Mike Pence

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. I thank the ranking member for yielding. I rise in support of the Tom Lantos and Henry Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. The Bible tells us to whom much is given much is expected. And I believe the United States has a moral obligation to lead the world in confronting the pandemic of HIV/AIDS. The dimensions of this crisis are truly staggering. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has infected more than 60 million people worldwide. It has killed more than 25 million, a number which grows grievously every day by more than 8,500. HIV/AIDS has orphaned some 14 million children. And today, 70 percent of the people in the world with HIV/AIDS reside in Africa. Within that continent, there are entire countries where more than one-third of the adult population is infected. More startlingly, if current infection rates continue, new epicenters for the disease are likely to arise out of India, China, Eastern Europe with numbers that could surpass Africa in a few short years. And the threat this pandemic poses to our security is also real. Left unaddressed, this plague will continue to undermine the stability of nations throughout the two-thirds world, leaving behind collapsing economies and tragedy and desperation, a breeding ground for extremist violence. This is truly a global crisis. And because the United States can render timely assistance, I believe we must. Originally titled the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR put the world on notice that America will not ignore despair, desperation and disease. I am proud to have supported the original passage of PEPFAR in 2003, and I'm proud to support it today. You know, every so often, in this place, we have the opportunity to do something for humanity and serve the American people, and this is such a time. I thank Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen for their strong leadership. I commend my colleague, Chris Smith in particular for his yeoman's work on carefully preserving the delicate balance of this legislation. And I also would like to publicly acknowledge the work of our President, George W. Bush. Mr. President, because of your moral leadership and compassion, Africa will never be the same, and history will record your work. This Global AIDS bill seeks to address the crisis, not by providing medicine and health care to those in need, but also by providing resources for evidence based programs that have been successful in preventing infection. It's imperative, I believe, that we not only send our resources, but we also send them in a manner that is consistent with our values. We cannot send billions of dollars to Africa without sending value-based safeguards and techniques that work to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS by changing behavior. Currently, within the Global AIDS bill, these pivotal provisions exist in the form of a requirement to ``provide balanced funding for prevention activities'' and to ensure that abstinence and faithfulness programs are ``implemented and funded in a meaningful and equitable way.'' It was essential that we preserve these prevention methods that focus on behavioral change, that we work with faith-based and nongovernmental organizations at the local level, particularly through the ABC model that has produced such undeniable results. Also, it was absolutely critical that we administer this foreign aid under the historic pro-life guidelines that prevent our foreign aid from going in a direction that's antithetical to the values of millions of Americans. I'm pleased to say the Lantos/Hyde Global AIDS bill preserves all of these vital pro-family provisions. As we tend to the suffering though, we always have to figure out how we're going to pay for it. The Federal budget, I believe, is packed with wasteful and bloated programs which could supply more than enough opportunities to cover the costs of the Lantos/Hyde Global AIDS bill. This summer, Madam Chairman, when it comes time to fund this program during the appropriations process, I believe Congress should make the hard choices necessary to ensure that this global health crisis does not become a crisis of debt for our children and grandchildren. I believe it is possible to be responsible to our fiscal constraints while being obedient to our moral calling. The greatest of all human rights is the right to live. America is a Nation of great wealth, wealth of resources, but more importantly, a wealth of compassion. The history of the world is filled with telling moments regarding the character of a people. Sometimes we are witness to mankind's great inhumanities; other times, we marvel at the beauty of mankind's selfless acts of compassion when we rise above politics and raise up those in dire need. Let this be such a day. I urge my colleagues to support the Lantos/Hyde Global AIDS bill and its carefully crafted bipartisan compromise.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, HIV/AIDS is a pandemic that has affected more than 60 million people worldwide. Today, 70 percent of the people in the world who are afflicted with HIV/AIDS reside in Africa. Thanks to the leadership of President George W. Bush and bipartisan leadership here in Congress, tomorrow we will consider the Lantos-Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS bill. The Bible tells us to whom much is given, much is expected. I believe we have a moral obligation to rise to this global crisis. Because the United States can render timely assistance, I believe that we must. But it is imperative that we not only send our resources, but we also send them in a manner that is consistent with our values. It is my hope, Madam Speaker, that when the bill comes tomorrow, it will preserve the careful balance between American resources and American values that we forged in the Foreign Affairs Committee. We cannot permit PEPFAR to become a mega-funding pool for organizations that are anathema to millions of Americans. I urge the Speaker and the Rules Committee today, preserve the careful bipartisan balance in PEPFAR and bring that compromise to the floor.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, YouTube is an amazing thing. As the fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq will be commemorated across the country in recent days, the statistics tell the tale. Because of the military surge and Sunni cooperation, we are making significant progress towards stability and freedom in Iraq. Violence is down more than 60 percent last year. But as the saying goes, ``seeing is believing.'' And thanks to this miracle that is called youtube.com, Americans can join me for a walk down the streets of al Anbar province in Haditha, Iraq. On March 2, with a military security detail, our bipartisan delegation walked the streets of this war-torn city and I posted 15 minutes of unedited interviews with local Iraqis on youtube.com. The fight is far from over, but we are making significant progress in Iraq. I hope many of my colleagues and many Americans will go to youtube.com, type in ``Mike Pence,'' and take a look for themselves at what Sunni cooperation and the American military have wrought in Iraq.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. America is at war. We have to do all we can to protect ourselves from those who seek to do us and our communities and our families harm. But for the past few weeks, we have unilaterally disarmed, because this House has failed to pass an acceptable long-term extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and it will fail again today. The United States Senate passed a workable bipartisan compromise by a vote of 68-29 that extended FISA for nearly 6 years. The Senate bill provided necessary immunity to communication providers who aided the government after 9/11, and they are now facing numerous frivolous lawsuits as a result. It also closed a massive loophole in our foreign intelligence surveillance laws that prevents us from listening to terrorists in one foreign country who are talking to a terrorist in another foreign country; yet the Senate bill is not before us today. It is extraordinary that a bipartisan compromise and accomplishment in the United States Senate is not being considered before this House today. Last August, Republicans and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee came together in the Protect America Act and we forged a compromise, but it was only embraced in the short term. And, sadly, the Senate will not pass this bill, even if it passes the House today, and if it did, the President will veto it. So what we are involved in here is a futile attempt at compromise that will fail. Speaking less as a Congressman and more as a father and as an American who was here on September 11, I urge my colleagues to take a breath, to step back, to examine the spirit of compromise evidenced by our colleagues in the Senate, and find a way to give our foreign intelligence gathering the tools they need to protect our families.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, on this fifth anniversary of the war in Iraq being commemorated in the Capitol today, the statistics tell the tale. Because of the military surge and Sunni cooperation, we are making significant progress towards stability and freedom in Iraq. Violence is down nationwide by more than 60 percent in the last year. But as the saying goes, seeing is believing, and thanks to the miracle of youtube.com, Americans can join me for a walk down the streets of Haditha, Iraq, in the heart of al Anbar province. On March 2, with a military security detail and our bipartisan delegation, we walked the streets of this war-torn city, and I posted 15 minutes of unedited interviews with local Iraqis on youtube.com. The fight is far from over, but we are making significant progress in Iraq. Thanks to youtube.com, the American people can hear and see that progress for themselves.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I thank him for his extraordinary leadership on this budget. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of fiscal responsibility, and my conscience therefore demands that I rise in support of the Republican budget. Now, the American people deserve to know the truth. We have a $9.3 trillion national debt, but that is not the whole story. The American people also deserve to know that we have some $53 trillion in unfunded liability in Social Security and Medicare over the next 75 years. Frankly, if this government were a business back in Indiana, it would have to file bankruptcy. Republicans are offering an alternative budget to deal with this fiscal crisis at the national level based on spending restraint and entitlement reform. It balances the budget without taxes and without earmarks. But the answer from the Democrat majority? Get this: The largest budget in American history, $3.1 trillion. The largest 1-year increase in the public debt in American history, some $646 billion. Higher taxes and nothing to reform earmarks or the very entitlement spending that threatens the economic vitality of our children and our grandchildren's future. In 2006, the American people voted for change in Washington, D.C., but they weren't referring to what would be left in their pockets after the Democrats took control. We must balance the Federal budget with fiscal discipline and reform, not with more spending and more taxes. We must reject the policies of the new liberal Democratic majority in Congress and reject their budget. I urge my colleagues to vote for fiscal discipline and reform, to end earmarking as usual, and to stand for fundamental entitlement reform in Washington, D.C. Vote for the budget priorities of the Republican minority in Congress. They are, I believe with all my heart, the budget priorities of the overwhelming majority of the American people.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of fiscal responsibility, and, therefore, conscience demands that I rise in opposition to the budget of the liberal Democratic majority in Congress. The American people deserve to know. We have a $9.3 trillion national debt. They also deserve to know that there are some $53 trillion in unfunded obligations that this government has committed to in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid that our children and grandchildren will have to find some way to resolve and to fund. Frankly, if this government was a business back in Indiana, we'd have to file bankruptcy. Now, tomorrow Republicans will offer a budget to deal with this fiscal crisis at the national level that's based on spending restraint, entitlement reform. It balances the Federal budget without taxes and without earmarks. But the answer from the Democrat majority in Congress: The largest budget in American history, $3.1 trillion. The largest 1-year increase in public debt in American history, some $646 billion. More earmarks, higher taxes, and nothing to reform the entitlement spending that threatens the vitality of our economy and the very future of our children and grandchildren. In 2006, the American people voted for change in Washington, D.C., but they weren't referring to what would be left in their pockets after the Democrats took control. We must balance the Federal budget with fiscal discipline and reform, not with more spending and more taxes. We must reject the policies of the new liberal Democrat majority in Congress and reject this budget. I urge my colleagues to vote for fiscal discipline and reform and join me in voting against the budget priorities of the liberal Democrat majority in Congress.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, two recent events make it clear--the time has come for Congress to enact a Federal media shield. Yesterday, the House passed legislation to create an independent ethics panel with the stated purpose of holding Members of Congress accountable to the highest ethical standard. Our Founders would have scoffed at the notion that a political panel, appointed by politicians, could hold the national legislature accountable. Our Founders knew the only agency in society with the power to hold the national government accountable is a free and independent press. Last year, the House acknowledged this fact and passed the Free Flow of Information Act, creating a Federal media shield, with overwhelming bipartisan support. That bill now awaits action by the full Senate. The need for action by the Senate is also evident with the news that another reporter is facing court sanctions based on her unwillingness to disclose confidential sources. Former USA Today reporter Toni Locy is facing financial ruin as the result of a ruling that she must pay fines that will escalate to up to $5,000 per day unless she discloses her confidential sources for stories she wrote about the 2001 anthrax attacks. Her case and the need for greater ethics scrutiny in Congress argue forcefully for the need for a Federal media shield statute. The one, time-tested way of holding the Government accountable is ensuring the free flow of information to the American people. Threatening reporters or creating an ethics panel of politicians to police politicians will not do it. Congress must enact a Federal media shield to ensure that those charged with the duty of holding Government accountable have the freedom and independence to do just that. It is time for the Senate to vote on the Free Flow of Information Act.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, on February 28 through March 4, just this past weekend, I participated in a bipartisan congressional delegation to Iraq and Afghanistan. I have written about this extensively on my Web blog, which my constituents should know is located at MikePence.house.gov. But I wanted to excerpt portions today by way of reporting back to the House on our findings in these two countries in which American forces face a war every day. It was a bipartisan congressional delegation, Mr. Speaker, to both Iraq and Afghanistan. In 4 days we took off and landed 20 different times in four different aircraft. We flew to Kuwait in a military jet. We flew into Iraq on a cargo plane. We flew around Iraq and Afghanistan in helicopters and Ospreys. We convoyed in military vehicles throughout both countries. It was a rare opportunity to meet with leaders and locals in both theaters of combat. I am personally grateful to the people of Indiana and our military for making it possible. Our visit also took place against the backdrop of several major events. The Iraq Government announced that Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as ``Chemical Ali,'' a brutal military henchman of Saddam Hussein, was to be executed later this month. We arrived in the Kurdish region as that news was breaking and as Turkish forces were announcing their withdrawal for military operations in the north. And on the second day, our trip to Iraq coincided with the first official visit by a President of Iran to Iraq since 1952. It was a time of great significance for the people of Iraq in several respects. During our time in Iraq and Afghanistan, one inescapable conclusion emerged. After years of difficulty and setbacks in varying degrees, freedom is making progress in Iraq and Afghanistan. In northern Iraq, known as the Kurdish region, there is security, political process, and economic growth. And even in central Iraq, after years of insurgent violence, following the military surge, al Qaeda and the insurgency are in steep decline and political progress is beginning to take hold. As I saw firsthand in Baghdad and in the al Anbar province, the military surge and Sunni cooperation have resulted in extraordinary progress and security. But those gains are fragile. Violence in Iraq has declined by more than 60 percent since the beginning of the surge and has remained at relatively low levels since November of last year. The Iraqi Parliament has passed legislation that makes further political progress possible. Our visit was, Mr. Speaker, characterized by cautious optimism by American military leaders and ordinary Iraqis on the street. Afghanistan was also equally encouraging; and with President Hamid Karzai, we saw the determination of a leader devoted to his people and to defeating a resurgent Taliban effort to overturn their progress with terrorist violence this spring. In the Kunar province particularly, we convoyed out and witnessed really the greatest threat to the Taliban terrorists who operate on that border with Pakistan, a bridge. A bridge is being built by local Afghanis with American resources. Seeing locals waving at our convoy, greeting laborers at this remote construction site showed me the depth of American generosity and the resilience of this proud people. My summary on my Web site is simply an effort on my part to report point by point, moment by moment on my trip. We speak about each of the days, from the Kurdish region to our time in Baghdad, to our time in Fallujah and our team even on the streets of Haditha, through Afghanistan and through a stop at Ramstein military base to meet with injured soldiers at Landstuhl Medical Center. And again, Mr. Speaker, my Web site is mikepence.house.gov. And my constituents could access that by visiting my blog and gaining that information. I would be grateful for any constituent who availed themselves of our writing. The message that we got from Iraq is clear. The surge is working, but the battle is far from over. Violence is down significantly in the past year. The enemy's abilities have been downgraded in both degree and type of attack. U.S. forces have made measurable progress against terrorist elements in Baghdad and al Anbar province, due to both the military surge and extraordinary expanded cooperation among the civilian population. And while the military surge is working, the good news is the Iraqi Parliament seems to have gone to work too. The adoption of a budget, the passage of a law permitting Ba'ath party members to work for the government and the plan for provincial elections that may well occur by October of this year represent exactly the kind of progress that many in our diplomatic team and many in this Chamber have hoped to see. Well, Mr. Speaker, I thank you for the courtesy, especially at the opening of this time on the House floor. I would be grateful if any of my constituents went to mikepence.house.gov, visited our blog and availed themselves of our firsthand account of what we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan. The progress is real. The progress of freedom is happening. It is fragile. And it is my hope that, by bringing back the information from this bipartisan delegation, that we will be able to find that bipartisan consensus necessary to see freedom win in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Indiana State Senator David C. Ford. I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Senator David Ford. Senator Ford's passing is a loss to the entire State. David Ford was a tireless advocate for the families and communities of Senate District 19. During our last visit, just weeks before his passing, Senator Ford still took time to advocate his optimistic vision for technology benefiting all Hoosiers. The four-term Republican senator was not only a leader for the people of his district, he was a recognized leader across the State of Indiana. His stature was recognized last year when Senator Ford was named Government Leader of the Year by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Senator Ford also served as Assistant Majority Floor Leader and chaired the Senate Committee on Economic Development and Technology. David Ford was a role model to me. His humble example of honest and visionary public service was an inspiration to all of us who had the privilege to know him. I will miss his example, his counsel and his friendship very much. May God comfort Joyce and his entire family with the assurance of his grace and with the assurance of the gratitude of the people of the State he served and loved.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I was detained during a vote on March 5, 2008. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: Rollcall No. 93 (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended-- H. Res. 951)--``yea.''

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I got a sense of what we have to show for it in Iraq this weekend. I joined a bipartisan delegation that toured the metes and bounds of Iraq and Afghanistan. In the course of 4 days, we took off and landed 20 different times in four different types of aircraft. The one inescapable conclusion, after years of difficulty and setback in varying degrees, is freedom is winning in Iraq and Afghanistan. In northern Iraq, we saw firsthand the Kurdish region where security, political progress and economic growth are taking hold. In central Iraq, following the military surge, al Qaeda and insurgent violence are in steep decline. Violence across the country has been reduced in the last year by more than 60 percent. It is truly extraordinary. And the political progress is taking hold. There has been a surge in optimism in Iraq due to the passage of a de-Ba'athification law, and provincial elections could well be just around the corner this fall. Later today, in words and pictures, I will detail our trip on my Web log at mikepence.house.gov. And I hope many of my constituents will take time to read it. As we practice freedom here at home, Americans of good will should be encouraged to know freedom is winning in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I don't need to tell you the HIV/AIDS pandemic has infected more than 60 million people worldwide, killed more than 25 million people, orphaned 14 million in its wake, and today, nearly 70 percent of the people in the world who are afflicted with HIV/AIDS reside in Africa. In 2003, President Bush called on Congress to create a program to address the worldwide HIV/AIDS pandemic. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, was an extraordinary bipartisan achievement of compassion, and unfortunately, the majority in Congress has put forth a reauthorization drafted to this bill that will be considered tomorrow that puts at risk America's commitment to HIV/AIDS efforts. The Democrat proposal will take a successful bipartisan achievement, do away with funding requirements for abstinence, and also mandate the integration of family planning services into PEPFAR, which would transform the program potentially into a mega funding pool for organizations with an abortion promotion agenda. PEPFAR must not be hijacked in partisanship or domestic public policy issues. We owe the world a bipartisan remedy to meet the global AIDS pandemic that meets the crisis with American resources and values, and I urge my colleagues to work on this legislation in a bipartisan and compassionate manner.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 5349, a bill to extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days. Now it's hard for me to come to this floor and oppose an extension of a bill that I support, and supported in a bipartisan manner, Mr. Speaker. It was this summer, I believe last August, that Republicans and Democrats came together on the Judiciary Committee and worked out a solution for an extension that came to be known as the Protect America Act. And we've heard in the course of this debate, eloquently stated on both sides, what the issues are here. We have antiquated foreign intelligence surveillance laws. The technology that has exploded across the globe in the last 25 years has occurred without a significant updating of those laws that govern the means and the manner and the technology whereby we can collect intelligence. And so we find ourselves, essentially, as the hub of communications in the world in the United States of America. You've heard the percentages, the enormous amount of communications that pass through the United States of America. And yet we have this massive loophole in our intelligence surveillance laws that does not permit us to listen to a terrorist in one foreign country talking to a terrorist in another foreign country. When we worked out the compromise this summer, it was built, Mr. Speaker, I believe, on an understanding between Republicans and Democrats that that ought not to be, we ought to solve that problem in an equitable and bipartisan way. And I was pleased to support that extension and legislation for a period of 6 months. But what I struggle with today is now, in the aftermath of that, the contrast between the work in the House and the Senate is rather startling. Yesterday, the Senate approved a bipartisan bill supported by nearly 70 percent of the Senate to close the terrorist loophole in our intelligence laws. It represented a strong bipartisan compromise between Congress and the administration. And yet here in the House of Representatives we passed a 6-month extension. A few weeks ago we passed a 15-day extension. Now I believe we're passing a 21-day extension. And yet the American people, I believe, know in their heart of hearts our enemy does not think in the short term and, therefore, our solutions must occur in the long term. And when it comes to the ability of our intelligence community during this administration or whomever will be the next administration charged with protecting this country, I believe it is imperative that we call the question. I believe it is imperative that we rise today, respectfully to my colleagues on the other side, most especially the chairman whom I esteem, and say enough is enough. We need to modernize our foreign intelligence surveillance laws today. We need to find a bipartisan compromise as we did last summer. We need to find a bipartisan compromise as the United States Senate did yesterday. And I say again with a heavy heart, our enemy does not conspire to harm us in the short term. Our enemy conspires to harm us in the long term: to harm our people, to harm our families, to harm our children and our interests around the globe. We must, in this Congress, find a way beyond politics, as we did last summer, as the Senate did yesterday, to repair those holes in our foreign intelligence surveillance laws and give our intelligence community the legal authority and tools that they will need to protect us in the long term. I urge my colleagues to reject the bill to extend the Protect America Act for 21 days and call the question on this floor. We need a long- term solution to what ails our intelligence laws.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. One year into the liberal Democrat majority in Congress, the economy is struggling. In the wake of more government spending, threats of tax increases, and energy legislation that did nothing to expand our access to domestic reserves, this massive American economy is slowing down. The time has come for Congress to act to stimulate the economy and stave off the possibility of a Democrat recession. This stimulus bill that will come to the floor today, while welcome, will not do enough to stimulate this economy. Congress must do more. The Recovery, Rebate and Economic Stimulus Act is a shot in the arm for a patient in need of major surgery. I will support this bill because I believe the American people are overtaxed. Putting money in the pockets of American families is a good thing. I never met a tax cut I didn't like. But this one comes close. Showering the landscape with government rebates is no way to truly strengthen the foundations of a free market economy. If we are serious about bolstering this economy and helping America's working families, we must make the President's tax cuts permanent and implement other tax reform focused on capital formation. Congress should do more. But this is a small move in the right direction. For families struggling to make a mortgage payment or meet a college loan, for families ready to invest in a new car or a home, or for families simply fighting to keep food on the table, this relief is needed and welcomed. With this rebate, the American consumer will do their part to revive this economy, but I challenge Congress and all of our colleagues in both parties to do our part and demand that this legislation ultimately include tax relief for the wage payer as well as for the wage earner.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because the American people are tired of spending-as-usual here in Washington, DC, especially when it comes to earmarking. Now, earmarking, for the uninitiated, is a process in Congress which has expanded greatly over the last 15 years under Republican control of Congress and, as we saw last year, under Democrat control of Congress. It is where Members of Congress oftentimes, for perfectly meritorious and honorable reasons, request specific projects for their districts. But the American people know that something has gone wrong with the Federal budget process system, and the time for earmark reform has arrived. This past weekend I'm pleased to report, Mr. Speaker, that House Republicans gathered in West Virginia and came together around a bipartisan challenge. We called on Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats to join us in a timeout on earmarking in Washington, DC. House Republicans united behind a challenge for an earmark moratorium and the establishment of a new select committee that would engage in the kind of thoughtful analysis and hearings where we could truly change the way we spend the people's money. When you are flying an airplane and the gauges start to tell you something is wrong with the engines, the first thing you do, Mr. Speaker, is put the airplane on the ground. Then you get under the hood and you figure out what is wrong. Well, I have to tell you that the explosion of earmarks under Republican control in the past years and the inclusion of hundreds of unexamined earmarks in last year's omnibus bill, dropped in at the last minute under the color of darkness, are evidence that the gauge lights are going off. We need to call a timeout, have a moratorium on earmark spending here in the Congress while we can come together, men and women, Republicans and Democrats, and figure out how we restore public confidence in the way we spend the people's money. By challenging Speaker Pelosi and the House majority to join us in ending earmarks as usual in Washington, DC, House Republicans have thrown down the gauntlet of reform. And I believe that while I still think our side should embrace an immediate moratorium on earmarks and lead by example, I applaud my colleagues for finding that common ground among Republicans wherein we can challenge, in a spirit of bipartisanship, our colleagues to join us. Now, I still maintain nothing short of a full moratorium followed by public hearings and reform will be sufficient to restore public confidence in congressional appropriations. But as those debates have gone on, it is amazing to me, Mr. Speaker, to look at the morning headlines here in Washington, DC. It shows you the difference between the Muncie Star Press and newspapers out here. Earmarks are page 1, the focus on the ``President's sudden severity is drawing bipartisan criticism.'' Roll Call says, ``Earmarks Still Roil GOP,'' and the Politico, not to be outdone, repeats the exact same headline: ``Earmark Debate Roils GOP Ranks.'' It is only in Washington, DC, where one party engages in a vigorous debate about how we restore public confidence in the Federal budget process that the focus then is on the debate of the party that wants to bring about change because the sound of silence from the Democrat majority is deafening. Now, while Republicans are having a vigorous debate, and I'm still one of the people that believes that our party should even go farther, that we should embrace a 1-year moratorium, I have advocated that among my colleagues and will continue to. But nevertheless, it is remarkable to me that the Washington press corps is more interested in discussions among Republicans who have arrived at a consensus challenging the governing majority to join us in an earmark moratorium than they are interested in the response of the majority who hold the reins of power. I mean, headlines attest to a vigorous debate among the minority and dead silence among the majority. And I must tell you, it has to be frustrating, Mr. Speaker, to millions of Americans who long for a Congress that will put integrity and the restoration of public confidence in the Federal budget above partisan differences. So I say to my colleagues on the other side, what is your response to our challenge for an immediate moratorium on all earmark spending? What will Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats decide at their conference retreat this week? My hope is as our challenge sits now on the table and is met with stark silence from the Democrats, that as your party meets, Mr. Speaker, as you consider how we can restore public confidence, that Democrats will join Republicans in an immediate earmark moratorium so we can put our fiscal house in order and restore public confidence.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. I also want to thank him for his extraordinary and compassionate and principled and eloquent advocacy of life. The people of Arizona who cherish life are extraordinarily well served by Mr. Franks. I come to this well having enjoyed a day, Mr. Speaker, on the National Mall, where over 100,000 Americans by some estimates gathered in the bitter cold 35 years after a Supreme Court decision, and they gathered for one reason and one reason only, because those Americans cherish the sanctity of life and are unwilling to go quietly into that good night, which is an America that walks away from a belief that every life is sacred. 100,000 people. Not at the podium. Not with the television cameras on them, as some of us were. Not with the accolades of people in a movement who will write on the Internet or write editorials how they approve of our stand. But in the obscurity of a throng of tens of thousands, Americans came. In the dead of winter. It was extraordinary, Mr. Speaker, I must say, and it gives me great hope about this movement. The sanctity of life is the central axiom of Western civilization. It is, I believe, our commitment to the unalienable right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness that split the atom of the American experiment and has created the freest and most prosperous and most powerful nation in the history of the world. It is because we embrace that ethic that we are endowed by our Creator with the unalienable right to life. And there, 35 years after Roe v. Wade, 100,000 Americans are still standing in the cold for that principle. I rise tonight very humbled to hear the eloquence of my colleagues, but filled with hope after a hurried day in this movement, because I have seen the faces of the foot soldiers of the right to life. I have stood among a throng of young Americans, particularly young women under the age of 30, who are choosing life as never before. In the last 20 years, abortion has declined by more than 20 percent. I believe, as you could see in those relationships today on the National Mall, it's not just because of political debate, but it's because of moral persuasion. In the last 35 years, I believe in the quiet counsels between mothers and daughters, between grandmothers and granddaughters, the truth about abortion is being told. Life is winning in America. I rise tonight simply, Mr. Speaker, to speak a little out of turn, and not just to your chair, but maybe to those that are looking in tonight and to say thank you for standing for life. Your efforts on behalf of the unborn are not in vain, and I do believe in our lifetime, if we will exercise the faith and perseverance and compassion and civility that was in evidence on the National Mall today, we will see Roe v. Wade collapse like the Berlin Wall. It will collapse finally and at last on that day when people on both sides of the debate don't want it there anymore.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, one year into a liberal Democratic majority in Congress the economy is struggling. The big government policies of the new majority are taking their toll. High gasoline prices, the sub- prime market crisis in housing, and news that inflation is at a seventeen year high, all demand a bipartisan stimulus package in the next thirty days. Congress must act; and must act swiftly. I submit that Congress must focus economic relief on the kind of stimulus that will create jobs and growth for small businesses and family farmers. The real antidote to the impending downturn is more money in the hands of the wage-earner, and the wage-payer. This is, and always has been, the pathway to prosperity in the American economy.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, one year into a liberal Democratic majority in Congress, the economy is struggling. The big government policies of the new majority are taking their toll. High gasoline prices, the subprime market crisis in housing and news that inflation is at a 17- year high all demand a bipartisan stimulus package in the next 30 days. Congress must act, and must act swiftly. But there will be choices to make. Democrats want an extension of unemployment insurance benefits and tax rebates. Republicans will accept rebates, but they also want incentives for businesses, while avoiding tax increases to offset the package. I submit that Congress must focus stimulus on the kind of economic stimulus that will create jobs and growth for small business and family farmers. The real antidote to the impending recession is more money in the hands of the wage earner and the wage payer. This is and always has been the pathway to prosperity in the American economy. I urge my colleagues to work in a bipartisan manner to stave off this impending economic downturn in the best interests of all of the American people.

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentleman for his courtesy. I have no additional speakers, but would reserve the right to close for a minute or two.

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to rise again to express my strong support of this resolution and urge as near a unanimous adoption of this resolution as this Congress can muster. I want to commend the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman) for his swift and sympathetic and thoughtful legislative workmanship on this measure. As I said before, I think, given the tragic events of 27 December 2007, it is important that this Congress be heard on a resolution condemning this assassination, and it is important that it be the first substantive measure that this Congress takes up. And I commend Mr. Ackerman, the chairman of the committee Mr. Lantos, and Speaker Pelosi for facilitating that, as I do my colleagues on the committee in the minority. This resolution condemns in the strongest possible terms the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. It supports efforts by Pakistan to bring to justice those who have perpetrated this cruel and cowardly act. It welcomes the provision of assistance by the government of the United Kingdom, and it commends the government of Pakistan for accepting such assistance. In addition, it urges the people and the government of Pakistan to be relentless in their pursuit of a democratically elected government, including the holding of free and fair elections at the earliest possible opportunity. It urges support for a free media. And perhaps in the seventh paragraph, as I close, Madam Speaker, it, this resolution, which I hope and trust will be unanimously adopted today, reaffirms the commitment of the United States to assist the people of Pakistan in combating terrorist activity and promoting a free and democratic Pakistan. I quote again the words of the late and, no one would argue, great Benazir Bhutto who said just this fall in an American magazine, ``It's only now that America has awakened to what we were already fighting, Islamic jihadists.'' I believe the greatest legacy that Benazir Bhutto could leave is not only a legacy of a democratically elected government in her country, but it would be a legacy of a further awakening in the world to the threat that free societies and those that seek to be free face from radical Islamic jihadists. If her legacy can be not only progress for her people toward democracy, but progress in the free world to renewing our determination to confront those who oppose our way of life with violence, both in support of the Pakistani Government and in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, if I might add, then that would be a powerful and meritorious legacy indeed. I urge support of all of my colleagues for this important resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the ranking member of the legislative branch of the Appropriations Subcommittee, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support as an original cosponsor of House Resolution 912, condemning the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and reaffirming the commitment of the United States to assist the people of Pakistan in combating terrorist activity and promoting a free and democratic Pakistan. Let me begin by commending the chairman of the subcommittee, on which I serve as ranking member, for taking his usual efforts with speed and sensitivity and professionalism to bring this resolution to the floor forthwith. I also want to commend Chairman Lantos. And I would take note of the presence of the Speaker of the House on the floor. This is an important resolution for this Congress to embrace, and it is important in the wake of this tragedy that it be the first thing this Congress do in this year. All of us, as we were enjoying time with our families in the immediate aftermath for many of us of a memorable Christmas, we were struck by the extraordinary and tragic events of 27 December 2007. As my colleague, Mr. Kennedy, just said, some of us were closer to those events at the time than others, but they were events that shattered the hopes of the entire world for a move in the midst of our critical ally, Pakistan, from a military dictatorship to democracy. And while there is always second-guessing about decisions that were made and policies that were made, let me say squarely, as does this resolution, the blame for this outrage, the blame for this tragedy lies squarely with the assassins. They alone are responsible for the horrific death of Benazir Bhutto. In fact, an al Qaeda commander and spokesman, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, gloated to the Italian news agency that they had ``terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat the mujahadeen.'' And, of course what makes this tragedy so moving and this congressional action so timely is that the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto knew the stakes. She knew precisely the dangers into which she was entering. In a late November interview even with Parade magazine here in the States, she said, ``It is only now that America has awakened to what we are already fighting, namely, Islamic jihadists.'' As the ranking member of the full committee said moments ago, eloquently, Secretary of State Rice called Benazir Bhutto ``a woman of great courage.'' And courage is a word we throw around a lot in political life, it seems, but it was in this moment that I was struck with the reality of courage. Courage is not the absence of fear; courage is action on one's principles in the midst of fear. One has to know that this 54-year-old Harvard and Oxford graduate, giving up a life of luxury in exile, knew the dangers that faced her and the mortal peril in which she was walking on behalf of a free and democratic Pakistan. One cannot fail but be moved by that. If there was any doubt, then the immediate attack upon her on 18 October 2007, which left some 145 of her supporters dead, relieved all doubt of the danger in which she was entering. And yet Benazir Bhutto, the first woman elected to lead a Muslim country, went forward, continued to take the risk, continued to advocate freedom, and paid the ultimate sacrifice. I will say that while I want to acknowledge her unapologetically secular approach to leadership in government, I can't help, when I look at Benazir Bhutto, to think that she will long be remembered with a verse that comes out of a Christian tradition, which is, that greater love has no man or, if I may, woman, than this than to lay down their life for their friends. Benazir Bhutto showed a love for the people of Pakistan. She showed a love for freedom. And in this resolution, the United States of America by its Congress will reaffirm to the people of Pakistan our commitment to justice in this instance, and our commitment to see stability and democracy reign in that critical ally. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PENCE. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and original cosponsor of this resolution, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. PENCE

Mr. PENCE. I thank the gentlewoman for calling this Special Order, and I am very humbled to be able to stand on behalf of the people of eastern Indiana and express my deepest sympathies to the family and colleagues of my friend, the late Julia Carson. The Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn and to grieve with those who grieve. Tonight on the floor of Congress, we gather to do just that. To mourn with the many tens of thousands of grateful constituents who are remembering Julia Carson this week and who owe a debt of gratitude to her for 30 years of service to the people of Indianapolis that they know in their hearts they will never be able to repay. I grieve the passing of Julia Carson for a variety of reasons. First, for her service. She will be remembered as a pioneering leader in the State of Indiana. As the first woman and the first African American elected to Congress from Indianapolis, she will be long remembered in Indiana public life. I will remember her throughout my own years in politics in trying to get into politics, seeming to see her contribute first as a State legislator, then as a legendary Center Township Trustee in Indianapolis, and later elected to the United States Congress. She was, and I say with affection, a fierce political competitor and succeeded at everything she tried to do, in politics and public service. The gentle demeanor that we are remembering tonight belied a freight train of effectiveness that was Julia Carson. And I experienced that effectiveness, usually on the losing side of an argument. But what I would always find in Julia Carson is, while she was a fierce advocate here on the floor of the Congress for what she understood to be the needs of her district and the obligations of the law and of justice, that walking back to our offices after the fact, I would never fail to be moved by her gentleness and her kindness and her decency, which leads me to the other piece of Julia that I will always treasure, and that was her profound Christian faith. I must tell you as a cheerful conservative Republican elected to Congress having observed her career from afar, I would have told anyone in Indiana that the last person I expected to be friends with in Congress was Julia Carson. She was tough. She was effective. She was liberal. But when I arrived in Congress as a new freshman, she reached out to me, and she reached out to me on the basis of our shared Christian faith. And it was on that foundation that we built a friendship. And we, on occasion, found ways to work together. Working with her to pass legislation authored by another colleague in the Chamber today, the Second Chance Act, it would be Julia Carson that would appeal to this House conservative about the needs of breaking the cycle of recidivism and crime that beset so many families in the underserved community, but it would be her heart on that matter that would reach me with the wisdom of the Second Chance Act. And part of her legacy here today will be the success that we have seen that legislation experience this year and, I trust, in the future. Every time I would ask her in her infirmity in the last year and a half how she was doing, I don't know how she would answer the rest of the Members here, Madam Speaker, but whenever I would quietly say, ``Julia, really, how are you doing?'' she would smile in that infirmity and say, ``I am blessed by the best.'' No complaints, no grumbling. ``Blessed by the best'' will be her legacy in my heart. To know that as I have the privilege of serving here, whatever the condition in which I serve, I will understand He who placed me here. I think of that great verse. I don't know what the pastor will say at Eastern Star Saturday. My wife Karen and I will be there, as I know most of this Chamber would wish to be there at her funeral. I don't know what the pastor of that great church will say, but when I think of Julia Carson, I think of that mandate that we are called to do justice, love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. The Julia Carson I remember tonight and will always remember throughout my years in public service did justice as she understood it. She loved kindness even to those with whom she differed, and every day she was here, she walked humbly in the service of the people of Indiana. For that, we, as a State and as a Nation, will be eternally grateful.