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George W. Bush Fifteen months ago this week, I announced the surge. And this week, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker gave Congress a detailed report on the results. Since the surge began, American and Iraqi forces have made significant progress. While there's more to be done, sectarian violence, civilian deaths, and military deaths are down. Improvements in security have helped clear the way for political and economic progress. Tax Day Cometh Joe Pitts It’s April, which means Americans are once again scrambling to sift through the myriad paperwork needed to file their federal taxes. Tax day, as usual, falls on April 15. However, tax freedom day, the day when the average American has earned enough to pay off federal, state, and local taxes, will not come until April 22. That means the average American will have worked for 113 days this year before they get to actually keep their earnings. Killing Colombia Free Trade Agreement Maintains Economically Dangerous Status Quo John Boehner It was bad news for our region recently when the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which would have created good jobs for Ohio and opened new markets for Ohio farm exports, was killed by political gamesmanship in Congress. In refusing to bring this agreement before the House for a vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has signaled that she puts the concerns of big labor bosses above those of Ohio’s farmers and working families. Divine Destiny Gary Cooperberg The government of the State of Israel seems to be completely independent of the People of Israel. When were the people of Israel ever consulted about giving away parts of our homeland to our enemies? How dare any government arbitrarily decide to throw its citizens out of their homes and place them into a mini exile within Israel?! And if this weren’t enough, even as Gaza has been turned into a mini terrorist state which continues to fire missiles into Israel, our leaders are holding discussions about further retreat. The Emerging Surveillance State Ron Paul Last month, the House amended the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to expand the government’s ability to monitor our private communications. This measure, if it becomes law, will result in more warrantless government surveillance of innocent American citizens. Though some opponents claimed that the only controversial part of this legislation was its grant of immunity to telecommunications companies, there is much more to be wary of in the bill. Border Fence Jon Kyl I recently toured the U.S.-Mexico border near Yuma to see firsthand how construction of the border fence is progressing. The fence and vehicle barriers span roughly 120 miles along the border. According to border agents on the scene, the fencing has resulted in a huge reduction in illegal crossings -- apprehensions of people illegally crossing the border are down on order of magnitude, from approximately 130,000 apprehensions in 2005 to a projected total of 12,000 for this year! NATO Expansion George W. Bush I'm speaking to you from Europe, where I attended the NATO summit and witnessed the hopeful progress of the continent's youngest democracies. The summit was held in Romania, one of the 10 liberated nations that have joined the ranks of NATO since the end of the Cold War. After decades of tyranny and oppression, today Romania is an important member of an international alliance dedicated to liberty, and it is setting a bold example for other former communist nations that desire to live in peace and freedom. Free Trade Is Diplomatic Engagement Joe Pitts Many of the most adamant critics of the current administration have spent the last seven years criticizing the President for a foreign policy they see as unilateralist and lacking in the soft power of diplomacy. But many of these opponents are also anti-free trade, and free trade is one of the most powerful diplomatic tools at our disposal.
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