Rob Portman

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Jim King, who is Director of Broadcasting and General Manager of WVXU, Xavier University's public radio station in Cincinnati. He retired December 31, 2004 after 28 years of dedicated service to our community, and will return to a full time Xavier faculty position. A native of Cheboygan, MI, Jim had an early interest in music. He began his interest in broadcasting while still a youngster with his own ``pirate'' radio station, and even then, he knew he wanted a career in radio. Later, he gained his first full time job in radio as a high school sophomore. At Western Michigan University, Jim earned a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in English Literature and Ancient History. Happily, he also met his wife of 37 years, Kathy, there. In 1969, Jim and Kathy moved to Ann Arbor and in 1973, Dr. King earned a Ph.D in Radio, TV and Film from the University of Michigan. In 1976, Jim joined Xavier University as its full time professional manager of WVXU, which was then a small 10 watt FM station. Jim also serves as Professor of Communication Arts at Xavier. Over the years, WVXU has increased its power several times, and today, the station is 26,000 watts. Under Jim's visionary leadership, the station became a member of a regional network of seven stations in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. WVXU is now housed in a 12,000 square foot broadcasting complex on the Xavier University campus, employs 25 radio professionals, and has won almost every honor in broadcasting, including the George Foster Peabody Award, the industry's most prestigious award. Simply put, Jim has improved the quality of life for all of us in the community by treating us to WVXU's mix of vintage radio shows; award- winning news programs; financial information; and a beloved variety of music. All of us congratulate Jim on his retirement and wish him luck in the new challenges to come.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, November 13, 2004, I participated in the Second Annual Madisonville Neighborhood Luminaria in Cincinnati, Ohio. As part of the program, I had the privilege of honoring two tireless community advocates and volunteers, Kathleen Garrison and Ruth Ann Busald. Kathy's dedication to the Madisonville Community Council, the Department of Justice/Madisonville Weed & Seed Strategy, and the Students Concerned About Today and Tomorrow is unequaled and makes Madisonville a better place to live and work. Ruth's dedication to researching, archiving, and sharing the history of Madisonville, for more than a decade, is unparalleled. Her lifelong commitment to Madisonville has kept the community history alive, enriching all who live and work in the community. Kathy Garrison and Ruth Ann Busald's generosity is an example of that admirable American spirit of volunteerism that motivates and enriches not only the local community, but also the country as a whole. All of us in the Second District of Ohio appreciate their service to our area.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a very dear friend and Brown County, Ohio, constituent, John Ruthven, who was selected by President Bush to receive the National Medal of the Arts, the highest award to an artist or patron in the United States. I was honored to join John and his wife, Judy, and members of his family today at the White House for the medal presentation by President Bush. He is one of the most talented artists in the Nation, and we are proud to know him as one of our neighbors in southern Ohio. We cannot think of anybody more deserving of this honor. John is an author, lecturer, naturalist, conservationist, and internationally acknowledged master of wildlife art. We consider him a modern day Audubon. His love of nature is infectious. So many, including my own family, have joined John on his naturalist tours of the woods of his beloved farm. His original paintings have been shown at the White House, the Hermitage Museum in Russia, here at the U.S. Capitol, the Ohio State capitol rotunda, and many other prestigious venues around the world. The National Medal of Arts, Mr. Speaker, is a very prestigious award. The President may award up to 12 medals per year. There were only seven other individuals to receive the national medal today. All of us in southern Ohio congratulate John on receiving this most prestigious national award.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Army Staff Sergeant Omer T. Hawkins II, a brave soldier who died Thursday, October 14, 2004 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Hawkins died when his military convoy was hit by a roadside explosive device. Sgt. Hawkins was from Cherry Fork, Ohio, in Adams County, an area I represent. He was, people have said, the epitome of an all around great guy--polite, intelligent, and outgoing. At 10 years old, he first told people he wanted to enlist in the Army. At North Adams High School near Seaman, Ohio, Sgt. Hawkins was popular with his peers, and voted ``Most Likely to Succeed'' in his graduating class. An academic standout, he was active in citizenship and Ohio history competitions. He also served on the debate team and played basketball. After graduation in 1991, Sgt. Hawkins enlisted in the Army. He was a noncommissioned officer in the Army assigned to the 44th Engineer Battalion stationed in Camp Howze in Korea. Sgt. Hawkins was the son of Lisa Christman of Hillsboro, Ohio. His late father, William Hawkins, was an engineer in the Marines who passed away in 1977. Sgt. Hawkins is also survived by a sister, Cherry Hawkins, of Cincinnati. His younger brother, Sgt. James Hawkins, is in the Missouri National Guard and stationed at Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri. There was a celebration of Sgt. Hawkins' life in Adams County, and he was buried next to his father at Locust Grove Cemetery in Peebles, Ohio. All of us in Southern Ohio are grateful for Sgt. Hawkins' service to our country, and express our deepest sympathy to his family and many friends.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a friend and hero, Ernest J. Waits Sr. of Cincinnati, who passed away on October 19, 2004. Mr. Waits was a pioneering civil rights activist. He worked his whole lifetime for desegregation and to open doors for African Americans. Born in Flat Rock, Georgia in 1920, he moved to Cincinnati with his family in 1922 and grew up in Cincinnati's West End. Mr. Waits was known to say that he became a civil rights fighter one day when school textbooks at Sands School were in short supply, and he was told he could not share a textbook with a white student. He challenged injustice, as he put it, ``I've been challenging things all the way through.'' And he has. At Woodward High School in 1935, Mr. Waits called for integration of the swimming pool and the prom. In 1939, at age 19, he wanted to see comedian Eddie ``Rochester'' Anderson at Cincinnati's Schubert Theater. He insisted on being admitted, employing a strategy of civil disobedience later embraced by others in the civil rights movement. From that point on, Mr. Waits joined with others in Cincinnati who pushed for desegregation and civil rights. In breaking race barriers, Mr. Waits held many Cincinnati ``firsts.'' In 1947, he became the first African American Cincinnati radio disc jockey. For twelve years, he played jazz for a number of local stations, and was known for his creative programming in an era when there were few alternatives for African Americans. From 1958 to 1960, he was the first African American in Cincinnati to be an assistant sales manager for two auto dealerships. In 1960, he attended Northwestern University to study investment banking, and returned to Cincinnati to become the first African American New York Stock Exchange registered broker. He was the first African American to work for Cincinnati & Suburban Bell Telephone Company, and in the 1970s, he pioneered the concept of magnet schools to encourage inclusiveness and voluntary school desegregation. He received many honors for his volunteer and community service, including a key to the city of Cincinnati and the ``Mayor's Hometown Hero'' award; a Cincinnati City Council resolution recognizing him as a leader in the ongoing campaign for racial equality; the Black Male Coalition's 1993 Living Hero Award; the 1992 Broadcasting Hall of Fame Award; the Cincinnati Historical Society's Best in Broadcasting Hall of Fame Award; and an Amistad Foundation Award. He served in the U.S. Army as a mechanic based in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mr. Waits' wife of 37 years, Betty, died in 1986, and a son, Eric Wilson Waits, died in March 2004. He is survived by a son, Ernest J. Waits, Jr.; three daughters, Kym Zimmers of North Avondale and Diane ``Taffi'' Weaver of Forest Park, and Shelley Moon of Los Angeles; nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. All of us in Cincinnati are grateful for the gift of Ernest Waits' life and his inspiration.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Specialist Keith Matthew ``Matt'' Maupin of Batavia, Ohio, whose name was added last Wednesday to the Pentagon's prestigious Warrior Ethos Exhibit. Spc. Maupin, 21, has been missing in action in Iraq since April 9, 2004, when his convoy came under attack outside Baghdad by rocket- propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was the first known U.S. serviceman to be captured by insurgents and is now the longest held military hostage in wartime since the end of the Vietnam War. Spec. Maupin is an Army Reservist with the 724th Transport Company stationed in Bartonville, Illinois. Spc. Maupin went to Iraq to fight for freedom for the Iraqi people and for a safer world without the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Spc. Maupin is an American hero, and we are grateful for his bravery and courage. In our area of southern Ohio, there has been an outpouring of support for Spc. Maupin and for the Maupin family. Matt's parents, Carolyn and Keith Maupin, have set a tremendous example of hope and faith, and unqualified support for our troops. Spc. Maupin's father is a veteran, and his brother, Lance Corporal Micah Maupin, is a Marine stationed in Miramar, California. Spc. Maupin is one of the best and brightest. A scholar athlete in high school, he is viewed by his fellow soldiers as a skilled, professional and compassionate soldier. Last Wednesday, Spc. Matt Maupin's name was added to the Pentagon's prestigious Warrior Ethos Exhibit. This display honors the service and sacrifice of soldiers living the Warrior Ethos, including Spc. Maupin. Composed of three diagonal LCD panels, it features the Army Star; a sampling of the more than 30,000 ``To Our Troops'' virtual notes sent to service men and women by the American people; and images of faces of soldiers everywhere. The words, ``We Honor and Appreciate;'' ``We Remember;'' and ``We Take Care of Our Soldiers'' are inscribed on the panels. Above all, this tribute is an enduring legacy to soldiers, like Spc. Maupin, who are keeping us safe and free today. Perhaps the Army's ``Soldiers Creed'' states the commitment of these outstanding young men and women best: ``. . . I always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. . . . I am an American Soldier.'' This is Spc. Matt Maupin. All of us are proud of Matt Maupin and his family, and we pray for his safe return.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was absent attending to a previously scheduled commitment and missed the votes on Roll Call Number 490, on Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 814, the Rule for S. 878, the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act; Roll Call Number 491, on H. Res. 814, the Rule for S. 878, the Bankruptcy Judgeship Act; Roll Call Number 492, on the Simpson Amendment to S. 878; Roll Call Number 493, on a Motion to Recommit S. 878 with Instructions; Roll Call Number 494, on Passage of H.R. 163, the Universal National Service Act; Roll Call Number 495, on Passage of H.R. 2929, the Safeguard Against Privacy Invasions Act; and Roll Call Number 496 on H.R. 5011, on Passage of the Military Personnel Financial Services Protection Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea'' on Roll Call Number 490, ``Yea'' on Roll Call Number 491; ``Yea'' on Roll Call Number 492, ``Nay'' on Roll Call Number 493; ``Nay'' on Roll Call Number 494; ``Yea'' on Roll Call Number 495; and ``Yea'' on Roll Call Number 496.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Thomas for yielding me this time, and I thank my colleague on the other side of the aisle, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), for engaging in this debate because I think he put his finger on what this is all about tonight. What we are talking about is basically responding to the European Union's decision that we cannot continue to provide a subsidy to our exporters. That was the lemons. And then making lemonade out of it by saying, how are we going to help U.S. firms become more competitive, but not by using the FSC/ETI benefit that was found illegal. How are we doing that? In two ways. One the gentleman from New York just talked about: we are helping manufacturers. This is an area of our economy that is under great challenge for two reasons: one, higher productivity. We are using fewer workers to produce just as much and more so we are losing jobs in manufacturing. Second, international competition. In the last 3 years of the Clinton administration, we lost over 300,000 manufacturing jobs. They are starting to come back. This year alone, we have gained over 100,000 manufacturing jobs as the economy is starting to pick up. But that is not good enough. We want to do more. We want to make sure that we have a strong manufacturing base in this country. That is why there is an effective 3 percent reduction in the corporate rate for manufacturers, big, medium, small, all manufacturers, very similar to the gentleman's legislation he introduced about a year ago. But, second, we do try to help those global companies. Why? Because, as the gentleman from Louisiana said, the global companies are out there competing in a marketplace where 95 percent of the consumers are outside of the United States. Ninety-five percent of them. Yet we have one-third of the world's economy here. If we are not out there competing with those French and German and Japanese and other companies, we are going to lose jobs right here. A great example is in my own district. Procter & Gamble has about 14,000 jobs in greater Cincinnati. Forty percent of those jobs support international sales. That is where their expansion is right now. Those are the 95 percent of the consumers they have to access to keep jobs in my district. That is what this bill is about. And that is why I think it is so important that we pass it tonight on a bipartisan basis. I thank the chairman for taking the lemons which were handed to us by the World Trade Organization and by the Europeans who brought that case; and by mixing them together to create lemonade, it will truly help create jobs in this country and help us in terms of our international competitiveness. There is no more important issue, I believe, over the next few decades for us in terms of job creation than being sure we have a strong manufacturing base. That is in the legislation, partly because the gentleman from New York raised that issue over a year ago. And then, secondly, to be sure that our global companies that are out there competing day in and day out to keep U.S. jobs right here in America have the ability to access those consumers overseas. Without it, the standard of living of our kids and our grandkids will not be what we have had. That is why this legislation is good. I congratulate the chairman for his good work in getting it done.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I regret that a previous commitment prevented me from being present to vote on H.R. 163, Mr. Rangel's Universal National Service Act. This proposal would require that all young persons in the United States, including women, perform a period of military service or a period of civilian service for the national defense and homeland security. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Both the President and the Secretary of Defense have stated on more than one occasion that there is no need for a draft for the War on Terrorism or any likely contingency, such as Iraq. I believe the All- Volunteer Military Force has operated effectively for over thirty years. I fully agree with the Administration that there is no need for a military draft, and I do not support the Rangel bill.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I was absent attending to a previously scheduled commitment and missed the votes on rollcall Vote No. 487, on S. Con. Res. 76, Recognizing November 2, 2003 as ``A Tribute to Survivors'' at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; rollcall Vote No. 488, on S. 1814, to Transfer Federal Lands Between the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior; and rollcall Vote No. 489, on H. Res. 567, Congratulating the American Dental Association for sponsoring the second annual ``Give Kids a Smile'' program. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall Vote No. 487, ``yea'' on rollcall Vote No. 488; and ``yea'' on rollcall Vote No. 489.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Judge Sandra S. Beckwith, who on Monday, October 4, 2004 will become the first woman to hold the position of chief judge for the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio. Landmark achievements are nothing new for Judge Beckwith. Born on a military base in Norfolk, Virginia while her father served in the United States Navy, she grew up in Cincinnati hoping to follow in the footsteps of her grandfather, Reed A. Shank, who was the physician for the Cincinnati Reds, Cincinnati Bengals and the University of Cincinnati athletic teams. After beginning in the pre-med program at the University of Cincinnati, Judge Beckwith later changed to pre-law at the suggestion of her father. Judge Beckwith graduated from the University of Cincinnati's William Howard Taft College of Law with honors and received the Betty Kuhn Memorial Prize for the top woman graduate. She started practicing law in Harrison, Ohio with her father, Charles L. Shank. In 1977, she began a series of career milestones as she was appointed, and later elected, as the first woman to serve on the Hamilton County Municipal Court. Judge Beckwith has been the first woman elected to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Division of Domestic Relations; appointed to the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Commissioners (and the first woman elected Chairman by her fellow Commissioners); and the first woman elected to the Hamilton County Commissioners. While serving as a Hamilton County Commissioner, Judge Beckwith practiced law with the respected Cincinnati firm of Graydon Head & Ritchey. A leader on the critical issues of domestic violence, child support and family law, Judge Beckwith serves on the board of Tender Mercies and the Cincinnati Red Cross and chairs the board of the Collaborative Law Center. Previously, she served on the boards of United Way of Cincinnati; Great Rivers Girl Scouts Council, and remains an ex-officio member of the University of Cincinnati College of Law Board of Visitors. All of us in the Cincinnati area congratulate Judge Beckwith on this prestigious honor. We look forward to her continued leadership.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my friend, Dr. Miguel Angel Rodriguez, the distinguished former President of Costa Rica, who today will be formally installed as Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). Combining a shared vision for the Americas, the OAS brings together a number of nations of the Western Hemisphere to strengthen cooperation and common interests. It is the region's premier forum for multilateral dialogue and action. At the core of the OAS mission is the belief in, and commitment to, democracy. Since the end of the Cold War, the OAS member states have signified their cooperation by working to promote peace and human understanding; strengthen security; expand trade; and promote human rights. A recognized world leader and economist, Dr. Rodriguez has served in many key leadership positions. Prior to assuming the Presidency of Costa Rica in 1998, he was President, and before that, Vice President of the Christian Democrat Organization of America. He was President of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica and a Congressman of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Costa Rica. A professor at the Universidad Autonoma de Centro America, he has published extensively on the subjects of democracy; market and social welfare policy. Dr. Rodriguez received a B.Sc. in Economics and Social Sciences and a BS in Law from the Universidad de Costa Rica. He also earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley. I have had the honor of working with Dr. Rodriguez to resolve outstanding issues that would enable Costa Rica to participate in the Tropical Forest Conservation Act. I authored this legislation, which is designed to protect the world's most endangered tropical forests using market-oriented debt-for-nature mechanisms. I know him to be a thoughtful and fair person, and a friend of the United States. I join my colleagues in congratulating Dr. Rodriguez on assuming the position of Secretary General. We look forward to working with him in his new position.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, that is a lot of pressure. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I am pleased to respond to my friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark), who just told us that he is predicting this will be a comfortable victory for this bill. And it will be, because it is great policy. He talked about the fact that military families do not get help. It is just the opposite. Military families do get help under this bill. That is the whole point of the legislation, something the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) has supported forever. It provides $199 million to our military families to allow them to include combat pay so they get more of an earned income tax credit; to allow them to have more help for their children. These are the people of modest income in our military who get help from this bill. The gentleman talked about children not getting help. Well, I can certainly say that the effect on low-income families is dramatic here. We are talking about $23 billion in this bill of outlays. What does that mean? That means it goes to families who do not pay Federal income taxes, do not pay Federal income taxes at all, but yet they get an additional $23 billion through the refundable, yes, refundable, fully refundable tax credit. That is in this legislation. Finally, the gentleman talked about the budget and deficits, and the fact we need to watch out for our deficits. Mr. Speaker, when I was first running for Congress in 1992, the deficit was 4.7 percent of our economy, which is what all economists think is critical. What is the percentage of our economy; can we pay it back or not? Back in the 1980s, when Democrats controlled this place, about two- thirds of the way through their 40-year reign, it was about 6.2 percent. Now it is about 3.8 percent. We just heard from CBO a few weeks ago we will actually be reducing the projection for this year by $56 billion. OMB says it is $76 billion. The point is, despite the tax cuts from last year, there are more taxes being paid right now to the Federal Government, not less. Receipts are actually up. Why? Because the tax cuts worked and the economy is growing. We have had the fastest growth in the last year that we have had in 20 years; not since 1984. And, yes, to my friend from Ohio, we have added 1.7, not 1, 1.7 million jobs just in the last year. This means that the tax relief works. Keeping spending under control and allowing the economy to grow is the key. This bill does it, and I strongly urge that we do have a strong vote for this bill.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome a distinguished constituent of mine, Dr. Gary Phillip Zola, who we just heard from, who was the guest chaplain of the House today. Dr. Zola is the executive director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, which is the world's largest archival resource which documents the history of North American Jewry. Dr. Zola also serves as an associate professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. Under Dr. Zola's leadership, the American Jewish Archives has initiated an impressive array of innovative projects that have captured the attention of both the Jewish and general communities in our country. Currently, Dr. Zola is serving as Chair of the Commission for Commemorating the 350th Anniversary of American Jewish History, which has been organized to help our Nation mark the 350th anniversary of Jewish communal life in North America. This commission represents a historical collaboration of the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the American Jewish History Society, and the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. The exhibit, by the way, is currently open at the Library of Congress right across the street. Prior to assuming leadership of the Marcus Center, Dr. Zola served for more than 15 years as the National Dean of Admissions, Student Affairs and Alumni Relations for Hebrew Union College, a true treasure in greater Cincinnati. Dr. Zola and his wife, Stefi, live in Blue Ash, Ohio, with their four children, Mandi, Jory, Jeremy, and Samantha. I thank him so much for taking the time to come join us this afternoon and to deliver a very thoughtful prayer and thoughtful moment for us here in the House of Representatives.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I was absent attending a previously scheduled commitment and missed the recorded vote on rollcall No. 428, on the amendment offered by Representative Hefley to H.R. 5006, the Fiscal Year 2005 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 428.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute to a dear friend and constituent, Hannah H. Hagin, who passed away in Cincinnati on August 30, 2004. There are special people in our lives, and Hannah was one of them. It is especially hard to lose them. She brought love, laughter, and happiness to everyone she met. She was funny and modest and giving. Hannah had an enormous number of devoted friends who adored her. People loved her because her kind of compassion, generosity and dignity is rare. Hannah's real legacy is her wonderful and accomplished family. She took tremendous pride in them, and she has a special place in each one of their hearts. This is true of her husband of nearly fifty years, Joe; her two sons, Joe and Hunt; her daughter-in-law, Lauren; and her twin granddaughters, Lily and Kate. Hannah was a very proud grandmother, and loved nothing more than spending time with Lily and Kate. Hannah grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, where she met Joe, whom she married during their junior year of high school. She later attended the University of Kentucky, where she majored in history. Hannah was also active with gardening, knitting and needlepoint. She was a member of the Indian Hill Garden Club. All of us in Cincinnati who knew Hannah are grateful to have had her in our lives. She made all of us better human beings.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), who is chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the Committee on International Relations. I want to thank her for her good work in the committee, and particularly her help with regard to this legislation and her willingness to be one of the original cosponsors and to help to promote this. I also want to thank my colleague from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum). I thought that statement was eloquent, and I think she well stated what we are trying to do with this reauthorization, which is to continue a good program and also to expand it so that more countries can be eligible. I rise today in very strong support of this legislation. It was introduced, along with my colleague and ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), of the Committee on International Relations, by 32 of our colleagues to reauthorize this Tropical Forest Conservation Act through fiscal year 2007. This is a bipartisan and market-based conservation incentive program which helps to protect the world's most valuable tropical forests using the so-called debt-for- nature mechanisms. H.R. 4654 was developed with the Bush administration, with the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and the Wildlife Conservation Society. The administration and these highly respected environmental organizations are to be commended for their good work on the Tropical Forest Conservation Act and on this legislation before us today. This legislation comes out of a couple of Congresses ago, the 105th Congress, when I, along with my colleagues Lee Hamilton, mentioned earlier, and John Kasich, introduced legislation that established the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, or TFCA. It was overwhelmingly approved by the House, the Senate, and enacted in 1998. It was then reauthorized in 2001, until the end of this current year. The TFCA is based on the previous Bush administration's Enterprise for the Americas Initiative, also known as EAI. That initiative allowed the President to restructure debt in exchange for certain conservation efforts in Latin America. We took that basic philosophy, broadened it, we expanded on it, and we now allow protection of threatened tropical forests worldwide. A conservative estimate is that, because of the agreements that have been signed to date, 41 million acres of tropical forests are being protected. The United States has a significant national interest in this. Tropical forests provide a wide range of benefits. They harbor 50 to 90 percent of the Earth's terrestrial biodiversity. They act as ``carbon sinks,'' absorbing massive quantities of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby reducing so-called greenhouse gases. Therefore, the quality of the air we breathe here in this country is affected by the health of these dense forests. They also regulate rainfall on which agriculture and coastal resources depend, and they are of great importance to regional and global climate. Furthermore, tropical forests are breeding grounds for new medicines. Twenty-five percent of prescription drugs come from tropical forests. The United States National Cancer Institute has identified over 3,000 plants that they believe are active against cancer. Seventy percent of them can be found in these tropical rain forests. Regrettably, tropical forests are rapidly disappearing. It is now estimated that 30 million acres, an area larger than the State of Pennsylvania, or my State of Ohio, are now being lost each year. The heavy debt burden of many of these countries in the tropics is a contributing factor because they have to resort to exploitation of their natural resources, particularly the extraction of timber, oil, and precious metals, to be able to generate revenue to service their external debt. At the same time, these poorer governments tend to have fewer resources available to set aside and protect tropical forests. The TFCA, which is part of the current Bush administration's global climate change policy, addresses these economic pressures by authorizing the President to allow eligible countries to engage in debt swaps, in buybacks, and in reduction and restructuring of debt in exchange for protecting threatened tropical forests on a sustained basis. So the program gets at some of the underlying causes for the disappearing tropical forests because it gets at some of the economic reasons some of the countries must exploit this resource. The debt-for-nature mechanism in the TFCA has proven to be an effective market-oriented means to leverage scarce funds available for international conservation. The host country places local currency in its tropical forest fund that typically exceeds the cost to the U.S. Government of the debt reduction agreement. So we are leveraging funds. Furthermore, because these tropical forest funds have integrity, are broadly supported within the host country, we have found that conservation organizations are interested in placing their own money in these tropical forest funds, which of course produce additional leverage of the Federal conservation dollars that we are providing. There have been eight TFCA agreements included to date: Bangladesh, El Salvador, Belize, Peru, the Philippines, Colombia, and actually two now with Panama. $49.3 million in Federal contributions have gone into these agreements and $6.3 million in private contributions from these conservation NGOs under these eight agreements. Through this we have generated $81.4 million in long-term income commitments for tropical forest conservation, so the leverage is out there and is working. The second Panama deal actually was just signed last month. Under this agreement, the U.S. Government contributed $6.5 million to reduce debt, and the Nature Conservancy contributed $1.3 million in a second round of agreements now that will generate nearly $11 million for tropical conservation over the next 12 years. This agreement with Panama, along with the previous one, now provides over $21 million in total funds available for conservation purposes. This is a great agreement that helps protect the biologically rich forest of Darien National Park. Active deals are also being negotiated with Jamaica and Sri Lanka. Other countries that have expressed interest in the program and who have eligible debt include Guatemala, Ecuador, Paraguay, St. Vincent, Botswana, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Brazil, and Kenya. H.R. 4654 will improve and refine the Tropical Forest Conservation Act, as was discussed earlier, by better funding audits to ensure the program is operating as expected and as intended and by broadening the governments that can participate by allowing principal, not just interest, to be reduced and to be redirected into these conservation funds. The bill does have an authorization here of $20 million in fiscal year 2005, which is included in the President's budget request. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment, if I could, to just thank all those who have gotten us to this point and worked so hard on this reauthorization bill. I want to thank those people like Bill Millan and Steve McCormick of the Nature Conservancy; Randy Snodgrass, Melissa Moye and Estrelitta Fitzhugh of the World Wildlife Fund; Kelly Keenan Aylward with the Wildlife Conservation Society; and Nicholas Lapham with Conservation International. From the administration, I want to thank the Council on Environmental Quality; also Joel Kaplan and Robin Cleveland of OMB; Bill Schuerch and Katie Berg of the Treasury Department; Claudia McMurray, Stephanie Caswell and Teresa Hobgood of the State Department; Jim Hester with USAID; Scott Lampman and others. In Congress, I want to be sure and thank Kristen Gilley and David Killon of the Committee on International Relations, minority and majority staff; and Mark Synnes of the House Legislative Counsel for helping us to draft the bill; and at CRS we got some great help from Pervaze Sheikh. For his excellent analysis of the program, I want to thank him. And, finally, I want to thank Tim Miller of my staff and Justin Louchheim, who have taken a personal interest in this and their commitment to it over the years. Again, this is a good program, it is working well, and worthy of reauthorization. I urge all Members to support strongly this market- based approach that is working to conserve the world's most threatened tropical forest.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, today, I was absent attending to a previously scheduled commitment and missed the votes on rollcall No. 411, on H.R. 4056, the Commercial Aviation MANPADS Defense Act; rollcall No. 412, on H. Res. 652, urging the Government of the Republic of Belarus to ensure a democratic, transparent, and fair election process for its parliamentary elections in the Fall of 2004. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 411, ``yea'' on rollcall No. 412.

Mr. PORTMAN

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4840) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to simplify the taxation of businesses.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, Americans are frustrated. They are frustrated with their current Tax Code, and they should be. The mountains of documents that they face are complicated, confusing, and sometimes contradictory. The effects of this complex code, by the way, are more than just frustration for those of us who are taxpayers. They include decreased levels of voluntary compliance, people cannot figure out the code and they are less likely to comply with it; increased costs, of course, for the entire taxpayer system; reduced perception of fairness in the Federal tax system; and, of course, increased difficulties at the Internal Revenue Service as they try to administer this unwieldy code. Clearly, we need to make our Tax Code more user friendly, and we should take every opportunity to do so. Over the last few years, we have done that in some cases, for instance, the expansion of the 10 percent tax bracket, and taking literally millions of taxpayers off the Internal Revenue Code altogether. But today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane), for legislation that he has brought to the floor showing his commitment to tax simplification, and particularly focusing on the needs of our small businesses. H.R. 4840, which is before the House today, the Tax Simplification For America's Job Creators Act, provides provisions that will provide tax relief and simplification for small businesses and small business owners as they plan for the economy, which is now growing. First, the bill will extend the $100,000 expensing amount provided under what is called section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code. This is an extremely important incentive which was included in the President's 2003 tax relief bill, the Jobs Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. It allows small businesses to deduct up to $100,000 immediately, to write that off, not depreciate it over time, as compared to $25,000, which was in law before the 2003 tax relief act. This is for new equipment up to 2006. Therefore, we want to expand that, we want to extend the legislation into 2006 and 2007, and the legislation offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane) does that. It also expands the definition of who qualifies. Before 2003, those companies who qualified were those that had $200,000 or less of capital purchases per year. We doubled that to $400,000 of capital purchases per year, making this provision something that is more usable for more small businesses. Expensing, of course, allows small businesses to recover the cost of their investment immediately rather than writing it off over time and rather than requiring them to keep extensive records and track those deductions over several years. This helps reduce the cost of capital, which helps to expand plant and equipment. It also makes it simpler and less costly, less complicated for our small businesses to be able to comply with our Tax Code. Again, today's bill will provide yet another vehicle that we can use to try to enact this important small business priority that has already passed the House in some other forms, and I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Crane) for it. Second, his bill also begins adjusting an important standard which affects small businesses' ability to use the cash accounting system. The cash accounting method is simpler, and it provides under this legislation to convert from the current $5 million threshold to $10 million. So we are expanding the amount that can be indexed for inflation, so that more and more small businesses are not forced into using the accrual method each year. It is important to understand that forcing businesses into the accrual accounting method has real consequences for smaller companies. Not only must they begin calculating taxes using a different accounting method; they must actually pay tax on the difference in income as measured by the accrual and the cash methods. The bill before us rectifies this situation by indexing the limit so inflation will not force more and more small businesses into the accrual method. This does not change the $5 million threshold. Mr. Speaker, I correct myself. Rather, it indexes that going forward to inflation to be able to increase that amount. This change will provide $120 million in tax relief to smaller businesses during the coming decade. Finally, the bill eliminates a number of outdated references in the code. These are so-called ``deadwood provisions.'' This is also very important both because these deadwood provisions that have been identified by the Joint Tax Committee, by the Treasury Department, by others in their reports are important to get out of the code because they do not need to be in it, do not make any sense; but it also creates confusion at the IRS and confusion among taxpayers and has created downstream problems that are difficult to address. H.R. 4840, in the end, Mr. Speaker, will cut taxes by approximately $1.2 billion for our small businesses, and that figure is over the next decade. The bill is well within our House-passed budget, and I believe it is very worthy of our support as an important simplification method. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to help our small businesses, our job creators, our risk takers, who are out there ensuring that this economic recovery continues, and continues strongly. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of my colleague from Texas. I agree with them. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane), the author of this legislation on tax simplification. (Mr. CRANE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate my friend from Washington's discussion on general tax relief. I suppose at the end he would say he supports this legislation before us because it is not a flat tax, it is not a sales tax, it is not even a fundamental reform. Rather, it is simplification and good, common-sense simplification at that, this one focused on small businesses. The next piece of legislation we will take up focuses more on individuals. But it is hard to defend the current code. Again, my friend from Texas talked earlier about the compliance costs and referenced Professor Joel Slemrod's reports from the University of Michigan. I think the number is somewhere between 50 and 100 billion now. That is the consensus number; 85 seems to be the one most people are using. Mr. Speaker, $85 billion a year in compliance costs, and over 3 billion compliance hours. Another interesting statistic is that every year now, tax compliance accounts for about 80 percent of the paperwork burden of the Federal Government. So we do need to do something. Today is not the silver bullet, but it is a start. It is going into the current code and changing some unfair aspects of the code; in the case of section 179, helping businesses to be able to not just write off their purchases more quickly for equipment, but also to be able to reduce their compliance costs, because they do not have to keep those depreciation schedules over time. It also takes out some deadwood provisions which come from the Joint Committee on Taxation recommendations, as well as Treasury Department recommendations, which say that these provisions of the code that have not been removed over time, and it must be done by statute by the way, not only cause confusion and complexity, but actually cause some taxpayers to make mistakes that then cause tremendous cost to the tax system over time. This legislation also again helps some smaller businesses to be able to take advantage of cash accounting rather than the accrual method, which is a complexity. Therefore, this is a simplification as well. So I appreciate the gentleman's comments, and what I would say is what we are doing today is, we are taking a very responsible step towards simplification. We are not providing again for the silver bullet. We need to continue to work on that, as we will every year, and I know as we are going forward in this Congress, should we be here on this congressional floor next year talking about these issues, hopefully we will have a more fundamental reform that we can agree on on a bipartisan basis, as we will agree today, I believe, on a bipartisan basis, on these simplifications. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. I certainly never heard anybody say that section 179 expensing was temporary. What we said was that the bonus depreciation provision was temporary. Section 179, on our side, we have always intended to be permanent and we would certainly hope that it will be made permanent. What we are doing today is, we are extending it for 2 more years, in 2006 and 2007, that is as compared to bonus depreciation, which was meant as a stimulus, just to correct the gentleman on those two depreciation provisions.