Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the amendment that I'm offering along with my southern California colleagues, Mr. Sherman and Mr. Berman. This amendment would allow airports that meet specific requirements--airports that already had at least a partial curfew in effect before the 1990 Airport Noise Control Act, ANCA, to implement mandatory nighttime curfews. The amendment defines a nighttime curfew as between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and affects only two small airports that have partial curfews--or a full curfew, in the case of Bob Hope--before the passage of ANCA. It does not intend to open the door to any further exemptions from ANCA.

When Congress enacted ANCA, it intended for the statute to permit airports to obtain noise restrictions if they met certain requirements. At the time, Congress exempted several airports from the law's requirements for FAA approval of new noise rules if they had preexisting noise rules in effect to address local noise problems. Both airports in southern California that would be affected by this amendment have a long history of curfews and were, unfortunately, left out of the grandfather provision of ANCA. Our amendment would correct this inequity and put those airports on the same footing as other airports that had curfews before ANCA's passage. One of the airports affected, Bob Hope Airport, was one of the first airports in the country to impose a curfew. The Van Nuys Airport also had a partial curfew prior to ANCA. The amendment therefore corrects the omission of not providing curfews to these airports since they already had a full or partial curfew in effect before 1990.

This amendment is supported by the local airports themselves and has the full support of the local congressional delegation. Opponents of the amendment contend there's already an established process to consider a community's request for a curfew. However, the process was designed to be so difficult that in the decades since it was established by the FAA, only one airport in the Nation has successfully completed an application--Bob Hope Airport--and then it was summarily turned down. After spending $7 million and 9 years of effort, the FAA rejected Bob Hope's request, erroneously contending that the small number of flights impacted by the curfew would impose too great a strain on the country's aviation system and too great a cost on users. In reality, the FAA approached this process in reverse, beginning with the conclusion it wished to reach and working backwards to try and justify its result.

It's also important to note that my colleagues understand the impact this amendment will have on aviation in southern California. There will be no impact on commercial flights. Commercial airlines do not operate out of Van Nuys and commercial airlines already abide by a voluntary nighttime curfew at Bob Hope Airport. The impact on general aviation will be very limited. About nine flights each night are expected to be affected. Because of the FAA's dismissive attitude toward legitimate local concerns, it is clear to us that the only way to provide relief to the residents in our community is through a legislative action.

For this reason, Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this amendment. It will correct an omission in the Airport Noise Control Act. Local problems require local solutions, not solutions imposed by a Federal agency with a predetermined agenda.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the chairman and appreciate the time that he spent to discuss this issue with us. I would just make a couple of points before I yield to my colleague, and that is that this will only restore an inequity at the time of ANCA.

Had ANCA exempted each of the airports that had a curfew in place at the time, we wouldn't be here because this problem would have been taken care of. So it doesn't really create a precedent that will erode the system, destroy the system. What it will say is all airports that had a curfew in place should be treated the same way.

And as a further illustration of the minimal impact it will have, both airports support this. And LAX, the major airport in the area, the authority that controls LAX also supports this. So the other major airport that would be impacted by any potential overflow supports this as well. There's uniformity within the airports in our region.

With that, I yield the balance of my time to my colleague from California (Mr. Sherman).

Mr. Chairman, I rise as the designee of the gentlewoman from California, Representative Waters, and I have an amendment at the desk.

I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for that, and I know my colleague Representative Waters thanks you for that. Let me just briefly state for the record a couple of points that my colleague would like me to make, and then I'd be happy to yield the balance of my time.

This amendment states that it is the sense of Congress that Los Angeles World Airports, the operator of LA International Airport, LAX, should consult on a regular basis with representatives of the community surrounding LAX regarding airport operations and plans to expand, modify or realign airport facilities.

LAX, one of the world's busiest airports, is located in Representative Waters' congressional district. According to LAWA's Web site, LAX is the sixth busiest airport in the world for passengers, and it ranks 13th in the world in air cargo tonnage handled. There were 656,000 takeoffs and landings at LAX in 2006. Unfortunately, each of these takeoffs and landings makes noise.

LAWA is currently in the process of realigning the runways on the north side of the airport. Depending upon the runway configuration that is chosen, this realignment could have a tremendous impact on the local community. Residents of Westchester and Playa del Rey, which are located adjacent to the north runways, are strongly opposed to any proposal to move the runways farther north, which could force some families to leave their homes. Residents of the city of Inglewood and the communities of Vermont Knolls and south Los Angeles, which lie to the east of LAX, underneath the flight path of the planes that use the runways, are concerned that reconfiguration will result in an increase in airport noise.

Some of the people who are most impacted by LAX operations do not even benefit from the services that LAX is intended to provide. LAX serves people from all across southern California, but many of the people who live closest to the airport are low-income who cannot afford the benefits of air travel. In communities like Los Angeles, where airports are located near residents who can't afford to use them, it is all the more important that the airport operators listen to the concerns of those residents.

This is a simple, nonbinding amendment that will not affect other airports. I thank the chairman for his support, and urge my colleagues to support this as well.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Joan Fauvre of Pasadena, California. Every year in March, in recognition of Women's History Month, we pay special tribute to the accomplishments made by our nation's most distinguished women.

Joan grew up in Louisiana and received her B.A. from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette and her M.A. from Pacific Oaks College. Her commitment to children and education became evident early, when she taught third grade in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1976, prior to beginning a family.

In the 1980's, Joan joined the Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF). Established in 1971, PEF is a nonprofit organization that is committed to developing partnerships and resources to enhance educational programs in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD). The Foundation has been incredibly successful, especially due to Joan's professional leadership and skills as a fundraiser and community builder. In 1985, Joan served on the Board of Directors, where she proved to be a valuable asset to the Foundation. In 1990, she co-chaired a planning committee, which aimed at expanding PEF's fundraising efforts. In 1994, she completed her tenure as a board member, and accepted the position of Executive Director. As a testament to the Foundation's success and Joan's able guidance, PEF has taken on some of the critically important district-wide activities that had been cut from the PUSD budget. For instance, the Foundation now runs a Summer Enrichment Program at five PUSD campuses that provides learning opportunities for over 1000 students. Furthermore, thanks to Joan's efforts and the community support that she built, all PUSD middle schools have a Robotics Program.

Joan is also a dedicated volunteer, who has committed endless hours of service to a variety of organizations, including the Pasadena- Foothill Valley YWCA, the Junior League of Pasadena, and Polytechnic Parents Group, among others. She was also an active participant on the Partners in Education Advisory Board, and was on the Board of Trustees of Pacific Oaks College and Children's School for eight years.

Upon her retirement from PEF in 2010, Joan remains a vibrant member of the community. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees of the Pasadena Child Health Foundation and on the Board of Directors of the California Consortium of Education Foundations. She and her husband John have three children and two grandchildren.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring a remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Joan Fauvre, for her exceptional service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in Honor of 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.

Today, I rise to commend Maro Kechichian of Burbank, whose tireless efforts have benefited her community and beyond. Ms. Kechichian was born and raised in Lebanon, where she received her early education and simultaneously became an active member of the Zavarian Student Association. With a passion for learning, Maro pursued a higher education, and received a Bachelor's Degree in Armenian Literature from St. Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon. Prior to moving to the United States, Maro taught at Aksor Kassardjian, an Armenian school in a predominantly Armenian suburb of Beirut. She proved to be a valuable asset to the school, and was promoted to Director--a position she held for eight years.

Maro immigrated to the United States in 1984 and joined Homenetmen's Los Angeles Chapter, where she is an active member. She has served as a board member of Homenetmen Western Regional Executive Committee as a secretary for six terms. As a professional, she is a trusted team member who helps organize regional and international events, including the renowned annual Navasartian Games of Southern California.

Ms. Kechichian is a dedicated participant in all her endeavors and she brings a dynamic energy to all her activities. Maro has been elected as a Regional Executive member for Homenetmen numerous times. Her expertise with issues related to Homenetmen leads her to take frequent part in its Central meetings. These meetings take place every four years, and allow Homenetmen leaders from around the world to gather and plan upcoming nationwide activities. It is also noteworthy that Maro was a reporter for Asbarez Armenian Daily Newspaper for 20 years, and covered news from Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.

In 1990, Maro was appointed to a special project aimed at establishing a Homenetmen region in Armenia. She stayed in Armenia for three months and was solely committed to this effort. Ever since then, Maro not only continues supporting the region she visited, but also extends a helping hand to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Currently, Maro serves as an Executive Secretary at the Armenian Relief Society, ARS, of the Western Region, and is an advisor for Homenetmen's Los Angeles Chapter. She is also an active volunteer, and spends numerous hours helping Armenian Relief Society's Araz chapter and various fundraising committees.

I ask all Members to join me in honoring a remarkable woman of the 29th Congressional

District, Maro Kechichian, for her exceptional service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 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.

I stand today to pay tribute to Anita Martin of Altadena, who for many years, has spent an extraordinary amount of time and energy helping our nation's veterans. Every other week, Anita and her husband of 23 years, Walter, volunteer at the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System's West LA Domiciliary. They assist veterans with the necessary paperwork for benefits claims, advocate for their health care, help them find shelter, lend a

hand to homeless veterans, and act as liaisons with veterans' families and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. In addition, the Martins raise funds, have donated clothing, computers, a washer and dryer for women veterans, arranged for a bank to provide direct deposit for the veterans at the West LA Domiciliary, and visit veterans on a regular basis.

Anita is active in several military service organizations. She is currently President of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Unit 1898, Junior Vice President of the Department of California's Ladies Auxiliary Military Order of the Purple Heart, and Senior Vice President of the American Legion Auxiliary, Unit 280 in Pasadena. In addition to Anita's contributions to veterans, she has volunteered extensively in Altadena for years with such organizations as the Altadena Sheriff's Station, where she ran their program for abused women, the Altadena Old Fashion Days Parade, Christmas Tree Lane Association, and Franklin Elementary and Eliot Middle Schools. Along with her husband, Ms. Martin formed a Neighborhood Watch Program in their Altadena neighborhood, provided guidance to others in forming their own Neighborhood Watch Programs, and for their leadership the Martins received the Governor's Award for Best Crime Prevention in 1992 from then-Governor Deukmejian.

Anita and Walter's business, Martin's Famous Louisiana Sausages (formerly Martin's BBQ) has donated food for years to organizations such as Sacred Heart Church, various homeless shelters, the American Legion, the Altadena Sheriff's Station, and the USO. Most recently, Anita and Walter organized a program where several economically challenged senior citizens received gift cards and shopped for food at a local grocery store, with the assistance of JROTC students.

I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Anita Martin, for her service to the community and especially to our nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 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.

Today I pay tribute to Maureen Walsh of Glendale. Along with a successful career in marketing and press relations, from which she is now retired, Maureen has always found time in her life to volunteer. A native New Yorker, when she moved to Glendale in 1988, she became active on the Women's Committee of the Glendale Symphony Orchestra, where she worked on a program that brought music to students in Glendale schools.

For the last several years, Maureen has been enthusiastically involved with the Cabrini Literary Guild in Glendale. The Cabrini Literary Guild is a philanthropic organization organized in 1943, whose mission is to raise funds to support various charities in the Glendale area, such as Loaves & Fishes, YWCA of Glendale, literacy programs, as well as to promote a Writing Award Program with the high schools in the Catholic Diocese of Los Angeles. A member since 1994 and a board member since 1995, Maureen has held the offices of Membership Chair, Writing Awards Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and President. Currently she is First Vice President in charge of programs at the association's monthly meetings and is a participant in the Guild's annual fundraisers.

Maureen joined Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center's Guild in 1999 and went on their board shortly afterward. The Guild's mission is to financially support the Medical Center with its fundraising by making annual pledges--profits from the Gift Gallery and the Guild's annual benefits help make it possible for the Guild to provide these monetary pledges. Maureen has served as First Vice President and Press Chairman of the Guild, and has acted as Chair or Co-Chair of the annual fundraising events, and is currently involved in the operations of the Gift Gallery.

One of Ms. Walsh's most rewarding activities at the Medical Center is her participation in the Pets with Purpose program. She accompanies her poodle/bichon mix dog, Beau, a participant for nearly five years, as he ``makes his rounds'' visiting patients in the medical center two Saturdays a month. Maureen is delighted to have the opportunity to help impact the patients' lives and to see the happiness that Beau's visits bring.

I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Maureen Walsh, for her service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in Honor of 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.

I stand today to pay tribute to Emily Mayorga of Alhambra. A successful career woman, Emily has also always been a superb and selfless volunteer. From a very young age, Emily wanted to make a positive impact in her community. As a teenager, she volunteered at her Catholic church, and assisted her mother in numerous important projects. At the age of twelve, Emily began teaching Sunday school at the church. By, she had launched a program designed to teach adults in the church to read and write.

Emily was also committed to receiving a higher education. Upon graduating from high school, she attended California State University, Los Angeles, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She continued her education at the University of Phoenix in Pasadena, and received a master's degree in Organizational Management.

Ms. Mayorga's career took shape at an early age. Her perseverance led her to attain various positions at the West San Gabriel Valley YMCA. What began as a summer job soon escalated into Emily holding the title of Associate General Director. After spending over two decades at the YMCA, she was hired as the Manager of Volunteers at the American Red Cross. Three years later, she was promoted to Human Resources Director. After working for the American Red Cross for four years, Emily was hired to work for the U.S. Department of Commerce/U.S. Census Bureau for one year as Assistant Manager for Recruiting. Ms. Mayorga supervised nearly twenty full-time employees, where her team recruited and tested over nine thousand individuals in the San Gabriel Valley for the 2010 Census.

Emily's accomplishments in the community are many. Ms. Mayorga joined the Soroptimist Club of Alhambra-San Gabriel-San Marino over a decade ago, and has served as President twice. From 1995 to 2000, Emily served as a spokesperson for the San Gabriel Valley United Way, and became a Board Member of the Alhambra Educational Foundation from 2004 to 2007. Currently, Emily serves as a delegate for the Soroptimist Club and as an Auxiliary Board Member for the Alhambra Retirement Community. Moreover, she is also a tireless volunteer for the Tzu-Chi Foundation and the Alhambra Public Library.

I ask all members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Emily Mayorga, for her exceptional service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 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.

Today I pay tribute to Nanette Fish of Temple City, an extraordinary woman of California's 29th congressional district. A 26-year Temple City resident, Nanette's passion for volunteerism is evident in the countless organizations to which she has donated her time and energy and she has made the city of Temple City a better place to live.

Nanette began volunteering with Temple City's schools in the early 1990s, when her children were young. She served on the Executive Boards of the local PTAs, the Temple City Youth Football Board, the Temple City High School Ramrodders Football Executive Board, and the Temple City American Little League Board. In addition, Ms. Fish was a ``Team Mom'' for Temple City Youth Cheer, AYSO Soccer, Junior Varsity Girls Basketball, Junior Girls Softball and Youth Football, served as Chairperson and Member of the Cloverly Elementary School Site Council, volunteered for 5 years on the High School Grad Nite Committee, and was a Western Association of Schools and Colleges' Parent/Community Committee member for Temple City High School. In 2010, she received the Temple City Unified School District's Temple City High School VIP Volunteer Award.

Currently, Ms. Fish, employed as the Temple City Camellia Festival Director, finds time to volunteer for several organizations including the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, Saint Luke Catholic Church and the Temple City Chamber of Commerce, where she serves on the Miss Temple City Pageant Committee, and the chamber's Golf Tournament Committee. In 2009 and 2010 she received the chamber's Community Service Award. In addition, Nanette is a Temple City Parks and Recreation Commissioner and enjoys participating in various fundraising walks for cancer awareness.

Nanette and her husband, Kevin, have been married for 26 years and have 2 children, Cameron and Lainie.

I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of my district, Nanette Fish, for her selfless service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 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.

Today, I pay tribute to Dr. Ana Maria Grace of South Pasadena. As a physician, Dr. Grace has dedicated her career to helping individuals and patients in need, in addition to assisting them in attaining a better understanding of various medical conditions.

Dr. Grace discovered her passion for helping others at an early age. Upon receiving a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from California State University, Fullerton, she went on to attend medical school at the University of Wisconsin. Ana completed her residency at the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona.

Currently, Dr. Grace is an attending physician at two locations. She works in the Cecilia Gonzalez De La Hoya Cancer Center at White Memorial Medical Center, WMMC, and at the Radiation Oncology Services at Albert C. Mak, M.D., Inc. In addition to being a dedicated physician, Ana simultaneously has various roles within her profession. She is currently a member of the WMMC Cancer Committee, serving as the committee's chairperson since 2008, and Director of WMMC's Cancer Center.

Dr. Grace's primary focus has been senior citizens and the Spanish speaking population. As a committee member of WMMC's Senior Center, Dr. Grace has helped with setting outreach and service goals which have included making presentations to senior citizens regarding cancer awareness, screening and prevention. With her Spanish speaking skills, Dr. Grace has also been able to communicate medical information about common malignancies to the public, with the ultimate goal of reducing the risk for cancer and emphasizing early diagnosis. On Spanish news stations such as Univision, Telemundo, and Azteca Dr. Grace has discussed various topics such as cancer awareness, and the effects of secondhand smoking.

The list of Dr. Grace's public presentations is impressive. Since 2005, in addition to appearing on television interviews, Ana has lectured at nursing homes and at health fairs where she has spoken about lung cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer awareness and prevention. Dr. Grace also holds professional society memberships with the Los Angeles Radiological Society, American Medical Association, and Glendale Adventist Medical Center Cancer Committee, among others.

I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an extraordinary woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Dr. Ana Maria Grace, for her exceptional service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 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.

Today, I pay tribute to Dr. Susan C. Parks. As an educator and current Superintendent of the San Gabriel Unified School District, Susan has assisted in educating hundreds of students in the 29th Congressional District. A native Angelino, she spent her early years in Los Angeles City schools, where she proved herself to be a quick learner. Early on, Susan realized that many people held inherent beliefs that girls could not accomplish certain feats simply because they were girls. Determined to prove them wrong, Susan applied herself throughout high school and, as a result, received numerous scholarship offers. Thereafter, Dr. Parks decided to attend the University of Southern California (USC), where she was named a Trustee Scholar.

At USC, Susan Parks witnessed the struggle of the civil rights movement, encouraging her desire to promote peace throughout the world. After the Watts riots, Susan volunteered to help a pre-school recover and found that she had the potential to change the world by teaching young children. After graduating from USC Magna Cum Laude, she began teaching in Los Angeles where she strived to one day become a principal and eventually superintendent. She became the principal at Walnut Grove Elementary School and, after the passage of Proposition 13, she provided leadership to begin Hollow Hills Elementary School, a magnet school that achieved tremendous success. Her experience proved invaluable as she went on to hold positions as a Deputy Superintendent in Simi Valley, the Superintendent of Schools in the Baldwin Park Unified School District, and, in 2006, as the Superintendent of the San Gabriel Unified School District.

Today, Dr. Parks continues to work tirelessly for the students in San Gabriel schools and has taken large steps to give students in the 29th Congressional District the same opportunities for a superb education that she has enjoyed. She and her husband, Gary Parks, have three children and six grandchildren.

I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Dr. Susan C. Parks, for her service to the community and to our nation's children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 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.

Today, I stand to laud the tireless efforts of Carol Naomi Tanita of Monterey Park. Born in the Boyle Heights region of Los Angeles, Carol grew up committed to her education. Upon graduating high school with honors, she attended the University of Southern California, where she attained her bachelor's and master's degrees in the field of education, and earned her specialist credential in bilingual cross-cultural education in Japanese.

Carol has maintained an active spirit for all her passions in life, and continues to be involved with the community as a tireless volunteer and parent. She served as a member of the PTA of Brightwood and Repetto Elementary Schools for 12 years, and received numerous awards, including the title of Parent of the Year at Repetto Elementary School for her exemplary service.

In 2007, Ms. Tanita was presented with the Community Service Award by the Alhambra Educational Foundation. Her continuous efforts were always appreciated, as she repeatedly received the Honorary Service Award and Continuing Service Award at Mark Keppel High School. Upon the graduation of her children, Carol continued to be active with the PTSA and the Mark Keppel Alliance. As a result of her unwavering commitment, she was awarded the Golden Oak--the highest award the California PTA gives for outstanding service to schools and communities. During 20 years of committed service, Carol has surpassed 9,000 volunteer hours.

Ms. Tanita also serves the community beyond the realm of education. For two years, she served on the F.A.C.E.S.'s Board at Pacific Clinics and the Family Advisory Council at the Eastern Los Angeles Regional Center, which serves individuals with developmental disabilities. Currently, Carol dedicates her time to Parents In Community Inclusion (PICI), a group which mentors families and educators in creating an inclusive community for special needs individuals.

Carol served as a parent volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America as well, when her son Nicholas enrolled as a Cub Scout. Over the years, she served as the Parent Committee

Chair, Treasurer, and now is the District Finance Chair for the Mission Amigos District of the San Gabriel Valley Council Boy Scouts of America, which serves the cities of Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, El Monte and South El Monte.

I ask all Members to join me today in honoring an outstanding woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Carol Naomi Tanita, for her outstanding service to the community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the tragic massacre of Armenian civilians at the hands of the Azerbaijani regime. Next week will mark the twenty-third anniversary of the pogrom against Armenians living in the town of Sumgait, Azerbaijan. The 3-day massacre in the winter of 1988 resulted in the deaths of scores of Armenians, many of whom were burnt to death after being brutally beaten and tortured. Hundreds of others were wounded. Women and girls were brutally raped. The carnage created thousands of ethnic Armenian refugees, who had to leave everything behind to be looted or destroyed, including their homes, cars and businesses. The Sumgait Pogroms were part of an organized pattern, and were proceeded by a wave of anti- Armenian rallies throughout Azerbaijan, which culminated in the 1990 Pogroms in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city.

These crimes were never adequately prosecuted by Azerbaijan authorities. Many who organized or participated in the bloodshed have gone on to serve in high positions on the Azeri government. For example, in the days leading up to the Sumgait massacres, a leader of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Hidayat Orujev, warned Armenians in Sumgait: ``If you do not stop campaigning for the unification of Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia, if you don't sober up, 100,000 Azeris from neighboring districts will break into your houses, torch your apartments, rape your women, and kill your children.'' Orujev later became the State Advisor for Ethnic Policy to former Azeri President Heidar Aliyev.

Despite efforts by the Government of Azerbaijan to cover up the events of February 1988, survivors of the pogrom have come forward with their stories. They told of enraged mobs, which threw furniture, refrigerators, television sets and beds from apartment balconies and set them afire. Armenians were dragged from their apartments. If they tried to run and escape, the mob attacked them with metal rods, knives and hatchets before the victims were thrown into the fire. One witness said of a victim, ``He was still moving, trying to escape from fire, but five young men were pushing him back into the fire with metal rods.'' Others told of Interior Ministry troops, who stood by doing nothing.

The Sumgait massacres led to wider reprisals against Azerbaijan's ethnic minority, resulting in the virtual disappearance of Azerbaijan's 450,000-strong Armenian community, and culminating in the war launched against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. That war resulted in almost 30,000 dead on both sides and created more than one million refugees in both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

A cease-fire agreement was brokered in 1994 and remains in place. However, Azerbaijan's ongoing war-mongering, recent cease-fire violations, and dramatic escalation of its military budget threaten to destabilize the Nagorno Karabakh peace talks. It is my hope that a just and peaceful resolution can be found that takes into account Nagorno Karabakh's right to self determination.

Mr. Speaker, just as we cannot allow the first genocide of the twentieth century to fade into history, the memory of the victims of Sumgait must not be forgotten either.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Ellin Lieberman. Through her unwavering commitment to service, she has transformed the lives of many and made profound contributions to our community and country.

Dr. Lieberman, born and raised in New York City, began her professional career of service after receiving her B.A. from Harvard University and her medical degree, specializing in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics with a subspecialty in Pediatric Nephrology, from Boston University School of Medicine. She joined the USC faculty in 1963, then headed the Division of Nephrology at Children's Hospital Los Angeles from 1967-1995. After retiring from an outstanding medical career in 1998, Ellin continued her work in medical education by advancing medicine around the world. In 2001, she was a Senior Visiting Scholar of the International Society of Nephrology in Russia, started a postgraduate pilot program in St. Petersburg, and later founded the Los Angeles-St. Petersburg Sister City Medical Committee.

After returning to her home in South Pasadena, California, Ellin, turned her energy to community activism, championing a plethora of local and national causes. Ellin and her

husband Harry, both longtime supporters of the arts, host an annual arts benefit that has supported victims of Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans National Kidney Foundation, and the Louisiana Children's Hospital. In addition to opening up their home for charitable functions, the Liebermans have also hosted educational forums on issues such as climate change, health care reform, sustainable/green living, as well as speaker sessions with Muslim community leader, Dr. Reza Asian, to foster community understanding of Muslim Americans.

Ellin has been a tireless advocate and a humble role model. Her exuberance and passion inspire us. And I ask all Members to join me in thanking Dr. Ellin Lieberman for her many years of selfless, dedicated service to the community.

Mr. Chairman, upon further examination of the Weiner amendment, I find myself unable to support the measure. I am committed to full funding of the COPS program, but as I mentioned last night, I cannot countenance the dramatic cut to NASA. Without a clear enough pathway to restore the NASA funds that would be used in the offset, I will focus instead on defeating the broader attack on COPS in the continuing resolution itself.

Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Madam Chair, over the last several weeks we've seen some of the most dramatic and potentially promising events in the Arab world in perhaps a generation. We saw what began with the actions of a fruit vendor in Tunisia spiral and take down not only the government in that country but in Egypt in a way that carries on and whose consequences we have yet to fully comprehend.

In this environment where we have a potential game-changing situation in the Arab world, where people not only in the Arab world but around the entire globe have celebrated as people have taken to the streets to reclaim the right to shape their own government, to exercise their God- given rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association, in this hour of great promise and hour of great peril, our ability to interact with the rest of the world, our ability to fund vital efforts in the rest of the world is more essential than ever.

We have an opportunity here to help in parts of the world that have been fertile terrain for terrorism to remove some of the root causes of that terrorism--the lack of opportunity, suffering under authoritarian regimes--and we need to engage in this potentially new world.

I am very much afraid that some of the crippling cuts to our foreign assistance budget that are contemplated in this CR will undermine our ability to react and respond in this fast-changing situation. Some of the further cuts that are contemplated in the amendments that we'll hear tonight which will even go beyond what is in this CR would, again, be extraordinarily detrimental to our ability to help shape in a positive way the events that are taking place.

To give you one example, right now Egypt is under military law. We have a decades-long relationship with the Egyptian military by virtue of our FMF funding, by virtue of our IMET relationship. These are the subject of not only cuts but, in some of the amendments tonight, crippling cuts that will undermine our continuing ability, our continuing relationship with that military as it works with members of the opposition to shape Egypt's future. That relationship we have with the Egyptian military I think will be pivotal in keeping a fire lit in Egypt to make sure that the road to democracy is inexorable and that it happens soon. So I am desperately concerned about some of the cuts in the CR and some of the cuts that are contemplated in the amendments.

I appreciate very much the work that my chair, Nita Lowey, has done and the new chair, Ms. Granger, has done. I look forward to working with both of them. I hope to restore some of the funding that has been taken out in the CR and to defeat some of the amendments that will further undercut these vital international efforts.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I also rise in opposition to this amendment.

As my ranking member, Mrs. Lowey from New York pointed out, the funding for international operations and programs in the CR is already below levels enacted under President Bush. This would cut it further. It means reductions to a fund for victims of torture, the Development Fund For Women, the U.N. Development Program, as well as two that I want to highlight in particular: UNICEF and the Democracy Fund.

Since its founding in 1946, UNICEF has saved more children's lives than any humanitarian organization in the world. UNICEF works in 150 countries, literally saving children's lives, one of the best investments in foreign assistance dollars.

Through global efforts spearheaded by UNICEF, child mortality rates have dropped by a third since 1990. Every year, 8 million children under 5 still perish from preventable causes. The funding contributed to UNICEF is urgently needed to help save these children.

UNICEF reaches more than half of the world's children with inexpensive immunizations against lethal diseases like measles and tetanus. Annually, UNICEF distributes more than 2.6 billion doses of vaccines worth more than $600 million. UNICEF is one of the largest purchasers of anti-malaria bed nets, distributing 19 million of these lifesaving nets in 48 countries.

Nearly a third of the funding for UNICEF comes from nongovernmental sources, businesses, and personal and foundation contributions. UNICEF is also a partner with organizations like Rotary International to eradicate polio and Kiwanis International to fight iodine deficiency disorders.

UNICEF plays a critical role as a U.S. partner to help children in humanitarian crises, whether it is an earthquake in Haiti or flooding in Pakistan. It is a lifeline to millions of children caught up in more than 36 humanitarian emergencies worldwide, serving as the coordinating agency for water and sanitation, child protection, nutrition, and education.

The funding for UNICEF extends the reach of the U.S. Government and the American people in saving children from preventable deaths, supporting education, fighting HIV/AIDS, and protecting children from violence, exploitation, and abuse.

It is a high-return investment in children and a critical part of our international assistance that enjoys the ongoing support of the American people. This is just one of the programs that would be dramatically cut.

The Democracy Fund is another that I want to highlight. We have all witnessed the marvel of the Tunisian and Egyptian people who have risen up against brutal dictators in the name of democracy. The next months and years will be crucial as these countries travel the path to democracy. We must be able to fund NGOs and other entities to support the growth of democracy there and help it become rooted.

As the world's oldest democracy, we cannot shirk our responsibility to foster representative government elsewhere, especially when people have taken it upon themselves to cast off the old order.

The Democracy Fund provides resources for innovative projects that support the longstanding bipartisan U.S. foreign policy goals of defending human rights and advancing democratic values. Working through over 110 implementing partners, in 2010 the Democracy Fund supported local groups to promote democracy and human rights.

Just a few examples: In Yemen, an NGO is working through a combination of youth chat radio series, youth leadership trainings, and public roundtables and forums to increase public awareness and understanding of religious freedom and tolerance.

In the West Bank, the funding has helped promote tolerance among youth by working with teachers and administrators.

And in the Sudan, in response to widespread violence against women in Darfur, the fund supported critical services and critical outreach to survivors of gender-based violence.

Without the Democracy Fund, DRL and the State Department would be unable to support efforts to push the Chinese government to more actively disclose food and drug safety information, information that directly affects the well-being of the American public.

These are just a few of the essential programs that are covered and are cut in the CR and that will be cut further by this amendment. For all these reasons, I urge a ``no'' vote on the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I fully support the effort to restore funding to the COPS Hiring Program.

We should absolutely look for savings and reduce costs in the Federal budget, but we should not be withdrawing support for law enforcement while cities and towns across the country are struggling to maintain their police forces.

A good example is Camden, New Jersey, which was forced by budget shortfalls to lay off 168 police officers last month. The city recently raised property taxes enough to restore about 20 percent of those positions, but law enforcement in the city is still woefully understaffed.

The CR cuts COPS programs by $501 million, including a reduction of $298 million that specifically zeros out the COPS Hiring Program. The elimination of COPS Hiring would result in 1,330 fewer cops hired or rehired in FY11 compared to FY10, or 3,000 fewer cops hired or rehired in FY11 compared to the FY11 request of $600 million.

Camden and many other cities and towns across the country still need Federal assistance to help them get through this difficult economic period, and that is exactly what this amendment is designed to do.

By restoring funding for COPS Hiring grants, Camden and other municipalities across the country could get grants to cover the 3-year cost of rehiring officers they were forced to lay off or of hiring new officers they need but have been unable to afford. After 3 years, when the economy is expected to be in much better shape, these municipalities would be required to take on the costs of these officers.

While I support the gentleman's amendment and strongly believe we should restore funding for the COPS Hiring Program, I am deeply concerned about the offset the amendment relies upon.

NASA's Cross-Agency Support account funds many of the vital efforts of the NASA centers across the country. Currently, there is a backlog of deferred maintenance needs at NASA facilities, and this backlog has been growing at the rate of about 9 percent a year. Cutting funding for this account will only make NASA's maintenance backlog worse and will impede NASA's mission.

We need to fund both NASA's Cross-Agency Support and COPS Hiring at adequate levels, and I hope, by the end of this process, we can find a way to do that.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I will be very brief since the gentleman withdrew the amendment.

I am a big fan and supporter of our manned spaceflight program, which I think has just an extraordinary record of achievement and is enormously important to our position in the world in terms of our leadership in science. It is also very important to many of the space centers around the country in terms of the important jobs that it provides.

But I don't want to see us rob Peter to pay Paul within the sciences, to go after the earth sciences budget, which is also critically important to the Nation's future. When we look at some of the breathtaking and disastrous weather patterns that we have seen around the world, whether it was the incredible and tragic flooding in Australia or that in South America, the ability to understand better the nature of our climate and climate change is not only extraordinarily important in terms of saving lives but in terms of understanding what is happening to our planet.

We also derive a lot of commercial benefits from our investment not only in earth science but space science as well. These investments pay enormous dividends in technologies that have become a part of all of our homes now. So this is investment that I think we want to continue to make and make strongly.

And while I, again, am a fervent supporter of our manned spaceflight program, I don't think any one portion of our space budget or science budget ought to be cannibalizing the other. We do have to make sacrifices, and we're going to have to scrutinize every program that is not working well or not efficient, eliminate any waste, eliminate even programs that are working but not working well enough.

But in terms of our investment in the future, in terms of our investment in understanding our planet, it would be, I think, very shortsighted for us to be cutting those budgets and cutting that vital research.

I thank the gentleman for withdrawing the amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I want to speak in support of what my colleague from Tennessee has said. In the United States, access to justice shouldn't be available only for those who can afford it.

I think most Americans recognize that we have an out-of-control deficit and debt, that we need tough action to deal with that, and I think Americans, irrespective of party, are ready to make sacrifices. The President's budget I think indicates that there are going to be some tough days ahead, and there are going to be some of the efforts we have supported in the past that we can't afford to support anymore.

But at the same time, I think the American people recognize that there is a lot of waste in government that can be eliminated without harming people; that a lot of inefficiencies can and must be eliminated; but they also don't want in these difficult economic times for our first steps to be to take away vital resources from those who are most in need or from middle-income families that are trying to stay in their homes.

One of the reasons why legal services has been so busy in the last several years is because of the foreclosure crisis, where many who are being forced out of their homes who can't afford counsel have nowhere to turn and have increasingly turned to legal services for help in trying to get them to stay in their home.

Imagine what we are telling those families that are struggling to stay in their homes that we are now going to defund the lawyer that's been helping them. I don't think that's where we need to go in order to balance our budget.

Legal Services Corporation is the largest funder of legal services for low-income Americans and for the growing population of Americans who have no income because they can't find work. Legal Services helps ensure representation before courts and is available to all Americans no matter what their income, their station in life, or what their circumstances happen to be.

LSC-funded programs help single women trying to keep their families together, victims of domestic violence, elderly Americans trying to avoid foreclosure, and an increasing number of veterans arriving home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan who are unable to find jobs.

Federal funding for LSC makes up only 40 percent of the operating income of those programs. The rest comes from State funding, support from the private bar, and funds from lawyer trust accounts; but the economy that is sending more people to the door of legal aid offices than at any time in history has also sapped those other sources of funding. The CR cuts legal services to the poor by $70 million. That's a 17 percent cut compared to the current level.

Again, there is no question we need to find savings in the budget, and we are and we will, and we stand ready to work with our colleagues across the aisle to fund cuts that make sense. But to make a drastic cut to a program at a time that it is keeping people in their homes and where people are struggling most is not the most propitious place to find savings.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment and move to strike the last word.

We can have reasonable debates about the deficit situation and the actions that should be taken, but I don't think the hyperbole that we are hearing is adding to the quality of the debate. When the Legal Services Corporation is described as a ``trial lawyer bailout,'' I think it shows a total misapprehension of what Legal Services does.

For many Americans, tens of thousands of Americans who are at risk of having their house foreclosed out from under them, seeking assistance from Legal Services to stay in your home, that is not a trial lawyer bailout. I don't think people who go to Legal Services because they can't afford an attorney and desperately want to stay in their home feel like they are giving some sort of bailout to trial lawyers when they go to the neighborhood Legal Services and ask for help to stay in their home.

It also has been described as some kind of a bastion for left-wing causes. I don't think it is a left-wing cause to want to help people stay in their house. I don't think it is a left-wing cause when you have veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan who need mental health services and need the advice of counsel and need the help of counsel to get services they are entitled to. I don't think that is a left-wing cause.

I don't think it is a right-wing cause to want to foreclose on someone, and I don't think it is a left-wing cause to want to keep them in their home. I think, frankly, this ought to be all of our cause, that people through no fault of their own who are hardworking but have lost their job as a result of the economy or lost part of their income as a result of the economy and need help to stay in their home, and this is the only place they can get it, the only place they can afford a lawyer, and anyone who has tried to hire a lawyer knows how expensive that is, I don't think that is a left-wing cause, and I just don't think it sheds much light on the debate.

Are there things that can be cut? Yes. Is the President's budget cutting them? Yes. Are there more cuts we are going to have to find? Yes. But let's speak frankly about what this organization does and what it doesn't do. And if my colleagues have issues to take with a particular Legal Services branch in a particular city, then we should take that cause in our committee, the Commerce, Justice, Science Committee, with our chairman, Mr. Wolf, and do oversight to make sure that LSC funds aren't being used to lobby Congress, to make sure that only for permissible purposes are funds being used in LSCs around the country.

The LSCs I think over the last several years have done extraordinarily well under that oversight, and that oversight needs to continue. And where LSCs can operate more efficiently, they are going to have to, because it is not just a problem in terms of the Federal budget, but all the States are cutting back as well.

But I don't think we can really get to the heart of where we can afford to make cuts, where the cuts will inflict the least pain, if we are going to pejoratize the service of a lot of hardworking lawyers out there who work for Legal Services, many of whom offer their services pro bono, who get no compensation whatsoever for the work they provide, and try to demean them by saying this is a trial lawyer bailout.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I appreciate your yielding, Mr. Chairman, and I agree with you.

First of all, I appreciate your opposition to the amendment. The big entitlement programs are going to have to be addressed, and what we are doing here in dealing with this small piece of the Federal budget pie, that is, domestic discretionary spending, there is no way we can find enough savings to make a real dent in the magnitude of our deficit and debt. That has to be done. I can understand your frustration about it. It is a frustration I think we all share.

I think the difficulty, frankly, that the administration is having is probably the same difficulty that the majority is having, and that is whoever puts the proposal on the table first gets their head taken off. I think probably the only way to get to ``yes''--and there is no way we are going to be able to reform the entitlement programs in a partisan way; it has to be done in a bipartisan way--is frankly if both parties can come together and put something on the table together. I think that is what is going to have to happen.

But you are right, there is no way we are going to make even a small dent in things until we have that bigger, more important conversation.