Criminal negligence. That is the best face I can put on the Administration's current handling of Middle East policy.

I can point to the mess we've made in Iraq or the growing gap between the President's "vision of a two-state solution" and the depressing Palestinian reality, but the lack of any meaningful response by the Administration to Sunday's massacre in Qana, Lebanon is the most recent example of the mess they are leaving behind in the Middle East.

Instead of recognizing the enormity of the tragedy at Qana and the impact it would have on an already roiled Arab World, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed only regret, but no condemnation.

Instead of pushing harder for an immediate ceasefire, she canceled her mission and announced a return home. Meanwhile, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns appeared on television to absolve Israel of blame, reaffirming "Israel's right to defend itself," while only lamely expressing concern over civilian casualties.

Foot-dragging on a ceasefire while Israeli bombardments continue and the Lebanese civilian death toll grows, in the face of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's promise to continue the war for another ten to fourteen days, is dangerous business. The Administration's behavior gives Israel the green light to proceed and sends the Arab World a clear message: that America supports this war.

I have warned from the beginning that no good would come from this war. Letting Hizbollah's and Israel's pathologies play out runs the danger of greater escalation and unintended consequences like the tragic example that just occurred in Qana. Not only do we run the risk of seeing Lebanon permanently fractured politically and economically, but we are sowing new seeds of hatred for the United States throughout the Arab World.

What are they thinking at the White House? Are they thinking?  And why are there not more voices being raised in opposition to their negligence? Where are the Democrats who seek to lead in 2008? Why have they not called for a ceasefire and negotiations leading to a resolution of this conflict before another Qana occurs?

Last week a hard-fought political struggle ended for me when President Bush signed my sex offender registration bill into law. This act strengthens penalties against sex offenders and authorizes better tools for tracking the monsters who stalk our children.

The ceremony came on a day of very mixed emotions. In my home state of Utah, police had just discovered the murdered body of 5-year-old Destiny Norton in her neighbor's basement. Her death is a dark reminder that we need to do more to protect our children.

With this new law, we will. We sent a message that we will not forgive unforgivable crimes.

Child abuse is certainly not new, but new technology has expanded the way predators can reach their victims. This law, named The Adam Walsh Act, after the murdered son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh, will address the horror of child exploitation on the Internet. The act dramatically increases penalties for those who download child pornography.

Some have compared the Internet to an "open game preserve" where sex offenders can prey on vulnerable children, meeting them in chat rooms and luring them into horrible situations.

Pedophiles use the web to hunt our children. After working for years with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and others, my House colleagues - notably Rep. Mark Foley - and I introduced a bill that would use the web to hunt the predators.

The act creates a nationwide database so parents, law enforcement, and others can know if convicted offenders are in their neighborhoods. We already have sex offender websites, but such sites are frequently out of date and inaccurate. Before Adam Walsh, frankly, we tracked library books in this country better than we did sex offenders. Once we catch these guys, we can't let them get away. And those we catch, we won't go soft on. Read more...

The Bush Administration has so far been unable to win a full repeal of the estate tax, which would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt. Yet, a major newspaper recently exposed the Administration's plan to layoff 157 of 345 tax attorneys who audit estate and gift tax returns at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by September 30. This decision requires substantial clarification. With no Congressional review whatsoever of this plan, I don't see how political appointees at the IRS can deny charges that these layoffs are intended to weaken enforcement of tax laws that the Administration opposes.
My Democratic colleagues and I have requested that IRS Commissioner Mark Everson immediately delay this decision until Congress has adequate time to review the plan. "The IRS has repeatedly told Congress that the problem of the wealthiest Americans failing to pay the true amount of taxes owed is a growing problem. Therefore, we cannot understand why you would want to eliminate auditors from a division that is not only the most productive, but also, according to your agency, where there is a growing need for audits," we wrote. "We would appreciate clarification about the exact workload of these auditors, the distribution of cases by the amount of taxable estate value, and how their possible elimination will affect tax collection for this division of the IRS." In short, with fewer auditors, how will the IRS keep up with audits of those who are not adequately paying taxes on gifts?
More information and a copy of our letter to Commissioner Everson are available online at: http://rothman.house.gov/news_releases/2006/july28.htm

I hope that they do nothing further because I don't want them to do any more harm to the American people.

Obviously national defense and homeland security are the most critical issues as we look at what's happening in Iraq.  Domestically, it's energy.  Hopefully people will think a bit more about advantaging ourselves of the natural gas and oil resources that we have.

Energy security equals national security.

I hope we can get our budget stuff done. I'd like to see us look at tax reform. I'd like to see some stuff on the Fair Tax, or at least some hearings on it.

When we come back I hope that we slow down and reduce the political factoring that goes into everything that's done. That's my post-recess wish.

I think the world leaders need to communicate like never before. We also have to let Israel do what Israel has to do. Hezbollah was called the "A team" by international intelligence experts. Israel has to make its own decisions and not be held back by the world community. A long-term peace in the Middle East may take some short-term pain.

Most of the people in my district aren't making minimum wage - from that standpoint, the market is taking care of itself.  While we look at the unemployment rate being the lowest in four years and the economy having sustained growth, it's also important that everyone benefits from the good economy, not just the privileged few.