Tom Price

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Thanks for your participation, and your words tonight really were right to the point. We are fond of saying in the Official Truth Squad, quoting Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who had a wonderful quote that goes, ``Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.'' And that is what this is about, the Official Truth Squad. You know as well as anybody that this is not Washington's money. This is the people's money. And that is what is so important to get across to folks. It is the people's money. It is not Washington's money.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I came up with another chart that highlighted exactly what you said because so often, as we have talked about on the Official Truth Squad, we get one word out of one side of a person's mouth and what they do when they actually vote is something completely different. You mentioned about the balanced budget amendment and the opportunities that our friends on the other side of the aisle have had to support a balanced budget amendment and, in fact, their deed has not matched their word. They talk a good game, they really do. They talk about supporting a balanced budget amendment. But here are votes that were taken in 1990; 145 Democrats voted no on a balanced budget amendment; 1992, 150 vote no; 1994, 151 vote no; 1995, 129 vote no. And the most recent time they had an opportunity to do that, 1997, 8 Democrats voted yes, 194 voted against calling for a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I appreciate you pointing that out. I am sorry, I had this a little bit later, but this is the chart that you refer to. It really is amazing when people hear this because it is kind of counterintuitive. If you decrease taxes then people say, well, surely you decrease money coming into the government. But it does not work that way, does it? And what we see here is exactly what you described. You decrease this line right here. This is the years down here, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003. This line is when the tax decreases, the tax cuts, went into effect; and the red line is the revenue into the United States Treasury.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak before the House tonight. I want to thank the leadership for allowing me to participate in this hour. I thank the conference chair, Congresswoman Pryce, for her leadership. And I want to come tonight with a number of colleagues, and we come with what we call the Official Truth Squad. And we call it that because a group of freshman Congressmen, in our class there are 25 or so freshman Congressman, who have now served in Congress for about 15 months, and when we get together on a regular basis, one of the overarching concerns that we voice to each other over and over and over again was the tone in Washington and the remarkable partisanship in Washington. And we kind of brainstormed about what could we do to change that tone, to make a difference. And so we came up with the Official Truth Squad. And we try to come every evening and share with the American people what we believe to be the truthful situation on whatever the topic is. This instance tonight we are going to talk a little bit about the economy in just a short time. But I think what you have heard, Mr. Speaker, over the last hour, and much of it veiled in some very kind words, but what you have heard is a clear example of the politics of division. And it is the politics of division that many of our friends on the other side of the aisle seem to be wedded to, and I cannot tell you why that is. It disturbs me. It is very distressing, because I think that it does not serve the greater purpose of why we are all here, why we are all elected to Congress, to try to solve the remarkable challenges that we have. But the politics of division is, as you know, Mr. Speaker, is pitting one group against another in some really political way that really does not make a whole lot of sense. But it is appealing to people's lowest common denominator. It is appealing to their fears and to their basic instinct, and that, again, does a great disservice to us as a Nation. I have quoted on this floor before something that I have attributed to President Abraham Lincoln. And I was so pleased that there are folks who are out there and interested in what we are talking about. And I stand corrected on that. It was felt to be consistent with President Lincoln's philosophy, but, in fact, it is attributable to Reverend William Boetcker, who was a leader and a public speaker in America born in 1873, died in 1962. He talked about the politics of division. He talked about it a lot. He talked about the need for appropriate discourse and a social philosophy that he felt was consistent with President Lincoln's, and it has been confused with that in the past. So I wish to share that with you again tonight, Mr. Speaker, because I think it really crystallizes what we ought not do here in the people's House because it does a disservice. And the quote goes like this: ``You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot encourage the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could do for themselves.'' And I may add another one tonight: that you cannot empower women by tearing down men. So the politics of division do truly a disservice to us as a Nation. It is disheartening to the public discourse, frankly. So I urge my colleagues to try to endeavor as we are talking about issues and the challenges that confront us to remember that truth is important and truth is vital in everything that we do. In my real job I was a physician. I was an orthopedic surgeon. And I am fond of telling folks that if I did not get truthful information either from the patient or from whatever laboratory study or examination we were doing, if we did not get truthful information, then we could not make the right diagnosis. If you do not make the right diagnosis, then you cannot treat the right disease. And if you do not treat the right disease, it is hard to get the patient cured. It is the same in public policy. If you are not dealing in truth, if you are not making the right diagnosis, if you are not treating the right disease, you cannot get to the right solution. So, again, I challenge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to try as hard as they can to avoid the politics of division. It really is shameful and it does a disservice to the public debate, and it really does not do any credit to the party itself. So I am pleased to be able to have the opportunity tonight to come and talk about many different things, but we are going to talk about the economy for a good length of time here this evening. I have been joined by a good friend and colleague, a member of the freshman class, Congressman Westmoreland, a fellow Georgian. Congressman Westmoreland is a small businessman and a fellow Georgian. I served in the State legislature with him. He has come to share some of that truthful information about the economy. Congressman Westmoreland, I welcome you and thank you for joining us tonight.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, when I look at the current state of our border security, I join my constituents in their concern. Violence at the U.S.-Mexico border is at an all-time high, going on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. We have read in the news about a shoot-out on the border between U.S. law enforcement and a gang of drug smugglers, some of whom were dressed in Mexican military uniforms. Amazingly, several weeks ago we discovered a tunnel 2,400 feet long going under the border. Inside that tunnel were found 2 tons of illegal drugs. These are just a few examples of a flawed and broken immigration policy. The House has taken an important first step with its passage of H.R. 4437, but this is just the first step. In the weeks and months to come, I call on my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, Members of the House and Senate, to listen to their constituents, listen to the American people, listen to the law enforcement agents and the Border Patrol agents. We are all on the front lines of this issue, and we all share the responsibility. Every day of inaction is a day we can't afford.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, when I opened up my local paper the other day, I was troubled by a letter to the editor. This gentleman was lamenting the fact that he and his wife were losing a long-time doctor because the physician could not afford to remain in business. What is even more troubling is that none of this is a surprise. Every day more and more doctors across the country are watching their malpractice rates skyrocket. These premiums are going up as the insurance companies are being forced to pay higher and higher awards for malpractice lawsuits. Doctors need to be held accountable, yes. However, there is also a need to recognize the institutional abuse that is far too often perpetrated in our courts by personal injury lawyers and the frivolous lawsuits they introduce. These lawsuits do not just affect doctors. They are affecting patients all across the country who either lose access to their doctor altogether or are cared for by a physician who has been intimidated into practicing defensive medicine. While everyone is talking about rising health care costs, let us not forget to recognize there are a number of different ways to lower those costs, and starting with lawsuit abuse reform would be a genuine first step.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the business in order under the Calendar Wednesday rule be dispensed with on Wednesday next.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the gentlewoman from West Virginia so much for sharing those words and what a wonderful, wonderful picture you paint about West Virginia, about the economy and about the policies that we adopt here and their effect on the Nation and each and every State. I too was struck by the Prime Minister from Italy, Prime Minister Berlusconi yesterday. It was really a moving time to have him speak to us in his native tongue and to describe what he said he saw in America. And that is the leader of the world in the area of democracy, in the area of freedom and liberty but also in the area of the economy, and how those things are so interwoven and intertwined together. So I appreciate you bringing that up. Thank you ever so much for being with us today.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I want to very briefly comment about how all of our hearts go out to West Virginians and the miners and their families. We had a committee meeting yesterday on mine safety, and I know that we will reach the right conclusion on trying to get to the tracking and the oxygen and resources for them. Thank you ever so much. Mr. Speaker, did you hear the numbers that were described by the gentlewoman from West Virginia? Did you hear the unemployment numbers: 3.8 percent in West Virginia. Most economists will tell you that 5 percent, or even some will say 6 percent, is full employment. If you have unemployment of 5 or 6 percent, then you are at full employment because of people desiring to be between jobs; but West Virginia is at 3.8 percent, which tracks relatively well to the entire Nation. Again, the Official Truth Squad's desire is to put real information, honest information, truthful numbers out for the American public and just let them draw the conclusions that they draw, understanding that the conclusions that we draw when we look at these numbers are pretty doggone optimistic, pretty positive, not what you normally hear coming out of Washington. This chart here talks about the unemployment rate and the jobs rebound. And the graph here goes from January of 2003 to just the end of last year, the end of 2005. Now, it ought to go further. I have to get this updated because the trend of these lines continues in the same direction. And this upper line here, the red line here, is the unemployment rate; and the green line down here is the number of jobs. And as you see, there was a peak of unemployment around the beginning to the middle of 2003, and that rate at that time was somewhere in the range of 6.1, 6.2 percent. What we have seen since that time is a steady decrease in unemployment and a consistent increase in jobs. As the gentlewoman from West Virginia mentioned, in January 193,000 new jobs. And although this has the unemployment rate at 5 percent, which it was toward the ends of 2005, the unemployment rate now for the Nation is 4.7 percent. 4.7 percent, as she mentioned, is the lowest monthly rate since July of 2001. I think it is important when we talk about these numbers, again truthfully, honestly and openly, to give folks an opportunity to compare them to something. What are you going to compare it to? The best thing to compare it to is the history. What is our history? Where has the rate been? Well, the rate that we currently have now, 4.7 percent, is lower than the average for the decade of the 1970s, decade of the 1980s, and the decade of the 1990s. You remember the boom time in the 1990s? Lower than the average for the 1970s, the 1980s and the 1990s. Over 2 million jobs created in the last 12 months and over 4.7 million jobs created since 2003. I am fond of charts and pictures because I think they just paint the story so much better than I can describe it. There is also a line here, this vertical line here of the dotted green color, and what happened at that point, curiously enough, is what again the gentlewoman from West Virginia mentioned, and that is, that the Jobs and Growth Act went into effect, the fair tax decreases went into effect so that there was more money to put into the economy so people had more disposable income. And when you give people back more of their own money, what happens? The economy booms, the economy increases and gets better. So it is a cause- and-effect relationship without any doubt. I mentioned the number of new jobs, 4.7 million new jobs, and again, with a picture being able to paint it so much better than I can describe, on this axis down here, we have January 2002, all the way over to January 2006. These are the percentages of unemployment, the monthly change each month in the number of jobs, the amount of unemployment, and before the fair tax decreases went into effect, what you see is a decrease in the number of jobs available, lower jobs available. Then, as soon as that happens, as soon as those tax decreases went into effect, what happens? We see significant increases in the number of jobs available; so much so that it is a steady run, and it continues as such, again, 193,000 new jobs in January of this year. So these are facts. This is the truth. The picture tells the story, and it is a story, again, that you often do not get if you are paying attention to your nightly news or your friendly newspaper. So we are proud and pleased to come before the American people and tell this kind of optimistic and positive story. I am always pleased to be joined by the gentlewoman from Virginia, another fellow freshman who, like I, was somewhat distressed at the tone of the rhetoric that we heard in Washington and was really a prime mover in getting this started, this Official Truth Squad, to bring a positive message to the American people. And today, talking about the economy, a successful small business woman; and I am so pleased to have you join us again. I yield to the gentlewoman from the great State of Virginia (Mrs. Drake).

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, you are very kind. I appreciate you coming and sharing those words and, once again, words of optimism, words of truthful perspective as it relates to the United States. I was struck by your description of the tax policy because what we saw with that tax policy is the increase in the child tax credit, the decreased marriage penalty. These are family-friendly things. This is what some of the folks on the other side of the aisle will call tax cuts for the wealthy. It just is not so. Again, we have got to talk about truth if we are going to get to the right solution. When you decrease taxes, as you well know, on small business, which is the engine of our economy, small businesses across our Nation, what happens is that you allow individuals more opportunity for employment. When people have jobs, then they are able to care for their families and, again, a family-friendly environment that we have in this Nation now as it relates to tax policy. Those are the kinds of things that need to continue. People say, well, what difference does it make who is in charge there in Washington? I am here to tell you, elections are about choices and the choices we are going to have this year are fairly stark from individuals on one side who will tell you that, no, you do not need to have the kind of tax decreases, the tax cuts, that we have had; what the government needs is more of your money. That just is not the case, as we have demonstrated time and time again here with The Official Truth Squad. But when you put more people's money back in their pockets, what happens? They are happier, their families are more secure, the communities are more secure, and businesses and the economy flourish. So thank you very much for sharing those kind words. I was also struck by the description of Ireland, which nobody a few years ago would have said was an economic engine or a powerhouse, but now it is. It is again because of their tax policy that is friendly to business, which, in turn, becomes friendly to communities and friendly to families, and that is how economics work. If you appreciate and you understand how a capitalist economy works, and then you understand that it is important to put more money, more people's money back in their own pockets; that it is not the government's money, it is the people's money; and that we here in Washington do not have a revenue problem, we have got a spending problem. So I am so pleased to be able to be joined by my colleagues to bring light to that, and one of my great freshman colleagues who has just been a wonderful contributor and supporter and innovator in the Official Truth Squad joins us now, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx). She is a great friend, has a great history in the arena of education, but understands clearly the importance of a positive economic outlook and a positive economic perspective and economic policy. So I welcome and yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Congresswoman Foxx, thank you so very, very much for coming and joining us today and really painting a wonderful picture. Mr. Speaker, I do not know if you heard all of the items that Congresswoman Foxx ticked off there, but this is positive news. This is great news. This is good, good news. Consumer confidence increasing, incomes up across the Nation, average real after-tax income per person has risen 7.9 percent, retail sales increased, manufacturing continues to expand, durable goods orders on the rise, new orders for durable goods increased 1.3 percent in December with new orders for machinery rising 6.5 percent, the highest level since the series began tracking that in 1992. That is good news. Productivity growth is strong. Productivity increased 2.3 percent and has grown 3.2 percent, at that annual rate, since the end of 2000. That is good news. Construction rates up; all-time high. Again, remarkable. Remarkably good news. And that is what the Official Truth Squad is all about, coming to the floor to give honesty to the debate. Truthful numbers. Real numbers. Because it is important that people have that in order to make decisions. Something that has been alluded to a number of times as we have had our discussion here today is the effect of tax decreases. I call them fair tax decreases. Some people call them tax cuts, I guess. I call them fair tax decreases. And what they will say is, we cannot have any more tax cuts. We cannot have any more tax decreases or even keep what we have. That is what the other side says, we cannot allow you to keep your money because government needs it. That is the way the line goes. But what is the effect of tax decreases? What is the effect from an economic standpoint? Well, again, a picture paints it better than anything I could ever say. Down here is the year 2000 all the way to 2005. The vertical line there, the vertical dotted green line is when the tax decreases, the Jobs and Growth Act, went into effect. And the red line is revenue coming in to the government, how much money the government is receiving based upon the taxes. Again, remember, revenue going down here from 2000 to 2003, decreasing money coming into the government. So what do the President and the Republican Congress do? Well, they decrease taxes. A fair tax decrease. That is what happened here. Then what happens? Revenue increases. Money coming into the government increases. That seems counterintuitive, but that is what happens. President Kennedy knew that. That is what happened when he had his tax decreases. President Reagan knew that. That is what happened when he instituted his tax decreases. And what happened with President Bush's tax decrease? Same thing. You would think there was a trend there, Mr. Speaker. You would think that, in fact, if you decreased taxes, you would increase governmental revenue. Well, that is the secret. That is what happens. And why does that happen? Because as we have talked about, the economy flourishes. The economy flourishes when you put more of the people's money in their back pocket and in their purses, and not in the government's purse. What happens is that the economy flourishes. Now, I mentioned a little earlier that we in Washington, that government does not have a revenue problem. It has enough revenue. That is clear. It has a spending problem. So Congress is trying as hard as it can to decrease the amount of spending. And it is a difficult thing to do in this environment where you have the distortion and the misinformation and the disinformation and the incredible personal attacks that are given. So it is a difficult thing to do. But all last year what we tried to do is to work on what is called a deficit reduction act, which is spending less money. Ultimately, it took a little over a year, but in January when we came back, in early February we passed the Deficit Reduction Act that saved, that saved $39.8 billion. That is a good thing. That is a positive thing. I asked my staff to see if they could get me a poster of the number of folks on the other side of the aisle, the Democrats, that supported a decrease in spending, which is what they say they want to do all the time. How many folks on the other side of the aisle voted for that? And I have that chart here somewhere. I found it. I found the poster that has the name of every single Democrat that voted in favor of a $39.89 billion decrease in spending. There it is. Right there. Not a one. Not a one. I point up the other charts because, as I say, they are truthful. This is truthful. This is the slate of individuals on the other side of the aisle who are interested truly in stepping up to the plate and working hard together. Because these are not Republican problems, and they are not Democrat problems. But, Mr. Speaker, when only one party is interested in working positively, it gets pretty doggone hard to do something here. It really does. So those are the folks willing to help us on the other side in terms of decreasing spending. So that is what the Official Truth Squad is all about, bringing appropriate, honest, truthful information to the American people. And we get terribly frustrated, as I mentioned, with what has been described as the politics of division. Many people practice it here in Washington. It is kind of tried-and-true; but, again, it does not get to the right answers. It does not help. It has been used for a long time, but it is not positive, it is not a productive activity, and it does not serve people well back home. One gentleman who knew that well was Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln knew that the politics of division are destructive, and he talked about it in a way that I think is more eloquent than anybody has ever said. What he said was: ``You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot encourage the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence. And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could do for themselves.'' Remarkable words from one of the pillars in our Nation's history. It kind of crystallizes the American philosophy. It puts it better than, frankly, I have ever heard it. So what the Official Truth Squad is all about, Mr. Speaker, is bringing truth and enlightening information to the American people and trying to give them a little alternative to what they oftentimes hear coming out of Washington. We try to make sure there is a positive tilt to it, because we live in the greatest Nation on the face of the Earth. We live in a glorious and wondrous Nation. It is a Nation that still is seen by men and women around the world as a beacon of liberty and a repository of hope. I am so honored and proud to serve in the United States House of Representatives and to have the opportunity to share a positive perspective and a positive vision with my colleagues and with the American people.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity given to me by the leadership and by the Republican Conference to come and share a few words this afternoon. This is something that we call the Official Truth Squad, and we have been coming to the floor of the House almost every day that we have been in session this year. We who have organized it are the freshman class. There are about 25, 26 members of the Republican freshman class. We are the new folks on the block. We have been in Congress now for about 14 months. And one of the things that disturbed us so, being here, was the tone of the debate, was the level of incredible partisanship, the remarkable and distasteful distortion of facts, the personal attacks, some of which we have heard within the past 30 minutes. The hyperbole and the disinformation and the misinformation that goes on here in Washington seems to be kind of the order of the day. What we thought we might be able to do to contribute to kind of raising the level of the rhetoric and the tone is to develop what we call the Official Truth Squad. And our effort and our desire is to try to bring a positive view of America, a truthful view of America, point out some of the wonderful and great things that go on in our Nation and that our citizens are involved in. Because truth is incredibly important to public debate. Mr. Speaker, as you know, if are you not dealing with truth in the area of public policy, you cannot reach the right solution, you just cannot get to the right end point. That is what is so disheartening about much of the debate that goes on here. And I say that in all sincerity, understanding, as I know my constituents do, that these are not Republican problems or Democrat problems, these are American challenges that all of us face. So truth is so incredibly important. In my former life, I was a physician, and I knew that if I did not have truthful, accurate information going in to take care of a patient, that I could not make the right diagnosis. If somehow the information was distorted or not accurate, then it just was not possible to get to the right diagnosis. The same is true in the public policy arena. If we are not talking about truthful items, then it just becomes that much more difficult to reach appropriate conclusions. I know that when I go home and talk to my constituents. They say, do you not get tired of all of that negativity up there? And I do. And I know that you do too, Mr. Speaker. But that is why our goal is to try to put a little positive spin on exactly what is happening here in Washington and present to the American public an optimistic view of where we are. And we have in the Official Truth Squad many quotes that we are fond of. One of the ones I am most fond of is one from former New York U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He says, ``Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts.'' Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but not their own facts. And it really is so true about much of the debate that goes on here in Washington. Because with many people, everybody obviously has their opinions. But oftentimes they are not supported by facts. And we have heard recently some incredible accusations given about, for example, the Dubai Ports deal. Now, I am not certain that I support that at all, but I do know that unless you are dealing with truth and with fact, you cannot reach the right conclusion. And one of the things that has come to the floor is this huge accusation that there just has not been any money for port security, that Congress has been delinquent, that the White House has been delinquent, that they are not even paying attention to what is happening at the ports. Well, here are the facts. Here are the facts. Port security funding in 2001, prior to 9/11, was at a level of about $250 million. $250 million. Fiscal year 2006, port security nearly $3 billion. Nearly $3 billion. The request for 2007, over $3.5 billion. So when you look at the facts, they do not back up the rhetoric of so many individuals who are obviously playing politics. And you cannot take the politics out of politics, I understand that. But it is important that we talk about truth. It is important that we talk about real numbers when we are trying to get to solutions to these incredible challenges that we have before us. So there are the facts on port security funding. Almost a 700 percent increase since 9/11. Mr. Speaker, that certainly is not inattentiveness to port security funding. We have also heard recently about the ``cuts'' in certain budgetary items; and the other side is fond of saying that there are cuts in Medicare and cuts in education. And so what I would like to do today is just share very briefly with folks what the actual facts are, what the truth is. This is Medicare funding. This is Medicare spending from 1995 to 2005. These are not my numbers, these are Treasury, budget office of the U.S. Government: 1995, $156.9 billion; 2000, $187 billion; 2005, $294 billion. Now, Mr. Speaker, I do not know where you went to school, but I do not think that they would call moving from $187 billion to $294 billion a ``cut.'' It is simply not. And so when people describe it as such, then all they are doing is playing on the fear of the American public. And that does a disservice to the debate. It is dishonest. It does not help get us to the right conclusion. Medicare spending every single year has increased. Education spending: Many are fond of saying that the amount of money spent on education over the past 5 years has been cut. You have heard them say that. I heard them say that. I always shake my head when I hear it, because if you look at the facts, if you look at the truth, what we have here is total education spending since the year 2000 to 2005 has grown, on average, 9.1 percent each year over the past 5 years. Those are the facts. That is the truth. So when you hear people talk about the kind of allegations that they have regarding decreases to, cuts in spending, it simply is not so. What they are talking about it a decrease in the increase; only in Washington is that described as a ``cut.'' So it is important that we talk about truthful things. It is important we talk about facts, important that we agree on those items before we get to the solution to the remarkable challenges that we have. Today we are going to talk a little bit about the economy. And if you were just getting your information from the major media markets, the major television stations and the networks, or the major newspapers across this Nation, you might not appreciate that the economy is ticking along pretty doggone well. And so we are going to bring some information today, some facts, some truth about the economy, that we hope will be helpful to the debate and also helpful information for the American public. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be joined today by many of my colleagues, and initially, Congresswoman Shelly Moore Capito from West Virginia. Congresswoman Capito is a veteran here compared to us freshmen. She is from West Virginia and has been a real leader in the area of our economy, and a real leader in the area of health care, has been working actively to make certain that health care costs do not continue to skyrocket because they play into our economy to a great degree. So I am so pleased that you are able to join us. I yield to you and look forward to your comments.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at noon on Monday next, and further, when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 7, 2006, for morning hour debate.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman so much. I appreciate you bringing up truth again. The Official Truth Squad, we have got a quote that we oftentimes refer to that kind of gets to the heart of the matter. It is a quote from Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and what he said is that everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. So I appreciate so much you bringing truth to the fore, and there are some facts that oftentimes get distorted. One of them is that people talk about the decrease or the cuts in the defense budget, in the military budget and how on Earth can you continue as we are doing right now by cutting those folks that are protecting us. In fact, Mr. Speaker, if you look at the numbers, there are not any cuts at all, and there are not any cuts appropriately because we are in the time that we are in right now and the budgetary authority, which means the amount of money that is able to be appropriated to the military in 2000, was $287 billion; in the next year, 2001, $303 billion. It does not look like a cut to me: 2002, $328 billion, and you see as we go out 2003, $365 billion; the following year, $376 billion; and 2005, 2006, $411 billion. Now, the truth of the matter is that that budget is appropriately increasing in spite of what you hear from the other side; and, in fact, you hear oftentimes some claims from folks on the other side of the aisle who say that we are not making any progress in national security, we are not making any progress in Iraq. I am always fond of bringing charts and pictures because I think that they speak so much louder than words. This one is a phenomenal one. We are transitioning in Iraq, in the political environment, in the economic environment and in the military environment; and one of the transitions that is occurring is the transition of force levels of the Iraqi Army. What they are doing is momentous work over there. In fact, what this chart shows is that in August of 2004 there were only five Iraqi battalions in combat, and you see the steady continual increase, and what many folks will not tell you is that in January of 2006, just a little over a month ago, 98 Iraqi Army battalions in combat. What does that mean? That means that American soldiers, American men and women who have been serving in this war on terror and protecting your freedom and mine, can begin to come home. That is what that means. So we are making progress along those lines. To give some other identity to the kinds of progress that is being made over there, this is the statistic that I just mentioned in August of 2004, only a handful of Iraqi Army battalions were in the fight. Now there are nearly 100, but it goes on. In July of 2004, there were no operational army division brigade headquarters in Iraq, and today, eight brigade headquarters. Thirty- seven battalions have assumed battle space. In July 2004, a little under 2 years ago, there were no operational special police, commando, public order, mechanized police or emergency response units. Under the Ministry of the Interior in Iraq, not one, not any of them; and in less than 2 years, today, there are 28 such battalions in the battle. November 2004, there were about 115,000 trained and equipped Iraqi security forces. Today, over 227,000, nearly a quarter of a million trained and equipped security forces and others, if you talk about local police, individuals. And the experience and the ability of the Iraqi forces has increased remarkably. In December of last year, 2 months ago, the Iraqi armed forces had more independent operations than did coalition forces. Mr. Speaker, did you hear that: more independent operations by the Iraqi forces than coalition forces. Remarkable. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to have a couple other folks join me; and fellow Georgian, Congressman Kingston, who has such great insight into national security and great service here in the House of Representatives, is here; and I appreciate his coming down.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. If the gentleman would yield back to me for a moment, I think it is important to note that there are some in this Chamber who want to do just that, who say to pull out immediately. But as we both know, and our constituents and citizens around the Nation know, that is not feasible nor is it advisable. What is at stake, and I was telling the Members earlier, the Italian Prime Minister today really clearly defined what is at stake: if we as a free people in this world are able to plant liberty and democracy around the world, we increase our security. We increase our security. And I know that the gentleman would concur with that.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. It is great that you are able to share those statistics, because what they do is show and demonstrate to the American people that in fact there is a plan and there is progress. We hear some of our friends on the other side saying there is no plan, nothing is happening over there that is making any progress. But the three-prong plan that you know about well is: one, military, which we have talked about; the other, economic, that you have so clearly identified with the increase in GDP, a 100 percent increase in their economy, the decrease in their unemployment, which is cut by two- thirds, which is remarkable in terms of the progress there; and then there's the third arm, which is the political arm. And what we have seen, what the world has seen over the past year are three independent elections, each with growing participation by the Iraqi people. They understand what is at stake. They understand what is at stake. So for anybody to even have any sensibility about saying that there just isn't a plan or has not been any progress, just doesn't make sense to me.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Without a doubt. I am so glad you joined us to talk about this, because that is what the Official Truth Squad is all about, bringing to light the truth of issues, but also understanding and appreciating and articulating what our constituents know, and that is that these challenges are not Republican challenges or Democrat challenges; they are American challenges. They are challenges we all have to face together. I know the gentleman joins me in just calling on our colleagues to step up, to recognize that the Iraqi people need our support now more than ever before, and to recognize that we have a lot of hurdles, a lot of challenges, but together we can overcome them, as can they. I appreciate the gentleman's participation tonight and his expertise and perspective to the Official Truth Squad.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I appreciate the gentleman's comments about the Dubai ports deal, because I know that you have received a lot of communication from home and I have as well. I tell you, it is one of those lightning rod issues that really people have this visceral reaction that we just ought not to be allowing a foreign government to have some type of operational control over our ports. And I tell you-- and I could not agree more. But I will tell you what I think is the wonder and the beauty of our system of government is that what we have is congressional oversight that allows us to get together, we did so just today in the Financial Services Committee, and ask the administration what, how did you reach that decision? Did we touch all the bases? Did we do all the right steps? Did we make all the right steps? The Senate has done the same thing and we will move through this process. And so I am heartened by a system of government that has checks and balances, that you and I serve in one of those branches, and it allows us to move forward and make certain that we understand what our constituents understand and that the administration understands what our constituents understand, and that is that port security is border security and border security is necessary for national security. So I appreciate you bringing that issue up.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Please.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. I thank the gentleman from Texas so very, very much for enlightening us. And I think the take-home message here is that port security is border security and border security is national security. And that is something I think that the American people understand very, very clearly. And I appreciate you bringing the information about the U.N. votes. We have got, if you look at it, in fact, there are not many nations on the face of the Earth that support us as we would like them to in the United Nations, and we look forward to bringing that information to light. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be a part of the Official Truth Squad, a group that comes down here almost every night and tries to bring some positive information about the United States, who tries to shed light on issues that are so often distorted here in the House Chamber. The most important thing is, I think, that we all are truly blessed to live in this wondrous Nation. This is a nation that has given more freedom and more liberty and more prosperity to more individuals on the face of the Earth than any Nation in the history of mankind; and it is our privilege, it is our privilege to represent a portion of that Nation here in the House of Representatives. I once again appreciate the opportunity to share some thoughts with my colleagues here in the House, and look forward to coming back at some point in the future. And I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, we have been joined by another great colleague, a gentleman from Texas, another member of the freshman class and a great fellow who has participated in many of these Official Truth Squad activities, Congressman Louie Gohmert, a former judge and chief justice of the court of appeals in Texas. He has just great experience with this area of the history of national security, and he comes tonight to share some of his thoughts with us. Congressman Gohmert.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to come before the House this evening with another edition of the Official Truth Squad to, as we have talked about, kind of set the record straight. I want to thank the Republican leadership and the Republican Conference for allowing me and other Members of our conference to come and talk this evening. The group that we have just heard, I was a little encouraged at the very beginning, because the tone was a little different, but then they just could not help themselves. They just could not help themselves. So we launched into hyperbole, and we launched into disinformation, and we launched into misinformation, and we launched into distortion. And frankly when I go home, when I talk to constituents at home, they say, what on Earth is going on up there in Congress? Why is it so partisan? And it is just tough to understand how people can be so doggone negative and think that it results in a positive outcome. It is tough to understand how the politics of division are seen to be the way that we ought to go as a Nation. And it really is remarkable. We are, all of us, on the same team, Republicans, Democrats, Independents. We are all on the same team. We are all Americans. We have got some incredible challenges that confront us as a Nation. And the politics of division, frankly, they do a disservice to us as a Nation. They are not helpful. I believe they are frankly shameful for the individuals that seem to believe that that is the way that we ought to conduct ourselves in public discourse. It just does not make any sense, Mr. Speaker. It does not make any sense. It is not new, though. It has been going on in American politics, frankly, for a long time. Some would say that some folks on the other side of the aisle now have elevated it to a grand tradition and to a new height of excellence. But I want to read something that President Abraham Lincoln said that talked about the politics of division and how destructive it is. He talked about his philosophy of government and social philosophy. ``You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer. You cannot encourage the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.'' It kind of crystallizes American philosophy, we are all in this together. Mr. Lincoln was a master at putting words and thoughts together and contrast together. I do not think it has ever been said better, frankly. I highlight that because I encourage my colleagues all across this Chamber to recognize that the kind of politics of division that seems to be practiced by some is not helpful, it is not productive. It does a disservice to all. We are here with another session of the Official Truth Squad. The Official Truth Squad began when a group of freshman Republicans got together and talked about just what we were hearing from our constituents. Why on earth do you hear the kind of personal accusations that go on up there in Washington? So we thought we would put together some truthful episodes. So we try to come here almost every night while we are in Washington to bring about some truth and talk about honest, open debate in Washington about a variety of topics. Truth is incredibly important to the public discourse. If we are not dealing in truth, then we cannot reach the right conclusions. We cannot reach the right solutions to the challenges we have got. I am joined tonight by a number of folks. I would like to recognize, first, Congresswoman Schmidt from the great State of Ohio. She has been just a stellar member of the freshman class and a great proponent of freedom and liberty. We are going to talk a little bit about national security tonight, and Congresswoman Schmidt comes with an incredible background and expertise and experience serving at both the local level and the State level and the first woman to represent the district that she represents from southern Ohio. And we welcome you tonight, Mrs. Schmidt. Thank you so much for coming, and we look forward to your words on national security. (Mrs. SCHMIDT asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Thank you so much, Congresswoman Schmidt. I appreciate you coming and joining us tonight. Your stories are always spellbinding and very moving. And the story that you tell of your experience with your daughter on that fateful day is chilling. It brings back all the memories that all of us have and how thankful we all should be, are, can be of the incredible job that the first responders are doing all across this Nation, all across this Nation. So I thank you very much for coming and being with us. One of the privileges that we have, Mr. Speaker, as you well know, is to gain certain information, to be briefed on certain things that are happening around the world and certain activities that the American Government and American Defense Department are doing. Some of those things we can share, some of them we cannot share, but what I can share with the American people is this certainty. The fact that since 9/11 we have not had a major terrorist attack on the United States is not a mistake. It is not a mistake. It is not just by chance that we have, as Congresswoman Schmidt said, been able to awaken each morning and not really think about the possibility that it might happen again. There are men and women all across this Nation who are performing heroic tasks day in and day out, and we all should be incredibly grateful and appreciative of their efforts. I was pleased also to hear Congresswoman Schmidt bring up the NSA domestic terrorist surveillance project that is ongoing, a project that has been denigrated by many folks, a project that is frankly having an incredible effect on our national security and our ability to protect ourselves. It is a program that was put in place by the President and the National Security Agency. And Congress, the appropriate individuals in Congress, were informed, were in the loop, were given information, were told about it; and now some have kind of changed that story. But when it came to light in the public and there were discussions about whether or not it was the right thing to do or the wrong thing to do, it appeared to me that it was one of those issues that, as Congresswoman Schmidt said, our constituents believed in strongly. So I started asking. I hold a lot of town hall meetings, and I do a lot of speaking to a lot of groups back home, and when I do I oftentimes ask them. I said, if you had the opportunity as a nation, as the American Government, to know where terrorists were in terms of the use of a phone line, if you could know that and you were able to detect when they were making a telephone call from their home or from their cell phone into the United States, would you want to know what was going on in that conversation? Mr. Speaker, I promise you I have not had a single soul tell me that they do not think that that is what the government ought to be doing. In fact, what they say is, if we were not doing that, if we were not doing that, then we would not be living up to our responsibilities that we have as a government to do probably the most important thing that we do day in and day out as a Federal Government, and that is to protect our homeland, to provide national security. So I am certain that the support that we see for this program is universal around the Nation. And we are not talking about listening into an American citizen call to an American citizen call domestically. Remember what we are talking about. We are talking about known terrorist cells, known terrorist phone numbers, a known terrorist identity having communication with someone in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that we have the capability to detect that kind of communication, and I believe strongly, strongly, that my constituents, what they tell me is consistent with what folks believe around the Nation; and that is that we ought to continue that program and we ought to make certain that we are doing what we can do to protect our homeland. We have also the opportunity so many times to hear from world leaders, and today was a day that I will not forget very soon. We had the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, come and he gave an address to a joint session of Congress. I was incredibly struck by so many of the comments that he made. And thank goodness they gave me a translation because my Italian is not very good. But I wanted to highlight a couple of the things that he said, because it just rings so true, and it talks about the incredible importance of what we as a Nation are doing, having done, and are doing now around the world. So here are a couple of quotes from Prime Minister Berlusconi that he gave before Congress today. He said, Today, I am still grateful to the United States for the high price in lives you continue to pay in the fight against terrorism to assure our common security and defend human rights around the world. As I will never tire of repeating, when I see your flag, I do not merely see the flag of a great country. Above all, I see a symbol, a universal symbol, of democracy and freedom. What an incredible picture he draws of what I feel in my heart and I know that so many of my constituents feel about the symbol of our Nation and about the incredibly important work that we are doing as a Nation. To have a leader of another country stand up and say proudly that he believes strongly in the work that the United States is doing to fight terrorism and to commit once again his nation to that fight was just incredibly inspiring. Prime Minister Berlusconi also said, History has shown that the aspiration to democracy is universal and that liberty and democracy are contagious. It is just a reaffirmation of what we have talked about for the past number of years and how important this war on terrorism is and how important it is to plant the seeds of democracy around the world. This is what we are doing, and what that does is make it so that we as a Nation are more secure. We are not only more free, but we are more secure as democracy moves around the world. Here are a couple of other quotes from the Prime Minister. He stood here just in this Chamber today and said, Only democracy can provide liberty and only liberty can guarantee that individuals will be able to develop their talents, channel their energies, achieve their dreams, and conquer prosperity. The only possible road is to work together to spread democracy. Is that not an inspiring message from another world leader? The only possible road is to work together to spread democracy. This is the final portion of his speech that I would like to share with you, Mr. Speaker, and with the Members once again of the House and frankly with our citizens. This was incredibly moving. Many of us had tears in our eyes as he closed, and he said, Allow me to conclude by sharing with you a brief story. It is the story of a young man who had just graduated from high school. His father took him to a cemetery that was the final resting place for brave young soldiers, young people who had crossed an ocean to restore dignity and liberty to an oppressed people. In showing him those crosses, that father made his son vow never to forget the ultimate sacrifice those young American soldiers made for his freedom. That father made his son vow eternal gratitude to that country. The Prime Minister said, That father was my father and that young man was me. I have never forgotten that sacrifice and that vow and I never will. Incredible words from a world leader, who draws us a picture of a time 60 years ago, 50 years ago, when his father took him to a cemetery filled with American soldiers who had fought for his freedom. He tells us that he was asked by his father never to forget that sacrifice, and he vowed that he never would. The seeds of liberty, the seeds of freedom, the seeds of democracy that we plant around the world, we may never know when we will see the fruit of that planting. I wonder myself today whether there is an Iraqi man and an Iraqi woman who are telling similar stories to their sons and their daughters and that in 30 or 40 years we would be honored and privileged to have the Prime Minister or the President of a free Iraq come before the United States House of Representatives and tell that same story, as how they were inspired by their mom or their dad as they recognize the sacrifice that American soldiers made on their behalf. An incredible, incredible picture in words. I had the opportunity to speak to an American Legion group at home a number of weeks ago, and then another American Legion chapter came and visited my office just the other day. I was struck by something that they said. The American Legion's motto is, ``For God and country,'' and it is an appropriate motto: ``For God and country.'' There is an American Legion division that was supposed to go to an elementary school, a public elementary school in our Nation and tell the young folks at the elementary school about the American Legion, about the history and their heritage. They were called a couple of days before their visit, and they were told, no, we cannot have you come; we have been threatened with a lawsuit because of your motto, ``For god and country.'' Mr. Speaker, I am just struck by the incredible diligence of all the men and women who fight for our national security, all of the men and women who have fought for our national security, and they recognize over and over and over again that freedom is not free, that there is a price to pay. Then I am struck by so many individuals it appears that want to destroy the roots that we have that brought about our national security and about our freedom, and I just appreciate so much the opportunity to stand before the House of Representatives as a member of the Official Truth Squad and bring these stories to try to invigorate and uplift the American people to be proud of our heritage, to be proud of the men and women who are serving us so remarkably around the Nation and around the world. I am pleased now to be joined by a colleague, Congressman Steve Pearce, who is coming and participating with the Official Truth Squad this evening, to talk about our national security, homeland security and bringing some truth and honesty to the debate that we have here in the United States House of Representatives. I am pleased to yield to Congressman Pearce.

Mr. PRICE of Georgia

Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to honor a true American hero and to recognize the thousands of brave men and women that are currently serving our country both at home and abroad. In December of last year, PFC Daniel Wilson of Cherokee County, Georgia, was on patrol in Baghdad; and like so many of his fellow soldiers, Wilson understood that these patrols are part of his everyday life and that it is a risk that they assume selflessly. On this particular day, Wilson's HUMVEE struck a land mine, throwing both Wilson and fellow soldier out of their vehicle. The wounds that PFC Wilson suffered were thankfully not fatal. In February of this year, the Army awarded PFC Watson a Purple Heart, and I rise today to say thank you to this young man. We send our deepest gratitude and respect to all of those serving in our Armed Forces. We here at home often do not take the time to truly appreciate how blessed we are.