Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, earlier today we passed the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, and I just want to take a minute to thank Congressman George Miller for his tremendous leadership in achieving bipartisan support for a bill that will have a positive and lasting impact on the future of education in our Nation.

We raised the maximum Pell Grant, reaching $5,200 by 2011. In my home State of California, this will benefit over 645,000 students.

Another important part of this bill is the increase to the Upward Bound program, effective for the current fiscal year, allowing several program sites that had to shut their doors a few weeks ago to reopen, including one in my district.

This bill also makes landmark investments in our Historically Black Colleges and Universities, our Hispanic-serving institutions, and will raise the number of students obtaining degrees in science, technology and math, and increase the capacity of these institutions to teach in these fields.

Today's vote was a vote for the future of our children and for the future of our Nation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Interior Appropriations bill, and in favor of the rational funding increases it proposes to help manage federal lands, support Native Americans, protect our environment, and address the urgent problem of global climate change.

Chairman Dicks and his staff have put together a great bill that finally reverses the long series of cuts for environmental programs imposed by the President and previous Republican Congress.

With $2.047 billion in this bill, we can finally take a step forward to address the huge backlog of maintenance projects in our national parks system.

With $8.086 billion in this bill we can finally put some teeth into the Environmental Protection Agency's mission as it now moves to comply with the recent landmark Supreme Court decision requiring regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.

With $5.731 billion in this bill we can finally make good on some of the promises we have made to Native American communities by supporting health care, education, economic development and law enforcement, including a targeted methamphetamine prevention initiative.

And with the important creation of a new Commission on Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation with a $50 million budget to jumpstart scientific activity, we can begin to implement some real solutions to the problem of global climate change.

I am also pleased that in addition to making these much needed investments, the Interior bill maintains the bipartisan moratorium on new oil and gas drilling on our outer continental shelf.

We recognize that safeguarding the health and natural beauty of our coastal environment for future generations is an important priority for our nation.

We don't believe that it is worth trading away coastal habitats to the administration's cronies in the oil and gas industry to continue their massive shakedown of our constituents through tax incentives and high prices at the pump.

I again want to applaud my colleague Chairman Dicks for writing such a well-crafted, thoughtful, and forward looking bill and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, let me just thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding and thank her also for her steady and solid work on the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying Financial Services appropriations bill. I would like to thank my friend Chairman Serrano for his leadership and commitment to consumer issues in this spending bill and for his work on Cuba. To that end, I want to raise an issue I know that the chairman and I agree on, and that is ending the travel ban to Cuba.

I intended to offer an amendment to prohibit the Office of Foreign Asset Control from enforcing the travel ban for students, but was unable to for procedural reasons. Allowing student travel to Cuba for students to study will go a long way to foster peace and security in our region and, quite frankly, sets a good example for the type of connections and collaboration that we need to foster understanding between different cultures and countries.

Students are some of the best ambassadors, highlighting the best in our country. For the life of me, it makes no sense and I do not understand why, first of all, why this embargo exists when Americans have the right to travel wherever they so desire. That is fundamental in our democracy. But why we would keep our young people from going to Cuba to study? It makes no sense. Young people can study in China. They can study in Vietnam. Why in the world can't they study in Cuba?

We are going to continue to work on that until our young people have that right to travel and study wherever they so desire. This is an important issue, and, again, I am going to continue to work to lift this inconsistent and costly travel ban, but also to end this very ill- advised and ineffective 40-year embargo against Cuba.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Payne amendment and thank my colleague for working with Chairwoman Lowey in drafting this amendment.

Over the last month the entire country has awakened to the threat of XDR-TB (Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis). The simple fact of the matter is that we can prevent XDR-TB and the less dangerous MDR-TB (Multi-drug resistant TB) with better TB control programs that ensure that people who are taking drugs for TB stay on their medicines, and avoid developing drug resistance.

XDR-TB has already been found in over 37 countries around the world. However, due to inadequate lab facilities around the world we don't truly know how far XDR-TB has spread.

Additional funding provided by the Payne amendment would help us address some of these issues. I want to again thank my colleague Representative Payne for offering this amendment and for working with Chairwoman Lowey to ensure that we increase funding for Tuberculosis programs in the State-Foreign Ops bill this year.

I look forward to continuing to work with both of my colleagues and the committee to ensure that TB continues to get the funding and attention it deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 361, recognizing and honoring Jack Valenti and expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to his family on his death. I also want to thank my colleague from California, Diane Watson, for introducing this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, Jack Valenti was a giant of a man in many respects. While he was well known for his service to Presidents and his work at the Motion Picture Association of America, I came to know Jack best from his tireless and selfless work on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

Jack came to this final mission in his life with the same dedication, creativity and vigor that he had so long displayed in serving the MPAA and our nation.

He was a champion for communities devastated by disease throughout the world, and brought both Republicans and Democrats together with his impassioned testimony about the terrible toll that AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria had taken on Africa and the developing world.

I had met with Jack a number of times over the last few years to talk specifically about his work on behalf of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Each time we met I always came away inspired by his energy and his advocacy on behalf of the most vulnerable among us.

We had talked about traveling to Africa together so that he could bear witness to both the tragic impact of AIDS, TB and malaria, and to the hope and dedication of the people--who through it all still maintained their dignity and their optimism for a better tomorrow. Although we never managed to take that trip together, Jack finally made it to Africa for the first time in his life in July of 2006, and I know that he was deeply affected by what he saw.

We had been in the process of organizing another meeting together in March to strategize about AIDS policy and funding for the coming year when he had a stroke. Unfortunately I regret that I never had the chance to talk to him again before he passed away. But I will always remember Jack Valenti for his determined spirit, his compassion, and his friendship. As we continue the global fight against these three diseases, his legacy and his advocacy will continue to serve as a true inspiration for all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 477, recognizing the goals and ideals of National Home Ownership Month. I'd like to thank my colleague from California Congressman Gary Miller for introducing this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, home ownership has long been acknowledged as a vehicle to build personal wealth, a source of pride and motivation, provided a sense of security to its owners, helped stabilize our neighborhoods and families and a tool that drives the Nation's economic engine.

Unfortunately, in recent years the goals of home ownership have proven elusive for many Americans. According to a recent report by the Center on American Progress, nearly one in three Americans is low- income, with an income below twice the poverty line. A further 1 in 20 Americans lives in extreme poverty, with an income below half of the poverty line.

That's why I have often joined with my colleagues in the House to call for the provision of adequate and affordable housing and a strong, safe and stable community for all Americans particularly those of low- and moderate income individuals and families and members of minority populations.

Furthermore, in the 110th Congress, I am sponsoring three housing bills: H.R. 172--Community Partners Next Door Act; H.R. 173--One Strike and You're Out Bill; and H.R. 174--Public Housing Drug Elimination Program. These bills take steps to address housing affordability, neighborhood safety and fairness in the enforcement of local and Federal statutes.

Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility to ensure that the gap between the rich and the poor is narrowed and that all Americans have the opportunity to pursue the American dream.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the students, faculty, and staff of Canyon Middle School in Castro Valley, California for its clear record of success. Canyon Middle School has now been named one of the top performing middle schools in the country.

Today through June 23 in Arlington, Virginia Canyon Middle School will be recognized with 55 other high-performing schools across the nation as a School to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform at their annual conference.

The faculty and staff at Canyon Middle School have clearly set high standards for performance. They have made it their daily mission to be academically excellent, developmentally responsive, and socially equitable. They challenge all of their students to use their minds, and as teachers and adult mentors to our young people, they are sensitive to the unique developmental challenges of early adolescence. As a whole, Canyon Middle School strives to provide every student, regardless of background or life obstacles, with high-quality teachers, resources, and a viable support system.

Canyon Middle School's accomplishments represent its dedication and commitment to bolstering the success of our youth early on in their academic careers, so that they may achieve successful and productive lives as individuals. The service that Canyon Middle School provides to its students, their families, and the Castro Valley community is undeniable.

I salute Castro Valley Middle School's students, faculty, and staff for their exemplary performance, and I thank them for their outstanding service to the 9th Congressional District and to our country.

Madam Speaker, forty years ago, the U.S. was number one in the world in high school graduation rates. Today it ranks 17th.

About \1/3\ of the students who enter 9th grade each fall will not graduate from high school with 4 years, if at all now in 2007. High school students living in low-income families drop out of school at 6 times the rate of their peers from high income families. Dropout rates are especially high in communities of color: Only about 55 percent of African American students and 52 percent of Hispanic students graduate on time from high school with a regular diploma, compared to 78 percent of white students. In my hometown of Oakland, CA, the dropout rate for Black males is 74 percent.

In this country, there are about 2,000 high schools that produce the majority of dropouts. Six million students throughout America are currently at risk of dropping out of school. Students who fail to graduate from high school are more likely to participate in criminal activity than students who do graduate. Likewise, students with low levels of achievement in high school are more likely to engage in crime than students with high levels of achievement.

For example, the Harvard University Civil Rights Project and the Urban lnstitute Education Policy Center conducted a study on K-12 schools in California. The center estimated that Oakland's 52 percent dropout rate costs the state $14 billion in lost wages, crime and jail time.

lnvesting in education would save millions of dollars in crime- related expenditures annually, not to mention ensuring a quality of life that young people deserve or America's standing in the world.

The statistics are staggering and tell the story. Approximately 75 percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school. High school dropouts are 3.5 time more likely than high school graduates to be arrested in their lifetimes. And a mere one percent increase in high school graduation rates would save approximately $1.4 billion in costs associated with incarceration costs, or about $2,100 for each male high school graduate.

We must do better by our children. Nothing less than the future of this country is at take. That is why I am committed to effective reform that can transform high schools and keep students at the greatest risk of dropping out on the path to graduation.

I'm proud to support authorizing legislation that will soon be introduced which will help address some of the reforms that are needed and that is why I'm proud to be an advocate on the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittee working to appropriate funding to address the crisis in dropouts that our country is facing. Clearly, we need increased investments in programs that keep kids in school and learning.

School counseling bill: On the Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee, I worked with my colleagues to include $61.5 million for elementary and secondary school counseling in the FY08 bill that is currently working its way through our committee. This is a 77.5 percent increase in a program that the President would have eliminated. These funds enable school districts to hire academic counselors, psychologists, and social workers. The additional resources will be targeted to improving and expanding academic and mental health counseling to middle and high school adolescents. This significant increase is a tremendous step toward addressing the crisis in counseling in our schools.

After School programs: Another critical tool we have in our arsenal to fight drop out and to keep kids off the street and for preventing youth violence is our nation's after school programs. The fact of the matter is that between 3-6 p.m. the rate of juvenile crime triples.

On LHHS subcommittee, we were able to provide a $125 million increase over FY07 levels for a total of over a billion dollars for the 21st century community learning centers. This program is a formula grant to states which in turn distribute 95 percent of the funds on a competitive basis to local school districts, community based organization and other organization for after school activities that make sure that young people have alternatives to getting into trouble.

UPWARD BOUND/Trio and Gear UP: I want to echo the comments of my colleagues here tonight about the problems we are fighting as it relates to the Absolute Priority regulation and the concerns over the loss of funding for numerous previously funded grantees including 30 percent of our HBCU's and Mills College in my district. I know that working together we will resolve these critical issues and I want to specifically thank Bobby Scott and Gwen Moore for their leadership on the Education committee and on this issue.

We all understand just how critical these programs that provide a variety of outreach and support services to encourage low-income students to enter an complete college. That is why I'm pleased our LHHS subcommittee was able to provide a $40 million increase in funding for the TRIO programs and a $20 million increase for the GEAR UP program.

It is time that our policy and funding priorities take a new direction for our children. That means investing in education. When we do that, we invest in our future.

Madam Chairman, first let me also thank our chair for your leadership, for your very focused work, and for your commitment not only as chair and to this bill, but to this entire institution.

I also want to thank our Ranking Member Wamp for your leadership and your expertise and, really, your ability to work together in a bipartisan way to make the committee truly a bipartisan committee, which is what all of our committees are striving for.

So it's a pleasure to serve as vice chair on this committee. I am very proud of the product which we are presenting today.

I rise in strong support of this legislative branch appropriations bill, and really want to just take a moment to thank all of the staff who really, as a result of their vigilance and their expertise and their hard work, they were the ones who really helped us put this all together. I want to especially acknowledge Chris Lee on my staff, because this is one of his very first legislative initiatives, and he did a phenomenal job in keeping me pointed on looking at the goals of what we were trying to accomplish in this legislation.

This bill also seeks to improve the working conditions of dedicated staff who are a vital and integral part of this legislative process. This bill also commits the House of Representatives to set an example to the Nation on how to reduce the environmental impact of the workplace by beginning the greening of the Capitol complex. How exciting this is.

This bill also begins to address the pattern which, unfortunately it is, but it's a pattern of exclusion that has gone on for too long in contracting and procurement in the House of Representatives. For too long businesses owned by women, minorities and the disabled have not had a seat at the table. It was appalling, with what we learned at the hearings about the exclusion of such a large segment of our qualified business community. For too long we have operated without written formal policies and reliable reporting on compliance without the crucial data that the committee cannot know if real progress is being made or if additional action should be required.

Well, naming the great hall Emancipation Hall in recognition that the great Capitol had been built by the expertise, the blood, sweat and tears of slaves is appropriate and timely as we also now go beyond the name to include the descendants of slaves in the economic vitality and opportunity of this Capitol. So we have included in this bill language that requires specific contracting with minorities, with women and the disabled.

We required contractor and vending opportunities and access to equal opportunities for our disadvantaged businesses and for promoting their hiring and development as well.

We also include language that requires GAO to adopt a formal affirmative action plan. They may be doing the right thing, but we don't know that. We know that they do need an affirmative action plan, so we would require that in this bill.

We also make sure that there is accountability in this bill, but let me just say I am very proud of the fact that for the first time we will have requirements now, with our own Capitol contracting opportunities, as well as with the Visitors Center, to not exclude minorities and women and the disabled, but to include them in the economic opportunities that this bill provides.

Let me thank our chairwoman for yielding and for her leadership, and just say, as one of the authors of the PEPFAR legislation, I actually helped write the majority of this legislation. I can tell you that while I did not agree nor support the 33 percent earmark, I know for a fact that this does not undo that earmark.

Let me just tell you a couple of things. You probably have heard, and you know that over the next 10 years, more than 100 million girls in developing countries will be married before their 18th birthday, and often against their will.

As currently written, the bill does not change the underlying abstinence-until-marriage earmark. For me that's unfortunate, but it doesn't change that. And it does not require the President to make any changes to current prevention funds. The current language merely provides the President with the flexibility to plan the most appropriate and sensitive and required program for countries per their request.

The fact is, the administration has already waived, you're right, application of the abstinence earmark for certain countries receiving assistance under our global AIDS programs. But I want you to remember, ABC does mean abstinence, be faithful, use condoms.

For many of these young girls, abstinence is not an option. And we must provide them with what they need to protect themselves. ABC is

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding and once again for her very valiant efforts to save lives of women and children throughout the world.

Let me first say I rise in strong opposition to the Smith amendment. This bill includes a very narrow provision to allow foreign NGOs to receive only U.S.-provided contraceptives. Chairwoman Lowey has additionally offered the amendment that clarifies the existing language in the bill to make it absolutely clear that this provision only allows for the donation of the contraceptives.

This provision has absolutely nothing to do with funding. The bill does not provide financial assistance to clinics or to NGOs. It simply allows those family planning organizations that have been denied USAID family planning funding under the global gag rule to receive contraceptives from USAID and domestic NGOs.

Again, it has nothing to do with providing assistance for abortions, which are already strictly and clearly prohibited in 10 other provisions in this bill, which, I must say, I am very disappointed with. But the fact is that those provisions are there.

By providing contraceptives, we will actually help to reduce abortions, reduce the spread of HIV and AIDS and save the lives of mothers and infants by reducing the number of high-risk and unintended pregnancies.

The negative impact of the gag rule, which, of course, as I said earlier, and you all know this, this bill leaves the gag rule in place, but the negative impact is well documented. Since it was reinstated in 2001, shipments of United States-donated contraceptives have ceased in 20 developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The NGOs most affected are often the ones with the most extensive distribution networks and the largest outreach to young women in rural areas. They often provide the only family planning program in a region and they have suffered severely from the cutoff of contraceptive shipments. The Smith amendment would continue to punish these NGOs for running successful family planning programs and would effectively undermine the goal we all share to reduce abortions and HIV and AIDS around the world.

For the life of me, I don't understand why we are doing this, Mr. Smith. You know and I know that this does not tamper with, unfortunately, the global gag rule or Mexico City language.

So let's be straightforward. Let's be honest. What we are trying to do today is just save the lives of women and children.

Mr. Chairman, while I understand that the Chairwoman is prepared to accept it, this amendment causes me great concern.

Given Mr. King's history in opposition to the underlying provision, I believe that this amendment is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to leaving U.S. troops in Iraq long-term.

The bottom line is, Mr. Chairman, when our troops come home, they should all come home.

And three times, twice in 2006 and once this year Congress passed-- and the President signed into law--legislation prohibiting permanent military bases in Iraq.

The prospect of having long-term military bases would send the wrong message to our troops, the Iraqi people, and the world.

The prospect of an indefinite occupation fuels the insurgency by serving as a recruiting tool for insurgents and places targets on the backs of our troops.

The Iraq Study Group has recognized the importance of unequivocally declaring that we have no intention of remaining in Iraq permanently.

Key administration officials, including Secretary Gates have pronounced that we are not

going to establish permanent military bases in Iraq.

Even President Bush has declared that we `do not support an indefinite occupation' in Iraq.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I wish this were a genuine attempt to prohibit an indefinite occupation in Iraq.

I'm concerned that it is not.

prohibition on use of torture

Sec. 686. None of the funds made available in this Act

shall be used in any way whatsoever to support or justify the

use of torture by any official or contract employee of the

United States Government.

report on indonesian cooperation

Sec. 687. Funds available under the heading ``INTERNATIONAL

MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING'' may only be made available

for assistance for Indonesia if the Secretary of State

submits a report to the Committees on Appropriations that

describes--

(1) Steps taken by the Indonesian government to deny

promotion to and to remove from service military officers

indicted for serious crimes; the extent to which the

Indonesian Government is cooperating with international

efforts to bring current and past officials to justice; and

that past and present Indonesian military officials are

cooperating with domestic inquiries into past abuses,

including the forced disappearance and killing of student

activists in 1998 and 1999;

(2) The Indonesian government's response to the report of

the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in

Timor-Leste and the June 2006 report of the report to the

Secretary-General of the Commission of Experts to Review the

Prosecution of Serious Violations of Human Rights in Timor-

Leste in 1999;

(3) Steps taken by the Indonesian government to implement

and enforce the 2004 Indonesian law which requires the

Indonesian military to divest itself of legal and illegal

businesses before 2009; and

(4) The extent to which the Indonesian government has

removed restrictions impending access to and travel within

the provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya by United Nations

personnel, diplomats, journalists, international non-

governmental organization personnel and researchers,

humanitarian and human rights workers and others.

limitation on assistance to foreign countries that refuse to extradite

to the united states any individual accused in the united states of

killing a law enforcement officer

Sec. 688. None of the funds made available in this Act for

the Department of State may be used to provide assistance to

the central government of a country which has notified the

Department of State of its refusal to extradite to the United

States any individual indicted in the United States for

killing a law enforcement officer, as specified in a United

States extradition request.

governments that have failed to permit certain extraditions

Sec. 689. None of the funds made available in this Act for

the Department of State, other than funds provided under the

heading ``INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL AND LAW

ENFORCEMENT'', may be used to provide assistance to the

central government of a country with which the United States

has an extradition treaty and which government has notified

the Department of State of its refusal to extradite to the

United States any individual charged with a criminal offense

for which the maximum penalty is life imprisonment without

the possibility of parole.

international monetary fund budget and hiring ceilings

Sec. 690. The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the

United States Executive Director at the International

Monetary Fund to use the voice of the United States to ensure

that any loan, project, agreement, memorandum, instrument,

plan or other program of the International Monetary Fund does

not penalize countries for increased government spending on

healthcare or education by exempting such increases from

national budget caps or restraints, hiring or wage bill

ceilings or other limits imposed by the International

Monetary Fund.

environment programs

Sec. 691. (a) Funding.--Of the funds appropriated under the

heading ``DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE'', not less than

$501,000,000 shall be made available for programs and

activities which directly protect biodiversity and promote

clean energy.

(b) Climate Change Report.--Not later than 60 days after

the date on which the President's fiscal year 2009 budget

request is submitted to Congress, the President shall submit

a report to the Committees on Appropriations describing in

detail the following--

(1) all Federal agency obligations and expenditures,

domestic and international, for climate change programs and

activities in fiscal year 2009, including an accounting of

expenditures by agency with each agency identifying climate

change activities and associated costs by line item as

presented in the President's Budget Appendix; and

(2) all fiscal year 2007 obligations and estimated

expenditures, fiscal year 2008 estimated expenditures and

estimated obligations, and fiscal year 2009 requested funds

by the United States Agency for International Development, by

country and central program, for each of the following:

(A) to promote the transfer and deployment of a wide range

of United States clean energy and energy efficiency

technologies;

(B) to assist in the measurement, monitoring, reporting,

verification, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;

(C) to promote carbon capture and sequestration measures;

(D) to help meet such countries' responsibilities under the

Framework Convention on Climate Change; and

(E) to develop assessments of the vulnerability to impacts

of climate change and mitigation and adaptation response

strategies.

(c) Extraction of Natural Resources.--(1) The Secretary of

the Treasury shall inform the managements of the

international financial institutions and the public that it

is the policy of the United States that any assistance by

such institutions (including but not limited to any loan,

credit, grant, or guarantee) for the extraction and export of

oil, gas, coal, timber, or other natural resource should not

be provided unless the government of the country has in place

or is taking the necessary steps to establish functioning

systems for:

(A) accurately accounting for revenues and expenditures in

connection with the extraction and export of the type of

natural resource to be extracted or exported;

(B) the independent auditing of such accounts and the

widespread public dissemination of the audits; and

(C) verifying government receipts against company payments

including widespread dissemination of such payment

information, and disclosing such documents as Host Government

Agreements, Concession Agreements, and bidding documents,

allowing in any such dissemination or disclosure for the

redaction of, or exceptions for, information that is

commercially proprietary or that would create competitive

disadvantage.

(2) Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this

Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit a report to

the Committees on Appropriations describing, for each

international financial institution, the amount and type of

assistance provided, by country, for the extraction and

export of oil, gas, coal, timber, or other national resource

since September 30, 2005.

uzbekistan

Sec. 692. Assistance may be provided to the central

Government of Uzbekistan only if the Secretary of State

determines and reports to the Committees on Appropriations

that the Government of Uzbekistan is making substantial and

continuing progress in meeting its commitments under the

``Declaration on the Strategic Partnership and Cooperation

Framework Between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United

States of America'', including respect for human rights,

establishing a genuine multi-party system, and ensuring free

and fair elections, freedom of expression, and the

independence of the media, and that a credible international

investigation of the May 31, 2005, shootings in Andijan is

underway with the support of the Government of Uzbekistan:

Provided, That for the purposes of this section

``assistance'' shall include excess defense articles.

discrimination against minority religious faiths in the russian

federation

Sec. 693. None of the funds appropriated for assistance

under this Act may be made available for the Government of

the Russian Federation, after 180 days from the date of the

enactment of this Act, unless the President determines and

certifies in writing to the Committees on Appropriations that

the Government of the Russian Federation has implemented no

statute, executive order, regulation or similar government

action that would discriminate, or which has as its principal

effect discrimination, against religious groups or religious

communities in the Russian Federation in violation of

accepted international agreements on human rights and

religious freedoms to which the Russian Federation is a

party.

war crimes in africa

Sec. 694. (a) The Congress reaffirms its support for the

efforts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

(ICTR) and the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) to bring

to justice individuals responsible for war crimes and crimes

against humanity in a timely manner.

(b) Funds appropriated by this Act, including funds for

debt restructuring, may be made available for assistance to

the central government of a country in which individuals

indicted by ICTR and SCSL are credibly alleged to be living,

if the Secretary of State determines and reports to the

Committees on Appropriations that such government is

cooperating with ICTR and SCSL, including the surrender and

transfer of indictees in a timely manner: Provided, That this

subsection shall not apply to assistance provided under

section 551 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 or to

project assistance under title II of this Act: Provided

further, That the United States shall use its voice and vote

in the United Nations Security Council to fully support

efforts by ICTR and SCSL to bring to justice individuals

indicted by such tribunals in a timely manner.

(c) The prohibition in subsection (b) may be waived on a

country by country basis if the President determines that

doing so is in the national security interest of the United

States: Provided, That prior to exercising such waiver

authority, the President shall submit a report to the

Committees on Appropriations, in classified form if

necessary, on:

(1) the steps being taken to obtain the cooperation of the

government in surrendering the indictee in question to the

court of jurisdiction;

(2) a strategy, including a timeline, for bringing the

indictee before such court; and

(3) the justification for exercising the waiver authority.

combatting piracy of united states copyrighted materials

Sec. 695. (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary of State

may carry out a program of activities to combat piracy in

countries that are not members of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including

activities as follows:

(1) The provision of equipment and training for law

enforcement, including in the interpretation of intellectual

property laws.

(2) The provision of training for judges and prosecutors,

including in the interpretation of intellectual property

laws.

(3) The provision of assistance in complying with

obligations under applicable international treaties and

agreements on copyright and intellectual property.

(b) Consultation With World Intellectual Property

Organization.--In carrying out the program authorized by

subsection (a), the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent

practicable, consult with and provide assistance to the World

Intellectual Property Organization in order to promote the

integration of countries described in subsection (a) into the

global intellectual property system.

(c) Funding.--Of the amount appropriated or otherwise made

available under the heading ``INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL

AND LAW ENFORCEMENT'', $5,000,000 may be made available in

fiscal year 2008 for the program authorized by subsection

(a).

oversight of iraq reconstruction

Sec. 696. (a) Section 3001 of the Emergency Supplemental

Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of

Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 (Public Law 108-106; 117 Stat.

1238; 5 U.S.C. App., note to section 8G of Public Law 95-

452), as amended by section 1054(b) of the John Warner

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007

(Public Law 109-364; 120 Stat. 2397), section 2 of the Iraq

Reconstruction Accountability Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-

440), and section 3801 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans'

Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability

Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 110-28) is amended--

(1) in subsection (h)(1) by striking ``pay rates.'' and

inserting ``pay rates, and may exercise the authorities of

subsections (b) through (i) of section 3161 of title 5,

United States Code (without regard to subsection (a) of such

section).'';

(2) in subsection (o)(1)(B) by striking ``fiscal year 2006

or fiscal year 2007'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2006

through 2008''; and

(3) by adding at the end of such section the following

subsection:

``(p) Rule of Construction.--For the purposes of carrying

out the duties of the Inspector General, any United States

funds appropriated or otherwise made available for fiscal

years 2006 through 2008 for the reconstruction of Iraq,

irrespective of the designation of such funds, shall be

deemed to be amounts appropriated or otherwise made available

to the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.''.

(b) Section 1054(a) of Public Law 109-364 is amended by

striking ``fiscal year 2006'' and inserting ``fiscal years

2006 through 2008''.

united nations headquarters renovation

Sec. 697. It is the sense of the Congress that the amount

of any loan for the renovation of the United Nations

headquarters building located in New York, New York, should

not exceed $600,000,000: Provided, That if any loan exceeds

$600,000,000, the Secretary of State shall notify the

Congress of the current cost of the renovation and cost

containment measures.

neglected diseases

Sec. 698. Of the funds appropriated under the heading

``Child Survival and Health Programs Fund'', not less than

$18,000,000 shall be made available to support an integrated

response to the control of neglected diseases including

intestinal parasites, schistosomiasis, lymphatic filariasis,

onchocerciasis, trachoma and leprosy: Provided, That the

Administrator of the United States Agency for International

Development shall consult with the Committees on

Appropriations, representatives from the relevant

international technical and nongovernmental organizations

addressing the specific diseases, recipient countries, donor

countries, the private sector, UNICEF and the World Health

Organization: (1) on the most effective uses of such funds to

demonstrate the health and economic benefits of such an

approach; and (2) to develop a multilateral, integrated

initiative to control these diseases that will enhance

coordination and effectiveness and maximize the leverage of

United States contributions with those of other donors:

Provided further, That funds made available pursuant to this

section shall be subject to the regular notification

procedures of the Committees on Appropriations.

assistance for egypt

Sec. 699. (a) Foreign Military Financing Program.--Of the

funds appropriated by this Act for Egypt under the heading

``FOREIGN MILITARY FINANCING PROGRAM'', $200,000,000 shall

not be made available for obligation until the Secretary of

State certifies and reports to the Committees on

Appropriations that the Government of Egypt has taken

concrete and measurable steps to--

(1) enact and implement a new judicial authority law that

protects the independence of the judiciary;

(2) review criminal procedures and train police leadership

in modern policing to curb police abuses; and

(3) detect and destroy the smuggling network and smuggling

tunnels that lead from Egypt to Gaza.

Amendment Offered by Mr. Boustany

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the McGovern-Lewis amendment.

This important amendment will prohibit funding to the infamous Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) formerly known as the School of the Americas.

We all know the history of this Institute that has long been associated with human rights abuses and many of its students have been tied to death squads and international coups.

Despite assurances to the contrary by supporters of the WHINSEC, the continuing legacy of blood and terror by these graduates calls into question how these candidates are recruited and vetted.

Mr. Chairman, at a time when our occupation of Iraq has greatly damaged our credibility and standing in the world, the last thing we need to be doing is funding an organization like WHINSEC that is drenched in a legacy of secrecy, terror, and violence.

I urge my colleagues to support the McGovern-Lewis amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the House is considering today, my resolution H. Con. Res. 148, recognizing the significance of Caribbean-American Heritage month. This resolution acknowledges the contributions of Caribbean-Americans from the inception of our country to the present and it is my hope that my colleagues in the House and the Senate will join me in celebrating this strong, rich history.

Alexander Hamilton, Hazel Scott, Sidney Poitier, Jean Michel Basquiat, Eric Holder, Colin Powell, Edwidge Danticat, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, Sidney Ponson, Maryse Conde, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Roberto Clemente, Celia Cruz, and former Congressman Mervyn Dymally, are just a few of the many Caribbean-Americans who helped shape American government, politics, business, arts, education, science, and culture, and are joined by modern day figures like Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz, Bobby Cannavale,

Cameron Diaz, Wyclef Jean, Elizabeth Vargas, Esmeralda Santiago, and Miguel Pinero.

One outstanding Caribbean-American was former Congresswoman Shirley Anita Chisholm. My political career began as a volunteer in her historic Presidential campaign in 1972. Chisholm was the first African- American woman to serve in Congress, the first African-American and the first woman to campaign on a major party ticket, an advocate for civil rights and equal rights, and a daughter of the Caribbean. Her tenacity and principled nature are inspirations to us all.

While we've been fortunate to have Caribbean Americans serve in Congress, it's important for us to realize that Caribbean Americans reside throughout our Nation.

Oftentimes, Congress will focus on ``hot spots'' in the Caribbean-- such as Cuba and Haiti, and forget that we have many constituents with roots from Jamaica to Trinidad and Tobago and from the Dominican Republic to Guyana. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee's subcommittee on Foreign Operations and the bi-partisan Caribbean Caucus, I believe it is of vital importance to monitor and shape policies to improve relations with our Caribbean neighbors throughout the region.

I'd like to thank my colleagues who brought this legislation forward, particularly Congressman John Tierney, and his staff Kevin McDermott, who helped move the resolution through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. On that note, I'd also like to thank Chairman Henry Waxman and the rest of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee for expeditious consideration of this resolution.

I'd like to close by mentioning that this resolution could not have come to the floor of this House at a better time, as members of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, are gathering here in Washington, DC, for their conference, which will run through the rest of the week. Heads of State and other leaders of the many nations that are part of CARICOM, representing the nations of Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as nations that are Associate Members and Observers of CARICOM. It is my hope that this conference will not only allow these nations to help move the Caribbean as a whole, forward, but also provide the opportunity for us to meet with and discuss issues important to growing the relationship between the U.S. and the nations along our Third Border.

I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this measure to honor the Caribbean-American community.

I thank the gentlelady for yielding. But also let me just commend you, Chairman Lowey, for your brilliance, your leadership and your hard work in crafting this very good bipartisan bill. It is an honor to serve with you and our ranking member (Mr. Wolf) on the committee because I see how you two work together to make this a bill that we can all support.

Let me just highlight three provisions of this bill. First, I'm pleased that it includes $949 million for humanitarian assistance in the Sudan. Of this, $210 million is specifically designed to help the victims of the genocide in Darfur. Having traveled there three times, I have seen the plight of the Darfurian people firsthand. This bill will help the United Nations and the African Union to bring food, clean water, security, and other basic humanitarian assistance. It also urges our good friend and ally, Egypt, to do more to help the genocide.

Secondly, I am pleased that this bill includes nearly $5.1 billion to fight the global AIDS pandemic, including $550 million for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.

In 25 years, HIV and AIDS has infected nearly 70 million people throughout the world and has killed more than 25 million. We have made significant steps in the last few years, and this increase reaffirms our commitment to stop the spread of this dreadful disease.

As the bill moves ahead, however, I hope we can go even further. As the New York Times pointed out in a recent editorial on Monday, we must try to provide $1.3 billion to the global fund this year and help put the world on course to universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert the New York Times editorial into the Record.

[From the New York Times, June 18, 2007]

Two Cheers on Global AIDS

Now that the Group of 8 industrialized nations has pledged

to commit $60 billion to combat AIDS and other diseases

around the world in coming years--a substantial sum by any

reckoning--Congress and other national legislatures ought to

look hard for additional funds to close a looming gap between

the funds committed and the needs of desperate patients.

The advanced nations--both the G-8 countries and other

donor nations--have greatly

increased their funding for AIDS programs in recent years in

belated recognition that the epidemic threatens to destroy

not just its victims, but also the social and economic fabric

of many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We are pleased that

President Bush has proposed spending some $30 billion to

combat AIDS abroad over a five-year period, from 2009 to

2013, but in truth that represents only a modest increase

from the spending trajectory we were already on. At its

recent summit meeting, the Group of 8 pledged to commit $60

billion to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria ``over the

coming years,'' including the American contribution.

Yet even these pledges will not be enough to keep up with

the devastating epidemics. Tens of billions of dollars more

will be needed to provide treatment, care and preventive

services for AIDS alone over the next five years.

Although the Group of 8 pledges are welcome, they actually

represent a retreat from previous goals. In 2005, at its

meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, the group pledged to provide

``as close as possible to universal access to treatment'' for

all people suffering from AIDS by 2010. That should mean at

least 10 million people in treatment by then, judging from

estimates by United Nations AIDS experts. Yet at the recent

meeting, the G-8 said it was aiming to treat only some five

million patients in Africa by an unspecified date. That

sounds like consigning millions of untreated people to death

and disability.

To its credit, the United States has been by far the

largest AIDS donor in recent years, providing almost half of

the funding commitments made by donor governments. But when

measured against the size of the national economy, the

American donations rank only fifth. There is room to do more.

As Congress wrestles with the fiscal 2008 appropriations

bills this year, it ought to provide the full $1.3 billion

being sought by Congressional health advocates as the

American contribution to a global fund to combat the three

diseases--not just $300 mlilion as proposed by the

administration or the $850 million approved by the House

Appropriations Committee. Congress should also set the

nation--and by its example, the world--on course toward

universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010.

This bill, Mr. Chairman, also takes steps to recognize the importance of our Caribbean neighbors by urging the State Department to promote professional and scholastic exchanges within the region. This is a significant way to welcome the heads of the Caribbean countries, CARICOM, as they convene in Washington, D.C. this week to consider our common future as neighbors. This is a region which has been, for the most part, neglected and ignored.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, let me just say that this bill provides the correct path to global peace and security, and does take care of and address the least of these. However, I only wish the amount in this bill was more than just the 1 percent of the Federal budget, which is what this is. This is a $34 billion bill, but I wish, Mr. Chairman, that it was $340 billion.

Mr. Speaker, forty years ago, the U.S. was number one in the world in high school graduation rates. Today it ranks 17th.

About 1/3 of the students who enter 9th grade each fall will not graduate from high school with four years, if at all.

High school students living in low-income families drop out of school at six times the rate of their peers from high-income families.

Drop out rates are especially high in communities of color: Only about 55 percent of African American students and 52 percent of Hispanic students graduate on time from high school with a regular diploma, compared to 78 percent of white students.

In my district, in Oakland, the graduation rates for African American males is 26 percent, compared to 57 percent is the graduation rate for white males.

In this country, there are about 2,000 high schools that produce the majority of dropouts.

Six million students throughout America are currently at risk of dropping out of school. Students who fail to graduate from high school are more likely to participate in criminal activity than students who do graduate. Likewise, students with low levels of achievement in high school are more likely to engage in crime than students with high levels of achievement.

For example, The Harvard University Civil Rights Project and the Urban Institute Education Policy Center conducted a study on K-12 schools in California. The Center estimated that Oakland's 52 percent dropout rate costs the state $14 billion in lost wages, crime and jail time.

Investing in education would save millions of dollars in crime related expenditures annually.

The statistics are staggering and tell the story. Approximately 75 percent of state prison inmates did not complete high school. High school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely than high school graduates to be arrested in their lifetimes. And a mere one percent increase in high school graduation rates would save approximately $1.4 billion in costs associated with incarceration costs, or about $2,100 for each male high school graduate.

We must do better by our children. Nothing less than the future of this country is at stake. That is why I am committed to effective reform that can transform high schools and keep students at the greatest risk of dropping out on the path to graduation.

I'm proud to support authorizing legislation that will soon be introduced which will help address some of the reforms that are needed and that is why I'm proud to be an advocate on the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education subcommittee working to appropriate funding to address the crisis in dropouts that our country is facing.

Clearly, we need increased investments in programs that keep kids in school and learning.

school counseling bill

On the Labor, Health and Human Services subcommittee, I worked with my colleagues to include $61.5 million for elementary and secondary school counseling in the FY08 bill that is currently working its way through our committee. This is a 77.5 percent increase in a program that the President would have eliminated. These funds enable school districts to hire academic counselors, psychologists, and social workers. The additional resources will be targeted to improving and expanding academic and mental health counseling to middle and high school adolescents. This significant increase is a tremendous step toward addressing the crisis in counseling in our schools.

after school programs

Another critical tool we have in our arsenal to fight drop out and to keep kids off the street and for preventing youth violence is our nation's after school programs.

The fact of the matter is that between 3-6 pm the rate of juvenile crime triples.

On LHHS subcommittee, we were able to provide a $125 million increase over FY07 levels for a total of over a billion dollars for the 21st century community learning centers. This program is a formula grant to states which in turn distribute 95 percent of the funds on a competitive basis to local school districts, community based organizations and other organizations is for after school activities that make sure that young people have alternatives to getting into trouble.

upward bound / trio and gear up

I want to echo the comments of my colleagues here tonight about the problems we are fighting as it relates to the Absolute Priority regulation and the concerns over the loss of funding for numerous previously funded grantees including 30 percent of our HBCU's and Mills College in my district. I know that working together we will resolve these critical issues and I want to specifically thank Bobby Scott and Gwen Moore for their leadership on the Education Committee and on this issue.

We all understand just how critical these programs are that provide a variety of outreach and support services to encourage low-income students to enter an complete college. That is why I'm pleased our L- HHS subcommittee was able to provide a $40 million increase in funding for the TRIO programs and a $20 million increase for the GEAR UP program.

Mr. Chairman, let me thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of this Homeland Security appropriations bill. For too long, this Congress has failed to fund our critical homeland security priorities. I am pleased, however, that this bill today takes significant steps towards addressing these issues.

As a Member who represents the Port of Oakland, I want to just mention port security, which has been long neglected by the Bush administration. In this bill, we make an important commitment to provide at the authorized level $400 million in port security grants, which is $190 million over the President's request.

To protect critical transit infrastructure, this bill provides $400 million in grants, which is $225 million over the President's request.

On the issue of ensuring that first responders are able to communicate between themselves, this bill provides $50 million for essential interoperable communications.

Mr. Chairman, this Congress is making good on its promise to provide a clear and new and realistic direction on homeland security. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.