Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the accomplishments made by our nation's most distinguished women during the month of March. It is my great honor to recognize extraordinary women who are making a difference in my district.

I stand today, to recognize an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Ms. Sonia Bedrossian Peltekian. Over the years, Sonia has been an outspoken advocate for the Armenian-American community.

Born in Jerusalem, Ms. Peltekian attended St. Joseph High School, graduating as valedictorian, and Terra Santa Girls' College where she majored in business administration and minored in music teaching and conducting. Sonia worked in Jerusalem as a music teacher at Terra Santa Boys College, a secretary at the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, and organist/choir director for Terra Santa Church.

In the 1970s, Sonia immigrated to the United States, became a United States citizen, and married Barkev Peltekian. She and her husband have two children, Lara and Paul. Her work experience includes a fourteen- year term as an administrative assistant for Blue Cross of California, piano teaching, and assisting in the family business, Barkev's Photography.

Ms. Peltekian volunteers for the United Armenia Fund, the American Red Cross and the Armenian Cultural Association. For nearly thirty years, she has been extremely active in the Armenian Relief Society, Western Region ``Mayr'' Chapter in Los Angeles, serving as President and Vice President. In 1998, Sonia won the County of Los Angeles' Outstanding Volunteer Award for her service to refugees living in Los Angeles County. In addition, she volunteers at various schools and community functions to speak about issues related to Armenian culture, women and religious holidays. Her command of four languages: English, Armenian, Arabic and French help to make her a much sought-after public speaker and volunteer.

Throughout the years, Sonia has focused on using her knowledge to enhance opportunities for the Armenian-American community, which has greatly benefited from her devoted service.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring a remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Sonia Bedrossian Peltekian. The entire community joins me in thanking Ms. Peltekian for her efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the accomplishment made by our nation's most distinguished women during the month of March. It is my great honor to recognize extraordinary women who are making a difference in my district.

I stand today to pay special recognition to Annie Chin Siu, D.D.S., an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District. Over the years, Dr. Siu has given selflessly of her time and energy to many different organizations in the greater San Gabriel Valley.

A San Francisco native, Dr. Siu attended the University of California at Berkeley. she graduated from the University of California at San Francisco School of Dentistry, specializing in Orthodontics and was the only woman in her dental school class. After her marriage to Dr. Tim Siu, the Sius moved to Alhambra, where Dr. Siu opened her orthodontic practice. Now retired from private practice, Dr. Siu continues to teach at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. The Sius have been married for nearly fifty years and have four children: Tina, Susan, Jennifer, and Valerie.

Dr. Siu has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the California Legislature's 49th Assembly District Woman of the Year, the 2003 Medal of Honor from the University of California San Francisco Dental Alumni Association, the Alhambra Rotary Club's Paul Harris Award, Bank of America's Achievement Award, the Los Angeles Chinese Chamber of Commerce's Service Award, Los Angeles Chinatown Public Safety Award, and the Edward Angle Orthodontic Excellence Award.

Dr. Siu is a past President and longtime member of the Alhambra Chamber of Commerce. The consummate volunteer, Dr. Siu has been active in the Alhambra Public Library Association, the Los Angeles Chinatown Library. the Soroptimist Club of Alhambra-San Gabriel-San Marino, University Women Association, United Way, the Chinese American Museum, Chinese Historical Society of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Chinatown Public Safety Association, and the West San Gabriel Valley YMCA. In addition, Dr. Siu is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the USC School of Dentistry Board of Councilors, American Dental Association, and the California Dental Association.

The time and energy Dr. Siu gives to our community is truly remarkable, and the greater Los Angeles area has benefited greatly from her dedicated service.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring a remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Annie Chin Siu, D.D.S. The entire community joins me in thanking Dr. Siu for her continued efforts to make the 29th Congressional District a better place in which to live.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Women's History Month. Each year, we pay special tribute to the accomplishments made by our nation's most distinguished women during the month of March. It is my great honor to recognize extraordinary women who are making a difference in my district.

I stand today, to recognize an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District. Pastor Jean Burch of Pasadena, California, has been pivotal in the social and religious vitality of our community and I wish to salute her efforts today.

Raised in Pasadena, she attended Pasadena City College, continuing her journey into higher education at Biola University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis in Biblical Studies.

Pastor Burch had a successful twenty-year career within the legal profession. In March 2000, she left the legal profession to become the Senior Pastor of Community Baptist Church in Pasadena. Her religious career began in the early 1970s under the leadership of Dr. Reverend Coy Turrentine, the late Bishop James E. Henry and as Assistant Pastor for her father, Pastor Emeritus John W. Burch at Community Baptist Church. In addition, she served as an instructor at the Southern California School of Ministry, teaching a course entitled ``Women in Ministry.''

A natural leader, she has been extensively involved in many community, civic, and religious organizations. Some of the boards she

has served on include the National Association for Law Placement, the Los Angeles Association of Legal Recruitment Directors and the Pasadena Public Library Association. Currently she is a board member of the Ecumenical Council of Pasadena Area Churches and Northwest Pasadena Development Corporation. Along with other faith leaders and the Coalition for Zero Violence, Pastor Burch participates in a united effort to end violence in the Pasadena Unified School District. Her church, Community Baptist, is the faith-based partner for Community Arms and Kings Villages affordable housing properties.

Pastor Jean, as she is affectionately called, is beloved and respected by the entire community. She is the proud mother of Leya Douglas, a member of her ministry team, and a grandmother to Kyley Douglas, born in January 2003.

I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring a remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Pastor Jean Burch. The entire community joins me in thanking Pastor Burch for her continued efforts to make the 29th Congressional District a more vibrant and enjoyable place in which to live.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Air Cargo Security Act, a bill to strengthen air cargo security on all commercial flights by closing existing air cargo security loopholes. This bill is the companion to legislation introduced by Senators Hutchison and Feinstein.

Since September 11, we have worked diligently as a Nation to improve the safety of our commercial air travel, dramatically increasing the security requirements for passengers on airliners. Yet on those same aircraft, there remain glaring gaps in air cargo security, according to a 2002 GAO report. Nearly one-quarter of all air cargo is transported on passenger aircraft, typically filling the hull of each passenger plane. Yet only a fraction of that cargo is ever inspected.

According to the GAO, air cargo is vulnerable to tampering at multiple points during land transportation and at air cargo handling facilities. First, there are lax processes for verifying the identification of air cargo handlers and conducting criminal background checks. Second, the Known Shippers Freight Forwarding program does not have sufficient safeguards in place to adequately protect against cargo tampering; and most important, nearly all cargo shipped by passenger plane is never screened.

The Air Cargo Security Act would require the Transportation Security Agency to resolve these deficiencies in air cargo security through several key mechanisms. First, it requires the TSA to develop a strategic plan to screen, inspect, and otherwise ensure the security of all cargo transported through the Nation's air transportation system.

It also imposes measures that would require the TSA to increase inspections of air cargo shippers and their facilities and to work with foreign countries to conduct regular inspections at facilities transporting air cargo to the United States.

This bill requires TSA to establish an industry-wide pilot program database of known shippers of cargo that is shipped in passenger aircraft and to conduct random inspection of freight forwarder facilities. The Secretary would be required to suspend or revoke the certificate of noncompliant freight forwarders.

Under this act, the TSA retains tremendous flexibility in developing a program to inspect and screen air cargo in which it can select from a wide range of technological and operational options to enhance security. These measures, ranging from low- to high-tech, include using bomb-sniffing dogs, installing more cameras in cargo areas, screening air cargo for explosives, securing cargo with high-tech seals, or using cargo tracking systems or industry-wide computer profiling systems.

By using a combination of these techniques, TSA will be able to design and implement an effective system to ensure the security of our air cargo. Aviation security is a bipartisan issue that directly affects all Americans. Aviation is only as safe from terrorism as its most vulnerable component and that component is now the cargo. Strengthening air cargo security is vital to ensuring passenger security.

I want to thank my Senate colleagues for their leadership on this issue, and to the cosponsors of this legislation in the House, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis), the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bell), and I urge my colleagues to support the Air Cargo Security Act of 2003.

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing, with my colleague Mr. Frank of Massachusetts, the Detention of Enemy Combatants Act to provide authorization for the detainment of ``enemy combatants'' in the war on terrorism while guaranteeing that they are granted timely access to legal counsel and judicial review.

In the war on terrorism, the term enemy combatant has been broadly defined. In some cases, American citizens have been deemed ``enemy combatants'' and incarcerated indefinitely without access to counsel or the courts. This has resulted in an unprecedented accretion of power over American citizens.

After the shameful internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, we must be vigilant to protect against the government's decision to detain, perhaps indefinitely, any American without adequate review of the basis of its decision.

Inspired in party by the internment of Japanese Americans and by the anti-spying excesses of the Cold War, Congress in 1971 passed an Act providing that ``no citizens shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress.'' Congress has yet to authorize the detention of citizens in the war on terrorism, yet American citizens have in fact been detained as enemy combatants.

For this reason, my colleague Mr. Frank and I are introducing the Detention of Enemy Combatants Act, authorizing the government to detain an enemy combatant who is a United States person or resident who is a member of al Qaeda, or knowingly cooperated with a member of al Qaeda in the planning, authorizing, committing, aiding, or abetting of one or more terrorist acts against the United States. Furthermore, our bill requires that detainees be guaranteed timely access to legal counsel and meaningful judicial review to challenge the basis for a detention.

While we must grant broad latitude to our armed forces when it comes to protecting national security, American citizens should not be held indefinitely upon the sole determination of one branch of government without access to counsel or judicial review of those determinations. We must ensure that we do not sacrifice the Constitutional rights we pledged to uphold, and without which, none of us are safe from unwarranted intrusions on our liberty.

Mr. Speaker, in sum, the Detention of Enemy Combatants Act will provide for clear standards and procedures under which American citizens or lawful residents believed to be members of al Qaeda or its supporters may be detained as enemy combatants while also provided due process.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to address my remarks to some of the arguments that have been made by the opposition to the substitute: first, that other research will adequately substitute for somatic cell nuclear transfer; second, the policing issue; and third, the moral issue.

On the first issue, there is no adequate substitute for the science of somatic cell nuclear transfer. Adult stem cells do not have the same potential to differentiate. And even if you are talking about embryonic stem cells, the advantage of the somatic cell nuclear transfer is that the transfer will bear the DNA of the patient who is being treated and it will not be rejected by the patient. That is a vital distinction, because it will not necessitate the use of immunosuppressant drugs. So there is no adequate substitute for this type of research.

On the second point, that we cannot adequately police this if we allow this. As a practical matter and speaking as a former prosecutor, if we want to preclude any possibility of abuse, we not only need to preclude any kind of stem cell research, we need to ban and close down every fertility clinic in the country. When has it been the case that because of the possibility of abuse or criminality we would shut down important, vital avenues of research? That has never been the policy of the United States. It is one of the reasons we lead the world in research and one of the reasons we have to continue to lead.

Finally, on the most difficult question, and that is the moral question, the question of when life begins. This is not a question that we can resolve on the House floor. It is something we all bring our faiths to bear on. But what we can decide is whether we are willing to use the coercive power of the government to make that decision for everyone else; whether we are willing to use that coercive power to say that we will deny people treatment derived from this important science because some of us have a view of life that life begins with the fertilization of an egg or with a somatic cell nuclear transfer when others do not. I would urge my colleagues to deny themselves the benefit of that research if they choose, but do not deny it to the rest of the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act, directing the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to study the feasibility of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the mountains and canyons in Southern California that are part of the Rim of the Valley Corridor, as designated by the State of California.

The National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service would jointly study the suitability of more than doubling the size of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by encompassing this corridor, which contains areas of rare Mediterranean ecosystems and encircles the mountains above the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, and Conejo Valleys, as well as the famed Arroyo Seco, home of Pasadena's Rose Bowl.

For many residents of Southern California, the mountains above our communities are a nearby haven to enjoy nature, a refuge from the noise and commotion of Los Angeles. Our mountains can and should be places where city-dwellers can easily go to enjoy such activities as hiking, camping, mountain biking, horseback riding, observing wildlife, and admiring nature's scenic beauty. Given the tremendous growth pressures in Southern California, we must act now to preserve our precious open space. It is my hope that the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act will embody a dream and vision of a Southern California enhanced not only by what was built, but also by what was preserved.

The National Park Service oversees the highly successful Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the world's largest urban park, spanning from the mountains to the sea and protected in perpetuity by Congress in 1978. Inclusion of the Rim of the Valley Corridor would link wildlife habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains to the Angeles National Forest.

The Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act would require the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to complete their study within one to three years, consulting with state and local government entities. It would then be necessary for Congress to enact subsequent legislation to implement the study's recommendations.

I am pleased that this legislation has bipartisan support, with Reps. Howard Berman, David Dreier, George Miller, Brad Sherman, and Hilda Solis as principal co-sponsors. I am delighted that the senior Senator from California, Senator Feinstein, is also introducing this important legislation today.

The Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act will result in an initiative creating a lasting legacy of nearby natural open space for our children--and their children--to enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. To their families, I offer my heartfelt condolences. As a nation, we deeply mourn their loss.

These seven brave men and women aboard the Columbia represented the best of our country, the community of nations, and of humanity. I have had the privilege of working with NASA scientists, engineers, and astronauts. To these dedicated men and women, their work is a mission, their colleagues are family. Working together across ethnic, religious, and geographical boundaries, they exemplified the synergism of teamwork, in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Just as they did so well, we must continue to display the courage to take on new challenges, seek answers to the mysteries of nature and the world around us, and we must do so together.

Through their spaceflight, the Columbia crew inspired us to think, imagine, and dream beyond the world we can see. They bravely faced daunting challenges in order to reveal the wonders of science. Their lives were dedicated to scientific exploration and the betterment of humankind.

They were truly pioneers, bridging the gap between the known and the unknown, venturing into the depths of space. As scientific voyagers, they expanded the boundaries of knowledge, enabling us to learn more about our universe and our own planet. Their quest to answer as yet unanswered questions embodied mankind's continual search for knowledge and truth.

In honor of their memory and their legacy, we must carry on where they have left off. We must reaffirm our commitment as a nation to space exploration and scientific discovery. We must continue to fund our national space program, to explore our solar system and beyond. We must set ambitious and daring goals, such as landing man on Mars. We must, and we shall, continue the journey that the crew of the Columbia so bravely began.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and I thank him for his leadership on this issue.

Tonight the President will deliver his State of the Union address setting out the challenges facing America in the war on terrorism and his plans for economic recovery. From my seat in this Chamber, I will be listening for one word in particular, ``sacrifice.''

The word sacrifice should be a natural for a State of the Union address given at a time when the Nation is at war, when we are confronted with the need to defend against new and varied threats to our security, everything from small pox to shoulder-launched missiles that can shoot down commercial aircraft.

Our men and women in uniform are certainly sacrificing. Tens of thousands have been called up, leaving their jobs, their families, often on very short notice and at great financial and personal costs. But what about the average American who is not on active duty or in the reserves? How will we be called upon to make our own contribution to the security and prosperity to the United States?

The centerpiece of the administration's new agenda, and likely his speech tonight, is a $674 billion tax cut weighted heavily towards America's wealthiest families. Can this be the sacrifice that we will be called upon to make with our most prosperous families being asked to make the largest sacrifice by suffering their taxes to be cut the most? In every conflict since the Civil War, the Commander in Chief has called for an increase in revenues to meet the national defense. Can we have more butter, more guns and no sacrifice? Apparently not.

Senate appropriators just cut $8 billion for increased security at our ports, cut $362 million for border security, cut $500 million for police and fire departments who will be first on the scene of any terrorist disaster, cut $534 from job training, cut $1 billion from our schools, underfunding the President's own education initiative. The President's proposal also does nothing to alleviate the States' own budget crises and their correspondingly massive cuts in health care, education and welfare.

Ending the taxation, the double taxation of dividends might be good policy in a vacuum, taking some of the vast fluctuations out of the market. Coupled with reforms that end the no-taxation of other corporate earnings, the provision could be made revenue-neutral; but the administration's proposal is not coupled with other reforms and at a cost of $364 billion is far from revenue-neutral. Because the plan would have little effect on current spending and is permanent, it would also do little to boost our sagging economy, while doing a lot to increase our long-term national debt.

But most importantly, the President's proposal is not made in a vacuum. We have so much work to be done to protect the homeland, and we still suffer the lingering effects of a recession. We have lost almost 2 million jobs in the last 2 years and cannot afford tax cuts that would neither stimulate the economy nor help those most in need. Many of us that supported tax cuts when we were at peace and enjoying historic surpluses must vigorously oppose them now that we are at war and in debt.

As the President's own economic advisors will be the first to admit, small business is the driving force for economic growth and the government's ability to positively impact the economy through fiscal policy is limited.

Probably the most significant contribution the Federal Government made to the prosperity of the 1990s was the difficult decision to balance the budget and keep interest rates low. But now we are back to the days of deficits as far as the eye can see. White House budget director Mitch Daniels can only say that the new red ink is nothing to hyperventilate about, which raises the question, where have the fiscal conservatives gone?

Americans are a proud and generous people who are more than willing to sacrifice in a worthy cause. If, instead, we are to give ourselves a gift no other war generation has given itself, we will denude our ability to defend the homeland or, at best, shift to our children responsibility to pay for our economic health and safety.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of Links, Inc. On Saturday, March 8, 2003, the Pasadena- Altadena Links will celebrate its 40th anniversary of service to the community.

The contributions of the Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of Links, Inc. are numerous. For four decades, this remarkable organization of African- American women has been a positive influence and inspiration to not only the African-American community, but also the entire Pasadena- Altadena community.

Through their successful Saturday School program, officially named ``Pasadena Links to Student Success,'' they are enriching our children's lives. The Saturday School, for elementary students and their parents in grades K-4 with low academic achievement in reading, is a year-long program. The program focuses on four areas: the Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, and Services to Youth. Saturday School offers special programs such as career day, African story telling, cultural events, field trips, and parent education workshops. In addition, scholarship awards are given to selected area high school students.

The Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of Links, Inc. also serves the community in many other endeavors. In 2002, they sponsored a successful health fair and a series of breakfasts aimed at promoting nutrition. They also participated in the National Walkathon, an annual walk promoting health in which all Links chapters across the country participate.

For their contributions both locally and nationally, I ask all Members of Congress to join me in saluting the Pasadena-Altadena Chapter of Links, Inc.

Mr. Speaker, earlier today, I introduced the Threat Reduction Implementation Act of 2003, granting the President permanent waiver authority over Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction certification requirements to prevent dangerous delays in this critical defense program. Unnecessary restrictions and delays in funding Nunn- Lugar put Americans at risk of potential attacks using smuggled Russian chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons technology or material.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 fundamentally changed the way we think of national security and protecting the homeland. Unlike adversaries of the past, our enemies today not only utilize untraditional weapons in their war of terror, but also are seeking access to new and even more destructive weapons, such as chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons.

Twelve years ago, the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program was born out of the necessity to ensure that the nuclear arsenal of the Soviet Union would not fall into the wrong hands as the Soviet empire was coming apart. While much has been done to dismantle these weapons, continuing economic and social weaknesses in Russia, coupled with an eroding early warning system, poorly secured Russian weapons materials, and poorly paid Russian weapons scientists and security personnel, increase the threat of mass destruction on an unprecedented scale.

Unfortunately, every year opponents of the CTR program wage a campaign to slow down or even block funds for the continuation of U.S. efforts in Russia to monitor and reduce weapons-usable nuclear material and other weapons of mass destruction. While accountability and oversight are necessary to make sure that Nunn-Lugar funds are serving their intended purpose, recurrent delays owing to outdated certification requirements have proven detrimental to our ability to protect the homeland.

During the fiscal year 2003 Defense authorization and appropriation debates, the administration requested permanent waiver authority over many certification requirements in order to permit elements of the program to go forward. After a drawn out debate, conferees ended up granting a 3-year waiver on the Nunn-Lugar certification requirements and a 1-year waiver for the construction of a chemical weapons construction facility in Shchuchye, Russia. Avoiding lengthy and unnecessary delays in the Nunn-Lugar program

and specifically with the chemical weapons elimination project in Russia, it is in the strong national interest of the United States and justifies granting the President permanent waiver authority. With the weapons at Shchuchye reportedly able to kill the world's population some 20 times over, the continued, insecure existence of these highly dangerous and portable weapons is a direct threat to the American people.

Securing Russia's arsenal is a massive challenge, but not an impossible one. While the cost of a terrorist attack on the United States involving Russian expertise or smuggled Russian nuclear, chemical, or biological weapon materials are potentially staggering, funding for the simple measures that can prevent these attacks is both sensible and urgent. Robust, uninterrupted funding of this very critical program would accelerate the progress of reducing these attacks on the United States and help the Russian Federation secure its weapons stockpile.

Although the President has broad authority to use force in the war on terrorism, ironically he is significantly constrained in using cooperative means to destroy these weapons of mass destruction. Granting the President permanent waiver authority over Nunn-Lugar certification requirements will avoid dangerous delays in this critical defense program and prevent Russia's weapons of mass destruction from falling into the wrong hands.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt), the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman), and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), who joined me today as original cosponsors of this bill. I would like to also thank Senator Richard Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn for their foresight and leadership on this issue. I look forward to working with my colleagues during this Congress on this very important homeland security issue.