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 .  