This tax hits every telephone owner and serves a significant burden to business consumers who rack up hefty long-distance bills from month to month. It’s time to give up the ghost and get rid of this outdated tax. I’m glad the U.S. Treasury agrees it is time to hang up on the long-distance tax and give taxpayers the simple and fair tax code that they long for.

We used to just worry about people breaking into our homes or stealing our cars, but in the 21st century, we have to worry about people stealing our identities via computers and the Internet. Given what we've seen happen recently with the security lapses at the Veterans Administration and other financial institutions, it's imperative that we write a national law to help protect consumers from being victims of identity theft. This bill would require all financial institutions, retailers and government agencies to maintain strong internal safety protections for the data they hold, to quickly investigate any security breach, and notify law enforcement, regulators and the public when there's a real risk of harm.

Groucho Marx once obsessed: "A hospital bed is a taxi with a meter running." Although we’ve made some great progress since that bon mot, the fact remains that the rising costs of health care to employers and working families is threatening access and forcing many to make difficult choices. New technology and medical advancements have taken America’s health care system to a new level and I believe that it is the best system in the world. Yet, these advancements come with a price, and are only beneficial if all Americans have access to the quality of health care that is available today.

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Although they have been available for less than two years, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have already made a positive difference for the many individuals and small businesses that use them to access health care coverage and save for future medical expenses. Today, about 3.2 million people have HSAs and, contrary to critics' predictions, it's a diverse group- not just the young, healthy, and well-off. In fact, about a third of those who have bought HSA-compatible insurance since HSAs began to be offered were previously uninsured.

 

Over the past two years, I have heard from Wisconsinites who have greatly reduced their health care costs using HSAs. For some small businesses that couldn't otherwise afford it, HSAs have made it possible for them to offer health benefits to their employees.

We need to keep up this progress and make HSAs an even more accessible and affordable tool for consumers. Increasing HSA contribution limits and allowing people to deduct premiums for HSA-compatible plans are just two of the improvements we can make to further this goal and empower consumers.

The other side of the equation is making sure that consumers can easily find accurate, up-to-date information about the prices different health care providers charge and the quality of care that hospitals and doctors provide. Armed with reliable quality and price data, people will be able to make informed choices about how they spend the health care dollars they save through HSAs. That's why transparency is critical to optimizing HSAs.

With the selection of a new unity government, the Iraqi people have taken important steps in their effort to build a country based on democratic principles and the rule of law. Congress should now focus on providing support to meet the economic, and security milestones that will allow American troops to return home. Instead, John Kerry and the Democrats are posturing for their political base with arbitrary deadlines and immediate withdrawal. This sends the wrong message at the wrong time to the millions of Iraqis who have welcomed the removal of Saddam Hussein, supported a new constitution, and voted in their country's first free elections in history.

Two weeks ago House Republicans took to the floor and did everything they could to paint Democrats as unpatriotic, against the troops, and as having adopted a craven, "cut and run" posture on the war in Iraq.

Now we find out not only has the Bush administration already started to draw down troops in Iraq, but they have a plan on the table that is virtually identical to H.J. Res. 73, the Murtha "Over the Horizon" plan-the proposal endorsed by the 72 member "Out of Iraq" Caucus, which I Chair. The plan reportedly being pushed by Gen. Casey is looking to significantly reduce the number of troops in Iraq right before the November elections. Gen. Casey is adamant about allowing military leaders on the ground to determine when to further redeploy U.S. troops. He would keep a rapid-response strike force in the region to quell any flare ups that might threaten our allies or the national security of the U.S. Finally, the plan insists on pursuing diplomatic talks with the new Iraqi government and governments in the region to develop "a practical plan of security implementation." The Casey plan is virtually identical to Mr. Murtha's Over the Horizon resolution.

For more than a year, the Out of Iraq Caucus has been advocating the position that the Bush Administration now appears to be embracing with open arms, and we welcome their support.

But, what about the stone-throwing House Republicans? They seem to be in a rather embarrassing position because it looks like they either received the wrong talking points from Karl Rove, or the White House has cut-and-run on them.

Last week in Committee... Although two of my committees were idle, the House Armed Services Committee was very active last week. On Tuesday, the Full Committee met to discuss the realignment and bed-down of forces returning to stateside locations from Europe and the Far East. Since the end of the Cold War, our overseas basing structure has remained largely unchanged. The purpose of the hearing was to receive testimony from the Department of Defense on the plans to close many overseas basing locations and bring forces back to the United States.

On Wednesday, there were two more hearings. The first was on the U.S. Space Industry and how it relates to National Security. Basically, without our GPS, Weather, Com, Surveillance, and Imaging satellites, our quality of life would be vastly different. We would return to living a 1960s lifestyle and fighting wars similar to the way we fought in Vietnam. For example, one target can be destroyed today with one bomb using GPS guidance. During the Vietnam War, to destroy one target took an entire flight of aircraft (4 to 6 F-111 fighters) each armed with 6 to 8 bombs. Read more...

The passage of my resolution of inquiry was a critically important step forward in protecting the privacy and constitutional rights of millions of Americans who are deeply concerned about the scope and legality of the NSA's domestic surveillance program. I want to thank Chairman Sensenbrenner for his steadfast cooperation and willingness to work in a bipartisan manner to pass this resolution. Bipartisan support for this resolution sends an unequivocal message to Attorney General Gonzalez that stonewalling the Committee's request for information regarding this program is unacceptable. It is unconscionable that the Administration continues to ignore Congress' Constitutional authority to oversee legal safeguards, which were put in place to protect the civil liberties of all Americans. It appears that this Administration has assembled what news reports have called 'the largest database ever amassed in the world' from the telephone records of ordinary Americans, without the lawful supervision of FISA courts. It is clear that this Administration has arrogantly disregarded the law, and we must now immediately hear the legal justification of this program.

I believe that our flag should be afforded our utmost respect and protection.  That's why I am a cosponsor of a measure that would amend the U.S. Constitution, giving Congress the power to prohibit the act of flag desecration.  In fact, I have cosponsored similar amendments in every Congress since I came to the Senate in 1995.  The House of Representatives has passed their version of this amendment in every Congress since 1995 by the necessary two-thirds majority.  The issue, therefore, lies in the hands of the Senate.  We must do what we can to protect this symbol of our nation.