Last night, I spoke at length on the House floor about the need to suspend the Visa Waiver program until secure technology is in place to ensure we aren’t letting terrorists into America under the cloak of this program.  Currently, the Visa Waiver program allows citizens from 27 countries – from Japan to France – to enter the U.S. without a visa.  This widely opens the door for terrorist to enter our county, and in fact we know they are using this program.  Just take a look at some of the known terrorists that have entered the U.S. through the Visa Waiver program:

I have introduced legislation in the House to suspend the Visa Waiver program until high-tech security measures are in place to check the terrorist and criminal background of everyone using the program. To read more about my legislation, click HERE.  Below is one important security feature that hasn’t been universally adopted: tamper-proof passports. Many Visa Waiver countries do not yet have passports that are secure. 

If you want to understand the critical nature of this issue, just read these quotes from an Associated Press article last Friday:

“Al-Qaida is stepping up its efforts to sneak terror operatives into the United States and has acquired most of the capabilities it needs to strike here, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment…”

“The group will bolster its efforts to position operatives inside U.S. borders… U.S. officials have expressed concern about the ease with which people can enter the United States through Europe because of a program that allows most Europeans to enter without visas.”

The time to act is now. I’ll post the video of my speech HERE shortly, so check back this afternoon.

Tune in to Hardball with Chris Matthews tonight at 5:oo PM on MSNBC to watch Phil discuss the situation in Iraq.

Last night, I conducted a telephone townhall meeting with citizens in Cobb County.  It was a lively discussion that last about 90 minutes. Some of the topics raised were: the economy, the war in Iraq and our greater War on Terror, reimbursement rates for the disabled, veteran healthcare, immigration and border security, the Fair Tax, violence on TV and traditional values.

I greatly enjoy these tele-townhall meetings, because they’re a wonderful way for me to talk with the folks back home when I’m in Washington.  So far this year, I’ve placed calls to citizens in Paulding, Gordon, Cobb, Haralson, Polk, Chattooga, Floyd, Bartow and Carroll counties. If you haven’t gotten a call yet, you likely will in the upcoming months.

Today, the House is debating H.R. 2956, legislation to require U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq in 120 days.  As in the past, I firmly oppose strategies that advertise a date certain defeat – so I firmly oppose this bill. 

While I am not happy with the situation in Iraq today and want our troops home as soon as it is responsible to do so, we must give our new strategy time to make progress before we pass judgment on it.

The timing of today’s bill should raise some serious questions for my readers.  It comes at a critical point in the Global War on Terror, a point at which our efforts should be focused on defeating terrorism inflicted by Islamic jihadists, not usurping the power of our military commanders, as this bill does. Today’s debate comes on the heels of an intelligence analysis stating al-Qaida has regrouped to a level not seen since 9/11, with a greater ability to strike inside the United States.  It comes in the immediate aftermath of the Muslim extremist attacks in London and Glasgow.  In sum, it comes at a time when our decisions must be based on strategic interests, not political grandstanding.

However, this bill is not designed to help us fight terrorism or secure U.S. interests.  In fact, its timing has nothing to do with national security at all. 

Consider this: the Democrat leadership wants us to vote on a change of course before we’ve had an opportunity to fully analyze the President’s interim report on our strategy in Iraq, and well ahead of the September report General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will deliver analyzing the success of the troop surge and its accompanying missions. 

So why are we debating this bill now?  Curiously, it comes at a time when this Democratic Congress has an approval rating as low as 14%.  Additionally, the base of their party – the extremist left – is angry that the “Out of Iraq” caucus failed to deliver.  So what does the new leadership do?  They take another shot at Old Faithful.  When all else fails, when they can’t get anything accomplished, when all they can deliver to the American public is the most closed Congress in history, they engage in another round of political theater engineered to do nothing but grab a few headlines and appease their liberal base.

When the September report is presented, we will need to take a hard look at the progress being made by the Iraqi government and military.  If the report doesn’t show progress, then it will absolutely be appropriate to redefine our strategy and objectives.  But – and this is a critical point – that action should come at the right time militarily, not the convenient time politically.

Thankfully, President Bush firmly opposes the misguided legislation we’re debating today. Stay tuned for more on this pressing issue.

Today, the House is once again debating legislation to mandate troop withdrawal from Iraq – this time in 120 days.  The Washington Post today opines that this strategy is simply “wishful thinking” on the part of Democrats:

IT SEEMS like just weeks ago, because it was, that Congress approved funding for the war in Iraq and instructed Gen. David H. Petraeus to report back on the war’s progress in September. Now, for reasons having more to do with American politics than with Iraqi reality, September isn’t soon enough.

…Advocates of withdrawal would like to believe that Afghanistan is now a central front in the war on terror but that Iraq is not; believing that doesn’t make it so. They would like to minimize the chances of disaster following a U.S. withdrawal: of full-blown civil war, conflicts spreading beyond Iraq’s borders, or genocide. They would have us believe that someone or something will ride to the rescue: the United Nations, an Islamic peacekeeping force, an invigorated diplomatic process. They like to say that by withdrawing U.S. troops, they will “end the war.”

Conditions in Iraq today are terrible, but they could become “way, way worse,” as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan C. Crocker, a career Foreign Service officer, recently told the New York Times. If American men and women were dying in July in a clearly futile cause, it would indeed be immoral to wait until September to order their retreat. But given the risks of withdrawal, the calculus cannot be so simple. The generals who have devised a new strategy believe they are making fitful progress in calming Baghdad, training the Iraqi army and encouraging anti-al-Qaeda coalitions. Before Congress begins managing rotation schedules and ordering withdrawals, it should at least give those generals the months they asked for to see whether their strategy can offer some new hope.

We couldn’t agree more. To read the complete op-ed, click HERE.

Last night, I hosted a very successful telephone townhall meeting with citizens in Cobb County.  Tele-townhalls are a new way I’m working to communicate with residents of Georgia’s 11th District and hear their thoughts on today’s pressing issues. Here’s how it works: each month, I choose a county and place phone calls to the residents who live there.  I invite them to join in a live, toll-free tele-townhall meeting, and then conduct the meeting over the telephone.  Those who are listening can ask me questions or share their thoughts on a particular issue.

So far this year, we’ve called Floyd, Chattooga, Bartow, Paulding, Cobb, Polk, Haralson and Carroll Counties.  We’ll continue hosting a tele-townhall meeting each month, so if you missed me the last time I called your county, you can be sure I’ll be calling again in the upcoming months. For those of you who weren’t on the call last night, here are the topics we discussed:

Immigration reform and ending chain migration
Tax relief and the Fair Tax
Gas prices
The War on Terror and our efforts in Iraq
Healthcare reform
Combating drug abuse, especially methamphetamine abuse

I really enjoy these opportunities to hear your thoughts and concerns. But you don’t have to wait for a tele-townhall to let me know what’s on your mind. Feel free to email me by clicking HERE, or click HERE to get contact information for my offices in Washington, Marietta and Rome.

This morning’s USA Today reports some very encouraging news:

More than 10 Iraqi tribes in the Baghdad area have reached agreements with U.S. and Iraqi forces for the first time to oppose al-Qaeda, raising the U.S. military’s hopes that a trend started in western Iraq is spreading here.  Some of the groups, which have members who fought alongside al-Qaeda in the past, have been providing useful intelligence to U.S. forces about their former allies, according to the U.S. military.

…U.S. commanders have reached similar deals in Sunni-dominated Anbar province in western Iraq. Attacks there have dropped by 60% in the last year, according to the U.S. military. Tribes in Diyala province north of Baghdad are also negotiating with U.S. forces, which have launched a major offensive in the region.

To read the complete story, click HERE.

If you missed Phil’s appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews last night, you can click HERE to watch a video of the debate. Phil comes out in strong support of our troops and freedom in the Middle East.

USA Today this week interviewed General David Petraeus, the commander of our troops in Iraq. The General discussed sucesses and challenges our troops faced. 

Some highlights from his interview:

– When Gen. David Petraeus drives through the streets of Iraq’s capital, he sees “astonishing signs of normalcy” in half, perhaps two-thirds of Baghdad. “I’m talking about professional soccer leagues with real grass field stadiums, several amusement parks — big ones, markets that are very vibrant,” says Petraeus, commander of the roughly 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The scenes provide a sign that the new strategy in Iraq is working, although many problems remain.

– The Iraqi army currently has 152,500 trained and equipped soldiers, nearly 20,000 more troops than were on the rosters in January, according to the U.S. State Department. Another 20,000 soldiers will be added to the ranks this year, the U.S. military says. The Army now has its own Iraqi-run basic training and leadership schools. “The Iraqi army has, in general, done quite well in the face of some really serious challenges,” Petraeus says. “In certain areas it really is very heartening to see what it has done.”

– “The Iranian influence has been very, very harmful to Iraq. There is absolutely no question that Iranians are funding, arming, training, and even in some cases, directing the activities of extremists and militia elements. It’s more than disappointing given that one would think Iran would want the first Arab-Shiite state to succeed rather than wanting apparently to contribute to continued instability and serious security challenges[,” said Petraeus].

Click HERE to read Gen. Petraeus’s interview on al-Qaeda and Iran, and HERE to read his thoughts on the troop surge in Iraq.

This morning’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) contains an important op-ed by Senator Joe Lieberman recounting his recent trip to Iraq.  His report includes encouraging news:

Gen. Petraeus and other U.S. officials in Iraq emphasize that it is still too soon to draw hard judgments about the success of our new security strategy — but during my visit I saw hopeful signs of progress. Consider Anbar province, Iraq’s heart of darkness for most of the past four years. When I last visited Anbar in December, the U.S. military would not allow me to visit the provincial capital, Ramadi, because it was too dangerous. Anbar was one of al Qaeda’s major strongholds in Iraq and the region where the majority of American casualties were occurring… When I returned to Anbar on this trip, however, the security environment had undergone a dramatic reversal. Attacks on U.S. troops there have dropped from an average of 30 to 35 a day a few months ago to less than one a day now, according to Col. John Charlton, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, headquartered in Ramadi. Whereas six months ago only half of Ramadi’s 23 tribes were cooperating with the coalition, all have now been persuaded to join an anti-al Qaeda alliance. One of Ramadi’s leading sheikhs told me: “A rifle pointed at an American soldier is a rifle pointed at an Iraqi.”

I also appreciate Sen. Lieberman’s emphasis on the critical importance of our fight in Iraq, and how it is closely interconnected with our overall War on Terror:

The officials I met in Baghdad said that 90% of suicide bombings in Iraq today are the work of non-Iraqi, al Qaeda terrorists. In fact, al Qaeda’s leaders have repeatedly said that Iraq is the central front of their global war against us. That is why it is nonsensical for anyone to claim that the war in Iraq can be separated from the war against al Qaeda — and why a U.S. pullout, under fire, would represent an epic victory for al Qaeda, as significant as their attacks on 9/11. Some of my colleagues in Washington claim we can fight al Qaeda in Iraq while disengaging from the sectarian violence there. Not so, say our commanders in Baghdad, who point out that the crux of al Qaeda’s strategy is to spark Iraqi civil war.

Finally, I agree with Sen. Lieberman’s insistence that our continued diligence is critical in Iraq:

And I conclude from my visit that victory is still possible in Iraq — thanks to the Iraqi majority that desperately wants a better life, and because of the courage, compassion and competence of the extraordinary soldiers and statesmen who are carrying the fight there, starting with Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. The question now is, will we politicians in Washington rise to match their leadership, sacrifices and understanding of what is on the line for us in Iraq — or will we betray them, and along with them, America’s future security?

Click HERE to read the complete op-ed.

Tune in to Fox News tomorrow (Friday, June 15) at 7:20 AM to hear Phil discuss the latest news from Iraq.

The Politico newspaper today reports this disturbing news:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the outgoing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “incompetent” during an interview Tuesday with a group of liberal bloggers… Reid made similar disparaging remarks about Army Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said several sources familiar with the interview.

The Senate Leader may not agree with the current direction of our war in Iraq, but his behavior in unacceptable. Mr. Reid has resorted to grade school name-calling while pandering to the extreme, leftwing liberals in his party.  Shame on him for attempting to score cheap political points by making disparaging remarks against two of our nation’s most respected and decorated military leaders. 

Click HERE to read Gen. Pace’s biography.

For those of you who didn’t catch the Fox 5 news story on Douglasville soldier Sgt. Brian Hull, you can click HERE to watch the video. Brian sustained severed injuries when a roadside bomb exploded near him in Baghdad. To honor his fellow soldiers on Memorial Day, Brian constructed a flag pole in his front yard in order to proudly display the American flag – an extremely time-consuming project for someone still recovering from injuries. 

A special thank you goes out to Brian and all our brave soldiers.

I was honored to spend this past Memorial Day with veterans and their supporters in Paulding County.  The service took place at the Veterans Memorial Site located behind the Henry Winn Community Development Building in Dallas. It was a moving program, and I was heartened to see so many citizens – young and old – come out to thank our veterans for their selfless sacrifice to our nation. Below, I’ve posted some great photographs from the event.

Saluting the flag

The marching band

Thanking our veterans

Watching the procession

Saying hello to friends

Our flag

Remembering the fallen

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Georgia Patriot Guard Riders

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007

Last Friday, I was honored to attend a memorial service for Capt. Crosby, an Army Helicopter pilot who died while fighting in Vietnam. Capt. Crosby’s remains were recently identified, and I joined his supporters at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, VA to recall his selfless sacrifice to our nation. While at the ceremony, I got to meet several members of Georgia’s Patriot Guard Riders – I even got to ride one of the motorcycles to Arlington Cemetery. The Patriot Guard Riders, led in Georgia by Gene Altman, are an incredible group of men and women, dedicated to honoring our nation’s fallen. You can click HERE to read more about the organization, which sends volunteers to military funerals to protect grieving families from anti-war protestors.

Many of you know Jan and Joe Johnson of Rome, whose son, Justin, is one of our fallen heroes in Iraq. The Johnsons have told me on many occasions that the Patriot Guard Riders are a truly exceptional organization. After experiencing their dedication first hand, I wholeheartedly agree.

Below are several pictures from the memorial service, which was held on Friday, May 25. I want to especially thank Gene Altman, Robert Thompson and Parker Thompson, one of the youngest participants in the Patriot Guard Riders. Parker may only be in middle school, but his dedication to our nation rivals that of his elders.

I feel honored to have participated in this ceremony, and it helped make Memorial Day all the more meaningful for me this year.

I presented Parker Thompson with a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol.

Posted in 11th Congressional District, Defense | No Comments »

Operation USO Care Package

Thursday, May 24th, 2007

Today, I helped the USO prepare care packages for our servicemen and women overseas.  If you would like to volunteer your time in support of our troops, click HERE to learn how you can help.

A little about Operation USO Care Package:  it was initiated by the USO in 2001 to provide our troops deployed overseas with needed items such as shaving kits, wet wipes, playing cards, sun screen, and calling cards. Since the program’s inception, the USO has distributed more than 1 million care packages to our troops.  Operation USO Care Package is the only program of its kind endorsed by both the Department of Defense and the White House.

I’ve posted a few photos below:

Photo 2:

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Democrats capitulate to common sense, remove surrender deadlines from Iraq funding bill

Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007

The Democrat leadership has abandoned its foolish insistence on trying funding for our troops to an arbitrary withdrawal deadline in Iraq. The Washington Times reports:

Congressional Democrats yesterday backed down in the standoff with the White House over war funds, abandoning their veto-instigating effort to link deadlines for withdrawing troops from Iraq to President Bush’s request for more than $100 billion in emergency spending.

… “Democrats have finally conceded defeat in their effort to include mandatory surrender dates in a funding bill for the troops,” said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican.

You might remember that earlier this month, President Bush vetoed a supplemental funding bill that took military decisions away from our combatant commanders and set an October 2007 deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. Stay tuned, as the House is expected to vote on the new troop-funding bill this week.

Posted in 11th Congressional District, Defense , Homeland Security | No Comments »

Breaking News: Senate rejects funding cuts for our troops

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Breaking News from the Associated Press:

The Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation that would cut off money for combat operations in Iraq after March 31, 2008.  The vote was a loss for Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., and other Democrats who want to end the war.

If only the House had the same common sense to support our troops and their mission.

Posted in 11th Congressional District, 11th District, Defense | No Comments »

Prevented from making a strong bill even stronger

Wednesday, May 16th, 2007

Today, the House is debating the National Defense Authorization Act for FY08. 

While this is a good bill that I was proud to support when we considered it in the Armed Services Committee, the Rules Committee did a disservice to the legislative process and our warfighters by rejecting many amendments that would have strengthened the bill. In fact, I had an amendment that would have provided conscience protections for military medical personnel who didn’t want to distribute the abortion pill. Unfortunately, my amendment was not allowed to be considered. Another great amendment by my friend from South Carolina, Rep. Joe Wilson, was made out of order.  Mr. Wilson is chairman of the Victory in Iraq Caucus, and proposed an amendment that, in his own words:

“…simply stat[es] it is the sense of Congress that victory in Iraq is possible as long as national security policy is not undermined by Congressional micromanagement; the efforts of General Petraeus are not subverted; and the members of the Armed Forces are given all resources they need to accomplish their missions.  The Rules Committee accepted 50 amendments to the authorization bill, yet its Democrat members apparently felt it unnecessary that Members of Congress go on record as believing in victory or not. Given recent proclamations by leaders of their caucus that the war is lost, I would think Congressional Democrats would embrace the opportunity to show their support for victory and our troops in Iraq.”

The Armed Services Committee worked very hard to produce a bill focused on the needs of the war-fighter, a fact I hope is not lost as we progress through the amendment process tonight and tomorrow. I have urged my colleagues to remember the importance of a strong national defense, and to prioritize it over the desire to make political statements about our President, the war in Iraq or any of the other partisan issues which divide us.�

Posted in 11th Congressional District, Defense | No Comments »

The day has finally come… a clean vote on abandoning Iraq

Thursday, May 10th, 2007

Today, the House will finally have a clean vote on our mission in Iraq. We are expected to vote on legislation that would immediately withdrawal U.S. troops from Iraq – legislation you can be sure I’ll oppose. While I am frustrated with the level of violence in Iraq, I am certainly not ready to throw up my hands in defeat and accept failure.

You might be wondering why the Speaker has finally agreed to this vote, after months of refusing to make her party publicly declare it support for immediately pulling out of Iraq.  Apparently, Democrat leaders have realized the liberal agents who drive this majority –  MoveOn.org, labor unions, liberal bloggers – have run out of patience.  They demand a vote on abandoning our mission, ASAP.

I only wish the Speaker had as much concern for the demands of our military as she does for the demands of liberal special interests. 

Stay tuned for more on this legislation… and in the mean time, if you want to read more about the Speaker’s past attempts to shortchange our military, click HERE and HERE.

Posted in 11th Congressional District, Defense | No Comments »

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