Lincoln Davis

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, on Friday, November 9, 2007, I was absent from the House in order to attend to an illness in my family.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate James Hill, an 83-year-old service veteran from Elora, Tennessee. When Napoleon Bonaparte created the French Legion of Honor in 1802 to recognize service to the Nation of France, he could not have imagined that the newly formed United States of America would come to the rescue of his then empire nearly one and a half centuries after its creation. Yesterday, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France came to Washington to present the distinguished French Legion of Honor to six American veterans from the Second World War to honor and thank them for their sacrifice in the liberation of France from Nazi Germany. I am pleased to know that James Hill was among them. It was June 6th, 1944 that the battle of Normandy began, bringing James and other members of the Army's 116th Infantry unit to Omaha Beach for one of the defining moments of the War, and our Nation's history. James was wounded in the battle and spent three months in a British hospital, only to return from his injuries to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. While the loss of life on all sides was immense, our Country will forever remember the Second World War as a defining point in our history. Before the War, the American military machine was not what it is today, but we stood together as a Nation nonetheless, with the Allied powers around the world, to fight for the freedom of our neighbors and ourselves. I could not be prouder of what men and women of courage like James Hill have done for our Country, or more pleased to see that James was awarded this prestigious honor. I would like to ask my colleagues today to join me in recognizing James Hill for what he did to defend the people of France, the United States and freedom across the globe.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, October 31, 2007, I was absent from the House in order to attend a ceremony in honor of a new mission for the Tennessee Air National Guard's 118th Airlift Wing. Had I been present I would have voted: On rollcall No. 1021, No. 1022 and No. 1023, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H. Res. 106.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. If the gentleman would yield, what that means is we're asking the Iraqis to occupy their own nation instead of our American soldiers. That, in fact, is what we're asking. We're asking the Iraqis to be their own policemen instead of the policemen on the beat being the American soldier. I think that should be expected by everyone, regardless of politics.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. To the gentleman from Arkansas, thanks very much for your leadership on many of the issues that our Blue Dog Coalition championed here in the House. We championed them for many years, about 1994, 1995, when the Blue Dogs were established. Basically, this group of individuals initially offered both sides, both caucuses, the opportunity to participate in the Blue Dogs, Republican and Democrats alike. I have always continued to feel very confident that in America today we need American Democrats and American Republicans more than ever. What I mean by that is that we need Americans first and political parties next. Certainly those two political parties have done a tremendous job in driving many of the debates on many of the important issues important in America. It has also given America a history as being the country in the world that championed civil rights, individual rights, and civil liberties; and we continue to do that. In many cases, as we have engaged in battlefields throughout history, it has been to bring about democracy and freedom. But as we talk about this, I want to digress just a moment and talk about a particular situation that is being considered today, which will be what's called combat training for our airmen. In many cases we put our soldiers who are in the Air Force in the battlefield, the battle zones, in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, in my opinion, without proper training for EMS, in the event there is something that happens that they are in the battlefield, they may be injured. I don't think they are properly trained, and, in many cases, we need to do that. So we are actually talking now about locating CBAT, which will be combat training for airmen in different areas. I want to read a comment that I have prepared for the potential location of this particular facility. From the Manhattan Project to TVA to the Apollo project to the Spallation Neutron Source and so much more, the Tennessee Valley Corridor and its key institutions, communities, businesses, and congressional leaders have always exemplified the phrase, ``National Leadership through Regional Cooperation.'' Key leaders in our region continue to support our Nation by working to enhance and advance the corridor's key science technology and national security assets. With that, one of the big challenges in warfare is adequate training for our combat troops. Afghanistan and Iraq have placed a new demand on the airmen of our Air Force for needed combat air support. These increased demands include prison guard duty, combat convoy support, and significant expanded security force duty. With these additional responsibilities, the Air Force has acknowledged its airmen are lacking the ground combat skills necessary to meet today's demands. To address these needs, the Air Force has proposed, as former Air Force Secretary Roche has described it, a new program to ``bring together our battlefield airmen under a common training and organization structure to strengthen the combat power they bring to the fight.'' Weapons training, tactical field cooperation operations and land navigation training, basic combat skills, physical fitness training and basic medical training will be a part of the core curriculum provided by new Common Battlefield Airman Training (CBAT) program. The proposed location for this new Common Battlefield Airman Training program has now been narrowed down to three potential sites, one of which is in my district, Arnold Engineering Development Center in Arnold Air Force Base near Tullahoma, Tennessee. Key leaders in the Tennessee Valley Corridor and I are convinced that establishing CBAT at Arnold Air Force Base would be the best course of action, an exceptional investment for the Air Force and the Nation. Arnold Air Force Base and the Arnold Engineering Development Center are already home to the world's premier flight simulations testing facility and continue to be vital national resources in the development of many of the Nation's top priority aerospace and national defense programs. Arnold, with its history of extensive combat training during World War II, had abundant land available for CBAT training, with a dedicated 200-acre campus, small arms firing range and 9,000 acres for additional required training. In short, middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Valley Corridor have a world-class facility ready and willing to house this important new training operation. The Coffee County community, the middle Tennessee/north Alabama region and, indeed, the entire Tennessee Valley Corridor strongly support our Nation's Armed Forces and their training needs as they continue to serve and defend our Nation. A better trained corps of airmen will not only give them the ability to operate more effectively in a combat zone and a better chance of survival, but will also help them better defend the United States in our post-9/11 world. I strongly support and encourage all others to support Arnold Air Force Base's pursuit of this new CBAT program. As we continue to train our soldiers who are on the battlefields throughout the world, certainly in the two hot spots today, perhaps we should say three, which would also include the area around the Balkans, we need to adequately train them. It's not right; it's not American to send someone into the battlefield without being properly trained. I know we have others who want to speak here tonight; but I would like, if I could, before I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas, I would like to read an editorial that I sent to one of our local papers, and it deals with PAYGO, as we will address our deficits here in Congress: ``At a time when the White House is attempting to position the Republican Party as fiscally responsible, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan bluntly said in his new book `The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World' that his party over the past several years put politics over fiscal discipline and lower government spending.'' At least one honest Republican. ``During the past several years while we were witnessing the largest growth of government since the 1960s and a ballooning deficit, Mr. Greenspan was correct in advocating for a return to pay-as-you-go rules. These rules, re-enacted earlier this year after they helped restore fiscal discipline in Washington during the 1990s, require Congress to offset the cost of new spending or tax cuts with savings elsewhere. ``The Blue Dog Coalition, a growing band of deficit hawk Democrats with a deep commitment to the financial stability and national security of the United States, has been pushing to reimplement PAYGO for several years. Their bark was finally heard earlier this year when they pushed the new congressional leadership to enforce the policy. ``When PAYGO was in place in the 1990s, spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 22.1 percent to 18.5 percent by 2001. As a result, huge budget deficits became a budget surplus. Shortly after President Bush took office, the Congress unwisely let PAYGO expire, causing an explosion in government spending and yearly budget deficits. Our national debt grew by $3 trillion over this period, and by 2005, spending had clawed its way back to 20.1 percent of GDP.'' Let's think about that a moment: $3 trillion increase since this President has been in office. What does that mean? We roughly spend $450 billion a year today on interest alone. That's $1.2 billion a day. But let's just take the last 5 years since 2001, or 6 years since 2001, and look at how that $3 trillion is impacting our budget. For instance, today, if we had continued down the path and just had a balanced budget, not necessarily a surplus but just a balanced budget, we wouldn't be spending $150 billion-plus extra in interest. Think of what that would do. We are spending today over 125, $130 billion in Iraq, supposedly, in Iraq, probably more than that. But, in essence, what we have done in the last 6\1/2\ years, or last 6 years and 9 months of this administration, under control of the Republican White House and under the control of the Republican leadership on the other side of the aisle, we have increased just our portion of the interest, not retiring the debt, by over $150 billion a year. That in itself, that figure itself, alone, is over six times what the entire budget of the State of Tennessee is in one year. So I think it's time that we again reclaim for this Nation fiscal responsibility and continue to be the strong defense hawks that our caucus, our Blue Dogs, has been.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. My friend from Arkansas, in the presentation earlier I had intended to discuss the 12 individuals that lived in counties that I represent before they lost their lives in Iraq. Four of those actually were not in my district, but there are 12 individuals that either live in the county I represent or in the district I represent. I made a commitment some time ago that each day that when I said my prayers for those in special prayer need, that these families would always be a part of my prayer list. And I keep a list of those in my wallet, of those individuals. I hope I don't have to add a new name. Occasionally I'll have to take this out and redo it and add a name to it. I hope I don't have to add another name until we're able to settle and resolve and bring our soldiers home from Iraq and from Afghanistan. These individuals have honored us and our Nation, and I think that we, as Americans, need to be sure that we honor their name and their families, and that we keep them in our hearts and constantly in our minds so that we don't ever forget the commitment that they gave, and they gave all for this Nation.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. How can anyone in this Chamber or any American let politics, partisan politics, have a play in the decisionmaking as we talk about our young men and women who are willing to give their life and those who've given their lives on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan? I think that it's time. I travel my district and I tell folks that bipartisanship seems to have escaped us here in Washington. I talked to some of the folks who were here years ago and people who visited Washington saying that Democrats and Republicans would get together after a debate, whether they disagreed on certain issues, but that they would get together after that debate and spend time in the evening as friends or families would spend time together. That needs, we need to recapture that here in the U.S. House. I read a book recently, or a quote in a book recently that was made by that great fellow from Britain, Mr. Churchill. He'd been speaking at Fulton, Missouri in 1951, where he gave his Iron Curtain Speech. And he and two or three other individuals were still on the train and still awake. Mr. Truman, the President, and a bunch of his cabinet and staff had retired for the evening. And they were talking about how the circumstances of our life and circumstances of our birth influenced our success or failures in the world that we lived in. And what Churchill said is that: If I were to be born again, I'd want to be born in America. We need to change America to where people like Churchill and others will be saying again: I'd like to be an American if I was born someplace today. I don't think that's happening today in the world. We've got to change that, and I think the partisan rancor that we have here on the floor is prohibiting us from projecting to the rest of the world and to the American citizens the best of America. And I hope that this compact will help lead us all into being less partisan and more bipartisan on this floor and in America.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. In essence what that component says is that in a bipartisan way we want to be sure that the Iraqis have a surge in leadership for their own country, take over the control of their own country; that the Iraqis develop the military that they need to occupy their own country themselves. And, secondly, that they become the policemen in the field, on the roads, riding the Humvees, and not our soldiers. I thank my friend from Arkansas for each week that you bring to the American public the views, the ideas of the fiscal conservative Blue Dog Democrats, deficit hawks and defense hawks here on the House floor.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of Warren County, Tennessee. Nestled in the heart of the foothills of the Cumberland Plateau, Warren County is a proud piece of the Tennessee tradition. Warren County takes its name from Major General Joseph Warren, a hero of the American Revolution who earned the rank of Major General and was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. The County continued to serve as a staging ground for great historical moments through the Civil War, when General Forrest's brigade camped in Warren County before they launched an attack on the Federal Army that resulted in the capture of twelve hundred Union Soldiers, including a General. But Warren County has far more to offer the State than its rich history alone. From the scenic beauty of Rock Island to the Highland Rim Classic bicycle race in McMinnville, Warren County has something for sportsmen and outdoorsmen alike. McMinnville, Morrison, Viola and Dibrell all make up the diverse landscape. Perhaps the best view of Warren County, however, comes from the annual ``boogie,'' or sky diving event that gives brave participants a unique perspective on this great Tennessee County. Warren County is also home to the nursery capital of the world, McMinnville, Tennessee. McMinnville and all of Warren County's growers have made Tennessee proud for a number of years, marking McMinnville as a city known for being ``always in bloom.'' I am proud today to wish a happy bicentennial to the people of Warren County, and hope that they will continue to enjoy the blessings of their place in middle Tennessee for years to come.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the ``Tullahoma Americans,'' a little league baseball team of 11- and 12-year-olds from Coffee County, Tennessee, that captured the State title this month. Tullahoma American has had remarkable success in the past but has not held this title for many years. For all their hard work and dedication, these young little-leaguers have achieved an incredible feat in reclaiming the championship for Tullahoma, and I could not be prouder of them. My sincere congratulations go out to the players: Josh Brandon, Justin Brandon, Justin Brown, Trey Burks, Alex Butaud, Reed Gabriel, Marquel Hickerson, Zach Lampkin, Ryan Lawson, Brad Roepke, Sam Tomes, and Caleb Zidan, as well as their coaches, Warner Tomes, Troy Shelton, and Mike Thompson, for a championship well-earned. Head Coach Mike Thompson also deserves congratulations not only for shepherding the boys to a winning season, but for dedicating 9 years of service to the Little League institution. Little League baseball has a long history in America. As early as the late 19th century, young American children played baseball in groups affiliated with adult club teams, but it was not until the late 1930s that Carl Stotz founded and named the ``Little League'' we are all familiar with today. Since then, young baseball players have honed their skills as well as their character on baseball diamonds across the country. Little League teaches teamwork, sportsmanship, and the value of hard work. Our Tullahoma State Champions exemplify all of these qualities, and I am proud today to stand and congratulate the team, their coaches, and families for their extraordinary effort. It is my sincere hope that this tradition will continue for young people across the State for years to come.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, one of the things we really need to make sure of is that the American public as they watch this Blue Dog Coalition group here talk tonight, every one of us to the ``T'' comes from rural areas basically. We love America, we love our troops, we visit them. I have been to Iraq five times and Afghanistan twice. I went for a reason, to tell our troops thank troops thank you, we love you, we appreciate you. We pray that an umbrella of safety will be put over our troops. We work for those back home to be sure that their families are recognized and that our communities uphold them and undergird them. I don't want anybody to have a misinterpretation of what we are saying here tonight. This is about America, and it is not about TV ads that try to justify a war going on in Iraq. I am ashamed those things are on TV. We support our troops, and we will continue to do that.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. You're starting us off on a bad note. It's good to be here this evening and to engage in conversation and dialogue certainly on the situation that we are in today in Iraq, and certainly in this country. I want to deviate just a little bit and talk a little bit about my study hall period. Folks say that Members of Congress had recess. When I was in school and we had recess, we played most of the time; but I can assure you for the last several weeks of the month of August I did a lot of traveling in the district I represent, listening to a lot of people, the chamber of commerce, business people, individuals on the street, country stores, wherever I might have been, restaurants, coffee shops. We talked about a lot of things. People are worried about the war in Iraq. People are worried about the war in Iraq to the point where we know we can't lose there or we can't allow this nation to go into anarchy, but how do we prevent that from happening? And as I listened to those debates and those dialogs, I realized that people were seriously concerned about what we're doing and how we're engaged. I hear people talking about whether we should have gone or not. That's legitimate, and I think historians, probably political scientists over the next several years, next decades and next centuries will obviously gauge that and will judge that. We can talk about whether the war was prosecuted right or not; and, quite frankly, I think there are some questions there as to whether or not this administration, Mr. Speaker, and whether this White House, Mr. Speaker, has engaged the way that would bring about a quicker resolution to where it would win much quicker in Iraq. But when I went home on Sunday, I drove back down through the Shenandoah Valley, down Highway 81, hit Interstate 40, went across the Cumberland Plateau, and I realized what a beautiful Nation we have. When you look at those hills along the Blue Ridge down through the Shenandoah Valley and then the Cumberland Plateau near the Cumberland Gap and realize the beauty of this vast Nation that we have and the people who live here. I had an opportunity, my first day off, to spend about 7 hours fishing at a great warrior's old mill, Sergeant Alvin C. York, in Palmyra where I live.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Ross, I had an opportunity with my oldest daughter and two of my grandchildren to go fishing. We were going to spend probably a couple hours there. We wound up spending over 7 hours. The last day that I spent in my district, I did the same thing, not intentionally. My middle daughter called and came up on Sunday, and I spent, as I did my first Monday home, my last Monday home I spent fishing in the rivers there below Sergeant York's home in the mill pond. Now, Sergeant York was a great American hero. But we have had other great American heroes, as well, Eisenhower being one of them. I want to mention something about Eisenhower in just a moment. But first of all, I want to talk about what someone that America respects greatly said a few years ago. Clark Clifford and Richard Holbrooke wrote a book in 1991 called ``Counsel to the President.'' After Winston Churchill had made his ``Iron Curtain'' speech in Fulton, Missouri, they were traveling back on the train from Missouri. President Truman and many of his staff members had already retired for the evening. The three people who were basically sitting in the room at that time were Charles Ross, who was the press secretary for Truman, and Clark Clifford and Churchill. They talked about how our lives are influenced strictly by the accident of our birth. What Churchill said, and I am quoting him as quoted in the book, ``If I were to be born again, I would wish to be born in the United States. Your country is the future of the world. You have natural resources, the spirit, the youth, the determination, which will steadily increase your global influence.'' He was correct in making that assessment over 60 years ago as he made this speech. He was correct then. And we are correct today to say that America's presence in the world today is recognized. But why has it changed? Why would a great Brit, who is considered the Brit's Britishman, say, ``If I were to be born again, I would love to have been born an American''? How many people in the world today would say that? I would say that because when God put my soul in the body of a woman who lived in America, it was a great blessing for me just to be born in this country. We have got to regain and recapture throughout the world that spirit that folks from nations abroad have seen in this country, and I think we can recover it, to where we are looked upon, as Ronald Reagan said, as that shining light of freedom that folks can look at and aspire to. We need an Eisenhower moment in Iraq. It has been said that after Eisenhower was elected President in 1952 that as he was ordered up he asked, as a general, from the military people in the field, the Army, if he could be able to have a few small planes that he would fly over South Korea and in parts of North Korea. It is also said, and his memoirs pretty much confirmed this, that after they landed he was silent for a few moments. And he basically said, We cannot win this war the way that we are fighting it, but we can't afford to lose it, either. We cannot win this war the way we are fighting it. He knew we would have to engage in a much greater, larger war that would include perhaps even China, which would have stretched America's resources and I think America's fiber to the breaking point. Eisenhower understood that we were in a war that we should not have been in. Now some will question what I am saying. But that was Eisenhower's comments. It is a war that we are not ready to win. It is a war that we can lose, and we can't afford to lose. In his first 6 or 8 months of his Presidency, he brought about a resolution of a cease- fire in Korea. Did we stay there? Sure, we have been. Will we stay in Iraq? Sure we will. Every resolution that we passed on this floor that calls for a date certain authorizes this administration and authorizes the Defense Department to keep adequate personnel in the field and military presence in the field to help protect the resources, the assets of this country and protect our friends in the area and to help train the troops and the soldiers of the armies, the policemen, and the civilians of Iraq. We will be there several years from now, just as we were in South Korea, as we were in Western Europe. It is how we stay that makes the difference. It is how we stay that will make the difference. The way we are there now I don't believe is the way we ought to be. We can no longer be the army for Iraq. We can no longer be the policemen in the streets, on the beat, providing security for the folks in Iraq. The Brits just pulled out. This great British leader named Winston Churchill, his country just pulled their troops out of Basra. Are we going to have a surge in Basra with American troops? Mr. Speaker, let's ask the President that. Is that our intention now, that we will have a surge and resupply the troops there? Because it seems in southern Iraq obviously there is a lot of turmoil, a lot of killings, basically a civil war between the Shias, now some folks say are happening. In northern Iraq where the Kurds are, we are not there operating as the army or the policemen on the beat. In northern Iraq where the Kurds are, they are providing their own autonomy. It is my opinion that the longer we stay in Iraq, the worse we will be. We need an Eisenhower moment in Iraq, not a General Custer moment, not a charge into the Little Big Horn to where we get destroyed. It is time that we reassess our situation in Iraq to a war that we win in Iraq. I am saddened as I watch TV. I am seeing Iraq being sold by TV commercials as if we are selling an automobile to the American public. That saddens me when I see some of our wonderful soldiers, and I applaud them, who are saying, We cannot cut and run. I agree with them. We can't cut and run. But we don't need to be selling this war on TV commercials as the right thing to do. The thing that we have not done, in my opinion, is that we have allowed Afghanistan to be left pretty much as an island to themselves. Oh, we are there. But just think what we could have done if we had spent the time and resources and kept the number of troops in Afghanistan that we moved to Iraq. It is my belief that Karzai would have probably been, and still may be, someone that we may call their George Washington. We now see troubles in Pakistan. We are now seeing countries in Central Asia after the dominance of the Soviet Union for many years, many are floundering around trying to figure which is the best route to go. Each feels, I believe, that democracy is the best route to take. Many are struggling with their democracies in Central Asia. Just think of what we could have done in Afghanistan if, in fact, we had stayed there, helped build that country to take out those that would do harm to them, to destroy Afghanistan. We could have helped build a democracy that I believe would have been infectious, and an epidemic of democratic nations would have been springing up all over to continue to bloom and to progress in Central Asia. It would have been infectious, in my opinion, in the Middle East, as well, and we would have seen I think the tumbling of the strongman-type governments. In every one of those countries surrounding Iraq, there is a strong person who runs those countries. If we had stayed and continued in Afghanistan, we would have seen, in my opinion, a much different Middle East than we see today and a much different Central Asia. One of the real problems we have today is I think even Pakistan would have seen the success in Afghanistan and might have wanted to move further in that direction. In fact, the Taliban-type warriors and al Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden did attack us. I keep hearing these folks from the side saying, If we don't fight them there, we will fight them here. What do you think happened on September 11? They were here. And we have forgotten who attacked us. It wasn't Iraq. It was Osama bin Laden and the al Qaeda network. They are now, in some folks' opinion, in the areas of Waziristan and Pakistan. If, in fact, we allow, or if, in fact, Pakistan were to fall, guess who gets the nuclear weapons? So our foreign policy, in my opinion, needs to be revisited. All of us need to start being American Democrats and American Republicans, not right-wingers and left-wingers. It looks like we have chosen up sides here and we have started to listen to the talk shows on one side or we look at the liberal communications on the other side, and all of a sudden that is what drives us in this country. It is time we start being Americans again, American Democrats and American Republicans, and look at our failures. Eisenhower understood it. George Custer found it out. We don't need a Custer move. We don't need to have advertisements telling us we need to have a war in TV commercials. We need honesty, Mr. President. We need honesty. My request to you is that you have an Eisenhower moment, one of honesty. Let's get on with making sure we rebuild that area, put our troops out of the kill zone and stop requiring them to be the soldiers. Because if in Basra and southern Iraq and northern Iraq our troops are not there, and the only place where it seems the most violent actions that take place is where our troops are, that should tell us something. We need to be sure that we keep enough troops to keep Syria or Iran, or quite frankly even our friend called Turkey, from invading Iraq for their own beneficial gain and let Iraq work its problems out. It is time. We have given them a government. They have accepted their government. They have elected their government. It is time for them to start leading and taking on the responsibility. I call upon this President, this administration, and this Congress to work together to make that happen. We have built and helped build in South Korea over a period of 30-40 years one of the strongest democracies in the Asian-Pacific rim and Asia, the strongest economy called South Korea. It took a long time. It will take a long time to resolve the differences in the Middle East. It will take a long time to resolve the differences in Iraq. But we cannot do it the way we are doing it today.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, it is one of my great honors as a Member of Congress to attend ceremonies that pay tribute to our gallant veterans and to assist them in anyway possible. On September 8, 2007, veterans from Fentress County, Tennessee will be in Washington, D.C. to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This special group will be comprised of veterans of World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. During their visit to Washington, the first for many, they will also tour the monuments erected to honor those who have served. It is at those hallowed memorials where they will be to pay their respects to their fallen brothers and sisters. Whether serving stateside or overseas, the men and women of America's Armed Forces embody the true spirit of what makes this country of ours so great. They have embarked on noble journeys to free many from the jaws of tyranny and oppression, usually at their own peril. They deserve our admiration, support, and appreciation. In closing, I am humbled with the knowledge that others have paid such a steep price to give us the liberties and freedoms we all enjoy today. May God continue to look over the souls of those who have gone before us and look down at us with all his blessings.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to congratulate Pauline Sherrer of Crossville, Tennessee, on her succession as President of the Tennessee Press Association. Pauline will join a long line of talented and dedicated journalism professionals in taking the helm of the TPA. Pauline's family has long been an integral part of the Tennessee media. In 1981, the Sherrer family purchased the Crossville Chronicle, the hometown paper of Cumberland County. Pauline maintained her role as publisher of the Chronicle through two sales of the paper, providing the people of Cumberland County with fair and accurate reporting on the issues that affect them most. Loved by the Chronicle staff and lauded by her peers, Sherrer's leadership has set a standard for meeting the needs of readers. With over 36 years of experience with the press and now as the first woman to hold a position on all three of Tennessee's press association boards, Pauline is a model for young women and anyone interested in a career in journalism. A mother and a grandmother, business leader and volunteer, Pauline serves her work, family and community with her strong voice and will. It is my privilege to congratulate and honor Pauline Sherrer for her work, service and commitment, and to welcome her as the new President of our State's Press Association.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, it was over 200 years ago that Major William Russell and Jesse Bean reportedly traveled in search of a ripe landscape to settle the Franklin County we know today. The county was named for one of our Founding Fathers, Ben Franklin, and finally took its place amongst Tennessee's other counties when recognized officially by the Tennessee Assembly in 1807. Since then, statesmen and sportsmen, farmers and craftsmen, war heroes and great scholars alike have represented the culture of Franklin County to the State and the country. I am proud today to recognize the successes and history of Franklin County, and to wish upon its people a future as blessed as the inception of the county they call home. Named for a soldier of the American Revolution and the first Speaker of the Tennessee Assembly, the town of Winchester was designated as the Franklin County seat in 1809. Winchester today offers visitors a host of curiosities, festivals and other Tennessee fun. From the Dogwood Festival to the yearly Jamboree, Winchester gives plenty of reason to visit and more than enough for Franklin County residents to stay and make their home. High atop the Cumberland Plateau and not far from Winchester, Franklin County offers another great treasure in the town of Sewanee, and the University of the South. Since it's founding in 1860, Sewanee has produced writers and theologians, and 25 Rhodes scholars to make Tennessee and Franklin County proud. The school has undergone a series of name changes, too, finally settling on ``Sewanee: The University of the South.'' Plenty of us in Tennessee and Franklin County just call it ``The Mountain,'' but whatever the name, it's a fine piece of the Tennessee tradition. Construction of the University came to a halt when the cornerstone was destroyed by Union soldiers in the Civil War. In the midst of its 200 year history, like so many Tennessee counties, Franklin County endured the hardships of that difficult time in our Nation's history, and today still commemorates those lost to the Civil War so many years ago. From its first settlers to the friends and neighbors who live their today, Franklin County has honored its namesake and our forefather, Ben Franklin, with its history and the traditions they will maintain for years to come. As Franklin himself advised, ``wish not so much to live long as to live well.'' This month, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the continuing story of Franklin County, a 200 year history lived long and well in Tennessee.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution. The responsible redeployment of our troops is a brave step toward a new direction for the war in Iraq. It will remove our troops from the most dangerous kill zones in Iraq and refocus our efforts toward defeating terrorism across the globe. The decision to redeploy is one that I have not come to lightly. This bill gives the President the power to maintain a military presence in the region while, at the same time, imposing the accountability the American people demand that we enforce. Four years into a difficult and prolonged engagement, I had hoped we would have seen better proposals for progress in quelling the violence. Throughout the course of our debate, whether on the air waves, Internet or in the halls of Congress, we've heard much of the supposed failures of our military goals. We hear often of continued strife and instability in the nation we sought to set free; of an Iraqi economy crippled by the trials of war; of parliamentary disputes, civil unrest and sectarian violence; and of a peace we all believe in that has yet to take place in Iraq. But these stories, however true, are only a portion of our efforts. They are the darkest side of our endeavors meant to do good and sinfully omit the triumphs and victories of our sons and daughters who've done a great service. For all that remains undone, our troops have accomplished a great deal. We brought free and open elections to a nation once shackled by a tyrannical regime. Iraq has experienced freedoms unimagined before, and Saddam Hussein was put to death for his crimes. It is in this vein that we must continue our presence in Iraq and Afghanistan, the greater Middle East and around the world, for it is essential to our security. As we prepare to redeploy our troops from Iraq, we must commit as well to remain ever vigilant in the face of terrorism. Whether they are threats to America and her allies, whether radicalism threatens the foundations of the natural freedoms we've sought so hard to prove, we must prepare ourselves to face those threats and bring their agents either to justice or a swift demise. We must continue our hunt for Osama Bin Laden and the instruments of al Qaeda. While I am behind the efforts to redeploy, our military must be equipped and prepared to protect American civilians, property and interests at home and abroad. As I prepared my case today on the merits of redeployment, I was reminded of a speech delivered by Congressman Abraham Lincoln on January 12, 1848, that railed against President James K. Polk of Tennessee for bringing our country to war with Mexico. Lincoln believed that Polk had stretched the facts to fit the case for war, just as many have expressed their belief here that our President stretched the truth about WMDs to make his case for war. President Polk's war with Mexico yielded the borders that stand today. Our nations endured the battle of Vera Cruz, the battle of Mexico City, but the results of the Mexican-American war remain, and our two countries live as partners in peace. The results of the war yielded positive results. History has favorably judged James K. Polk, just as history will judge this President. So as the President considers signing the order to redeploy, I hope he will. I implore him to consider the advice of Mr. Lincoln.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to honor the work of students and advisors at Scott High School in Huntsville, Tennessee for implementing and promoting conservation practices at school and in the community. Through hands-on experiments and computer-aided instructions, students have learned about alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, hydroelectric, and fossil fuel technologies. They also took field trips to help foster first hand knowledge of these energy sources. School leadership has plans in the near future to use high school students to teach alternative energy education to grade school students. With the assistance of a few teachers, students were able to mount solar panels, donated by the Tennessee Valley Authority, near the Agricultural Department's greenhouses to run two exhaust fans and a lighted school sign. During this process, students were involved in all aspects of this activity. They designed battery and solar panel racks, mounted the batteries, wired the inverters and other electrical components, and installed the panels. Their laudable goals and actions have garnered attention by having been selected to attend the National Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement sponsored by the National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project. The Scott High School energy team will join other winners at the ``Kids Teaching Kids Awards Program,'' in Crystal City, Virginia. The Kids teaching Kids approach encourages students to reach out to their peers and communities and to teach about energy in fun and innovative ways. There trip to the Washington, DC area will be capped off by attending the NEED Project's National Recognition Ceremonies in Yates Auditorium at the U.S. Department of the Interior. I applaud these young individuals and their advisors for their conservation practices and promoting the use of alternative energy.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, let us give praise to the longevity of Zion Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Tennessee as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of their founding. Many churches are often the social center for the communities they serve. Zion has long been ministering to the spiritual needs of Maury Countians and striving to provide a better life to those living abroad during their many mission trips. Founded in 1807 by descendants of Scottish and Scott-Irish Presbyterians, the first house of worship was erected in the center of the 5,120 acres of land they purchased from the heirs of General Nathaniel Greene. With a strong commitment to God and their faith in the human spirit, may Zion Presbyterian Church continue their outreach and ministry.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, Milestones indicate distances traveled by one or many, collectively. I rise today to honor one individual from the beautiful Sequatchie Valley for having reached the 50-year anniversary of a major milestone in her life. Ms. Nancy Ewton Sharpe of Dunlap, Tennessee, the first born of W. Howard and Jeanette Campbell Ewton, was brought into this world on April 1, 1938. Her grandparents, F.P. and Nancy Ann Ewton, started a funeral home in 1919 and built their own caskets. Nancy attended school in Dunlap for 12 years graduating in 1956. She then began studies at the John A. Gupton College of Mortuary Science in Nashville, Tennessee. Graduating in 1957, she was the first dually licensed female funeral director-embalmer in the State of Tennessee. I rise today to honor Ms. Sharpe's accomplishment and celebrate the 50th anniversary of her success.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for the recognition. I'll be very brief, which is difficult for me to do, being from the mountains of Tennessee. Sometimes I get a little wordy. I had one of my folks back home tell me that after I'd been here for about a year, he said, Lincoln, you've gotten so windy as those folks in Washington, I believe you could blow up an onion sack. I'm not sure exactly what he meant by that, but I had to tone down my rhetoric somewhat after that. But it's good to be here to talk about accountability and, quite frankly, how the lack of accountability has gotten us in the situation we're in in Iraq, as well as in our budget management. When we take a look at how the growth of government grew through the 1980s up to the early 1990s, in 1992, we were spending roughly 22 percent of gross domestic product on national expenditures, on our budgetary process, Mr. Speaker. And through the 1990s, we saw a downsizing of government through the Clinton-Gore years, where we were spending roughly 18.5 percent of gross domestic product. We now have seen that jump to the point to where it's somewhat over 20 percent in gross domestic product. We've seen government grow the last 6 years. We saw it downsized during the Clinton-Gore administration, and the 12 years prior to that we saw it grow to where it was well over 22 percent. So, when we talk about accountability, let's be sure that America understands, Mr. Speaker, that it has certainly not been the Democratic Party that has made that happen. Under our management, under our watch, we saw a downsizing of government expenditures. I want to move now to Iraq. I recently had an opportunity to visit the White House, Mr. Speaker, with our President, along with 12 or 13 other Members. We had a very frank conversation. In one of the conversations, the comment was made that we have a strong commitment in the Middle East, and we do have a strong commitment there. We denied Hitler during World War II being able to obtain the oil in the Middle East. The tanks of Rommel ran out of fuel, and we were able, quite frankly, through the mass force we had, 16 million Americans, as well as help from Europe during World War II, the Allied Forces were able to eventually conquer Germany. We then continued to be there and have a presence all through the Cold War, which also denied the Russians from being able to obtain the oil that was there. There's no doubt in my mind that we're going to be in the Middle East for a long time when we leave the war zone and the hostile war zones of Iraq. And as we made that conversation, Mr. Speaker, our President certainly agreed with that, that we have a long-term commitment and an interest in the Middle East for many years to come, and we will have. It's kind of like 1953, in South Korea, when Eisenhower decided a cease-fire would be in order, and we signed a cease-fire and have been maintaining troops in South Korea since 1953. We'll be in the Middle East for a long, long time. After the first Persian Gulf War, we maintained a presence there in the Middle East, and we'll still do that. It's how we stay that determines whether or not we'll win. What my real concern is about this situation in Iraq is I don't think, Mr. Speaker, this administration, I don't think, Mr. Speaker, this President understands the gravity of what's going on in the Middle East. Every country in the Middle East, some our friends supposedly and some might continue to be our friends, during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the Shah of Iran was also our friend. When the ayatollahs took over, we lost that friendship, and Iran no longer maintained our friendship. But in places like Saudi Arabia, in Kuwait, in the Emirates, when you look at Jordan, King Abdullah, a decree made him King, not an election. He is our friend, and I personally like King Abdullah, but he had an uncle named Prince Hassan that most folks thought would eventually go on to be King of Jordan. That didn't happen. So, when we talk about having a free-standing democracy in the Middle East, in Iraq, I'm puzzled somewhat that that becomes one of the major objectives to determine whether or not we win. We need to have stability in Iraq, stability, Mr. Speaker. My hope is that eventually a democracy will occur. For us to assume that the Shias, the Sunnis and the Kurds, in one of the most volatile mixed populations in any country in the Middle East, that we, you notice I say we, we're going to use that country as a model of how we democratize the Middle East, I think, is a flawed failure, will continue to be, and will be something that will be unsuccessful. If, in fact, this administration, led by our President, had decided that we ought to have democracy in the Middle East, maybe he should have started with this gentleman he's holding hands with, the monarchy, the royal family of Saudi Arabia. I wonder how many times this administration, Mr. Speaker, how many times this President, Mr. Speaker, has talked to the royal family of Saudi Arabia and say, wouldn't it be nice to have in Saudi Arabia a thriving democracy, a freestanding democracy. I wonder how many times, Mr. Speaker, this President, Mr. Rumsfeld and others, Mr. Speaker, asked the people of Kuwait after being liberated in 1991 that you should establish a democracy and not revert back to the royal families, to be dictatorial in the decisions that you made. Every nation in the Middle East has a strongman-type government, except for Israel and except for Lebanon. Whether it's Syria, whether it's Iran, Iraq had theirs, the Emirates, Qatar, every country over there has a strongman-type government, and we believe that for us to consider having one, that we've got to democratize Iraq. I think that's a flawed policy, and, Mr. Speaker, I hope our President engages with this Congress to try to find some solutions to how we establish stability in the Middle East and certainly in Iraq. I thank the gentleman from Arkansas for yielding.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. I thank my friend from Arkansas (Mr. Ross). I have had an opportunity to get to meet a lot of folks that I have served with here in the U.S. House. All of those obviously within the Blue Dog Coalition have become pretty endeared to me because of the commitments we focus on as being deficit hawks and defense hawks. We talk about those issues conservatively. I am going to talk a little bit about each of those issues tonight. I had a privilege recently to spend considerable time with my good friend John Salazar from Colorado. I have become convinced he knows how to hook up a piece of equipment. I am also convinced in the conversations with him that he and his family have shared in the good Lord's Earth in being farmers with his brothers; and in talking with him, I had a much deeper understanding and certainly a much deeper abiding friendship knowing that as my brother and I both farm, brother doing most of it back home, that all of us come from different parts of the country maybe, but we all have that same spirit and that same heartfelt belief that America is the greatest place in the world to live and raise your family. For those of us who live in rural areas, obviously we believe that is probably the best place for America to raise their families. I traveled today with a group of young students from both Clark Grange and York Institute, being named after Alvin C. York, Sergeant York, from the hometown of Pall Mall where I live, and as we traveled through the Capitol I could see their eyes light up as we talked about the history of this great building that we serve in, the great Chamber that we are in here this afternoon. But as you look on the wall in the rotunda, you realize that America in the 1770s, in 1775, at the Boston siege, we convinced with our ragtag Army, the Continental Army, convinced the British soldiers and sailors that we could defeat them, and they set sail late in the winter, early spring and went to New York. We followed them there, and by 1776 we suffered a pretty strong defeat. The first victory that we received for our independence, for our democracy that we have was in Saratoga in the fall of 1777, which convinced another nation called France to come and join us in our fight for independence, but I can assure you, no one won our independence for us. In this country, we fought until basically the battle at Yorktown where Cornwallis, general of the British forces, decided that he had to surrender, and surrendered. That basically ended the hostilities until Washington in 1783 resigned his commission to the Continental Congress that existed at that time. So from 1775 basically until hostilities pretty much ceased in 1781, we fought for our independence in this country. We fought so we could establish a democracy that would be a shining example, as Mr. Reagan used to say, on that hill to the rest of the nations of the world that this is what can be accomplished. That took us 6 years, and 2 years into being sure to sort of protect that fragile peace that we had until Washington gave up his commission and surrendered it in 1783. I want to remind the people of America and the people of Iraq, we fought for our independence. We fought for this democracy that we have. No one came to this country and forced upon us a democracy. No one came to this country and said this is the gift we want to give you. The blood and the tears and the hard work and the sweat of our young men and women from this country have been in Iraq now for over 4 years, toiling, and in fact, in many cases going to war with the Iraqis, first of all, to depose a ruthless dictator, we all agree with that, and then we fought with the Iraqis and in many cases against the Iraqis, whether they be Sunni or Shia, to say we want to give you this gift that we fought for over 200 years ago, we want to give you this gift called democracy. In 2005, in December, we literally sent a surge of our troops over in the midsummer of 2005 to be sure that those brave individuals from Iraq, men and women, over 12 million of them, went to vote to establish the leaders of their country so they could establish their own Constitution. The surge then allowed them to vote. They finalized their commitment, in my opinion, for the democracy. No one gave us ours. We are trying to give them theirs. And we have tried and we have tried and we have tried and we have spent billions of dollars making it happen.

Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee. You have to invite me to come out to your home sometime. I invite you to my home in Pall Mall, but I have got to visit more with your family. As I learn more and more, I realize the quality of people that we have here serving. It was such a wonderful yield, the comments you made during that period of time. It is certainly good to be on the floor with you. But as I talk about that democracy that we fought for, that we fought for, I realize that there has never been a time that a democracy in any country has ever been imposed from without. It has always been from within, the French Revolution, the startings of the Magna Carta where we said we are no longer going to give taxes if you are basically going to squander it on your parties, Mr. King. When Israel established a nation in the Middle East, what type was it? It was a democracy. My fear is that we can keep our soldiers, our young men and women in the battlefields in Iraq for a long, long time, and we can never force a democracy on the people of Iraq or anywhere else. We went into Iraq, and Iraq especially, without realizing the national customs, the traditions, the faith, their family values that are totally different in many cases than ours. I think everyone loves liberty and freedom. I just believe as we engage that we ought to realize that we cannot impose our will on anyone unless we do it with a much larger force than what we have today. Let me stay on Iraq for a moment.