I can hardly believe that another year has flown by!
Now that the tree has been decorated, the stockings hung and the presents wrapped, I have taken the time to reflect on the past year and set some personal and professional resolutions for 2008 that I would like to share with you:
· Keep praying for rain!
· Finish work on a new farm bill that will modernize our nation’s successful agricultural policies and put North Carolina on the leadership path in the emerging biofuels field.
· Pass legislation to help North Carolina communities build new schools. Our schools are bursting at the seams, and we need all the help we can get to put our children in modern learning facilities.
· Spend more time with my growing family, and introduce our new grandchildren to our friends and neighbors in North Carolina.
· Continue my effort to strengthen federal support for local school security. Our children are our most precious resource, and their safety should be our top priority.
· Work on the House Budget Committee to balance the federal budget so that our children and grandchildren will not be left to pay back our debts to foreign countries like China.
· Spend more time in the gym — an annual resolution that I plan to keep this year!