Airlines and bailouts

Passed by the House last Thursday,

the House, with my support, passed a Fiscal Year 2003 Supplemental Appropriations

Bill (H.R. 1559) by a final vote of 414­12. This Wartime Supplemental

will provide critical funding to support the Department of Defense and

our men and women in uniform in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the continued

war on terrorism.

H.R. 1559 will also support

continued Homeland Security needs, including additional grants to first

responders, protection for our borders and port security, funding for

successful counter-terrorism needs within the Department of Justice, additional

resources for the Centers for Disease Control, and international economic

assistance to our allies supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

During consideration of the

Wartime Supplemental, there were several controversial amendments, including

one that passed the House with my support, prohibiting funds for reconstruction

efforts in Iraq from being used to procure goods or services from any

corporation or business entity organized in France, Germany, Russia, or

Syria, "the Coalition of the Unwilling."

Additionally, the Wartime Supplemental

noted the unfunded mandates Congress has passed on to the airline industry

in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (Public Law 107-71), a

bill which I originally opposed.

These unfunded security mandates

have caused the airlines to spend millions of dollars, at a time when

consumer confidence has fallen, and airline travel has not returned to

the pre-Sept. 11 levels.

I am not in favor of a "bailout"

for the industry in fact, I know that the marketplace will drive competition,

and some airlines may not be successful as the market continues to remain

very competitive. I do know that the cost of the security mandates required

in P.L. 107-71, which now represent a public good, are clearly the responsibility

of the federal government, and funding should be provided through the

General Fund of the United States Treasury.

For several weeks now, I have

made this argument to the President, the director of the Office of Management

and Budget, Mitch Daniels, as well as the leadership in the House and

Senate. I also introduced legislation (H.R. 1467) that would impose a

two-year moratorium on the passenger security tax and the air carrier

security fee, while properly reimbursing the airlines for the cost of

security measures that are the responsibility of the Transportation Security

Administration.

In addressing the concerns

of corporate greed, I am pleased to see that the CEO of Delta Airlines

has agreed to send a letter to all Delta employees announcing that he

will take a $9.1 million reduction in compensation including a 25 percent

pay cut and forfeiture of any incentive compensation or stock awards during

2003.

The previous action taken by

the Delta Board of Directors to compensate Delta executives regarding

bonuses and pensions was irresponsible. With the financial situation of

the industry and the call by Delta for concessions and furloughs, this

should have never happened.

The House bill provides language

that no airline receiving funding in the bill may provide compensation

to senior executives that exceeds the base pay and benefits that such

executives received in 2002. I will continue to monitor how this language

is addressed in the supplemental bill.

Cutting red tape for Medicare

providers

On Wednesday, with my strong

support, the House Committee on Ways and Means passed the Medicare Regulatory

and Contracting Reform Act of 2003 (H.R. 810) in a 19 to 13 vote.

I have heard from doctors and

other health care providers throughout Georgia regarding increased regulations

and paperwork they are dealing with under Medicare. As a result, providers

are spending increasing amounts of time filling out required forms and

decreasing the amount of time they have to care for patients.

Instead of continuing to struggle

with burdensome regulations and paperwork, some doctors are choosing to

withdraw from the Medicare program altogether, forcing their senior patients

to either find a new doctor or pay for their medical expenses out of their

own pockets.

The Medicare Regulatory and

Contracting Reform Act of 2003 would address these issues by decreasing

the regulatory burden placed on providers by the Medicare program. H.R.

810 takes sensible steps to educate providers and clarify Medicare processes

and provider rights. It also protects efforts to eliminate waste, fraud,

and abuse in Medicare.

While much work remains to

be done in improving Medicare, this legislation would respond to many

of the concerns of providers and take an important first step by relieving

providers of the current regulatory burden that prevents them from better

attending to the needs of their patients.

Banking

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives

passed the Business Checking Freedom Act of 2003 (H.R. 758) which would

end a prohibition dating from the Depression era on the payment of interest

on business checking accounts at banks and thrift institutions. It would

also allow the Federal Reserve to pay interest on the cash reserves it

holds for financial institutions.

This prohibition has been a

competitive disadvantage for smaller banks and small businesses. Large

banks have been able to get around the restriction through "sweeps"

that move money from a company's non-interest-bearing checking account

into an interest-bearing account and then back into the checking account.

Smaller institutions, which often serve small businesses, often lack the

technology to maintain sweep accounts.

H.R. 758 changes would be phased

in over two years to allow banks time to adjust to the new rules. In the

interim, banks would be permitted to increase the frequency of their sweeps

between checking and interest-bearing accounts from six times a month

to 24 times per month. H.R. 758 has been referred to the Senate Banking

Committee for further consideration.

On Wednesday, the House of

Representatives passed the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2003

(H.R. 522) with my strong support by a vote of 411­11. H.R. 522 would

increase the ceiling on federal deposit insurance coverage from $100,000

to $130,000 for each account at banks, thrift institutions, and credit

unions, and will help smaller banks compete with larger banks.

It would also provide for future

adjustments for inflation beginning in 2005, set a $260,000 coverage limit

for retirement accounts, and give the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

more leeway in setting premiums and reserve levels. H.R. 522 has been

referred to the Senate Banking Committee for further consideration.

Military education relief

Also on March 31, the House

passed H.R. 1412, the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students

Act of 2003 - HEROES. H.R. 1412 grants the Secretary of Education the

authority to provide relief to our young men and women whose education

is interrupted by military mobilization.

This waiver authority addresses

the need to assist students who are called up to active duty, those on

active duty military being relocated, and those students and borrowers

who may at some point become directly affected by unknown future military

action.

The Secretary of Education

will also assist reservists who leave their jobs and families to gain

relief from student loan payments for a time, protect borrowers and their

families from collection calls from lenders, and allow consecutive service

requirements for loan forgiveness programs.

Blue and Gold Star banners

On March 31, the House of Representatives

passed House Concurrent Resolution 109 which expresses the sense of Congress

regarding the Blue and Gold Star Banner.

The Blue and Gold Star Banners

were designed during the height of the First World War. The Banners quickly

became the symbol for a family member serving the nation. Families began

displaying these banners in their front windows with each Blue Star representing

a family member serving in the Armed Services and a Gold Star in honor

of a family member who has died in service to their country.

The legacy of the banner continued

during the Second World War, Korean, Vietnam, and Persian Gulf Wars and

other periods of conflict, as well as in times of peace. Families have

displayed the Blue and Gold Star Banners to demonstrate the honor and

pride felt for our service men and women and their sacrifices for freedom.

The display of a banner in

the front window of a home shows a family's pride in their loved one and

is a reminder that preserving freedom demands great sacrifice. House Concurrent

Resolution 109 calls on all Americans to honor the men and women of the

United States Armed Forces and their families.

It also encourages these families

to proudly display the Blue Star Banner or, if their loved one has made

the ultimate sacrifice, the Gold Star.

Finally, the resolution calls

on the media to recognize the importance of the Blue and Gold Star Banners

and their symbolism of the devotion, service, and sacrifice of the men

and women of the United States Armed Forces. If a family of a service

member would like to obtain a banner they can contact the American Legion

at www.legion.org.

Tax breaks

On March 31, the Eighth Congressional

District of Georgia hosted a series of economic forums with Under Secretary

of Commerce Kathleen Cooper. Dr. Cooper and I met with business and community

leaders in Atlanta, followed by a luncheon with members of the Columbus

Chamber of Commerce and a public forum at Columbus Technical College.

This was yet another opportunity to share the need for immediate tax relief

for every American who pays taxes.

President Bush has offered

a package of tax cuts to grow our economy. Those who oppose cutting unnecessary

spending claim this tax plan will create large deficits and only benefit

the rich. These forums were an opportunity to discuss the real benefits

of enacting these proposals.

To grow the economy and create

jobs, it is necessary to relieve the excessive burden placed on those

who hire employees - namely small businesses. There are 23 million small

businesses in the nation. If just one out of every 10 of those businesses

were to create one job, there would be 2.3 million new jobs created.

In a time of layoffs, plant

closings, and a downturn in the economy, this solution would create real

and meaningful growth to our economy, restore consumer confidence, increase

the amount of revenue coming into the U.S. Treasury, and be a real benefit

to every American family who pay taxes.