Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding me this time.

One of the most prudent things, in my view, that Congress did in passing the original PATRIOT Act was to sunset certain provisions, thus ensuring that a future Congress would review and revise them and have a very healthy and sobering debate. Rather than sunsetting these provisions again, this bill makes permanent 14 of the 16 provisions set to expire without addressing the important civil liberty issues.

I am somewhat taken aback as I listen to different parts of the debate on the floor. One would think that the Constitution is something that can be set aside when it is not convenient to follow. The Constitution is the soul of our Nation. There are magnificently written constitutions around the world, but their countries do not heed their constitution. The American people take our Constitution seriously.

And so this debate, not allowing the sunsets in the future, I think is very, very important to bring up today. The

bill continues to allow the FBI to get financial, telephone, Internet and consumer records relevant to an intelligence investigation without judicial approval.

Prior to the PATRIOT Act, these requests had to be directed at agents of a foreign power. Under the PATRIOT Act, they can be used against anyone, including American citizens.

The bill continues to allow the FBI to execute a search and seizure warrant without notifying the target of a warrant for 6 months if it is deemed that providing advance notice would interfere with the investigation. This section is not limited to terrorism investigations and is not scheduled to sunset.

The bill does not sufficiently address the issues in section 206 which deal with the roving John Doe wiretaps. Under the PATRIOT Act, the FBI can obtain a warrant and intelligence investigations without identifying the person or the phone in question.

This bill dose nothing to protect library records and bookstore receipts. I offered an amendment in the Intelligence Committee to modify Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act to prohibit the FBI from using this section to obtain library circulation records, library patron lists, book sales records, or book customer lists, but the amendment was not allowed by the Rules Committee.

In conclusion, the American people love and cherish their liberties, and they want and deserve to be safe. I think we can do both. I do not believe this bill does both. We need a better bill.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Ms. ESHOO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer this amendment expressing the sense of Congress that our government should recognize the unique challenges facing Iraq's indigenous Christian communities, including the Chaldeans, Jacobites, Armenians, Assyrians and Greek Orthodox Christians.

I am a first generation American of Assyrian and Armenian descent. My grandparents fled their ancestral homeland in the early part of the 20th century. In fact, my mother received her First Communion in Baghdad in 1919. I am the only Assyrian American serving in Congress today, and one other did many years ago, the distinguished Adam Benjamin of Indiana.

There are approximately 250,000 Assyrian Americans in the United States, representing the largest population of Chaldo-Assyrians outside Iraq. All Chaldo-Assyrians are Christian. Because they are, they have been subjected to persecution in their homeland.

Today, there are between 1 to 1.5 million Christians remaining in Iraq,

mainly in the Nineveh plain in the north around Mosul. They live in villages that can trace their history back over 2,000 years. And a large number, because of their geography, have now come under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Among indigenous Iraqi Christians, the Chaldeans represent the oldest rite under Rome. Along with the Assyrians who worship with the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, they represent the oldest surviving Christian population in the world and one, without help during this critical transition period, that could be on the brink of extinction.

These communities have welcomed the opportunity before them since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime to move toward greater prosperity and stability by cooperating in the development of a democratic, pluralistic state. Unfortunately, religious and ethnic tensions as well as discrimination continue to plague these Christian communities. I continue to receive troubling reports from religious leaders indicating that Iraq's Christian population is not receiving their fair share of development assistance. Because they are such a small minority, the indigenous Iraqi Christian population has one independently elected Chaldo-Assyrian in the entire Iraqi National Assembly, Younadam Kanna, whom I have met with and hold in high regard. Within the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, representatives from Iraqi Christian communities hold five out of 100 seats. Because the Assyrian community is so very small, such a minority in Iraq with one representative in national politics, funding for reconstruction, housing and education are parceled out to those who control the villages and the regions where they reside without sufficient transparency to ensure the proper parity.

The visible result of these misallocations has been the emigration of as many as 80,000 Iraqi Christians since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. The majority of these individuals, approximately 50,000, have fled to Syria, while others have spread out to Jordan, the Gulf Emirates and Turkey, all living in desperate circumstances as refugees from their homes.

This needs to be dealt with. If a fully functioning and sustainable democracy is to emerge in Iraq, the basic rights and needs of all minority groups must be safeguarded. My amendment seeks to affirm that commitment by ensuring that all relevant U.S. Government agencies and departments pay special attention to the needs of this minority and ensure that they will continue to reside and thrive in their ancestral homeland.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I want to particularly thank Tim Carey of my staff for the very hard, diligent and closely held sincere belief in this issue. Without him, I do not think I would be on the floor today with this amendment.

Iraqi Christians Find Safety in Syria--Religious Violence Prompted Many

To Flee Homeland

(By Joshua E.S. Phillips)

Damascus, Syria.--Seated in his parish office, Father

Sarmad Yousef reflected on his hard choices: to disobey his

archbishop by remaining in Syria or to return to Iraq, where

his name has appeared on a death list. ``After the Americans

came, I was one of the people telling the Iraqi Christians

not to leave,'' he said. ``After the violence started, I

stopped telling them that.''

Christians all over Iraq face a similar dilemma as

relentless violence engulfs the country, some directly

targeting them. Staying in the midst of the threats is

dangerous, yet leaving means abandoning communities, church

property and a heritage with centuries-old roots.

Before the U.S.-led war, roughly 750,000 Christians lived

in Iraq, out of a population of 25 million. Most were

Chaldean and Assyrian, but there also were Armenian, Jacobite

and Greek Orthodox Christians and a small number of

Protestants. Most of them lived either in Baghdad or in

northern Iraq around Mosul.

Since then, 15,000 to 20,000 Christians have fled to Syria,

according to Christian groups, out of ``about 700,000''

Iraqis, most of them in flight from the war, according to the

U.N. high commissioner for refugees.

Yousef, a 30-year-old Chaldean Catholic who came here in

August 2004, was the parish priest of Baghdad's St. Pathion

Church, with 800 families under his stewardship. Today, he

occupies a simple office in Damascus, decorated with small

portraits of St. Therese, the patron saint of his new church,

cradling a bouquet of pink roses.

He says he actively supported the United States when

coalition troops first entered Baghdad in April 2003 and

helped organize community meetings on their behalf. Such

support came with grave risks, and he narrowly missed two

drive-by shooting attacks. But when the Abu Ghraib prison

scandal came to light, Yousef says, his view changed. Nor was

he alone. ``Before that, Iraqis loved Americans,'' said

Yousef, his eyes lowered. ``Directly after that--those

photos, that scandal directly destroyed the dignity of

Iraqis.''

Muneeb, an Iraqi Christian parishioner of St. Therese who

didn't reveal his last name because he said he did not want

to attract local attention, said general resentment toward

the Americans was transferred to Iraqi Christians.

``Americans are Christians,'' he said, ``so we're

automatically considered to be part of them.''

Christian-owned liquor stores and beauty salons were

attacked. While kidnapping has soared--both for terrorism and

financial gain--Christians felt particularly targeted since

they are often associated with successful businesses and

financial support of families living abroad.

With the rise of Islamic militancy, Muneeb said, his

sister, a doctor, was ordered to wear a veil outside her

home--a requirement that didn't exist, he said, when Saddam

Hussein was in power. ``I never thought of leaving Iraq,''

Muneeb said. ``But as a minority, we have no support.''

Emmanuale Khoshaba, a member of the Assyrian Democratic

Movement, who regularly commutes back and forth to Iraq, is

more optimistic. Through his job as the movement's Syrian

representative, he promoted Iraq's Jan. 30 elections among

absentee voters in Syria.

``Don't see the glass half-empty,'' said Khoshaba, who is

the organization's Syrian representative. ``Now, we have

rights: We have our names, we have members of the National

Assembly, and we have 35 schools that teach Syriac.'' Under

Hussein, teaching Syriac--the language used by Assyrians and

other Iraqi Christians, and one of the Middle East's oldest

languages--was strictly forbidden.

``We have coexisted for thousands of years,'' Khoshaba

said. ``The problem was the repressive regime, and today we

are in a transitionary stage. But one has to stay and

sacrifice something for it.''

There have been many examples of such sacrifice.

One Sunday last August, a spate of bombings that struck

five churches in Baghdad and one in Mosul left 11 dead and

scores wounded. Yousef's church was spared, but he said Iraqi

Christians increasingly had started to leave soon after.

When Yousef took a previously planned trip to Damascus, he

learned his was one of 18 names on a death list. Thirteen of

those people had been killed the previous month. ``I decided

not to go back--I felt that I was too young to die,'' said

Yousef. He left behind friends, family and his parish. The

archbishop of Baghdad instructed him return to his post, but

he stayed in Damascus to fill an opening at St. Therese.

Yousef's new church, wedged within Danlascus' Old City of

cobblestone streets and crumbling houses, overflows with

worshipers during Sunday Mass. Of the 2,000 families now

connected to St. Therese, 90 percent are recent Iraqi

refugees. Just outside the church doors, a group of

parishioners from Yousef's old Baghdad parish discussed how

their lives have changed.

``Life was better--we didn't have any problems,'' said

Jamila Tama, referring to the relative peace between

religious sects under Hussein. ``There's killing, bombing

and kidnapping. We have nothing now--even our house is

sold.''

Her son, Bassam Bahnam, was grateful for the haven in

Syria. ``But I have three boys who worked in Baghdad, and

they're all unemployed now,'' he said.

Bahnam and his family want to return to Iraq--when the

violence ebbs. ``Of course there's no place like home,'' said

his younger brother, Hisham Bahnam. But he criticized

Christian leaders' calls to stay in Iraq. ``They're asking us

to stay, but they're not giving us any solution,'' he said.

``Even Christian leaders need an army to protect them

whenever they go outside.''

George Abona, a former priest who attended a seminary with

Yousef, agrees. ``When my Christian leaders say, `Don't leave

your heritage,' what are they going offer me?'' he said.

``What will heritage do for me and my son?''

In Iraq, Abona worked for the United Nations for seven

years, before and during the war, and was in its Baghdad

compound when it was bombed in August 2003. He survived, but

the blast killed his brother, along with the top U.N. envoy

in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 20 other U.N staffers.

Then last October, he was kidnapped for 19 days. He was

released after another brother paid a $20,000 ransom. Despite

all that, he said, ``The security issue is not a big issue--

it's that I'm not ready to raise my son in an extremist

Islamic society.''

Syria has relaxed immigration rules for its Arab neighbors.

But aside from Palestinians, refugees are not allowed to hold

jobs in Syria, forcing most Iraqi newcomers to live off their

savings. Government assistance--especially health care--is

limited, and the refugees must return home periodically to

get their temporary visas renewed.

Yousef tries to provide his new community in Syria with

food and money for medical needs. The main reason he and

other Christians have fled Iraq, he said, is ``because we

don't feel it is our country any more.''

``I have bad memories now,'' he said of events since the

invasion. ``Most of my friends were killed there, and we only

saw cruelty and blood. I don't think I'll ever be able to go

back.''

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza), who represents a very large community of Assyrian Americans in his congressional district.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jennie Mirza Eshoo who will celebrate her 90th birthday on July 17, 2005.

Jennie Eshoo was born Jennie Katherine Mirza in Chicago, Illinois on July 17, 1915, to Agase B. Mirza and Martha Alaverdy Mirza, the first of the couple's seven children. She graduated from Waller High School in Chicago in 1934 and on September 22 of that year she married Paul Eshoo.

Jennie and Paul Eshoo moved from Chicago to Turlock, California where they raised four children, Peter, George, Agnes and Alice, on the family farm. They were active in the Assyrian-American community and Paul was a founder of the Turlock Assyrian American Civic Club.

Jennie has an abiding love of our country and serves our democracy as a faithful precinct supervisor on the elections board. She is a devoted member of St. John's Presbyterian Church where she's served as Clerk of the Session and Elder for more than 30 years. She is known throughout the community for her generosity and helpfulness to so many, and has volunteered at Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock for over three decades.

Jennie is an avid reader whose taste ranges from National Geographic to the latest novels. She loves to travel and relishes visiting in person the sites she has ``visited'' in the Bible and other readings. Jennie conquers crossword puzzles in minutes, entering each solution in ink, never needing an eraser.

Jennie Eshoo is the matriarch of a large and loving family. In addition to her four children, she has eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Her grandchildren are Lisa Brown, Lorie Hill, Cherie Thompson, Christine Benjamin Nedved, Michelle Benjamin Eldridge, Annelise Martella, Karen Eshoo and Paul Eshoo. Her great-grandchildren are Amanda and Emily Brown, Madison and Jacob Eldridge, Cory Hill, Katherine and Jacqueline Nedved, and Peter Thompson.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to honor Jennie Mirza Eshoo as she celebrates her 90th birthday. I ask my colleagues to join me, her family and her many friends in saluting her as she celebrates this extraordinary milestone, and we thank her for her lifetime of service to her family, her community and her country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague for her leadership, not only on this issue, but on so many others that come before the House Commerce Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this motion to instruct. It may indeed be our very last chance to get something right in this flawed energy bill, so-called energy bill. According to the independent analysts at the U.S. Energy Information Administration, this bill has virtually no impact on energy production, on consumption, on imports or on prices at the pump.

In fact, these independent analysts say that gas prices will increase. So wake up, America. Look what is happening to you under a so-called energy bill. The price that you pay at the pump is going to go up. Is that what we need the Congress for? I do not think so.

If the House bill did nothing, that would be one story. But the truth is that the bill imposes huge costs on taxpayers. And that is what we are protesting here on the floor, and why there is this motion to instruct.

Probably the worst provision of the bill is the MTBE liability waiver. What is it? It provides a safe place, a safe

harbor that prevents refiners and MTBE manufacturers from being held accountable in court for selling a defective product. What this safe harbor does is relieve the industry of any obligation to pay even a portion of the estimated $29 to $85 billion cost of cleaning up drinking water that has been contaminated by the product.

So who pays? You pay. Not those that are responsible for it, but you. All under the guise of we want to lower your taxes. Imagine what is going to happen in your local community. Do you think your local government has this money? Mine does not.

The Congressional Budget Office calls this an unfunded mandate--you have to do it, but there is no money to do it--on local and State governments, because they have to pay for the clean-ups on their own.

This is not just a matter of accounting. It is a matter of public health. Just last week it was reported in a new EPA draft report that MTBE is a likely carcinogen. And when MTBE is found in drinking water, we know we have to clean it up. There is not an option on this. I do not want my kids drinking it. I do not want yours to.

Successful lawsuits in California have led to substantial settlements with oil companies. And these settlements have enabled communities to begin cleaning up their drinking water supplies. Now, because communities are winning these suits, the industry wants Congress to let them off the hook.

Mr. Speaker, there is no reason to do this. If they are losing in court, it is because they have a lousy case. And there is a reason that these settlements are taking place, the industry is responsible for the mess and they have known about the threat for years.

So why is a safe harbor being created for the industry? No one outside the industry thinks this is a good idea. In May of this year, the Governor of California wrote to us and said that this provision should be stripped from the bill. I think that my California colleagues should be paying attention to that.

Along with the Governor, the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, the Association of California Water Agencies and many others have sent letters voicing their opposition. This is a bad provision.

Last Congress the provision sank the bill. And it should have. This year we should strip it from the bill. Vote for the motion to instruct.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on Monday evening, July 11, 2005, due to United Airlines flight 950 experiencing mechanical problems. My plane was forced to return to San Francisco International Airport, requiring me to travel on a later flight.

I would like the Record to reflect how I would have voted had I been present:

On rollcall vote No. 363 I would have voted ``yea.''

On rollcall vote No. 364 I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, the issue of competition is one that is lived out and dealt with daily in my congressional district, Silicon Valley.

As this resolution states, high-tech industries drive economic growth around the world. Every day my constituents tell me that the United States is falling behind our competitors in Europe and Asia.

This resolution identifies some of the challenges for U.S. competitiveness. But this is not enough. The resolution is not binding. It does not set into motion any legislative action to address the key issues relative to competition.

One of the top issues in Silicon Valley today is stock options. Broad-based employee stock options plans drive innovation and competitiveness.

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation I authored with Rep. Baker to protect employee stock options almost a year ago, but the Administration has refused to lift a finger to get this bill through the Senate and to the President's desk.

For many, many years the high-tech industry has begged Congress to make the R&D tax credit permanent. It hasn't happened. What has happened is a decline in investment and a diminishment of innovation.

The President has said that the U.S. should have universal broadband access by 2007. We've yet to see the Administration's plan for achieving this. Today the United States has fallen to 16th in broadband penetration, down from 4th in 2001.

This resolution correctly points to education as a critical issue of competitiveness, but once again this Administration and the congressional majority have underfunded critical education programs. No Child Left Behind is funded $39 billion below its promised level. Pell grants will be eliminated for 90,000 college students, and an additional 1.3 million students will have their scholarships reduced this year. These figures do not meet the standards of a great nation serious about her technological and competitive future.

The resolution states that energy is a major problem, yet the Department of Energy's independent analysts have said that the provisions in the House energy bill will have a ``negligible'' impact on prices, production, consumption, and imports of energy.

The Administration continues to underfund critical Federal research programs, flat-funding civilian research and development and reducing total Federal research by $400 million. This underfunds our collective future.

What is missing in the Congress is the commitment to reshape the critical policies which will renew our Nation's competitiveness in the 21st Century.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to join my colleague Representative Phil English in introducing important bipartisan legislation, `Kevin's Law': the Meat and Poultry Pathogen Reduction and Enforcement Act. This bipartisan bill will strengthen the ability of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to set and enforce food safety and sanitation standards for meat and poultry.

Kevin's Law is named in memory of 2\1/2\-year-old Kevin Kowalcyk, who died so tragically in 2001 after eating a hamburger contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Kevin's untimely death was agonizing and brutal. No child, no person should experience the pain that Kevin did, and no family should have to bear witness to a loved one suffering in the way that Kevin did.

Sadly, Americans are far too vulnerable to fatal foodborne illnesses, especially children and the elderly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that foodborne diseases cause roughly 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year. The tragedy is that many of these illnesses can be prevented with better science standards and enforcement. Congress must do much more to ensure the safety of our nation's food supply.

In 2003, the National Academy of Sciences report Scientific Criteria to Ensure Safe Food recommended that Congress give regulatory agencies ``the clear authority to establish and enforce compliance with science- based food safety criteria, including performance standards.'' This legislation is just what the doctor ordered. Kevin's Law addresses these recommendations and will help ensure that the government has the authority it needs to prevent contaminated meat and poultry from entering our food supply by:

Requiring the USDA to identify the pathogens that threaten human health (e.g. Salmonella, E. coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes).

Requiring the USDA to establish performance standards to reduce the presence of these pathogens in meat and poultry.

Confirming that the USDA has the authority to enforce its own standards by shutting down plants that continually breach basic health standards--authority that some processors have repeatedly challenged in court.

Passage of Kevin's Law would put into place major recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Advisory Committee for Microbiological Criteria for Foods, both of which have consistently supported greater federal enforcement of food safety standards.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the current 22 co-sponsors of Kevin's Law for their support of this bill, and I encourage all my colleagues to join me in helping to protect millions of other Americans from fatal foodborne illnesses by passing this legislation.

Finally, I thank Kevin's family for sharing their tragic story with the world, and especially Kevin's mother, Barbara Kowalcyk, and his grandmother, Pat Buck, for their continued important advocacy on behalf of increased safety standards for meat and poultry.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Obey amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment because it is our only chance to restore the $100 million that have been cut from public broadcasting.

Mr. Chairman, the cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in this bill are stunningly shortsighted.

At a time when we're all concerned about the lack of decent programming on television and radio, public broadcasting offers consistent quality.

Yet the majority is cutting 46 percent from the budget that supports the broadcast of programs like the News Hour with Jim Lehrer and National Public Radio's All Things Considered, as well as documentary programs like The American Experience.

The majority also completely eliminates the program that helps fund Sesame Street, Arthur, Between the Lions, and other broadcasts that help prepare children for school.

For parents concerned about what their children are exposed to on television, what are the alternatives to PBS's educational shows? In looking at the television section of the Washington Post, here are some of the television section of the Washington Post, here are some of the programs running opposite Sesame Street: Jerry Springer, Divorce Court, Maury, Texas Justice, Judge Hatchett, Judge Joe Brown, Family Feud, Guiding Light and General Hospital.

So why does the majority want to cut this funding? They say it's to reduce the deficit. What they are ensuring is a deficit of education, information, and analytical thinking.

Does the majority expect the American people to take their argument seriously?

Already this year the majority has rammed through a $290 billion tax cut for the country's wealthiest families and an energy bill larded with billions for oil and gas producers. None of these costs are accounted for in their budget.

And now we're going to plug the budget deficit by cutting Sesame Street?

Mr. Chairman, the argument for these cuts are ridiculous. We should reinstate the budget for public broadcasting. Vote for the Obey amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Hinchey Amendment which will ban the U.S. Justice Department from spending taxpayer money to arrest or prosecute medical marijuana patients in the ten states where medical marijuana is legal: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

In 1996, my home-state of California passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, which gave seriously ill Californians the right to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes. The medical use of the drug must be deemed appropriate and prescribed by a physician.

Since then, the U.S. Justice Department has initiated actions against individuals who are following State law and making marijuana available to individuals with a physician's prescription. Federal law enforcement officials should not be deployed to override State law in this regard.

Although the Supreme Court recently ruled that Federal drug law supercedes State medical marijuana statutes, there is no reason to imprison patients who are seeking relief from chronic pain or the doctors trying to help them.

The use of prescriptive medical marijuana is supported by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Public Health Association. This is a matter of medicine not self indulgence. The use of marijuana for medical treatment should not be criminalized.

I urge all my colleagues to support this Amendment.

Madam Speaker, first I would like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), our distinguished ranking member, for her exceptional leadership on the committee; certainly to the gentleman from Michigan (Chairman Hoekstra) for the tone that he has brought to the committee. I think it is much improved, and I think it is a result of the bipartisanship that we have enjoyed since the chairman has arrived that we see it in this piece of legislation which I am proud to support.

I am especially pleased to see the multilevel security clearance legislation introduced in March by committee Democrats, my colleagues that I am so

proud of, that is in this bill. This provision will help the intelligence community leverage the cultural and linguistic skills of a broader candidate pool, which is so important to our intelligence community.

During the markup of this bill, I offered an amendment requiring inspectors general at the Defense and State Departments, the CIA, and the DNI inspector general to establish telephone hotlines for intelligence professionals to report complaints if they believe policymakers are attempting to unduly or improperly influence them. I think that it is an important effort because there is a question mark in the mind of the American people on this very subject.

As a result, the chairman agreed to include language in this bill about the need to ensure ombudsmen in these agencies to fulfill their role to protect analysts and other professionals within the intelligence community. The committee made a commitment to perform effective oversight in this matter; so I withdraw my amendment, and I thank the chairman for that effort.

As the ranking member of the Technical and Tactical Intelligence Subcommittee, I am concerned that this bill reduces or eliminates funding for several key programs in the administration's request without full justification. Missing is an in-depth consideration of the effect that funding reductions will have on the overall intelligence architecture, the viability of our industrial base, which is essential. Once that disassembles, we cannot put Humpty Dumpty back together again, as well as overarching national security requirements. I hope the DNI and the Secretary of Defense will conduct a comprehensive review and explain the strategic linkages between collection requirements, capabilities, and developing programs. This review would better support future funding deliberations and decisions by the committee. It is very important that that be done.

In closing, I want to express one of my deep concerns, and I know that it is the concern that many of my colleagues share, and that is the continuing reports of torture and other abuses of detainees. From Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo Bay, the mounting revelations have become more than an embarrassment to our country. They are a liability to our deployed servicemembers. If, in fact, the Congress and its committees of jurisdiction fail to fully investigate, I support a special commission to do so. We have to have a full accounting for the American people and have the determination to seek that.

So, in closing, I want to thank my colleagues, the chairman, certainly our ranking member, all of my colleagues on the committee, and most especially a superb and dedicated staff. I salute them. I respect them for the work that they have done certainly on both sides of the aisle.

Madam Speaker, I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of H. Res. 196, which encourages the importance of sun safety and supports the designation of June 5th to June 11th as Sun Safety Week.

Skin cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer in the U.S. and 90 percent of all skin cancers can be attributed to the sun. This year it's estimated that there will be 1.3 million skin cancer cases in the U.S., exceeding the number of breast, lung, prostate and colon cancers combined.

More alarming is that 50 percent of lifetime exposure to UV light occurs during childhood and adolescence, and it can take less than 1O minutes for a child's skin to burn. Failing to take appropriate steps such as using sunscreen, wearing protective clothing, and limiting sun exposure can have serious and deadly consequences, especially for children. Practicing sun safe behaviors during childhood is the first step in reducing the chances of getting skin cancer later in life.

A new survey released on Monday by the nonprofit Sun Safety Alliance shows a 12-point decline in the percentage of Americans who report using sunscreen when outdoors, from 72 percent to 60 percent.

H. Res. 169 recognizes that skin cancer is highly preventable and urges parents to practice good sun safety for their children, which will dramatically reduce its risk.

I urge the entire House to vote yes on this important Resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, which will expand funding for embryonic stem cell research, and I am proud to be an original cosponsor of it.

What I would like to say today is the following: Scientists have informed us, the professional scientists in our country, not political scientists, but scientists, and what they have told us from their considerable work and research is that this issue represents hope. It represents hope for the cure of diseases that plague so many of our people, from juvenile diabetes all the way to the other part of life, which is Alzheimer's, and so many diseases in between.

This Congress and previous Congresses have seen fit to double the funding of the National Institutes of Health. I have always called them the National Institutes of Hope.

We are now on the threshold, we are now on the threshold of debating an issue that can bring hope to our people. It is up to us to have an ethical standard in this debate. That is why no human cloning is a part of the bill that I support. Why? Because no one supports that.

The American people are decent and they want an ethical standard, but they also want their Nation's leaders to continue to give hope to them, hope for the cure of these diseases that cause so much human suffering. We have a responsibility in terms of our compassion, in terms of the instruction that our Nation's scientists have given to us.

So I urge my colleagues to support this bill. It is an ethical bill, and it is a bill that is all about hope.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill which will expand funding for embryonic stem cell research, and I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of it.

Under this bill embryonic stem cell lines will be eligible for Federal funding only if the embryos used to derive stem cells were originally created for fertility treatment purposes and are in excess of clinical need.

Today, there are thousands of surplus embryos from fertility treatments that will never be used and will likely be discarded.

We should allow parents who choose to donate these embryos for use in federally-funded stem cell research to do so.

My home-state of California recently approved a $3 billion ballot initiative to fund embryonic stem-cell experiments. It is the largest State-supported scientific research program in the country. This initiative places California at the forefront of the field and exceeds all current stem-cell projects in the United States.

But without additional Federal funding, our scientific leadership is being transferred overseas. Where the leading-edge research is carried out matters a great deal. Any policy restricting Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research threatens the long-term vitality of the U.S. economy, and most importantly denies millions of Americans hope.

I urge all my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 810.

Mr. Speaker, today the House is considering H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which expands funding for embryonic stem cell research. As an advocate of stem cell research, I'm proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation because I believe that this critical research can lead to cures for Type 1 Diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, paralysis caused by spinal cord injury, and other serious health problems.

Over 3,000 people die every day in the United States from diseases that may some day be treatable as a result of stem cell research. Now is the time for Congress and the Administration to recognize that the current policy does not work.

In 2001, President Bush crafted a policy to allow limited federal support for some embryonic stem cell research. Four years later, however, it's clear that his policy has hindered progress. Today, of the 78 stem cells lines approved for federal research, only 22 are available to researchers. These 22 lines are not only contaminated but were also developed with outdated techniques.

Under H.R. 810, embryonic stem cell lines will be eligible only if embryos used to derive stem cells were originally created for fertility treatment purposes and are in excess of clinical need. Today, there are thousands of surplus embryos from fertility treatments that will never be used and will likely be discarded. We should allow parents to donate these embryos for use in federally-funded stem cell research.

This November, my home-state of California approved a $3 billion ballot initiative supported by Governor Schwarzenegger to fund embryonic stem-cell experiments. It is the largest state-supported scientific research program. This initiative puts California at the forefront of the field and exceeds all current stem cell projects in the United States.

However, with the Federal Government on the sidelines, scientists are still reluctant to pursue stem cell research and the private sector is unwilling to invest in the field. We are losing ground to the rest of the world. As the Washington Post reported last Friday (May 20, 2005), South Korea is leapfrogging ahead of us and is developing techniques proving that stem cell research is robust.

Now, the public, researchers and industry are looking to Congress for leadership. Stem cell research should not be about politics. It should be about science, medicine and hope. We have an opportunity to help end the suffering of millions of people with chronic or terminal diseases, and we should seize it.

Stem cell research is not only critical to saving lives but it also stimulates our Nation's economy. Stem cell research is the next ``big thing'' in biotechnology after the human genome project. Long-term economic growth depends on productivity, productivity depends on technology, and technology ultimately depends on basic science, which is why any policy restricting federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research threatens the long-term health and vitality of the U.S. economy. Biotechnology is at a stage of development similar to where information technology was in the late 1980s--ready to explode.

For our leadership in science and technological leadership, where innovative leading-edge research is carried out matters a great deal, but under the current policy we're leaving the field even before the game has begun.

Now the President has said he will veto this bill. He may succeed in stifling stem cell research in our country, but he will not stop scientific progress. It will occur elsewhere. If the U.S. fails to embrace stem cell research, we will only slow progress in treating disease and cede our leading role as a technological leader.

The Federal Government should be in the business of encouraging and assisting research that can help save the lives of its citizens. The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 accelerates scientific progress toward cures and treatments for a wide range of diseases while simultaneously instituting stronger ethical requirements on stem cell lines that are eligible for federally funded research.

I urge all my colleagues in the House to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today joining my many colleagues in celebrating and observing Mayas Asian Pacific American Heritage month. Nearly 17 percent of my constituents in California's 14th Congressional District self-identify as being of Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander descent and it's an honor to join them in a celebration of their heritage and culture.

Since the early 1800's, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have played a crucial role in the development of our Nation. From the building of the transcontinental railroads, to the heroic contributions during the Civil War, to the sacrifices made by those wrongfully imprisoned in internment camps during World War II, Asian Americans have made lasting contributions to all facets of American society. I have a great appreciation for the broad ethnic mosaic which makes our country great, and it's especially important this month that we recognize and pay tribute to the contributions of the Asian and Pacific Islander American community to our country.

I'm proud to work with my colleagues to address issues of special concern to the Asian and Pacific Islander American community: protecting Social Security, ensuring equal access to healthcare, providing for a quality education, and safeguarding civil rights. These are the principles that reflect this year's theme of ``Liberty and Freedom for All.''

I want to particularly pay tribute to three fallen heroes in the Asian and Pacific Islander American community this year: my dear friend and colleague Representative Bob Matsui, Dr. John B. Tsu, and Fred Korematsu. These extraordinary men stood for equality, justice, and freedom for all Americans and I join my colleagues in remembering their unparalleled legacies.

It would be impossible to name every single extraordinary Asian American in California's 14th Congressional District, but I do want to recognize some of the outstanding community leaders, elected officials and activists I'm proud to call my constituents and friends: Alice Bulos, State Chair of the Filipino Caucus; Yamei Lee, leader and activist within the Taiwanese Community; Karyl Matsumoto, member of the South San Francisco City Council; the late Cpl. Burnrok Lee, a Sunnyvale resident who lost his life serving our country in Iraq; the late Iris Chang, author of ``The Rape of Nanking''; Jessica Yu, Academy Award winner for the documentary film ``Breathing Lessons''; Margaret Abe-Koga, former member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education; Paul Fong, professor of political science at Evergreen Valley College and a local business owner; Randy Okamura, SBC's director of Regulatory and Constituency Relations for California; Michael Chang, former city of Cupertino councilmember; Dean Chu, mayor of the city of Sunnyvale; Otto Lee, city of Sunnyvale councilmember; Homer Tong, chemistry teacher at De Anza College and member of the Fremont Union High School District Board of Trustees; Pearl Cheng, former president and current member of the Cupertino Union School District Board of Trustees; Joyce Iwasaki, Director of Community Affairs for Sugimura & Associates Architects, founder of the Ed Iwasaki Memorial Fund Scholarship Project and the Midori Kai Professional Women's Group; Patrick Kwok, mayor of the city of Cupertino; Kris Wang, city of Cupertino councilmember; Arthur Fong, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from Avenidas who has endowed scholarships at Stanford and UC Berkeley and has also focused on philanthropic support for health care and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation; Yoriko Kishimoto, city of Palo Alto councilmember; Aileen Kao, city of Saratoga councilmember; Jerry Yang, CEO of Yahoo, Inc.; Kathryn Ho, member of the Fremont Union High School District Board of Trustees; Mark Shu, vice president of Hambrecht & Quist Asia; Talin Shu, president of Hambrecht & Quist Asia; T.N. Ho, member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education; Ben Liao, member of the Cupertino Union School District Board of Trustees; Hsing Kung, President and CEO of Pine Photonics Communications; Ken Fong, CEO of CloneTech; David Mineta, member of the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Trustees and associate director of Asian American Recovery Services for San Mateo County; Karen Leong Clancy, member of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Board of Trustees; Judge Erica R. Yew, Santa Clara County Superior Court; Margaret M. Abe, community leader and activist and 2004 recipient of the Norman Y. Mineta Lifetime Achievement Award; Cynthia Chang, member of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees; Yoshihiro Uchida, president of Uchida Enterprises, Inc. and community leader; Nancy Hatamiya, chief of staff to Assemblymember Pedro Naba with over 15 years of public service; Lon Hatamiya, secretary of the California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency; Alfred Chuang, founder, president and CEO of BEA Systems; Emily Cheng, first female Chinese American mayor of a city in the Bay Area, Los Altos Hills; and Art Takahara, former mayor and councilmember of the city of Mountain View and CEO of De Anza Manufacturing Services.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Moore's Law, a prediction by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore about integrated circuits that has driven the pace of innovation, helped make America the world's technological leader, as well as helping to launch what is now the Silicon Valley.

In April of 1965, Gordon Moore, then an engineer with Fairchild Semiconductor, predicted that computer chips would double in power approximately every 18 months while staying at the same cost. Forty years later, Moore's Law has maintained its pace. Today we enjoy technological innovation that even the most enterprising minds could not have imagined four decades ago: Computers once the size of a refrigerator now fit on our laps or in the palm of our hands, and a talking doll enjoyed by kids around the world packs four times as much processing power as an Apollo moon lander.

Along with these extraordinary advances in processing power, the technological innovation driven by Moore's Law has led to advances in virtually every industry and almost every aspect of our lives. Doctors can access the Internet in the examining room or diagnose a patient remotely, while having access to the latest updates on chemical reactions, alternatives, and availability of prescriptions. On-the-go parents can carry games and other digital entertainment for their young children on the road while simultaneously checking in on their teenagers whereabouts and well-being.

Most importantly, the drive toward maintaining Moore's law has kept the U.S. technology industry at the forefront of innovation, growing quality, high-paying jobs and contributing to our Nation's economic stability. The premise of Moore's Law dictates that computing power improves essentially for free, bringing increases in productivity unprecedented since the Industrial Revolution and acting as a powerful deflationary force in the world's macro-economy. As a result, consumers get more for less. Businesses can continually improve their operations, service and productivity at a cost advantage.

In Silicon Valley, which I'm proud to represent, we're proud to be a major driver in the technology industry to keep pace with Moore's Law. The small and large businesses which are part of our local technology industry have led to economic growth and development. Intel Corporation, leading the charge, has become a major local contributor to our economy and is an example of the impact that U.S. technological leadership has at a regional, national, and international level.

On April 19, 1965, the day which Gordon Moore's article first appeared, he certainly could not have predicted the powerful and dramatic influence his postulation would have on our world.

Beyond sharing a wonderful prediction, Gordon Moore has distinguished himself as a major philanthropist, donating $7 billion to various environmental, scientific and San Francisco Bay Area causes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Gordon Moore for his vision in establishing Moore's Law, for his unique leadership, his integrity, and his incomparable contributions to make our nation great. How proud I am to be Gordon Moore's Representative in Congress. He has our collective gratitude for his contributions to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Congregation Beth Am as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Since its founding in 1955, this Reform Jewish Synagogue has been a leader in social action and community welfare in the Bay Area, and has embodied the Jewish community's longstanding involvement in religious and public life. Since its beginnings with 100 families represented at its first meeting, the congregation has grown to nearly 1,400 families from the mid-Peninsula area who gather at Beth Am to worship, to study, to lead and to strengthen both the Jewish community and the Bay Area community as a whole.

When Congregation Beth Am was founded, the population of the San Francisco Peninsula was booming. Beth Am filled a need for a new Reform Synagogue and it grew accordingly after its establishment. The first formal meeting, which was held in March of 1955, was attended by 300 people representing 100 families. A year later, the congregation grew to 250 families. Registration at the religious school, which also opened in March of 1955, jumped from 100 children at its founding to 340 children only 2 years later. Beth Am first met in the First Methodist Church and Unitarian Church for Shabbat and High Holy Day services. Today, members congregate in a beautiful synagogue in Los Altos Hills.

As Beth Am's congregation has grown, so has its involvement with the communities on the Peninsula. Members have volunteered their time and resources to a variety of causes throughout the area, including the Ecumenical Hunger Program, the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, and Opportunities Industrialization Center West. The congregation's Social Action Committee notes that ``We, as Jews, are commanded to pursue Justice, and to participate in Tikkun Olam, or Repairing the World.'' The congregation's website has a ``Tikkunometer'' that counts the number of hours the congregation has pledged to community service. Fueled by this sense of responsibility to the community and dedication to service, Congregation Beth Am has improved our community and the lives of those around them.

None of this would be possible without the outstanding leadership that Congregation Beth Am has been blessed with since its founding 50 years ago. Rabbi Irving A. Mandel was Beth Am's first Rabbi. He was followed by Rabbi Sidney Akselrad in 1962, who for 24 years imbued Beth Am with a social-action

consciousness by participating in a variety of interfaith endeavors, spreading understanding of Jewish heritage, and fighting to break down racial barriers in the United States. Rabbi Akselrad served as President of the Northern California Board of Rabbis, the Western Association of Reform Rabbis, and the Palo Alto Ministerial Association. When he became Rabbi Emeritus in 1987, Rabbi Richard A. Block took on his role as Senior Rabbi. For 12 years, Rabbi Block led the congregation, initiating a process of educational innovation he dubbed ``life-long learning,'' which inspired a national partnership, the ``Experiment in Congregational Education.'' His successor, Rabbi Janet Ross Marder, has been leading Beth Am since she became Senior Rabbi in 1999. She served as the first woman President of the Pacific Association of Reform Rabbis, and the first woman President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. She's married to Rabbi Sheldon Marder of the Jewish Home in San Francisco, and together they are raising 2 daughters, Betsy and Rachel.

Mr. Speaker, I'm exceedingly proud to honor Congregation Beth Am as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. For a half century it's been a center of worship and service and it has truly lived up to its name, Beth Am, which translates from Hebrew to ``House of the People.'' Beth Am is a source of pride to everyone in our Congressional District and will continue to be a pillar of our community for decades to come.