Sam Johnson

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on June 9, 2003, I, along with Mr. Rangel and cosponsors Messrs. Coble and Conyers, all Korean War veterans, submitted a resolution recognizing and supporting the goals and ideals of the Year of the Korean War Veteran. I am pleased today to introduce this bill and honor those who fought courageously and fearlessly for our country and our cause. This year marks the final year of the United States' 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration and the 50th year of the Armistice. The commemoration period began on June 25, 2000, marking the 50th anniversary of the invasion of South Korea, and will continue through Veteran's Day 2003. Efforts are currently under way to designate 2003 as the Year of the Korean War Veteran. Just a few years after the war to end all wars, Korea was, in many ways, the first reminder that America must remain the world's leading force for peace, prosperity and freedom. Called to defend freedom and fight back forces of communism, 1,800,000 Americans gallantly participated in the Korean War. The United States suffered 36,577 dead and 103,284 wounded in some of the most horrific conditions in the history of warfare. The service and sacrifices of our Korean War veterans 50 years ago saved a nation from communist enslavement and gave South Korea the opportunity to develop and flourish under freedom and democracy. This resolution: declares to the Nation and the world that the American people will never forget our veterans or those who served our Nation on the home front during the Korean War; recognizes and supports the goals and ideals of 2003 as the Year of the Korean War Veteran; requests the President to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe the Year of the Korean War Veteran with appropriate ceremonies and activities to thank, honor, remember and welcome home our Korean War veterans; and urges the chief executive officers of the States, and the chief executive officers of the political subdivisions of the States, to each issue a proclamation calling upon their citizens to ``Pause to Remember'' our Korean War veterans, their families and next of kin with appropriate activities. Sadly, the Korean War is sometimes referred to as the ``Forgotten War.'' May this resolution, along with the Korean War commemoration activities taking place this year, send a clear message to the world that the United States will never forget. Freedom is not free . . . should this great country wish to preserve its freedom, we must remember those who have paid the ultimate price.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to spotlight several distinguished teachers from the Third Congressional District of Texas. Great teachers nurture our country's best hope for tomorrow, our children. Children may be a fraction of our society, but they are 100 percent of our future. These educators go beyond the call of duty and selflessly make our children better and make Texas a better place to live. These are the teachers of the year from the third district: from Allen, Texas, Nancy Jung and Joyce Carson; from Garland, Michael Robertson; from McKinney, Sharon Guynes and Betty Rutledge; from Plano, Marilyn Caruthers and Roxanne Burchfiel; from Princeton, Janice Bohannan and Diane Talley; from Richardson, Lisa Cunningham and Rick Urbanczyk; and from Wylie, Doug Grether. It is outstanding teachers like these who strive for excellence and make a difference in the lives of our children. They are heroes for our children, for America, for our freedom, for our future. God bless all of them. I salute our teachers all over the country.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham) made the statement, and it is true, that during our Civil War flag desecration was regarded as treasonous and punishable by death. Today's resolution brings to mind when I was a POW in Vietnam. All they told us was that there were demonstrations here in this country; that people were burning our flag; that people were against the war. And you know what that did for our morale? Nothing. It was bad. We need to stop that. I well remember when, at our homecoming, which was the day the longest-held prisoners left Vietnam for America, and I was part of that group, I remember cheering when we got out over the water. And looking out the window of our C-130 as we got in to Clark Air Base, guess what we saw? The American flag, the flag of the United States of America, with all the people on that base out to welcome us waving those flags. Not one of them was burning it or desecrating it. They were draped on the hangars, they were draped on the buses. What I remember most was how happy everyone looked, including those of us who were returning to this country to see the American flag hanging from a hangar. We are truly blessed to call America the land of the free and the home of the brave, and I do not think we should disrespect all she stands for and all those who have fought for her. We need to protect this great flag. Vote for this amendment.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedom, our servicemen and women. This Monday is Memorial Day, a day when America will recognize those who have served our country in war and peace. This weekend in our district I will visit the Moving Wall, a small replica of the sacred Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The Moving Wall is a half-sided replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial which is in Washington. It has been touring the country for nearly 20 years. The Moving Wall allows people who cannot visit the breathtaking Vietnam Veterans Memorial a chance to experience this legendary landmark. The Moving Wall will be in Allen, Texas, open to the public 24 hours a day from May 24 to May 30 at Bethany Lakes Park. I encourage the people of north Texas to visit this excellent tribute to our veterans. God bless our servicemen and women. I salute you. May God bless America.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I am glad you all asked us to look at this, because I want to help Americans who are working hard and saving for their retirement. They deserve more information about what is happening to their retirement plans. They deserve help in making financial decisions that can often be overwhelming. They deserve the right to diversify their money in their retirement accounts. The Pension Security Act that we are debating today lets all Americans do all this. Unfortunately, we have been here and done this before. We passed this bill in the last Congress, but it went to the other side of the Capitol, where nothing happened. Hopefully it will be enacted this year. The Pension Security Act gives employees the freedom to diversify their retirement savings, but does not force them to do so. Free enterprise works best when individuals have the freedom to put their money where their mouths are. It gives employees information on the importance of diversification, but, ultimately, the individual knows their own situation better than some arbitrary rule that Congress might have imposed. I have heard from many constituents about the fact that they do not want the government imposing caps on how much company stock they can hold. The Pension Security Act not only gives employees the freedom to diversify, but it also gives them a new tool to help them, and, more importantly, to help them understand their investments. Employees will be able to receive professional advice so they can turn to a fiduciary adviser who can help them decide what the right investments are for their individual situation. During the drafting of this bill about 1 year ago, we worked very hard to be sure that the employee-owned companies would not be required to set aside reserves to buy back company stock that might have been subject to the diversification requirements. The diversification requirements for privately held ESOP companies would have been a direct call on capital, requiring these companies to set aside cash or obligate lines of credit for the possible repurchase of shares, rather than for building the business. I am glad we dealt with this issue fairly and quickly. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations, I want to add that the bill is simply reiterating current law regarding fiduciary liability during a blackout. The concept of a blackout was written into ERISA last year as part of the Corporate Accountability Act. The provision in this bill is meant as a tag-along with those changes. Employers are still not liable for market swings during a blackout period, as long as they provide advance notice of a blackout, they have a legitimate reason for doing it, and generally acting as a good fiduciary during these periods. This bill also contains several ERISA provisions that have been blocked by arcane Senate rules from moving forward in a tax bill. This bill will expand the missing participants program at the Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation so that 401(k) plan participants can be reunited with their money if their company ceases to exist. The bill also simplifies the annual reports that pension plans are required to file with the Department of Labor. The new form should be only one page long, and is a step in the right direction to cutting red tape that has caused so many small businesses to simply terminate their retirement plans. Small business owners have told me that this change could go a long way to reducing the cost of maintaining a retirement plan. There are several other good changes in this bill, but I just want to mention two more small business provisions that are long overdue. One of them would reduce the PBGC insurance premium for the new defined benefit plan and for small plans in order to reduce costs associated with setting up pension plans. Also, current law prohibits small business owners who pay insurance premiums to PBGC from receiving retirement benefits if the business fails. We reversed that. So this bill, in effect, is going to help Americans prepare for their financial security in retirement. It must pass. It needs to be signed into law.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we just heard about IBM and some of the other large companies. But guess what? They fixed the problem; so there is no longer a problem. Why are we talking about it? Because all of this stuff is voluntary anyway. The Democrat substitute proposes to limit the types of defined benefit plans that companies can offer. Specifically, the substitute limits companies in converting to cash balance plans even though there is substantial evidence that 80 percent of workers fare better under a cash balance plan. The Democrats are attempting to force companies to stay with an outdated, arcane pension system that does not really work in today's market. We need to allow companies the freedom to provide the best possible benefits to their employees with advice. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just would like to make the statement that my friend on the other side voted for H.R. 2269, which was the original Investment Advice Act, in November of 2001. The minority is comparing the investment advice that this bill would allow with the recently concluded Global settlement involving several Wall Street firms, the SEC, and the New York Attorney General. It is a bad comparison. It suggests they do not understand the bill or the Global settlement. The so-called Global settlement involved claims about individual company stocks which analysts were allegedly recommending while their firms were seeking investment banking business from the same companies without telling them, individual investors, about the relationship. H.R. 1000, which we are discussing today, is about 401(k) allocations, which mostly involve mutual funds. Mutual funds and the advisers who provide guidance about mutual funds are in no way implicated in the Global settlement. But because they also provide investment advice, the minority is tarring them with the same brush. In addition, the Global settlement was about potential conflict of interests which were not disclosed to investors. This bill requires clear disclosure of any such relationship so that investors can make the decision themselves about whether to accept or reject the advice. Finally, the Global settlement was just a settlement in exchange for a number of reforms aimed at making sure investment analysis is without conflict of interest. The investigators who police Wall Street have dropped their lawsuit and settled their disagreement. I would like to also include at this time the statement from the administration on their policy: ``The administration strongly supports passage of H.R. 1000, which encompasses important principles outlined in the President's pension retirement security plan. Like the President's plan, this bill strengthens workers' ability to manage their retirement funds by giving them more freedom to diversify their investments and by providing better information to workers through improved 401(k) and pension plan statements. The bill will also permit employers to provide their employees with access to professional investment advice. H.R. 1000 would give American workers access to information through expert advisers.'' The White House strongly supports this bill. I believe it requires a ``yes'' vote. The statement of administration policy follows: Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, May 14, 2003. Statement of Administration Policy H.R. 1000--Pension Security Act of 2003 (Boehner (R) Ohio and 54 cosponsors) The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 1000, which encompasses important principles outlined in the President's Pension Retirement Security Plan. These principles were included in last year's pension reform bill that passed the House with significant bipartisan support. The Administration looks forward to working with Congress to ensure the legislation moves quickly through the process and is consistent with the President's budget. Like the President's plan, this bill would strengthen workers' ability to manage their retirement funds by giving them more freedom to diversify their investments and by providing better information to workers through improved 401k and pension plan statements. This bill will also permit employers to provide their employees with access to professional investment advice. H.R. 1000 would give American workers access to information through expert advisers, who assume full fiduciary responsibility for their counsel and disclose relationships and fees associated with investment alternatives, so that they can make better retirement decisions. The bill also contains other important provisions that will help strengthen America's private retirement system. The Administration will oppose legislation that discourages employers from sponsoring and making contributions to retirement plans for American workers and their families. Pay-As-You-Go Scoring The Budget Enforcement Act's pay-as-you-go requirements and discretionary spending caps expired on September 30, 2002. The Administration supports the extension of these budget enforcement mechanisms in a manner that ensures fiscal discipline and is consistent with the President's budget. OMB's cost estimate of this bill currently is under development.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, could I inquire as to how many more speakers the gentleman has?

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Isakson).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle). (Mr. Castle asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English).

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, PBGC, substantial owner. This important provision was approved by the Committee on Ways and Means last week, and I am glad that we are also including it in this bill today. This provision could help breathe life into defined benefit plans in small businesses. Right now the owners of small businesses have several disincentives to offering traditional pension plans. Aside from the fact that these plans are too expensive to maintain because of too much red tape, owners of small businesses are prohibited from receiving guaranteed benefits from PBGC should their businesses fail. It is crazy to think that small businessmen would offer traditional defined benefit plans, pay the expensive insurance premiums to the PBGC, and then be prohibited from receiving the same insurance benefit that all their employees receive if the company fails. This provision fixes that and allows owners to get some benefits from PBGC. This bill also reduces PBGC premiums for new pension plans and for small pension plans. Those premiums are an expensive barrier to those few employers who are willing to set up traditional defined benefit pension plans. Reducing premiums could help bring back this type of pension plan. This bill is long overdue. It should have been approved in our other body during the last session, but this time it looks like it can be and should be, for the benefit of all Americans. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am glad that was brought out. All of the reasons to not vote for this substitute, we just heard them. The Democrat substitute unwisely expands remedies available under ERISA. Under the Democrat substitute, employers, administrators and service providers can expect a wave of new litigation from participants alleging economic and noneconomic losses stemming from ERISA violations. It can only lead to higher costs. Employers will become more reluctant to offer retirement savings plans to their workers. ERISA already provides for comprehensive penalties and enforcement mechanisms in the case of wrongdoing. The Democrat substitute also tries to reform salaries and corporate governance through the guise of pension reform. These provisions regarding corporate compensation are not really about pensions; they are about punishment for corporations. The Democrat punitive corporate provision will not enhance pension coverage or protection for one rank-and-file member. Instead, it will only make it likely that corporations will be discouraged from offering pensions because of the complex and heavy-handed pension rules. Mr. Speaker, I urge a vote against the Democrat substitute. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. This weekend is Armed Forces Day, and are not our men and women in uniform doing a great job. I hear all this talk about the Texas Legislature. We have got a lot of deserters down there, the guys that are afraid to stand and fight like our armed services do. Fox TV said, and I thought it was pretty good, and I paraphrase, they said, Are you not a Texas legislator? The guy answered yes. He said, Well, what are you doing in Ardmore, Oklahoma? The legislature meets in Austin, Texas. It is a shame that we cannot have formal debate in our capital in Texas. Thank God we did not have those Democrats at the Alamo. God bless them.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Jobs and Growth Tax Reconciliation Act. This bill is going to provide much- needed tax relief for individuals and businesses to help create jobs today, while generating long-term economic growth for the future. According to the Heritage Foundation, this bill creates 67,000 jobs in Texas in this year alone. That is great news for those who want a paycheck, not an unemployment benefit. The bonus depreciation and small business expensing provisions effectively put business purchases ``on sale.'' These provisions are vital to the telecommunications corridor in North Texas, because businesses that have delayed replacing their telecom equipment should find it easier to make these purchases. Our economy has been driven by consumer spending, and these depreciation and expensing provisions should help jump-start business purchases. The rate cuts, marriage penalty relief and child credit improvements help families as well as sole proprietorships, for whom the individual tax rate is their corporate rate. I am glad to have a significant reduction in the double taxation of dividends. This is not necessarily the proposal I would have written, because I believe, like the President, we ought to eliminate double taxation of dividends. But reducing the tax on dividends from an individual's normal tax rate to the 5 percent or 15 percent rate will help millions of seniors who depend upon dividend income for their day- to-day expenses, as well as help millions of other Americans who own stock. Mr. Speaker, it is time to give this economy a jump-start by passing this bill today. I rise in support of the jobs and growth tax act. This bill will provide much-needed tax relief for individuals and businesses to help create jobs today, while generating long-term economic growth for the future. According to the Heritage Foundation, this bill creates 67,000 jobs in Texas in 2004 alone! That's great news for those who want a pay check, not an unemployment benefit. The bonus depreciation and small business expensing provisions effectively put business purchases ``on sale.'' These provisions are vital to the telecommunications corridor in north Texas because businesses that have delayed replacing their telecom equipment should find it easier to make these purchases. Our economy has been driven by consumer spending and these depreciation and expensing provisions should help to jump start business purchases. The rate cuts, marriage penalty relief and child credit improvements will help families as well as sole proprietorships, for whom the individual tax rate is their corporate rate. I am glad to have a significant reduction in the double taxation of dividends. This is not the proposal I would have written because I want to eliminate the double taxation of dividends. Reducing the tax on dividends from an individual's normal tax rate to the 5 percent or 15 percent rate will help millions of seniors who depend upon dividend income for their day-to-day expenses as well as help millions of other Americans who own stock. I will qualify my support for the dividends portion of this bill due to the fact that it discriminates against Americans who own stock in foreign companies. Among the thousands of employee-shareholders in my district who would be seriously affected are the employees of Nortel, Aegon, Nokia, Alcatel Ericsson and Gadbury Schweppes. I want this penalty to be gone the next time we vote on tax relief. It is time to give this economy a jumpstart by passing this bill today. Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to salute our soldiers of tomorrow. That is the service-bound academy students of the Third District of the Texas. This district of Texas is home to some of the best and the brightest young people, and it is always an honor to recommend such fine students to our Nation's service actions. On the heels of our swift victory in Iraq, I know they are ready to join the premier military force of the world. This year, north Texas is going to send five students to the United States Military Academy; two to the United States Naval Academy; four to the United States Air Force Academy; four to the Merchant Marine Academy with students hailing from Allen, Frisco, Garland, Plano and Richardson. I think that this is something that every student wants to do. They want to become a member of the defense of our country. The 15 appointees and their hometowns are as follows: U.S. Military Academy Brittany Ladner--Allen, Texas--Allen High School. Chad Lorenz--Richardson, Texas--Home School. Jennifer MacGibbon--Plano, Texas--Plano Senior High School. Andrew Moore--Plano, Texas--Plano West Senior High School. Nathan Navarro--Frisco, Texas--Frisco High School. U.S. Naval Academy Eric McBee--Plano, Texas--Plano Senior High School. Marcus Walters--Richardson, Texas--Pearce High School. U.S. Air Force Academy David Andrews--Richardson, Texas--Plano Senior High School. Brian Campbell--Garland, Texas--Jesuit Preparatory School. Benton Hall--Plano, Texas--Plano Senior High School. Ronda Helart--Plano, Texas--Home School. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Brendon Ball--Plano, Texas--Plano East Senior High School. John Harman--Garland, Texas--Naaman Forest High School. Scott Hughes--Plano, Texas--Plano West Senior High School. Kartik Parmar--Plano, Texas--Plano Senior High School. To these 15 appointees I say, God bless you. God bless America. I salute you.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend 158 men of the International ALERT Academy who selflessly spent 11 days in San Augustine County, Texas, helping with recovery efforts following the disastrous crash of the space shuttle Columbia. From February 2-12, 2003, these men served our country and the families of the crew at their own expense, searching through the dense forests and briars of that region. Through their thoroughness, hard work, and willing attitudes these men brought encouragement to the leadership of the incident command structure, and every fellow worker involved. Andrew Allison, Adam Anders, Ryan Anders, Donald Anderson, Oliver Araiza, Scott Avedisian, Jeremiah Baarbe, Michael Baird, Timothy Baldridge, Marv Behr, Matthew Berryman, Christopher Bourne, Jesse Brumbaugh, Tom Burch, Daniel Caciola, Kevin Cahill, Brian Cahil, Cody Carnett, Jonathan Carstensen, Craig Cato, Jonathan Chiew, Jonathan Chu, Bryce Chun, Mel Cohen, Marc Cohen, Jesse Conklin. Andrew Conway, Shaun Cowhard, Timothy Crist, Steven Curry, Steve Dankers, Daniel Davies, Kurt Dean, Jonathan DeHaan, Michael DeMaio, John Davolt, Paul Ellis, Jeremy Enquist, Stephen Falkenstine, Brandon Fitch, Gabriel Garriga, Richard Geiger, Andrew George, Joel George, Carter Gibson III, Joshua Grimes, Jonathan Gunter, Nicholas Harris, Nathan Hasme, Jonathan Hasty, Mark Hasty, Terrel Hendrich. Robert Heren, David Herring, William Hicks, Charles Hitchcock, Justin Horsman, Logan Howell, Jeff Huggins, John Hurst, Earl Jantz, Dick Jarrell, David Jodrey, Jeremy Johnson, Connor Jones, Kevin Jones, Lorin Kaney, Stephen Keating, Matthew Kinkade, Carl Kinz, Seth Kiser, Jonathan Knight, David Kress, Stephen Lacy, Jim Lampman, Kuan-Hui Lee, Emmanuel Lenau, Benjamin Longwell. Jason Luksa, Mark MacLurg, Jonathan Mahoney, Greg Mandreger, Timothy Martin-Vegue, James Mayers, Stephen McKerracher, James Meek, Peter Melton, Steven Menzel, Jay Miller, Jeremy Minter, Merritt Mitchell, Russell Moulton, Zachariah Munger, Michael Muscanero, Adam Nunez, Joshua Oathout, Kyle O'Donnell, John O'Donnell, William Orr, Samuel Ortiz, Christopher Overby, John Owen, Micah Parrish, Stephen Parrish, Marc Payant. David Pennywell, Jonathan Popowich, Michael Potter, Stephen Powers, Aaron Prentice, Jonathan Radford, Simon Rawson, Justin Reyes, Vladimir Robles, Josiah Savage, Clifford Scott, Scott Shetler, Doug Simmons, David Sisson, Phillip Smith, Benjamin Snyder, Tryg Solberg, Samuel Spear, Michael Spillman, James Spriggs, Stephen Stiller, Andrew Strain, John-David Sullivan. Nathanael Swanson, Adam Switzer, Randy Switzer, Joel Talley, Shawn Tallman, John Tanner, Joshua Tanner, Justin Tanner, Andrew Thompson, Brett Thompson, Daryn Thompson, David Thornton, Robert Thurston, Abraham Timler, Roy Turner, Joshua Uecker, Nathan Walker, Samuel Walker, Patrick Walsh, Joshua Watkins, Bruce West, Joseph West, Robert Wheeler, III, Mark Whitehead, Amadi Williams, Spencer Wolf, Jay Wright, Brian Yoder, Philip Yoder, andMark Zeller.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to say that I too rise in strong support of the Armed Forces Tax Fairness Act of 2003, and today's bill goes to great lengths to help our brave military men and women and their families despite what has been said out there. I had the distinct honor of serving my country in the Air Force for about 29 years. So my family and I know something about military life. And my wife, Shirley, told me that one her worst moments was when the military chaplain pulled up in front of the house after I was shot down in Vietnam, and her heart just stopped. We never know what they are going to say, but we know it is not going to be good. I imagine the unspeakable horror of despair and utmost despair of a family who just lost a loved one in the military, only to be followed up by a visit from the taxman. That is just wrong. So this bill fixes that. Let us change it and pass it today. This bill permits the entire amount of the death benefit gratuity to be tax free. Let us eliminate the unfair, immoral tax on the death benefit a serviceman's survivor receives from the Armed Forces. It is the least we can do. These families have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We do not need to take any more from them. On a more positive note, I would like to thank all those who helped eliminate the penalty on military academy students and their families when it comes to withdrawing funds from a 529 education savings account. The Miesses of Plano brought that to my attention. Now the Plebe, the Zoomie, and the Middy will all have the same benefit of being able to take out money tax free like an athlete on a scholarship. This is a good bill. This bill is a shining example of democracy at its best, in my opinion. It helps our military now, and they need it; and they are doing a great job.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible amendment. What I am rising for is to support equality for 95 percent of working Americans who pay into Social Security. Today's debate is about fairness, a need to bring equity to a system under scrutiny. This amendment concerns Texas teachers. This bill concerns equality, fairness and equity. Texas is home to great students and great schools, thanks in part to great Texas teachers. Educated in Texas schools myself, I put my kids through Texas schools, and my grandkids are attending Texas schools; but there is a lot of misinformation out there about Texas teachers and their retirement plan. Before I get too far into the details of this issue, I want to explain some of the fundamentals of Social Security. When the Social Security System was created, the workforce was made up largely of men whose wives stayed home. Spousal benefits were created for these women. Social Security spousal benefits are for the nonworking spouse of a worker covered by Social Security. Generally, we think of this as a stay-at-home mom and a working dad. Social Security retirement benefits are for those who work and pay Social Security taxes. Ninety-five percent of working Americans are covered by this program. The situation is very different today from when Social Security was created in the 1930s. The majority of families today have two earners supporting the family. A primary rule of Social Security is that everyone is able to collect either their own retirement benefit from Social Security or their spousal benefit, whichever is higher. Let me repeat that. It is one or the other, not both. The Texas teacher retirement system is a substitute for Social Security. A person can participate in one system or the other, but not both. Most school districts in Texas have chosen to stay out of Social Security; yet they have always had the chance to join the system. In fact, fifty school districts in Texas have entered into Social Security, and they can have their own 401(k)-type program also. Again, at any time school districts can leave the Texas teacher retirement system and enter into Social Security, but they cannot do both because the retirement system was a substitute for Social Security. Back to Social Security. Whether a married couple works in a job such as a nurse and a small business owner, Social Security-covered teacher and an accountant or a lawyer or an engineer, they both pay into Social Security and both are subject to this rule. A husband and wife are each able to collect either their retirement benefits earned through their own hard work or they are able to collect spousal benefits, i.e., 50 percent of retirement, whichever is higher. They cannot collect both. It is very possible that if one spouse earns significantly less than the other, for example, that nurse and a small business owner, then the nurse is going to have higher spousal benefits than her own retirement. In that case, the nurse will collect the higher spousal benefit but may ask herself why she paid all those Social Security taxes all those years. If a retirement benefit is $600, for example, for the nurse, and her spouse benefit is $800, she would collect $800 but not $1,400 which is what her husband would have collected. Again, this is how the system works for 95 percent of all Americans. This bill concerns some teachers in Texas who have questioned the system because they want both Social Security spouse benefits and their Texas retirement. Again, the Texas teacher retirement system is a substitute for Social Security. A person can do one or the other, but not both. I want teachers to understand that the government pension offset actually only reduces their spousal benefit by two-thirds of their State retirement benefit rather than dollar for dollar as in the case for other working spouses. Teachers right now get a better deal and more bang for their buck than 95 percent of the American public. They get one-third more of their spousal benefits than 95 percent of working Americans. The so-called ``loophole'' that is being closed here today is one small part of the government pension offset meant to encourage entire school districts to join the Social Security system. If an entire school district, such as the Plano Independent School District, were to decide to enter Social Security and get out of State retirement, then every teacher in that school district would then be subject to all Social Security rules, even for a teacher who only works 1 day. Roughly 4,800 teachers in Texas have found a way as individuals to leave their regular teaching job covered by State retirement and move, for 1 day, to a school district that does pay Social Security taxes and then retire. An example is a teacher from Plano who is covered by the State retirement system. If she transfers her last day of work from Plano to Ponder, Texas, which does pay Social Security, she is paid roughly $6 per hour. She might pay a total of $3 into the Social Security fund, but because of this final day of work in Ponder, paying Social Security taxes, she is able to collect the higher of either her benefit or full spousal. Of course, because she only paid $3 in, she would collect the spousal benefits based off her husband's work, plus she collects her Social Security substitute; that is, her Texas teacher retirement money. She can double dip, when 95 percent of the American public cannot. This costs the Social Security System thousands of dollars. The General Accounting Office has estimated that $450 million is being paid in benefits under this loophole, and that number could increase tenfold if the loophole is marketed to other people throughout the country. I am pro-teacher, and in Texas they have a great State retirement system. Mr. Speaker, this is not how Social Security operates for 95 percent of working Americans and we are going to break the Social Security System.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of our brave military men and women fighting for our freedom here at home and to take the yoke of oppression off the Iraqi people. I also want to thank the military families and let them know that these soldiers are doing the best job in the world. Madam Speaker, there are some awful stories out there. Iraqis were shown on TV voicing support for Saddam Hussein. When asked why they were doing that, they replied that they were afraid if they did not show support for Saddam and he did win, then he would remember them as enemies, and he would kill or torture their family members. That is just wrong. Now our servicemen and women are implementing a precise military plan that will put an end to Saddam Hussein's reign of terror and his ruthless regime forever. We in the Congress are going to do all in our power to make sure that our troops remain the best trained and equipped in the world and are paid as veterans. To the brave men and women in uniform, I thank you and we salute you.

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on April 16, 1966, during my second tour of Vietnam I was shot down. I spent nearly 7 years as a prisoner of war--more than half of that time in solitary confinement. During my 25th mission I weighed about 200 pounds. During my captivity in Vietnam, I got down to 120 pounds. My captors beat me, tortured me, starved me, and interrogated me. When I ejected out of the plane, I broke my back and right arm. It was these injuries my captors would use to push me to the brink. One time they put me in front of a firing squad and said, `we're going to kill you.' They readied their AK-47s. Now I started praying harder than I ever prayed in my life. In a few seconds, the guns went click, click, click, click, click. I laughed at them--big mistake. It is only because of the grace of God I survived. When I heard about American P.O.W.s in Iraq, my heart skipped a beat. And when I saw pictures of them--I was furious!! That is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention. That's just wrong. It is my hope that this Congress and the international community will send a strong signal to the Iraqis that if they do not uphold the Geneva Conventions and treat our troops humanely . . . the Iraqis will be sought . . . they will be caught . . . and they will be punished as war criminals. I just hope that those Iraqis see the writing on the walls that they're working for a falling regime and that if they don't adhere to these international laws they will be punished. Now my heart goes out to the family and friends of our troops and especially our P.O.W.s. You're in our thoughts and prayers. And to our soldiers--all I can tell you is that what you're doing is the greatest job in the world and America will be there for you! To the P.O.W.s--we will find you and we will come and get you! And when we do--trust me--it will be the most incredible day of your life. God bless you and God bless America.