Jim Turner

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson), for sponsoring this resolution. It was one year ago that we all shared in the tragedy of the Space Shuttle Columbia. A team of seven astronauts traveling back home from the frontier of outer space paid the ultimate sacrifice as their spacecraft broke apart across the blue skies of East Texas. The seven who perished showed great patriotism and courage, serving our Nation in the field of the space exploration. The NASA astronaut corps is the very best and brightest of our Nation, men and women unafraid to strap themselves into a spacecraft and launch off into the unknown so that our Nation and our world can expand our knowledge and improve our well-being. These astronauts were pursuing their dreams and ours. And when tragedy struck their ship, a Nation in grief united to show honor to their service. Over 25,000 workers and volunteers spent months searching through the woods and fields of East Texas, seeking to recover the Columbia and her crew. In towns like Hemphill, Rusk, Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Lufkin, the citizens of East Texas and my congressional district responded as did all citizens across America. East Texans are patriotic folks who are known to help a neighbor or friend in need. For weeks on end they combed through the thickets of the piney woods, they cooked meals, they brought in supplies, they gave shelter to those who came from all across America to help. The NASA family became a part of the East Texas family, and they will always remain in our hearts. The scriptures bring us solace and hope in times like these. The psalmist David wrote, ``The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day, they pour forth speech. Night after night they display knowledge.'' Today, we remember the crew of the Columbia and their legacy. We remember their sacrifice and honor their family and friends who remain in our prayers on this difficult anniversary. The seven brave astronauts who died would want us to look forward to the future with determination to press on. They would want us to uphold the mission of NASA in times of tragedy, as well as in times of triumph, and most of all, they would want us to keep reaching, to keep learning more, to explore more, to venture on into space for the benefit of all mankind. Today, we honor Colonel Rick Husband, Commander William McCool, Dr. Kalpana Chawla, Dr. Laurel Clark, Dr. David Brown, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Anderson, Colonel Ilan Ramon. A grateful Nation will always remember, and in their memory, may we never cease to reach for the heavens.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Yes, I am, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for years the pleas of our hurting seniors fell on the deaf ears of our Republican majority until one day our Republican friends were struck with an ingenious idea, wrapping a plan to privatize Medicare into a deceptive package called prescription drugs for seniors. It keeps the drug companies happy because they can still charge twice as much for medicine here as anywhere else in the world. It keeps insurance companies happy by paying them 25 percent more to cover seniors than taxpayers pay to cover seniors under traditional Medicare. It keeps doctors and hospitals happy by paying them billions while leading them like sheep into the perils of managed care. And it costs taxpayers $400 billion for a meager prescription drug savings of 25 percent, a savings that could be achieved at no cost to taxpayers by giving seniors the right to buy drugs at the same price they can get them in Canada. All this slight of hand to force seniors into private insurance and some day to give them a voucher and tell them fend for yourself. No security, no certainty, no guaranty of coverage, you are on your own. And the promise of Medicare is no more. My seniors in east Texas see right through this. In a poll conducted tonight, over 6,000 seniors in my district, 85 percent said they were opposed to the Republican plan. Dress it all up as fancy as you can, it is a bad deal for America's seniors and they know it. Mr. Speaker, I will be offering a motion to recommit to give seniors a meaningful prescription drug plan. This motion matches the conference report dollar for dollar on provider payments. It allows the Secretary of HHS to negotiate lower drug prices. It eliminates premium support ensuring that seniors will not have to pay more to keep the Medicare coverage they know and trust. It rejects the poison pill language that guts reimportation, and it prevents millions of retirees from losing their benefits and protects low-income seniors by allowing Medicaid to provide wrap around coverage. Mr. Speaker, let us give the greatest generation the certainty, the security, and the guarantee they deserve. Vote for this motion to recommit.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in tribute of a distinguished public servant, Dr. Leonard L. Coleman. To the people of Grimes County, in East Texas, Dr. Coleman is a living legend. Considered by many to be the father of modern medicine in Grimes County, Dr. Coleman's surgical skills have helped mend and save lives for more than 34 years. Dr. Coleman's distinguished medical career, during which he touched the lives of thousands of East Texans, represents the very best American values of commitment, selflessness, and hard work. Not only a fine doctor, Dr. Coleman has been a dedicated public servant as well. At a time when many physicians were moving to larger communities and increasing the sizes of their practices, Dr. Coleman remained committed to the community in which he was raised throughout his career. As part of this commitment, Dr. Coleman has been a community leader, serving in a variety of civic positions, including President of the School Board, City Commissioner, Elder in the Presbyterian Church, and school physician. He has been a lifelong public servant in the truest sense of the word. Dr. Coleman was also a teacher. He mentored young men who thought they might be interested in a medical career. During many summers, high school and college students assisted Dr. Coleman in surgery, while he made rounds and house calls, and worked with him in the Navasota Clinic laboratory. Dr. Coleman's charm, wit, and warmth enchanted everyone he met, including both his patients and his students. Mr. Speaker, please join me in commending Dr. Coleman on a distinguished career and in thanking him for a lifetime of outstanding medical care and selfless service to the citizens of East Texas.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I returned from Iraq last night, and every American can be very proud of the work that our men and women in uniform are doing there for our country. The sacrifice they are making and the danger they face demand that we provide them with the best in equipment, supplies, and quality of life that we possibly can as they continue the effort to bring stability to Iraq. I commend our ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), for the efforts he has made to move more of the $87 billion to protect our troops. Irrespective of one's views about the wisdom of preemptive action against Saddam Hussein and concerns about the intelligence analysis upon which that action was based, we are now confronted as a Nation with a challenge and a responsibility where failure is not an option. The future of Iraq and the success there will depend upon the willingness that we have to stay the course. This will require sacrifice on the part of the American people, and I commend the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) for calling upon the top 1 percent of Americans measured by income to share in the sacrifice being made by our troops in Iraq. The future stability of the region demands stability in Iraq. I found the Iraqi people to be capable, intelligent, and determined to provide a better way of life for their people. And in the eyes of Iraqi teachers, in the eyes of the Iraqi policemen and firefighters that we are training, and in the eyes of members of the Iraqi governing council, I found hope. We have assumed a stake in the success of their future, and we must not fail; and I hope that we will be joined by others in the world community in assisting us in achieving success in Iraq.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas, my colleague, for yielding me this time on what is a very, very important motion to instruct, and one that I would hope would be received favorably by our Republican colleagues, because there are provisions in this motion that I think are important to many of us, particularly those of us who come from rural areas. When we look at what this bill looked like as it left the House, as my colleagues will recall, it only passed by one vote, and I think it took over an hour to get that one vote after a little arm-twisting. So this bill clearly was one that did not sail out of this House, and I think that the provisions that are in it are important. First of all, it is, I think, appropriate in this motion to ask that the very best provisions of both the House and the Senate bill on improving Medicare payments to health care providers in rural areas be in the final conference report, because many of us in rural areas have been hurt by some of the changes and cutbacks in Medicare funding. I have people come into my office all the time from my district who are administrators of hospitals, who tell us that they are having a hard time keeping the doors open and pleading with us to try to provide adequate reimbursement for Medicare services in our rural hospitals. It is true that since 1998, 57 percent of the hospitals treating Medicare patients in this country have lost money, and that is only the beginning of the story. As we listen to the individual hospitals who come and talk to us, they tell us that they may be closing the doors if we do not do better in terms of Medicare reimbursements. So this is not a partisan issue; this is a bipartisan issue that particularly affects those of us in rural America. At a time when we are being called upon to spend billions of dollars to reconstruct Iraq, we do not need to be closing the doors of hospitals right here in America. I also think the provision of the motion to reject any cuts that may affect a rural hospital is an appropriate and similarly arguable meritorious provision to have in this motion. Finally, the guarantee that is in the Senate bill that there is a fallback to a Medicare prescription drug plan if there are not two plans offered by private companies in your area seems to only make common sense. After all, most seniors in this country are happy with Medicare; and they would be well pleased, as I have always been, in advocating a prescription drug benefit under regular Medicare. But because our Republican colleagues have insisted that we have a privatization of Medicare in order to get a prescription drug benefit, it seems only to make common sense that as we enter into that experiment, if that is the direction the Republicans choose to lead us, that we have some protection. After all, it is an experimental venture. In my area we had cutbacks in Medicare offerings by private companies. So I think this motion should be well received by both sides of the aisle, and I hope it will be adopted.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we all know it is the first duty of this Congress to protect and provide for the defense of the American people. In the first days of the 21st century, this means that we have to do everything we can to protect America from terrorist attack. After September 11, the question that each of us must answer is are we doing all we can to protect America. With only 3 percent of our cargo containers being checked as they enter American ports, can we say that we are doing enough to close that security gap?

Mr. TURNER of Texas. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I am very much aware of it. I am just convinced that we are not doing it enough, and we are not providing the essential security that we need. I participated just yesterday in an exercise out at the National Defense University, went through a simulation of a terrorist attack utilizing container cargo. The estimates of the devastation to our country and our economy that something coming through on cargo containers would do to this Nation is shocking, and I think it is very important that we do even more than we are doing today.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I do agree we are doing more than we were. The question is are we doing enough to protect America? When we look at what we are doing to protect our borders, we have yet to meet the levels that we mandated in the PATRIOT Act for border security guards, and we clearly do not know today who comes into this country and who leaves this country, and that is without dispute. We also know that we have got 12 incompatible terrorist watch lists, and it has been 2 years since we all knew that we had to have a common single watch list to be sure that all agencies of government knew who was on the terrorist watch list. We know the Coast Guard struggles with outdated equipment, equipment that needs to be upgraded. The list could go on and on and on. The Council on Foreign Relations issued a report just about a month ago entitled Emergency Responders Drastically Underfunded, Dangerously Unprepared, a bipartisan report issued by a bipartisan group chaired by Warren Rudman, former Republican Senator. There seems to be no question, Mr. Speaker, that we must do more to protect the security of America, and when we look at it in the context of the priorities, what we see is the increase in the Homeland Security budget provided by this conference report is only 2\1/2\ percent above what it was last year. That is a $535 million increase in funding for Homeland Security, and keep in mind, this Homeland Security budget funds all these 22 agencies that we had in existence before we combined them into one agency. So we are really paying for a whole lot in this bill that we were already doing, and the total increase is about the rate of inflation. In terms of priority, the President has requested that we spend approximately $20 billion additional to rebuild Iraq, and it is probably just a down payment. We are spending only 2\1/2\ percent additional on homeland security, 2\1/2\ percent of that $20 billion here at home to protect America. When we look at the total size of this increase, $535 million, that is just one one-thousandth of the size of the deficit that we have this year. So in terms of priorities, there should be no debate that we are not doing enough to protect America, to protect America from chemical attack, from biological attack, from nuclear attack, from traditional explosives. This is what the war on terror is all about, and we must wake up and be prepared to defend America against the terrorist enemies that we know are plotting as we speak to harm America and American citizens here and around the world. So I say, Mr. Speaker, that it is time for us to be real about what our needs are in the area of homeland security. I will be the first to tell my colleagues that we also need to get smarter about how we spend our money. That is why the Democrats on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, joined by most of the Democratic Caucus, will introduce legislation today to create a task force that will be a grassroots group of local responders that will advise the Department of Homeland Security as to what the legitimate essential needs are of every community in America, because today we do not pass out money on any rational basis. Let us get smarter, let us get real, and let us be honest about the security needs of this country.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) for his outstanding leadership on this very important piece of legislation, H.R. 911, creating a national memorial to the victims of terrorism. I also want to thank the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) for his help and work on this bill, which we have been involved in for the past 2 years. I also want to thank the ranking minority member of the full committee, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) for their work. This bill originated shortly after September 11 of 2001 and, in the past Congress, was cosponsored by the chairman of the Committee on Resources, the then chairman, Jim Hansen, who retired and who worked very hard in putting together the initial version of this bill. So I am very grateful for the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) and the other Members who have supported this concept and have worked to make this bill one that we believe will be successful, one that will pay tribute and memorialize the victims of terrorism. We have had over 218 Members of the House join in cosponsoring this bill. The occasion of September 11 always reminds us of the tragic events of 2 years ago. On that day, the attacks took thousands of innocent lives and changed the history of our Nation and of our world. Although it has been 2 years, the terrible images of that day, the pictures of the towers and flames, the horrors of the onlookers in lower Manhattan, the workers who rushed into the Pentagon to help save their colleagues, the determined faces of firefighters at Ground Zero and at the crash site in Pennsylvania all remain vividly in our memories. We can still feel the emotions of that day, our feelings of horror, anger, grief, and, most importantly, our commitment to ensure that this would never, ever happen again. We know now that September 11 of 2001 was the beginning of what we might call a new world order. No longer would military might alone protect us. We know today that our world has grown smaller, and that our security is threatened not only by nations, but also by a small band of dedicated terrorists who hide in the shadows and who willingly use suicide missions to kill thousands of innocent victims. The savage attacks of September 11 made clear to all that war had been declared against America by a cruel and calculating foe, one that seeks to destroy this Nation, to take away our freedoms and liberties that form the bedrock of our great society. Never before have so many Americans been killed on our own soil in a single day. The terrorists took the lives of over 3,000, fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, citizens of America, and 80 other countries around the world. Since then, Americans have come together as a Nation to remember those who lost their lives and to pledge our unwavering resolve to win the war on terrorism, whatever the cost, and whatever the length of the battle. As part of our commitment to defeat terrorism in all of its forms and to never forget the precious lives that have been lost throughout these years, this legislation, H.R. 911, would authorize the establishment of a national memorial to all victims of terrorist acts against the United States, including those who lost their lives on that fateful day 2 years ago. The national memorial created in this bill would not only be dedicated to the memory of the victims who lost their lives at the hands of terrorists; it would be a living memorial where future generations of young Americans will come to learn about the challenges America faced when confronted by an enemy that knew no national boundaries and that used unconventional methods, including suicide attacks, to spread fear, death, and destruction. It is my hope that this memorial will chart America's journey in the war against worldwide terrorism and will someday show the world how freedom, liberty, and justice overcame oppression, cowardice, and fanaticism. This legislation creates a 13-member advisory board appointed by the President, the Speaker of the House, and President pro tempore of the Senate, and includes representatives from organizations dedicated to assisting the victims of terrorism. This advisory board will guide the design, the location, and will provide the leadership in raising the private funds necessary for the establishment and maintenance of the memorial. In accordance with the Commemorative Works Act, the advisory board will consult with the appropriate commissions regarding site selection and design. When the House Committee on Resources first held a hearing on this bill last year, each of us were deeply moved by the stories of several Americans whose lives were permanently changed on September 11. Among our witnesses were Lisa Beamer, whose husband Todd was among the heroes of Flight 93. Todd was the young American who said, ``let's roll.'' Another of our witnesses was a staff member, a then staff member of the Committee on Resources, Liz Howell, whose husband was killed at the Pentagon. We also heard on that day from Joe Finley, a New York firefighter, who lost many friends in the World Trade Center and who worked in the rescue efforts at Ground Zero. Finally, we heard from Lieutenant Colonel Ted Anderson, who personally pulled victims from the burning Pentagon. All of these spoke of the need for a national memorial to the victims of terrorism in the District of Columbia. The stories of these individuals remind us of the tragedy, the sacrifice, the heroism that marked that day. Each of them represents the spirit of the bravery and patriotism that arose in America's darkest hour. Each of them expressed in a very personal way the meaning that a national memorial would have to them. Liz Howell so eloquently stated, ``I believe a national monument to terrorism would become a hallowed place for the people of this generation to remember and grieve. Perhaps even more importantly, it would teach future generations about the heroism, sacrifice, and patriotism that surrounded the deaths of people who died simply for being Americans.'' Lisa Beamer in her testimony said, ``It is my hope and expectation that the Memorial to Victims of Terrorism will motivate current and future generations to always be vigilant in protecting us from evil and always be practicing for great acts of heroism. If these lessons of September 11 are learned and remembered, the deaths of our loved ones will not be in vain.'' Lt. Colonel Ted Anderson who rushed into the Pentagon on that fateful day, put it this way, ``This is about a memorial to those who have fallen already and it is about a physical symbol of our unified commitment to persevere, prevail, and to preserve the sanctity of our endeavor and freedom and peace for our open people and for those who choose to join us.'' Mr. Speaker, it is indeed altogether fitting and proper that we remember and honor all victims of terrorism here in our Nation's capital. This memorial will mark the time in the course of our Nation's history when freedom and the respect for the dignity of man overcame prejudice, hate, and evil. It will stand for the time in our Nation's history when our country stood tall, persevered, and defended peace and civility for all mankind. I know every Member of this House will join in adoption of H.R. 911. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I again want to thank Chairman Pombo for his leadership on this legislation along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) as well as their Democratic counterparts, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen). They have done an outstanding job in helping us put this bill together along with the 218 cosponsors who joined us. Also, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the staff who worked on this bill over the last 2 years to be sure that it was in the proper form to accomplish our objective. On the majority side, Rob Howarth did an excellent job working on this bill, David Watson on the minority staff as well, and Trent Ashby and Amy Valentine on my staff. And we appreciate their good work. Mr. Speaker, I would urge the House to adopt H.R. 911, legislation creating a national memorial to the victims of terrorism. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, this is the week that we remember that attack on America that occurred on September 11, 2001. It is a time of mourning, a time of remembrance. We all remember the horror of the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, the crash in the open field in Pennsylvania. We remember the determination on the faces of firefighters and the workers who entered the fiery inferno in a valiant attempt to save the lives of people they did not know. We remember the resolve and the commitment that resounded throughout this Congress and this Nation in the aftermath of that dreadful day. Never again, we said, would we be caught unprepared. Never again would we send some of our bravest citizens, our police, our firefighters, our emergency workers into harm's way unable to communicate with one another. Never again would we allow large security gaps that could be exploited by those who seek to do us harm. Mr. Speaker, in the aftermath of September 11, this Congress responded with unprecedented speed and unity. We authorized the President to use force against the al Qaeda network and their sponsors, the Taliban. We enacted legislation to overhaul airport security, fortify our borders, secure our seaports. We proposed formation of a new Department of Homeland Security. These actions were only the first steps in what we intended to be a sustained effort to secure America from the threat of terrorist attack. But, Mr. Speaker, 2 years after the attacks, security gaps remain; and it is our solemn duty to do all we can to move faster, to take stronger measures to deliver security to the American people. Two years after September 11, we still lack a unified terrorist watch list to help us thwart the attacks before they occur. Two years after September 11, our forces on the border need reinforcement and the Coast Guard is stretched to its limits trying to carry out its mandate to secure our ports and coastlines. We must deploy stronger forces on our borders and protect our ports and coastline to close that security gap. Two years after September 11, the first responders, the valiant men and women who risk all to keep us safe, do not have the equipment and training that they need to meet the threats posed by chemical, biological, and radiological attacks. First responders do not have the equipment they need to communicate at a disaster site. Clearly, we must move faster; we must be stronger in our commitment to these frontline soldiers. Therefore, I fully support the motion offered by the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations. We have been told that we are safer today than we were before September 11 of 2001, but that is not the test that we must pass. The question before us is are we as safe as we must be to protect the American people. By this measure, we have much yet to do. The sums requested by this motion are essential to fulfilling our commitment to protecting the American people. This is the first responsibility of government, and nothing else matters if we fail.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. To win the war on terror, we must do everything we can to protect the American people from the threat posed by terrorists using weapons of mass destruction. We know that our forces in Afghanistan uncovered plans by al Qaeda to engage in bioterrorism. We know from recent arrests in Europe that terrorist groups have the means and the will to carry out such attacks. It is without question that bioterrorism is a clear and present danger to the American people, perhaps one of our greatest threats. In response to this threat, the administration is proposing this legislation, commonly known as Project BioShield. This bill is a first step toward ensuring that we protect Americans from the horror of bioterrorism. The purpose of the BioShield legislation is to provide incentives to private companies to produce the medicines, the vaccines, the antidotes we need to counter a biological attack. Quite frankly, this concept is an experiment, a grand experiment, but no less an experiment. We do not know if the incentives will drive our pharmaceutical industry to invest the resources needed to truly prepare our country for the full range of possible biological attacks. If we do, we will have been successful and our country will be better off. If they do not, our country will remain dangerously vulnerable. I support Project BioShield because I believe this is an experiment worth conducting; but from the beginning of this process, I have been working to build mechanisms into the legislation that would monitor whether the legislation is truly making our Nation safer. For example, the Select Committee on Homeland Security added a requirement that the Secretary of Health and Human Services report annually if the President has identified biological agents that are threats to the United States, but no private company has contracted to produce a countermeasure. Thus, if there is a bioterrorist threat to the American people and private industry will not rise to the challenge of searching for a cure, we have the right to know about it. These concerns were shared by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security. They were also shared by the gentleman from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin) of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell). If BioShield does not work as we hope it will, we will need plan B. Thus, I am very pleased that the legislation contains clear authority that allows the government to operate an emergency program to develop and produce vaccines. In my view, this is so very important because protecting our population is our first responsibility. If the private sector is not producing the medicines we need and we find ourselves under the threat of biological attack, then the government needs to have the authority to do the job directly. The language that has been inserted in the legislation gives the President, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Homeland Security the necessary authority to take action in the event that this experiment with the private sector fails to produce the results we all hope it will produce. My final concern, Mr. Speaker, is that Project BioShield, despite its creative name, is really a fairly modest proposal. If we are lucky at the end of 10 years, we will have some vaccines to address a few of the possible pathogens that terrorists could use during a bioterror attack. But the potential problems are much more expansive. Terrorists may soon be able to genetically manipulate biological agents so they are resistant to our current stockpile of antibodies and perhaps to the vaccines we develop. This possibility presents a daunting threat to our Nation. That is why I would like to see a much more robust proposal than the one before us today, an approach that moves us faster and stronger toward creating a comprehensive defense to the full range of threats we face from bioterrorism. Based on the information that we all know about, we clearly need a Manhattan Project to prepare this country to deal with the vast array and the diverse types of biological threats that we may face in the years ahead. Time and time again when faced with such a great challenge, the government has played a central role in organizing a massive response. When war threatened to consume the world, we put an end to it through the success of the original Manhattan Project. When we raced the Russians to the stars, the Apollo Project put a man on the Moon. It will take these kinds of bold actions, this kind of bold leadership and deep resolve to prevail in the war on terror. Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support this current legislation, but I also believe that our Nation must take even stronger steps much sooner in order to protect us and to secure us in the days ahead. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), one of the most vigorous advocates for equipping and training first responders to protect America.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), one of the foremost leaders in trying to prepare her city and this country to protect us against the threat of bioterrorism. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of the time remaining on both sides?

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1\1/2\ minutes. Mr. Speaker, let me first commend the gentleman from California (Chairman Cox), along with the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the ranking member, and the gentleman from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin), the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Davis), and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) for their excellent work on putting together this legislation in a bipartisan way. I know we all appreciate the work that Secretary Thompson and Secretary Ridge did on behalf of the President on this very important initiative. I hope that we are successful with this legislation, and I hope that the desired result can be accomplished. But I also want to end with a caution that the ability of our enemies in the years ahead to develop, alter, and modify biological pathogens will be at a level unknown to us today. I urge all of us to commit ourselves to the task of developing the agility and the responsiveness that we need to address those threats that we inevitably will face in the future. The Washington Post today spoke in an editorial entitled ``New Bugs'' that it is important for us to shorten the time frame from the identification of a dangerous pathogen to the development of a drug or antidote. The shortening of this time span will require a tremendous commitment on the part of the American people and our government, and I hope this step that we take today will be but a first step in ensuring that we can adequately meet the biological threat that this Nation will face in the future. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), the chairman of the Select Committee on Homeland Security.

Mr. TURNER of Texas

Mr. TURNER of Texas. If the gentleman will yield, first of all, as we said on this side, the Blue Dog budget did put us back on a course toward a balanced budget and would have balanced much quicker than the budget that the Republican majority adopted. And when you look at spending, I think what we have to acknowledge in terms of the Federal fiscal condition, the tax cuts and spending both increased the national debt. If you look at the results since January of 2001, when President Bush came into office, 58 percent of the deterioration in the national debt, the increase in the national debt is attributable to tax cuts; 28 percent is attributable to increase in defense spending; and 22 percent attributable to the war against terror and Iraq. That is from the Congressional Budget Office. So what we believe is that it is dangerous for this country to continue down the road of increasing the national debt. I want to read to you from an article by one of your own in the ``New Yorker,'' June 8 of this year, an article written by Peter Peterson. Mr. Peterson is the chairman and cofounder of the Blackstone Group, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York, a former Secretary of Commerce under President Nixon; and here is what he had to say about your borrow-and-spend policies: He said, ``Since 2001, the fiscal strategizing of the Republican Party has ascended to a new level of fiscal irresponsibility. For the first time ever, a Republican leadership in complete control of our national government is advocating a huge and virtually endless policy of debt creation. The numbers are simply breathtaking. When President Bush entered office, the 10-year budget balance was officially projected to be a surplus of $5.6 trillion, a vast boon to future generations that Republican leaders firmly promised would be committed to their benefit by, for example, pre-financing the future costs of Social Security. Those promises were quickly forgotten.'' He goes on to say: ``In just 2 years, there has been a $10 trillion swing in the deficit outlook. We are now looking at almost a $5 trillion projected debt. Coming into power,'' he says, ``the Republican leaders faced a choice between tax cuts and providing genuine financing for the future of Social Security. What a landmark reform that would have been. They chose tax cuts. After September 11, they faced a choice between tax cuts and getting serious about the extensive measures needed to protect this Nation against terrorist attacks. They chose tax cuts. After war broke out in the Middle East, they faced a choice between tax cuts and galvanizing a Nation behind a policy of future- oriented burden sharing. Again and again, they chose tax cuts. The recent $10 trillion deficit swing is the largest in American history other than during years of total war.'' This is one of your own. This is a Republican speaking here, speaking the truth.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. I think what this all really comes down to is whether you believe that it is important for the future of this country to try to have a balanced budget. Every State in the Union has it, every city council, every school board, and every family certainly tries to. And if you incur debt, you figure out how to pay it back within a reasonable period of time. Your budget does not do that. In fact, the chart to my right shows the Republican budget in action. It shows it in fiscal year 2004 we will be paying in the red $338 billion in interest.

Mr. TURNER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I request unanimous consent for 5 additional minutes.