Bob Etheridge

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Wisconsin. I thank the gentleman for having this Special Order tonight because I think this is one of the issues, along with the issue we were debating today on education, these are two of the most important issues that we will be dealing with in this Congress. I, like the previous speakers, will try not to plow some of that ground again, as my folks in North Carolina say, but the truth is, the gentleman has articulated very eloquently the issues before us and the problems we face. Let me touch on it a little differently, because I was very disappointed as I went through that document last week, the energy plan the President put forward. It was light on efficiency and conservation and heavy on drilling. We all know we are going to need more capacity. There is no question about that. I think we acknowledge that jointly. But the issue is, how do we get balance in it? As an example, in this country, certainly in my State, in the Southeast, natural gas prices have gone up 400 percent in the last 18 months. There is nothing in this plan to talk about how we are going to deal with that in the short run. What are we going to do for the people who are hurting? I stopped to get gas last weekend at the service station. A guy pulled up behind me and he recognized me, and he said, Congressman, what are you going to do about these gas prices? I said, well, in the short run, it is really up to the executive branch. The President is the one who can go to the Strategic Oil Reserves. I remember when Governor Bush was running for President, he called on the President to pick up the phone and call the people in OPEC to open the spigots for the short term. We went over there in the sands of the Middle East and recovered the oil wells from Saddam Hussein. I believe if he picked up the phone, he could make that call. Now, I do remember reading this week that the Vice President said he did not want to make that call, he did not want to beg. Well, the people in my district do not care how he gets the gas, they want it. That is not begging. I think it is just folks reminding them that they have an obligation to help keep the prices down. Let me tell my colleagues what this will do for the people not just in North Carolina and across the Southeast, but all across America, because gasoline prices have gone up more, more than what the average taxpayers are going to get back out of this tax bill that they have been pushing all year. The increase in gasoline prices will soak up a $300 to $400 increase per individual for an automobile if they have to drive to work on one tank a week, and the tank costs $25. In my part of the country, a lot of people commute to work. They do not have the benefit of mass transit. They do not have the opportunity of alternative ways to travel. I just think it is important that we look at the short run as well as the long run. We need to look at the alternative energy sources. Mr. Speaker, I serve on the Committee on Science, as does the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), who talked earlier. I will only repeat one part of what he said, because I think it bears repeating here when he talked about the fuel sales, but it is bigger than that. It really is our commitment to really be serious about this issue. If we are not going to spend the money on R&D, on the things that we know we can make a difference within the long run, I do not know that we can ever have enough drilling in the future to provide the energy resources we need, unless we are willing to find the alternatives, to find the efficiencies and do the important things we need to do. The farmers I have talked with back home are now out in the field, as I am sure they are in Wisconsin and California and other parts of this country. They are facing a tough summer because the energy costs have gone up for equipment, for irrigation. We know the problems in agriculture today. Commodity prices are down, and they are going to be squeezed all over again. But this year, it will be everyone who is going to be squeezed. Small business people, large businesses and others are being squeezed. Last winter I know we had one fertilizer company who sold their natural gas, and guess what happened to the cost? So they were not making fertilizer, they waited until later to do it, and guess what happens to nitrogen prices this summer? The prices went up, so the farmer got caught twice. One other point I want to make as we talk about this whole energy piece, and I am sticking mostly to gasoline and transportation, since my colleagues have talked about the other pieces, we tend to forget sometimes what this means to the public purse. Let me just use North Carolina as an example, because we have a State public transportation system for our children going to school. The State operates that system and buys the gasoline. Now, normally they buy it a year in advance on contract. However, it has gone up dramatically, and that is going to affect State treasurers all across this country; whether they are private or public, it will send the cost up. What we are really doing is driving the cost up of everything we purchase, and eventually it is going to show up in the marketplace of all of the products we have that are petroleum-based, and that will have an impact on our overall economy and could have a negative impact. So I call on the administration not only to look at the long term, but let us look at the short-term things, the efficiencies, the economies we can do, encourage people to conserve where they can, do the carpooling we need to do. It is going to take a concerted effort. But we need to spend the R&D money to find the new ideas to make the big difference down the road in the long run. I thank the gentleman for his time, and I thank him for taking time to bring this to our attention tonight, and I appreciate having an opportunity to join my colleagues.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield on that point, the point the gentleman just made, we will be back on this floor in the next month or so, and we will see substantial increases in LIHEAP funding for people on fixed incomes over the winter, and I predict that that number will go up and it will have to go up again if this continues, if we do not deal with the short-term issues. I thank the gentleman. He is absolutely right.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about education, the budget, and something those of us in North Carolina call North Carolina values. Mr. Speaker, we have often heard that the projected budget surplus, assuming it materializes like predicted, is the people's money. Of course it is. It is the people's money. We agree on that. It should be spent on the people's priorities. The budget must reflect the values of the American people. It must affirm their long-term dreams and help them meet their daily needs. This Congress should invest in a better future for the American people. We must build the human infrastructure. We need for an economy that creates the opportunity for prosperity for all Americans who are willing to work for it. We must invest in long-term research in science and technology and engineering that will yield a long-term benefit but may not be seen as benefiting a short-term political gain. But it certainly will produce a strong economy down the road. We must invest in education and lifelong learning so that Americans will have the most skilled work force in the world and continue to exert global economic leadership. We must repair the torn farm safety net so that farm families will have the opportunity, not only to survive, but to thrive. Unfortunately, this House today passed along party lines a budget full of missed opportunities and misplaced priorities. Do not get me wrong. I strongly support responsible tax relief for working families in America. But this budget will run our economy in the ditch, and it will turn us to the days of large budget deficits, economic stagnation, high unemployment, and, yes, inflation. I come from North Carolina, and we say North Carolina values call for balancing your budget every year and responsible policies. But this budget sends us on a river boat gamble with America's future. Mr. Speaker, the other day I visited Anderson Creek Elementary School in my home county in North Carolina, and I saw the good work they are doing every day to prepare for a bright future in this country for those children. We are blessed with some of the most wonderful teachers and staff and dedicated parents and, yes, bright, hard-working students at Anderson Creek. They are going like gang busters on a program we call Key to the Future. It is a reading award we give out each year. Here are some of the totals, and I would like to share with my colleagues what good work is being done on the ground out there where teachers work every day. At Anderson Creek, of the 683 students enrolled this year, 500 one of those students have read more than 100 books on their own with their parents in the evening. In the kindergarten class alone, they read 24,883 books. In the first grade, they have read 37,514 books. In the second grade, the students have read 40,130 books. As a former county commissioner, State legislator and two-term elected State superintendent, it does my heart good to see local communities throwing themselves into the education effort. It holds so much promise for a bright future for these children and for all the rest of us. Mr. Speaker, the folks in Anderson Creek demonstrated the kind of priorities that Congress ought to be adopting. We should forgo the short-term appeal of an easy path and choose, instead, the right path. It takes vision and hard work, but in the end, the payoff is well worth the effort. We missed an opportunity today to put money in the budget for school construction. I will talk about that at another time. But those are the kind of values that the people of North Carolina sent me to Congress to represent, and those are the values this Congress should embrace when making important decisions on the budget, taxes, and appropriations. Today's vote was, unfortunately, a big step in the wrong direction. But, hopefully, Congress will get its priorities straight and enact policies that honor what I call North Carolina values and reflect the kind of priorities that the American people truly want and expect us to deal with.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this Republican budget. Unfortunately, this budget is nothing but missed opportunities and misplaced priorities. Mr. Speaker, our nation needs a national economic strategy for economic opportunities for all Americans. We can charge boldly into the 21st Century with prosperity for all if we have the vision to see our opportunities and the courage to seize those opportunities. But this budget will squander our prosperity and set America back on a failed course. We must invest in science and technology and innovation, but this budget cuts Research and Development. We must invest in better schools and training so we can have the greatest workforce in the world, but this budget neglects education. Some people say education is too expensive; I say it's a whole lot cheaper than ignorance. We must strengthen Social Security and reform Medicare to include a benefit for prescriptions, but this budget will raid those trust funds. We must rewrite the Farm Bill so North Carolina's farm families have an opportunity to make a living, but this budget puts agriculture under the knife. We must modernize our defenses and make America's military second to none, but this budget blows the resources we need to accomplish that mission. Don't get me wrong: I support responsible tax relief for our working families. But this budget will run our economy into the ditch and return us to the days of huge deficits, economic stagnation, high unemployment and out-of-control inflation. Our North Carolina values call for balanced budgets and responsible policy, but this budget sends us a on riverboat gamble with America's future. I urge its defeat.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I appreciate him pulling together this special order tonight to talk about an issue I think is very important. It is going to have such a significant impact in this country on so many areas of our economy. I do not think we even realize today what a tremendous impact it will have if it continues. We talk about the problems in California as if they are isolated, and the gentleman touched on them earlier. The issue of providing for encouraging people to save energy is critically important. One of the pieces, as we are seeing tremendous escalation in cost, is we are going to see a tremendous wealth transfer in this country as it relates to those who have very little, who are trying to make it to those who have considerably amount. I want to talk a little bit for a few minutes about the ever- increasing cost of energy, because certainly we need a long-term policy. Certainly we need to do all those things. But energy is a lot like eating. One can talk about it in the long run, but we eat in the short run. We stay cool. We get in our cars. We need energy in the short term. As I travel through my district now over the last several months, I continue to hear complaints from constituents there about how energy prices are rising and there is no end in sight. Even when they go up and they come down, they do not come back down anywhere near where the last level was, hoping people are comfortable, knowing they are going up again. As I talk to my distributors and retailers, they say it is not us. So I ask, where is it? I hear from the farmers in my district. I have heard them talk about the high price of propane and natural gas prices are driving up the cost associated with farming. That is not just true in North Carolina, it is true all over this country. Many people here may not be aware of how farmers use propane. Certainly in North Carolina, they use it to dry the crops, whether it be peanuts or tobacco or corn or whatever it may be. But it is also used to run irrigation systems. It is used for heating purposes; because in the rural areas, propane is the gas of choice. They do not have pipelines. The farmers in North Carolina use it to heat their barns in the summer to cure products; and they use it when they have animals, for pigs or chickens or turkeys or whatever they may be. It is a part of their production process as well as running the irrigation system. They also use it in the homes and they have seen those prices virtually double when they spiked up this winter and they have not come back to the level they were last year. The natural gas price rise also has an impact on fertilizers that are used in the farming. We will not see that until next year. Mr. Speaker, natural gas is used as a feedstock for ammonia, which is used for anhydrous ammonia that goes on the corn in the Midwest and all the products grown in this country. We are going to see it at the grocery store. And if the prices do not rise for the farmers, they are going broke. Many of my colleagues may not know that natural gas accounts for about 90 percent of the cost of producing fertilizer. That is a substantial amount of the cost. With the doubling of the price of natural gas from last year, farmers are facing prices of anhydrous ammonia doubling this year. Double. Now, that is going to have a significant price on the cost of product. They are already having a difficult time making a living; and these additional costs associated with other energy costs for their diesel fuel, for the gasoline and other things they use on the farm, and the low commodity prices are going to drive more farmers out of business. The increase in energy price is also imposing a real economic hardship on thousands of urban citizens in my State, especially seniors on fixed income. They need that energy in the short run, and this cost is driving it up. Families on limited and fixed income face enough challenges without these unexpected increases that are associated with the necessities that they need. Let me just share two examples that were in the paper recently. Because of the high cost of natural gas, Gloria Williams, a single mother in southeast Raleigh, who goes to school during the day to improve her lot in life and works at a Target store in the evening to sustain and support her family, did not even turn on the gas last winter in her home. She could not afford it. So she used wood or any other alternative fuel she could get just to keep it warm and get through the winter. Another person in Garner by the name of Fred Joyner, a retired logger who has a disability payment, he said his bill was usually $75 a month, and it doubled. He said, ``it digs deep that bill, but you gotta stay warm. It's like eating.'' One has got to pay the bill. He said, I do without other things. No family in America should be required to do this so that just a very few could put more on the bottom line. Gasoline prices are creeping up, Mr. Speaker, and some are jumping. My district does not enjoy much of the benefits of an extensive and expansive public transportation system. The only public system we have of any extent is the one that transports our children to and from school. One needs to understand that those prices are going up at a rapid rate, and that is going to affect the public till for those who are paying for it. The State is facing an $850 million shortfall in their budget. My constituents are car people. That is how they get back and forth to work. Heck, the interstate outside Raleigh just got HOV lanes about a year ago. When gas goes up, they feel it in their pocketbooks. Their daily commutes to and from work or trips to the beach or the mountains when they used to make them, they will be cut back. There is no end in sight. According to a recent report issued by the Department of Energy Information Administration, they have forecast the prices to continue to increase. Last year, natural gas wellhead prices averaged $3.62 per thousand cubic feet. For this year, EIA predicts the average wellhead price will be almost 50 percent above that. There is a reason for that. It is hard to believe that the wellhead prices have escalated at this level. The price of propane is heavily tied to natural gas, as propane is a natural byproduct of natural gas. When propane prices rise and spike like they did last winter, they do not come back down to their previous level. We have already seen that. As EIA is predicting natural gas prices, it is also predicting foreseeable higher propane prices extending out for the next 20 months. I would like to know why it is keeping increasing, and we have not heard anyone talk about how we get it down. Last year, there was a lot of grumbling over gas prices. They were high, but not high enough to dissuade Americans from taking vacations. That may happen this year. When the Energy Department testified last Wednesday, they said that EIA forecast that the average retail price for gasoline over the summer would range from $1.50 to $1.65 a gallon. That compares with $1.53 last year at the highest level. Yesterday, I read in The Washington Post that the range had already expanded to a $1.75, and that is 5 percent above last year's record highest prices. I have even heard the prediction for some of the energy analysts that the price in this country might even reach $3. I raise the question, how do you know it is going to be $3? Folks were quite patient last summer, but I do not know if Americans are willing to put up with the gas pries as they continue to get higher. If gas prices run up to $3, the American people will want to know why it happened. So far, they have not liked the explanations that they have been hearing, that price increases are simply an example of the market at work. I ask the question: What market? Is the market working when the Federal Trade Commission approves of a merger between two of the largest oil companies as is expected in June between Texaco and Chevron? Will consumers think that removing one more competitor from the field will help lower gas prices? I do not think so. I have been brought up to believe that competition is good, that it helps keep prices down. I believe more people would agree with me if they think it through. When one cuts the number of companies fighting over customers, how will that price go down. The American people are going to want answers to these questions. But they may not feel we have reached a crisis proportion concerning energy, but it may be coming. Now I know some people do not want to characterize our energy predicament as a crisis. That word gets people worried. It can upset the stock market, and I understand that. But I do believe the situation is urgent and, as a result, demands an urgent and prompt response from the Bush administration. I think the American people deserve the same level of urgency, the same sense of urgency from President Bush that Governor Bush demonstrated to oil producers when they were hurting by the drop in oil prices in 1999. I urge the administration to demonstrate its understanding of the urgency of this situation by developing an energy policy that does not tell Americans they have to wait a few years before any relief will be found to higher energy prices. I thank the gentleman from Washington for this opportunity to participate in this special order this evening because this is an issue that is important, not only to my constituents in North Carolina, but as the gentleman has indicated, to all Americans.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues from other tobacco producing states to introduce a bill to put an end to discrimination against tobacco farmers. For almost eight years, hard- working, God-fearing, taxpaying tobacco farmers have been denied access to the funds provided by the federal Market Access Program, commonly known as MAP. More than $90 million in MAP funds are available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote U.S. agricultural products overseas. Under MAP, agricultural industry trade associations, cooperatives, and state or regional trade groups each year are invited to submit proposals to USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to conduct approved foreign market development projects for various U.S. agricultural, fishery and forestry products. Examples include consumer promotions, market research, technical assistance, and trade servicing. MAP funds have been used to promote a wide range of products from sunflower seeds to catfish and cotton to hops for use in making beer. Since 1993 USDA has been prohibited from using MAP funds to promote tobacco leaf sales overseas. This is patently unfair, and it is time for this discrimination to end. The future of American agriculture is tied to international trade. Currently, 25% of farmers' gross income comes from exports. The futures of thousands of Tar Heel tobacco farm families depend on exports, and I am not going to stand by and watch other commodities benefit from federal funds to access these markets while tobacco farmers are left out in the cold. It is high time that tobacco is treated like the legal product that it is, and this legislation is a step in the right direction. I call on President Bush, Secretary Veneman, and my colleagues to support this bill and give our struggling tobacco farm families an opportunity to not just survive, but thrive.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble) for yielding me this time. Let me also thank the gentleman for putting together this Special Order today. Madam Speaker, I want to echo my colleagues who have already spoken and also thank them for their participation in this today, because I rise today as they do to celebrate the life and career of a very unique and outstanding human being who was a former Member of this body and really a great North Carolinian. L. Richardson Preyer was a very special individual. His death has saddened all of us in this North Carolina delegation and North Carolinians in general because we have lost one of our great native sons. Today, as we gather to honor his life and works, not only as a North Carolinian but as a great American, and to celebrate what he did to really make our world a better place, it is my honor to participate in that. L. Richardson Preyer was a native of North Carolina, but he really was a citizen of the world. He always said that he was lucky to have been born on third base. By this he meant that he had the advantages that most people did not have. His grandfather and namesake Lunsford Richardson invented Vick's VapoRub and Vick's Cough Drops; and as a result, the family had immense personal resources, some would say a fortune, that built the Richardson Merrill Chemical Corporation. As a result of that, he had an opportunity to attend the best schools. He attended Princeton and the law school at Harvard, as we have already heard; but his family resources allowed him to do that. Instead of living a life in the private sector and taking advantages of the wealth that he could have accumulated and his family already had, he chose instead to make his life one of public service in changing the lot, as we have already heard from my colleague the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), for those who did not have a voice in many cases. After his graduation from Princeton, as we have heard, he served as a lieutenant with the United States Navy and was on a destroyer in the Atlantic and in the South Pacific and earned a Bronze Star for his heroism and his valor at Okinawa. One did not hear a lot from him about that. He did not talk about it. Rich Preyer was a great lover of the arts. He used his family resources to help the lot of many people, and he invested in the arts and in music, which he loved a great deal, and in his church. After serving for several years, as has been indicated earlier, as a State superior court judge, he was appointed by his Harvard Law School classmate, John F. Kennedy, to a position as a U.S. judge. As all of us know, that is a lifetime appointment; but he resigned that post in 1964 to really make a difference in what he saw was an opportunity to change our State. He did not win that election, as we have already heard, but to his credit he continued to take on issues that were important to the people of North Carolina, because that is what Rich Preyer was all about. For those 5 years he was out of public life, he worked with what was then North Carolina National Bank and then came back in 1968 and ran for and won a seat in this body, representing his hometown of Greensboro and the Sixth Congressional District. He continued to make a difference in this body for the 12 years of his career in the United States Congress. He served as chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics, which drafted the Congressional Code of Ethics that those of us who serve here today live by. Much of this was what Rich Preyer really believed. As we have heard, he was a member of the Select Committee in this House that investigated President Kennedy's assassination and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., an indication of how he was respected by this body; but also it said a lot about the integrity of an individual who really, in my opinion, was a conscience of the United States Congress. Although his career ended in this body in 1981, his work on behalf of the people of North Carolina did not end. As I have indicated, he was involved in so many things in his community that one did not see on the surface that dealt with the arts. The thing I want to talk about for just a moment in some detail really is what Rich did for education in North Carolina. During my term as superintendent of the schools for the State of North Carolina, in 1989 I had the occasion to appoint a statewide commission of business, civic, community, and education leaders to take a look at North Carolina's educational system; and we appointed a commission called Excellence in Secondary Education. We started looking across the State. Where do we find an individual to chair a commission headed by people who are on this commission who are leaders in industry and in banking and in education? Obviously, as we looked across the State, the name of L. Richardson Preyer popped up. We asked him to chair it. Without hesitation, he committed and accepted that challenge and spent the next year providing the kind of leadership that was needed to pull this diverse group together, along with all the data from across the country. As a result of his strong and visionary leadership, that became the blueprint that I used for the next 8 years and that many of my colleagues are still using in North Carolina to make a difference in education. I thank his family for allowing him to have the time to do that. I charged him in that time with coming back with recommendations that would not only make our schools better but would challenge them to have the kind of assessment that we needed to have that would help every child reach their full potential. He was instrumental in making that happen. As I said, we are grateful for him today; but children who do not know him, did not know his family, are now benefiting from his work. He was a well-rounded individual. Not only was he a model public servant, but he was a father who loved his family and who lived out the ideals of the family values that we hear so many people talk about today. He and his wife, Emily, were a team; and together they raised five outstanding children, and they truly enjoyed their grandchildren. I always looked forward to, at Christmastime, receiving his Christmas card because it was not only just his and Emily's, it was the whole family with their grandchildren. On top of that, he was an elder and a teacher in the First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro for more than 40 years. He did not talk a lot about his religion. He lived it. Madam Speaker, L. Richardson Preyer is one of the greatest public servants my State has ever produced, but he was great not because he had the benefits of political connections and the wealth or because he served for over a decade in this body. He was a remarkable human being because he made the most of his God-given gifts, and he desired to make a difference in the lives of every North Carolinian and the people of this country, but especially in the lives of children. It is important to point out that during his tenure as a State judge, as has been pointed out today, he upheld rulings that allowed five black children to attend an all-white school in Greensboro; thus, integrating those schools for the first time and literally changing and beginning to change the South and across this country. This was an act of tremendous courage for that day and age. He was a man of unique character and well ahead of his time in the arena of civil rights and, it can be argued, probably cost him the governor's mansion in our State. He was a patriot and a public servant of the highest order. He was a friend and colleague of mine in the fight to improve education for all children. Many of his ideals have helped to and will help children everywhere to grow up and realize the American dream. Madam Speaker, the list of names of great men and women who have served in this body is long. All of them used their lives and gifts to serve their communities, States, and this great Nation. Today we honor L. Richardson Preyer and add his name to that long list of great Americans.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Spratt amendment for the children of this country. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong opposition to the Republican Budget Resolution. Unfortunately, this budget is a missed opportunity and it represents misplaced priorities. Sadly, Mr. Chairman, this budget is very much a missed opportunity. The White House and the Republican Leadership have utterly failed to deliver on the President's promise of a bipartisan process that puts accomplishment for the American people above gamesmanship by Washington politicians. More importantly, this budget fails to provide for America's priorities. We must pay down the national debt to remove that burden from our children and grandchildren and cut interest rates for items like cars and homes. This Republican tax package will return us to the days of big deficits, high interest rates, high unemployment and a struggling economy. I support balanced tax relief as part of a comprehensive economic plan that will restore America's prosperity so that all of our hard working families can have security in their family finances. In my state of North Carolina, last month, we registered an unemployment rate higher than the national average for the first time in nearly two decades. We must pass a strong economic plan, not a wasteful tax giveaway. The Republican budget mortgages the future based on a guess. If the projected surpluses fail to materialize, Social Security and Medicare will be on the chopping block. The American people know that the budget projections are not real. They are an estimate. It is irresponsible to make decisions that will directly impact people's lives based on a ten- year number we know is no more reliable than a ten-year hurricane forecast. As the only former state schools chief serving in Congress, I was very pleased by the President's promise to increase education investment. But this budget is a big disappointment because the increase is due largely to the education appropriations we passed last year. It rolls back the clock on school renovation by making those funds compete with other needs. This budget does nothing to help states build schools to relieve overcrowding and get our students out of trailers. Other areas that could be subject to cuts include child care, Head Start and job training that are vitally important to allow people to make the most of their God-given abilities. Mr. Chairman, a great deal of attention has been paid lately to the trouble on Wall Street and signs the economic boom may well be over. One sector that hasn't been booming for some time is agriculture, and farmers in my district have been hurting in the face of production cuts, commodity price losses and natural disasters. I was appalled when the Budget Committee passed its budget that would gut important farm programs. If approved, these cuts would eliminate funds to identify solutions to the state's hog waste problems and force dozens of our Farm Service Agency offices to close their doors. These agriculture cuts are wrong, and I will fight to restore them despite the Budget Committee's action. Mr. Chairman, this budget is a missed opportunity, but it doesn't have to be that way. I urge my colleagues to vote down this budget and come together to pass a responsible budget that honors America's values and respects the people's priorities.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to America's social workers. March is National Social Work Month and I think it is fitting that we take time to thank these outstanding citizens for their honorable work. Since I was first elected to the House over four years ago, I have employed at least one social worker as a member of my district staff. I had worked with social workers before during my tenure as North Carolina's Superintendent of public schools, and I was impressed with their versatility and the positive impact of their work on people's lives. Together the social workers on my staff and I have assisted veterans and seniors, and helped new immigrants pursue the American Dream in our great country. About a month ago, I held a meeting with my youth advisory committee to talk about youth and school violence. We had a great meeting and we talked candidly about the issues that the young people of my district face on a daily basis. At one point during the meeting, we broke into small groups, which were led by faculty, administrators, and school social workers. I was particularly drawn to one of the small groups led by Kelly Lister, a school social worker from Zebulon. She did a marvelous job of interacting with the students and offered some practical and poignant thoughts for her group to consider. Unfortunately, there are not enough school social workers in our schools. For example, in Johnston County, North Carolina, there is only one school social worker for all 29 schools in the system. We need more school social workers, like Kelly to work with our students, to help them grow and mature. In many instances they are a link between home, school, and community. They help students increase academic performance, deal with crisis situations, learn how to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence, practice important problem- solving and decision-making skills, and most importantly remain in school and graduate. School social workers are a critical component in a child's education and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their hard work and service. Social workers effect our lives in so many ways. Their work touches all of us as individuals and as whole communities. They are educated, highly trained, and committed professionals. They work in family service and community mental health agencies, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and many other private and public agencies. They listen. They care. And most importantly, they help those in need. Mr. Speaker, social workers are an integral, irreplaceable part of our society. I urge all of my colleagues to take the time to honor all the social workers in their districts for all of their contributions and accomplishments during the remainder of National Social Work Month.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I thank the gentleman from Georgia, or really, from Alabama. It was great to be in his native home State and for the opportunity for me and my son, who is a school teacher, to go and visit. Let me tell the gentleman what came as the result of it. My son taught third grade and is now working with children who really have deficiencies in reading and math, who are trying to get to grade level. As the gentleman knows, he took a lot of video footage while he was there of the gentleman and Bernard Lafayette and Fred Shuttlesworth and others and Dick Gephardt, our leader. But what he has done now that he has gotten back, he has taken that footage and is tying it to North Carolina during that very same period, using it for staff development for teachers as well as young people. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Georgia for letting me walk through history with heroes of history, for helping stimulate and revive my thinking about Brown Chapel, the Pettus Bridge, for the things that happened that really changed this Nation for the better. To all of my colleagues who have not been, I would say to them, they need to go to understand. My colleagues really need to go to understand. We can read the history books, we can even see the videos, but until you walk through history and you walk through the museums and the parks and you see how children were abused, children who were innocent, denied the opportunity for an education, how children were attacked by dogs and water hoses and all of those other things that today we shudder to even think happen, but they were commonplace. As we walk through history, we appreciate the right to vote, and for those who have always had it, they do not understand how important and precious it really is. How precious is human decency and basic common sense and housing, as we have talked about. Let me thank the gentleman again and Faith and Politics for making it available. I planned to go, as the gentleman well knows, a couple of times, and other things happened. I am glad I went, I am glad this became a bipartisan venture. I have been to Birmingham before. I have been to Montgomery on business. But if someone has not been on this trip, a walk through history, one really does not understand how important it is for America. I guess I was heartened, I would say to my friend, by the strength of human will. No one can know unless they go or no one can truly understand the total commitment of a whole community from the smallest child to the oldest person, until you get to Montgomery, and you understand they were willing to walk for you. You do not understand until you walk through the park in Birmingham and you see what children went through and adults and how people were willing to give up their lives. Yes, we have challenges today. We need to stand on the shoulders of people like the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), Martin Luther King, and others who have laid a foundation, but the challenges are still here for those of us in this body. Not just access to education, but equal opportunity to education for every child, the chance for a child to get a college education when they have the ability, but not the money; health care opportunities for our seniors and others, and yes, the right to vote and the obligation and right to have that vote counted. In America in the 21st century, there is no excuse to repeat the problems of history in the past. Mr. Speaker, we have a long, unfinished agenda, but to my friend from Georgia, let me thank him for making this available for our colleagues, and I would encourage others of my colleagues to go. Not only will they benefit, but their constituents will benefit immensely and America will be a better place for it. Again, I thank the gentleman again for his courage of nonviolence. After having walked through the footprints of history, I have questioned myself on many days: could I have stood knowing the abuse that I was about to take. I do not know the answer to that.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 821, a bill to designate a facility of the United States Postal Service as the W. Joe Trogdon Post Office Building. This legislation, which was cosponsored by every Member of the North Carolina Delegation, is a worthy and appropriate tribute to one of North Carolina's finest mayors. Joe Trogdon was born on November 19, 1932 in Asheboro, North Carolina and is a graduate of North Carolina State University in my Congressional District. We honor Mayor Trogdon today because of his unique bond with the city of Asheboro. He grew up in Asheboro, was educated in its city schools, and with the exception of his college years in Raleigh and a brief stint in United States Army, he chose to live his life in the town where he was born. Mayor Trogdon began his career in public service as a member of the Asheboro Planning Board in 1964 and then was elected to the city council in 1973. After ten years on the council he was elected mayor, a position he would hold for the next 18 years. During his tenure as mayor, he served on the North Carolina League of Municipalities Board of Directors and as chairman of the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments. Trogdon is more than a mayor or member of the city council. He is an exemplary small businessman and father. As President of S.E. Trogdon & Sons, Inc., Joe continues to run the business his family started in 1928. He married the late Anne Peoples in 1955. Together they raised four children in Asheboro, and their family has now expanded to include six grandchildren. He is also a member of the Asheboro Jaycees, Kiwanis, and Rotary Clubs. Mr. Speaker, in this age of mobility and change it is refreshing to recognize those who give their entire lives to their community. Joe Trogdon was a fixture in his community and a citizen in the truest sense of the word. He cared deeply for Asheboro. It is his hometown, the place where he was raised and where he chose to raise his own family and he served it well. It gives me great pleasure to pay this fitting tribute to a great North Carolinian by naming the Post Office in Asheboro after that town's favorite son, W. Joe Trogdon. I ask my colleagues to support H.R. 821.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of North Carolina's leading citizens and to bring to the attention of my colleagues of the 107th Congress his many contributions. Daniel R. Ensley, director of the mass communications program at Campbell University and a 1993-94 ``Professor of the Year'' at the institution, is retiring from Campbell due to health concerns. He will be greatly missed by fellow professors, by students in the mass communications school, and by the hundreds of alumni who remember the courses they took there. Ensley, a native of Dover, Delaware, grew up in a military family and lived in New Jersey, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, and Oklahoma as a youngster. He is a 1979 magna cum laude graduate of Campbell. He worked for the college radio station throughout his college years and became station manager during his senior year. After graduation, he managed the station until 1984 and also taught courses at the University. In 1984, Ensley entered graduate school at the University of South Carolina College of Journalism. He earned his Master of Arts degree from that institution in 1986 and was accepted for a Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin. Just before leaving for Madison, Wisconsin, Ensley was contacted by the administrators at Campbell and offered a position as an instructor in the Department of Communications. He accepted and joined the Campbell family. Ensley was promoted to assistant professor in 1990 and twice--1989 and 1999--has won the Dean's Award for Teaching Excellence. The Student Government Association honored him with the first ``Professor of the Year'' award in 1993-94, and he was also honored as ``Teacher of the Year'' by the Omicron Delta Kappa society in June of 1994. That same year, the college yearbook was dedicated to him. In 1987, the college of Journalism at the University of South Carolina awarded him its Excellence in Research Award for his masters thesis. Ensley's most dramatic contribution to the University came in 1991 when he created the Department of Mass Communications at the university. As director of the new department, he designed curriculum, taught courses, and established and monitored an internship program. Hundreds of former students owe Ensley a debt of gratitude for the work he did with them while they were at Campbell. One former student, Dallas Woodhouse, a political reporter for NBC-17 in Raleigh, says he owes his career to the retiring educator. ``Ensley gave his life to his students,'' Woodhouse says. ``Nights. Weekends. Overnights. He gave it all and never complained. I have never seen someone work so much and so hard. I have never seen someone like Dan Ensley. I only hope I can teach my children his work ethic and his selflessness.''

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to spend some time talking about an issue that is very important to me and to the Members of this Congress, I trust. I have a number of my colleagues joining me this evening to talk about a group of young people who need champions and a group who, because of their age, not because of their ability, are not allowed to serve in this body so we have to be their spokesman and their advocate. Tonight I want to talk about our children and their educational opportunities. I had the privilege of serving for 8 years as the State superintendent of schools for North Carolina and work with some wonderful people who deeply care about the education of our children. Just yesterday, I was in Eastern Wake County working with some tremendous people there, a lady by the name of Linda Johnson, who had previously been a teacher and school board member, who had pulled together three communities really to work together with children in a program they called Lights on for Education. They have taken on the monumental challenge in Eastern Wake County. What they are about is by 2003 they have committed to have 95 percent of their children in grades three through eight reading at or above grade level by 2003. That is a monumental task, because reading is the key skill of all of the trainings we need to have in education. But for these people to come together, and what was so significant about that, and I want to share it just briefly before I ask my colleagues to join me, is that we have to understand that in North Carolina education is a State responsibility, augmented by about 7 percent Federal money and maybe about 20 to 25 percent local money, that is, local money from the counties. But in this situation, we had three mayors, Bob Matheny who is the mayor of Zebulon; Lucius Jones, who is the mayor of Wendell; and the Knightdale mayor, Joe Bryan, and we were joined by the superintendent of schools for the county, Bill McNeil. It is unusual for three mayors to come together to work on educational issues. Some people would say it is unusual to get three mayors to come together, as difficult as it is to get three Congressmen together; but they were willing not only to put their political prestige on the line to help children, they were willing to reach out into the community, get the business people together, and we had a substantial number of the business community working, Glaxco, Smith Kline hosted it on their campus; and we were able to light a tree that will burn uninterrupted, we trust, barring any natural interruptions of it, until 2003 when they have reached their goal. I think that is what we need in every community. But one thing I think is significant that I want my colleagues to know about tonight, and that is so many times we say, we really need local initiative, we need the local folks to take charge and do it; and that is true. But if the people from eastern Wade County were here tonight, they would say to us, that job would have been very difficult, if not near impossible, had it not been for Federal money coming down that was appropriated by this Congress last year, several million dollars that are going to be used as the glue to pull all of this together over the next 3 years to make a difference. It does take money, folks. Certainly it takes effort, certainly it takes commitment, but it is our responsibility to provide the leadership, and some places cannot do it on their own. I believe that we have a responsibility to be frugal. I was in business for 20 years before I was State superintendent, and I can tell my colleagues that it takes resources, I would like to remind my colleagues from time to time. We won the Cold War, and we did not win the Cold War on the cheap. We spent a lot of money. We spend a lot of money on education; it is going to take more. We have over 53 million children this year in the public schools in this country, and that number is continuing to grow. My State is not unlike any other State. We have spent money building buildings, but we have great needs. I will talk about that more in a few minutes. Even though we passed substantial bond issues, we are the fourth fastest-growing State in America right now. Even though we are only the 10th largest, we will be the fourth fastest-growing for students entering high school over the next 10 years. So we can see the challenge we face. We need money for infrastructure. I am going to talk about that more. Now, I would like to yield to a real strong leader on public education, a person who came to this Congress 2 years ago and at that point provided tremendous leadership in the area of science. He is a scientist himself, he understands education, he understands the commitment that all of us have to make to help, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Wisconsin is correct. We have the resources to do it this year. There is no reason that we cannot start down that road and make it happen. If we really want to have a better world, it has been said if you want a better world, you share it with a child and they will build it. We have that opportunity.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. I think the gentleman reminds us if it were not for public education, most of us would not be here either. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), my friend who serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce. He has been an outspoken advocate for education and a real champion.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California for his comments. Let me just add to that point when the gentleman talks about block grants, I served as a State legislator and chaired the Committee on Appropriations before I was superintendent. I happened to have been in the general assembly in the 1980s, when we had our last major tax cut and that blocked to us, and all that meant was we are going to send in money but we are going to cut it. The truth is, in schools or other agencies, we have a responsibility to help fund. The last thing they need is to be block granted or have grants they have to deal with. You cannot hire teachers on block grants and grant funding. The truth is when you hire a teacher or any person to work with children, you have to have enough to sustain that investment, the money has to be a continuous stream, otherwise you cannot hire people and sustain them. The gentleman mentioned this whole issue of the penal system. It reminds me, and I just said this a number of times in my State, we have prisons that are nicer in this country than we have public schools in some places. That is wrong. It ought to end. It ought to end right now. We have the ability in this Congress to do something about it, because we have the resources. I introduced legislation that the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca), my colleague, signed last year. We are going to introduce it again in the next week or so along with a number of our colleagues. I have here a flier that was done last year. It says ``America Has Come A Long Way Since The One-Room Schoolhouse.'' It is a nice-looking one room schoolhouse. The only problem is, in some cases, we have moved to this, less buildings that are not up to code, that are not what they ought to be, and a lot of times just trailers out behind the main building. The gentleman mentioned the issue of children. I was in a meeting yesterday where someone was talking and we had a group of children in front of us, and the word these days is leave no child behind, and all of a sudden the Speaker said which one of these children do you want to leave? That is really the answer. Talk is cheap. You have to work to get it done. Mr. Speaker, I want to yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca), my colleague, who has been a real hard worker on this issue. He has committed to making sure children have a space to learn and a good environment for his comments on this issue.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. It is an investment in our future, and an investment in the future of this country because the dollar investment today will return rich dividends in years to come. One of the challenges we face not only of having the dollars to develop the plan and help teachers carrying them out and do them depending on the district, because if we funded the full 40 percent that we committed to, I cannot think of a better tax break for local systems, for local taxpayers than to make sure that every child in this country, not only special needs children but all children, have a good education. That will take more off their backs than anything else we can do from Washington this year or next year or the year after.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. If the gentleman would yield, I think what the gentleman is talking about is absolutely right, and what the gentleman is really talking about is an investment.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, having served in the State as State superintendent where you have districts with resources, other districts without resources, I would be interested in the gentleman's comments as it relates to the disparity even these youngsters find. Because even though we have an obligation to serve them, they are served in a disproportionate way, even though we are serving, for a child who lives in a school district where we have substantial resources available, they get quality because the IEP, or individual education plans, have to be written for each one of these students; and as we are writing those plans, we may have one-on-one attention. I happen to support that, because I happen to believe that these young people become committed, taxpaying, productive citizens in American society. So I think we have an obligation to do it. However, my point is, have my colleagues seen that in their situations where some do not get the kind of attention they ought to get just because of resources?

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I could not agree more. I thank the gentleman. When we think of that, there are a lot of ways we can help, the Federal Government, the Congress. Too many times I hear people say, well, that is not Congress' responsibility. The fact is that Congress has a heavy responsibility, and we show up short time and time again. Last year, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle talked about children with special needs. I could not agree with them more. We ought to fund the 40 percent we said we would fund and fund it now that we have the money. Mr. Speaker, I now yield a few minutes to my colleague who is new to this Congress, but is not new to this issue, the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda). He understands the need. If we fund that 40 percent, and he has already shared this with me many times, and I could not agree more, we could free up a lot of local money, and I yield to my colleague to talk about that.

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, that is a critical point. The point where the gentleman is talking about training, and teachers having worked with the schools and knowing, the problem we face is daunting; but we can do it if we are committed to it. First of all, not only do we need the training, we need mentors for those teachers because today, in the first 3 to 5 years, we lose over 25 to 30 percent of those teachers; they leave, because the job is so daunting and overwhelming. I stopped by a school this morning to have breakfast, a national breakfast program with our children. It was cold. I had on a topcoat. In North Carolina this morning it was very cold. The chill factor was probably about 20 degrees or less, and guess who was standing out in the cold with coats on to greet the children? The teachers. And this was at 7:30 in the morning, they had already been there for 30 minutes, because some of the children come early. I think our colleagues need to understand that teaching is not just teaching reading, writing, and math. I went into the classroom and had breakfast with the children, kindergartners. As the teachers came in with those children, they taught them how to stay in line, they go through the breakfast line, how to carry their tray along, they go sit down at the table with them, have breakfast with them, they watch them. They are taught manners, taught how to do certain things. With kindergarten, you have to start pretty early and build. Teachers do that for 13 years, kindergarten through the 12th grade, not just those details, but a myriad of other things. I think we need to honor our teachers more, make sure that we understand how tough their job is. We certainly do not pay them enough, so we ought to at least give them the honor they are due, and I agree with the gentleman.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, today I honor the life of Clarence Marvin Blackman, Sr. of Benson, North Carolina, who died December 20, 2000. In his passing, Benson lost one of its most outstanding citizens and a man who was instrumental in growing the town to its present state. He was the kind of citizen who had the best interest of his community in mind before he made any decision. As one of his friends put it, ``If anything good happened in Benson, it was a safe bet that C.M. Blackman would be one of the people behind it.'' Born in Johnston County, Blackman was the son of the late Frank and Callie Altman Blackman. He came to Benson in 1934 to open a farm supply and grocery store with Alton Massengill. He later bought out his partner and in subsequent years added an insurance agency to the business he already owned. In 1950, Blackman and four other Benson men founded the Benson Livestock Market, putting a market in easy reach of the hundreds of farmers in Harnett and Johnston counties. A man of great energy and widespread interests, Blackman served as a town commissioner for 29 years and was mayor from 1955 to 1959. He was named Citizen of the Year in 1962 and was a charter member of the Benson Lions and the Benson Businessman's Club, which later became the Benson Area Chamber of Commerce. He was also a member of the Benson Junior Order. After being appointed to the Board of Directors of the Benson Annual Sing in the early 1940's, Blackman served as assistant manager. He also served as announcer for the competitions. Blackman loved his family and friends and business associates. He hosted a Christmas breakfast for them every year for 31 years. In 1999, the breakfast was named in his honor as the Annual C.M. Blackman Christmas Breakfast. Blackman's survivors include his wife, Pernella Massengill Blackman; a daughter, Jackie B. Smith of Fayetteville; two sons, C.M. Blackman, Jr., of Raleigh and Danny Blackman of Dunn; six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, C.M. Blackman, Sr. used every minute of his long and productive life to make the world a better place. He was a respected and successful businessman, a dedicated public servant, and a great North Carolinian. It is fitting that we honor him and his family today.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this bill to extend for 11 months chapter 12 bankruptcy for America's small farmers. I also want to thank the Chairman, Mr. Sensenbrenner, and the ranking member, Mr. Conyers, of the House Judiciary Committee for moving so expeditiously in passing H.R. 256 out of committee and bringing it here to the floor today. Chapter 12 of the bankruptcy code allows farmers the option to reorganize debt over 3 to 5 years rather than having to liquidate their assets when they declare bankruptcy. It also encourages responsible efforts by farmers facing bankruptcy by requiring them to designate income not needed for farm operations or family costs to pay off their debt. As these payments are made, chapter 12 prevents foreclosure on the family farm. And we are talking about family farms here. To qualify for bankruptcy protection, these farmers will have to have at least 50 percent of their gross annual income coming from farming, no less than 80 percent of debts resulting in farm operations, and total debts not more than $1.5 million. It saddens me that this legislation is necessary in order to save family farms around the nation. But while most Americans have been enjoying the benefits of an unprecedented prosperous economy, family farmers have suffered from prolonged, depressed commodity prices. And most recently, farmers are confronting rising input costs for energy and fertilizer. We are taking action today to make sure that small farmers can stay on their land and work through these hard times. With signs pointing to a possible slowdown in the American economy as a whole, I believe we should permanently extend the chapter 12 farmer bankruptcy provision. Small farmers should have one less worry every morning when they get up to harvest America's bounty that each of us enjoys every day. I am pleased to cosponsor this legislation that we will be passing today and thank the bill's managers for their efforts to see it enacted into law. I strongly support this legislation on behalf of the hardworking, God-fearing farmers of North Carolina's Second District and across America.

Mr. ETHERIDGE

Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time and the chairman for bringing this resolution forward. Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hayes) and other Members of our delegation who have worked on it. It is important. Just a little over a week ago, our national conscience was shocked at the loss of a person who can only fittingly be described as a true legend and a great North Carolina son. Our shock and dismay were increased by the untimely death of a man who had really defied death many times. Dale Earnhardt was more than a hero to the racing world. He was and will remain a true inspiration to countless people, many whose lives may be very humble but who aspire to great things. The story of Dale Earnhardt is a story of the American dream. Dale Earnhardt knew what every American is taught: If one works hard, plays by the rules and remains committed to one's faith, one's family and one's community, one's dreams are only limited by the size of one's imagination. Dale Earnhardt dreamed at an early age that he would race cars when he grew up, just like his daddy had, and on the dirt tracks of eastern North Carolina, that dream came true. Dale Earnhardt dreamed that one day he would join the Winston Cup series; and in 1979 he did, finishing that year with rookie of the year honors. Dale Earnhardt dreamed of winning, and he did, winning 76 times. He dreamed of winning the Winston Cup championship, the true test of season-long endurance for a stock car racer; and that dream was fulfilled seven times. Dale Earnhardt dreamed of winning racing's version of the Super Bowl, and he realized that dream in 1998, when he finally won the big one that had alluded him, the Daytona 500. Dale also had big dreams for his family, and he was proud of all of his children. But, you know, he must have been especially proud to have had two of his sons follow him into racing, just as he had followed his father into the sport. If my colleagues did not know the Intimidator and do not know him, or if they do not follow NASCAR, they may not understand the loss that so many millions of Americans are feeling today. Because of his humble roots, competitive drive, the size of his desire and his dreams, and his personality, and because of the success this combination brought to him, his family and his sport, his loss has touched a chord throughout the Nation much like the loss of Elvis Presley did to an earlier generation of Americans. But our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the Earnhardt family. Because so many people want to express their sympathy and grief, I placed condolence books outside my office just yesterday, and over 75 people have signed it. I will do another one in the Speaker's lobby for the Members, Mr. Speaker. Much like the official State tree of North Carolina, the Loblolly Pine, Dale Earnhardt will always stand tall and proud, an inspiration to every American who dreams big dreams, races to win, and reaches for the stars.