mr. speaker , i rise in strong support of not only this rule , but the conference report as well . 
i want to congratulate my colleagues , the gentleman from oklahoma ( mr. cole ) xz4000770 , and i know we are going to be hearing from the gentleman from georgia ( mr. gingrey ) xz4001510 in just a few minutes some very thoughtful remarks . 
but i want to begin by saying that this is the first supplemental appropriations bill that our very good friend , the gentleman from california ( mr. lewis ) xz4002392 has brought to the house floor . 
and i take my hat off to him , as i know both democrats and republicans will , for the phenomenal job that he is doing as the new chairman of the committee on appropriations . 
this bill is one which encompasses , as we all know , the very important aspect of ensuring that our men and women in uniform , as we are in the midst of the war on terror , including iraq , have what they need . 
it also is focused on ensuring that we provide some relief to those who were hit so badly by the tsunami that took place at the end of last year . 
this also is , mr. speaker , a very great testament to the commitment that was made by the gentleman from illinois ( speaker hastert ) last fall . 
i had the privilege of serving with a number of our colleagues as a conferee on the intelligence reform package , the implementation of the recommendations from the 9/11 commission . 
and we know that border security is a very important aspect of that . 
those of us who were house conferees on the republican side pushed very hard to make sure that we could deal with the driver 's license issue , the asylum issue , and the effort to close the 3 1/2 -mile gap in the border fence which has been discussed here many , many times . 
we had an amendment that was offered by our then former colleague , the gentleman from california ( mr. ose ) , to complete that 3 1/2 -mile gap . 
we worked very hard to ensure that when it came to the issues of driver 's licenses , that we did not impose a mandate on the states . 
we simply said to the states , as is included in this measure , that if a state chooses to give driver 's licenses to people who are here illegally , then those driver 's licenses can not be used for any federal purpose : getting on board an aircraft , going into a federal courthouse , applying for any federal program . 
so states are still free to do whatever they would like ; but this provision is addressed , i think , very adequately , focusing on our security . 
well , these issues that we discussed and tried to include in the 9/11 conference last fall unfortunately were not able to be included because our colleagues in the other body chose to resist . 
and we had a commitment from speaker hastert that the first must-pass piece of legislation would include the very important border security items which are so important for us . 
and i am happy to say that speaker hastert and chairman lewis have included these provisions . 
i also wanted to compliment president bush who has strongly supported the effort to include the real id act in this measure . 
this is a very important first step towards dealing with the issue of border security . 
i am pleased , we are planning next week to hold hearings on h.r. 98 , our goal of putting into place a counterfeit-proof social security card , so that we can also play a role in diminishing that magnet which draws people illegally across the border ; and in so doing , we can allow the border patrol to focus their attention on the potential terrorist threat coming across our borders and other criminals . 
and so we have got very important things that we are doing . 
no one knows whether this is a panacea . 
it is still a problem with which we have to contend , but the measures that are included in this supplemental appropriations bill are critical to dealing with that challenge that we face . 
i thank my friends for their hard work on this . 
i generally congratulate the gentleman from california ( mr. lewis ) xz4002392 and all who have been involved on both sides of the aisle in implementation of this important measure . 
