On behalf of the New Jersey House delegation, allow me to express my deepest gratitude to the Chamber and First Union/Wachovia for not only sponsoring this successful event -- which allows us the chance to renew old friendships and start new ones (and to see who is running for governor) -- but for the meaningful insights, counsel and direction the Chamber gives to us and our staffs. 

    I know I speak for all my colleagues when I say that the bipartisan way the Chamber approaches its advocacy is extremely laudable. 

    You remind us that our differences as Republicans and Democrats can make us opponents – but not enemies.  A constructive, honest critic is a good thing.  The Founders were right to make lawmaking and policy creation adversarial and arduous.   Political dissent – although harshly punished by dictatorships and despotic regimes – remains one of the most enduring strengths of a healthy and robust democracy.  Our job is to ensure that everyone has a place at the table and is heard. 

    You remind us that our constituents – your customers – demand that we serve with integrity, competency, transparency, and courage. 

    You remind us that our constituents – your customers -- deserve a fair return on their investment and bristle and grow weary and cynical when petty partisanship and selfishness gets in the way of progress. 

    We need to – and believe me we will – work as a team to ensure that TEA-3 is reauthorized and that it meets and goes beyond the $218 Billion authorized over the last six years by TEA 21.  And we will ensure that New Jersey gets its fair share and exceeds the nearly $1.2 billion in highway and transit money we received last year. 

     As a delegation we will continue to actively lobby the Pentagon to establish a Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team (CST) for New Jersey so that if another anthrax-like attack occurs in our state, its harmful effects will be mitigated. 

    We will continue to work as a team to obtain federal funding for beach replenishment, as our past efforts have secured over $85 million since FY 1998.  A clean ocean and safe beaches are not just good public health policy, they are also good for the state economy.  According to New Jersey’s Division of Travel and Tourism, more than $31 billion was generated by tourism last year.  Of this amount, slightly more than half – $16 billion -- was spent in the Shore region. 

    And we will continue to work as a team to protect our state’s seven military facilities.  In the last several years, we have brought home more than $407 million in federal military construction funds to enhance the military value of our bases and protect them during the upcoming 2005 BRAC round.  These seven bases directly employ over 24,000 people.  They provide many business opportunities to local contractors, and through their payrolls these bases pump an annual $1.2 billion into our economy. 

    You remind us – or at least you should – that all those jobs politicians like to take credit for – especially at election time – are actually created by you.   

    While government is responsible in part for a climate conducive to economic prosperity, don’t ever let us forget who dreams the dreams, makes the plans, takes the risks, sweats the details, and creates the jobs. 

    Two years ago, I wrote a new law to authorize $1 billion for a myriad of programs to end homelessness for our veterans.  A quarter of these funds are earmarked for job training. 

    On any given night, there are 275,000 homeless veterans on our streets -- 8,000 of whom are in New Jersey.  During one of my hearings with three formerly homeless New Jersey vets, it became crystal clear that employment was central to their rehabilitation.  It occurred to me, listening to their remarkable stories and their matriculation back into the mainstream of society, that the best anti-poverty program was, and always will be, a job. 

    The longer I’m here, the more convinced I become that Congress -- if it is to get it right -- must do a better job of listening.   

    Over the years, I have chaired hundreds of hearings on such diverse issues as terrorism, job training, health care reform, human rights, and democracy building and have always walked away better informed.  Good information empowers us and helps us get our priorities straight.  To write good law, however, hearings just aren’t enough.  We need more input.  We need to hear from you.  We stand ready to listen. 

    Speaking of listening, the new 9/11 Blue Ribbon Commission, ably chaired by Gov. Tom Kean, is the direct result of the tenacity and persuasion of a handful of New Jersey widows who lost loved ones at the World Trade Center. 

    When Kristen Breitweiser of Monmouth County, who lost her husband Ronald, first asked for a comprehensive commission to ensure accountability and lessons learned, she and her group were politely but firmly rebuffed. 

    After scores of face to face meetings with Members of Congress and top White House aides, however, they turned sentiment around.         

    At the signing ceremony at the White House, President Bush said to the victims: “in working for this Commission, you have been motivated by a noble goal: you want to spare other Americans the kind of suffering you faced...America is grateful.” 

    The widows spoke, and Washington listened. 

    With the war on terrorism raging and a potential war with Iraq looming, we need now, more than ever, to strengthen the bonds that unite us. 

    You remind us not to take corporate America – and the quality of life it produces for many – for granted.  The tragic consequences of inadequate, infirm or nonexistent corporate structures in many developing countries are chronic poverty, rampant disease, revolution and terrorism. 

    You cannot have a stable middle class, the bedrock of any democracy, without a strong business community. 

    While democracy and capitalism are not without certain drawbacks and blemishes, let us be clear:  they remain the last great hope of a world in crisis.