congressional_record: CREC-2006-12-08-pt1-PgE2145
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-2006-12-08-pt1-PgE2145 | 2006-12-08 | 109 | 2 | FOND FAREWELL TO DEPARTING FLORIDA DELEGATION MEMBERS | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | ALLOTHER | E2145 | E2145 | [{"name": "Cliff Stearns", "role": "speaking"}] | 152 Cong. Rec. E2145 | Congressional Record, Volume 152 Issue 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006) [Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E2145] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] FOND FAREWELL TO DEPARTING FLORIDA DELEGATION MEMBERS ______ HON. CLIFF STEARNS of florida in the house of representatives Wednesday, December 6, 2006 Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, Florida is a state like no other. Our distinct regions range from the white-sanded beaches of the panhandle to the pink-sanded, sophisticated boutiqued avenues of Miami, passing through the space coast, home to Kennedy Space Center, and, most exquisitely, through the beautiful, rolling horse country of Marion and Alachua counties. Our congressional delegation is no less diverse. We have our rock- solid fiscal conservatives, our steady moderates, and our progressive liberals. I am proud to be associated with them all. Tonight, I join my Sunshine State colleagues to bid a fond farewell to Clay Shaw, Mike Bilirakis, Jim Davis, and Katherine Harris. Each of them are unique seashells, sparkling on the beach that we call Florida. Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. Davis and I have spent many years together on the Committee on Energy & Commerce. For countless hours, we have debated the Outer Continental Shelf, Medicaid, and telecommunications issues. There were never dull moments, but even as we disagreed, I think that the three of us asked a common question as we legislated: what is best for Floridians? In Mr. Bilirakis, further, one could ask for no more dedicated advocate for our Nation's veterans. He has introduced the fix for the unfair offset of concurrent receipt of veteran disability pay and military retirement pay for 20 years now. Happily, he must leave here with the satisfaction that Congress has made substantial progress in ending this century-old problem. Mr. Shaw's leadership in Medicare is peerless. Physicians around Florida and around the nation have him to thank for his tireless efforts on their reimbursement, as well as medical liability reform. I am honored that he asked me to carry the torch for his work on medical screenings for first responders. I shall not let him down. Mrs. Harris has served honorably as a brilliant stateswoman, both for Florida and for the United States. As Secretary of State for Florida, she represented and advanced our interests in trade, with diplomacy and aplomb. And, she is an accomplished horsewoman and solid booster and alumna of the University of Florida, with strong family ties. As an example of our unity, like other States with no income taxes, our delegation has lobbied hard for federal income tax fairness, via the deduction for state and local sales taxes. When I gathered the support of the Florida delegation for this deduction in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 in a letter in the summer of 2004, I am proud to say that I collected the signatures of 100 percent of our delegation, all 25 of our House Members, and our two Senators. One of our delegation, the Honorable Porter Goss, in fact had one foot out the door, to head the Central Intelligence Agency, but he still took a moment to sign our letter. I don't think any of the other non-income tax states, including the even larger delegation of Texas, secured 100 percent support. This solidarity just exemplifies who Floridians are. Representatives Bilirakis, Shaw, Harris, and Davis, fare thee well. ____________________ |