The Hill Report: Week of May 12 - May 16, 2008

Op-Ed

The Hill Report: Week of May 12 - May 16, 2008

This week in Washington, the House Democrat Majority failed to pass an emergency troop funding bill that is critical for our military men and women to continue their operations against Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan. What should have been a bipartisan, clean military funding bill for our troops unfortunately turned into a vehicle for irresponsible political stunts and staggering increases in unrelated domestic spending.

While I supported the initial military spending legislation because of its vital troop funding provisions, efforts to approve military spending were derailed as 149 Democrats voted against funding the troops and 132 Republicans voted present in protest of the Majority's attempts to balance domestic spending increases on the backs of our troops serving overseas. In addition to tax increases and $72 billion in unrelated domestic spending, the Majority approved the following initiatives:

An arbitrary withdrawal timeline in Iraq, replacing military decisions from our commanders on the ground with the opinions of MoveOn.org and undercutting our troops' success with the surge.
Limitations on our troops and intelligence officers' ability to interrogate terrorists.
The truth is it's past time for Congress to pass emergency troop funding. Originally requested back in February, this emergency troop funding request has now been hijacked by political maneuvering despite the fact that our military has clearly stated that failure to enact funding by June 15 could impact the ability of our troops to carry out their mission. Simply put, money is running out.

Our troops deserve better. Congress should pass a clean troop funding bill—without irresponsible withdrawal mandates and unrelated domestic spending. In the coming week, I will work with my colleagues to honor our men and women in uniform for Memorial Day by ensuring that they have the resources to succeed and provide for their families.

Recognizing Israel's 60th Anniversary
This week marks the 60th anniversary of Israel, which was established in 1948 and has become a strong security and trading partner with the United States. In recognition of this important anniversary, I was pleased to highlight in the Congressional Record the strong partnership between Texas and Israel.

Texas is Israel's third largest U.S. trading partner—exporting over $1 billion in goods in 2007. With low taxes, affordability and strategic trade location, Texas is great place for Israeli companies to do business. Additionally, Texas' reputation as a leader in telecommunications, energy and security technologies makes our state a strategic trading partner. Israel is equally attractive to U.S. investment, boasting the second highest number of companies on NASDAQ, high numbers of skilled engineers, and the world leader in medical device patents.

Because of this growing partnership, the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce was established in Richardson, Texas. The strong ties Texas shares with Israel are reflective of our nation's valued friendship with the Jewish community, and I look forward to continuing my work to strengthen our relationship for the next generation.

House Passes Boy Scout Coin Bill
On Tuesday, the House considered my legislation to establish a commemorative coin in recognition of the Boy Scouts of America's 100th anniversary in 2010. As you may remember, last month I introduced the Boy Scouts of America Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 5872) to create 350,000 $1 silver coins, which will be sold at a cost to cover production expenses and to raise $3.5 million for the Boy Scouts of America Foundation to serve Scouts in hard-to-serve areas. Additionally, the Boy Scouts of America will match this $3.5 million for the cause, totaling $7 million of non-taxpayer contributions to assist Scouts in hard-to-serve areas.

With the goals of citizenship training, character development, and personal fitness, Boy Scouts have influenced the development of millions of young men. This Congress, 248 members of the House of Representatives and Senate have participated in Boy Scouts of America as Scouts or adult leaders.

I am pleased to report that the Boy Scouts of America Commemorative Coin Act passed the House overwhelmingly on Thursday, receiving over 400 votes in favor of the bill. The bill now awaits consideration in the Senate, and I look forward to supporting the efforts of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to pass this legislation in recognition of 100 years of Scouting.

News from the 32nd
On Monday, I was pleased to be the keynote speaker for the annual luncheon of the Hispanic Bankers Association and Hispanic Women's Network of Texas. As you may know, the Hispanic Bankers Association in Dallas is a professional organization that focuses on developing Hispanic involvement in the financial/banking industry and reaching the unique needs of the Hispanic community through economic and banking seminars. Additionally, the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas is the largest Hispanic-based women's organization Texas.

During my address to members of these two leading organization, I discussed key economic issues affecting the economy North Texas and across the nation. American competitiveness in the international marketplace is critical for our nation's long-term economic vitality. In total gross domestic product (GDP), the United States continues to lead the world, exceeding second-place Japan by exceeding $8.9 trillion. However, we must continue to ensure that American products have a level playing field with international trade.

Last month, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) chose to place politics over policy by indefinitely postponing consideration of the Columbia free trade agreement (FTA). This critical trade agreement now stands almost no chance of receiving a fair hearing before the November elections, representing a lost opportunity to reduce export costs to Colombia and to strengthen ties with our strongest ally in South America. More specifically, in 2006 Texas companies exported nearly $850 million of chemicals to Colombia with tariffs ranging from 8 to 20%. Passage of the Colombia FTA will immediately eliminate 82% of chemical tariffs.

I remain committed to ensuring that Texas businesses and American products receive trade advantages in the global marketplace through reduced tariffs and fair access. I value the opinion of Texas Hispanic business leaders, and I am grateful to have the benefit of their thoughts on these important issues.

In addition to our economic discussion, the Hispanic Women's Network of Texas awarded college scholarships to six Hispanic young women who are graduating high school this year. I congratulate them on their academic achievement goals and wish them continued success as they enter college.

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