Pete Olson

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, on July 24, 1998, 16 years ago today, two Capitol policemen were killed in this building in the line of duty. At 3:40 p.m., an insane man shot Officer Jacob Chestnut in the back of the head. He died where he fell. He was directing a family to the restrooms when he was killed. The insane man ran into the office of the majority leader, Tom DeLay, my predecessor in Congress. Mr. DeLay's bodyguard, Detective John Gibson, was shot. Despite being mortally wounded, he returned fire and brought the shooter down. Today, both Officer Chestnut and Detective Gibson lie forever in glory across the river in Arlington National Cemetery. May they always rest in peace.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, last November, I filed Articles of Impeachment against our Attorney General, Eric Holder. This was a serious action. I am not happy that I had to do it. The trust of the American people in their government is at an alltime low. They wonder: Where is the Constitution? Is it still law? Is it alive? It is still law. It is still alive. I took a sacred oath to defend it. All of my colleagues took that same oath. Mr. Holder took that oath. Sadly, he has broken that oath many times. He has a long record of enforcing laws he likes and ignoring laws he doesn't like. The oath he took doesn't give him that choice. He is the number one law enforcement official in America. We are having an immigration crisis on our border with Mexico. Kids are coming across in record numbers. Next year, our Border Patrol thinks that 150,000 kids will cross illegally. That is roughly the same number of Allied Forces that invaded Normandy on D-day. We have laws on the books to stop this crisis, and yet Mr. Holder won't enforce those laws. Instead, he made up new rules that refuse to deport people who have come here illegally. He chose to break our laws. He chose to break his oath. The Internal Revenue Service has been using our Tax Code to harass Americans because their political views oppose the administration's. The watchdog over the IRS begged Mr. Holder to investigate because crimes may have been committed within the IRS by senior officials. Mr. Holder chose not to investigate the IRS. He chose politics over our laws. He chose to break his oath. Finally, Mr. Holder, under oath to tell the truth, told Congress that he had no involvement in an operation against a reporter working for a network Mr. Holder didn't like, yet Mr. Holder's signature was on the paper approving that operation. He chose to break our laws. He chose to break his oath. Hoping to remind Mr. Holder about his oath and his duty to enforce all of our laws, Congress held Mr. Holder in contempt in June of 2012. He made history, with two bipartisan votes holding him in contempt of Congress. Sadly, 2 years later, Mr. Holder continues to break his oath. The only weapon Congress has for Federal officials who break their oath and our law is impeachment. I have 28 cosponsors of my resolution to impeach Mr. Holder. I ask my colleagues to remember that we are a Nation of laws. Show the American people that our Constitution is alive and well-- cosponsor H. Res. 411, Articles of Impeachment against Eric Holder.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Shainy Varghese, an assistant professor at the University of Houston--Victoria (UHV) School of Nursing, who is a recipient of the Nurses.com Giving Excellence Meaning Award of Texas. Dr. Varghese is the first person from UHV to receive the award. Her award came in the House, Community and Ambulatory Care category. Varghese and five other Texas finalists will advance to the national contest where they will compete with nurses from other regions. It was Dr. Varghese's community involvement that set her apart from the three other regional finalists. She started her own nurse-managed clinic, which is rare for a nurse practitioner, and gives medical care to anyone in need. This clinic has improved access to primary care in Fort Bend County. Aside from this award, Dr. Varghese was awarded the Excellence in Nursing Bronze Medal by the Good Samaritan Foundation in 2012. She has been a permanent member of the staff at UHV since 2009 where her research specialty is telehealth. Our community is lucky to have Dr. Varghese who is actively making a difference in our community and educating our future nurses. On behalf of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, best of luck to Dr. Varghese and congratulations on becoming a finalist for this prestigious award.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Taresa Jacobsen of Lawhon Elementary and Mark Lesmeister of Dawson High School for winning Pearland Independent School District's 2014 Teachers of the Year. Mrs. Jacobsen has been a teacher for seven years, spending her last four at Lawhon Elementary. She has been a great asset for her students and works hard to keep their parents aware of their children's progress in the classroom. She takes the time to get to know her students well and incorporates that knowledge in her teaching. Mr. Lesmeister joined the Dawson High School faculty in 2008 and is helping to design the physics program. Thanks to his passion for teaching, he encourages many of his students to consider a career in teaching themselves and strongly believes students should graduate with a scientific understanding in order to make rational decisions. I wish Mrs. Jacobsen and Mr. Lesmeister the best of luck in their teaching careers and thank them both for going above and beyond for their students. Great teachers help develop future leaders. On behalf of the residents of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, I congratulate Taresa Jacobsen and Mark Lesmeister for their commitment to teaching and for earning the Pearland ISD 2014 Teachers of the Year!

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Kendall Sheffield for being named the 2013-14 Gatorade Texas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. Kendall will be a senior at Thurgood Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas this fall. This prestigious award recognizes Kendall both for being an outstanding student, as well as the top high school boys track & field athlete in all of Texas. His track records place him in the top five high school showing of 2014, winning the 110-meter high hurdles (13.63 seconds) and the 300- meter intermediate hurdles (36.34 seconds) at this spring's 4A state meet. Kendall is also an asset in his community. He maintains a B average, is a member of the football team, is active in his church and volunteers with the elderly in his community and the local food bank. On behalf of the residents of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, congratulations to Kendall Sheffield for winning the 2013-14 Gatorade Texas Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year. We look forward to his continued success on and off the field.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Pearland Force softball team for winning the Texas state title in their division of the Amateur Softball Association (ASA). The Pearland Force played hard and won seven consecutive games in a great display of teamwork and athleticism to win the championship tournament. As a young fastpitch team that has already achieved so much, I'm excited to see their next accomplishments in both their community and athletic endeavors. Congratulations to the Pearland Force coaches and players--Brent Marek, Stephanie Reyes, Pilo Garcia, Jr., Stephen Borden, Nichole Mann, Stephanie Lopez, Bayleigh Borden, Isabella Reyes, Erin Connolly, Kyla Sides, Holly Vollman, Katie Bishop, Grace Atchison, Mya Martinez and Karyme Garcia. I wish the Pearland Force the best of luck in their upcoming ASA tournaments. On behalf of the residents of the Twenty- Second Congressional District of Texas, congratulations to the coaches and players for this fantastic victory!

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to share an email from a friend who is in Israel with his wife right now. He writes: Hamas has been sending rockets into Israel for days now trying to kill any Israeli they can--120 in the last 2 days. Just a few minutes ago, the red alert was sounded. Thank God Congress wanted to build the Iron Dome, as it brought down that rocket. Will we hear the red alert tonight as we sleep? Will we get to the bomb room in time? What about tomorrow night? Speak out on the floor of the House: Hamas must be stopped once and for all. My friend, Hamas must be stopped once and for all. President Obama, please say these words with us: Hamas must be stopped once and for all.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, we all know that heroes live among us. One hero who lives among the people of Texas' Congressional District 22 is Ramon Morales. Ramon is a rookie police officer in Richmond, Texas. At 1 a.m. on Sunday, June 22nd, Ramon was sent to investigate a report of a woman sitting on the railroad tracks in Richmond. Ramon drove up to the location where the woman was sitting on the railroad tracks, the red lights came on and the crossing arms came swooping down--a train was speeding down the tracks! The dash camera in Ramon's patrol car showed a hero coming to life. He jumped out of the cruiser and dashed onto the tracks. As he began to pull the woman off the tracks, she screamed and resisted Ramon's efforts to save her. Undaunted, Ramon kept pulling and got the woman off the tracks as the train roared by. That all happened in brief 12 seconds. The Texans who call Richmond home sleep well at night knowing that Officer Ramon Morales, a true, life-saving hero, is on patrol.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Melissa Fields, the Terry High School Lady Rangers basketball coach, who was named the 2014 4A Outstanding Coach of the Year in Texas. Coach Fields received the Dean Weese Outstanding Coach Award from the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. The Lady Rangers were 22-10 on the season and reached the regional semifinals, the furthest the team has ever gone in playoffs. To be named the 4A Outstanding Coach of the Year in Texas recognizes more than just her success on the court. As a former high school and college basketball player, I know what a difference an outstanding coach can make in a player's life. Looking back on it now, I know it wasn't our record that was most important, it was the lessons I learned from playing the game. Coach Fields just finished her 18th year at Terry High School in Rosenberg, Texas. She has been teaching and coaching for 23 years. Congratulations to Coach Fields on this recognition and thank you for your dedication to the Lady Rangers Basketball team.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, every day that I leave home to fly here, I pass the Southwest Inn, the site of the worst day the Houston Fire Department has ever had. One year ago this Saturday, four brave firefighters were killed when the inn's roof collapsed upon them without warning. Matthew Renaud, Robert Garner, Robert Bebee, and Anne Sullivan all lost their lives on that day. They never came back to their stations. Anne's mother, Mary, works at the middle school that both my kids have attended. We shared tears over Anne's loss at a local restaurant. I know the pain of losing her Anne will never leave my friend. But I hope she remembers what her father told her sister from Heaven on that day. Her father said: ``It is okay. I have got her. It is okay. I have got her.'' And He has them all.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Heather Shake for becoming the first woman golfer at the University of Houston- Victoria to earn a conference title. As a freshman, Heather won the Association of Independent Institutions Conference Women's Golf Championship where she posted the low rounds of the day, 75-74 for a 7- over 149. With this win, the former Dawson High School student earned an automatic bid to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women's Golf Championship in May. As only a freshman, I'm excited to see Heather's next accomplishments in both her educational and athletic endeavors. I wish Heather the best of luck at the NAIA Women's Golf Championship. On behalf of all residents of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, I congratulate Heather Shake on earning the University of Houston-Victoria's first conference title.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. I thank the chairman. I also thank my friend from Minnesota for bringing this important bill to the House floor. Madam Speaker, I live in Fort Bend County, Texas. Interstate 10 runs through the northern part of Fort Bend County. According to the Department of Justice, I-10 in Houston is ``the most intense trafficking jurisdiction in America.'' In March, a sex slave ring was broken up in Houston. Fifteen women from Latin America were in a tiny house with 94 men, wearing only their underwear when they were arrested. The women's first trip to America became a trip to hell. And it is not just women from foreign countries. Young American girls are being tricked into lives as sex slaves--girls like Holly Smith, whose picture is to my left. Holly's home life was not good. She worried about starting high school. She was depressed. And she met a man at the local mall named Greg. Greg knew just what Holly needed. He convinced her to run away. So she laced up her size 5 sneakers and jumped in the car with a pimp of children. She was just 14. Within hours, she was being raped by a man who said that she looked like his granddaughter. Holly escaped her captors by telling a police officer that she was a hooker so they would take her away from Greg. That admission brought her more pain. She was handcuffed and treated like a criminal instead of the victim she was. I want to thank Holly for telling her story. Sadly, she and I both know that her story is being repeated all over America. And that is why passing this bill is so important.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan and my colleague from Massachusetts for their kind words. Sir, this is overdue. I agree completely. That is why I rise today with great pride. Soon, the House will join the Senate in passing a bill to give the Congressional Gold Medal to the Doolittle Raiders of World War II. These heroes planted the seeds to win World War II. Without their attack on Japan, America might have lost the war. The war started on December 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft attacked Pearl Harbor without warning. All eight of our battleships were damaged, four were sunk. Americans were scared. Japan controlled the whole Pacific. Sometime in 1942, Americans expected Japanese bombs to hit San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. President Roosevelt knew we must strike Japan to show all Americans that we could and would win this war. He had one problem: no American airplane had the range or payload to bomb Japan from American-controlled soil. It would be a suicide mission. That solution came up from Navy Captain Francis Low, who thought, maybe, maybe we can have Army bombers take off from an aircraft carrier. On February 3, they tried that out, with two B-25s loaded on the Hornet outside of Norfolk taking off, and proved it was possible. The Army again chose the B-25 as the bomber of choice. They picked the Hornet to take the B-25s to Japan and bomb Japan. But the most important decision was the leader: Colonel Jimmy Doolittle. Colonel Doolittle assembled the flight crews in Eglin Field in Florida in late February of 1942. These weren't experienced pilots. They were chosen because they could fly a new plane--the B-25. Colonel Doolittle told these men they had a secret special mission: they were going to bomb Japan with B-25s. They had 1 month--1 month--to learn how to take a B-25 off the deck of an aircraft carrier. But they were never trained on the Hornet, another carrier. They were trained on the ground, a runway painted to model the flight deck of the Hornet. On March 25, 1942, they were ready. They flew to Naval Air Station Alameda near San Francisco and saw the Hornet for the first time. On April 2, they sailed for Japan with 16 B-25s locked down on the flight deck. On April 18, their mission almost ended. They were spotted by a Japanese patrol boat. America could not lose the Hornet. She was too precious. So Colonel Doolittle and Captain Mitscher decided to launch the B-25s 10 hours before it was planned. They would not have the fuel to bomb Japan and fly to safety in unoccupied China as part of the plan. They would go down in Japanese territory. Despite rough seas, all 16 B-25s launched off the Hornet. They bombed Tokyo and other cities. The property damage was small, but the damage to the Japanese morale could not be measured. For the first time in over 1,000 years Japan had been bombed by a foreign nation. Because of that one single raid, Japan pushed to provoke a confrontation with our Navy. They got sloppy. We ambushed them off of Midway on June 4, 1942, sinking four of their aircraft carriers that destroyed our fleet at Pearl Harbor. Eighty heroes took off from the Hornet. Three died when the aircraft crashed. Eight were captured by the Japanese. Three of those were killed by a firing squad. One died of malnourishment. Four spent the war in captivity as prisoners of our allies--the Russians. Of the 80 heroes who roared down that deck, 73 came home. Only four are with us today: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hite, copilot, B-25 Number 16, the last one off the deck; Lieutenant Colonel Edward Saylor, engineer, B-25 Number 15, right before Lieutenant Colonel Hite; Staff Sergeant David Thatcher, the gunner, B-25 Number 7; and my friend from Comfort, Texas, Lieutenant Colonel Dick Cole. Dick sat next to Colonel Doolittle on B- 25 Number 1 as she roared down the flight deck and took off into history. That is why this medal is so important. By passing this bill today and by having President Obama sign it into law, we tell my friend Dick Cole, his three living colleagues, and the 76 heroes who have gone to Heaven that we will never forget that they kept the torch of freedom burning brighter with the raid on Japan. I ask my colleagues to strongly support H.R. 1209.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate 10 students from the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas who received appointments to America's military academies. The students who receive appointments to our nation's prestigious military academies are some of the best and brightest students in America. They bring enormous pride to our communities. It's an honor to recognize these young leaders who have committed to protect and defend our nation through service in our military academies. The students selected to represent our district include: Joshua Xu of Seven Lakes High School in Katy (U.S. Naval Academy), Cy Payne of Seven Lakes High School in Katy (U.S. Naval Academy), David Hernandez, III of Pearland High School in Pearland (U.S. Military Academy), William Waters of Cinco Ranch High School in Katy (U.S. Military Academy), Morgan Landers of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory from Houston (U.S. Military Academy), Brittany Scofield of Seven Lakes High School in Katy (U.S. Military Academy), Chad Cleary of Stephen F. Austin High School in Sugar Land (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), Drake Dentry of Pearland High School in Pearland (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), Nicholas Supry of Seven Lakes High School in Katy (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy) and Jonah Sanjay Bhide of American Embassy School, New Delhi, India (U.S. Air Force Academy). As a former Navy pilot, I know that these students are about to embark on a tremendous citizenship experience. On behalf of all of the residents of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, I'm thrilled to congratulate these young leaders. I'm confident they will honorably serve our nation with pride and distinction.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Summer Brown on earning the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest achievement a Cadette can earn. Summer, a student at First Colony Middle School in Sugar Land, achieved this honor through her accomplishments in leadership, advocacy, and dedication to improving her community. Summer completed her Girl Scout Silver Award project by coordinating and leading a ``Healthy Eating and Energy'' workshop for elementary students. She led a team of volunteers to teach students how to lead a healthy lifestyle. This included helping students learn how to read and understand nutrition labels on food packages. Summer also conducted a fruits and vegetable taste test to help the students discover and experience healthy foods. Every parent knows that in itself is an accomplishment. On behalf of all of the residents of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, I'm pleased to recognize Summer's Girl Scout accomplishment and her contributions to help make her community a healthier place. We are all proud of Summer Brown.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, 1 week ago, the Clements men's soccer team left our home Sugar Land, Texas, with a dream. A few days later, they came home living their dream. They were the Texas 5A State champions. The Rangers were underdogs in the finals. But, behind a raucous crowd, and led by Coach Todd Ericson, the Rangers crushed defending champion Coppell by a score of 3-0. The Rangers started a new tradition. They did something no Ranger team had done before: they won State. And they gave me a new tradition, because every time they win a championship in the future, I get to rearrange the Styrofoam cups in the chain link fence that surrounds Clements High School off Elkins Drive. Ranger pride is alive and well in Sugar Land, Texas. They are the 2014 Texas 5A State soccer champions.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I want to share with the American people a poem a written by a Marine Corps officer. It is about two former Navy SEALs: Ben Doherty and Ty Woods. They were killed in Benghazi. It is called ``The Battling Boys of Benghazi'': We're the battling boys of Benghazi! No fame, no glory, no paparazzi. Just a fiery death in a blazing hell, defending our country we loved so well. It wasn't our job, but we answered the call, fought to the Consulate and scaled the wall. We pulled 20 countrymen from the jaws of fate. Led them to safety, and stood at the gate. Just the two of us, and foes by the score, but we stood fast to bar the door. Three calls for reinforcement, but all were denied, So we fought, and we fought, and we fought `til we died. We gave our all for our Uncle Sam, but our leaders didn't give a damn. Just two dead SEALs, who carried the load, no thanks to us, we were just ``Bumps in the Road.'' These two Navy SEALs did their jobs. Let's do our jobs and bring those thugs who killed them to justice

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. I thank my colleague from Lubbock for hosting this Special Order to celebrate another Texan from Lubbock, our good friend, Kent Hance. Kent and I became friends in 1998. I was working at the time for United States Senator Phil Gramm. My friends have talked about Kent's achievements. I plan to be like the Wizard of Oz and pull back the curtain and show the real Kent Hance. The real Kent Hance joined us on November 14, 1942, in Dimmitt, Texas. He is now 71 years young. Before Kent was born, Dimmitt had grown from J.W. Carter's Hotel, Miss Lou Belsher's School, and Uncle Buck Tate's Lumber and Wagon Yard to the county seat of Castro County with a population of 943. Kent went to Dimmitt High School, graduating in 1961. Dimmitt High School has two mascots--the Bobcats for the boys and the Bobbies for the girls. Kent and his best buddy, Spider, spent a lot of time at the Carlile Theater trying to find the love of their lives. Spider found his love in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Kent sought optimism from Spider's dad. Movies, charm, and yes, a 1970 Camaro couldn't get the job done. Nothing happened in Dimmitt. Kent met his true love, Susie, and they both were lawyers. They worked hard and they played hard, and they loved races at the track. After 1 hard week of working hard and playing hard, they popped down to El Paso, Texas, and crossed the river into Juarez to go to races at the track. The cab driver had very poor English and took them to a very special track--monkey jockeys riding greyhounds. Kent learned two things that night: Susie will follow him anywhere in the world; and he needed to learn more Spanish, especially the word ``horse'' in Spanish. One more personal story about Kent Hance. We spent 24 hours together on an aircraft carrier underway. To come aboard a carrier, you fly a very different approach--a controlled crash. There are wires across the back of the deck which hook onto the aircraft to catch it. The plane goes to full power before it is hooked. To take off, you have a catapult shot, zero to 140 miles in 300 feet. I have never heard a human being scream so loudly with terror and joy than Kent Hance on that aircraft. I will close by talking about Kent's tenure at Texas Tech University, the institute that gave him his education and his love of life in the business world. Because of Kent Hance, Texas Tech has a medical school in El Paso, Texas. Kent chased this down doggedly, getting a big donation, $50 million from alumni, to make this dream happen. Red Raider Nation is thrilled to have this building on campus, the Kent Hance Chapel. It gives students a place when they are struggling, a place of peace, a place of prayer, and a place to have a wedding after they leave Texas Tech. As Kent leaves Texas Tech behind, some are already talking about is he the greatest chancellor we have ever had. To paraphrase Bum Phillips: Kent Hance may not be in a class by himself, but whatever class he is in, it don't take long to call the roll. Kent, my friend, as you move on to your next challenge, you have my best. It is not very good, but it is my best. God bless you.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jake Crain of Pearland High School. This young man pitched an impressive no-hitter on Tuesday, March 25 when the Pearland Oilers defeated the Pasadena Memorial Mavericks. Crain led the Oilers to an 8-1 victory, improving their overall record to 5-0 in district play. Professional pitchers play their entire careers without pitching a no-hitter, and Jake achieved this as a senior in high school. The contributions of his teammates were also integral to Jake's achievement. He relied on his defense to back him up and the Oilers offense to put runs on the board. This was a team effort. Great athletes are an extension of great teams. The Pearland Oilers baseball team is full of great teammates. I wish the Pearland Oilers the best of luck this season. On behalf of all residents of the Twenty-Second Congressional District of Texas, I congratulate Jake Crain and all of his Oiler teammates on recording a no-hitter.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. I thank my friend from Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of a commonsense budget proposal, the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2014. This bill is genius. It is simple and it is darn important. It requires the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the macroeconomic impacts of major bills before they pass Congress. What a concept. This tool will give Congress and the American people a real- world picture of how the laws we pass impact our economy before we pass them. Current law requires CBO to provide Congress with information from fantasyland on the fiscal impact of legislation. There is no requirement to stay in our world and analyze the economic impact of legislation, of jobs. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle argue that such scoring is impossible, yet they proudly tout that CBO used a macroeconomic analysis in its report on the impact of the Senate's immigration bill last year. They left fantasyland, joined our world. Welcome. The more information we have about the economic impacts of bills, the better decisions we can make. Mr. Chairman, a simple but important policy change like this will help get our economy back on track, create jobs, protect hardworking Americans, and keep us in their world. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Madam Speaker, 2014 started out the exact way President Obama wanted. Over $2 trillion of more debt piled upon our kids and grandkids. President Obama is very different than Senator Obama. These are the Senator's words on the Senate floor March 16, 2006: The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the U.S. Government can't pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our government's reckless fiscal policies. Over the past 5 years, our Federal debt has increased by $3.5 trillion to $8.6 trillion. That is trillion with a t. That is money that we have borrowed from the Social Security trust fund, borrowed from China and Japan, borrowed from American taxpayers. Numbers that large are sometimes hard to understand. Some people may wonder why they matter. Here is why: This year, the Federal Government will spend $220 billion on interest. Senator Obama later explained: That is more money to pay interest on our debt this year than we will spend on education, homeland security, transportation, and veterans' benefits combined. After talking about Hurricane Katrina, Senator Obama shifted to the debt tax: And the cost of our debt is one of the fastest growing expenses in the Federal budget. This rising debt is a hidden domestic enemy, robbing our cities and States of critical investments in infrastructure like bridges, ports, and levees; robbing our families and our children of critical investments in education and health care reform; robbing our seniors of the retirement and health security they have counted on. Every dollar we pay in interest is a dollar that is not going to investment in America's priorities. Instead, interest payments are a significant tax on all Americans--a debt tax that Washington doesn't want to talk about. Senator Obama finally brought up our debt to unfriendly nations: Now, there is nothing wrong with borrowing from foreign countries. But we must remember that the more we depend on foreign nations to lend us money, the more our economic security is tied to the whims of foreign leaders whose interests might not be aligned with ours. Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ``the buck stops here.'' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better. I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit. Today, America's debt is over $18 trillion--with a t. Clearly, President Obama has forgotten Senator Obama's words. But the American people remember, and on their behalf, I ask President Obama to decrease our debt by working with Congress to end the debt tax by growing our economy and shipping American natural gas to friendly countries like Ukraine, like India, like Japan, and like South Korea.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, far too many of our fellow Americans, my fellow Texans, continue struggling in this economy; 3.8 million Americans have been out of work for 27 weeks or more. Americans and Texans have had enough of this sluggish economy, and massive government overreach is only making things worse. We need to rein in Washington so our economy can grow, so we can create more jobs, and so more people can take home more of their hard-earned money. House Republicans have never lost our laser focus on creating the jobs America needs. We are committed to real solutions to get our country back to work.

Mr. OLSON

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, 1 week ago, I stood in the parking lot of Manvel High School waiting. A few minutes before 4 p.m., the Texas women's 5A State champs came home. To win State, the Manvel Lady Mavericks had to go through a door blocked by the two-time defending State champion, the Duncanville Panthers. In November, the Lady Mavs knocked on the Panthers' door. It didn't open. For three quarters in the State championships, they banged on the Panthers' door. It didn't budge. But in the last quarter, the Lady Mavs kicked that son of a gun opened and walked through to become the State 5A champs. As we say in Manvel: Hoka hey, champs, hoka hey.