charitable groups doing volunteer work like the United States. The government could not come close to replacing the hundreds of billions of dollars in work done by these organizations, and one of the most respected charitable groups in the U.S. is the Shrine. I have been fortunate to be a member of the Kerbela Shrine Temple in Knoxville for approximately 40 years. The Kerbela Shrine Temple recently celebrated its 100th Anniversary on February 18, 2015. For the past century, this group has touched the lives of needy children in my District in many positive ways. On Thanksgiving Day 1950, the Knoxville Kerbela Shriners began a paper sale to benefit the East Tennessee Crippled Children's Fund, raising $19,000 the first year. Over the next 75 years, with the help of the Blue Lodge Masons, the Kerbela Shrine Temple raised $13 million for handicapped and burned children through this one tradition. Mr. Speaker, even in a state known for its Volunteers, the Kerbela Shriners stand out as an example of community service and charity. I call this important work to the attention of my Colleagues and other readers of the Record and wish them a happy 100th anniversary and many more years of success in serving our community.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I certainly thank the gentlewoman from North Carolina for yielding this time and for her good work on this legislation. I came to the floor today just to tell you a little bit about why I think this legislation is so very important. When I first came to Congress many years ago, we had a Democratic Governor of Tennessee, Ned Ray McWherter, and he was a fine Governor. He would have the Tennessee congressional delegation to the Governor's mansion once a year. And he would always start those meetings off-- every single year he would say: Please, no more unfunded mandates. Please, no more unfunded mandates. He said that most of what the State was having to do now were things that were required by the Federal Government, and it was causing the States great financial difficulties, and it was turning what was supposed to be a Federal system that our Founding Fathers envisioned, it was turning it totally upside down. This bill is a very reasonable, moderate, commonsense effort to make good on the original Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. All it is trying to do is ensure that Congress and Federal agencies are fully informed about the impact of these Federal mandates. I urge my colleagues to support this very fine effort to make our system better.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday, Rev. John Wood was honored for his 25 years as Pastor of the Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church in Knoxville. Almost everyone who has heard John Wood speak believes he is one of the greatest preachers this Nation has ever produced. He is not loud or flashy or flamboyant, but he preaches the Gospel in a sincere, intelligent, humble way that relates well to all types of people. I think he is one of the most brilliant men I have ever known, and I have felt that way since I first met him in one of his early days in Knoxville. Under his leadership, Cedar Springs has become one of the largest Presbyterian churches in the Nation. His sermons are both enjoyable and thought-provoking, and, most importantly, Biblically-based. He somehow has the ability to teach the Bible in a way that is helpful to Biblical scholars as well as to beginning Christians. He preaches in a kind, down-to-earth manner that gives his listeners the feeling he is preaching to himself as well as to everyone who is listening. John has been a true friend and an inspiration to me and my family. He has been with us through good times and bad, and I am very fortunate to have known him and have him as a part of my life for these last 25 years. Much more important than the help he has been to me, however, is the fact that he has touched thousands of lives in a good and positive way. He has brought the Christian message to churches and meetings through the U.S. and to many countries around the world. I want to congratulate John Wood on his 25 years at Cedar Springs and encourage all my Colleagues and other readers of the Record to listen to one of his sermons on the internet or hopefully someday in person. I would also like to call attention to the article that appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel on January 13, 2013, entitled ``Pastor John Wood: Best leaders are servants.'' Pastor John Wood: Best Leaders Are Servants (By Josh Flory) Legendary University of Tennessee football coach Robert Neyland was famous for his seven maxims of winning football. In that spirit, the News Sentinel offers a series that highlights maxims for the 21st century--not about football, but about effective leadership. On one Sunday every month, the Business section will highlight an East Tennessean from spheres including athletics, the arts, religion or the public sector, speaking about their ``leadership maxims'' for the 21st century. John Wood, senior pastor, Cedar Springs Presbyterian Church: ``The best leaders are those who help people accomplish good things, not by ruling over them, but by serving alongside them.'' Q: Tell me about your philosophy of leadership as a pastor and a minister. A: I think ``leader''--just at its rawest, most basic definition--a leader is someone who gets other people to follow them and to get something done. But a good leader is someone who encourages and motivates people to get something good or something necessary done. A great leader, the best leaders, are those who accomplish that--who encourage, who motivate, who really get people excited about being a part of something that they're doing-- not by ruling but rather, as Jesus said, by serving. It's servant leadership. And it's not just Jesus' word, it's really the whole picture of leadership, positive picture of leadership in the Bible. And (it) often contrasts between the very good leaders and very bad leaders, those who ruled and those who served. . . . To me, the ultimate example of servant leadership, integrity in the Bible is John 13, where just the night before he was crucified, Jesus, having loved his disciples, loved them to the end and took off his robes, put a towel around his waist and did the one thing that no Jewish family could force another Jew who served them to do, and that was wash feet. . . . And so Jesus lays aside His robes, puts a towel around His waist and crawls from one set of dirty feet to the next, washes feet, and then when He resumes his place He says: ``Do you understand what I've told you? You call me Lord and master, I am. I'm your master, I'm your teacher. And if I, your master and teacher, have washed your feet, how much more ought you?'' This is servant leadership. This is what it looks like.'' Q: You mentioned the service aspect of leadership. At the same time . . . you mentioned this issue of mastery and being a master. In some sense your role involves challenging and confronting people at certain times, I would imagine. How do you balance those competing demands of confronting at times but also serving and being humble? A: When Jack Kennedy was inaugurated as president, he asked Robert Frost to write a poem and read a poem for him, which Frost agreed to do. When Frost's friends heard that he had agreed to participate in Jack Kennedy's inauguration, they said how could you do this, you've always hated liberals? And he said, Kennedy's no liberal. And they said, what do you mean, what's your definition of a liberal? And he said, a liberal is a man who cannot even pick his own side in an argument. Now I always tell our people, Christ was never, in calling us to be humble, telling us that we can't have principled views--hopefully biblically formed and shaped--for which we are willing to stand and passionately take a position and debate it, but debate it charitably without demonizing people who hold a different view. Being a leader means that you're going to have to go to people, often if you see them working what you think is outside of their own gifting, and say: ``Look, you know, you have so many really wonderful gifts, and I want to help you use those gifts. We need for you to be using your gifts. We've got you in the wrong place. This is our fault. We asked you to do something that is outside of your gifting. Or it's something that you clearly have no interest in. I think you could do it, but you've got no interest. Now let's help you get in a place where you can really be fulfilled and be, in our context, serving Christ and serving others by using your gifts. And let's deploy you rightly. . . . '' But also as a pastor, and a pastor who believes that the Bible is God's word written, there's often the responsibility of confronting--hopefully gently, lovingly but firmly--someone who's simply wanting to go along and be part of the family of Christ and yet wanting to live way outside clear teaching of God's word. And that doesn't mean on secondary and tertiary issues, but on things where the Bible is clear, where Christians have always everywhere believed these things. You have to be able to go in love and say: ``Look, I love you too much to watch you on a destructive course. And this isn't an option for you. How can I help you get out of this thing? And I'm willing to walk with you or we'll find somebody who will walk with you.'' And again, I think too often as pastors we want so much for everybody to like us and for the numbers to keep increasing and for the money to keep coming in, and so we don't want to say the hard things. We say hard things that we know everybody agrees with. . . . We preach to the choir and they (say) ``Oh yeah, go get 'em.'' And I don't want to preach to the people that are out there; I want to preach to the people that are here by preaching first to my own heart, confronting my own idols, my own demons, my own brokenness.''

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I wish today to recognize one of the most admired public servants in my District on the occasion of his 80th birthday. Harry Wampler has served my State with distinction for many decades, and he has one of the most well-known last names in my District. His family founded Wampler's Sausage in 1937 with just $38 worth of supplies, and today, most folks in East Tennessee could probably sing the Wampler's Sausage jingle--``made on the farm in Tennessee.'' Wampler's Sausage is an iconic Tennessee company that Harry helped lead. During his successful business career, he has also served as President and CEO of Family Brands International and as a member of the Board of Emeritus of Sun Trust Bank and the Board of Trustees of Baptist Hospital. He is a longtime member of the Civitan Club, serving as President twice and named Civitan ``Man of the Year.'' For several decades, Harry Wampler has also served the people of Lenoir City in public office, including the Lenoir City Council, the Loudon County Planning Commission, and the Tennessee State Legislature. He has also held the post of Vice Mayor of Lenoir City, member of the Lenoir City Utilities Power Board, Chairman of the Republican Party of Loudon County, and Deacon of First Baptist Church of Lenoir City, where he served as Chairman several times. Harry's hard work, personal faith and love of East Tennessee is very well known by his constituents. He is a very patriotic American and one of the finest public servants I have ever known. Mr. Speaker, I urge my Colleagues and other Readers of the Record to join me in wishing a very happy birthday to my friend Harry Wampler and celebrate his impressive service to the people of Loudon County, Tennessee.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, columnist Roger Simon wrote the following in one of the Capitol Hill newspapers several weeks ago: If you spent 13 years pounding money down a rathole with little to show for it, you might wake up one morning and say, ``Hey, I am going to stop pounding money down this rathole.'' Unfortunately, the U.S. Government does not think that way. The U.S. Government wakes up every morning and says, ``The rathole is looking a little bit empty today, let's pound a few more billion dollars down there.'' And when that rathole is Afghanistan, the billions are essentially without end. He added that we have spent several billions trying to stop opium production there but that during U.S. occupation, drug production in Afghanistan has actually increased. By one very conservative estimate, we have spent $753 billion on the war in Afghanistan since 2001. The defense bill today contains $63.7 billion for the overseas contingency account, meaning many billions more for the rathole in Afghanistan. Mr. Speaker, when will we come to our senses?

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, recently a very special event took place in my District in East Tennessee. For three days in September, Medal of Honor recipients were honored at the Medal of Honor Convention in Knoxville. The Medal of Honor is the highest award that can be given to military personnel. Recipients must meet a very high standard of ``conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her life above and beyond the call of duty.'' There are less than 100 living recipients of this award--an elite club of brave soldiers unmatched anywhere. The word hero is used way too frequently these days, but this was a gathering to honor true American heroes. A few months ago, I attended a reception at the East Tennessee Historical Society and planned to attend some of the events over the Medal of Honor Convention weekend. Unfortunately, my son Zane ended up in the hospital for 5 days, and I spent most of the weekend at the hospital or helping to care for my 18-month-old grandson. It was a great honor for this convention to be hosted in East Tennessee. My state has a deep history of military service and is very patriotic. Tennessee is known as the ``Volunteer State'' because of the high number of volunteer soldiers during the War of 1812 and the Mexican- American War. It is also home to Alvin York, who is thought to be one of the most famous Medal of Honor recipients. Medal of Honor recipient Gen. George Gillespie of Kingston, Tennessee, actually redesigned the Army medal, and many of our Nation's first Medal of Honor recipients are buried in Tennessee. Joe Thompson and convention co-chair Chris Coyne worked for three years to bring this event to Knoxville. It could not have happened without their dedication, creativity and patriotism. Dozens of Medal of Honor recipients were honored during the convention, including Supreme Court Justice Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. and retired Col. Jack Jacobs, now an NBC News military analyst, who declared Knoxville ``to be the most beautiful place in the country.'' Mr. Speaker, this convention was a great honor for East Tennessee and a testament to the patriotism and spirit of my District. I call this convention's success to the attention of my Colleagues and other readers of the Record, and I hope everyone takes a moment to honor these soldiers whose sacrifice for our freedom can never be repaid.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of this very reasonable legislation, which really simply requires that our present immigration laws be fully enforced, or at least not be violated. I commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho) for bringing this legislation to the floor. The President has said he has been forced to act because the Congress has not done so. That is not correct, as Chairman Goodlatte pointed out a few minutes ago. Congress can act in any one of three ways: writing a new law, changing an old law, or leaving present law in effect. The administration is glossing over--or is ignoring--the fact that we have very detailed immigration laws on the books now. They may not like present law, but no one has the right or the power or the authority to pick and choose and enforce some laws but not others. Presidential executive orders have traditionally been used almost entirely for noncontroversial, administrative-type actions. They were not meant to be a way for a President to bypass the Congress. We do not live or are not supposed to live under a system where all the power is vested in the Executive. We have a Constitution, and it should be followed. Mr. Speaker, all of us admire those who have immigrated here legally and have contributed so much to this Nation. We have allowed many millions here legally since the Simpson-Mazzoli law of 1986, far more than any other country. But with 58 percent of the people in the world having to get by on $4 or less a day, that means that almost 4 billion people are hoping to get one good meal today and probably aren't. We are blessed beyond belief to live in this Nation, but our entire infrastructure--our schools, our hospitals, our jails, our roads, our sewers--simply cannot handle the rapid influx of megamillions who would come in a relatively short time if we simply opened our borders. We have to have a legal, orderly system of immigration, and it must be enforced. I urge my colleagues to support this very commonsense legislation.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, my chief of staff, Bob Griffitts, received an email from a constituent, Mr. Joe Steuer, regarding Rev. Al Sharpton and his tax debt. I would like for my colleagues and other readers of the Record to read this email and one of the news stories about Mr. Sharpton, published in the November 19, 2014, edition of the Long Island, New York, newspaper Newsday, that explains his tax situation in more detail. Mr. Sharpton has a national television program, which gives him more respect than many people feel he deserves. Most people with tax debt would not be given as much leniency as the IRS is giving Sharpton. From: Joe Steuer Sent: Friday, November 21, 2014 11:47 AM To: Griffitts, Bob Subject: Al the Elite Sharpton & Taxes Bob, the tax issue regarding Rev. Al Sharpton strikes a nerve with me personally as a few years ago I was contacted by the IRS. I had not filed or paid taxes for 1 year, an oversight on my part none-the-less I was wrong, admitted my mistake and paid the back taxes, interest and penalties. I did ask the IRS employee at the start of the investigation for consideration as I have never had any issue with the IRS ever. The request for consideration fell on deaf ears. Thusly, my reaction to high profile individuals like Rev. Sharpton is one of disdain which appears to me to be class warfare, the elites vs. the people. What efforts are being made to represent the people as well as holding the ``elites'' to the same standards that the rest of live by? For your information, I am going to write to MSNBC and ask how they condone this blatant disregard of the law? If I do happen to receive a response I will pass it along to your office. I do look forward to receiving a response from Congressman Duncan. Joe Steuer.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I wish today to congratulate a celebrated institution in my District on the occasion of its 120th anniversary. First Baptist Church of Lenoir City was founded in 1894 with just 16 members in one-room log cabin. Today, it has grown to more than 3,000 worshippers and a 34-acre campus. I have represented Lenoir City in Congress for 26 years, and I have visited this church many times. It is a special and welcoming place with a history older than the city in which it is housed. Lenoir City is one of the most beautiful places on this Earth, tucked in the mountains and surrounded by lakes and rivers. It is easy to see why this area has become one of the most popular places to move in the entire Country. The congregation of First Baptist Church of Lenoir City has helped build the community since its inception. I know many people who worship there, and they are some of the kindest and most generous people I know. First Baptist Church of Lenoir City operates under a philosophy of community involvement. Its congregation does not just worship from afar; it gets involved at every level of the community and serves as an example of Christian values to all. The church is involved in more than 100 separate ministries with focuses ranging from young children to senior adults. The church also owns and operates the Lenoir City Christian Academy, serving students from kindergarten, to fourth grade, and runs after- school and day care programs. The church also operates the Lenoir City Arts Center, designed to teach students music and the performing arts. Mr. Speaker, it is hard to imagine an institution having a bigger impact on a community than First Baptist Church of Lenoir City. I call on my Colleagues and other readers of the Record to join me in congratulating this church and its congregation on 120 years of Christian service.

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee

Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, several years ago, they sent us to a civility conference because they didn't think that Democrats and Republicans were getting along well enough in the Congress, and I have never forgotten something our first speaker said. David McCullough, the great historian, told a story about a Russian visitor who came up into the House gallery in 1948 and watched for a while, and then he went out and shook his head and he said, ``The House is a strange place.'' He said, ``A man stands up and says absolutely nothing, no one pays any attention, and then everyone disagrees.'' They say there is a little bit of truth in the best humor, and I guess there is some truth in that humor. But David McCullough was kind enough to go on from there and say, but if he had a chance to live his life over again and he could choose what he wanted to do, he would choose to be a member of that wild and raucous bunch known as the United States House of Representatives. I think today, because of some of the television talk shows, that many people around the country think that we all dislike each other or that we hate each other at times, or that Democrats and Republicans just don't get along at all. But that is not true at all, and I think for the great, great majority of Members, all of us get along really well with everyone, regardless of party, and all of us consider it a great privilege and honor to serve in the United States House of Representatives. We are losing many, many good Members from both sides of the aisle this year because of retirements, running for other offices, or for all sorts of reasons, and there are many other Members, both Democrat and Republican, who are good friends of mine who are leaving to whom I should pay tribute. But I rise tonight to pay special tribute to a very special man, and that is Congressman Jim Oberstar from Minnesota. In my entire 22 years in this Congress, I have served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I had a couple of chances in my early years to move to other committees, and I think people were surprised that I didn't take either one of those offers. But I enjoyed serving on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, originally called the Public Works and Transportation Committee, in part because it was considered to be the most bipartisan, or nonpartisan, committee probably in the Congress. It was often said that there is no such thing as a Republican highway or a Democratic highway; and on many, many things people on both sides of the aisle on that committee worked together to help build America. Certainly, Congressman Oberstar was one of the great leaders of that committee through his entire time in the Congress. Jim Oberstar served for 11 years on the committee staff, rising to the position of staff director. He then began his service in the House and continued to serve for the past 36 years. It is an astounding figure to think that a man worked on this one committee for 47 years of his life, but he has done so with great honor and distinction. In fact, I think almost everybody knows that there is no one in the Congress and probably never has been anyone in the history of the Congress who has known transportation issues and understood them and worked on them longer and harder and with more effectiveness than Jim Oberstar has. At one point, he was chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. In 1994, after the election, the Republicans took control and I had the honor of becoming the chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, and I served for 6 years in that position, which was the maximum allowable on our side. When I took over as chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee, I had frequently heard Jim Oberstar referred to as ``Mr. Aviation.'' So I went to him and asked for his help, and he helped me and guided me and gave me advice that to this day I appreciate very much, and he did that in a very kind and humble way. Then, of course, in the last 4 years, he reached the pinnacle and became chairman of that committee, a committee that he loves. He has been a great chairman, and I think he has tried to help everyone on both sides of the aisle. So I just wanted to rise and pay tribute to a man that I consider to be a great American and a great Member of Congress, Congressman James Oberstar.