Christopher Shays

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds to remind the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) that we added $1 billion to veterans that the President did not provide. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), and I say to the previous speaker that our budget does do it for the troops, and the gentleman from Texas will illustrate that point.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), our distinguished chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Green).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I am delighted to yield 2 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Gary Miller).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Combest), another distinguished Member and the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump), the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the majority whip.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds to comment that when the President gave his budget address, everyone on that side of the aisle thought it was terrific, and now everyone is running away from it and denying they ever liked it.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 45 seconds. Mr. Chairman, the bottom line is, this Republican budget locks away the entire Social Security trust fund surplus for our Nation's elderly, the entire amount. We set aside more than the President to save, strengthen and preserve Social Security and as necessary Medicare as well. We create a safety deposit box to assure Social Security trust funds cannot be raided. We pay down more public debt than the President. We maintain the spending discipline for the 1997 budget act. We provide additional resources to properly train, equip and retain our men and women in uniform. And we will enact historic tax relief after we have solved Social Security for our children and our children's children. That is what we do. The President wants to spend more. The Democrats want to spend more. We do not. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger).

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nussle), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on the Budget.

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Sununu). (Mr. SUNUNU asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith). (Mr. SMITH of Michigan asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Chambliss).

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution just agreed to.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, we do not fight illegal trade by passing illegal penalties. I rise in strong opposition to this illegal steel quota bill. Free trade is vitally important to the health of our economy, and we are in a position to lead and define a policy of free trade on a global level. We should not backtrack by erecting harmful barriers which will only increase the cost of goods and block economic development and growth. I understand the concerns of my colleagues who have witnessed the tremendous influx of steel imports during the last three years, but our trade laws are working, and this legislation is not necessary. According to the Census Bureau, from November of 1998 to January of 1999, steel imports have declined 93 percent in Russia, 49 percent in Japan, and 8 percent in Korea. In fact, not only is this legislation not necessary, but incredibly harmful to our consumers and our workers. CBO estimates this bill will increase prices to steel purchasers by nearly $1 billion. The bottom line is, the American steel industry leads the world in productivity because of competition, not protection. In my judgment, this bill will raise prices on consumers, adversely affect our businesses, harm our workers that use steel, and threaten the growth of our economy. I might end, Mr. Speaker, by saying this fabulous growth that our Nation has experienced over the last 10 years is due, in large measure, to one man, Ronald Reagan, and his economic policies. He welcomed free trade. He welcomed trade without any artificial barriers, because he knew the United States could compete and compete effectively with anyone, and that ultimately, all Americans benefit from competition.

Mr. SHAYS

Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a resident of my district, Ilana Levy of Westport, Connecticut. I had the pleasure of hearing Ilana speak at a Veteran's Day ceremony at the Westport Town Hall on November 11, 1998. Ilana delivered a speech of tremendous depth and maturity. She was articulate beyond her years and all in attendance were moved by her words. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to submit a copy of the text of Ilana's speech for the Record of the 106th Congress. Veteran's Day Speech--Ilana Levy I have a confession to make. I have studied about World War I and II in history class and I have certainly known about Veterans Day since I was a child. But over the last couple of weeks, I concentrated on the two as I have never before. It probably all started with the movie `Saving Private Ryan'. I went to see it somewhat under protest because I like happy movies. (the fact that Matt Damon was in it did help). I had heard that the movie was gruesome and I did not expect to like it. Well I did not like it. No I do not think I could use the term like with such a movie. What I can say about this movie was it truly affected me. I think it even diminished me in a certain way. I started looking at my life and asking myself what if. What if we did not win the war? What if we did not have men and women willing to fight for America? What if we were no longer free? What if we become more and more apathetic and take certain rights for granted? And that's where the diminishing part came in. Yes. I started looking at myself and my life and realized how much I have taken for granted. I am free. Sure I have parents who tell me what to do and give me certain rules to follow. But I am free. When I was little I complained about going to Sunday school but I have that freedom to pray. My relatives were not always that lucky. During World War II Jewish people were killed just because they were Jewish. They were taken to concentration camps just because they were Jewish. I can remember seeing actual footage of the people in the concentration camps when the American soldiers came to set them free. The soldiers were shocked and sickened about what they saw. What if those soldiers had not gone over to Europe to fight Hitler? Who knows what would have happened to the Jews in the world, or to any of us? Hitler's views could have spread and I might not have been standing here talking to you today. How different the world would have been for everyone had our soldiers not believed in fighting for freedom. How grateful I am for the brave men who were willing to sacrifice their lives so that others could live free. Saving Private Ryan starts out with the allies storming Omaha Beach. It was during this scene that I began to see what our soldiers actually had to experience. Of course I have seen films on WWII in class but this was different. These scenes made me understand the true horrors of war. I saw the dead, the wounded and the survivors there on the beach. This was truly a scary feeling for me. I have always been lucky enough to be removed from all of the realities of war but there I was--right in the middle of battle. How quickly lives were ended. How quickly other lives were changed forever. I cannot even fathom having to be put in such a position. I don't think I would have the courage or strength to be in a combat situation. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to leave one's families to fight in lands that are unfamiliar knowing that you might never return home to them. I feel such a profound respect and appreciation to all who have served our country. There are certain experiences which change people forever. I have to believe that serving in the army and fighting in a war does that. Watching friends and fellow soldiers die is too awful to imagine. Veterans are true heroes. I live, no we live in the best country in the world. Certainly we have our problems but we are free. I will never take that for granted again. I am young enough to be idealistic and to hope that some day there will be peace in the world. But I am old enough now to understand what Veterans Day really means. I live in America land of the free. And I am free because of all the wonderful, brave heroes who fought to keep us free. I have another confession to make. Today I am celebrating my first real Veteran's Day. But I promise you it will not be the last. I hope it is not too late to say thank you to all for all that you have done for our country. Thank you for serving the United States of America. God bless you, and God Bless America.