Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his leadership and for yielding me time and also to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) for this resolution.

It is with truly a deep sense of sadness and sorrow that I come to the floor today to say a few words about a truly great American. Ossie Davis also is a true American patriot. He was called to serve in Liberia during World War II. He later transferred to the Special Services where he wrote and produced stage shows for our troops.

Ossie was a trailblazer whose courage extended far beyond the stage and screen into the civil rights movement and the fight against racial discrimination. He truly was a man for all seasons.

Ossie always spoke truth to power. During Senator McCarthy's anti- Communist witch hunts of the 1960s, Ossie Davis sued for voting rights and spoke out in support of the singer and actor, a great hero, Paul Robeson, though it resulted, of course, in him getting blacklisted.

Ossie not only was at the forefront of the march on Washington in 1963, but he courageously delivered a moving and memorable eulogy at the funeral of Malcolm X.

I have known Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee for many years and love them very much and will cherish many, many memories of this great and humble man. They were personal friends and supporters of my predecessor, Congressman Ron Dellums, who loved them very much.

I must thank Ossie Davis for his phone calls during very controversial and challenging moments for me personally after casting difficult votes. I will always remember and cherish his wisdom, his concern and his support; and I am deeply grateful for his words of encouragement.

My condolences go out to his beautiful and intelligent and brilliant wife, his life companion, Ruby Dee, and his entire family. The world has lost a great man of distinction who will be sorely missed.

May his soul rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, first let me thank my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens), for organizing, really, this opportunity to educate the public and the administration and, of course, Congress with regard to the most pressing issues confronting our country as it relates to this budget, especially as it relates to those who have not benefited from the huge tax cuts.

Mr. Speaker, few traditions are more significant in our democracy than the President's annual submission of the budget. It provides us really a window on the President's and the administration's values and their priorities for this term. It also sets the tone and the standard for us in Congress by marking the spending levels for this year.

Now, I quite frankly had to go back and reread the President's State of the Union speech, because I wanted to see how consistent this budget was in terms of what he presented to the country in his State of the Union address. So I would like to mention a couple of those points tonight.

First of all, of course, in his State of the Union message he said that one of the deepest values of our country is compassion. I think we have heard that tonight this President's 2006 budget shows very little compassion. Instead of sending us a budget for the American people, for the people, this President has sent us a budget that really turns our back on the people and on their future. It sacrifices our children, our seniors, our security, our veterans, our environment and our economy in order to advance special interests and to make permanent tax cuts for the wealthy.

In his State of the Union speech, the President also said over the next several months on issue after issue, let us do what Americans have always done and build a better world for our children and our grandchildren. Well, let me tell my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, how does cutting $5 billion in housing, how does eliminating funding for Hope VI, how does cutting funding by 50 percent for the disabled in terms of housing, how does this create a better world for our children and for our grandchildren?

The assault on the poor in this budget is appalling, and the cuts keep coming. The President's budget has cut Community Development Block Grants, has cut housing assistance for people living with HIV and AIDS. It has cut the lead paint abatement program. It cuts the fair housing program. It cuts rural housing initiatives. It cuts Native American housing. It cuts the Youth Build program. It has eliminated the empowerment zone and brownfield programs, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Again, going back to the President's State of the Union speech, how does this budget build a better world for our children and for our grandchildren?

Also in his State of the Union speech, the President acknowledged, rightfully so, the devastatingly high rates of HIV and AIDS in the African American community, and Mr. Speaker, we acknowledge the President's leadership in calling on Congress to reauthorize the Ryan White CARE Act. During last week's State of the Union speech, the President indicated this, but again, I must say, looking at this budget, it offers very little for our minority AIDS initiative.

He proposes a $10 million increase in the Ryan White CARE Act, $10 million. This is far short of what is needed. We need at least $513 million more this year to keep people off of waiting lists and to prevent new infections. In short, we need a budget that provides a minimum of about $2.6 billion if we are really serious about addressing this HIV and AIDS crisis here in America. A $10 million increase in the Ryan White CARE Act really does not signal the seriousness of this crisis.

Furthermore, we need more money for the minority AIDS initiative. Ever since this President has been in office, we have flat-funded the minority AIDS initiative at $407 million. We need at least $610 million this year if the President is really serious, again as he said in his State of the Union address, if he is serious about addressing the HIV/ AIDS pandemic in our communities.

The budget does not reflect what the President has said in terms of the seriousness of this in our country.

Also, in the State of the Union, the President devoted a large portion of his speech to address Social Security. And as he described it, Social Security is one of America's most important institutions, a symbol of trust, he said, between the generations, and that it is headed towards bankruptcy. Well, even if we discount the fact that the President simply is incorrect, and I believe he is and many of us do, in his assessment about Social Security's solvency, his budget for 2006 does not even include the cost of his estimated $1.3 trillion proposal for Social Security privatization over the decade after its enactment. This is a critical omission.

And the President said in his State of the Union speech that a taxpayer dollar must be spent wisely or not at all. Well, let me just say parenthetically, I believe not only should tax dollars be spent wisely but they should be spent with compassion, as he talked about earlier, not or not at all. But in this budget, these cuts that the President has proposed are not even wise, let alone compassionate.

Also, the President's State of the Union speech was about freedom and democracy; very grandiose statements he made. But I wondered when I was listening to him why justice, as a value, why this was omitted really from these grand statements in the State of the Union. Well, quite frankly, after reading and reviewing this budget, I can see why. It explains why. Because there is no justice in this budget.

So, Mr. Speaker, I think we need to go back to the drawing board, and we need to remind the President about his State of the Union message. And I would say, as many have said before, that we want not just a budget but a just budget.

Mr. Speaker, I might add that we would have 50 percent more of our seniors living in poverty were it not for Social Security. Our disabled rely on Social Security. Our survivors rely on Social Security, as a result of Social Security benefits. This does not need to be dismantled or privatized. It is a program that provides a safety net.

That is correct. And I know many individuals who are disabled who would have a very dismal life had it not been for Social Security. Young people who are disabled are able to receive Social Security. It ensures a quality of life for those who, for whatever reason, have not been able to move forward. I do not want to see this touched for the disabled or for young people whose parents have died or for our senior citizens.

Mr. Speaker, on January 25, 2005, during rollcall vote No. 8 and rollcall vote No. 9, I was unavoidably detained due to travel back to the United States from Africa where a few of my colleagues and I on Chairman Royce's codel learned firsthand about the terrible genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on both resolutions: H. Con. Res. 16, congratulating the Ukrainian people on their recent democratic election, and H. Res. 39, commending countries and organizations for marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and urging a strengthening of the fight against racism, intolerance, bigotry, prejudice, discrimination, and anti-Semitism.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues and all Americans to express my deepest sympathy for the victims and the displaced families affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunami in southern Asia on December 26, 2004.

While the tidal wave wreaked a path of destruction that was felt from Indonesia all the way to eastern Africa, the devastation rippled all the way around the world, including my district in San Francisco's East Bay area. As one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the nation, hundreds of my constituents have family and friends in affected regions of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Indonesia. My thoughts and prayers go out to them, also.

Mr. Speaker, to date, it is estimated that over 140,000 children, women, and men perished in this terrible natural disaster. I am heartened by the outpouring of international aid in the wake of the disaster--including the $350 million pledged by President Bush on behalf of the American people. We must do everything in our power to ensure that emergency aid and supplies to the estimated 3 to 5 million displaced survivors reach all those in need. But in the coming months, when reports of the tragic disaster begin to recede from the headlines of the world's newspapers, we must make sure that development aid to the region continues to support the reconstruction effort.

Our efforts today will ensure that the generation of children who lost a parent or guardian or were left orphaned will grow up in a world where it is important to help your neighbor. It is important to care.

Mr. Speaker, let me say, first of all, that I rise to object to the certification of Ohio's electoral vote; and I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones), and Senator Barbara Boxer for their leadership. We all know this is not deja vu. The Supreme Court did not appoint President Bush this time, as it did in 2000. But again, in 2004, the Democratic process was thwarted.

It is a fact that thousands of minority voters were disenfranchised before and on Election Day. The misallocation of voting machines, the restrictions of provisional ballots, the improper purging of voter rolls, the delays in mailing absentee ballots, the malfunctioning of electronic machines, the widely reported incidents of intimidation and misinformation in violation of the Voting Rights Act are all but a few examples of the widespread efforts to disenfranchise and suppress Ohio voters.

Let me tell my colleagues, my constituents in the Ninth Congressional District of California want democracy to work for all. Some say ``get over it.'' I will never get over the shameful stain

of the suppression of any American's constitutional right to vote. We must pass Federal standards to require a paper trail, insist on nonpartisan officials ensuring the process be moved forward for real, in a real way, and pass real election reform.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to pay tribute to a great leader, to an extraordinary human being, our beloved Bob Matsui. I rise with a heavy heart tonight as we remember Bob. I remember him as a fighter for justice, for our senior citizens, and for all those who have yet to realize the American dream. Bob's quiet strength always amazed me. He was brilliant, yet he always listened and valued ideas and input from others.

When I first ran for Congress, I remember that Bob came to my district and he helped me with my campaign with a variety of constituencies. Of course, my colleagues know I have a very vibrant port in my district and trade is such a critical issue. Bob taught me a lot about trade and helped me tremendously as we debated our trade policy in this body. Like myself, my constituents were inspired by Bob's life as they got to know him, knowing that he spent his first formative years in an internment camp. But rather than turn bitter, Bob worked to ensure that those interned during those dark moments of American history were granted reparations for such a shameless act. Bob Matsui used his personal experiences not in a selfish way but to heal the wounds of so many Japanese Americans and our entire country. For that, we owe him a debt of gratitude.

Several years ago, Bob asked me to come to Sacramento to keynote the NAACP, I think it was the Sacramento NAACP's annual Martin Luther King dinner. The respect and the love that Bob's multiracial constituency had for him and for Doris was something to behold. He was the epitome of a public servant and his constituents knew it, year after year after year.

As we move into this very critical debate to save Social Security, let us remember Bob's commitment to save Social Security and to ensure that our seniors in their golden years live the life that they deserve. We will have to fight, of course, twice as hard now that we do not have Bob with us, but Bob would want us to do just that. May the insights and the inspiration that Bob Matsui brought to this and so many of our debates guide us to do the right thing and to uphold his extraordinary legacy. To Bob's loving family, to Doris, to Brian, Amy and Anna, my thoughts and my prayers are with you. Thank you for sharing this giant of a human being with all of us. Our country and the world is a better place. May his soul rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the State of the African American Male conference, a national initiative of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to focus our Nation's attention on solutions to the escalating crisis in the Black community.

This past Friday, December 3, I hosted this national initiative in Oakland. Included were a visit to a prison college program, free health screenings at the conference and concurrent solutions-focused workshops. It was attended by nearly 400 people, more than 60 of whom were formerly incarcerated individuals.

The focus of the Oakland conference was on solutions for formerly incarcerated individuals and the challenges that prevent them from smoothly re-entering our communities. The Oakland Police Department reports that some 80 percent of the 114 homicides committed in Oakland in 2003 involved people on parole or probation. For that reason, I felt compelled to focus the conference in my district on the steps that we as a community and as Members of Congress can take to begin to reverse this alarming trend.

The Oakland Conference was an important opportunity for us to examine closely what were the factors associated with the failure of our corrections system. I wanted to look at the needs and solutions for successful re-entry to our communities.

On the morning before the afternoon conference, I invited my distinguished colleague from the Judiciary Committee, Sheila Jackson- Lee, and members of the clergy to join me for a visit to San Quentin College. Offering an Associate of Arts degree, the college program at San Quentin prison is the only on-site, degree-granting college program in the entire California corrections system. It is one of only a few in the United States. It is an extension site of Patten University in Oakland, California. The curriculum at San Quentin includes courses such as American Government, literature, ethics and communication.

Without the warden and without other prison officials present, we spent nearly an hour listening carefully to five prisoners who are serving sentences of various lengths. These gentlemen described the rewards of getting a college education while serving their sentences. Even a prisoner serving a life sentence described the positive influence it has had on his life and that he encourages other prisoners to get an education. Another prisoner told us how his bond with his school-age daughter was strengthened by their sharing each other's homework. He talked of the pride he felt at being able to help her with her math for the first time. Yet, these prisoners reported that it is often difficult to maintain the motivation to make major life changes when it takes nearly two weeks for them to receive their mail from loved ones, and costs them $15 for a ten-minute telephone call.

When family and community ties are so essential to a successful transition, then why do we permit such barriers to be erected between prisoners and the people who care most about them?

The difficulties these prisoners face during the re-entry process are further exacerbated by the fact that since 1994, Pell grants have been denied to individuals who are incarcerated. Why do we permit such barriers to remain when it is clear that education and job training are essential to a successful transition to our communities?

These funding cuts are part of a broader trend that began in 1977, when the California Department of Corrections eliminated rehabilitation from its mission and since then its mission has been solely to punish. When I was in the California Assembly, my colleagues and I attempted to correct this, but were prevented by a prevailing, but ill-informed ``tough on crime'' ideology. It is outrageous and immoral and in my district in the City of Oakland, we saw the consequences in 2003 in the 114 homicides.

Cost benefit analyses demonstrating the value of college over prisons are well known and well documented. When it is clear that college is better than prison, why do we continue to incarcerate more black males than we educate?

At the Oakland conference, education was just one area of the re- entry process that we examined. In addition, health screenings were provided in the areas of HIV, prostate cancer, hypertension, diabetes and cholesterol, and all tests were free and open to the public. Provided by National Black Nurses Association, Kaiser Permanente, the Ethnic Health Institute and California Prevention and Education Project this component of the program addressed basic health concerns of Black men.

Congressman Danny Davis, who began the State of the African American Male initiative, joined Congresswoman Jackson-Lee and me for the Conference. Solutions Conferences have been held around the United States in order to create a clearinghouse of best practices. In the Oakland Conference in my district, Topics for the concurrent Solutions Workshops included: Re-Entry Programs; Record Expungement; Sentencing Alternatives; Employment and Training; Health; Housing; Education; and Funding Sources. When the workshop moderators reported out their solutions, it was abundantly clear that the expertise and assistance and innovative programs exist.

Mr. Speaker, I was proud to announce at the Oakland Conference that one Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship per year in my district will be designated for a formerly incarcerated person. I was also proud to announce that a second event will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2005 where I will bring together 60 attorneys from the Charles Houston Bar Association and the San Francisco Bar Association to provide record expungement assistance to formerly incarcerated individuals. This will be an opportunity for several hundred people to get a clean slate.

What is needed, Mr. Speaker is for such programs to become a national priority.

Rather than setting up people in the correction system for failure by offering them little means of turning their lives around, we must restore Pell grants to incarcerated individuals. One of the programs in Oakland--Project Choice--provides support services to prisoners before they get out and stays with them. But Project Choice only has funding to support 40 of the 3,000 people paroled each year to Oakland.

Without programs like San Quentin College, Project Choice and others, without the support of their families and communities, these prisoners will return to the life that led them to prison in the first place. As a nation, we must provide alternatives. This is not only a matter of public safety, but is truly our moral responsibility. It is our obligation as members of the human race.

Mr. Speaker, the bill to implement the 9/11 Commission's unanimous recommendations, while flawed, is an important first step towards comprehensive intelligence reform.

Passing this bill, however, does not let Congress off the hook. We must be vigilant of how this legislation is implemented by an administration that has a tendency to disregard civil liberties all too quickly.

Specifically, I'm disturbed by provisions relating to pretrial detention of terrorist suspects. While everything must be done to minimize the flight risk of terror suspects, under this legislation, the government will not need to prove that the suspect is a flight risk before detainment.

The 9/11 Commission concluded that intelligence opportunities were missed before the terrible tragedies of September 11, 2001, not because law enforcement did not have adequate surveillance powers, but because of a misreading of existing surveillance laws. This bill still includes provisions that allow non-citizens to come under federal wiretaps even if they are not connected to a foreign government.

I'm concerned that we not forget the balance between information sharing within the intelligence community and privacy safeguards for sensitive data.

We must return in the 109th Congress and be prepared, when necessary, to intervene to ensure that law enforcement has the tools to secure our homeland but at the same time holds American civil liberties sacred.

Mr. Speaker, like many of my constituents, I am very concerned about the widespread reports of voting irregularities surrounding the recent election.

Reports about voter intimidation, discrimination, fraud, partisan election officials, misplaced ballots, discarded provisional ballots, malfunctioning electronic voting machines, delays in mailing absentee ballots, and countless other suspicious or illegal activities, all raise potential doubts about the legitimacy of our system of elections.

And there is mounting credible evidence that indeed some potentially illegal and fraudulent activity did occur before, during, and after the election.

That is why I have joined onto the efforts of my colleagues, Representatives John Conyers, Jerrold Nadler, and Robert Wexler, in asking the GAO to investigate the 2004 election. And I am pleased to say that the GAO has agreed with the necessity and urgency of our request and is moving forward with a formal investigation.

As history has repeatedly shown, the right to vote and the right to have our votes counted are fundamental to our democratic system of government.

The moment that we become complacent and cease to insist on the fundamental value and equality of every individual vote is the moment that we begin to undermine the democratic ideal that this nation was founded upon.

That is why I believe it is so important to investigate any reports of voting irregularities.

And that is also why in July, I was one of the leaders in Congress to call for international monitors to observe our system of elections.

Although the administration refused to invite the United Nations to send an observation team, the 55 member Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was invited.

While the OSCE was severely hamstrung in its ability to fully observe the election, according to their preliminary report, they did observe many of the same problems that were reported by the media.

I hope that with the GAO report, and the forthcoming report from the OSCE, we can take a hard look at our current election system and make a concerted bi-partisan effort to fix the problems that still clearly remain with us from the 2000 election.

As elected representatives of the people, we hold a sacred responsibility to every voter across this nation to ensure that their vote is counted and recorded properly.

We cannot, and we should not accept any flaws in our election process.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to honor the extraordinary life of Patricia Frances Eaton, a devoted teacher, advocate, humanitarian, and friend. Pat, who spent her life traveling the world to support those in need, passed away on October 22, 2004 in Arlington, Virginia. She is survived by her son, David Howard Kuria Eaton, her brother, Harold Eaton, Jr., her god-sister, Jean Chin Tapscott, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and loving friends.

Born on June 21, 1944 in Washington, D.C., Pat was the youngest of five children born to Harold and Ordee Scruggs Eaton. Following her studies at Palmer Memorial Institute and Howard University, Pat graduated from Texas Southern University with a B.A. in English in 1967. Upon her graduation, Pat became part of the first group of volunteers to travel to the newly independent southern Africa with the United States Peace Corps. Braving extreme weather conditions and relying on a horse as her only means of transportation, she lived in a Lesotho village for more than two years. During that time she grew to love the lands and people of the most remote regions of Africa, and her experience in the Peace Corps became the inspiration that she would draw upon in traveling through and working on behalf of Africa throughout the rest of her life.

Returning to the U.S. in 1970, Pat used her knowledge and experience to work as a volunteer to raise funds to start Africare, an organization dedicated to providing funds for water supply, health resources, and agricultural development in drought-stricken West Africa, or the Sahel. During this time, Pat worked as a teacher at McKinley High School, and also worked briefly for the D.C. government. She was later able to work full-time at Africare as its first Director of Communications and Chapter Development, a capacity in which she traveled across the country in order to identify and coordinate cities with development projects in the Sahel.

In the mid-1970s, Pat was recruited by the U.N. Development Program's newly established Women-In-Development project. Known for her expertise in working in rural and isolated villages in Africa, Pat was the ideal choice to work on this project, which sought to increase women's productivity through income-generating projects. Her background led also to later appointments as the Executive Director of the Black Women's Community Development Foundation, the Director for Africa of the Overseas Education Fund of the League of Women Voters, and various contract projects with USAID, the Peace Corps, and other groups. Pat's work in these areas led her to spend the better part of twenty years traveling through twenty-two African countries, often with few companions and little more than a single suitcase, but always with an eagerness for knowledge and full immersion within the culture of each group she encountered. Whether she was passing through the caves of Mali's Timbuktu, the pyramids of Egypt, or Zambia during the Rhodesian War and subsequent Lancaster conference, Pat lived as one with the African people whose lives she shared throughout her journey.

After returning to the United States in 1983 for the birth of her son, David, Pat took a position as the Director of West Africa for the D.C.-based African Development Foundation. In 1986, she made the decision to settle in the U.S., and began teaching English again, this time at Wilson Senior High. Later advancing to the position of Director of the school's International Studies Program, Pat drew upon the richness of her experiences abroad not only to

encourage students to seek out knowledge and understanding of foreign affairs and cultures, but also to encourage career exploration in the international arena, especially among minority students.

On November 20, 2004, Patricia Eaton will be honored in Washington, D.C. for the impact her life and work has had on her students in the U.S., the people who came to know her in Africa through her decades of work there, and everyone else who has been fortunate enough to have her in their lives. On this day we take time not only to honor her memory, but also to give thanks for the spirit of giving and mutual understanding that shaped her work in life, and that will continue to impact the lives of future generations for years to come. On behalf of the 9th Congressional District and the District of Columbia, we salute the life and work of Pat Eaton. Her example is a true inspiration, and she will be greatly missed by all.

Mr. Speaker, today voted with my colleagues in support of H. Res. 853, recognizing the Boy Scouts of America for the public service the organization performs for neighborhoods and communities across the United States.

Althouh I voted in support of this resolution, I remain concerned by the Boy Scouts continuing discrimination against gays and lesbians.

An organization that purports to teach children ``principles which are conducive to good character, citizenship, and health'', as indicated by this resolution, and which ``teaches the core values of duty to God and country, personal honor, respect for the beliefs of others, volunteerism, and the value of service and doing a `good turn' daily'' does a disservice to children when it teaches them that it is okay to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation.

While we as a Congress can and should support the good deeds done by individual Boy Scouts and troops throughout the country, we should not overlook or tacitly condone the discriminatory policies and attitudes of the larger organization or its administrators.

Mr. Speaker, first let me say I rise in strong opposition to this outrageous Weldon provision that is neatly tucked away in this very expansive spending bill.

But, first, I just want to thank the gentleman from Texas for his leadership, for his service and for his friendship. I want to wish him well as he enters this new chapter of his life. Thank you again so much for your leadership.

Mr. Speaker, this refusal clause will allow health insurance companies, hospitals and other corporations to impose policies barring any physician or other health care provider from performing abortions or even from offering referrals. Once again, here is another effort to turn the clock back on women's rights. It will gut the longstanding title X regulatory requirement that pregnant women who request information about all of their medical options, including abortion, be given that information and be given a referral upon request.

Mr. Speaker, this refusal clause is dangerous, it is ill-conceived, and it

will deny untold numbers of women their constitutional right to choose. This is a dangerous time for women around this country. The neo-con agenda is on the march. Women's lives are at stake. Is this the beginning of the end of constitutionally protected health care for women? It is really a dark day for women throughout the land, and we must fight back.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of myself and Congressman Stark to honor the extraordinary contributions of Rabbi Allen B. Bennett of Alameda, California for thirty years of dedicated service to the community. Rabbi Bennett, through his tireless efforts as a religious and community leader in the Bay Area for over three decades, worked not only to improve and enrich the lives of those within his congregation, but has also served in that capacity to become a champion for peace, justice, and the well-being of all.

Born in Akron, Ohio, Rabbi Bennett began his post secondary studies at Western Reserve University, where he earned a degree in psychology in 1968. He then attended the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Letters in 1972 and a Master of Arts in Hebrew Letters as well as rabbinical ordination in 1974. After reaching this milestone, Rabbi Bennett moved to Rochester, Minnesota, where he began a residency program in Clinical Pastoral Education, a certification that would allow him to become a hospital chaplain. As a result, he served in the Rochester area for over three years, first as a resident, and then as the Jewish chaplain for the two hospitals affiliated with the Mayo Clinic as well as Rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel, the multi- denominational synagogue in Rochester.

Following his time of service and education in Minnesota, Rabbi Bennett entered into a doctoral program at the Graduate Theological Union at the University of California, Berkeley in 1977. There, while pursuing a Ph.D. in theology, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, he taught various Jewish studies courses at Emeritus College at the College of Marin, as well as other Bay Area universities.

In the years that followed, Rabbi Bennett continued and expanded his involvement in the Bay Area Jewish community. In addition to being elected rabbi at San Francisco's Congregation Sha'ar Zahav in 1979, he was later appointed Assistant Director of the Northern Pacific Regional Office of the American Jewish Congress, a capacity in which he served until 1989, at which point he became the Congress' Regional Executive Director. He later served also as the Executive Director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay in Oakland, until becoming the Rabbi at Temple Israel in 1996.

Since that time, Rabbi Bennett's work has been outstanding not only within the Temple at which he currently serves, but has also been a remarkable force for peace and social justice within the community as a whole. In addition to serving the Jewish community, he has been involved in an astounding number of civic and interfaith initiatives and activities on the local, regional, and national levels. Among these activities are his service on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, the Mayor's Committee for a Living Holocaust Memorial, the Conference of Black and Jewish Clergy, the San Francisco Interfaith Coalition on AIDS, and the Coalition for Civil Rights. Furthermore, was the Jewish representative taking testimony at the U.N. sponsored Oakland Hearings on Racism as a Violation of Human Rights, and has also served on the Board of Most Holy Redeemer AIDS Support Group in San Francisco. Rabbi Bennett also currently serves on the Leadership Team and the Race and Community Relations Planning Team of the FAITHS Initiative of the San Francisco Foundation, the Alameda Hospital Ethics Committee and its Institutional Review Board, as Chair of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Chaplaincy Advisory Board, as Vice President of the Board of Rabbis of Northern California, as Treasurer of the East Bay Council of Rabbis, and the Union for Reform Judaism's Regional Committee on AIDS.

On November 13, 2004, Rabbi Bennett will be honored in Oakland, California for thirty years of truly outstanding service to Temple Israel and the greater Bay Area. This occasion is an opportunity for us to recognize him not only for his service within the faith community, but also for his outstanding leadership on the issues of civil rights, social equality, human

rights, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. By remaining active in and dedicated to these important areas, Rabbi Bennett has contributed immeasurably to Alameda County and the East Bay, and the 9th and 13th Congressional Districts salute and congratulate him for his many years of invaluable service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the contributions of Chief Richard L. Word of the Oakland Police Department in Oakland, California. After more than two decades of dedicated service, Chief Word will be leaving the Oakland area, and I would like to take this opportunity to recognize his contributions not only to the Police Department, but to the community as a whole.

Born and reared in San Francisco's Ingleside District, Chief Word graduated from Riordan High School in 1980. Following his time at Riordan, where he excelled academically and was a valued leader in the campus' Black Student Union, Chief Word attended San Francisco State University as well as the University of San Francisco. He then devoted two years to the San Francisco Sheriff's Department as a cadet and subsequently entered the Oakland Police Academy, where he would go on to become the valedictorian of the 1984 recruiting class.

Following his graduation, Chief Word rose quickly through the ranks of Sergeant and Lieutenant before being promoted to Captain in 1997 and was later sworn in as Oakland's Chief of Police on July 2, 1999. As the Chief of Police for the past five years, Chief Word has been a distinguished leader in many ways. Not only was he the youngest Chief in the Oakland Police Department's history, but his selection was also one of the first steps taken by Mayor Jerry Brown as part of his plan to dramatically reduce crime rates in the City of Oakland. In working to reach this goal, Chief Word employed a number of methods and strategies, such as strengthening the Department's Crime Analysis Section, assigning more officers to the field, and building closer ties to Oakland's neighborhoods through community policing, the use of joint problem-solving programs by community policing officers and neighborhood residents, and the establishment of the Youth Citizens Police Academy, which is comprised of youth from all of Oakland's high schools.

In addition to his work within the Police Department, Chief Word is involved with a number of community and professional organizations. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Oakland Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland, and the California Police Chiefs Association. He also serves as Vice President of the Alameda County Police Chiefs' and Sheriffs' Association, and is a member of both the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Black Forum of Black Public Administrators. In addition to his accomplishments within the police force, Chief Word also earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from John F. Kennedy University, from which he graduated cum laude, and a master's degree in public administration from Golden Gate University. Furthermore, he completed the FBI National Academy, and recently graduated from the FBI National Executive Institute.

On November 12, 2004, Chief Word will be honored in Oakland, California for twenty years of outstanding service to the Oakland Police Department and the City of Oakland. This occasion is an opportunity for us to recognize him not only for his service within the Police Department, but also for his outstanding leadership on the issues of crime prevention and the development of community partnerships between law enforcement officers and neighborhood residents. By remaining active in and dedicated to these vital areas, Chief Word has contributed enormously to the City of Oakland and California's 9th Congressional District. I salute and congratulate Chief Word for his many years of invaluable service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary contributions of Cantor Pamela Sawyer of Berkeley, California for ten years of dedicated service as Hazzan at Temple Israel of Alameda.

Cantor Sawyer has been a resident of California since early childhood, and the study and performance of music has been a central component of her life since that time. After completing undergraduate and graduate studies in performance and composition, Cantor Sawyer began performing professionally in the Bay Area in local orchestras, pop, jazz, and salsa groups, and was a member of the Oakland Symphony Chorus. In addition, she has appeared on numerous pop and classical music recordings, and currently performs with her own ensemble, the Bay Area Women's Quartet.

Cantor Sawyer began serious Jewish and Hebrew studies in 1992. After studying under various local cantors, she began serving Temple Israel as its Cantorial Soloist. In the years that followed, she went on not only to become the Temple's Cantor, but also to lead the Temple's B'nei Mitvah training as well as its religious studies for seventh graders. In addition to her role as an educator and mentor at Temple Israel, Cantor Sawyer has served as an educator at Congregation Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, B'nei Torah in Antioch, Kol Shofar in Tiburon, and at various other Bay Area congregations. Furthermore, she is currently a member of the Guild of Temple Musicians, the Cantors' Assembly, the Women Cantor's Network, the Northern California Board of Cantors, the National Association of Jewish Chaplaincy and the Alameda Ministerial Association. Finally, in addition to her service to congregations within the United States, Cantor Sawyer has worked with various congregations and presented at scholarly conferences in Germany, where she continues to give workshops and consult with clergy from various communities.

On November 13, 2004, Cantor Sawyer will be honored in Oakland, California for her ten years of outstanding service to Temple Israel. I would like to take this opportunity to commend her for her exceptional contributions not only to the Jewish community, but also for her role as a leader and mentor in the areas of musical education and community service. By remaining active in and dedicated to these important areas, Cantor Sawyer has contributed immeasurably to Alameda County and the East Bay. The 9th Congressional District salutes and congratulates her for her many years of invaluable service.