Over the past few weeks, I have had numerous discussions with Arkansans who can not afford to maintain regular contact with their loved ones serving in the U.S. military overseas. This is deeply troubling to me, and something I feel committed to help resolve.

Yesterday I sent a letter to the President urging him to include funding in his Fiscal Year 2008 budget request to help members of the U.S. military serving overseas call their loved ones free of charge. Helping our servicemen and women stay in contact with their families is the best way to lift troop morale and improve the overall effectiveness of military operations. Our military families sacrifice so much for this country. The least we can do is provide them with the resources to stay in contact during long deployments overseas.

The typical military calling card offered by retail telephone companies can charge $0.50 a minute for international calls. A military family who talks with their loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan for just thirty minutes a week can spend up to $750 a year. Our military families should not have to struggle with this expense. I hope President Bush takes my request seriously and makes this a priority in his defense budget proposal.

This year began with the tragic deaths of miners at Sago and Alma Mines. Our entire nation mourned with those families. And we in Congress committed to passing laws to prevent such terrible incidents in the future.

I am proud of the bipartisan mine safety legislation that we passed this year. But these laws need strong leadership and enforcement. Richard Stickler has neither the record nor the vision to meet this challenge. That's why mineworkers and their families oppose him and have asked President Bush to withdraw his nomination.

Majority Leader Frist promised that this crucial position would not be filled without a vote. A recess appointment would mean the Republican leadership is breaking its word to the Senate, the American public, and to miners' families.

Our miners have already seen too many broken promises. President Bush should send the Senate someone who is worthy of this job.

Last Friday, September 29th, a proposal by Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) that will keep the public off Santa Rosa Island for nearly half the year was passed as part of the 2007 Defense Authorization bill.  Specifically, the provision allows an unusual, lucrative private trophy hunting operation on the island that was set to end in 2011 to continue indefinitely.

It was a sad day for those of us who love and treasure Santa Rosa Island and all of our National Parks.  It is simply outrageous that this ridiculous "earmark" was included in the defense bill.  Kicking the public off a National Park it paid more than $30 million for to continue indefinitely a private hunting operation is a clear violation of the public trust and sets a terrible precedent for the use of our National treasures. It is an insult to the taxpayers who rightfully expect to be able to visit the island it they paid for. It's also an insult to our troops, whose service to this country is being used as a cover for this special interest boondoggle.

I will soon be introducing legislation to reverse this terrible provision and return this beautiful national park to its rightful owners, the American people.

Congressional passage of the Darfur Peace & Accountability Act, H.R. 3127, which I co-sponsored, will help provide millions of Sudanese citizens with the assistance they need to survive. I am also pleased that the President recently appointed a Special Envoy to focus exclusively on the ongoing genocide in Sudan.

This measure, which was passed by Congress and will be signed by the President, strengthens sanctions against individuals and governments responsible for the atrocities in Darfur. It also authorizes additional funds for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid, and provides additional assistance to the African Union Mission in Sudan to stabilize the region.

While passage of H.R. 3127 is an important step, more needs to be done. On August 31, the U.N. Security Council authorized that a significantly larger force be deployed to Sudan to protect civilians. That needs to happen. I have urged the United States to increase pressure on the Sudan to accept the new U.N.-authorized force and to establish a no-fly zone in Darfur to help protect civilians.

I am hopeful that with the NEA initiative and our efforts in the Congress, we will find the will to put in place the policies and investments necessary to ensure that all of our students are able to attain a high school diploma, preparing them for postsecondary education and careers. We must target the resources to where there is the greatest need and focus on building core literacy skills across the curriculum. Many of our young people are entering high school without the fundamental reading and writing skills necessary to succeed. We must make graduation the goal – the standard. The first threshold for secondary school accountability must be graduation with a diploma.

I’m Angie Paccione, a state representative from Colorado who is running for the Fourth Congressional District against Marilyn Musgrave. Like the rest of the country, I am absolutely appalled that the powerful politicians in the U.S. Congress sheltered the predatory behavior of Mark Foley. This morning, I called on Marilyn Musgrave to join me in demanding that Speaker Dennis Hastert step down from his leadership post. Speaker Hastert is presiding over a culture of corruption, and this is the last straw. The moral crisis into which the House leadership has thrown the Congress is not the product of yet another partisan fight; it is a question of honoring the values of decency and service that all members of Congress ought to value. The special interest protection racket that shielded Foley needs to be dismantled.

I applaud members like Geoff Davis, who donated the $1,000 he received from Foley’s PAC to a child advocacy agency in his district. I hope that every other campaign committee Foley supported has or will join Congressman Davis. This is not the time to cave in to powerful politicians. When a powerful institution like the U.S. Congress passively tolerates abusive and predatory behavior like Mark Foley’s, it has betrayed the trust of the people.

I am asking Marilyn to help me in urging Foley to transfer his campaign funds to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Predatory behavior like Foley's ought to teach her how important the center is, given her past opposition to it. I hope Marilyn seizes this opportunity to champion a vital program and do the right thing for vulnerable children who are victimized.

I think Congress owes it to this country to pass a comprehensive immigration reform. Congressman Pence and I have put forward a well received and respected proposal as a starting point that is very credible. I am pushing our caucus and our leaders to do what we need to do. There is so much support for that, and it is our job. It is our responsibility.

We are making progress. I think the border security issues are a down payment. They are good and I support them, but I think we will never have a secure border until we have a temporary worker program that works.

Illegal immigration is not a new problem. Actually, we are facing our current situation -- some estimates projecting 12 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S. -- because this country has failed to enact solid border security measures to stop the problem before it begins. In the waning hours of Congressional session last week, the Senate finally followed the House's lead to get tough on securing our border. The Senate passed a bill the House earlier approved allowing for 700 miles of two-layered, physical fence to be built on the U.S.-Mexico border and a virtual fence to be installed along the entire border. With that passage, we have taken the first step in enacting real and tangible border security.

It was long past time that Congress stop just talking about border security and get tough and I look forward to President Bush signing the bill into law as soon as it arrives at the White House. While this is a good first step, I will continue to push for stronger enforcement of our immigration laws. We owe it to our current and future generations of Americans to do all we can to ensure our national security and economy are not threatened by a weak and unenforceable border. We can enforce our laws on the border if we continue providing the right tools to our border agents. Congress still has a lot of work to do to address illegal immigration, one step at a time. I plan to push for those forward steps when Congress returns to session next month.

I am appalled by the actions of Mr. Foley.  Had he not resigned, it is my belief that he would have been expelled from the House, and rightfully so. The people of this country will not tolerate this kind of behavior, and neither will I.

As a father and as a supporter of legislation designed to stop the exploitation of children, I hope that House leadership and law enforcement authorities will investigate this matter.  Mr. Foley must be held accountable for his actions.  If he has violated the law, he should be prosecuted just like anyone else would be.

Earlier this year Mr. Foley's Florida Republican Leadership PAC donated $1,000 to my re-election campaign.  On Friday, the same day as Mr. Foley's resignation, I donated $1,000 to Boone County Court Appointed Special Advocates, Inc. (CASA).

CASA volunteers play an instrumental role in child court cases ensuring that children do not get lost in an overwhelmed judicial system.  CASA volunteers are appointed by family court judges to serve as advocates for dependent, abused, or neglected children.  CASA volunteers work to protect our nation's most vulnerable children. For more information on CASA, please visit: http://www.casanky.org/.