Sue Myrick

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan).

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I mistakenly voted no on rollcall vote 498, the Ney of Ohio amendment to H.R. 2622. I should have voted ``yes.''

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I cannot hope to give fitting praise to Mother Teresa's impeccable legacy of generosity and selflessness on the occasion of her beatification by Pope John Paul II. Reflecting on her Christ-like attitude and example of loving charity, I share feelings of awe and deep respect with so many others who can't help but venerate this heroic woman. I had the great honor of attending Mother Teresa's funeral in Calcutta, her adopted home and base of her own order, Missionaries of Charity. Representing the U.S. Congress on this occasion, I was once again humbled by her devotion to some of the world's most destitute citizens. Not only did this ``angel of mercy'' ease the physical horrors of so many hopeless people, she treated them as God's own children, leaving a global impression with her hands-on determination. While Mother Teresa's impact was always felt by the impoverished in India, her inspirational spirit infused charitable objectives and even public policy on an international scale. She aided victims of war and tragedy in every circumstance, from those dying of AIDS in New York to the desperate in Beirut and Palestine. Ever-mindful of the sanctity of even unborn human life, the good nun is known for asserting that ``a child is a gift from God. If you do not want him, give him to me.'' As Pope John Paul II prepares to beatify this truly virtuous woman, I pray that her fearless displays of unconditional love and charity may forever encourage us all.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes due to a personal matter that kept me at home. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows: September 3, 2003 Rollcall vote 460, on H.Res. 350, congratulating Lance Armstrong for winning the 2003 Tour de France, I would have vote ``yes.'' Rollcall vote 461, on H.R. 2309, the J. Stephen Horn Post Office Building Act, I would have voted ``yes.'' Rollcall vote 462, on H.R. 1533, to amend the securities laws to permit church pension plans to be invested in collective trusts, I would have voted ``yes.'' September 4, 2003 Rollcall vote 465, on the motion to table the motion to reconsider on H. Res. 351, I would have voted ``yes.'' Rollcall vote 469, on the Petri of Wisconsin amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 470, on the Tancredo of Colorado amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``yes.'' Rollcall vote 471, on the Hastings of Florida amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 472, on the Hooley of Oregon amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 473, on the Kennedy of Minnesota amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``yes.'' Rollcall vote 474, on the Jackson-Lee of Texas amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 475, on the Cooper of Tennessee amendment to H.R. 2989, I would have voted ``no.'' September 5, 2003 Rollcall vote 476, on the motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 6, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 477, on the motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 1308, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 478, on the Tom Davis of Virginia amendment to H.R. 2765, I would have voted ``yes.'' Rollcall vote 479, on the Norton of the District of Columbia amendment to H.R. 2765, I would have voted ``no.'' Rollcall vote 480, on the Hefley of Colorado amendment to H.R. 2765, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows: July 24, 2003: Rollcall vote 443, on the motion to recommit on H.R. 2210, the School Readiness Act, I would have voted ``no''; and Rollcall vote 446, on the motion to instruct conferees on the Tax Relief, Simplification and Equity Act, I would have vote ``no.''

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, due to exhaustion, I mistakenly voted on rollcall vote 445. I should have voted ``nay.''

Ms. MYRICK

Ms. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows: Rollcall No. 436, on passage of H.R. 2738, the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows: July 14, 2003, Rollcall vote 354, on agreeing to the Rehberg Amendment, I would have voted no. Rollcall vote 355, on agreeing to the Blumenauer Amendment, I would have voted no. Rollcall vote 356, on agreeing to the Hefley Amendment, I would have voted yea. Rollcall vote 357, on agreeing to the Ackerman Amendment, I would have voted no. Rollcall vote 358, on passage of H.R. 2673, I would have voted yea. Rollcall vote 359, on Motion to Instruct Conferees, I would have voted no. July 15, 2003, Rollcall vote 360, on agreeing to H. Res. 316, I would have voted yea. Rollcall vote 361, on Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as amended, H.R. 2330, I would have voted yea.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, as I said before, I feel that this is a very fair rule, and I would urge my colleagues to vote for the rule and for the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 310 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Committee on Rules met and granted a structured rule for H.R. 2211, Ready to Teach Act of 2003. This is a very fair rule. We made five out of the eight amendments offered in order, and four of them are Democrat amendments. The Ready to Teach Act seeks to meet the call of the No Child Left Behind Act to place a highly qualified teacher in every classroom. It makes improvements to the Higher Education Act that will increase the quality of our Nation's teacher preparation programs. I would like to commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) for his work on the Ready to Teach Act. I would also like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert); the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce; and the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), ranking member, for their continuing efforts to improve all aspects of our country's higher education system. As we work to place highly qualified teachers in education classrooms across the Nation, I am particularly pleased that this legislation allows for innovative programs that provide alternative options to the traditional teacher training programs. The key to producing highly qualified teachers is not the path by which they travel, but the destination they reach. Teachers trained through innovative options, or certified through alternative means, will still be held to the same standards of accountability and quality, but will not be constrained by artificial requirements that could place barriers between highly qualified individuals and the classrooms where they are desperately needed. In my community we run into this every day because of people who are qualified and have had years of experience in an area, but yet cannot get into the classroom. Teaching is an honorable profession, and we need to attract and keep good, qualified teachers. This needs to be an attractive job so more people will enter the profession as well. H.R. 2211 continues the current law structure and authorizes three types of teacher training grants that each play a unique yet critical role in the education of tomorrow's teachers. Forty-five percent of the funds would be directed toward State grants, which must be used to reform teacher preparation requirements and ensure that current and future teachers are highly qualified. Forty-five percent of the funds would be directed toward partnership grants, which allow effective partners to join together, combining their strengths and resources to train highly qualified teachers to achieve success where it matters most, in the classroom. Ten percent of the funds would be directed toward teacher recruitment grants, which will help bring these high-quality individuals into the teaching programs and ultimately put more highly qualified teachers into the classroom. H.R. 2211 also directs the Secretary of Education to give priority to applicants that will place an emphasis on recruiting minorities into the teaching profession. The Ready to Teach Act of 2003 will improve the quality and accountability of our Nation's teacher preparation programs. I ask my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation so that we can ensure that our children are receiving a world-class education. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan). (Mr. DUNCAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, who has done an excellent job with this bill.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to participate in the following votes. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows: June 24, 2003, Rollcall vote 307, on agreeing to the Filner amendment, I would have voted ``no''.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Last night, the Committee on Rules met and granted an open rule for H.R. 2559, the Fiscal Year 2004 Military Construction Appropriations Act. The United States military is clearly the best in the world. The young men and women in our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard are thoroughly dedicated and patriotic professionals, the best our Nation has to offer. We are asking a lot from our military today. Our personnel on active duty know that they may well be deployed overseas and, perhaps, on dangerous missions. So we want to provide them a quality of life for themselves and their families that will allow them to serve, knowing that their families will be taken care of with good housing and good health care. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2559 recognizes the dedication and commitment of our troops by providing for their most basic needs: improved military facilities, including the previously mentioned housing and medical facilities. Mr. Speaker, we must honor the most basic commitments we have made to the men and women of our Armed Services. We must ensure a reasonable quality of life to recruit and retain the best and brightest for America's fighting forces. Most importantly, we must do it all, everything in our power to ensure a strong, able, dedicated American military so this Nation will be ever vigilant, ever prepared, so much more important now than it has been in the past. This bill provides nearly $1.2 billion for barracks, and $176 million for hospitals and medical facilities for our troops and their families. It also provides $2.7 billion to operate and maintain existing housing units, and $1.2 billion for new housing units, much, much needed. Military families also have a tremendous need for quality child care, especially single parents and families in which one or both parents may face lengthy deployment. To help meet this need, the bill provides $16 million for child development centers. H.R. 2559 is more than just a signal to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that this Nation recognizes their services and their sacrifice. It is a means by which we meet our commitment to providing them a decent quality of life so as to sustain the commitment and professionalism of America's all voluntary armed services and the families that support them. While our men and women in uniform have swiftly dispatched our enemies abroad, they face increasingly complex personal and professional challenges here at home. We must do more to take care of those who are putting their lives on the line to defend our freedoms, and for the families who support them in their efforts. And I am really glad we are getting this done before we head home for the July 4th work break. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and to support the conference report. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 298 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mrs. MYRICK

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kennedy).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Musgrave).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder), another member of the Committee on Rules.

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller).

Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).