Jean Schmidt

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 269.

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 269. This resolution, introduced by my distinguished colleague from Texas (Mr. Barton), honors the 40th class of Fellows participating in the White House Fellows Association. The program was founded in 1964 by President Lyndon Baines Johnson and is considered one of the most prestigious opportunities for leadership and public service today. Offered strictly on a nonpartisan basis, White House Fellowships offer exceptional young people firsthand experience in working at the highest levels of Federal Government. White House Fellows spend a year assisting full-time senior White House staff, the Vice President, Cabinet secretaries and other senior officials. Fellows are also invited to take part in educational travel in order to examine United States domestic and international policy in action. Finally, the education program offers roundtable discussions including leaders from both the private and public sectors. The purpose of the White House Fellows program is to shape young minds into having an understanding of the challenges faced by the Federal Government. The leadership and public affairs development offered by the program is crucial to the functioning of our system in that it provides us with exceptional young professionals in our nongovernmental sector. President Johnson's idea for the program was clear when he said, ``I want to give the Fellows firsthand high-level experience in the workings of the Federal Government and to increase their sense of participation in national affairs.'' President Johnson's hope was that those who were given this extraordinary opportunity would ``continue their work as private citizens on their public agendas.'' In Congress today, both the sponsor of this resolution, Congressman Joe Barton, and Senator Sam Brownback are former White House Fellows. I hope that my colleagues will join me in recognizing this exceptional program through the adoption of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton). (Mr. BARTON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 3368. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3368) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6483 Lincoln Street in Gagetown, Michigan, as the ``Gagetown Veterans Memorial Post Office''.

Mrs. SCHMIDT

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

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3256) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3038 West Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the ``Congressman James Grove Fulton Memorial Post Office Building''.

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3256, introduced by the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy). This bill would designate the post office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the James Grove Fulton Memorial Post Office Building. James Grove Fulton was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, on March 1, 1903. He attended the public schools in South Hills and the fine arts department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1928 he was admitted to the bar after graduating from Harvard Law School and began to practice law in Pittsburgh. He served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in many capacities. He was a member of the Allegheny County board of law examiners from 1934 to 1942, he served in the State Senate from 1939 to 1940, he served as solicitor for Dormont Borough in 1942, and finally as the publisher of the Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania News. Mr. Fulton was also a member of the United States Naval Reserve after enlisting in 1942. He served in the South Pacific as a lieutenant until 1945 when he was discharged. James Grove Fulton, while still serving in the Navy, was elected to the 79th Congress. Mr. Fulton was a 14-term Member whose time in Congress spanned nearly 30 years. This respected Member of Congress will be remembered for his passion for science as a member of the Science and Aeronautics Committee as well as a delegate to the United Nations as an adviser on space from 1960 to 1969. James Grove Fulton served the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania his entire life at all levels of government. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of H.R. 3256, and I salute the sponsor, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, for his work on this measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I attended a Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee meeting entitled ``A Vision and Strategy For Rebuilding New Orleans.'' I found it to be interesting, and I am excited for the opportunity to help rebuild one of America's great cities. It is an undertaking that we must take seriously. Amid the allegations that Katrina evacuees' relief supplies were found in the garages of government officials, it is obvious that there is a lot of potential abuse for misspending $100 billion of Federal money. It is with this in mind that I felt the need to urge my colleagues to exercise discretion when authorizing additional funding. Following yesterday's subcommittee meeting, I knew that I had a duty to speak on behalf of the American taxpayers. Only after intense scrutiny and with due diligence should we appropriate additional funds, making sure that government is doing its job, rebuilding the schools and infrastructure. There were two statements given in testimony that were particularly troubling to me. First was the mayor, who wants now to have a light rail system to facilitate future evacuations. Now, I am all for rebuilding New Orleans, but this is not an opportunity to get your Christmas list out and go fishing on pet projects. The other was the statement from the Governor. Someone on the committee asked how much money Louisiana had spent to date. She had no idea. No idea of how much money her State has spent? How can we trust this government with our money when it cannot account for its own? We have limited resources. This is the American taxpayers' money. We need to spend it prudently and wisely. I ask for caution in spending American taxpayer dollars.

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise before you tonight to talk to you about something which I have a lot of experience with as a wife and a mother, budgeting. Today, an honest estimate of what it will cost to pay for the Federal Government's responsibilities on the Gulf Coast is approximately $100 billion. This money will go to rebuild things like levees, highways, bridges, hospitals and schools, the infrastructure needed for the private sector to rebuild this devastated region. That is a lot of money, money that no one planned or anticipated. As we all know, when the car breaks down or the dishwasher stops or any other unanticipated expense comes up, we must prioritize and separate the needs from the wants. Raising taxes is not an option. The last thing anyone in this country needs is the burden of giving the government more money to spend, spend, spend. Our economy and thousands of jobs will pay the price. We need to make some tough decisions, realize what is important to us as Americans, what we need, and decide what can wait until another payday. Some may call for deficit spending, but that is not the answer. American families make tough budget decisions every day. A broken furnace means no trip to Disney World. Increased prices at the pump means less meals eaten outside the home. It is a matter of priorities. It is a matter of responsibilities. The government needs to prioritize, start acting like responsible adults, and quit spending money like it grows on trees.

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. I rise in favor of House Resolution 450, recognizing Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins and Mission Specialist Wendy Lawrence, who are an inspiration to women everywhere. They serve as role models to young women and have succeeded in fields traditionally dominated by men. Their success is due in part to the hard work of trailblazing women who came before them. Elizabeth Blackwell, who was a resident of my native Cincinnati and the first American female medical doctor, once said: ``For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.'' When we think of great women astronauts, we must remember two from the Buckeye State. The first is Judith Resnick. She was born in Akron, graduated from Firestone High School, and earned her doctorate in electrical engineering before joining NASA. Judith died tragically aboard Space Shuttle Challenger. The second is Nancy J. Currie of Troy, Ohio, who graduated from Troy High School, earned a degree in biological science from Ohio State University, eventually earning a doctorate in engineering. She flew four successful missions between 1993 and 2002, and in 2003 Dr. Currie was selected to lead the Space Shuttle Program Safety and Mission Assurance Office. These women are outstanding in their field, outstanding by virtue of what they have accomplished, not because they are women. They succeeded in fields traditionally dominated by men and inspired young girls around the country to succeed in their footsteps. It is for these future female leaders that we must continue to push the envelope and recognize those who came before them. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) for yielding me this time. I appreciate the gentleman's work on this important legislation that will help protect our Nation's children. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3132, the Children's Safety Act. As we are hearing today, there is an epidemic of violence against our Nation's children. Almost weekly we hear of another tragic report of sex offenders preying on children. We all remember Jessica Lunsford, age 9, who was buried alive and murdered. Jessica's mother lives in my congressional district. Tragically, one in five girls and 1 in 10 boys is sexually assaulted before adulthood. One of every six sexual assault victims is under the age of 6. This is an issue that is very important to me. My home State of Ohio has made significant improvements to its sex offender registration and notification system. As a legislator in the Ohio General Assembly, I authored legislation, now Ohio law, that requires law enforcement to notify neighbors who live within a thousand feet of a sexual predator. I sought this change from prior law after a sexual predator moved across the street from a school bus stop in my district. Mr. Chairman, I ask that this bipartisan legislation be unanimously passed.

Mrs. SCHMIDT

Mrs. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today in the same shoes, though with a slightly higher heel, as thousands of Members who have taken the same oath before me. I am mindful of what is expected of me both by this hallowed institution and the hundreds of thousands of Americans I am blessed to represent. I am the lowest-ranking Member of this body, the very bottom rung of the ladder; and I am privileged to hold that title. This House has much work to do. On that we can all agree. We will not always agree on the details of that work. Honorable people can certainly agree to disagree. However, here today I accept a second oath. I pledge to walk in the shoes of my colleagues and refrain from name-calling or the questioning of character. It is easy to quickly sink to the lowest form of political debate. Harsh words often lead to headlines, but walking this path is not a victimless crime. This great House pays the price. So at this moment, I begin my tenure in this Chamber, uncertain of what history will say of my tenure here. I come here green with only a desire to make our great country even greater. We have much work to do. In that spirit, I pledge to each of you that any disagreements we may have are just that and no more. Walking in each other's shoes takes effort and pause; however, it is my sincere hope that I never lose the patience to view each of you as human beings first, God's creatures, and foremost. I deeply appreciate this opportunity to serve with each of you. I very much look forward to getting to know you better, and I humbly thank you, Mr. Speaker, for allowing me to address this humble body.