Last week marked the beginning

of the 108th Congress. With 229 Republicans, 204 Democrats, one Independent,

and one vacant seat, Representative Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) was elected,

and sworn in to serve his third term as speaker of the House of Representatives.

Shortly thereafter, the Oath of Office was administered by the Speaker

to each newly elected Member of the House and the House Rules for the

108th Congress were adopted. Once again, it is a tremendous privilege

to have been elected for a sixth term to represent the people of Georgia

in the United States House of Representatives.

Prior to the House adjournment

in December 2002, there were a series of organizational meetings to determine

party priorities upon our return this past week. During that time I was

honored to be selected by my peers in Region 10 (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia,

Louisiana, and Mississippi) to represent their interests on the Republican

Steering Committee.

The Republican Steering Committee

has the responsibility to recommend to the full Republican Conference

the positions for committee chairs and members for the standing committees

of the House. The 29 members of the Steering Committee include the speaker

of the House, majority leader, majority whip, among other party leadership,

"exclusive committee" chairmen (Ways and Means, Appropriations,

Rules, and Energy and Commerce), and 13 regional representatives.

On our first legislative day

back in Congress, I introduced four tax bills to help make American workers

more competitive in the global market. The Collins Tax Reform and Worker

Assistance package will reform current tax policies which hamper American

business and American workers in competition with foreign companies. These

tax provisions are a leading source of lost jobs in the American economy.

The largest challenge faced

tax policies place American businesses, which provide jobs for American

workers, at a severe disadvantage to foreign competitors. The tax structure

must be changed in ways that reward rather than punish manufacturers who

remain in this country and provide U.S. jobs and that cannot happen too

soon.

Specifically, the bills will

repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax on individuals and corporations, eliminate

of the double taxation on stock dividends, reduce the capital gains tax

rates, and call for more realistic depreciation schedules for capital

expensing.

These changes and other reforms

will make the American worker more competitive in the world market. By

leveling this playing field we will keep more American jobs in the United

States.

On Wednesday, the House of

Representatives passed the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation

Act of 2002 in a 416 to 4 vote. Shortly after passing the House, President

George W. Bush signed the extension of benefits into law.

This legislation extends the

unemployment benefits that Congress passed in March 2002. Specifically,

it will provide an additional 13 weeks of coverage to all American workers

who exhaust their initial 26 weeks of benefits. As a result, all American

workers will be eligible for up to 39 weeks of coverage. In addition,

in high unemployment states, the bill provides another 13 weeks of coverage

for a total of 52 weeks of coverage. This extension will apply to all

workers who become eligible for benefits through the end of May 2003.

While this legislation takes

the important step of providing a safety net for 2.7 million unemployed

workers and their families, it unfortunately does not provide these Americans

what they need most jobs to provide for their families. President Bush

has introduced an economic growth and job creation plan that would do

just that; it would enable more to Americans keep more of their hard-earned

money and encourage investment that creates jobs.

Additionally, as a member of

the Ways and Means Committee, I have introduced the Collins Tax Reform

and Worker Assistance package. I will continue to work with my colleagues

to create an economic package that will encourage investment, stimulate

economic growth and create jobs which will enable Americans to provide

for their families.

On Wednesday, the House of

Representatives passed HR 11, which will reauthorize the federal flood

insurance program that expired at the end of 2002. The bill would retroactively

provide coverage from Dec. 31, 2002, until Dec. 31, 2003. The program

provides $26 billion in flood insurance coverage to U.S. homeowners. The

program was established in a 1968 housing law (PL 90-448), and it is administered

in communities that have instituted flood-plan management and land-use

control measures that minimize the risk of flooding and mitigate potential

flood damage. Federal law calls for federally insured or supervised banks

to require those with mortgages in such areas to carry flood insurance.

The bill must now be considered by the Senate.

On Wednesday, legislation to

ban cloning of human beings was introduced for consideration in the House

of Representatives. Once again, I was proud to offer my strong support

as a cosponsor of cloning ban legislation.

Georgians from around the state

have let me know, in no uncertain terms, about their opposition to cloning.

In December, the Raelian cult claimed that its efforts had led to the

birth of the first human clone. While these claims of a cloned child remain

highly questionable and unsubstantiated, attempts at manufacturing human

beings for both research and reproductive purposes is morally wrong.

Not only does the practice

devalue the sanctity of individual life, it also treats human beings as

a commodity to be used to meet the desires of others. In animals, cloning

often ends in the death of the embryo; and, when it does not end in death,

it often leads to severe deformities. Attempts to clone human beings,

which are even more complex than animals that have been cloned, will ultimately

lead to the killing of human embryos and, potentially, to the creation

of severely deformed persons.

In the 107th Congress, with

my strong support, the House passed the Human Cloning Prohibition Act

of 2001 in a 265 to 162 vote. Unfortunately, the Democratically-controlled

Senate failed to act on this important legislation.

I will continue to support

efforts to honor the sanctity of life and work to ban all efforts to clone

human beings. With a Republican majority in both the House and Senate,

it is my hope that the 108th Congress will stop this immoral research

and enact a long overdue ban on human cloning.

On Wednesday evening, the House

of Representatives extended the Continuing Resolution passed at the end

of the 107th Congress to provide funding for the federal government through

Jan. 31, 2003. Early in 2002, the House of Representatives successfully

passed a budget which established spending limitations for the Fiscal

Year 2003 appropriations process. However, during 2002, the Democrat-controlled

Senate failed to establish a similar spending blueprint.

The Senate's failure to fulfill

this requirement has been a major obstacle in the effort to enact FY2003

appropriation bills aside from the Defense and Military Construction bills.

The Congress anticipates concluding deliberations on FY03 funding by the

week of Jan. 26, prior to the President's State of the Union address scheduled

for Tuesday, Jan. 28. In completing the FY03 spending bills the Congress

has agreed to comply with the President's desire to maintain fiscal discipline,

and will need to cut overall spending by $10 billion. This will serve

to benefit the hard-working American taxpayer.