Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, on Monday, September 10, 2007 I missed roll call votes Nos. 865 and 866. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 257 and ``aye'' on H. Res. 643.

Madam Speaker, today, we commemorate the sixth anniversary of the terrible terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. We remember the men, women and children who lost their lives that day and we honor the courage and the heroism of our first responders and those who put themselves in harm's way to help others.

This anniversary is also a time to reflect on the values that define us and separate us from terrorists, values like liberty, democracy, tolerance, freedom of expression and respect for the rule of law.

It is also appropriate to recognize just how misguided the Bush administration's response to those attacks has been. Six years later, Osama bin Laden is still at large while our military is pinned down in a civil war in a country that had nothing to do with the attacks in an occupation that serves as a rallying point for terrorist recruitment and fundraising. It is clear that this is a policy that is making our nation less safe, not more safe, and the first step towards a policy that effectively combats global terrorism is to end the occupation of Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the gentlelady from Ohio, who is the Chair of our House Ethics Committee, for yielding and for her tremendous leadership on so many issues, and for her consistent, and I mean consistent, opposition to this war from day one.

Also I would like to thank the Chair of our Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick, for your outstanding leadership and also for your commitment in changing the President's failed policy on Iraq and for making sure that the Congressional Black Caucus speaks in one voice. Thank you, Congresswoman Kilpatrick.

Let me also salute all of our colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus who have opposed this war from the start, including Congresswoman Maxine Waters who actually boldly started the Out of Iraq Caucus. If our voices had been listened to, we would not have embarked upon this unnecessary, immoral war. I once again stand here as the daughter of a 25-year veteran who fought in two wars. It is past time to end this war.

Mr. Speaker, last week the President once again took to the air waves to make his case for the same old ``stay the course'' strategy. He said that he will return the number of troops in Iraq to pre-surge levels by July of 2008. He wants us to believe that by getting back to where we were last January sometime next summer, he wants us to think that that is progress. The American people aren't buying that. They know how to count. It is the same song and dance from the people who told us that there were weapons of mass destruction, who assured us that we would be greeted as liberators, who declared ``mission accomplished,'' and said really it is mission impossible but he declared mission accomplished and who said we were turning the corner and that the insurgency was in its last throes.

The fact is that the Bush ``stay the course'' strategy put us on the path for 10 years of occupation in Iraq at the minimum. It is time to call this what it is. It is really the President's plan to run out the clock on his failed policy, to move the goal post once again so that he could sneak out the back door and leave the American people holding the bag after he leaves the White House.

Well, let me ask you, how many of our troops should die so the President can save face? How many Iraqis must die to convince the President that the occupation is bringing disaster to hundreds of thousands of Iraqis? How much of our tax dollars should we spend so the President can avoid admitting that his policy failed? We are now spending $12 billion a month in Iraq. For the price of 1 month in Iraq, we could be paying for 1.5 million children to go to Head Start for a year. For the price of 1 month in Iraq, we could have hired 200,000 new school teachers for a year. For the price of 1 month in Iraq, we could have insured 7 million of the 8.7 million children living in this country without medical insurance for a year. Mr. Speaker, that is just the cost of 30 days in Iraq, and the President thinks we should be staying yet another 10 years. That is far too high a price to pay for him to save face.

All the talk about military progress in Iraq is a distraction. It is a smoke screen that only serves to obscure the basic fundamental fact that there is no military solution to the situation in Iraq. Our brave troops are trapped in a

civil war and an occupation. Our continued presence there is not only challenging our military; it is undermining our national security and our efforts to fight international terrorism. That is why every member of the Congressional Black Caucus really cosponsored a resolution which we sponsored banning military bases and control, at least U.S. control, of the Iraqi oil.

This resolution passed this body on a very large bipartisan vote, and, in fact, it sent a strong message that we do not intend to occupy Iraq, at least this House doesn't intend to have that as our policy.

Despite this administration's, though, efforts to frame this as an issue of victory and defeat, the fact remains that redeployment of United States troops from Iraq is really a precondition; it's a precondition to restoring our national security and our efforts to fight terrorism and putting us on a path toward a foreign policy that provides real solutions for global peace and security. Redeployment is a precondition, a precondition for engaging Iraq's neighbors and the international community in a regional stability plan.

We have a moral obligation to help build Iraq. We bombed the country and we, for the most part, destroyed it. But neither Iraq's neighbors nor the international community will truly engage in a regional stability plan as long as they believe that the United States intends to maintain an indefinite occupation. Redeployment is a precondition for any successful effort to combat global terrorism.

The United States' occupation of Iraq has become a rallying point for terrorist recruitment, training and fund-raising, a factor that actively undermines our antiterrorism efforts.

Congress has the power to end the Bush administration's failed policy in Iraq. But it means, it really means that Members of Congress are going to have to make a choice. Are we going to stand with the President for an open-ended occupation that sacrifices our troops' lives so he can save face, or are we going to act to bring this disastrous policy to a conclusion? The choice is simple.

Congress should not provide another dime, not another dime for the President's failed policy. We should provide the money necessary to fully fund the safe, timely and responsible redeployment of troops and contractors from Iraq. And let me tell you, the American people support this.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me remind you that members of the Congressional Black Caucus saw this disaster coming and tried to stop it. If you recall, we had an amendment when the authorization to use force came before this body, it was my amendment, that would have allowed the United Nations inspectors to complete their inspection process for weapons of mass destruction. Congress then, however, voted to go to war. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted for that resolution. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus continue to oppose the occupation and work day and night to bring our young men and women home. And we will continue to be that voice that reminds our country that we truly, we really, we honestly, we do support and love our troops, and the best way that we can demonstrate that, the only way that we can demonstrate that, is by bringing them home and making sure that they have their economic security, their health care, and their mental health care and the resources they need to take their lives back.

Thank you, Congresswoman Kilpatrick, for your leadership and for calling us together tonight. Thank you, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, for pulling us together and making sure we all stay on time and for your leadership on so many issues.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life of Chauncey Bailey of Oakland, California. His tragic and unexpected death has been a shock to our community. The loss of this dedicated friend, mentor, professional journalist, and steward of Oakland will be deeply felt.

Of all of the significant endeavors Mr. Chauncey Bailey was involved with, his role as a loving father was most important to him, and it is in this capacity which he will be most missed. My sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues, and especially his fiancee, Ms. Deborah Oduwa. Fifty-seven years old at the time of his death, Chauncey was a vibrant journalist, editor, and community member, full of energy and vigor.

Chauncey Bailey grew up in Oakland, and ultimately dedicated his career to reporting on Oakland's community, with special attention and dedication to news most affecting our African American populations. After receiving his education, Chauncey became a staff writer and columnist for The Detroit News. After 12 years working for The News, Mr. Bailey returned home to Oakland and began writing for the Oakland Tribune.

Mr. Bailey diligently worked his way up in the news media profession, working with several of our local media outlets. He was a fixture in our papers, on our radios, and on our television sets. Two months ago, Mr. Bailey joined the Oakland Post as an editor.

As an internationally renowned journalist, Chauncey, through his travels abroad, brought a keen understanding of the world beyond our borders to Oakland, California. We benefited tremendously from his experiences and his knowledge of global affairs and for that we are deeply grateful.

Chauncey contributed immeasurably to the fabric of our community. Although Chauncey's

death was an untimely travesty, it is my hope that through his legacy our community will be brought together. By remembering this man and his dedication to Oakland, we can come together and strengthen our collective hand in rooting out this type of violence.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Chauncey's family and friends, as well as the community he served and the people whose lives he most contributed to. We extend our deepest condolences to Mr. Bailey's family, and our deepest gratitude to them for sharing this dedicated man and impassioned writer with us. May his soul rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, all of the photo ops and the doctored statistics in the world will not change the fundamental fact that there is no military solution to the civil war in Iraq. Instead of facing reality, the President is asking for another blank check for his failed policy, and Congress should not give it to him.

We must decide whose interests we represent, a President who has staked his legacy on an unnecessary war, or the millions of Americans that understand that ending the occupation is the first step in repairing the damage that this administration has done to the security of our Nation and the world.

Congress has the power really to end this failed policy. We should not approve another penny to continue that policy. Instead, we should use our constitutionally mandated appropriations power to fully fund the safe, timely and responsible redeployment of our troops and contractors from Iraq.

When we say we support our troops, let's mean it by bringing them home.

Madam Speaker, first let me thank the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch) for your leadership and for managing the bill, and also for your clarity of why we are offering this resolution today and for your support. I also thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) for your leadership and your support. To the chairman of the committee, Chairman Waxman, and our ranking member, Mr. Davis, I commend them and thank them for working together to bring this bill to the floor, as well as to our leadership.

Madam Speaker, I want to also express my appreciation to the over 60 cosponsors of this bipartisan resolution for their support.

This resolution is extremely straightforward. What it does is detail and recognize the value of international travel, and request the President to issue a proclamation calling on the Federal Government, States, localities, schools, nonprofit organizations, businesses and other entities and the people of the United States to observe National Passport Month with appropriate ceremonies, programs and activities.

The purpose of National Passport Month is to create a time to educate the public about the incredible opportunities available to those who obtain passports as well as the positive impact that international travel has on individuals and on our country.

Today, and this is quite a revealing statistic, only about 25 percent of Americans have a passport. Twenty-five percent. That means 75 percent of Americans are limited in their ability to travel abroad because they don't have a passport. As a result, they are unable to take advantage of the enriching opportunities presented by international travel.

As a member of the State-Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, I understand and appreciate the value and importance of international travel and the impact of our foreign aid and the positive value that our foreign aid brings to those throughout the world.

Many years ago I had the opportunity to live in Great Britain for a couple of years, and can say with certainty that there is no substitute for the experience you get from visiting other countries, from meeting with people, from tasting the food, from interacting with the culture. It changes the way we see the world. It broadens our horizons, it deepens our appreciation for different countries and cultures and our shared humanity. It also helps us to learn, to understand, and to tolerate and to mutually respect other cultures. Not only does travel provide enriching opportunities for the individual, it can also have profound benefits for our Nation as a whole through people-to-people contact.

In addition, having a passport and traveling abroad enables others to see our contributions firsthand, including the tremendous amount of humanitarian aid given by Americans through the public and private sectors.

Americans of all ages are our best ambassadors, and we should promote policies that encourage them to travel, to forge connections with people from other countries, to foster mutual understanding and tolerance, and to help open new doors for peaceful coexistence.

The timing of our efforts could not be more critical. I think we all recognize that America needs a boost in foreign public opinion, and I am confident that connections made with American travelers can and will make a huge difference in improving our image abroad. For all of these reasons, when Lonely Planet, which I am pleased to say is located in Oakland in my district, first raised the idea of a National Passport Month, I immediately got it. I embraced it.

I am proud to have introduced H. Res. 554 and to be a part of this campaign to recognize the importance of international travel, and I am excited by the support we have received.

Last year, Lonely Planet presented me with over 5,000 petition signatures from people all over our country who support these efforts, and this campaign has the support of a broad coalition of over 70 supporting travel organizations and associations to corporations like American Express and Yahoo.

Moreover, the Department of State is on record in supporting September as National Passport Month. Let me just read a quote from their letter: ``Since September is a time of the year when schools are reopening and many students are considering travel or study abroad, it is a highly appropriate month to promote public awareness of the value of the United States passport. The Department shares your appreciation of the U.S. passport and supports your resolution.''

Given the recent problems with passport backlogs, this resolution is even more timely. The administration must make passports a priority and ensure that we have the resources available to process them in a timely manner. I thank all of the supporters of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, on rollcall vote No. 821, the vote on final passage of H.R. 3356, I had intended to vote ``nay,'' but mistakenly voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3221, the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security and Consumer Protection Act.

This important legislation combines recommendations from 10 different committees to put us on a path to true energy independence.

It creates new energy efficiency standards to reduce demand; it supports the development and distribution of green power from renewable energy sources; and it spurs further innovation and research on alternative energy sources.

This is also a jobs creation bill designed to prepare the United States to compete in and help lead the green global marketplace of the future.

It trains a new generation of workers with green skills, it assists and empowers small businesses to cut costs and scale up innovative energy solutions, and it ensures that research investments in green technology will translate to new, good paying, green jobs.

This bill helps our nation respond to the growing threat of global warming by accelerating the use of renewable energy and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging mass transit, and expanding carbon capture and sequestration programs.

The bill also recognizes that we must lead by example at home and abroad. It requires the Federal Government to become carbon neutral by 2050, implements green building standards and greens Federal vehicle fleets; and it attempts to reengage us in binding global agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr. Speaker these initiatives all build upon work that is already taking place throughout our great nation. In many ways the California Bay Area and my district in particular are at the forefront of innovation and research on alternative energy, climate change and the environment.

Ongoing research into alternative and renewable energy at UC Berkeley--one of the premier public universities in the country--holds the promise of a cleaner and brighter future for our children.

Businesses in my district have also taken the lead in greening their activities to reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and save water-- minimizing their impact on our environment.

Innovative programs funded in part through the City of Oakland are also training youth in my district about the importance of environmental stewardship and are providing them with new job opportunities and new career paths.

Community based organizations in my district have also taken the lead in advocating for environmental justice and equity for all our constituents.

Together our community is at the forefront of a robust environmental movement that is quite literally changing the world for the better.

I urge my colleagues to pass H.R. 3221 and to help accelerate these efforts in my district and throughout the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule and underlying bill, the CHAMP Act. I want to thank our leadership for their vision and commitment in bringing this critical legislation before us today.

Mr. Speaker, as one of the primary authors of California's version of children's health insurance, the Healthy Families Act, I know this bill will help reverse the neglect and devastation to our health care system that has been inflicted over the last dozen years.

The CHAMP Act will finally provide much needed care for the 5 million uninsured children across this Nation.

The CHAMP Act will finally allow millions of seniors the access to affordable, quality health care that the Bush administration's Medicare cuts have denied.

Finally, while I remain opposed to scientifically unsound abstinence- only programs I support the CHAMP Act's acknowledgment that these programs in their current form are not serving the needs of our young people who deserve access to medically-accurate, life-saving comprehensive sex education.

Mr. Speaker, as important a step forward as this bill is, our goal must remain providing universal health care to all Americans. The future of our Nation depends on it.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say thank you to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher) for putting forth this bill, which I believe will take a significant step forward in ending this occupation in Iraq.

This administration professes to care about our troops, so let me tell you, why have about 250,000 of our troops served more than one tour? Tell me this, why have tours in Iraq been extended for all active duty Army soldiers from 12 months to 15 months?

I will tell you why. This administration, after nearly 5 years, nearly half a trillion dollars, and nearly 3,700 brave American lives, is willing to sacrifice the health and safety of our troops and the security of our Nation in a last-ditch effort to save face for its failed policies in Iraq.

Enough is enough, Mr. Speaker. The price is simply too high. The least we can do is give our troops this badly needed break. That's the least we can do.

I congratulate Congresswoman Tauscher for this legislation and urge my colleagues to support it. Our troops need this, and both sides of the aisle should vote for this in a bipartisan fashion.

Mr. Chairman, first let me just say to the gentlelady from Connecticut, thank you so much for your hard work and dedication to moving our Nation forward in the area of agriculture, nutrition, health safety and all of the other issues that you tackle each and every day.

I come today to enter into a colloquy to raise the important issue regarding the lifetime ban on food stamp eligibility for formerly incarcerated persons who were convicted of drug offenses. This is a serious moral issue of concern to me. Quite frankly, this ought to be for each and every Member of Congress.

After they have served their time, Mr. Chairman, the formerly incarcerated reenter society looking to improve themselves and their lives. In these instances, however, the current policy prevents them access to food stamps. This just makes no sense. This absurd policy is the result of an overzealous congressional effort to appear tough on crime in 1996.

Once someone has paid their debt to society they should be able to have the resources that will help them put their lives together. I hope that we can work together to ensure that this inequity is addressed.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Rangel Amendment and thank the gentlemen for offering such a forward-thinking measure.

This amendment will remove the banking restrictions that require prepayment for agricultural goods, that keep Cuban families from purchasing food from American family farmers. And frankly it's past time.

It's past time to leave outdated cold war era thinking on United States-Cuban relations out where they belong--in the cold.

It's past time to reach out to the Cuban people and allow them to engage our democratic free markets.

It's past time to restore the rights of the American family farmer's access to upwards of $300 million dollars in sales to the Cuban market.

It makes no sense to me to allow agricultural exports into Cuba on one hand and then turn around and set up bureaucratic banking restrictions that severely limit those very exports on the other.

I commend Chairman Rangel for his leadership on this issue and I hope to work with him to bring some common sense to Cuba policy.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Congressman Frank, for his tremendous leadership. Not only did you help us move this bill forward, but you helped, quite frankly, to make it a much better bill. So I want to thank Congressman Frank, also your staff, Daniel McGlinchey, Jim Segal and Katie Lavelle for working with us over the last few months to craft this bill.

Also let me just thank and recognize Congressman Luis Gutierrez, who chairs the subcommittee, for his support and assistance.

In addition, I must thank the Sudan Divestment Task Force and its staff and especially my staff, Lauren Jenkins and Christos Tsentos, as well as Sam Bell and Aysha House-Moshi, formerly of my staff, who really helped me and helped the groups around the country come together to put this bill together.

And let me thank our ranking member of the committee for his early leadership, Congressman Bachus, as well as Congressman Garrett, a cosponsor of this bill, and also Congressman Don Payne, Frank Wolf and Senator Brownback for testifying at the committee when this bill was heard.

And, lastly, let me just commend and thank our great Speaker, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, for her tremendous leadership, and also our majority leader, Steny Hoyer, for making sure that our caucus works in a bipartisan fashion to keep this issue alive.

Thirteen years ago, the world stood by as nearly 1 million people were slaughtered in the genocide in Rwanda, and the best our country could do then was to apologize for failing to act after the fact. Many of us swore that another Rwanda would never again take place on our watch, but it is happening again.

Three years ago last week, on July 22, 2004, under the leadership of our good friend Congressman Don Payne, Congress finally formally declared the genocide was taking place in Darfur. Today, the genocide is getting worse. I have witnessed this horror on three occasions in Darfur; and let me tell you, it is getting worse.

Mr. Speaker, many of us in a bipartisan effort have spoken out repeatedly on the floor over the last three years in condemnation of the ongoing genocide in Darfur. These efforts have only intensified as we have sought to use each and every tool at our disposal to bring this genocide to an end.

In April, we passed a resolution urging our friends in the League of Arab States to exert their influence on the Government of Sudan.

In May, we called on the Defense Department to examine the rehabilitation of the Abeche airfield in Chad to support expanded humanitarian operations in Darfur.

And in June we passed another resolution urging the Chinese to leverage their very unique influence with Sudan to help end the genocide.

Today, we take another very important step forward by passing H.R. 180. This is bipartisan legislation which would support the growing grass-roots movement to divest from companies doing business in Sudan.

Organizations led by young people like STAND and the Save Darfur Coalition have been in the forefront of successful student divestment campaigns

across the country to pressure the Khartoum regime to end the genocide in Darfur, and we do owe them a debt of gratitude.

To date, over 54 universities, 19 States and 9 cities have passed divestment legislation to pull State and local funds out of companies that conduct business with Sudan.

Throughout our country, our constituents are standing up and demanding that their hard-earned money not be used to support a pariah government that is killing its own people.

My bill would authorize and support States, local governments, universities, mutual funds and pension plans that choose to divest from companies doing business in Sudan.

At the same time, we would prohibit the Federal Government from renewing or signing contracts with multinational companies doing business with Sudan. These businesses and industries are in the mineral and oil and military equipment industries. We want them to stop propping up this genocidal regime.

As we pursue divestment, we must also continue to support the rapid and unconditional deployment of the United Nations and African Union forces, along with free and unfettered access for groups providing humanitarian assistance. And we must continue to urge all parties to lay down their arms and come to the table to negotiate a political solution.

Every day we wait, killings, the rapes, the starvation, the dislocation, they all continue.

This genocide is happening on our watch. But this time, working together in a bipartisan coalition, we have the will and determination and the wherewithal to stop it. It worked with the racist apartheid regime in South Africa, and it can work with the genocidal regime in Sudan.

Not on our watch. Save Darfur, as the Save Darfur Coalition so passionately has said; and, today, I hope that the House of Representatives will say the same thing by passing H.R. 180.

Again, I want to thank the Financial Services Committee, and I must thank again Congressman Frank for really making sure that what we intend to do we will do. And I want to thank Congressman Frank again for making this a much stronger bill. We've worked on this for a couple of years, and I tell you working together in a bipartisan fashion we will end this horrific genocide in Darfur

Mr. Speaker, first let me just say today is a good day. I'm very delighted to be able to rise in support of H.R. 176, the Shirley Chisholm U.S.-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2007.

I would like to thank Congressman Faleomavaega from the American Samoa, the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment, for yielding to me, for managing this bill on the floor, and for your assistance and for your leadership.

Also, to our ranking member, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, thank you so much for your diligence and hard work and understanding and clarity of what we wanted to do and making sure that this was done in a bipartisan way. We appreciate so much your leadership.

I am very pleased, as I said, that the House will have an opportunity to discuss this bill today. I want to thank everyone who has helped with this very important piece of legislation. I would also like to thank my good friend, Congressman Eliot Engel, who is the Chair of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, and my colleague, the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Congressman Tom Lantos.

Also, we couldn't have done with this without our staff, who have put in so many hours to ensure that this bill would have the most impact. Particularly, I would like to thank Jason Steinbaum of Mr. Engel's staff and Kristen Wells and Peter Quilter of Mr. Lantos' staff. And let me acknowledge Miguel Ayala from my office for his very, very excellent work on this bill, and Jamila Thompson, formerly of my staff, who really initially worked on this legislation as well as the designation of June as Caribbean-American Heritage Month.

This legislation is so important because our neighbors in the Caribbean, sometimes called the ``Third Border,'' they're often neglected when we consider matters that affect our hemisphere. My bill creates an educational exchange program whereby students in the Caribbean, including secondary school, undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate students and scholars can come abroad to study at United States institutions of higher education. These important programs will not only encourage diplomacy between our Nation and those in the Caribbean, but it will also prepare these students to return home to the Caribbean with the tools and the education they need to move their nations forward in the 21st century.

This legislation also encourages academic partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Hispanic-serving institutions, when possible, and will ensure parity between males and females in the program. Furthermore, both merit and financial need will be considered for those exchange programs which we are authorizing today.

This bill also creates and provides educational development assistance for CARICOM nations. It will address the lack of access and the lack of quality education in some areas of the Caribbean by improving primary and secondary education through teacher training, strengthening curriculum, and improving administration and management of schools.

This bill is named after our former colleague, my dear friend, my mentor, the late Congresswoman Shirley Anita Chisholm, who I dearly loved and learned much from and who I deeply miss. She served in Congress from 1969 to 1983 and was of Caribbean descent. Her mother was from Barbados and her father was from Guyana. She represented the 12th District of New York, which to this day continues to have a significant Caribbean-American population.

Congresswoman Chisholm would have been so proud to know that this program will address the very disparities in education that the leaders of the CARICOM nations raised during the conference last month here in Washington, D.C. They met with the President, the Secretary of State, Speaker Pelosi, and also with our colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Congressional Black Caucus. And during those meetings with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, many Members here in our own body heard about the lack of opportunities for students from the Caribbean to study in the United States.

It is clear to me that we need to do more to help our friends and neighbors in the Caribbean, and I hope this bill is just one step with regard to the many that we're looking at that will come forward to move us forward with closer ties to our regions.

Again, I would like to thank everyone who helped me make this bill come to fruition. It has taken a while. It has taken a long time, actually. I am delighted that we, today, will be sending a very clear message to our friends in the Caribbean that we are truly supportive.

You know, when you see other countries in the region providing scholarships for students from the Caribbean, such as Cuba, I think it is now up to the United States to step up to the plate and say we, too, can make sure that students from the Caribbean benefit from the wonderful educational opportunities present in the United States.

Thank you, again, Mr. Faleomavaega.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Rangel amendment and thank the gentleman for offering such a forward thinking measure.

This amendment will remove the banking restrictions that require prepayment for agricultural goods, that keep Cuban families from purchasing food from American family farmers. And frankly it's past time.

It is past time to leave out-dated cold war era thinking on U.S.- Cuban relations out where they belong--in the cold.

It is past time to reach out to the Cuban people and allow them to engage our democratic free markets.

It is past time to restore the rights of the American family farmer's access to upwards of $300 million dollars in sales to the Cuban market.

It makes no sense to me to allow agricultural exports into Cuba on one hand an then turn around and set up bureaucratic banking restrictions that severely limit those very exports on the other.

I commend Chairman Rangel for his leadership on this issue and I hope to work with him to bring some common sense to Cuba policy.