Out-of-Touch Democrats

OUT-OF-TOUCH DEMOCRATS -- (House of Representatives - July 26, 2005)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a topic that I have discussed in this Chamber several times in recent months. As we enter the dog days of summer here in Washington, D.C. and the temperature continues to rise, so too does the rhetoric we hear from the other side of the aisle.

Democrats continue to say Republicans are out of the mainstream. However, from where I stand, I see nothing but hollow allegations and a complete lack of any legislative agenda for the American people from the other party. Meanwhile, Republicans continue to pursue a commonsense solutionist agenda that addresses important issues like securing our homeland, supporting our troops, growing the economy, and looking out for families and small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take a minute to read a quote from the minority leader, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), from a recent press conference she held: ``It is important for us to take down their numbers, to take down their numbers on Social Security, to take down their numbers on credibility. That was very important. If you are the challenger, you are not going to go up against the leader in full strength. You have to take them down first and then you move out in a positive way.''

This quote has troubled me greatly over the past week. I strongly disagree with this type of leadership.

While Republicans remain committed to moving forward with a positive, commonsense agenda, Democrats continue to rely on obstruction and partisan rhetoric. Republicans are concentrating on progress, and our results are hard to argue with. New jobs figures show that 146,000 new jobs were created in June. The economy has created over 3.7 million jobs since May 2003, and we have seen steady job gains for each of the last 25 months.

There are more Americans working than ever before. The unemployment rate fell to 5 percent in June, the lowest it has been since September 2001. The energy bill passed by Congress will create nearly half a million new jobs in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture and technology sectors by reducing our dependence on foreign oil while exploring different sources of renewable fuels and nuclear energy.

This legislation will also help eventually lower the cost of gasoline, a drag on profits that is hitting small businesses hard. Republicans have been working diligently on behalf of small businesses. According to a small business survey, over 80 percent of small businesses spend an average of $25,000 annually on attorney consultant fees and life insurance premiums in an attempt to avoid the crushing blow of the death tax. We are working to repeal the death tax because we feel this money could do more if it remains in the hands of business owners and not in the hands of the government.

In addition, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 that President Bush signed into law will reduce the number of abusive and frivolous bankruptcy filings that have hurt the economy and small businesses by raising the cost of credit.

Republicans are improving our Nation's transportation and infrastructure. House Republicans passed the highway bill which will fund our Federal highways and help increase the quality of our transportation and infrastructure. This will allow small businesses to move products more efficiently and economists estimate that for every $1 billion spent to improve our highways, 40,000 new jobs will be created.

House Republicans are working to facilitate job training for American workers. Hundreds of thousands of new jobs are being created under our watch, and we are dedicated to providing adequate job training for all Americans who seek it. The Job Training Improvement Act will break down barriers for millions of job seekers by streamlining bureaucracy and making sure more time is spent training for the jobs of the 21st century.

In addition, the Vocational and Technical Education for the Future Act will strengthen and improve the framework of current vocational and technical education programs, add new accountability measures, focus on academic achievement, and streamline Federal funding to help States and local communities make the most of Federal resources.

Republicans are also dedicated to national security and the war on terror. We are promoting responsible government spending and are committed to upholding vital American programs like Social Security. Democrats are committed to rhetoric that does nothing to keep America safe or grow our economy.

It has even come so far that the minority leadership is willing to contradict themselves in order to block growth. On March 6, the House minority leader stated on Fox News Sunday that ``we must stop robbing the Social Security Trust Fund of its money to pay for other things.'' Yet in the June 24 edition of Congress Daily she stated, ``There is nothing wrong with Social Security lending money with the prospect of returning it.''

This week, I sat down in my office to do some reading and came across a series of editorials from leading Republican and Democrat Members. It was the sharp contrast in our ideologies that I saw when reading these articles that made me want to come to the floor tonight.

One of the Democrat's editorials claimed that the first 6 months of the 109th Congress will be remembered as legislatively unproductive. This is not only untrue, but it demonstrates the complete unwillingness of the House minority to acknowledge and join in the effort for progress in America.

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Republicans are proud of our vast accomplishments in the first half of the 109th Congress and we hope we can work with our friends on the other side of the aisle to bring forth ideas for the betterment of the Nation. I am proud of our accomplishments not just because they represent good policy but also because so many of them attracted bipartisan support. More than 40 rank-and-file Democrats voted with us to enact some of the most important measures of this Congress--despite opposition from their leadership. I want to thank those on the other side of the aisle who acted in this Nation's best interest and put politics aside.

We are working towards solutions that will create a stronger America that we can hand down to future generations with pride. We want to preserve vital programs like Social Security, continue to create jobs, lower taxes for hardworking Americans, and address the security issues facing our country. I look forward to the day that the minority joins us in a bipartisan effort to strengthen our Nation and stops attempting to block progress for the sake of partisan politics.

In the meantime, I hope the American people will examine the record so that they can see which party truly is out of the mainstream. When they do, they will come to one and only one conclusion--that the Republican principles of progress and solutions are benefiting the entire Nation, while the Democrat tactics of obstruction and stonewalling contribute nothing. It is the Washington Democrats, Mr. Speaker, that are truly out of the mainstream--not the Republicans.

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