Accomplishments of the House of Representatives

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. CARTER. I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, you know, we are mighty proud that we serve in the people's House. And what we try to do and we endeavor every day to meet is what the people of the United States care about and need.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the accomplishments of the Republican majority over the period of time that I have served in this Congress, because the efforts that we have made have been for the lives of the people of the United States and to a lesser extent people around the world

Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues has just told you, we have had one of the longest continued periods of prosperity in the history of the Republic. But let's relate this to people, real people. Let me share a story with you about a young man that lives in Round Rock, Texas.

He got laid off. It has been about almost 3 years now. He got laid off on a job. He had a good job. He had a college education. He got laid off and it was a bad time for that young man at that time because he had a brand now baby girl.

Life looked a little bleak for him and for his family. But he, being a typical American, who would never say no, he went out and got two part-time jobs to keep the wolf away from the door at his house as he looked for another job.

But about the same time within that neighborhood, we started to see what happens when you give the American people their tax money back and let them spend and invest their tax money, based upon a tax bill passed by this Congress for the people of the United States.

For those taxpayers who pay taxes, we reduced their taxes. And that money was starting to work on behalf of this young man in Round Rock, Texas. The other day I ran into that kid with his almost 4-year-old daughter now coming back from one of her little dance recitals, on their way to their new home.

He was real proud of his new job, which is directly associated with providing a satellite industry that services the new Toyota plant that is opening in San Antonio, Texas. All of this, Mr. Speaker, is the result of the good tax policy of this House which encourages investment, employs people, and brings our unemployment to a record of all time, consistent low unemployment.

But it is really about that little girl and her daddy and her mamma and how life is better for them in Texas today. These stories, those untold stories are everywhere in this Nation as a result of the actions of this House.

I am very honored and privileged and humbled by the fact that I now in my direct represent the largest military facility on earth, Ft. Hood Texas. 50,000 solders have marched to war on multiple occasions on behalf of this Nation in the very recent past, and currently we have almost 19,000 solders over there now doing their duty for the United States.

And this House remembers these people in uniform who are serving our Nation. And we have remembered them by the greatest increase in spending on behalf of our veterans, overwhelming what was done in the past few decades.

We gave our military retirees and our veterans the opportunity to have better health care, and we strengthened TRICARE. We strengthened veterans benefits. We have increased benefits for veterans every year. And the veterans life is better than it was 4 years ago.

And they know it and they are grateful for it. And we solved a concurrent receipt problem that they had for 100 years. Mr. Speaker, why do we do it? Because those are the people of the United States. And this House is about the people.

As we face an immigration debate, an immigration debate that harms our Nation, the fact that we have got an invasion coming across our border, it was the House, the people's House that recognized it, not only the strain and stress upon the American people, but the harm being done to those foreign invaders.

They came in unlawfully into this country. Let us not forget these human beings that come across this border who suffer and hide in the shadows. But this House stepped up and said we are going to stop the bleeding. And we passed, what has it been, almost 8 months ago, passed a bill that said enough is enough. We are putting resources on the border and we are going to put a stop to it.

And this House is going to stand firm to hold the border secure of the United States for who? For the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud and very humbled that I have colleagues such as my colleagues that are here tonight that are going to speak to you to tell you that we have done our duty for the people of America. And when we see that we have given them the extra income, we have given them the freedom of their time, we have allowed people to invest, and maybe they can give up that second job, so they can go to the ball park, take vacations, have a life with their families, which we treasure so greatly in this country.

Mr. Speaker, that is what it is all about. It is all about the people of the United States. And it is all about the people's House remembering the people. As Mrs. Blackburn said, tomorrow we are going to go home. I get home every weekend, and most of the Members of the House do that, because we want to be with the folks that sent us up here.

We want to know where they are shopping, what they are spending, how much their milk costs, not the milk in Washington. We want to be able to say they are our neighbors, because that is what we are up here for, to represent our neighbors. And I think we have a proud record that we can go back to our neighbors on and say we have given you a better life.

Life is better today as the result of the people's House, the House of Representatives. I am honored that I have the opportunity to serve that House. I am honored to be with the colleagues that are here tonight, and all of my colleagues, especially my Republican colleague on this side of the aisle who never throw up the obstructions that we face from the other side, but always try to do what is right for the people.

Energy, the other issues that the people are so concerned about, we have got a solution not rhetoric. And we are moving forward as Mrs. Blackburn said.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee, my mother's home State, and say that I am very, very pleased to tell and report to you today that the people's House still firmly stands for the people of the United States. With that I yield back.

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Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, we have an old saying around the courthouse, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results. We have tried a bill just like the one that the Senate sent over to us. It is headed our way that they just passed back in 1986. And President Reagan, a man who never lacked in the courage to speak the truth, called it what it was, an amnesty bill. That amnesty bill resulted in 15 million additional illegal immigrants coming into the United States. It was a plum that said, come on up here, boys, the water is fine.

Now, why in the world would we ever think that the same exact program would bring any different results? I join my colleagues, both of my colleagues here in totally opposing amnesty. Amnesty is not a solution to this problem. It is the problem. I take the position and I think most of the Members of this House take the position as I mentioned that we have got to stop the bleeding at the American border.

The other night I went into detail about the criminal activity that is going on on our southern border. I am sure we got problems on our northern border too, but I only live about 130 miles from our southern border so I have firsthand knowledge of what is going on on the southern border.

I have visited that border. I have seen the drug dealers that are crossing in waves, bringing evil that I spent 20 years on the bench fighting. The biggest drug pipeline in the world runs up I-35 right through the middle of my district. I have seen the night vision pictures of troops of drug dealers hauling large satchels of illegal substances across our southern border. These are not folks coming over here for work. These are folks coming over here for evil. We have got to secure that southern border and all of our borders. If we cannot protect our own sovereignty, Mr. Speaker, we are having a hard time arguing we are a sovereign Nation. So our sovereignty is important enough for us to take our time and plug the hole and make our life safe for the American citizens. And then my position is at that point in time these other issues that we are discussing is, address them sensibly, take the time to examine all the options and fix all that is broken in our immigration policy from top to bottom; and believe me, Mr. Speaker, in my district, background checks on people wanting to come into this country legally, we are now working on those backgrounds checks from 1999 and 2000.

We are going to have a real interesting crisis when we dump 15 million people into a background check program. That is just one of the little things we need to take our time and figure out.

So I am going to join, I guess the colloquy with my friends here and we will talk about all of this. Mr. Rohrabacher, I have heard him. He is passionate on this subject, and I am looking forward to his passion. But most importantly the thing we want to say is to the American people, we haven't forgotten you. We hear you. We hear you.

I just got off the phone less than an hour ago to one of my folks back in Williamson County and the other counties I have in the 31st Congressional District of Texas.

They are united like a solid front for border security only. Our people that live on the battle line know where the battle is.

One individual, out of his own pocket, has sent out the phone number of every senator in the United States Senate to every voter in my district, paid for it himself, just to tell them to call the Senate and tell them what they thought of the Senate bill. That is passion for this war that we are fighting to protect the sovereignty of our Nation.

So, as we are getting passionate, we are passionate because the people are passionate, and I am just glad to be able to step up here with my colleagues and tell you that we have not forgotten you. We know the American citizens' concern is from Maine to California, from Texas to Minnesota. You have told us, we listen.

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