Child Custody Protection

Act

On Thursday, the Child Custody

Protection Act (H.R. 1755) was introduced for consideration in the House

of Representatives. I was proud to offer my support as an original cosponsor

of this legislation which would protect the rights of parents under state

parental notification and consent laws.

This important legislation

would hold accountable those individuals who disregard state parental

consent laws by taking someone else's child across state lines to obtain

an abortion. Over 20 states, including Georgia, have passed laws requiring

parental consent or notification before a minor girl can obtain an abortion.

I strongly support these laws

which recognize that parents should be consented when their children are

considering any serious medical procedure, including an abortion. The

Child Custody Protection Act would further protect the parent-child relationship

and punish those who would seek to undermine parental rights and break

the law.

Protecting our children

On Thursday, with my strong

support, the House of Representatives passed the Prosecuting Remedies

and Tools Against the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (S. 151).

The PROTECT Act is the conference

report which was agreed to by members of the House-Senate conference committee

convened to reconcile the differences in the versions passed by each house

earlier this year. It includes important provisions from the Child Abduction

Prevention Act (H.R. 1104), which I strongly supported.

Like H.R. 1104, S. 151 will

help protect our children from potential kidnappers and sex offenders.

Specifically, the bill would ensure that those who commit serious crimes

against our children cannot escape prosecution by extending the statute

of limitations on child abductions and sex crimes to the life of the victim.

It would also include measures

that would give judges the discretion to require lifetime supervision

of released sex offenders.

In addition, like H.R. 1104,

the conference report would reauthorize and double the authorization for

the annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Finally, the bill would support

the Department of Justice's effort to establish a national AMBER alert

network to facilitate the quick recovery of abducted children.

Truett Cathy testifies

On April 8, I was pleased to

welcome Truett Cathy, the founder and chairman of Chik-fil-A, to Washington,

D.C., to testify before the Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on

Human Resources.

Mr. Cathy came to Washington

to testify about the work of WinShape Homes and the effects that the Adoption

and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) has had on some of the foster children

who call WinShape their home.

Mr. Cathy started WinShape

Homes to provide a loving, nurturing home for those children who are victims

of circumstances and need a stable, secure family environment in which

to grow and mature. Since 1987, WinShape Homes have served over 250 children.

Currently, there are 134 children in WinShape's 14 homes. While WinShape

Homes cannot adopt the children in their care, these homes function as

loving and stable families for these children.

One of the significant successes

of ASFA has been the incentives that it has included to move more children

toward adoption. While ASFA has been largely successful, there are provisions

that may need improvement. Mr. Cathy provided testimony outlining recommended

changes and improvements based upon his vast experience with caring for

children.

Modernizing energy policy

On Friday, the House passed

the Energy Policy Act of 2003 (H.R. 6) by a vote of 247-175 with my strong

support. H.R. 6 will help America meet its energy needs by modernizing

the electricity, fuel and power generation that keep our homes, businesses

and cars running strong.

The bill contains a balance

of measures which will help conserve energy and increase production to

reduce dependence on foreign oil, promote a cleaner environment with renewable

energy and alternative fueled vehicles, and improve efficiency standards

on electric products, producing huge savings on monthly energy costs.

With an eye toward a more energy

efficient future and a cleaner environment, the bill launches a state-of-the-art

program to enable hydrogen fuel cell cars to compete in the market by

2020.

We need to do everything in

our power to strengthen our energy security by increasing domestic energy

supplies and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Policy

Act includes a provision which will allow oil and gas exploration in 2,000

out of the total 19 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

(ANWR).

U.S. dependence on foreign

oil has risen dramatically. This not only impacts the economic bottom

line for American families, but could also pose a serious threat to our

national security in times of crisis.

Studies by the U.S. Geological

Survey estimate that very limited drilling in ANWR could yield up to 16

billion barrels of oil, an amount roughly equal to 30 years of oil imports

from Saudi Arabia.

The Energy Policy Act will

also preserve certain state's authority, including Georgia, to regulate

retail electricity systems which favor buyers of electricity who have

been guaranteed reliable suppliers of power at fixed prices, an issue

of particular concern to Middle Georgia consumers.

Also included in the bill were

several provisions I included based upon conversations with residents

of Georgia. These provisions included: repeal of the 4.3 cents per gallon

fuel tax for rail and barge industries, change in tax depreciation for

natural gas pipelines, tax incentives for electric vehicles, and clarification

of IRS rules regulating municipal bond transactions for prepaid gas supply

contracts.

H.R. 6 has been referred to

the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for further consideration.

Defending 2nd Amendment

On Wednesday, with my strong

support, the House of Representatives passed the Protection of Lawful

Commerce in Arms Act (H.R. 1036) in a 285 to 140 vote.

In recent years, opponents

of the Second Amendment have sought to undermine our Constitutional rights

through an increasing number of lawsuits filed with the intention of driving

the firearms industry out of business.

Specifically, these individuals

file suit and attempt to hold manufacturers and dealers liable for the

criminal acts of others. These lawsuits have been filed in multiple states

and demand a broad and varying range of remedies relating to product design

and marketing, including new consumer regulatory authority. If granted,

these demands would create major restrictions on interstate commerce in

firearms and ammunition.

While these lawsuits have been

consistently thrown out of court, firearms and ammunition manufacturers

and dealers still have to respond to each suit and incur legal costs.

In the best case scenario, these costs are ultimately passed on to customers

in the form of higher prices; in the worst case, these manufacturers and

dealers will be forced out of business.

To bring an end to these frivolous

lawsuits, the bill would require the Commerce Secretary to create a list

of manufacturers and sellers of firearms or ammunition engaged in interstate

or foreign commerce. As long as they are compliant with the law, those

on this list would be protected from frivolous lawsuits based on criminal

or unlawful use of their products by others. I was proud to cosponsor

the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.

Reforming our tax code

On Thursday, the House passed

the Sense of the Congress that the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 Should

be Fundamentally Reformed to be Fairer, Simpler, and Less Costly and to

encourage Economic Growth, Individual Liberty and Investment in American

jobs (H.Con.Res. 141) under a suspension of the rules.

H.Con.Res. 141 encourages a

national debate on fundamental reform of the Internal Revenue Code. In

2001 the Internal Revenue Service spent $8.9 billion to administer the

current system while American taxpayers spent an estimated $135 billion

and 3 billion hours, more than a full day for each return, to comply.

Our current tax code is needlessly complex and cumbersome for the American

family. It is for this reason that I support both, H.Con.Res. 141 and

H.R. 25, a bill to replace the current tax code with a national sales

tax.