JOHN CARTER

In 1938, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered one of America’s first nation-wide radio addresses. In that historic address he said, “The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” These words of our past should serve as a reminder to every member of Congress. Our primary goal is to protect the interests of the American people, and keep them informed about where and how their tax dollars are being spent.

Last November, the American people sent a clear message to members of Congress. You want an honest, open government that isn’t spending your tax dollars, through earmarks for secret projects, anonymously buried in lengthy legislation and hidden from the public. The American people deserve transparency in spending, and that means transparency across the board.

We can look to Congressman Charlie Rangel, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, for a perfect example of why we need earmark reform in government bills. He earmarked $2 million for the “Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York. The center is seeking donations through a ‘20-page glossy brochure’ to restore a ‘magnificent Harlem limestone townhouse’ that will provide a ‘well-furnished office for Congressman Rangel.’” (OpinionJournal’s Political Diary, 7/20/07).

And let’s not stop there. Congressman Paul Kanjorski is under fire for steering $9.25 million in tax dollars to a company owned by his family. According to one leading Washington newspaper, the company, Cornerstone Technologies, ‘was formed by his nephew, Peter Kanjorski, and a scientist Bruce Conrad, who were joined in the company by four of the congressman’s other nephews and his daughters…[S]eparate from House rules, federal law prohibits members of Congress from contracting with the federal government.’ (Politico, 9/5/07)

We all remember the news reports concerning the “Bridge to Nowhere”. To address these loopholes, Republicans reformed the earmark process, requiring full transparency and the ability to challenge earmarks in all types of bills. Unfortunately, the Democrats chose to roll back these reforms at the beginning of this Congress.

Time after time, Washington liberals continue to show they are more concerned with funding their own private interests secretly than living up to the promises they made about open government at the beginning of this Congress.

In June, I joined my conservative colleagues to introduce a resolution, H.Res. 479, that would fully restore the reforms implemented by Republicans in 2006. But so far, Democrat leaders refuse to put the resolution to a vote.

That is why we began a legislative procedure, known as a discharge petition, that would override Democratic Leadership and bring this earmark reform legislation to the House Floor. I am seeking to close all loopholes that allow the current system to remain broken. If a member of Congress is willing to spend your hard-earned money on a project, they have an obligation to stand by that project and explain its value and purpose.

The American people need someone to stand up for them, and it is clear that the new Majority in Congress isn’t willing to give up their hidden handouts and do the right thing by reforming and making the earmark process honest. I have signed this petition to prove to the people of Central Texas that I will fight relentlessly to give them the open, honest government that was promised at the beginning of this Congress. I hope that my fiscally conservative colleagues from both political parties will join me and sign this discharge petition, showing the American people we will not stand for the continued fleecing of this nation.

This week we remember the brave men and women who lost their lives in the devastating terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We remember the courageous policemen and firemen who rose to the call of duty on that day, and we remember the families whose grief has resurfaced with the memories of their lost loved ones. The total number of United States citizens killed in that single day was 2,974, the vast majority of whom were civilians, not military. They were not attacked by a country’s army. In fact, as we all remember, the attack was just the opposite. America was “sucker punched” out of the blue by a group of radical terrorists whose goal is to bring their violent way of life to our free country.

This great tragedy united our country in its aftermath, but has left us drastically divided on its meaning. It is sad that during this week of remembrance, liberal political group MoveOn.org “sucker punched” our own military forces by launching a personal attack on General David Petraeus, a respected U.S. Army figure who has dedicated thirty years of his life to the service. On the day General Petraeus delivered his congressionally mandated report to Congress on the progress being made in Iraq, MoveOn.org placed a full page advertisement in the New York Times accusing him of treason. The ad alleged, without evidence, that Petraeus would not give an honest assessment of the situation in Iraq, but instead would be “cooking the books” giving a testimony pre-spun and pre-scripted by the White House. To push the dagger a little deeper, the title of the ad was a pun on Petraeus’s name: General Betray Us?

I wonder how a group of American people could be so vicious towards a respected and credible general. After all, this man is a four-star general, a Princeton Ph. D, a recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Metal, and not to mention he has led our troops in the fight to protect our freedom, the very freedom that allows members of MoveOn.org the ability to speak so freely. To hear personal, intentional attacks like this on our military during the anniversary week of September, 11, raises one disturbing question. Why are we pointing the gun at our own soldiers rather than at the terrorists who killed so many innocent Americans? Because this attack on Petraeus was so public and so deliberate, it cannot be ignored by either side of the aisle. It is shameful and disrespectful, and any member of Congress, regardless of party affiliation, should denounce something so outright distasteful.

Despite the attacks, General Petraeus held his head high when he walked into the hearing room to deliver his testimony, seemingly unscathed by the ad. He delivered an honest, straight-forward assessment of the realities in Iraq. He discussed the importance of building on our current progress in Iraq and avoiding the consequences that would be sure to follow a precipitous withdrawal of support forces from the region. Not a single member of Congress wants to see our soldiers stay in Iraq one day longer than is necessary, and General Petraeus made clear his intention to suggest a modest drawdown of troop levels in response to the success that has been achieved.

After returning from my fourth trip to Iraq, I can testify that what General Petraeus reported about the significant progress is true. I have witnessed first-hand the American soldiers working with the Iraqi forces to bring their country to a more secure state. Our soldiers on the ground believe strongly in what they are fighting for and we should allow them the opportunity to succeed and return home.

General Petraeus is a man of integrity and he is doing exactly what Congress has asked him to do by delivering an honest report. His testimony reminds us that progress in Iraq has not come without a price. That’s why it remains more important than ever that Congress cast aside political calculations and work together for the security of our nation. We need to adopt a bi-partisan policy that is worthy of our troops’ continued sacrifice and consistent with their single minded determination to succeed.