For my constituents, owning a home is the culmination of many years of hard work and the realization of the American Dream. At no time should a local entity take those years of hard work solely to increase their tax revenue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Peace Corps as it reached its 45th anniversary on March 1, 2006.

Teachers are our greatest public servants; they spend their lives educating our young people and shaping our Nation for tomorrow.

While I believe our Constitution allows for State and local governments to execute the power of eminent domain for those purposes that specifically serve the public good, condemning property solely to implement economic development plans is not serving the public good.

Education should be one of our top funding priorities; talking about it does not help the teachers and students who desperately need promises fulfilled.

Small businesses drive this economy and it is unacceptable that the President's budget proposal does not give them the tools they need to be successful.

To honor our national promise to our veterans, we must continue to improve services for our men and women in uniform today and provide long overdue benefits for the veterans and military retirees who have already served.