The Administration

The House Government Reform Committee, of which I have been a member for many years, a few days ago released an explosive report released on the degree to which convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff influenced White House officials.

The 95-page report by the committee, fashioned largely on a bipartisan basis, reveals extensive contacts and previously unreported influence that Abramoff wielded in the Administration.

Just when I thought I had seen and heard it all, this extraordinary report explicitly depicts the pathetic depths to which the influence peddlers and their friends have fallen. I am sickened by the contents of this report and the public corruption it graphically displays. Even though several people involved in this scandal have pled guilty to criminal offenses, this report demonstrates that our system has run amok. Congress has failed seriously to address this problem, and I hope this report will convince the Republican leadership that lawmakers must fulfill our obligation and end this intolerable and outrageous abuse.

Years ago, Secretary Rumsfeld in a probing internal memorandum asked about the metrics for measuring success or failure in the war on terror and the Iraq war. He raised an important question whether we were creating more terrorists than we were capturing or killing. Reports about the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) give a clear indication that the tragic answer to the Secretary's inquiry is ‘yes, the problem is getting worse not better.’

Contrary to the President's public declarations over the last several weeks, the Administration's ‘stay the course’ doctrine is failing under almost every metric including the most important -- whether we are reducing the number of jihadists bent on killing Americans.

The White House asserts that these reports are ‘not representative of the complete document.’  Congress should test that optimistic assessment with real oversight hearings, something this majority has thus far been unwilling to do. But unless we are willing to confront the cold hard facts, the Administration will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again.

This past Sunday, I spoke before tens of thousands who gathered in New York City’s Central Park, united in their compassion and concern, to call for an immediate end to the genocide in Darfur.  One of the reoccurring themes of the rally, and one that was a focus of my speech, was that the need for a presidential special envoy to Sudan to help push the peace process forward in Darfur.

That request became a reality yesterday, when President Bush named former United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Andrew Natsios as Presidential Special Envoy to Sudan during his speech before the United Nations General Assembly.  This welcome news brings additional focus, urgency, energy, and gravitas to U.S. efforts to help the people of Darfur and bring lasting peace to all of Sudan.

However, there are many challenges that lay ahead for the new envoy, including, and most imminent, the need to allow UN peacekeepers on the ground in Sudan to protect the people of Darfur.  This afternoon I will convene a hearing to explore this and other challenges that the new envoy will face in this position.

Mr. Natsios has a full plate from the moment he starts this job.  Not only is the crisis in Darfur is getting worse by the hour, but north-south tensions are rising, putting the peace agreement that ended the 22-year civil war in jeopardy.  At today’s hearing, we will examine the ways that we can effectuate positive change and help settle the protracted disputes that have kept lasting peace from taking hold in the war-torn nation of Sudan.

Today, I wrote to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez about some internal emails I have obtained.  The emails are interesting because they show that a press officer working for Secretary Gutierrez appeared to be making decisions about what scientific views were appropriate to share with the public and what scientific views weren't.

The email exchange took place just after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita when there was great public interest in the connections between global warming and hurricanes.  The emails suggest that Commerce press secretary Chuck Fuqua, who also happened to be the Director of Media Operations of the 2004 Republican National Convention, ensured that only those scientists that were skeptical of the connection would be provided to the media.  Salon.com has obtained additional emails that suggest the Executive Office of the President was involved in approving and disapproving media requests for government scientists.

I can't help but connect this to testimony that the Government Reform Committee received in July that NOAA's official position on hurricanes and global warming is not consistent with the published, peer-reviewed science which suggests that as the planet warms hurricanes will become more dangerous.  Dr. Judith Curry, of the Georgia Institute of Technology, testified as follows: Read more...

Despite a recent ruling by a federal court that the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program was both unconstitutional and illegal, on Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee passed two bills that would approve the program and condone the president’s disregard for the rule of law.

On a party-line vote of 10 to 8, the committee approved S.2453, the “National Security Surveillance Act, Read more...

This Administration, like its predecessors, has a broad pool of talent to choose from in filling this critical post.  At a time when Iran is thwarting the will of the international community, North Korea is testing missiles, and the Middle East is a powder keg, Mr. Bolton has not demonstrated that he is the best choice for job.  And we need the best.

In my 31 years of military service, I was charged not only with defending this country but also its freedoms. If my time in the Navy taught me anything, it was that we serve in this all-volunteer military to defend Americans' freedom to think as they please, and to say what they think, even if they disagree with their leaders. A democracy is based on freedom of expression, and those who join the military do so to fight, if necessary, the wars which defend that freedom-hoping that our use will be to a wise end.

Whether President Bush or Secretary Rumsfeld likes it or not, these freedoms include the right of Americans to dissent with its government and to demand change. The military serves our country; those ultimately responsible for our military, our citizens, not only have the right-they have the duty-to speak up about what is occurring in Iraq and its impact upon America's security. That is what being a citizen in a democracy is all about.

This is particularly true when our citizens see so many failures in how this Administration has conducted the war. For someone like Secretary Rumsfeld to compare critics of the Bush Administration's Iraq policy to those appeasing Nazis before WWII is reprehensible. That is why I am running on a belief formed from 31 years in the service of our country: That whenever America has looked itself in the national mirror at a time of great challenge, it has said 'we are better than this,' and we have acted in the best interests of our citizens. I call on Curt Weldon to join me in challenging those who insult our values in this manner.

I’m pleased with the re-opening of beef trade with Japan, but frustrated by reports out of Japan that consumer confidence in U.S. beef is weak. Considering the extensive efforts to lift Japan’s ban on U.S. beef and the importance of the Japanese market to the Nebraska and U.S. beef industry, it’s bothersome that U.S. beef has not even made its way to a majority of retailers and restaurants because many are still cautions about offering the product.

I sent a letter last week to U.S. Dept of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Johanns asking the agency to outline its plan to revive the fledgling Japanese market for U.S. beef. America’s beef producers have already endured enough delays in lifting Japan’s ban. Now that we’ve cleared that hurdle, we shouldn’t experience any more delays on behalf of the USDA’s lack of foresight and planning. According to a recent news report, the last time the ban was lifted the U.S. exported 700 tons of U.S. beef to Japan between Dec. 16, 2005 and Jan. 20, 2006 when trade was first reinstated. Since Japan re-opened its trade once more this month, the U.S. has only exported just over 17 tons of beef between Aug. 7 and 17, 2006.

I know the beef industry and exporters are doing their best to try and regain the confidence of Japanese consumers and I want to ensure that the USDA is also engaged in these efforts. I’d also like to offer my assistance in helping U.S. beef find market acceptance in Japan.

I don’t want to be too ominous, however. Just this week one of Japan’s largest barbeque chains announced it would be receiving its first imports of U.S. beef. I hope to hear more hopeful stories like this in the near future. Now that we’ve jumped the bureaucratic hurdles and resumed trade, we need a plan to reassure Japanese consumers of something I’ve long believed—that U.S. beef is the highest quality and safest beef in the world.

Today we say thanks to our fellow citizens, including many from our district, who contributed financially and played a critical role in the rescue and recovery efforts on the ground during Katrina and its aftermath. However, we must also reflect on what went wrong, so we do not repeat our past mistakes. What we witnessed a year ago was heart wrenching and terrifying; what we have seen in the last year from Washington in the millions wasted on no-bid contracts is inexcusable. The federal government has promised to fix FEMA and to improve emergency planning and preparedness, but where has the oversight been? How much more prepared will America be if another Katrina happens? The people of this district deserve better than ‘FEMA-style’ government. They deserve a new direction in the way Congress handles the critical needs of the American people.

Recently, my campaign began airing a commercial on cable television that notes the disappointing direction Bush Republicans have taken our country in these past few years. The President and his rubber-stamp Republican Congress have failed us in Iraq and in the fight to lower the cost of prescription drugs and gasoline prices. We need common-sense change in Congress, and we need it soon. Watch my commercial and let me know what you think.