mr. speaker , i yield myself 5 minutes . 
mr. speaker , none of us could be against removing barriers . 
however , the definition of barriers allows room for a lot of disagreement . 
it is very interesting that the thrust of this resolution is that regulations in the united states are barriers to competitiveness , and yet our economy is linked to a nation which has the maximum number of barriers in terms of regulatory procedures , the economy of china . 
china is still a communist government . 
china is still an economy ruled by a communist government , which means they can set up regulations as they see fit and change the rules as they see fit , and yet we are linking our economic fate to china . 
our industries have moved on a wholesale basis to china . 
obviously , regulation is not ruining the situation in the chinese economy , and our propensity for dealing with this communist/capitalist country , this mongrel , whatever economy we want to call it , our greedy manufacturing industry has gone there . 
retail and wholesale industries are bringing back the consumer goods . 
we just love china . 
wall street loves china , and china is a very tightly regulated economy . 
the greatest barrier one can imagine is there , and yet they thrive . 
i want to run through a few of the whereases in this very interesting resolution which covers a lot of territory . 
one can not disagree with some of the whereases : whereas our technology is driving economic growth around the world , as shown by the fact that the global market for high-technology goods is growing at a faster rate than the rate for other manufactured goods . 
i agree with that whereas . 
whereas more than 1 million american jobs are dependent upon research and development ; whereas the cost of medical care in the united states regularly outpaces general inflation . 
how can i disagree with that ? 
that is a fact . 
whereas 90 percent of americans who are under age 65 and covered by health insurance currently obtain that insurance through employers . 
maybe that is a barrier we want to remove by having a national health care plan which takes some of the burden off employers . 
i would be in favor of that , certainly . 
whereas 85 percent of the jobs are classified as skilled jobs , and in 1950 , only 20 percent were so classified . 
that is a fact . 
whereas 80 percent of the 50 fastest-growing occupations require education beyond high school . 
let us pause there . 
is that fact going to lead to a recommendation that we expend more money to improve our education system , that we catch up with some of the nations in the world ? 
do members know that the richest nation in europe now is ireland ? 
ireland . 
ireland is the richest nation in europe . 
in terms of per capita income , ireland has the highest per capita income . 
why , because the irish decided a couple of decades ago to invest wholeheartedly into a state-of-the-art public school system . 
now they have moved beyond that , and they are providing free higher education . 
so an irish youngster can develop in the free system right up to the end of his higher education . 
so that is a barrier that we would like to remove . 
so we agree that this is significant , that 80 percent of the 50 fastest-growing occupations require higher education beyond high school , and yet we are shortchanging our education . 
no child left behind has been shortchanged by $ 20-some billion over the last few years . 
whereas , despite spending $ 60 billion per year on training , 60 percent of the united states companies are prevented from upgrading technologically by the low education and technical skills level of their workforce . 
that is a fact . 
we can agree with that . 
our public school system ought to be doing a better job . 
whereas , in 2002 , trial lawyers received approximately $ 40 billion from litigation , more than the annual revenues of microsoft and intel , and twice the revenue of coca-cola . 
what does that have to do with anything ? 
why did they take a swipe at the trial lawyers in the midst of the whereases ? 
the money received by the trial lawyers was money used to defend ordinary americans . 
how about the corporate lawyers ? 
you do not have a whereas about the corporate lawyers , or a whereas about the tremendous amount of corruption in corporate america that the republican party refuses to even hold hearings about . 
enron , worldcom , a whole series of criminal activities that have been unveiled by the attorney general of new york state , nobody wants to deal with that corruption . 
that is a barrier to our success and our competitiveness . 
i hope that you will address some of these whereases that i have just mentioned in terms of some answers as to why we do not pursue the obvious , commonsense solutions . 
