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

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

From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when called, gone where ordered, and defended our nation with honor.

Education makes children less dependent upon others and opens doors to better jobs and career possibilities.

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

Supporting the troops has got to mean more than bumper stickers on pickup trucks, my friends. We need to give them what they need.

I have fought to protect those benefits that ensure better salaries for teachers across the Nation such as grants to pay off student loans and funding for Teach for America. Still, we must all do more to show our continued appreciation for our Nation's leading role models.