Jack Kingston

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut for yielding and the gentleman from Georgia for his leadership on this issue. I want to tell the story about Bennie and Katheryn, real people in Vidalia, Georgia. This is a couple who was paying $2,200 a month for their prescription drug bill. One of my staffers happened to be related to them and heard about it, and he went over there and sat down with them on all their drug needs and went over the website. He did not make a recommendation, but he showed them the information and they made their own choice. Now their total drug cost has gone from $2,200 a month to $104 a month, a 95 percent savings. When they saw stuff like that, they did not believe it was possible, because they too had heard some of the rhetoric, some of the angry, some of the bitter rhetoric that comes out of Washington, D.C., and they thought, well, there is no way. But, in fact they are enjoying it now, and they need that extra income just like so many other millions of seniors do around the country. Mr. Speaker, I heard former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson say that when Gladys starts talking to Mabel, this thing will really take hold. And, indeed, that is the truth. My office has had 48 workshops helping people decide which program works for them. Maybe it doesn't work for them, because I am always quick to say, it might not be the best thing for everybody. That is part of what a public offering is. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But it works for most people. It is about a 50 percent to 60 percent savings for most people. Bennie got a 95 percent savings. Not everybody is going to get that. But the interesting thing is that Gladys is talking to Mabel, because my friend Gil Gutknecht always quotes Ronald Reagan in saying that markets are more powerful than armies. In this case we have an army of people saying this is a horrible program that should be thrown away, thrown out; it is bad, it is wicked, it is the Republicans up to no good. But look at the market. In my district, with my 48 workshops, our market penetration is about 70 percent right now. The interesting thing is one of my colleagues who is not in favor of this bill has about the same penetration, and he hasn't held one workshop. That is one the ironies of it. I thought I am going to go out as a salesperson and really wave the flag and tell everybody how great it is. I am irrelevant. The market is more powerful than the army, the army for it or the army against it. The market is selling this thing, not the Republican Party, not the Democrat Party, wherever they may stand on it at the moment. The reality is the seniors like it, and the reality is our seniors need it, because so many of them were having to choose between food on their table and prescription drugs. My mom, who takes Tamoxifen from now on for the rest of her life, and my dad who has diabetes and their friends, they have some choices. Not everybody is going to sign up for it, but everybody is aware that the program is out there. I will close with a quote from my good friend from Minnesota, who had voted against this bill. He said he has moved from being an atheist to an agnostic, but pretty soon he is going to be a holy roller and a believer like everybody else, because markets are stronger than armies.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commemorate the International Advocates for Children (IAC) on the services they provide to millions of underprivileged children. Since its establishment in 2001, the International Advocates for Children, has become an important overseer for orphaned and abandoned children worldwide. IAC strives to guard the fundamental needs of this disadvantaged population by engaging in advocacy, education, problem analysis, and the development of solutions. For the over 145 million orphaned and abandoned children, the most vulnerable in our world society, achieving these goals of providing love, healthcare, and shelter is even more critical. There is no time to lose because this population increases each day and time is of the essence to having their needs met. IAC has created momentum by building a world community singularly focused on creating awareness, dialogue, research and knowledge- exchange on the needs of children without parental care. Through its continued efforts IAC will unite and facilitate countries, NGO's and thought leaders in a strong international coalition of child placement professionals.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, in 1995 President Clinton, led by his environmental hard-core left-wing friends, vetoed drilling for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve. Now, had he signed that bill in 1995, which had passed the Senate and the House, we would have a 20 percent higher supply in domestic oil, 1 million barrels of gas each day more than what we have in our current supply. How big is the wildlife reserve? It is the size of South Carolina. How big is the exploration area? About 2,000 acres. How many of the environmentalists and how many of the Democrats drove to town today in an SUV that makes 15 miles a gallon? We could use that supply. It is not the total answer, but it is part of the answer. And the Democrats always conveniently overlook that 10 years ago their President vetoed a bill that would have increased domestic gas supply today 20 percent. There are other solutions that we are continuing to work on, and I hope that we can get them to join us on them.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, in 2003, the U.S. public spent $103 billion buying oil from nondemocratic countries such as Venezuela, Syria and Iran. In fact, it is so bad that you could say that we are doubly funding the war on terrorism against us. We need to get off Middle East oil. Congressman Eliot Engel and I have introduced H.R. 4409, which sets that goal of getting us off Middle East oil by the year 2025. We do it through existing technology. We accelerate the use of hybrids by doubling the tax credit for purchasing a hybrid. We give automobile manufacturers a tax credit for making more lightweight vehicles that are more fuel efficient. We give truckers a tax credit for buying alternative power units so at night they do not have to burn diesel fuel while they are sitting in truck stops. We adopt the Gil Gutknecht E-Line 10 by 10 language on ethanol. This is a very good bill. I invite all of my colleagues to take a look at H.R. 4409 and consider being a cosponsor for national security.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. That is a message we hear from all over, particularly new Europe, emerging Europe, the Europe that had been 50 years under the Soviet bloc. They understand freedom, and they understand oppression. They do not take it for granted. They are not so anti- American as the Germans and the French seem to be. They do not enjoy the U.S. kicking that so many of our fair weather friends over there do. But along with military progress in Iraq, there has been tremendous economic progress. As I was there looking down from the helicopter over the streets of Baghdad, I saw small businesses, traffic jams, people moving in and out of buildings buying things and so forth. There is a port in Iraq that under Saddam Hussein never was used. Today, it has 40 ships a month going into it. In terms of newspapers and banking, it is coming back. In 2003, there were 13 Iraqi companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Today, I think that number is somewhere between 60 and 80. That is a lot of progress. The GDP last year, I think, was something like $15 billion. Today it is $29 billion. A very small economy, but that is a huge step. The unemployment rate was something like 70 percent, and it is now 26 percent. Still very high unemployment rate by our standards, but for the Middle East, pretty doggone good. I can tell you that the Palestinian Authority wishes their unemployment rate were that low.

Mr. KINGSTON. Thank you, Mr. Price. I just wanted to say that I have the honor of representing the 3rd Infantry Division in Hinesville, Georgia, and in Savannah, Georgia, as well as the 1st Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment, and in all maybe as high as 20,000 troops from my district who have been in Iraq, the 48th Brigade, some coming and some going. But the thing that struck me as I went to Iraq in December is the amount of the turf, as you have mentioned, which has already been ceded to Iraqi security patrol. When we were there, 50 percent of Baghdad was already under Iraqi control. And last week, I had the honor of meeting with General Webster, who was in charge of the 3rd Infantry Division over there, he just got back, and he told me that number now in Baghdad is about 60 percent. In Mozul, 25 to 30 percent of it is under Iraqi security patrol. And the government of Mozul, interestingly enough, is headed by a mayor who is a Sunni, and he has suffered personally. His family has been attacked because of it. Yet, at the same time, here is a guy who is still facing the wind and saying, let's get the job done, and not turning back. One of the things I know you and I have heard from folks in Iraq and in Afghanistan is, we want to know is America here to stay until we are up and running. I know there are a lot of Democrats who would like to pull out tomorrow, and I understand that. I wish all our troops were home from everywhere. But the message that we got from the folks over there is, we really appreciate what you are doing; we need you to stay until the job is done. And then as I have talked to the 3rd Infantry soldiers, it is the same thing: we have to finish this job. We just can't faint in the face of adversity. There are so many in America, the Michael Moores, the Cindy Sheehans, the fringe branch of the liberals that want us to cut and run. I think that would be such a huge disservice to all the troops who have died.

Mr. KINGSTON. Well, I appreciate being with you.

Mr. KINGSTON. There is one Sunni province that went from something like a 2 percent voter turnout in January 2005 to December 15, 2005, having over a 60 percent voter turnout. Lots of people risking lives to go to the polls and very enthusiastic about it. When you think about the 300 political parties, when here we worry about Democrats versus Republicans, but 300 different political parties electing 275 members of a new parliament to serve now for 4-year terms, it is going to take awhile to have a coalition government put together. Usually those things take two or three months to happen. But what I saw when I was over there is people wanting to put down the gun and pick up the pencil and pick up the paper and say let's move from the battlefield to the legislative chamber and debate this. There are so many challenges to starting a new nation, but what they need right now is the world community behind them. They do not need world criticism behind them. I think sometimes our disagreements with the administration's foreign policy has led us to be anti-Iraqi people, and I do not think the critics of the administration intend it to be that way, but that is the way it comes out overseas. So I think we have to say, you know, Democrats and Republicans, and Republicans versus Republicans, can disagree on our foreign policy in Iraq and the war on terrorism; but we have to stand behind the Iraqi people. It is in everyone's interest for Iraq to succeed. And this is the point we are at. We cannot go back and say, well, this is what we should have done in 2003, this is what we should have done here and there. You have to take the situation as it is today and from this point on how are we going to move through the future.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I just want to say, if we look at what our budget has done in terms of Federal student aid, for student grants it has nearly doubled in 10 years. For Federal loans, it has gone up about 30 or 40 percent. There are more tax benefits than ever before for education. For the Medicaid that we are getting accused of slashing to death, we are debating here a difference in growth of 7.7 percent versus 7.5 percent. The spending growth in SSI has been increasing at an annual rate of about 4.4 percent, and it has gone from $29 billion to $36 billion in the last 5 years. The spending growth in foster care in 2000 was $5.7 billion, and today it is $6.8 billion. The spending growth in child support has gone from about $1 billion in 2000 to $4 billion today. We keep hearing about tax cuts for the rich. Why do people with more money get more tax reductions when you look to change tax policy? That is because they are paying the taxes. What are the results of these economic decisions which we are making sometimes and too often on a nonpartisan basis because we do not get the support that we feel we should get from both parties on this? But what are the results of this? Gross domestic product, we have had an increase of 4.3 percent in the third quarter. Real gross domestic product has increased about 3 percent for the last 10 consecutive quarters. For employment, 215,000 new jobs were added in November alone, and this year so far 1.8 million jobs. The unemployment rate was 5 percent in November. The unemployment rate has fallen from 6.3 percent in June of 2003 to the current 5 percent level. Productivity has increased at a robust 4.7 percent annualized in the third quarter. Manufacturing has been expanding for 30 consecutive months. Services have been expanding for 32 consecutive months. Business investment from its low in 2003 has been increasing for over 24 percent, and home sales, certainly the barometer of health in the United States of America, everybody's dream to own their own home, and new home sales rose to another high in October. Sales of existing homes, which account for 85 percent of all home sales, retreated in October but remain close to record levels. The economy is robust. These policies speak for themselves. If you do not confiscate money from folks in the form of taxes, participatory taxes, and if you do not overspend and expand the Federal Government, the economy in the United States of America works miracles because the rising tide lifts all boats. There are more jobs than ever before. There is an old expression, when the carpenter has work everybody's employed. That is what these economic policies are doing, and I support this bill. There are things in there I do not like, just like everybody else, but overall, cutting spending and cutting taxes grows the economy and creates jobs. So I stand in support of the rule and the bill.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, and I thank my friend from Florida for his kind words. He is right, I could not resist the open microphone opportunity, but also the subject matter. The subject matter is important. Is this rule perfect, and is this bill perfect? Certainly not. I remember and had the honor of serving when we did welfare reform. All kinds of emotions were flowing back and forth, and it took us a number of different attempts and pieces of legislation to get to where we as a Nation thought we needed to go on welfare reform. As a result, there were 14 million people on welfare. That number was reduced down to 4 million people. Lots and lots of positive things happened with it, but we had to take that first step. This is now the first step, or second step, if you will. It is overdue, in my opinion and the opinion of most Members on a bipartisan basis. We should have done something about immigration reform a long time ago. Border security is integral to it. I do not live in a border State, where people pour over a river at night or walk across a desert, but I understand from our colleagues what a huge problem that is and how that is not just confined to immigrants from the country that is right next door to us, but other people who do not have anything to do with that country, who use it as a highway, a transit corridor, to come into America. So we need to do something about border security. But certainly I believe we need to do something about employer sanctions. We always blame illegal immigration on that 20-year-old migrant who is here trying to send money home for his family. We do not ever talk about our own employer, who has also broken the law by hiring. We need to have tools so that employers can check the backgrounds of people before they hire them and then have penalties if they do not. I feel strongly about that. Mr. Speaker, I represent an agricultural area. Certainly I see why we need to have a guest worker program. That is something I think we need to get to on a bipartisan basis, and we are going to have a great debate once we open that up. But I strongly support this rule, and I am going to support the bill just to get the steps going. I do not think there is any turning back now that we have done this first very significant piece of legislation. We are in the immigration debate, and we will be doing immigration reform, I think, for very many months to come, and there is plenty of room for bipartisan ideas.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the time and really wanted to stand in support of the resolution and believe that the resolution is a good one and that yesterday in this week's election speaks volumes for all the work that we have accomplished. I want to speak more importantly in memory and honor of Sergeant Daniel Clay, who was killed when the marines were attacked in Fallujah on December 1. His dad, Mr. Bud Clay, wrote the President a letter and said that ``I am writing to tell you how proud and thankful we, his parents and family, are of you and what you are trying to do to protect us all. This was Dan's second tour in Iraq and he knew and said that his being there was to protect us. ``I want to encourage you. I hear in your speeches about `staying the course.' I also know that many'' of you are against this war and you must get weary of fighting to try to do what is right. ``We and many others are praying for you to see this through, as Lincoln said `that these might not have died in vain.''' I also have the actual letter that Daniel Clay wrote his family to be opened in the event of his death, and I think it would be in his honor to read it. This is of course by a very young man: ``Mom, Dad, Kristie, Jodie, Kimberly, Robert, Katy, Richard, and my Lisa. ``Boy do I love each and every one of you. This letter being read means that I have been deemed worthy of being with Christ. With Mama Jo, Mama Clay, Jennifer, all those we have been without for our time during the race. This is not a bad thing. It is what we hope for. The secret is out. He lives and His promises are real! It is not faith that supports this but fact and I now am part of the promise. Here is notice! Wake up! All that we hope for is real. Not a hope but real. ``But here is something tangible. What we have done in Iraq is worth my sacrifice. Why? Because it was our duty. That sounds simple. But all of us have a duty. Duty is defined as a God-given task. Without duty life is worthless. It holds no type of fulfillment. The simple fact that our bodies are built for work has to lead us to the conclusion that God, who made us, put us together to do His work. His work is different for each of us. Mom, yours was to be the glue of our family, to be a pillar for those women, all women around you. Dad, yours was to train us and build us, like a platoon sergeant, to better serve Him. Kristie, Kim, Katy, you are the fire team leaders who support your squad leaders, Jodie, Robert and Richard. Lisa, you too. You are my XO and you did a hell of a job. You all have your duties. Be thankful that God in His wisdom gives us work. Mine was to ensure that you did not have to experience what it takes to protect what we have as a family. This I am so thankful for. I know what honor is. It is not a word to be thrown around. It has been our honor to protect and serve all of you. I faced death with the secure knowledge that you would not have to. This is as close to Christ-like I can be. That emulation is where all honor lies . . . I thank you for making it worthwhile. ``As a marine this is not the last chapter. I have the privilege of being one who has finished the race. I have been in the company of heroes. I now am counted among them. Never falter! Don't hesitate to honor and support those of us who have the honor of protecting that which is worth protecting. ``Now here are my final wishes. Do not cry! To do so is to not realize what we have placed all our hope and faith in. We should not fear. We should not be sad. Be thankful. Be so thankful. All we hoped for is true. Celebrate! My race is over. My time in the war zone is over. My trials are done. A short time separates all of us from His reality. So laugh. Enjoy the moments and your duty. God is wonderful. ``I love each and every one of you. ``Spread the word. Christ lives and He is real. ``Semper Fidelis. ``Sergeant Daniel Clay.'' Daniel Clay is like so many others who have fought to make yesterday possible, and yesterday is certainly not a conclusion but let us hope a beginning of a new and significant chapter in Iraq where the military sacrifices become smaller and the political engagement becomes greater. One thing I have learned and loved about this House is the fact that we are using politics as a substitute for civil war. Let us hope that Iraq learns that lesson and that 200 years from now they will look back at yesterday as one of their first most significant days in democracy.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commemorate the Javits- Wagner 0'Day program (JWOD) on the service they provide to thousands of individuals. The JWOD program is the single largest source of employment for individuals who are blind or have severe disabilities. This program employs more than 45,000 people. The JWOD program trains persons with disabilities to acquire job skills that will be resourceful in their everyday lives. With these skills and training, a participant in this program can receive wages and benefits thereby gaining a greater independence and quality of life. In my district in Georgia, there is a JWOD program named Happy Hour that exemplifies the good work that this organization is built upon. Happy Hour employs 170 disabled individuals and gives them an opportunity to contribute to their communities. Executive Director Steve Smith leads an office of 90-100 hard working staffers along with many volunteers who are all dedicated to ensuring each person reaches a common goal. Happy Hour has a working relationship with Robins Air Force Base. Through this relationship Happy Hour participants are able to help the government and save tax payers money. A few of the projects that help Robins Air Force Base is Robin's Recycling, respiratory cleaning and repair, tool de numbering, and air craft hardware sorting. Though they may seem minor, without Happy Hour, workers who do these tasks at Robins AFB would have a much harder time operating.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commemorate the Javits-Wagner O'Day program (JWOD) on the service they provide to thousands of individuals. The JWOD program is the single largest source of employment for individuals who are blind or have severe disabilities. This program employs more than 45,000 people. The JWOD program trains persons with disabilities to acquire job skills that will be resourceful in their everyday lives. With these skills and training, a participant in this program can receive wages and benefits thereby gaining a greater independence and quality of life. In my district in Georgia, there is a JWOD program named Happy Hour that exemplifies the good work that this organization is built upon. Happy Hour employs 170 disabled individuals and gives them an opportunity to contribute to their communities. Executive Director Steve Smith and Community Relations Manager Bob Wilbanks lead an office of 90-100 hard working staffers along with many volunteers who are all dedicated to ensuring each person reaches a common goal. Happy Hour has a working relationship with Robins Air Force Base. Through this relationship Happy Hour participants are able to help the government and save taxpayers money. A few of the projects that help Robins Air Force Base is Robin's Recycling, respiratory cleaning and repair, tool die numbering, and aircraft sorting. Though they may seem minor, without Happy Hour, workers who do these tasks at Robins AFB would have a much harder time operating.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday when Democrat leader Howard Dean said that the war in Iraq is unwinnable and Senate Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry said that American soldiers in the dark of the night are terrorizing Iraqi women and children, I scratch my head in absolute disgust and disappointment. The party of Scoop Jackson has apparently been now completely hijacked by Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore. I went to Iraq last week, and I wish that Mr. Dean and Mr. Kerry would go to Iraq and talk directly to our soldiers. Here is what I found, and incidentally, I went with a bipartisan group, three Democrats, three Republicans. We found troop morale high, a great deal of enthusiasm for the mission. No equipment shortages. From tissue to toilet paper, our troops are well equipped. We found that they were very engaged in the mission and that the Iraqi security forces each day were getting more and more of the territory under their control. We found enthusiasm for the December 15 election, 228 different political parties already offering candidates. A lot of progress is being made. Everything is completely different than the pessimism and the continuous criticism and the Vietnam-era radicalism expressed by Mr. Kerry and Mr. Dean. I would invite those two to go over there and see for themselves before they send such discouraging signals to our troops in action.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Many people have said tonight, this is not the Murtha resolution. I agree. It is not the Murtha resolution. Unfortunately, it is my friend Jack Murtha's headline. In fact, Al-Jazeera today was what our troops, our constituents in Iraq woke up to today saying that a leading Member of Congress has called for the immediate withdrawal. That is what Al- Jazeera said. That is why sometimes the media that gets in the way injects itself and it brings down the morale of our troops. That is why I am going to vote ``no'' on this resolution tonight, because I think it is important to send them another message and a very clear message that we do not support immediate withdrawal. My friend, General Webster, who leads the Third Infantry Division over there, spoke very strongly about it. He said, ``Setting a date would mean the 221 soldiers I've lost this year, that their lives will have been lost in vain. I think it's a recipe for disaster. Setting a date is a loser.'' General Webster is a soldier, not a politician. I think he would appreciate tomorrow morning reading in the paper that Congress clearly rejected an immediate withdrawal.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I must say, Scoop Jackson must be spinning in his grave. The late Democrat Senate leader would be shocked to see his party has now been taken over by Michael Moore and Cindy Sheehan and the radical extremists on the left who do not like George Bush so much that now they are going to put danger to our troops by siding with the terrorists that it is time for an immediate pullout. I plan to vote ``no'' on the Democrat resolution for immediate pullout. I think it is irresponsible, and it definitely sends the wrong message to our troops. I represent the 3rd Infantry Division. I am proud to represent the 3rd Infantry Division. I know many of these soldiers. I have dealt with them. I have gone to their funerals. I have gone to their services, and I would like to quote what the leading General said, General Webster, yesterday, who is in charge of the 3rd Infantry, the troops on the ground, and I am proud to say is a friend of mine, and I am proud to say is an extremely thoughtful and patriotic, brave American. General Webster said, in response to the Democrat call for immediate withdrawal, ``Setting a date would mean that the 221 soldiers I've lost this year, that their lives would have been lost in vain.'' He continued to say that Iraq's armed factions would likely take a cue from a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal to lie low, gathering their strength and laying plans for renewed conflict as soon as Americans leave. In fact, the Democrat Party now seems to be taking their cue from France: Lose, leave and wait. The Democrats seem to want to cut and run and dishonor the sacrifices of those who are doing such a great job already. The President has said, and as much as the Democrats hate sometimes, it appears, the President's policies, he said, ``Our strategy is to clear, hold, and build.'' What have we done is we have rounded up 116 al Qaeda rulers. A number of tips from the indigenous folks on the ground have risen from 442 in February to 3,341 today. That is cooperation by the Iraqis themselves. We have trained 210,000 Iraqi security forces, and we have more than 20 operating bases that are ready that they are doing a good job of. We have rebuilt 3,404 schools, 304 water and sewer treatment facilities, 257 fire/police stations, and 149 health services. This is progress. Mr. Speaker, they just overwhelmingly passed a resolution adopting a new Constitution October 15, and in December, they are going to have their own elections for their own government. That is progress. Do not cut and run. Stand firm with our troops. Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, would the gentleman yield?

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to say back during the spring we went through our annual budget process. The Budget Committee has testimony from all sectors of society and the government who are affected by the budget. It is a good debate. In the final analysis, that budget came to the floor and after weeks and months of discussion and arm twisting, it passed by a vote of 214- 212. I may be wrong on this, I do not think any of the Democrats voted for it. Most of the Democrats, I would say, are very consistent saying we should be spending more money and, therefore, they voted against it. But there are other Democrats who are saying look at the deficit, look at this, look at that. Boy, these Republicans are spending too much. There is clearly a mixed signal here, and clearly some dissension in the Democratic ranks. But when you pass a budget in the spring and it is passed by this body and the other body, then the subcommittees of Appropriations have to follow that budget. That is what this does. Sometimes making these decisions is very, very tough. This bill actually eliminates 29 lower-priority programs. One of the programs I am a supporter of, the National Youth Sports Program, I like that program. They operated in Savannah. But when you look at the context of some of the other programs and you realize this is run by the NCAA, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and they are the same people who put on the Rose Bowl, the Rose Bowl alone generates $30 million in revenue. Perhaps they can replace the $18 million that Congress is putting into it right now. There are ways to keep these programs alive even though the Federal Government is not picking up the tab for them. It is my hope on these 29 programs that are terminated, that the local, the State level will step in, the private sector will step in; and a lot of what they are doing are duplicated in other programs. I have to say that these are very important. I have to say also, Mr. Speaker, that I had a lot of local programs that were eliminated. These are programs which I have worked very hard on over the years to try to get into this budget. Those were the earmarks: Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Georgia; St. Joseph's Hospital in Savannah, Georgia; a project for the city of Moultrie; the Warner Robbins Aviation Museum; the Civil Rights Museum in Savannah, Georgia; and Brunswick Hospital. These were a lot of good programs that I personally hoped to get in, things that were within the budget that were doable. And yet in the end because of the legislative process, all earmarks had to be eliminated. I was not happy about that, but I understand. In the bigger picture of things, you have to do what the body can pass, what there are votes for. In this case, where did the money go? It went to community health clinics. It goes to Medicare modernization and medical research. Incidentally, we talk about the NIH. The funding for the NIH has doubled under Republican leadership under a commitment made by the former Speaker, Mr. Gingrich. I have to say, I am a little disappointed in what we have gotten for our money. I have not seen a plethora of medical solutions and new devices and vaccines and all kinds of other research that I had hoped doubling the NIH budget would give us. Nonetheless, NIH still gets an increase under this bill. The bill also restores community service block grants. Lots of things like the Job Corps program are funded in this bill. Despite its tightness in some areas, Mr. Regula has worked with the committee to put on what I think is a solidly balanced bill and face the economic realities of today with today's budget.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to show you a picture of a place I think all of us know. It is Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom, the Magic Castle where fantasy is real. And we go down and we all pretend to be boys and girls for the day. Well, here is another place where fantasy becomes reality. It is our office building, the United States Capitol. Only here can you call a 7 percent increase a cut. And what are the lap dogs, I mean, the blue dogs barking about? What I am saying is, when you increase the budget 7 percent----

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. My point is that we can all live in the fantasyland of Disneyworld or the United States Capitol, and when a bill that is increasing Medicaid goes up $66 billion and people can call it a cut because they did not get their way, that it did not go up 7.3 percent, it only goes up 7 percent. You can find any excuse to vote no, and I guess in the fantasyland of Washington, D.C., you can call that a cut. But the reality is, all these posters and easels that are out in the halls of the Rayburn, the Longworth and the Cannon building are just fantasy. Here is a chance to actually reduce spending and you are barking at it and saying no.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I come from agriculture country in southeast Georgia, and it is always remarkable to me that 2 percent of our population feeds not just 100 percent of the American population but a great deal of people all around the world. In fact, one thing that is even more interesting is that our ag production outpaces our ag consumption. We have more food than we can eat because our farm supply is so strong. Very vital of course to have food, but it is also vital in our society to have energy and fuel for our cars. Yet the world demand and the world supply are almost even. And the gentleman knows from the gulf coast what havoc Katrina played not only on the 90,000 square miles of the gulf coast, but when it comes to energy and gasoline supply, indeed all of America. In fact there was a world disruption because of that. In the United States, we consume over 20 million barrels of crude oil a day, nearly 25 percent of the consumption for the entire globe; and yet the United States only has about 3 percent of the world's oil reserves. Worse than that, we import from countries about 60 percent, and these countries are not always our friends. A lot of it comes from the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait. We have got some from South America, Venezuela. We all remember last week what Hugo Chavez of Venezuela did to the President when he was down there to give him a warm welcome. Because energy is a national security risk, I have introduced today, along with the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) and a number of Republicans and a number of Democrats, the Fuel Choice American Security Act of 2005. And what this bill does is it seeks to get us off Middle East oil by the year 2015. We will not be free from importing oil from around the world; but when it comes to the Middle East, we will be able to say, We can buy from you, but we do not have to buy from you. Our bill does a number of things. Number one, it sets a goal. It says that by the year 2015 we will have reduced our oil consumption 2.5 million barrels a day. That is a 10 percent reduction and that would get us free from the Middle East. It also requires that the General Accounting Office scores energy- related bills that we consider on the floor of Congress, and it gives Members of Congress a clear idea does this bill make you more dependent on foreign oil or less dependent; and does it move you closer to that goal of energy or fuel independence by 2015, or does it move it further away. Secondly, what this bill does is it provides incentives to automobile manufacturers and to consumers to buy more and produce more energy- efficient automobiles. We double the tax credit for the purchasing of hybrids. We encourage automobile manufacturers to use light materials in the manufacturing of their cars. We put money, or incentives into municipalities to move towards the plug-in flexible fuel fleets when it comes to automobile taxicabs and so forth. We give incentives to gasoline companies so that they will switch pumps so that when a consumer pulls in, they can have their choice of fuels for their automobiles. We also say that when you purchase tires you ought to know how many miles per gallon those tires should help you get. People do not even realize it, but if you inflate your tires right, you get more miles per gallon. And our consumers do not know that. The third thing our bill does is it increases energy choice by investing more money into biomass, and that could be any kind of biomass there is. It also takes the import tax off of ethanol from other countries. In Brazil today, 40 percent of the cars run on ethanol. In America, only 3 percent do. Brazil actually has surplus ethanol. We have a goal, we call it E 10 by 10. The gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is one of the champions of it. It says 10 percent of the gasoline will have ethanol in it by the year 2010. We are in agreement with that. But the domestic production of ethanol through the corn supply alone will not get us there. We need to have corn, we need to have sugar, we need to have pine needles. We need to have whatever can get us that ethanol supply. But in the mean time, why are we taxing a source of energy from a country like Brazil? What we need to do is take that export tax off there, and that is what our bill does. And finally, we ask the Federal Government to audit their agencies to figure out what can you do to save gasoline. One example, I will close with this, Mr. Speaker. Think about Saturday mail delivery. We pay 100 percent of the fuel cost to deliver 30 percent of the mail that we do on Monday through Friday. In this day of e-mail, do we really need Saturday mail delivery anymore? Those are just some of the things the bill does, Mr. Speaker. It does move us towards energy independence by the year 2015, which is what we need. And I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) for letting me get in front of him.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I find it a great irony and some goodness that I can get some time from my friend. I was sitting in my office and I did not know, frankly, that Muftiah was old enough to retire, take on another job, or leave the nest here, or whatever she is doing, but as somebody who has personally benefited from her expertise and wisdom, as I have had the honor to sit in the Chair, I can say we could not have laymen go up there and hold the gavel without somebody like Muftiah at our right arm telling us sometimes what to say and what not to say. I am sure she never would sit down when I had the gavel because she was nervous something would go awry. The other thing that is important, when school kids and visitors come to the House Chamber, I often point to the picture of George Washington and the fact that you can still see the sword painted out of his hand. I explain to school kids the reason the sword was painted out of his hand in his portrait in the House Chamber is that we philosophically believe that our debate here, our spirited debate, sometimes our acrimonious debate, sometimes our bitter debate, is still better than the alternative, and that alternative is civil war or civil disruption, as we see around the world. I believe that all of our Parliamentarians aid that in that sometimes we get out of line, Democrats or Republicans, in the spirit of the moment, in the emotion of the moment, and we say something that we regret saying; and it is at that time when all eyes turn to a nonpartisan, objective third party who can say everybody sit down, a little calmness here, let us get through this maze of parliamentary mystery and then get back on the course of civil discussion. I want to say, Muftiah, thank you for being part of that team and thank you for everything that you are doing. Your job is a profound one, and it is one that should be studied in every civics class in every school at every level of education in America. And I want to say to my friend from the west coast who does not always vote green when I vote red and vice versa, we always agree that this is the place where we can come and have good, open debate thanks to people like Muftiah and the Parliamentarians.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Madam Speaker, I was listening to some of this hysteria and rhetoric from the Democrat Party, and I wonder sometimes if they actually believe what their speech writers apparently give them. Obviously, they do not read it before they start giving the speech because they know food stamps are going up $250 million. It is not a cut. Medicaid is going up $66 billion. That is not a cut. Medicaid goes up 7 percent instead of 7.3 percent. That is what you need to be saying; we think it should be going up more than you guys, but admit, as we all know, Medicaid is going up 7 percent, $66 billion. Yet in Washington, D.C., just like Disney World, there is a lot of fantasy around us. And the fantasy is that if you do not get the increase that you want, you can go out and have the New York Times and Washington Post say, yes, he is right, that is a cut because they are not going up 7.3 percent, they are going up 7 percent. We have a plan to reform government and create savings. Yesterday, the Democrat Party announced they would have no agenda for 2005. Well, surprise, surprise. It is only November. But when is the Democrat Party going to announce its alternative? I will ask that question. I hope somebody will answer.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize a friend of mine and a fellow Georgian who had the great honor of giving our opening prayer today. The Reverend Griffin Lotson is a man of great character and has served as our Guest Chaplain. Reverend Lotson has been a pastor of Sams Memorial Church of God in Christ in Crescent, Georgia, for 18 years. During that time he has also served as executive director of Sams Memorial Community Economic Development, a nonprofit organization dedicated to affording low-income citizens the opportunity to realize the American dream of purchasing a home. Reverend Lotson and Sams Memorial have been able to partner with the Federal, State and local governments to develop a multimillion-dollar housing development in Georgia. Through his hard work, families who never imagined they would be able to afford a home for their children are now achieving that dream. His success has earned him many awards. Reverend Lotson was voted 2005 Citizen of the Year by the Rotary Club of McIntosh County and was a national award winner of the 2005 Rural Leader of America, just to name a few. Reverend Lotson has been blessed in his personal life as well as in his ministry. He and his beautiful wife of 28 years, Carolyn, have three children, all of whom have bravely served this country as members of the Navy and the United States Air Force. Mr. Speaker, through his hard work and dedication, and through the gospel of Jesus Christ, Griffin Lotson has earned the respect and admiration of the members of his church, his community and his State. It is an honor to have him with us today.