Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 6 million Jews who lost their lives in the Holocaust. I pay tribute to these innocent men, women, and children who died at the hands of the brutal Nazi regime.

While the Nazis were defeated by Allied Forces 60 years ago, the specter of bigotry, prejudice, and intolerance has tragically survived. The best way to honor the victims of the Holocaust is to ensure that such an event never happens again. Yet, with every year and every generation that passes this tragedy becomes less a reality and more a story to read about in a history book.

Everyone of us shares in the responsibility to make sure those who have died in the Holocaust have not done so in vain.

Mr. Speaker, congressional Republicans continue to abuse their power here on Capitol Hill. Rather than trying to mend fences and work in a bipartisan fashion, they instead choose a very partisan course.

Here in the House, for example, the Republican leadership ignored protocol and expedited weakened ethics rules through the House without ever consulting the Democrats. Everyone here knows that ethics changes cannot be successful unless both parties play a role.

And now, Republicans in the other body, not to be outdone by their counterparts here in the House, plan to change the rules on the filibuster that have been in place for more than 200 years, rules that give the minority a voice in Washington. Talk about an extreme abuse of power.

Mr. Speaker, Republican attempts to do away with the filibuster is the last check, really, on the one-party rule here in Washington. Simply, this is not the way to end the divisive tone here. When are the Republicans going to learn that their absolute power here on Capitol Hill is really corrupting their every action?

We talk about spreading democracy abroad. Let us begin by preserving it here at home.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1650.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Merritt College, one of the 9th Congressional District's outstanding institutions of higher education, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary.

Located in the East Oakland hills, Merritt College is part of the Peralta Community College District in Alameda County. Merritt College is named for one of the pioneer developers of Oakland, Dr. Samuel Merritt, who first came to Oakland in 1850. When the community college concept was still evolving, Merritt College and one of its sister campuses, Laney College, were known earlier as the Merritt School of Business and the Joseph C. Laney Trade and Technical Institute. In July of 1953, the Board of Education created Oakland Junior College, developing Laney and Merritt as separate and distinct campuses of the new institution. The following year Merritt added a liberal arts curriculum to the already established business program, and in June 1955, the first students graduated with Associate in Arts degrees.

In November 1963, local residents voted to establish a separate junior college district, which was named in honor of Sgt. Luis Maria Peralta, the 19th-century owner of the 44,800 acres throughout which the district campuses are located. The following summer, the Board of Education voted to offer vocational, technical and liberal arts courses on each of the existing campuses. In 1965, voters passed a $47 million bond issue for the construction of additional campuses, and in 1971 Merritt College moved from Grove Street to its current home in the East Oakland hills.

Since that time, the faculty and students at Merritt College have continued the campus' tradition of academic excellence. Offering programs in over 70 different academic and vocational fields, Merritt enrolls more than 6,500 students each semester and equips its graduates for careers in law, medicine, art, nursing, government, radiological technology, early childhood education and more. Merritt offers day and evening programs of transfer, technical, occupational and basic skills education, and its programs and services have historically been provided by distinguished faculty and staff who are widely known and respected in their disciplines.

In addition, the student body at Merritt College represents a variety of cultures from throughout the U.S. and the world. Merritt is known for its outreach efforts and initiatives that seek to make education available to all, as evidenced by its work at the Fruitvale Education Center, local high schools and child care centers, and at Oakland City training centers for the police and fire departments. Merritt College sets a leading example of the steps that our educational institutions must take in order to make high-caliber educational experiences and credentials available, accessible and affordable to all.

On Friday, May 6, 2005, our community joins together to celebrate the innumerable contributions Merritt College has made to Oakland and the East Bay during the past half-century. Particularly during a time when our educational system is facing new and growing

challenges, it is important for us to be able to look to exemplary institutions such as Merritt for encouragement and inspiration. On behalf of the 9th Congressional District, I salute and congratulate Merritt College for 50 extraordinary years of service to our community. Merritt's students and stewards have demonstrated that an institution of higher education can not only be dynamic and innovative, but can truly be a force for hope, community empowerment and social change.

Mr. Speaker, today there are more than 45 million Americans living without health insurance. In my home State of California, there are almost 6.5 million people without health insurance, and that is 300,000 more than when President Bush took office. This is a tragedy and a disgrace. It is time for us to act.

The Family Care Act, the Medicare Access Act, and the Small Business Health Insurance Promotion Act will help cover more than half of the uninsured, but that is not enough. All Americans should have access to quality health care, and that is why I will be reintroducing H.R. 3000, the United States Universal Health Service Act.

In the wealthiest country in the world, no one should be without affordable and accessible health care. Today this House votes on $82 billion more to continue to wage war and occupy Iraq, a total now of over $300 billion; and we cannot even provide health care for all Americans. It is a shame and disgrace that our priorities are so misplaced.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) for yielding me time and for her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, as the daughter of a veteran, I want to first express my profound respect for our brave men and women serving in Iraq, but we are not helping these brave troops if we blindly sign yet another blank check for this unjust and unnecessary war in Iraq.

This $82 billion supplemental would bring the total war spending to over $300 billion. How can we sign off on another $82 billion check when the Bush administration has failed to provide the proper accounting of where the taxpayer money is going? How can we sign off on this check when our own government reported yesterday that another $100 million cannot be accounted for?

This is on top of the $9 billion from last year that is still missing. How can we sign this check if the Bush administration has offered no plan to bring our troops home?

Furthermore, are we safer today than we were before this unnecessary war started? Iraq is now a breeding ground for terrorists. We are less safe as a result of this war. Members know and I know. Before the invasion of Iraq, there was no connection between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Still, this administration would have us also believe that adding the unrelated anti-immigrant provisions to this supplemental bill would make us safer, but the fact is REAL ID will do nothing to make us safe.

This administration has much to account for. They are cutting Section 8 for our seniors and our poor. They are cutting the budget for housing for people living with AIDS. They are cutting housing for the disabled. They are cutting Medicaid. When you look at $13.5 billion over the next 5 years for our veterans, they are cutting that. They are making the least of these pay for this war. That is wrong.

This is a whole new level of immorality that I have ever seen. This distortion of the facts with regard to Iraq and the fact that they told us that weapons of mass destruction were there, we know that is not the case. We know that. You know that. Yet another $82 billion to fund this war that has not made this country any safer. It has made us less safe.

When you look at what is happening in our own country, when you look at health care, when you look at the people out there in the street that are suffering, why do they have to pay for this war? I ask for a no vote.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 513.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary life and work of human rights activist Marla Ruzicka. Marla devoted her life to fighting for peace and justice, spending much of her adult life either abroad working to provide relief to victims of violent conflict, or in Washington, D.C. lobbying for the foreign aid those victims so desperately need. Most recently, Marla founded a non-profit organization called Campaign for Innocent Victims In Conflict (CIVIC), the objective of which is to accurately count the number of Iraqi civilian deaths in the war. While working to gather first-hand accounts of civilian casualties in Iraq, Marla was killed when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad on April 16, 2005.

At the time of her death, Marla had been working to advance human rights and social justice for more than ten years. After hearing a talk given at her high school in Lakeport, California by a staff member of the international non-profit group Global Exchange, she went to the Global Exchange office to see what she could do to help. Marla's energy and passion for helping those in need was an inspiration to other activists in the group, and she learned quickly as she became more involved in human rights efforts. In college, Marla chose an institution and course of study that allowed her to travel the world, learning from diverse cultures and helping to facilitate relief efforts underway in a number of countries. In the course of her travels, Marla worked with people impacted by the AIDS epidemic in Zimbabwe, with refugees in Palestine and rural farming communities in Nicaragua.

Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, Marla traveled to that country with a Global Exchange delegation. She was so moved by the plight of the civilian victims of this conflict that she met there that she decided to devote her life to providing relief to people in those circumstances. Until the summer of 2002, Marla remained in Afghanistan, where she conducted a survey on the military campaign's effects on Afghan civilians and used that information to get assistance to the families that were harmed. Immediately following her return from Afghanistan, Marla moved to Washington, D.C. to lobby for U.S. assistance for civilian victims of armed conflict. Working with USAID and the Senate Appropriations Committee, Marla advocated the allocation of money to rebuild homes for families that suffered as a result of U.S. military actions.

In 2003, Marla once again heeded the call of duty and went abroad, this time traveling to Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion. In the months that followed, she founded CIVIC and formed survey teams to fan out across the country to gather first-hand accounts of civilian casualties. Marla was instrumental in securing millions in aid money from the federal government for distribution in Iraq, and by the time of her death she had interviewed and routed assistance to thousands of Iraqis.

Today we come together in sadness over the loss of someone who was such a bright light during such a dark time in our world. However, we are also here to celebrate the help and hope Marla devoted her life to giving to people who needed it. Whether pushing the federal government to increase aid to victims of violent conflict, traveling the world to provide direct relief, or inspiring those around her simply by being the vibrant and giving person that she was, Marla never ceased to work for what was right and improve the lives of those around her.

And though the scope and impact of her work in providing aid to those in need is truly beyond compare, what she has given to us is greater than the measurable sum of her actions. Marla's passion for defending human rights and advocating for those who have no voice led her to challenge convention, and to do so without concern for herself. The conviction and compassion that drove Marla to do everything in her power to help others leaves a bright legacy from which we can all draw inspiration, and that we must all strive to emulate. On behalf of the 9th Congressional District, I salute Marla Ruzicka for all that she gave of herself to our community, our country and our world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which commemorates the significant contributions of Asian Pacific Americans throughout our country's history. America draws its strength from its tremendous diversity. The contributions to our country--to the American culture and experience-- by Asian Pacific Americans are numerous, and we are a much better country as a result.

I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership in the Asian Pacific American Caucus and our Tri-Caucus, the Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Black Caucus. It is a privilege to be part of the Tri-Caucus.

Today, I want to recognize the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in my district, the Ninth Congressional District of California, the East Bay of Northern California, and commend them for their dedicated service and vision in making life better for those in our community and our Nation. Asian Pacific Americans have long played a crucial role in the life and history of the East Bay. The region's identity has been profoundly shaped by its place in the Pacific Rim.

However, today Asian Americans face a wide variety of challenges, including access to educational opportunities and community resources. I specifically want to highlight the work being done in my own district by the East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC) and the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), in their efforts to empower the Asian American community and improve their standard of living.

The East Bay Asian Youth Center inspires Asian American youth and families by providing leadership and educational opportunities. Everyday EBAYC (ee-BAY-cee) demonstrates that cultural diversity is a powerful agent for progress. They run a youth sports program, have founded a health center, and coordinate a video productions program that was awarded Honorable Mention at the Oakland International Film Festival. EBAYC also facilitates partnerships to provide health, social, security improvements, and after-school services at schools. Moreover, EBAYC engages families through the creation of Parent Action Committees (PACs). Over 500 Asian, Latino, and African-American parents are involved in these PACs in schools where no parent organization had previously existed. These PACs have been enormously effective, fomenting positive change in local schools. For example, one PAC was able to decrease truancy by 40 percent at a middle school that was known for its major gang-related and racial violence.

I also want to mention the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. EBALDC (ee-BALD-cee) has created a national model to promote affordable housing. Since its inception, it has created over 700 units of affordable apartments for low income families and seniors. It is one of the Bay Area's--and the Nation's--most respected community developers. EBALDC has developed nearly 200,000 square feet of retail, office and childcare space, two of which I want to highlight: (1) the Asian Resource Center, a facility that provides key community services to the APA community in Oakland Chinatown and, (2) Preservation Park, a beautifully restored Victorian neighborhood block that is home to a countless number of non-profit organizations and small businesses. In addition, EBALDC spearheads an Individual Development Account (IDA) savings program, by which more than 10 percent of the IDA participants have used their savings to buy their first homes. Given that the Bay Area's real estate market makes it one of the least affordable cities in the Nation, it has made a huge impact within our community, EBALDC helps individuals discover and develop the resources to realize their dreams--of owning affordable homes and starting new businesses.

Immigrants face many obstacles today, and organizations like EBALDC and EBALYC help their clients to conquer their problems. These are just a few specific examples of the impact

that APAs have had in my district. I want to salute the achievements of these two organizations tonight.

I believe that it is also very important to celebrate the accomplishments of a hero for many of us, someone who has tirelessly devoted her life to make our Nation better, Lillian Galedo. Ms. Galedo is the Executive Director for Filipinos for Affirmative Action (FAA). This year she will be celebrating her ``Silver Anniversary'' with the organization, having served 25 years with FAA.

During her tenure, Ms. Galedo has spearheaded several initiatives to advocate on behalf of the Filipino American community, especially in the East Bay. Today, Filipinos continue to be among the top three groups immigrating to the U.S., constituting one of the largest Asian populations in California. FAA runs several youth programs, offers services to new immigrants and engages in several community campaigns, working for the rights of immigrants, Filipino-American airport screeners and WWII veterans. FAA is truly an exemplary grassroots organization, and Ms. Galedo has been at the forefront of encouraging civic participation and fighting for the civil rights of the community. Ms. Galedo is a woman warrior--passionate and articulate--and an inspiration for many Asian Americans.

I also want to recognize the contributions of those who have left us, but who have left an indelible mark in our Nation's history.

Tonight I honor the memory and the legacy of a very good friend, my dear colleague Congressman Robert Matsui. He made such a great impact in this body, and tonight as we celebrate APA Heritage Month, I want to remind everyone of Bob's great legacy. Bob's passing is a bitter blow to all of us. But his life and the things he achieved for all of us will live forever as a testament to a life well-lived. I also want to recognize his wife, Doris, who has done an incredible job in the past few months, in carrying on his legacy and reflecting the view and the future that Bob would have for the country.

I also want to highlight the achievements of Fred Korematsu, a courageous champion of the civil rights movement and a role model for Asian Americans. During his life, Mr. Korematsu touched the lives of countless people, shedding light on a past injustice that was forgotten and ignored. Mr. Korematsu was a central figure within the controversy of Japanese internment during World War II, during which he was arrested for demanding no more than what every American is entitled to--his basic human rights. Mr. Korematsu defied the order to go to the Japanese-American internment camps because he believed it wasn't right. His case changed legal history and resulted in an apology by the U.S. for its wrongdoings, as well as reparations to 120,000 living Japanese- Americans.

Mr. Speaker, as a Nation, we must embrace the cultures that have worked to advance the needs of all Americans and have helped to define what it means to be American. So as a proud member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I am privileged to join the gentleman from California tonight to make sure that our entire country understands why we are celebrating APA Heritage Month. Let us make sure that we represent Asian Pacific Americans every month, each and every day as we develop our policies and our legislation that ensure liberty and justice for all.

Mr. Speaker, the Democratic leadership just released two reports that make clear just how much damage the Republican budget will do to the African American and Hispanic communities, as well as to children.

This budget fails to deliver $12 billion in proposed funding for education. If the President really meant that no child would be left behind, why are 3 million children not getting the help in reading and math that they deserve?

The budget fails to make health care accessible. With more than 20 million African Americans and Hispanics without health insurance, the Bush budget offers health care cuts that will increase the number of the uninsured.

President Bush claimed that his Social Security privatization plan would benefit African Americans because we have shorter life expectancies. The budget makes it clear that the President would rather exploit this issue to sell his privatization scheme than do something to help African Americans live longer.

This budget creates deficits, not jobs, and it favors tax cuts for the rich over making the American dream more accessible to all. Every American deserves better.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) for yielding me time and for his leadership.

I rise to oppose this budget conference report and support and remind you of the budget priorities which were identified in the Congressional Black Caucus budget alternative.

At a time when 48 million Americans, 7.5 million of these Americans are African Americans, mind you, they have no health insurance. The health care cuts in this budget will increase the number of the uninsured. At a time now when our inner cities are crumbling, and they are truly crumbling, this budget cuts funding for community and small business development.

At a time when we face the real threat of terrorism, this budget wastes billions of dollars on an unnecessary missile defense system while leaving likely targets like our Nation's ports defenseless.

The Congressional Black Caucus, if you remember, offered a fiscally responsible alternative. It addressed the health care disparities in our Nation. It provided funding for community and for small business development, and it provided for real national security that included economic security.

Mr. Speaker, the Tri-Caucus commemorates and closes Minority Health Month by offering the ``The Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act of 2005''.

I join my colleagues in calling for bipartisan support and immediate consideration of the Tri-Caucus minority health disparities bill which will provide long-needed resources to combat the growing racial and ethnic health disparities in minority communities across the country.

The tri-caucus bill re-prioritizes and funds efforts for prevention, education and data-collection; all essentials to reduce the overall cost of treatment and reduce disproportionately high rates of emergency health services in minority communities.

Equality in health service is still a distant and difficult goal. Until the United States makes health care a basic human and civil right we will never close the disparities gap.

Mr. Speaker, I believe it is criminal that in the United States the color of your skin and the languages that you speak can make you more likely to die of HIV/AIDS, heart disease or diabetes, as a result of our broken and culturally insensitive health care system.

The numbers are staggering: Cancer: African Americans are 23 percent more likely to die from all types of cancer than Whites. African American men die twice as often from prostate cancer than Whites.

Cancer: Breast cancer is diagnosed 13 percent less frequently in African American women than White women; however African American women die more often.

Heart Disease: African Americans suffer the most from the disease. Around 40 percent of African American men and women have some form of heart disease, compared to 30 percent of White men and 24 percent of White women. African Americans are also 29 percent more likely to die from the disease than Whites.

Diabetes: African Americans are twice as likely to have diabetes as Whites. African Americans with diabetes are more likely to experience complications of diabetes.

Diabetes: Diabetes related eye disease, is 40 to 50 percent more common in African Americans than Whites. Kidney failure is about 4 times more common in African Americans with diabetes than in Whites with diabetes. Amputations of lower extremities (legs and feet) are also more common in African Americans with diabetes.

Diabetes: As of 2002, two million Hispanic adults, about 8.2 percent of the population, have diabetes. About one-third of Hispanics with diabetes are undiagnosed. Hispanics are 1.5 times as likely to have diabetes as Whites. And, in 2001 the death rate from diabetes in Hispanics was 40 percent higher than the death rate of Whites.

I could go on and on, but I'll just end this list of statistics by giving you a quick overview of HIV/AIDS in our communities. HIV/AIDS has had a devastating impact on minorities in the United States.

HIV/AIDS: Racial and ethnic minorities accounted for almost 70 percent of the newly diagnosed cases of HIV and AIDS in 2002. More than 90 percent of babies born with HIV belong to minority groups.

HIV/AIDS: More than 54 percent (14,398) of HIV/AIDS diagnoses in 2002 were in African Americans. African Americans are ten times more likely to die of AIDS than Whites.

HIV/AIDS: AIDS is the leading cause of death in African American women aged 25-34 and the third leading cause of death in African American men in the same age group. More than 64 percent of HIV positive infants are African American.

HIV/AIDS: HIV/AIDS is spreading at a rapid rate in the Hispanic community. Hispanics accounted for around 20 percent of AIDS cases in 2002, despite making up only 14 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanics are 60 percent more likely to be diagnosed with AIDS than Whites. Hispanics were also almost three times more likely to die of AIDS than their White counterparts in 2001.

The Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus and Asian Pacific Islander Caucuses have came together because we see the need to offer solutions for the inclusion and the prioritizing of minorities in the health care system which today is sorely inadequate.

Our goal, like that of the American public, is the complete elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities.

I believe that with this bill we have provided a good first step toward that goal.

In this bill, we have diagnosed the major health care shortfalls and provided sound and culturally-conscious solutions.

The goal of this bill is nothing short of the complete elimination of these racial and ethnic disparities. In this bill, we have assessed the foremost health care shortfalls of our current system, and provided sound and culturally conscious solutions.

1. We have called for an expansion of the health care safety net, which will increase access to quality health care coverage.

2. We state that health care be should be considered not only a human right but a civil right, and as such must be protected under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

3. We ask for the widespread, comprehensive, collection and dissemination of health data on minorities to become a top priority for the health care community.

4. In order to appropriately target the diseases that are plaguing minority peoples, we must first make sure that we have an accurate picture of the challenge we are facing. And we must use this information to make sure that everyone is aware of these statistics, so they know the risks.

5. We ask for a complete assault on HIV/AIDS and other diseases that are disproportionately killing the minority community.

6. By enacting this bill, we correct a major problem in America: ending minority health disparities and diversify health care workforce.

Mr. Speaker, the issue here is that millions of Americans, half of whom are minorities, go undiagnosed and uncared for because they lack adequate health care.

Instead of privatizing social security and cutting Medicaid, our President should help African Americans, Latinos, Asian and Pacific Islanders and Native Americans live longer, healthier lives.

The President should not rely on the shorter life expectancy of African Americans or other minorities--he should fix the root of the problem--fix our health care system.

Mr. Speaker, it is our priority to stop the dangerous cycle of shorter life spans and poor quality, inaccessible health care for minorities in this country.

We stand committed because we cannot stand for continued rates of prostate and breast cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure to take the lives of minority peoples around this country.

If we are to ensure that we are all equal, then we cannot ignore the inequalities inherent in our current heath care system.

And finally, we cannot stand in the halls of this Congress and allow a prescription drug bill, an HIV/AIDS bill, or any other health bill pass that doesn't have a focus on African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, or our Asian and Pacific Island communities.

Today, we are united for all minorities across this country, and we will win the battle against ethnic and racial health disparities.

Mr. Speaker, on April 27, 2005, in order to attend to a family matter, I was unable to vote on rollcall no. 145. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on H. Res. 241, a resolution to reverse the harmful and inappropriate changes that were made to House ethics rules by H. Res. 5. I voted against H. Res. 5 which changed House ethics rules when it came to the Floor on January 4, 2005 and the overwhelming approval of H. Res. 241 only underscores that the changes in H. Res. 5 were overreaching by the majority party.

Mr. Speaker, on April 26, 2005 I missed rollcall votes Nos. 133 and 134. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on the motion to instruct conferees on the FY 2005 supplemental appropriations bill and ``aye'' on the motion to instruct conferees on the FY 2006 Budget Resolution.

Mr. Speaker, my name was placed on H.R. 525, the ``Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005'' by mistake, and even though House rules at this point prohibit my removal as a cosponsor, I want to make clear without a shadow of a doubt that I do not support H.R. 525.

I believe access to health care is a basic human right and H.R. 525 in its present form does nothing to make that right a reality. The House voted on Associated Health Plans twice in the 108th Congress and I voted against it both times. If this bill comes to House Floor for a vote again in its present form, I will oppose it.

Although I understand the demands and challenges that small business owners face with regard to providing affordable, comprehensive health care for their employees, H.R. 525 is not the answer.

The answer is putting people before profit in our health care system.