Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 5471, naming a U.S. Post Office the ``Julia M. Carson Post Office Building.'' It is fitting and right that we recognize and honor the extraordinary life of our dear friend and former colleague Julia May Carson.

It is also fitting that the Julia Carson building will be located at 2650 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Like Dr. King, Congresswoman Carson championed the rights of the underprivileged, the underrepresented and the overlooked.

Many people in Indiana and many of us in Congress need no help to remember the great woman that Julia Carson was or what her service meant to her community and the Nation.

We came to depend on her determined leadership and commitment throughout her tenure in Congress. She was a true voice for the voiceless.

I know that her legacy will be carried on through the work of her grandson, the newest member of Congress, Andre Carson.

Naming this post office after Julia is the least that we can do to mark her dedication and service to the people of Indianapolis and a grateful nation.

Her loyalty and her patriotism, her service and her love of our country will never be forgotten. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5472.

Mr. Chairman, because I was questioning General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker in a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee today, I missed rollcall votes numbered 167 through 169 regarding amendments to H.R. 2016, the National Landscape Conservation System Act. Had I been present, I would voted ``aye'' on the Grijalva amendment (rollcall 167); ``nay'' on the Bishop (UT) amendment No. 3 (rollcall 168); and ``nay'' on the Bishop (UT) amendment No. 4 (rollcall 169).

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Mrs. Pinkie Parker Hardy. We lost our beloved Mrs. Parker Hardy on April 3, 2008. She led a full and vibrant life during her 91 years on this earth, raising a loving family and mentoring many in her church and community.

On May 19, 1916, Pinkie Parker was born in Washington, Louisiana to Alice White and John Parker. During Pinkie's life, she witnessed many of the Nation's most turbulent and controversial moments. Growing up in the south in the first quarter of the last century, Pinkie was self- educated and she devoted her energies to her community, her family, and her faith. She was a life-long resident of Eunice, Louisiana.

In 1936, at the age of 20, Pinkie Parker married Herman Joseph Hardy. From this loving union, five sons and two daughters were born. In 1949, Mrs. Hardy, a devout and extremely active member of this congregation until she became ill just last year.

Mrs. Hardy contributed immeasurably to the growth and service of St. Mathilda Parish during her life. Bishop Flynn appointed her as the first Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist at St. Mathilda. She also served as Lector and Parish Council President for several years. For 50 years, Mrs. Hardy was an active member of the Knights of Peter Claver (KPC) Council No. 92. Mrs. Hardy spent 26 of those years serving as the Grand Lady of KPC.

In 1987, Mrs. Hardy was the recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award from the Diocese of Lafayette. In 2002, she received the Bishop's Medal for devoted service to her church and society.

It is clear that Mrs. Hardy was an indispensable component of her community. She came of age and lived her adult life during the most tumultuous and influential political period in American history. Mrs. Hardy's life exemplifies that of many African-Americans during this century, their struggle for human rights and civic freedom, and their strength and perseverance.

These important men and women are seldom recognized for their greatness. Mrs. Hardy's life is one to be remembered and admired as an example of the true work and inner fortitude that keeps this country together. These individuals dedicated their lives in the service of their God and community in the face of incredible odds. Each and every one of them had a unique story, a special impact, and a loving family. Mrs. Pinkie Parker Hardy was a member of mine.

On a very personal level, Mrs. Hardy was ``family'' to me. She shared her deep religious faith, her wonderful Creole cooking (especially her gumbo) and her insights as a strong, yet gentle African-American woman with me on several occasions. To know ``Mrs. Pinkie'' was to love her.

Mrs. Pinkie Parker Hardy will be sorely missed by all those who loved her and were honored to have her kindness and spirit touch their lives. Her memory and legacy will live on through her seven children, a daughter-in-law,

34 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild as well as innumerable relatives and friends.

Today, California's 9th Congressional District salutes and honors Mrs. Pinkie Parker Hardy. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and children. Thank you for sharing her great spirit with so many people over the last century. May her soul rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank our Speaker for her unyielding stand regarding China's human rights record in Tibet and its association with the genocidal government of the Sudan.

This resolution calls on China to end its crackdown on nonviolent protestors in Tibet and to talk with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to address the very legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people. It sends a clear message to China that the United States does not condone violence and repression against the Tibetan people.

This resolution is also timely as the Olympic torch will make its only stop in North America tomorrow when it comes to the Speaker's district in San Francisco, California, right across the bay from my home district.

As host of the Olympic games, China is facing calls to live up to the Olympic spirit of peace and brotherhood and sisterhood that the torch represents. China's actions in Tibet and its ongoing support for the genocidal regime in Sudan run contrary to that Olympic spirit.

Madam Speaker, China must play by the rules when it comes to human rights and to genocide. Now is the time to begin this dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama. There are legitimate grievances of the Tibetan people which must be addressed, and who better to have this dialogue with than His Holiness the Dalai Lama?

I want to thank the Speaker for really carrying the torch for freedom and human rights and dignity of the Tibetan people. This resolution heeds the call of the international community and puts this body on the right side of history.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

(Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt) who is a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California, a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Congresswoman Hilda Solis.

Madam Speaker, I rise with sadness and respect today, along with Congresswoman Lynn C. Woolsey, to honor Hayganoush Markarian, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, who passed away recently at the age of 105. Hayganoush was one of the few survivors of the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century, so it further saddens me that she died without the government of Turkey, from where she fled, or the government of the United States, where she found refuge, officially recognizing that Genocide.

Much has been said about the facts and numbers and statistics. We know that in Turkey between 1915 and 1921, 1.5 million Armenians died-- 80 percent of the population. But it is women like Hayganous who put a human face on the Armenian Genocide and remind us that we are talking about actual people whose lives were lost or whose homes and families were destroyed.

Hayganoush Markarian was born on January 24, 1902, in the historic Armenian city of Kharpert, which suffered huge losses in the Armenian Genocide. She lived with her parents, older brother, and four sisters.

When the Turks came after her father and brother, both went into hiding--her brother dressed as a girl in order to safely cross dangerous areas and her father initially hid in the well at their home and later with Kurdish friends.

Her mother somehow saved the family from the deportations and massacres and re-united with her husband briefly after World War I, before he died as a result of the damp conditions in the wells he had hidden in for such long periods.

In 1923, the remainder of the family made their way to Syria, where Hayganoush married Markar Markarian in 1925. The Markarians later moved to Lebanon and eventually the United States. In both Syria and Lebanon, Hayganoush was an active member of the Armenian Relief Society, the oldest Armenian women's organization operating in the world.

Hayganoush resided in Oakland until her death in March of this year at the age of 105. She had prayed she would live to see the day when she and other victims of the Armenian Genocide would see the Genocide officially recognized both here and in Turkey.

Madam Speaker, although Hayganoush's prayer was not granted, she did see such a resolution pass the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives last fall. I am proud to be a cosponsor of that resolution, and I look forward to the day when the U.S. government officially recognizes the Genocide. Hayganoush Markarian's story will serve as a reminder to us of the sanctity of human life in Armenia and around the world.

Madam Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5501.

And let me begin by thanking Chairman Berman, our ranking member, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, our subcommittee chair, Mr. Payne, also Chairman Waxman, Mr. Smith, ranking member of the subcommittee, and all who have helped to make this legislation an amazing piece of legislation. And I know that Chairman Lantos and Chairman Hyde

want to thank us and are here with us honoring their legacy because they would want to see this move forward as it is today.

As one the five original co-authors of both the initial legislation establishing PEPFAR and of this new bill reauthorizing PEPFAR, I am pleased that we are moving forward. And again, I have to thank Chairman Berman and Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for making sure that this legislation is really in the spirit of the bipartisan cooperation that we have moved forward with in the past.

There's no other piece of legislation that we will consider in Congress this year that will have the greatest impact on the lives of people around the world. Like many, I have witnessed firsthand many times the dramatic and positive impact of our AIDS programs on individuals and communities throughout the world, especially in sub- Saharan Africa. But it wasn't always this way.

Now, 10 years ago, actually, when I first came to Congress, I think it was 10 years in April, the world really had not recognized the devastating toll that HIV and AIDS were beginning to take on families and communities throughout Africa. Since that time, however, we have worked together on a bipartisan basis on a number of very important legislative initiatives that have put the United States on the right side of history when it comes to this global pandemic.

First, in 2000, we passed and President Clinton signed into law, H.R. 3519, the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act. Now this important bill was a vision inspired by an idea by our former colleague and our friend, former Congressman, now Mayor Ron Dellums of Oakland, California to establish an AIDS Marshall plan in Africa, for Africa, funded through a World Bank AIDS Trust Fund.

With the help and leadership of our former colleague, Congressman Jim Leach of Iowa, we turned this idea into legislation which provided the founding contribution and the framework for what we know today as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

In 2001, working with both former Chairmen Hyde and Lantos, Mr. Berman, Mr. Payne, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. Smith, we drafted H.R. 2069, which was called the Global Access to HIV/AIDS Prevention, Awareness, Education and Treatment Act. This was the first bill that dared to provide large scale antiretroviral therapy to people living in the developing world.

Although we made progress in advancing this legislation through Congress in 2001 and 2002, we weren't able to reach a conference agreement with the Senate before the 107th Congress. Thankfully, however, our discussions would lay the foundation for quick action in the next Congress.

So at the end of 2002, the Congressional Black Caucus, along with practically every advocacy group in the United States, sent a letter to President Bush urging him to set up and create a presidential initiative on AIDS especially for sub-Saharan Africa.

In January of 2003, the President took up our cause, understanding the growing sense of urgency that had been building for years. His promise of $15 billion during his State of the Union address provided the impetus that we needed to pass H.R. 1298, the United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act of 2003, which created PEPFAR.

In 2005, we took yet another step forward when we recognized that our foreign assistance programs did not adequately address the needs of children orphaned or made vulnerable by AIDS. So, working again with former Chairman Hyde and Chairman Lantos, we passed, and the President signed H.R. 1409, the Assistance for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act.

So, Madam Chairman, I lay out some of the history of our work on this important issue because it speaks volumes about what is possible when we come together in the spirit of bipartisan compromise as we honor the great legacy of both Chairman Lantos and Chairman Hyde through this legislation. Chairman Lantos, I know, very much wanted to reach a bipartisan compromise on this bill, as did Chairman Hyde. I'm saddened that both of them are not with us to witness this moment. But I know that they are very pleased with what we have put together today.

May I have an additional minute, please?

As a former member of the staff here on Capitol Hill for 11 years, I have to mention some of our staff members' names particularly because they did a phenomenal job in this. Dr. Pearl Alice Marsh, of course, Kristin Wells, David Abramowitz, Peter Yeo, Bob King, Yleem Poblete, Mark Gage, Joan Condon, Heather Flynn, Sheri Rickert, Naomi Seiler, Jessica Boyer, and of course Christos Tsentas of my staff. These staff members and other members, they deserved, their work deserves really to be applauded because this was not just work as a professional on the Hill. This is part of their life's work and I have to thank them again for their diligence and their competence.

This is a bipartisan compromise, so there were things that we had to give up and things that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle had to give up, but that's what compromise is all about.

Let me just mention a few of the items that were included in this bill. Of course it included language taken from my bill, H.R. 1713, the PATHWAY Act, to strike the 33 percent abstinence-until-marriage and provide a comprehensive prevention strategy to address the needs of women and children.

It also includes language taken from my bill, H.R. 3812, the African Health Capacity and Investment Act, to build health capacity by recruiting, training and retaining health professionals and strengthen health systems.

Now, of course there's still some issues I think need to be addressed which aren't in this bill. I think we should eliminate the prostitution pledge, which violates the first amendment and poses an unnecessary barrier to organizations that work with sex workers.

I think we need to recognize the public health benefits of linking our HIV and AIDS programs with family planning services by eliminating ideological restrictions imposed by the global gag rule.

I think we need to end the unjust and discriminatory travel and immigration ban on people living with HIV and AIDS who wish to enter into the United States.

So these are not impossible goals. In addition, we should fully fund the recruitment, training and retention programs for health professionals with a focus on training doctors and nurses to build health capacity and strengthen health care systems. So I hope that we can do this as we move forward.

Let me again thank the chairman for his leadership in addressing the greatest humanitarian, national security and public health crisis of our time.

I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding.

I rise today to support this amendment and to commend the gentleman from Indiana. I understand this is his first amendment, and it shows that he has hit the ground running. Today, I am reminded of our former colleague, his grandmother, our beloved Congresswoman Julia Carson. I know she is smiling today and is very proud of your efforts; thank you.

Historically black colleges and universities have trained some of our finest dedicated doctors, nurses and health care workers. These colleges and universities go way beyond the call of duty. They have a deep cultural and historical understanding and connection to the continent of Africa. They are attacking HIV/AIDS here on the homefront where HIV and AIDS is disproportionately affecting the African-American community. So by developing human and institutional capacity in Africa and in the Caribbean, we are bringing to bear, in a comprehensive manner, mechanisms to maximize our effectiveness in combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

So I want to salute and thank the gentleman from Indiana once again for his leadership and for helping to strengthen this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I rise this morning in strong support, first of all, of H. Res. 76, a resolution to create a national holiday in honor of a great human being, Cesar Chavez.

Mr. Speaker, already nine States celebrate his life. I am proud that California was the first. The legacy that he left on the history of this Nation must be recognized. He made a difference, not only for Latinos, not only for migrant workers but for the poor and the working poor, and he also built a coalition of conscience across racial and economic boundaries, just as his cofounder, a great woman and a good friend, Dolores Huerta, has.

I am reminded today of the political support that Cesar provided me during my first California campaign for the California legislature. He truly helped me make and win my first election and for that I am deeply grateful.

I had the privilege to attend his funeral with Congressman Baca in Delano, California. As I marched behind his humble wooden casket, I was reminded of the fact that one person who stood for nonviolence can and could and did make a difference.

The Martin Luther King Freedom Center in Oakland, California, studies the lives of great freedom fighters such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and also Cesar Chavez. The young people of our country and especially in my district are getting to know this human being who really did live a life committed to justice and freedom for all. I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this growing movement for a national holiday in honor and in memory of this great civil and human rights leader. He is such an important historical figure in our Nation.

Si se puede, yes, we can create a country of liberty and justice for all. Cesar Chavez showed us how to do it. He showed us with his gentle and kind spirit. He showed us with his tough love. He showed us how to march. He showed us how to care about those, the least of these, who had no voice. And for that this country owes him a debt of gratitude and I can think of no other way than to honor him by passing H. Res. 76.

Let me thank the gentlelady for her leadership and for yielding and for organizing these very important special orders, also, really, for reminding us tonight of much of this unfinished business of our great country, and laying out the glaring disparities that we're witnessing in the African American community; but also, what our economic empowerment agenda is of the Congressional Black Caucus. So, thank you, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones.

Millions of Americans are one paycheck, that is, if they have a paycheck, away from poverty. Now, the numbers speak for themselves. Gas prices are at record levels, averaging, in my district, $3.73 a gallon, even as oil is traded at over $100 a barrel and big oil companies are reaping in record profits. Foreclosures have skyrocketed, putting hundreds of thousands of people out on the street. The American dream of homeownership is quickly turning into a nightmare for many hardworking individuals and families in our country.

In my district, in Alameda County, we are projected to lose nearly 4,700 homes to foreclosures due to the subprime mortgage crisis, eliminating $3.2 billion in home equity value. That's equal to a drop in home equity by almost $8,500 for each homeowner in my district. Meanwhile, food prices have risen, squeezing recipients of food stamps even as the number of people expected to enroll in the program will reach a record 28 million people in the next fiscal year.

Health care costs are going through the roof, even as this administration is posing massive cuts in funding for Medicare and Medicaid, and African Americans continue to be the hardest hit. As of February 2008, the unemployment rate for African Americans was over 8.3 percent, nearly double the national average of 4.3 percent. Among the African American community, poverty rates are 2.5 times higher than the national average. Even more disturbing, almost 40 percent of African American children under 5 years of age live in poverty. And all the while, African Americans continue to be the target for, as we talked about earlier, subprime loans.

African Americans are three times more likely to have a subprime loan than whites, accounting for 52 percent of all subprime loans. And as the housing market has collapsed, estimates indicate that African Americans alone will lose between 164 to $213 billion in home equity value during this recession.

It's long past time for Congress to address the burden of this economic downturn on the African American community and other communities of color and address the ongoing lack of opportunity in minority communities in America. Even in the face of this massive housing crisis and impending recession, growing unemployment and the highest number of applicants for food stamps since the program's inception, the Bush administration wants to cut funding, mind you, cut funding for the most vital programs so that he can continue to fund his failed occupation in Iraq. This is partly due to Iraq, billions of dollars that have been spent,

this economic downturn. I personally call this ``The Iraq Recession.''

At nearly half a trillion dollars, the occupation of Iraq and the resulting Iraq recession has wasted too much of American treasure, drained too much of our American resources, and most importantly, claimed too many American lives. And we cannot dismiss the toll that this occupation has had on the economic security of our Nation and on the average American family who will feel the impact of these expenses for years to come.

The Joint Economic Committee estimates the total bill for the war through 2008 will cost the typical family of four a full $16,500. Can you imagine what a family of four can do with $16,500? This conflict has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 brave members of our Armed Forces and has resulted in injuries to more than 28,000 others.

Five years after the invasion and occupation of Iraq, 47 million Americans are living without health insurance, 47 million. And more than 36 million people continue to live in poverty, at least 2 million of which have fallen into poverty since 2003.

Five years later, it is projected that more than 2 million American families will lose their homes to foreclosure, primarily over the next 2 years. And worse, as the demand is increasing for programs serving children, the elderly and the poor, and those facing the loss of their income, more than half of our States face serious budget shortfalls that will force them to cut back or even eliminate programs that serve the most vulnerable of our populations.

So, Mr. Speaker, we must address the needs and the will of our country by bringing an end to this occupation and to the immeasurable costs that will continue to be exacted on the physical and economic security of the American people for generations to come.

Forty-one years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King was, as he said, ``compelled to see the war as the enemy of the poor and attack it as such.'' Of course Dr. King was referring to the Vietnam War. But his understanding of the relationship between the vast sums spent dropping bombs in a foreign country, and the resulting lack of funding for programs that relieve hunger and poverty are just as true today as they were back then, especially now with this economic downturn.

A recent survey revealed that 68 percent of Americans believe that ending the war and occupation in Iraq is an important step the United States Government must take to respond to the current economic recession. So we must put an end to this occupation, and we must fund a real economic stimulus plan that expands unemployment assistance and food stamp benefits, provides housing assistance and foreclosure relief for homeowners, and expands Medicaid payments to States through the Federal medical assistance percentage.

We need to pass a real bankruptcy reform bill. I believe this one that we're working on now is H.R. 3609. It's called the Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007, that will give struggling homeowners a fighting chance to stay in their homes.

We've got to reauthorize and realize that HOPE VI is an important, important housing initiative, and pass H.R. 3524, to finally stop putting an end to predatory lending. And instead of spending billions to bail out Bear Stearns, we should really be investing that money to train our workforce and to expand green jobs and eradicate poverty.

So as we remember 3 years ago, Hurricane Katrina served as a real rude wake up call to the Nation and the continuing inequality that plagues minority communities, especially the African communities in America. Katrina opened the eyes of many Americans about the continuing burden of poverty that often isolates and traps generations of Americans of color, African Americans, in a cycle of poverty and disenfranchisement. So we cannot ignore the legacy of Katrina, nor can we ignore the legacy of Dr. King's words.

So this week, as we approach the 40th anniversary of Dr. King's assassination, let us all make a commitment to honor his vision and his life's work. We must end this occupation of Iraq, and we must enact a real economic stimulus plan, so that the American people can move forward, take care of their families, come out of this downturn and really begin to live the type of life, the quality of life that they so deserve in the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world.

Thank you, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, for giving us the opportunity tonight to talk about the real suffering that people are feeling; but giving people some hope that there are many here in Washington, D.C. on the battlefield trying to turn this around.

Thank you. And you know, as I was listening to your very clear presentation, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones, I kept thinking of all of the people who really believe in the American dream, who want to send their kids to college, who perhaps may want to start a small business and who know and recognize that the path to wealth in our country is through home ownership. And now, given that the equity has just about eroded, their dreams being shattered.

You know, most Americans don't play in the stock market. You know, the only way they can acquire wealth is through home ownership. The only way they can live the American dream is through leveraging the equity in their homes to realize some of their dreams. And now, given this fiasco that we're experiencing, so many people will not realize their dreams. And so the legislation that you mentioned and more that are being talked about and introduced, will, in many ways help stop the hemorrhaging.

But, you know, we have to look at this not only in the short-term perspective, but also the long term has to be addressed. And some of this has to do with the deregulation of the financial services industry. And we really need to look at some regulatory reform also in the long haul to make sure that this never happens again. It's almost been the ``Wild West'' in terms of the financial industry.

Let me applaud you for laying out these very important and very thoughtful bills. Hopefully, people who are listening to the Special Order tonight will understand the importance of them and ask their Members of Congress to support them because they actually should be passed and signed into law.

Also, I think it's important that we recognize tonight we are talking also with regard to the Congressional Black Caucus' economic empowerment agenda, and what you have laid out is central to an economic empowerment agenda of the African American community throughout our country, but also, in addition, we have talked a lot about the disparities and why we have to have this economic empowerment agenda because we are still faced with many, many disparities in health care and education and economic development.

And when you look at the African American business community and the lack of capital, when you look at the small business administration and the type of problems and difficulties we have had over the years, you can see that, in many ways, many of the initiatives that have begun over the years that would have helped during this economic recession have been just about cut out. So it is about time we go back to the drawing board and regroup and not only resurrect some of the strategies that actually work but come forth with new legislation such as we are talking about tonight.

So, in closing, I just want to thank the Congressional Black Caucus, again under Congresswoman Kilpatrick's leadership, for making sure that the overall agenda of the CBC is put forth every Monday night under Congresswoman Tubbs Jones' leadership, because this is so important. In fact, we were in recess over the last couple of weeks, and I ran into many, many people who thanked us for getting the word out, sounding the alarm, providing the information with regard to what we are doing here because so often, the American people, the public, our communities, have no idea what type of legislation is being proposed to help with some of the burdens that they are forced to bear at this point in our history.

The $16,500 I mentioned earlier that this Iraq occupation is costing the American people, just think of what they could do with $16,500. And so I have to say, part of what we have to continue to do is to try to end this occupation, end this $3 trillion that's being projected with regard to the war in Iraq and make sure that immediately the American people though can realize some benefits from their tax dollars and also make sure that we can expand unemployment compensation and food stamps and just help them survive through this until we can do something big and something that makes their lives much better.

Thank you again.

I want to thank Chairman Conyers and Chairman Reyes for bringing this legislation to the floor which does contain the safeguards necessary to protect the liberties of the American people, while giving the intelligence community powers to protect our Nation, which are very important in this bill.

Now, let me tell you, I know from personal experience about wiretaps during the J. Edgar Hoover period and the unwarranted domestic surveillance and wire tapping as a result of the Cointelpro program. Many innocent people, their lives were destroyed, personal information was gathered from innocent people, yes, including myself, who were no threat to national security. Dr. King and his family were the victims of government-sponsored wiretapping.

We must never go down this road again. So I fully support this bill because it explicitly declares that the FISA Court is the sole authority for electronic surveillance. It prohibits this reverse targeting. It also makes sure that we do not provide retroactive immunity to telecom companies that participated in any illegal spying by this administration.

This bill will protect America and, equally important, protect American civil liberties and values as guaranteed, mind you, guaranteed by the fourth amendment.

Mr. Chairman, let me thank my colleague from Virginia for his leadership. Also I want to thank the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, for her leadership and all of our staff for their very diligent work in putting together this fiscally and morally responsible budget.

This budget rejects the President's budget and his attack on working families, minority communities and many of our most vulnerable populations like seniors and low-income individuals. Instead it, invests in the right priorities for our Nation.

It calls for the implementation of GAO's recommendation to cut waste, fraud and abuse at the Defense Department. We have witnessed billions and billions of dollars disappear, lost or misspent through companies such as Halliburton or Blackwater. We have found, and the GAO has found, that there is at least now a savings of $63.7 billion between fiscal year 2001 and 2007. We want them to complete their audit, and this budget will allow them to do that so we can realize these savings and invest in our communities, in our families and in our children.

This budget also recognizes that domestic security enhances national security. It makes critical investments to build housing and to strengthen our communities. It fully funds SCHIP and increases funding to fight HIV/AIDS. It expands education and job training programs and rebuilds schools destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

In short, the Congressional Black Caucus budget is fiscally and it is morally responsible. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Let me just highlight the HIV/AIDS budget. We have not received the type of increases for the minority AIDS initiative that our communities need so desperately. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is wreaking havoc on the African American and now unfortunately the Latino communities in our country. And so this bill funds the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program in a way that it should be funded, but it also funds the minority AIDS initiative in the manner that it should be funded.

Also let me just say we have seen such massive cuts in programs for education, such as for our historically black colleges and universities. This budget makes sure that our historically black colleges and universities

receive the type of funding they need to educate our young people.

Also it is important to recognize the Congressional Black Caucus understands that our children need health care this, and this budget provides the funding through SCHIP for health care for our children, our most precious resources, who are our future. And it is a shame and disgrace that we haven't been able to do what we needed to do.

So I thank the gentleman from Virginia for making sure this budget is fiscally and morally responsible.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Along with my colleague from California, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, I cochair the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And let me just take a moment to acknowledge our cochair, Congresswoman Woolsey, whose hard work, whose brilliant intellect, and whose soaring spirit really is with us today, even though she's at home recuperating very well from back surgery. She'll be back very soon to continue to fight to bring our young men and women home from Iraq.

I rise today to offer the Congressional Progressive Caucus budget. We call it our antipoverty, pro-opportunity, peace, and security budget.

Budgets really are moral documents. They provide a road map to identify and invest in our Nation's values and our priorities. The CPC alternative budget reflects our American mainstream values by making the right investments to fight poverty, to grow our economy, to assist survivors of Hurricane Katrina, to bring common sense to our national security budget, and to redeploy our troops and military contractors from Iraq.

Our budget does this in a way that not only balances our priorities but balances the Federal budget. Our budget stands in stark contrast to the President's very cynical proposal that he presented to us last month.

The Progressive budget rejects the President's budget and its attack on working families, minority communities, and many of our most vulnerable populations, like seniors and low-income individuals.

The Progressive budget rejects the President's ongoing occupation of Iraq that's costing taxpayers $12 billion, $12 billion each month. And the Progressive budget rejects the President's $200 billion cuts to Medicare and Medicaid that would raise premiums for our Nation's seniors and cut payments to the doctors and hospitals who serve them.

Our budget is different. It faces the poverty crisis in America head on, starting with redress and reconstruction for gulf coast victims of Hurricane Katrina. It is designed to reverse the Iraq recession by providing a vital stimulus to jump-start the economy. It is the only budget that brings common sense to national security by reinvesting the President's bloated defense funding request for the Pentagon, the highest since World War II.

The Progressive alternative will provide at least $551 billion for domestic, nonmilitary discretionary spending in fiscal year 2009, $131.9 billion above the President's request. As part of this increase in domestic discretionary spending, the Progressive Caucus budget also includes $73 billion to develop a sustained, coordinated, public private sector strategy that recommits America to a renewed war on poverty. This will cut the poverty rate in America in half in a decade. This goal is in line with H. Con. Res. 198, a resolution that I introduced which passed unanimously in the House in January.

We have budgeted the dollars to bring millions of children out of poverty by expanding the earned income tax credit for larger families and making the child tax credit fully refundable for any family earning more than $3,000. It will also finally begin to fully redress the continuing plight of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Our alternative would provide the funds for the housing and the health care, education, and infrastructure investment, and the vital social services needed to bring people back to Louisiana and Mississippi.

Our budget would also immediately provide $118 billion to fund the most effective stimulus programs available to the government. We extend unemployment insurance, food stamp benefits, and critical Medicaid payments to States that will not only help keep State governments solvent, but keep more workers healthy and productive. The economic stimulus package will include assistance for low-income and unemployed people that were ignored by the first stimulus.

Additionally, the CPC budget provides foreclosure relief and includes new investments to rebuild our Nation's schools, fix our highways and bridges, and build new affordable housing. These initiatives will create jobs that will help keep more families in their homes.

Now, all of these vital programs will be a down payment on our rebuild and reinvest in America initiative. This long-term, sustainable project will create green jobs, reinvigorate our schools, and foster a new commitment to excellence in our students. We will repair our water, power, and transportation systems so that America cannot only compete in the global economy, but once again lead.

The Progressive budget also brings common sense to national security spending, providing $468 billion, which is $68 billion under the President's bloated request. Our budget cuts government waste, fraud, and abuse, and eliminates outdated and ineffective Cold War air weapons systems that were developed to fight an enemy that really no longer exists.

Most importantly, the CPC budget will end the occupation of Iraq by rapidly and safely redeploying our troops and military contractors. We have wasted far too much money on this occupation already, over a half trillion dollars to date. We cannot afford to spend another $3 trillion that some have estimated this will take.

So this budget achieves all these goals and brings the Federal budget, mind you, into budget by fiscal year 2012 and, upon the completion of our reinvest and rebuild America initiative, back into balance in 2018. I urge this body to reject the President's draconian cuts to vital programs for working American families and to support the CPC's alternative budget.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

I would like to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the Chair of the Financial Services Committee, who has had a very good handle on what it takes to bring our economy back.

I yield myself 30 seconds.

First of all, the Democratic budget does balance by 2012. The Congressional Black Caucus budget balances by 2012. The Congressional Progressive Caucus budget balances by 2012. There are people in this country making over $1 million, $1 million, and all that we do is we provide the tax cuts which will expire in 2010 for the people in our country who make over $1 million. That's the top 1 percent, mind you, 1 percent of taxpayers, and that brings us at least $222 billion.

I yield now 3 minutes to the gentlelady from California (Ms. Waters), who chairs the Housing and Community Opportunity Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee and who has helped us put together this budget, especially the Rebuild America's Communities budget, who has worked on our housing issues, Katrina issues and so many issues for so many years. And this section of this budget is a remarkable section, and I hope everyone will listen to her so they can understand exactly what we did in our Progressive Caucus budget.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio, Congressman Dennis Kucinich.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes now to the gentlelady from Texas, whose voice is heard loud and clear in terms of her priorities with regard to the Progressive Caucus budget, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee.

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. Chairman, I would like to now yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from California, a very active and strong member of the Hispanic Caucus (Ms. Solis).

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman Conyers, and thank him for his leadership.

Mr. Chairman, let me say a couple of things as I close in response to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle.

First, let me just talk about the argument with regard to tax increases. Our budget provides for tax fairness. We want to bring back some real justice in the Tax Code. Let me just say to you that the Progressive Caucus believes that individuals earning $1 million or more a year, which is the top 1 percent of our country, that those tax breaks should be rolled back, the tax bracket should be rolled back to 39.6 percent. That raises at least $96 billion. I finally think that that $96 billion can be put into restoring some of the very draconian cuts in our budget to initiatives such as education and health care which the President has cut.

Secondly, we're talking about repealing capital gains and dividends tax breaks raises at least $74.4 billion. I think that that $74.4 billion can restore the 50 education programs, including student financial aid, which the President has sought to cut. We also want to roll back the estate tax break, raising at least $74 billion. I think that that $74 billion can go to restore those deep cuts to highway infrastructure or, of all things he is slashing, support for law enforcement. I think that those resources could better be used in those areas.

Also, we're talking about in terms of repealing all additional tax breaks for the top 1 percent. That means we have $177 billion. Maybe that could go to help restore the energy assistance for low-income families that the President cut. Or maybe it could go to restore the renewable energy and energy conservation programs that the President decided to cut.

And what about this when you talk about tax increases? How about what we want to do to eliminate the corporate tax incentives for offshore jobs? The Tax Code has a number of preferences that directly or indirectly encourages, mind you, encourages United States companies to relocate operations and jobs overseas. How about using those revenues to create some jobs and to invest in job training programs which, of course, the President wants to cut in his budget? That makes sense to me. That's about fairness. That's not about tax increases.

We're not talking about increasing taxes on middle-income individuals. We're talking about tax fairness, restoring some tax fairness to the Tax Code. And I don't believe that anyone in our country, if they knew the bogus nature, I think, of this argument with regard to what all of us are trying to do to bring some fairness into the Tax Code, I think the American people would say, what is wrong with raising revenue from those making over $1 million a year? They actually didn't really support that tax cut when they received it, so what's wrong with creating jobs in our own country rather than giving tax breaks for sending jobs offshore? I don't think the American people see that as being the wrong way to use our tax dollars. I don't think that they would worry at all about us repealing some of these estate taxes and individual tax breaks for the 1 percent.

And so I think that when you talk about tax increases, we need to be honest and say what we're really talking about, and that's giving tax breaks, continuing to give tax breaks for the very wealthy while our young people, our children, our senior citizens, the poor, low-income, middle-income individuals are struggling to just manage to survive through this recession that has been created, yes, by many of these tax cuts, but also by this deep hole that we are digging in terms of the Iraq war and the Iraq recession.

I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

In fact, this is a moral document. A budget should be a moral document. We have bipartisan support from Catholic Charities, from many faith groups, from many organizations around the country.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Chairman, let me first thank Chairman Spratt for his leadership and for his work on this budget. And I want to also thank his staff and my staff for really helping us put together I think a very good budget that we support.

This is a budget that, as compared to the Bush budget, I think the Bush budget is really the worst that we have seen in his long line of bad budgets. And with the staggering $12 billion a month with regard to the cost of the occupation of Iraq, I think it is about $3 trillion being projected, this is dragging our economy further into what we are calling an ``Iraq recession.''

It is particularly shameful that the administration would cut programs at this point in health care, in food assistance and in education which would help so many people who desperately need it right now.

That is why I am pleased that the Democratic budget before us rejects those draconian cuts. And I am also pleased that this budget is really war neutral. In fact, as the chairman stated earlier, the $70 billion placeholder in this budget can be used for whatever policy the Congress eventually chooses in authorizing and appropriating legislation, including redeployment of our troops. Now, over 90 Members of Congress signed a letter to President Bush and said that we would not vote for one more dime for combat operations. Only we will vote for money to redeploy our young men and women and bring them home. So as we approach this fifth anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, it is far past time that we act on the will of the American people by doing exactly that.

So I want to thank the chairman for this budget. And I urge my colleagues to support this budget and to work quickly toward redeploying our troops, toward addressing the waste, fraud and abuse in the Pentagon budget and begin to bring our troops and our military contractors out of Iraq and refocus our efforts and our budget on the many domestic needs here at home, which this budget does.

Mr. Speaker, I voted for this resolution because I believe we must condemn the

rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel. Many innocent persons, both Israeli and Palestinian, have been killed or injured in the violence. In addition to death and injury, the on-going violence has destroyed property, instilled fear, and disrupted the lives of innocent civilians on both sides of the conflict.

I appreciate that the resolution helps document the toll that rocket attacks have exacted on Israeli civilians. But I very much regret that the resolution misses an important opportunity to acknowledge the complexity of problems and issues which give rise to the conflict. And I am particularly troubled that the resolution fails to recognize the depth and breadth of human suffering, misery, and death that has been visited upon the people of Gaza.

Mr. Speaker, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has only worsened since the armed takeover by Hamas in June 2007. Basic items such as baby milk, wheat grain, vegetable oil, and dairy products are in short supply. Additionally, the tightening of restrictions on the movement of goods and people by the Israeli government is causing serious hardship according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA.

The OCHA has found that these restrictions have had the effect of preventing the people of Gaza from receiving desperately needed healthcare treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer patients, pediatric surgery, and neurosurgery. The restrictions on the movement of goods make it difficult for healthcare providers to obtain new diagnostic medical equipment or the parts to service existing equipment that has fallen into disrepair. To make matters worse, it appears that those Palestinians who want to leave Gaza to pursue treatment in Israel or abroad are finding it difficult to do so.

Mr. Speaker, ensuring that humanitarian assistance is available and accessible to the people of Gaza is one of the most important steps that can be taken to ensure that the peace process succeeds and is not derailed by continued violence. It is for this reason that I recently wrote to Secretary of State Rice urging her to do all she can to make certain that vital humanitarian goods and services are successfully delivered in Gaza. I believe the moral force of the resolution would have been enhanced had it called for similar action.

Finally, this resolution cites the roles of Iran, Syria, and Egypt in enabling these attacks. I want to be clear that nothing recited in the resolution would justify a preemptive military response against these countries nor should it be used as grounds to build a case for such an action.

Mr. Speaker, the rocket attacks against Israel condemned by this resolution have caused great suffering to the victims. Acknowledging that suffering in a congressional resolution is a fitting and proper thing to do. But at the end of the day, the peace and justice we all seek will not come from passing a resolution in Congress. Rather, a just and lasting peace will come from the parties resolving in their hearts and minds to rededicate themselves to the active engagement in good faith negotiation to bring the two-state solution into being. I call upon the Administration to redouble its efforts in discharging its indispensable role as honest broker in the peace process.

Madam Speaker, on October 23, 2007 the House passed H.R. 1955, the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. My vote in support of this bill was an error. I am concerned that this legislation creates the appearance that our constitutional rights could be undermined or that peaceful dissent and protest could be discouraged. I would like the Record to reflect that I stand in opposition to this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, as an original co-sponsor, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 289, which honors the NAACP on its 99th anniversary.

I want to thank Congressman Al Green, who served as president of the Houston Branch of the NAACP for over 10 years, for once again introducing this important resolution.

I also want to recognize the outstanding job that NAACP Chairman Julian Bond has done in leading the organization.

Almost a century ago, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in New York City during this month of February that we now recognize as Black History Month.

As a child of the civil rights movement, I witnessed first hand the leadership of the NAACP in fighting for human rights.

I remember vividly, the role the NAACP played in shattering segregation in my birthplace of El Paso, Texas.

We all know their great contributions:

From the victory in Brown vs. Board of Education, to the non-violent sit ins at segregated lunch counters, to passage of the Voting Rights Act, the NAACP has played a central role in every great civil rights battle of the last century.

Today, the Nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization continues to be a powerful voice in the ongoing struggle against injustice, oppression, and war.

The NAACP has been a dedicated and constant partner as I have worked with my colleagues to end the war in Iraq, stop the genocide in Darfur, and eradicate the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.

They opposed the Iraq war from the beginning and support our efforts to end the occupation and bring the troops home.

They led the charge in support of my bill authorizing divestment from Sudan and they worked with faith, activist and student groups to ensure that it got signed into law at the end of last year.

And on HIV/AIDS, they have consistently been on the frontlines advocating for increased funding to help end the devastation this disease has caused in the African American community.

In short, the NAACP continues to demonstrate their commitment to stand on the battlefield and lead the charge for what is right. They deserve this honor and our praise and they deserve our thanks.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I come to the floor this evening to join Congresswoman Woolsey in her 250th special order on the ongoing quagmire in Iraq. I just want to take a moment to commend Congresswoman Woolsey and thank her for her leadership and her commitment to ending this occupation of Iraq and bringing our troops home. It was her resolution several years ago that we were able to begin, actually, the debate on this floor with regard to bringing our young men and women home. So I do have to salute you, Congresswoman Woolsey, and thank you again very much for your commitment and your tenacity and your willingness to be a voice that is so desperately needed to be heard.

Madam Speaker, it's really, though, unfortunate that Congresswoman Woolsey, myself, Congresswoman Waters, and all of our colleagues have to come even once to this floor and speak out against the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq. But the reality is, we are in Iraq. And the reality is, also, that the cost of our invasion and the subsequent occupation of Iraq have been very high.

As of February 10, 2008, according to the Defense Department, 3,955 of our brave young men and women have given their lives, nearly 30,000 United States troops have been injured, and countless thousands of Iraqis have been killed. We've committed a half trillion dollars and gotten what in return? We are still occupying a country which has undermined our standing and credibility in the world, what we have done as it relates to our occupation of Iraq.

And so we have an opportunity once again to talk about why we do not believe funding the President or giving the President another blank check for waging war in Iraq makes any sense. We have the opportunity to turn this around in the coming war supplemental, which I understand may be once again before us next month. We must insist that the only funds that the President should get should be to protect our troops on the ground and bring them back home safely, not one more dime to continue the occupation, nor one more dime to continue the combat that is taking place in Iraq. And of course we call that, and it is better known as a fully funded redeployment.

Equally as important, when our troops come home, we must ensure that they all come home. And that's why we continue to work with our colleagues to include provisions to prohibit permanent military bases in Iraq. We have been successful, in a bipartisan fashion, in including language in a number of authorizing and appropriation bills, as well as a stand-alone bill, H.R. 2929, which passed the House in July of 2007 by an overwhelming bipartisan vote.

In spite of the fact that the President has signed these provisions into law, I believe it's six times since 2006, he issued a statement as he signed the fiscal year 2008 Department of Defense authorization bill signaling his intention to ignore the provisions banning permanent military bases, to ignore that provision. Sadly, unfortunately, this is a pattern coming from the White House that really does seem intent on cutting Congress out of any decisions relating to the permanent stationing of the United States military in Iraq.

At the end of last year, without formal congressional input, this declaration of principles for a long-term relationship of cooperation and friendship between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America was discussed between Prime Minister Maliki and President Bush. Now these ``principles'' will set the stage for future agreements on the disposition of United States troops in Iraq. To make certain that this does not end up being a backdoor way to keep our troops in Iraq indefinitely, which of course many of us are worried about, I recently introduced H.R. 5128, which will require that any formal agreement emerging from this declaration of principles has the approval of both the House and the Senate. Further, it states a sense of Congress that the Iraqi Parliament should put their seal of approval on any agreement as well, which just makes sense.

Finally, it will prohibit funding for any agreement that may emerge from these principles that does not have the approval of the House and the Senate.

There's no denying that a majority of the American people are with us. A recent CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll has found that nearly two-thirds of all Americans oppose the occupation of Iraq.

Madam Speaker, we need to end this occupation and bring our troops home as safely and as quickly as possible. And it is because of the courage and fortitude of Members such as Congresswomen Woolsey and Waters, who come to this floor each and every day. When the history of this period is written, historians will look back and say that there were some who opposed this and wanted it to end and end quickly.