Pete Sessions

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a legend in high school wrestling in Texas, Coach Tim Marzuola of Highland Park High School. Coach Marzuola has been elected as a member of the 2004 induction class for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I am proud to represent Highland Park in Congress, and I have four graduates of Highland Park High School that serve in my Dallas and Washington, D.C offices. My Washington office Chief of Staff wrestled for Coach Marzuola back when he was at Highland Park High School. In 1999, Highland Park's wrestling team was nationally ranked and Coach Marzuola was a national high school coach of the year award- winner. The Scots won state titles in 1999, 2000, and 2003 and placed second in 2002 and 2004. Coach Marzuola has guided the Scots since 1982, and last year he was named as a coach for the tremendously successful Team Texas program. He was inducted into Texas Hall of Honor in 1994. I am very proud that he is being recognized nationally for over twenty years of diligent service to wrestling in Highland Park. Coach Marzuola's commitment to his team on and off of the mats is exceptional, as he has set a standard for excellence within his sport. Coach Tim Marzuola has provided his athletes with exceptional leadership and inspiration, emphasizing to each student the necessary traits of individual responsibility, accountability, and working as a team to accomplish a common goal. I thank Coach Marzuola for his tireless efforts and service to the greater Highland Park community. In addition to his duties as the Head Wresting Coach, he also is a superb Economics and United States History teacher inside the classroom. I wish him and the Highland Park wrestling program all the best for continued success and achievement.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his clarification and accept that. I would like to run through very quickly the organizations that do support this commonsense OSHA reform, and I am just going to run through a few: The National Center For Assisted Living, National Council on Chain Restaurants, National Federation of Independent Businesses, United States Chamber, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, National Soft Drink Association. And, Mr. Speaker, I will submit this list at this point for the Record. Committee on Education and the Workforce, House of Representatives, May 18, 2004. Organizations Supporting Common Sense OSHA Reforms Dear Colleague: The House today will consider four common sense OSHA reform measures (H.R. 2728, H.R. 2729, H.R. 2730, and H.R. 2731) to ensure OSHA enforcement efforts are fair for small businesses that make good faith efforts to comply with all health and safety laws. These reforms will improve worker safety by making it easier for employers to work voluntarily and proactively with OSHA to ensure safe and secure workplaces. Following are a list of organizations supporting these reforms: Air Conditioning Contractors of America American Bakers Association American Hotel & Lodging Association American Farm Bureau Federation American Furniture Manufacturers Associated Builders & Contractors Associated General Contractors of America American Health Care Association American Trucking Associations Food Marketing Institute Independent Electrical Contractors International Foodservice Distributors Association IPC--The Association Connecting Electronics Industries Management Advisers, LLC Mason Contractors Association National Association of Home Builders National Association of Manufacturers National Beer Wholesalers Association National Center for Assisted Living National Council of Aagricultural Employers National Council of Chain Restaurants National Electrical Contractors Association National Federation of Independent Business National Funeral Directors Association National Oilseed Processors Association National Ready Mixed Concrete Association National Restaurant Association National Retail Federation National Roofing Contractors Association National Small Business Association National Soft Drink Association Printing Industries of America Inc. Retail Industry Leaders Association Society of American Florists Society for Human Resource Management The American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute The Brick Industry Association U.S. Chamber of Commerce Developing better cooperation between OSHA and employers will improve workplace safety, enhance business competitiveness, and foster more job creation to spur the economy. We encourage you to help improve workplace safety and enhance small business competitiveness by voting YES on these important OSHA reform measures. For more information, please contact the Education & the Workforce Committee at x5- 4527. Sincerely, John Boehner (R-OH), Chairman, Education & the Workforce Committee. Charlie Norwood (R-GA), Chairman, Workforce Protections Subcommittee. Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleagues who are listening to this debate, who want to do the right thing for small businesses, that it is always interesting to me that as we enter debates on the floor of the House of Representatives, and one of the biggest debates we have had has been about manufacturing, yet almost every single time as the Republican Party stands up for those organizations that are engaged in manufacturing, about jobs in this country, we vote for those bills and our colleagues on the other side vote against them. Yet all we hear about is loss of jobs. I would like to say that today this vote is about small business and the ability for small business to compete effectively, efficiently, and to give them more fair footing. I support this rule and I support this underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. SESSIONS. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we began this debate today by talking about doing the things the Republican Party has as an idea and a vision, about making businesses more efficient and effective and working closer on the things that will encourage not only us to be more productive but to employ more people. The gentleman from Florida earlier asked a very simple question: Who would possibly support this bill? Who are they? Well, I provided the gentleman a list of some 38.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman talking about the true colors that the Republican Party presents not only today but every single day that we are on this floor of the House of Representatives, because our special interest is our taxpayers and the working men and women of this country who keep it going and will continue to work for the special interests of the Republican Party to ensure that America has not only a sound economy but opportunities to where people can live the American dream. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the gentleman that leads our party in this effort, the gentleman who is the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 645 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us is a rule for consideration of a package of bills, H.R. 2728, H.R. 2729, H.R. 2730, H.R. 2731 and H.R. 2432, which are all being brought to the floor today by the House Republican leadership, that will help to cut the cost of burdensome regulations for American small businesses and help create new jobs in America. H. Res. 645 provides for the separate consideration of each of these five measures. Each bill covered under this rule will have its own debate time and the opportunity to be voted on by this body. Finally, the rule also provides, at the close of consideration of these measures, the Clerk of the House will be directed to combine the text of each of these bills that passes the House under this rule as one engrossed bill and send it to the other body. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to consider a rule for a number of common-sense bills that will eliminate unnecessary paperwork and bring some much-needed flexibility to the regulatory process for American small business. This legislation will also improve worker safety by making it easier for employers to work voluntarily and proactively with OSHA to ensure safe and secure workplaces. While this may seem like a complicated rule, its effect is quite simple: It will help to cut down on wasteful costs that many small businesses face as a result of burdensome, one-size-fits-all government regulations. The bills brought up for consideration under this rule will allow small businesses to focus more of their time and energy on competing in the marketplace, providing their customers with better goods and services and creating new jobs all across America, rather than spending their time filling out forms or arguing with some distant, nameless, faceless bureaucrat. One of the Republican Party's top priorities is to create an environment that empowers small businesses and their employees to succeed, which has been proved by the House's agenda over the last few weeks. Last week, the House took up and overwhelmingly passed legislation to allow low- and middle-income Americans to keep more of what they earn by permanently extending the 10 percent tax bracket created by President Bush's 2001 tax relief plan. The House also took up the opportunity to pass legislation that improves upon and strengthens Flexible Spending Accounts, addresses the skyrocketing cost of medical liability insurance and allows small businesses to join together to provide their employees with health insurance through Association Health Plans. This week, the House will be considering yet another tax relief bill on behalf of working families and will expand and make permanent the child tax credit. And we will also be considering these five bills to make it easier for our Nation's small businesses to create jobs that will help sustain our economy's growth. H.R. 2728, the Occupational Safety and Health Small Business Day in Court Act, amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to provide flexibility to employers filling out responses to OSHA citations. Currently, the law sets a strict and arbitrary deadline of 15 days for businesses to respond to an OSHA citation, despite the fact that since the 1980s, a Federal rule of procedure has granted employers relief in cases where an employer filed a late notice of contest because of ``mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect.'' H.R. 2728 would simply codify this common-sense practice in law and give OSHA some direction in handling cases where a business misses its 15-day window. H.R. 2729, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Efficiency Act, would create greater efficiency at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission by adding two additional members to this board so that it may complete its work in a more timely fashion on behalf of employers and employees all across the United States. Under current law, the membership of the Commission is set at three appointed members. Two members are required to constitute a quorum, and the Commission can only take action on an affirmative vote of two members, regardless of whether these seats are vacant or filled. For over two-thirds of its existence, the Commission has been paralyzed by frequent vacancies that have resulted in several critical and well-documented inefficiencies, rendering the entire regulatory scheme devised by Congress for resolving OSHA disputes unworkable. By creating two new seats on the Commission, Congress can protect against the chance that an extended vacancy on the Commission will prevent this body from resolving disputes in a timely fashion. H.R. 2730, the Occupational Safety and Health Independent Review of OSHA Citations Act, will provide for the fair and independent review of citations issued by OSHA. Legislative history and practice have made it clear that while OSHA is responsible for rule-making, enforcement and adjudication of issues pertinent to workplace safety, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission is intended to provide an independent review of OSHA's functions and act as a check on any prosecutorial excess. This bill would simply restore responsible checks and balances to the current system by making it clear that the Commission's legal interpretations are given the proper judicial deference. H.R. 2731, the Occupational Safety and Health Small Employer Access to Justice Act, provides for the payment of attorney's fees and costs to very small employers when they prevail in legislation prompted by the issuance of citations by OSHA. The reason for this legislation is simple: The government should not be able to intimidate small businesses into blindly following their mandates simply because the business thinks it cannot afford to fight in a case where it might otherwise prevail. This bill will put American small businesses on a more level playing field with large and powerful government bureaucracies and give them the courage to speak up for themselves when they are right by removing the financial penalties that currently exist for defending themselves. Finally, H.R. 2432, the Paperwork and Regulatory Improvement Act, reduces Federal regulatory paperwork and red tape by requiring OMB to devote more effort to identifying ways to simplify Federal laws. This bill would also make permanent GAO's authorization to analyze major rules proposed by Federal agencies and require OMB to integrate its regulatory accounting reports with its annual budget report, so that lawmakers can compare the on-budget and off-budget costs associated with each agency requiring paperwork by the public. Like all the other bills being considered on this rule today, it would help create jobs and allow America's business men and women to spend less of their own time on resources, on complicated regulatory and taxes paperwork that hurts the economy, instead of running their own businesses. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of this legislation that Congress has passed and will continue to pass to promote the Republican competitiveness agenda. I think it is important that we come to the floor today with a full discussion on legislation that will give Americans more time to spend running their businesses or with their families or however they choose to spend it. I think it is important to remember that every single time that we pass one-size-fits-all legislation giving a great deal of authority to the Washington-based bureaucracies, our small businesses bear the brunt of this inefficiency. OMB recently report to Congress that the annual cost of major Federal regulations issued between 1992 and 2002 are estimated to cost between $38 billion and $44 billion. This means that Americans spend about $1.50 in compliance cost for every one dollar in tax cost devoted to regulation. Moreover, it means that every dollar of direct budget expenditure devoted to regulatory activity, the private sector spends $45 dollars in compliance. This overregulation of businesses puts us at a competitive disadvantage with the rest of the world and places an unnecessary limit on our economy. Finally, Mr. Speaker, the code of Federal regulations extends 19 feet, and from 1991 to 2000 the number of pages in the CFR increased by 28.1 percent. I am glad Congress is looking at ways to pare back this overwhelming bureaucracy, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this rule for these five bills to keep American businesses competitive in the global marketplace and to keep American jobs here at home. I urge all of my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia Beach, Virginia (Mr. Schrock).

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to Carolyn G. Bukhair, Ed.D., in honor of her retirement from the Richardson Independent School District. Dr. Bukhair is leaving her post as the Superintendent after serving 36 years as an educator and 28 years with Richardson I.S.D. Not only admired by her own district, she commands the respect of her peers throughout the state. In 1999 she was distinguished as the Texas Association of School Librarians' Administrator of the Year. She also was the Region 10 Superintendent of the Year for 1999, and was one of five finalists for the State Superintendent of the Year award in both 1999 and 2003. Dr. Bukhair has left her impression on the school district that she has so ably served. In recognition for her continued efforts, the RISD Board of Trustees voted to name the district's newest elementary school as `Carolyn G. Bukhair Elementary'. Dr. Bukhair presided over many years of improvement and progress for the district. Under her leadership, the district maintained a 22:1 student/teacher ratio in grades k-4 for six consecutive years. It is so critical to provide in- depth and personal attention to our younger students, and by maintaining small class sizes; the Richardson I.S.D. has been able to better accomplish that mission. Small class sizes alone will not increase the education for students, however, when coupled with accountability in the classroom, our children greatly benefit. Dr. Bukhair instituted a strong accountability model based on continuous improvement of student performance and achievement. I have had the honor and privilege of working with Dr. Bukhair over the last several years, and I will greatly miss her at the helm of Richardson I.S.D. I wish her, and her family, all the very best as she retires from Richardson I.S.D.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Coach Rick Ortega of St. Mark's School of Texas. I am pleased to represent St. Mark's in Congress, and have been impressed with the quality of education produced by the school. My oldest son Bill currently attends St. Mark's, and one of the staffers in my Washington office is an alumnus of this college preparatory school. Coach Ortega has been a valued member of the faculty since coming to St. Mark's in 1982. Now in his third decade of service to St. Mark's, Coach Ortega has been elected as a member of the Class of 2004 for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma. I am very proud of Coach Ortega's election, and I know firsthand the quality of the wrestling program at St. Mark's. My son Bill is currently in the middle school wrestling program and the results of the wrestling program speak volumes to Coach Ortega's dedication to the young men that he educates. Wrestling is one of the few sports that a small school such as St. Mark's can compete in against larger high schools in Texas that have thousands of students. From 1992 to 1994, St. Mark's ``three-peated'' as Texas High School Wrestling Champions. St. Mark's three straight championships could not have been possible without the leadership and dedication of Coach Ortega and the many wrestlers that he inspires on a daily basis. During his time at St. Mark's and his prior stint as the Head Wrestling Coach at Burges High School in El Paso, Texas, Coach Ortega has amassed an impressive winning record. In his 32 years of coaching, he has an overall dual meet record of 532 wins compared with only 80 losses. He won seven Texas State Championships, and five Prep State Championships. This is in addition to being Texas State Runner's up six times. During his time at St. Mark's, Coach Ortega has won 18 Southwest Prepatory Championships in 22 seasons, a very impressive record in the conference. On the individual level, Rick Ortega has coached 59 state champion wrestlers, and 53 prep all-Americans. Coach Ortega himself was a State Wrestling Champion in New Mexico in 1966. He has a natural love for wrestling and for those that pursue the sport. Coach Ortega inspires discipline on the mats, and an emphasis on nutritional wellness off of the mats. His personal commitment to scholarship, sportsmanship, and excellence has served the school well throughout his career. I congratulate Coach Ortega on this important accomplishment, and I wish him all the best for continued success at St. Mark's.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for not only ensuring the success of this bill but also properly arguing the merits of the 10-Percent Tax Bracket Permanent Extension bill, H.R. 4275. Today we are on the floor to talk about part of what is a vision that our President has and the Republican Party has for taxpayers in this country. Before the year 2000, from 1986 to 2000, there was a 15 percent tax bracket, the lowest tax bracket for Americans in this country. President Bush challenged this Congress to do something better, to do better for the middle class in this country and those wage earners in the bottom tax brackets. I believe we responded in kind with the tax cuts that we provided this President that he asked this Congress to do. I think we did the right thing. The fact of the matter is that under our own rules and regulations of getting bills done, including working with the other body, we could not make this permanent. We are here today to say to the American public, to say to taxpayers, we need to make this permanent. This is about making the 10 percent tax bracket permanent so that we do not have a tax increase to the 15 percent. The people who will gain and benefit most from this wonderful action will be those people who are brand new, starting up in their lives, perhaps, men and women who have a big dream. Perhaps they have just come to this country. Perhaps they are young people who are starting their families. We need to make sure that we do not overtax them. That is why the gentleman from Wisconsin is on the floor today. That is why the gentleman from Wisconsin, representing the Committee on Ways and Means and their great chairman, the gentleman from California, are on the floor today, to say we think this message that our President, George W. Bush began, that this Congress has agreed with, that the American people needs, that the Republican Party is here asking for again, is important. It is important that we have permanent extension, that we say we are not going to fight this battle again, that those taxpayers deserve a low tax rate. They need to pay in their fair share, and we believe that fair share should be 10 percent. I believe in what we are doing. I would ask for all my colleagues to support H.R. 4275.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We have graciously provided Members this wonderful opportunity to hear about the debate of H.R. 4275, providing each other, both parties, an opportunity for Members to hear about an agreement that we believe that this initiative that was begun by President Bush of this 10 percent tax bracket, one that has now become available, one which we need to make permanent, is the question that is before us today on the floor. We have vetted this process. We have done those right things. We have gone through the committees. We have done this with numerous tax bills, and we will wish to continue doing that also. We have an abiding faith in the taxpayer, that special interest group of the Republican Party, the people who get up and go to work, people who make their lives work, people who care about their kids, people who create jobs and opportunity, people who do things because they love their country and they want America to be the strongest, with opportunity and bettering people's lives. That is part of what this H.R. 4275 is about. It is about bettering people's lives. It is a political consideration that our President, George W. Bush, floated to us years ago. It is about us as Members of Congress hearing that call, seeing people back home who relish this opportunity not to have it taken away. That is the importance of this body. This body is able to debate the issues, is able to bring them forth, is able to talk about them. And that is what is so evident about this great Nation, a majority rule. Mr. Speaker, I would say to my colleagues, I too wish we had lots of other things that would be a part of this bill for tax relief. Today is a day when we will stand up and say we are going to make sure that this 10 percent bracket will be permanent for all taxpayers. I am proud of what we are doing. I ask each of my colleagues to support this rule, this underlying legislation, and the opportunity which I believe will be tomorrow to debate this fully on the floor of the House of Representatives and, once again, give a victory to the taxpayers of this country.

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

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman not only for his articulation of the wonderful merits of fairness in our Tax Code, fairness for all the people in all the States. I accept the opportunity for my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) to reiterate there are 7 States that this impacts, and I appreciate his bringing that to light and respect that. I would tell you that today, this is about the 10 percent bracket. This is a very specific request that we are making to the House of Representatives today that will be with the other requests that we are making on the parts of the Bush tax plan to make them permanent. It makes me proud to know that we in the House of Representatives are together on these issues, about their importance of people who are back home, people who are struggling, people who are trying to make ends meet, people who are trying to make sure they provide for their families and do those things which are necessary to their own dreams. It makes me happy, and I am very proud.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 637 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. The resolution before us is a modified closed rule, the standard rule used for considering tax bills. It provides for 1 hour of debate in the House to be equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means. It also provides for consideration of the amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in the Committee on Rules report accompanying the resolution, if offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) or his designee, which shall be considered as read and shall be separately debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. Finally, the rule waives all points of order against the amendment printed in the report, and it provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, the legislation that we will be considering this week, H.R. 4275, the 10 percent tax bracket permanent extension bill, is very important to me, to my party, to the American taxpayers, and I believe this country. I support this legislation to fulfill a promise made by our great President, George W. Bush, and the Republican Party that was begun in 2001 when the 107th Congress overwhelmingly passed H.R. 1836, President Bush's visionary plan to provide American workers with comprehensive tax relief. Among other things, the President's bold 2001 tax plan created a new 10 percent tax bracket, enabling millions of American families to keep more of their hard-earned money. In the period immediately preceding Congress' passing the President's tax proposal, between 1986 and 2000 the lowest tax rate available to these American workers was 15 percent. The tax relief this new bracket provides to middle-class taxpayers has proven to be very beneficial to our economy and for hardworking families all across the United States. As a result, in 2003 Congress passed H.R. 2, another tax cut championed by President Bush that accelerated the phase-in of an expanded 10 percent tax bracket, increasing the amount of taxable family income that will be subject to this new lower rate. Under this bill the income eligible for this tax rate went up to $14,000 from $12,000, and up to $7,000 from $6,000 for singles. Unfortunately, because this tax cut language was written as a compromise with the Senate. If Congress fails to pass my bill and permanently extend the 10 percent tax bracket, in 2005, 2006, and 2007 the bracket will shrink back to $12,000 and $6,000 for singles, increasing again briefly and then disappearing forever in 2011 to satisfy the arcane Senate budgetary rule. If this were allowed to happen, it would mean that some 22 million low-income filers whose tax liability is contained wholly within the tax bracket of 10 percent would immediately be shouldered with a 50 percent income tax increase. I believe that this kind of tax increase on working-class Americans is simply unacceptable. My legislation offers a simple solution to prevent this major tax increase on middle- class families from occurring. It maintains and adjusts for inflation the size of the 10 percent bracket at $14,000 for married couples, $7,000 for singles, and makes this bracket a permanent part of the Tax Code. If H.R. 4275 is not enacted, it would mean that 73 million tax returns, representing almost 150 million individual Americans, will be hit with a higher tax bill next year, and these taxpayers will face an average income tax increase of over $2,400 over the next decade. It would mean that those 22 million lower-income workers would be pushed into a higher tax bracket, including over 1.7 million hardworking Texans from my State who struggle every day to make ends meet. Congress should not and cannot allow this massive tax increase to occur, and my legislation would prevent this antigrowth scenario from happening. No other provision of the 2001 Bush tax cut has benefited taxpayers more broadly than the creation of this 10 percent bracket. Studies have shown that the benefits for this provision overwhelmingly flow to lower-and middle-income married earners between the ages of 25 and 54. These are precisely the people that this legislation will help, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this important tax measure on behalf of all American taxpayers. This week's vote on H.R. 4275 will provide the kind of broad-based middle-class tax relief to which the Republican Party is strongly committed and so am I. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote with me in supporting this rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for what the gentleman was arguing here about this sales tax bill. It is something where the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) has been joined with by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird), as they have worked for a long, long time. I recall probably a full year ago where I was approached by both these gentleman about being a cosponsor of this important legislation. The fact of the matter is today we are here to consider this 10 percent bill. Last week we considered other tax bills. Next week we will consider more tax bills. These are being done in such a way that would allow us a chance to talk about the importance of these, not only to taxpayers, but to the middle class of this country. It is my attempt and desire, just as it is with the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Baird) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), to continue working with the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), on the correct bill, the bill that he will support, the bill that will come to the floor, that bill that will pass, the bill that will provide this opportunity for all the taxpayers of these States. I believe it is some 17 States that currently have this problem as it relates to sales tax as a result of those States not having an income tax. Today we are here for H.R. 4275 because it does the right thing for middle-class wage earners on this 10 percent tax bracket, and I am proud of what we are doing. I think anytime we can join in talking about on the floor of the House a bipartisan approach to lowering taxes, increasing the opportunity for people to have more money, more take-home pay, more opportunity, it is always good. I have been an advocate of this for a long time. I do not think we should tax savings or investment in this country. That is not a part of what this is about today. We are talking about lowering the tax bracket, making it permanent, doing the right thing. I applaud those people that come to the floor and support this, because it is a great idea that we ought to make permanent. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 75th Birthday for the University Park Elementary School in Dallas, Texas. I am proud to represent the University Park Elementary School in Congress, and four of my staff members in my Washington, D.C. and Dallas offices are graduates of the Highland Park Independent School District, and so I am well aware of the quality education that University Park Elementary School and the Highland Park Independent School District deliver on a yearly basis. One of my staff members has three generations of his family that attended University Park Elementary School. The State of Texas is celebrating 150 years of publicly educating young Texans, and along with this important anniversary is the 75th Birthday for the University Park Elementary School. This is a very special milestone in the history of the school, its students, families, teacher professionals, support staff, and the greater community that it has served with distinction for three-quarters of a century. I congratulate the school's principal Dr. Lynda Carter for her excellent leadership of the school during this birthday year. University Park Elementary School opened its doors in September of 1928 with six teachers and 165 students. The school has come a long way from its initial academic year, as in 1988 the United States Department of Education cited University Park Elementary School for its excellence in education; and it has also received national recognition for excellence in the area of character development. In 2001, University Park Elementary School received special recognition from the Texas Commissioner of Education, Jim Nelson, for being one of the eight schools in Texas to receive an ``Exemplary'' rating for nine years of the rating system's existence. University Park Elementary School will formally celebrate its birthday on Friday morning, and I am very much looking forward to being there personally in honor of such a great occasion. I sincerely salute the University Park Elementary School on its birthday, and I wish it continued success for many years to come.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, what are the Rules of the House as it relates to the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag?

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the Chair. Finally, are there any rules governing the manner of delivery of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag?

Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the Chair.

Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the Chair and wish to make a further inquiry.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, if a Member designated to lead the House in the Pledge of Allegiance fails to include the words ``under God,'' how would it appear in the Congressional Record?