Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the importance of several issues of historical and contemporary significance involving racial violence in the State of Mississippi.

On Friday, June 10, 2005, the Washington Post ran an article detailing the story of James

Cameron; the only living survivor of a lynching. Cameron, a 91 year old native of Marion, Indiana, recalled the ordeal in which he was falsely accused of a rape and murder and then attacked by a mob of white citizens after being arrested and jailed. Once the mob had beaten, kicked, and humiliated three innocent men; they were all lynched. At some point during this process, someone cried out to the mob that James Cameron had nothing to do with the murder, and so he was then taken back to jail where he was eventually detained on robbery charges. Today, James Cameron is alive to see the passage of the U.S. Senate Resolution, apologizing for and acknowledging the failure of Senate to enact anti-lynching legislation.

Though it lacked the signatures of the two Senators representing the State with the most reported incidents of lynching, I commend the United States Senate for their resolution offering a formal apology to the victims of lynching and the descendants of those victims. In 1900, Congressman George White, an African American, introduced anti-lynching legislation which was fought off tooth and nail. Since then, it has taken more than 100 years for the Congress to offer an apology or acknowledge this failure.

The State of Mississippi has had the most lynching reports in the Nation. Since 1882 there have been 581 reported cases of lynching in the State of Mississippi. That tallies in at a whopping 4.7 reported cases each year. These numbers do not include the unreported cases and those ``conspiracy theories'' like Raynard Johnson of Kokomo, MS, found in his yard hanging from a tree with a belt wrapped around his neck in 2000.

It has been more than 40 years since the murder of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, who were lynched in Philadelphia, MS, and it has been more than 50 years since the murder of Emmitt Louis Till, who was lynched in Money, MS. Today, the case of the three civil rights workers and the case of Emmitt Louis Till have been re-opened so that the State of Mississippi can finally bring forth resolution in these murders. These cases have one similar thread; they are perpetuated by the fact that there has been no justice rendered.

The issuance of the U.S. Senate's apology, the re-opening of the case of the three civil rights workers and young Mr. Till are long overdue. It has taken our Nation decades to come to grips with these atrocities. The Senate apology and the justice sought in the murders do not mend the perceived racial rift that has transpired, but the actions are definitely a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Rev. C.L. Woodley. Rev. Woodley currently' presides in Mound Bayou, Mississippi and is one of the last Buffalo Soldiers in the Nation. I submit the following article by Robert Smith of the Cleveland News Leader in Cleveland, Mississippi.

The Rev. C.L. Woodley's moral conscience is still

powerfully stirred by events he witnessed when he served in

the U.S. Army during World War II.

``I pray for America. We're in bad shape and don't know

it,'' the retired African Methodist Episcopal (AME) presiding

elder says, reflecting on both past and present.

Woodley, 85, is one of the last of the Buffalo Soldiers--

African Americans trained as horse-riding cavalrymen, who

served the nation in both peacetime and war from the late

1860s up through the mid 1940s--Native Americans of the Great

Plains were the source of the nickname.

A native of Stringtown, Woodley was drafted in 1941 and

received his cavalry instruction at Camp Funston, Kansas. He

later took part in U.S. military actions in North African and

Italy.

However, he recalls with a laugh that he had experience as

a rider before he trained with horses at Camp Funston. As a

youth in the Stringtown area, in southwest Bolivar County, he

was a jockey in mule races. Today, he still rides a bicycle

in the mornings, he explained.

Turning the pages of his photo album, Woodley commented

during an interview at his home about how he and other

soldiers had to cross the burning, but not sunken, remains of

a bombed ship to get from their vessel to shore when

they arrived at Casablanca, Morocco. He became motor-pool

sergeant for a contingent of replacement troops, who

supported men on the fighting line, and the sound of

shells and bombs exploding became a regular feature of

their environment. ``We got it so bad until you could tell

the sound of a German plane from an American plane,'' he

said.

In addition to the dangers of combat, Woodley had

disturbing experiences with which he still grapples. Among

those experiences was the sight of hungry civilians begging

for food--mothers asking U.S. soldiers for bits of their

rations to feed to keep the civilians back.

``Our orders were to take that club and beat them back, but

I told the commanding

officer I didn't have the heart to do it,'' he said, adding

that he is concerned about how the U.S. treats civilians in

present-day conflicts, such as the fighting in Iraq and

Afghanistan.

``I don't know whether we'll ever get out of this war.

There are way too many people getting killed,'' he said,

voicing anxiety that America may be losing men and women it

will need in the future. He sees a national indifference to

the value of life expressed both in our foreign policy and in

social practices such as legalized abortion.

``God is not dead,'' Woodley warns. ``I might lie to you

but that Bible's going to come true.''

When he returned to Mississippi after his Army days,

Woodley studied at Campbell College in the Jackson area and

became an AME clergyman. He served for more than 40 years as

a presiding elder in the church, which means he was

responsible for helping the bishop to supervise preachers. He

became senior presiding elder of the Eight AME District,

comprised of Mississippi and Louisiana.

Woodley settled in Mount Bayou with his wife, Willie Thelma

Woodley, who was a native of the historic settlement founded

by former slaves of Joe Davis.

Shelton Woodley of Mound Bayou, one of the minister's sons,

says his own service in the Vietnam War helped him to

appreciate and better understand his father's experiences.

The elder Mr. Woodley, who stays busy keeping up the

shrubbery at his home and at the Mound Bayou branch of the

Bank of Bolivar County, says he hates to be idle. He recalls

how hard work shaped him as a child.

``I picked 200 pounds of cotton in Stringtown, Mississippi,

when I was nine years old,'' he says with a smile.

Most of us are aware of the contributions that men like Rev. C.L. Woodley and the Buffalo Soldiers have made to the preservation of our Nation and our democracy.

In the history of the Buffalo Soldiers there were not only men that served, but women as well. Cathy Williams, the only woman who served in 1866 as a Buffalo Soldier, also deserves recognition by the House; therefore, these are men and women of courage, bravery, and honor.

The remarkable irony of the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and many other African American soldiers like Rev. Woodley is that they fought to preserve the high ideals of liberty, freedom, and democracy; however, they were fighting for principles and privileges that they themselves were being denied on their own soil.

Mr. Speaker and to the Members of Congress, too many times do we celebrate the men and women of our armed services and veterans after they are no longer with us. I ask you to join in saluting Mr. Woodley and the men and women of the Buffalo Soldiers, to ensure him while he is living and well that we are grateful and indebted to him and others like him for his service in the United States Army.

Mr. Chairman, I am deeply disappointed with the level of funding in this apropriations bill for the State Criminal Alien Assistanace Program which helps States and localities jail criminal aliens. The bill is better than the President's budget fiscal year 2006 request of $0 for SCAAP, but that isn't too difficult.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the President's Budget request hasn't included a funding request for SCAAP since fiscal year 2003. Unfortunately, even the level provided in this bill is far below levels necessary to address the need of States and localities.

Senator Feinstein and a bipartisan House group including Congressman Kolbe, the gentleman from Arizona, introduced bills that address the need for higher funding levels for SCAAP, including S. 188 and H.R. 557 calling for a SCAAP funding for fiscal year 2006 of $750 million.

The President's home State of Texas is one of SCAAP's big beneficiaries. From fiscal year 1997 to fiscal year 2004 the President's home State, Texas, has received over $351 million in order to incarcerate criminal aliens. But that doesn't even come close to the approximately $1.6 billion that California received in the same period or the $691 million that New York received.

The need for SCAAP funds to jail criminal aliens may well be why Governors Jeb Bush of Florida, Rick Perry of Texas, Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Richard Codey of New Jersey, Kenny Guinn of Nevada, George Pataki of New York, Ruth Ann Miner of Delaware, Tom Vilsack of Iowa, Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, Sonny Perdue of Georgia, Charles Turnbull of the Virgin Islands, Christine Gregoire of Washington and Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota wrote to Congress asking the appropriations committee to provide $750 million for SCAAP.

Their letter made clear that ``SCAAP provides only partial, but important, reimbursement for the cost to incarcerate these individuals.''

I agree with the Governors and with Senator Feinstein and with some of our colleagues in the House that in fiscal year 2006 that the $750 million level is the correct one and that increases may well be necessary in future years.

Just looking at fiscal year 2004 SCAAP awards, at the level of funding contained in this appropriations bill, California alone will eat up at least a third of the monies available through SCAAP.

As the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee I believe that Congress must get its funding priorities right. We must focus on terrorists and criminal aliens. At a time when this Congress wants to outsource the enforcement of our civil immigration laws to the States, we need to set the right priorities. We need to fund SCAAP at higher levels.

Incarcerating criminal aliens is strongly in the homeland security interest. Making sure that our States have the money to help the Federal Government meet this commitment is in the homeland security interest.

May 6, 2005.

Hon. Frank R. Wolf,

Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce and

Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon. Alan B. Mollohan,

Subcommittee on Science, State, Justice and Commerce and

Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Wolf and Representative Mollohan: We write to

express our continued support for the State Criminal Alien

Assistance Program (SCAAP) and to request you appropriate

$750 million for this program in Fiscal Year 2006. SCAAP is

vital to states such as ours who bear a significant financial

burden for the federal government's failure to control our

nation's borders.

Congress has provided help in maintaining this program--but

more is needed. As Governors, we are well aware of the

difficult choices that must be made in prioritizing funding.

It is for this reason that we join together to write you now.

We want to reiterate our strong support for SCAAP and to

assure you of the critical importance of this program. Each

year, thousands of undocumented aliens who have committed

crimes in our states are incarcerated in state or local

facilities. SCAAP provides only a partial, but important,

reimbursement for the cost to incarcerate these individuals.

Our states are committed to working with the Federal

government to protect our nation. While we are doing what we

can in this important effort, immigration policy and

controlling the nation's borders are clear, fundamental

responsibilities of the Federal government and an essential

component of homeland security. Every effort should be made

to help States and local governments cover a greater share of

the expenses they incur to incarcerate criminal aliens.

Thank you for your consideration of our request. Again, we

appreciate your past support and we look forward to

continuing our work with you to ensure that SCAAP remains a

viable program for reimbursing State and local governments

for the burden they carry to incarcerate criminal aliens.

Sincerely,

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California; Rick

Perry, Governor of Texas; Richard J. Codey, Governor of

New Jersey; George E. Pataki, Governor of New York;

Thomas J. Vilsack, Governor of Iowa.

Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona; Bill Richardson,

Governor of New Mexico; Kenny Guinn, Governor of

Nevada; Ruth Ann Miner, Governor of Delaware; Rod R.

Blagojevich, Governor of Illinois.

Tommy Perdue, Governor of Georgia; Charles W. Turnbull,

Governor of Virgin Islands; Jeb Bush, Governor of

Florida; Christine Gregorie, Governor of Washington;

Tim Pawlenty, Governor of Minnesota.

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

We have heard a number of statements about this bill. It is an initial step in the right direction. It is not comprehensive. There are some glaring overlooks in the bill. We do not address any aviation security, we do not address chemical security. There are a number of things that we could do better in this bill.

However, I have to join my chairman in recognizing the fact that this is our first attempt to do an authorization bill. It is by no means complete, but given his leadership and willingness to work in a bipartisan spirit, I am looking forward to moving this legislation and making sure that we do the right thing for this country. We have to secure this Nation.

I will be offering a substitute later in the debate which obviously will cover far more areas than what this authorization bill covers that we are debating here today.

Clearly, if we support the substitute, we can move closer to making America secure.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. As a ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I strongly believe this base bill is deficient in a number of significant areas.

This 79-page bill fails to address a number of critical aspects of homeland security and does not deliver on the homeland security commitments made in the 9/11 Act. That is why I, like many of my colleagues in the House, felt compelled to submit amendments to the Committee on Rules for this bill. All told, there were 85 amendments offered, many of them from my colleagues on the Committee on Homeland Security.

The rule before us today will allow 24 amendments to be considered by the full House. That is simply wrong. The rule blocks a meaningful debate on important amendments like the one the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) offered to close a major aviation security gap. It would have required airport workers to be physically screened before accessing planes in restricted areas of airports. The rule also denies consideration of an amendment offered by the gentlewoman from California, (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Economic Security and Infrastructure Protection. It would have closed a major port security gap by requiring validation inspectors for shippers.

This rule also prevents the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) from presenting her amendment to close gaps in the public transit and rail system. It also denies the House the opportunity to consider amendments offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) to improve chemical plant security, develop policies for rerouting hazardous material, and grant DHS whistleblower protections.

Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on listing good amendments that were done so wrong by this rule. But instead, I will close by urging a no vote on this rule.

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

Mr. Chairman, I commend the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) for his tireless efforts to see that this day came to be. He worked continuously to create a permanent Committee on Homeland Security and put in the right track to producing the bill.

It took 13 hours to mark up this bill in committee, and I have to say that he never lost his patience or his good character, nor his sense of humor; but clearly, it was a bipartisan effort, and for that I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox).

This bill has many good provisions in it. It rejects the section of the President's shortsighted budget that sought to hire only 210 new Border Patrol agents this year. Instead, it provided for the 2,000 border agents that everybody else agreed that we needed.

It also, by creating an Assistant Secretary of Cybersecurity at DHS, finally recognizes the threat posed by cyber attacks. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) and other Democrats on this committee have sought the creation of this position for a very long time.

The evaluation of the color-coded terrorist system is also welcomed. The system has provided more material for late-night comedians than effective information on threats on the public.

Also, I am glad that this bill requires the Department to explain how it is working to protect agriculture and the Nation's food supply from terrorist attacks.

That said, I wish this bill would have been more comprehensive. I am glad that, as the chairman mentioned, it is small only because we are a new committee, but there are some things that we overlooked. We did not mention airports or chemical plants in this legislation. I just hold up for the chairman's view and the view of the public the defense authorization bill which is sizable, and I look forward to, in the next authorization effort next year, to having a bill that is comprehensive.

The present authorization bill is very, very short on content, but nonetheless it is a start. There is no comparison between the two, so I am convinced that at the end of the day Members will recognize we have a long way to go and there can be no effort or wasting time. We must do what it takes to make America secure. I hope that we work closely to close the security gaps left by this bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), the ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Economic Security, Infrastructure Protection, and Cybersecurity.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), an excellent member on the committee.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Houston, Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), also a member of the committee.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey), a member of the committee.

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

We have heard a number of statements about this bill. It is an initial step in the right direction. It is not comprehensive. There are some glaring overlooks in the bill. We do not address any aviation security, we do not address chemical security. There are a number of things that we could do better in this bill.

However, I have to join my chairman in recognizing the fact that this is our first attempt to do an authorization bill. It is by no means complete, but given his leadership and willingness to work in a bipartisan spirit, I am looking forward to moving this legislation and making sure that we do the right thing for this country. We have to secure this Nation.

I will be offering a substitute later in the debate which obviously will cover far more areas than what this authorization bill covers that we are debating here today.

Clearly, if we support the substitute, we can move closer to making America secure.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I now rise in strong support of the amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), my Homeland Security Committee colleague, the ranking member on the Management, Integration and Oversight Subcommittee.

Mr. Chairman, we have heard testimony time and time again on our committee about the underfunding of the office of Inspector General. We had committee testimony from three Inspector Generals indicating that the office was underfunded.

Just to show you what they found in recent reviews, we found that the Department spent $31,000 on rubber plants. We also found that they spent $500,000 on an awards ceremony. Clearly these expenditures are out of line and should not have been.

Testimony also revealed that had we had a more robust Office of Inspector General, we could do more oversight. So the gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Meek) amendment is in order. It is something that we should do. If we look at other agencies, this Department is woefully underfunded. And for that reason I rise in support of the amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I encourage Members to vote ``no'' on the Cox- Sensenbrenner amendment authorizing $40 million to be appropriated from the fiscal year 2006 budget to reimburse States and locals for the costs associated with having State and local law enforcement trained and certified by DHS' Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration laws.

Mr. Chairman, plain and simple, we are shirking our responsibility as a government by passing this mission on to local authority. If we have the responsibility for immigration and immigration enforcement, we should do our job. We should appropriate the money to the respective department, whatever the requirements are, rather than passing the buck to local law enforcement. Local law enforcement clearly will tell my colleagues we have enough on our plate now, do not give us further responsibility by giving us immigration.

So, Mr. Chairman, while I understand my colleague's reasoning behind the amendment, it is clearly something that allows us to put this responsibility on someone else.

I guarantee my colleagues, when we do this, it will come with another program in the not-too-distant future. We will give other responsibilities to the local level.

I am a former mayor and a former county supervisor. Knowing law enforcement at the personal level, I am convinced that we have more than enough to do at the local level. The Federal Government should do what it is required to do on immigration. Let us not pass the buck. Let us make sure that we take the immigration responsibility and retain it at the Federal level.

That is why I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), a member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

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

Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time remains.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Meek), a member of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume in closing.

(Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, as I have already indicated from my opposition to this amendment, we are moving toward making States and localities assume a Federal responsibility. This is not in the best interest of homeland security. We have certain things as a Federal Government that we should do. Immigration protection is one of those items.

I understand from my chairman that he is interested in trying to help, but at some point we have to do our job. What we need to do is provide the resources to the Department to make sure that the Department can do its job, not pass the buck to another State.

You have heard from my colleague who used to be a State trooper who talks about the difficulties in crossing the lines. I ask my colleague to consider that, but I also ask opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition to the amendment for purposes of debate, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, for the record, I am in support of this amendment, as are the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell).

This amendment highlights the important need for the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate the prioritization of the Nation's critical infrastructure with other relevant Federal agencies. By requiring the Secretary to enter such partnerships, the Department of Homeland Security can draw upon the institutional expertise of a variety of agencies.

This is critical for completing an accurate, comprehensive and thorough assessment of terrorist threats to our country's critical infrastructure. Having seen the national asset database lists for Mississippi, I believe the Department needs as much help as it can get. Our Nation can no longer wait for an accurate prioritization of our most valuable asset. This is why I join my other colleagues and encourage Members to vote yes on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment. It is a commonsense amendment. We have to do all we can to protect the flying public. As has already been said, our pilots are the last line of defense to protect the flying public. By training them with this program and providing all of the necessary background checks, there is no excuse for not making this program successful. I compliment the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) and join the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) in support of this amendment, and I look forward to its passage.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Yes, Mr. Chairman

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

I rise in support of this amendment offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez).

Terrorism experts have called the area between Port Elizabeth and Newark International Airport in New Jersey ``the most dangerous two miles in America,'' an area that includes dozens of vulnerable chemical plants, oil storage tanks, refineries, and other critical infrastructure systems within close proximity of Manhattan and the densely populated cities of northern New Jersey.

Experts estimate that a terrorist attack in this area could pose a potentially lethal threat to 12 million people living within a 14-mile radius. The Menendez amendment would require the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to report to Congress on how to coordinate and protect the people and infrastructure in this particularly vulnerable region.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of the time to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the author of the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to extend the debate by 2 minutes on each side.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) and others have indicated the position that the minority supports.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise and express strong support for the amendment of the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Hooley). It sends a strong and simple message to Congress: do not raise aviation passenger fees.

I strongly believe that raising fees will place an additional burden on the flying public and could weaken the economic strength of domestic commercial aviation.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support the Hooley amendment and urge my colleagues in the House to vote in favor of this important amendment.

Reserving the right to object, Madam Chairman, I would just say to my colleague that we have not been made aware of this amendment, and if for no other reason than we have not seen it.

I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Reclaiming my time, Madam Chairman, I object to the change.

Madam Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chairman, I encourage Members to vote ``no'' on the Norwood amendment. The Norwood amendment seeks to clarify the inherent authority of State and local law enforcement to apprehend, detain, remove, and transport illegal aliens in the routine course of duty. That is not what it does.

State and local police already have authority to report criminals who are foreign nationals to the Department of Homeland Security and to assist the Federal Government in criminal investigations. But current law does not allow law enforcement to pick up immigrants and deport them unilaterally. That is essentially what this amendment allows.

Do you want to give a local law enforcement officer the authority to remove people who they may suspect are in this country illegally; or would you prefer to have the Department of Homeland Security do that? Section 287(g) of INA, which provides for local law enforcement to enter into agreements with ICE, does not allow local law enforcement to remove an alien.

This amendment is also frightening because it allows a local police officer who receives no training at all on immigration law to deport someone. How does this police officer know that it is someone who should be deported? What documents should he ask for? What law has he violated?

This is a terrible amendment, Madam Chairman. Countless State and local police agencies have expressed concern about undermining public safety when ordinary immigrants start seeing them as agents of the Federal immigration service. We have comments from the chief of police in Nashville; chief of police in Hamtramck, Michigan; the sheriff and assistant sheriff in Orange County; along with Chief William Finney of the St. Paul Police Department, who all have expressed real concern about the apprehension, detaining, and deportation of illegal immigrants.

Instead of focusing on training State and locals to do the job of our fellow law enforcement officers, we need to do more to train and provide Federal law enforcement with the resources it needs to fully carry out the responsibilities of the Department to enforce immigration and Customs violations.

DHS already faces challenges in cross-training its own personnel and

integrating the various components into a cohesive unit and, thus, would face challenges in developing a cross-training manual for State and local law enforcement personnel.

Madam Chairman, this is why I am requesting that Members vote ``no'' on this amendment.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As I indicated earlier, Madam Chairman, the gentleman sought to clarify his amendment without providing us with the opportunity to see it and, for that reason, we objected. But even with the clarification, it still would have been problematic for our side. So for that reason, Madam Chairman, I continue to object and to oppose the amendment.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I would like to say to my colleague every immigrant is not a terrorist. I would assume that was an error in the gentleman's comment. Clearly we have to be very careful. That is a Federal responsibility. What we are doing is passing that responsibility to State and local law enforcement and not funding the Department that ought to be having the responsibility for immigration.

Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Madam Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

This amendment, although well intended, crosses the line from my standpoint because it moves us away from a Federal responsibility to a State responsibility. This amendment tries to clarify the existing authority of State and local law enforcement personnel to apprehend, detain, remove and transport illegal aliens in the routine course of duty.

Additionally, this amendment requires DHS to establish a training manual on this matter and set forth simple guidelines for making that training available. State and local police already authorize and train to notify Federal law enforcement officials, are already highly qualified, and are fully trained to identify foreign nationals in custody.

Additionally, training in immigration law is not a simple task. A manual is simply not sufficient to train officers in the complexity of immigration law.

For example, DHS already faces challenges in cross-training its personnel and integrating the various components into a cohesive unit; and, thus, would face challenges in developing a cross-training manual for State and local law enforcement personnel.

So for these reasons, I am in opposition to the amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

I do not consent.

Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order under the rule.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chairman, I appreciate the work of the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) to include many Democratic suggestions in this bill, and I want to say that most of the provisions in his bill are good ones.

But the truth is that this bill does not address a large number of dangerous security gaps. For example, this bill does not close serious security gaps in chemical plants, aviation, railroads, passenger trains and railroads, buses, border security, the ability of first responders to communicate in an emergency, the importance of protecting privacy, and a whole host of other areas where we must improve security. This bill does not even mention chemical plants or airports. How can we call this an authorization bill?

My substitute, Madam Chairman, addresses all of these areas, and more. First, the substitute makes funding for homeland security a priority. The President's budget and this bill does not fulfill the commitment we made in the 9/11 Act the President signed into law in December, but this substitute meets those challenges.

For example, for just a mere $92 million called for in the 9/11 Act, we could install radiation portal monitors in every port of entry in this country. My substitute offers solutions where the bill does not give the answers. For example, it protects our borders by requiring DHS to put technology in place to ensure that every mile of the border is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It protects our ports by authorizing new port security grants. It protects airlines and prevents hijackings by installing new, in-line baggage screening systems that work better and faster. And, in an area where I strongly disagree with the chairman, we fully sponsor the development of research on how to counter shoulder-fired missiles that terrorists can use to shoot down a plane.

My substitute also strengthens security requirements for chemical plants, which the GAO recently found must have security standards.

Finally, my substitute also recognizes that DHS is a new agency and is not perfect. We provide new authority to protect privacy, sponsor diversity, and create a stronger Inspector General. In the end, if we are going to call something an authorization bill, let us use it to close genuine security gaps. My substitute will do that; this bill will not.

There can be no more wasted time. We must do what it takes now to make America secure.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren).

(Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the Democratic whip.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, this is a substitute that is complete. If you look at it, it addresses all the vulnerabilities of our country; and I ask the body to support it.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) will be postponed.

Sequential Votes Postponed in Committee of the Whole

Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.

I am, Mr. Speaker, in its present form.

Mr. Speaker, last year we passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, which included significant funding boosts for homeland security programs.

When the President signed the 9/11 bill, he made a commitment to our law enforcement personnel. He said, ``We will continue to work with Congress to make sure they have got the resources necessary to do their jobs.''

However, when the President's budget came out in January, it failed to fully fund the programs in the 9/11 Act. Frontline officers tell us that they do not have the resources they need to get the job done. The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Service has been in a hiring freeze since late last year. The border patrol simply does not have the manpower or the support staff to be able to effectively do its job.

Simply signing a bill is not enough. You have got to do what you promised to do. What we have been asking for today, in introducing this bill, is for the President to explain why it is not necessary to fully fund the 9/11 Act to better secure our Nation.

Accountability is the key to homeland security. If the President is not going to make sure that homeland security increases are identified as being needed and are in the budget, then the American people deserve to know why.

Additionally, this motion to recommit addresses a major threat in aviation security. The Rules Committee blocked consideration of this important measure, Mr. Speaker. Every day the TSA fails to inspect the millions of tons of cargo shipped in the belly of passenger planes is yet another day American lives are put at risk.

I urge my colleagues to join me and approve this motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.

Mr. Speaker, the motion to recommit would authorize full funding for all of the homeland security measures called for in the Intelligence Reform Act adopted last year: aviation security research and development, full detection systems, biological, chemical, radiation and explosive materials, passenger baggage screening equipment, air cargo security, Federal air marshals and border security measures.

It also includes a requirement that within 3 years all air cargo on passenger planes be screened.

Mr. Speaker, I ask for a ``yes'' vote on this motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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

I would like at the outset to follow the conversation, saying this committee has worked very well on this legislation. It is bipartisan. The 14 hours we put in working on it in committee went very well. I would like to compliment the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the ranking member of the Emergency Preparedness, Science, and Technology Subcommittee, for his work on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, I support H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act. Our first responders, whether they are firefighters, law enforcement, or EMS providers, are the first line of defense. We must provide them with additional resources, training, and information they need in order to meet the challenges.

Preparing for, preventing, and responding to any large incident is primarily a local responsibility. Still, the Federal Government has a significant role. H.R. 1544 was introduced in April. It was co- sponsored by all the Democrats and Republicans on the Committee on Homeland Security, and it was approved unanimously by voice vote of that same committee. In addition, this bill is supported by every major first responder organization in the country. This version is a compromise that was reached during the 108th Congress in order to pass out of the House of Representatives at that point. The current system for distributing funding to first responders is fundamentally broken and is not getting the funding where it needs to go in a timely fashion.

Currently, funding is distributed solely on the basis of an arbitrary formula that does not consider risk in any part of the country. H.R. 1544 ensures that homeland security funding for first responders is distributed on the basis of risk regardless of community type.

As a former mayor and volunteer firefighter from Mississippi, I am very concerned that the needs of rural America are not adequately being considered when DHS allocates homeland security funding. Maintaining a State minimum of .25 percent for most States and .45 for certain border States strikes a difficult, but necessary, balance. On one hand the government must consider risk in distributing the funding. On the other hand, the government must ensure that each State will have the funding to reach a minimum level of preparedness.

H.R. 1544 does not mean that all funding will go to States and communities with a high population or high threat. For the first time, DHS will assess risk in every community regardless of whether it is urban, suburban, or rural. After all, we do not know where terrorists will strike next.

One issue that is very important to my State is the issue of flood control levees. I worked to ensure that flood control levees are included in the definition of dams on the critical infrastructure.

This bill establishes a First Responder Grant Board to prioritize grant applications using threat, vulnerability, and consequences. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 1544 also helps target funding to the essential capabilities of first responders in order to prevent, prepare for, and respond to acts of terrorism.

But this bill is not perfect, Mr. Chairman. There are personnel shortages that ought to be covered in this program. There are a number of other things that I look forward to working with the chairman on correcting in other legislation. However, for what we have before us today, I am in support of it from the outset. It is the right thing to do. We have to target the resources based on risk. This legislation does that.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes and 15 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge).

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price), a member of the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

(Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), a member of the Committee on Homeland Security as well as the ranking Democrat on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), who has been a constant reminder to us all about needing to do it better.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee), a member of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, at this time we do not have another speaker, and I would like to reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

Mr. Chairman, let me again thank the chairman of the committee for working with the minority on this legislation. It has been a very bipartisan effort. It speaks well for his leadership. I compliment him on it.

I look forward to the passage of this legislation and working on other pieces of legislation of mutual agreement which we have already discussed. It appears that additional legislation will be forthcoming. I would like to thank the ranking member of the committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), for providing me significant leadership in this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Berry) allowing me to speak on his amendment.

My district is reliant on agriculture. This amendment is very supportive of the agriculture through the APHIS program. If the administrator is allowed to participate in the grants board, it will allow us, from an agricultural standpoint, to be adequately considered. I would like to compliment the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Berry) for bringing this to our attention. It is timely in terms of an amendment, and it is something that I am happy to support.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

This amendment would ensure that the First Responder Grant Board would coordinate with State and local governments. Throughout this process we have sought to ensure that State, local, and tribal governments are consulted throughout this process. This amendment would make it crystal clear to DHS that we expect them to listen to State, local, and tribal governments as they make their funding decisions. I support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, in order to speak on this amendment, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, only for the sake of discussion and procedure do I do that, as I am in absolute agreement with the author of the amendment.

This amendment adds an additional paragraph for reimbursement of costs that a State may incur for terrorism preparedness. It would allow for the reimbursement for activities that a State may perform which are traditionally Federal responsibilities. It is common sense, it is the right thing, and I support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox).

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the committee for yielding me this time to speak in opposition to the amendment.

This amendment would limit the number of urban area security initiative grants to 50. I understand what the gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner) is trying to accomplish; and he has to do it, he is from New York. However, it is unreasonable to set an arbitrary number, in this case 50, for the number of UASI or regional grants.

In the bill, we already limit the number of regions by requiring a region to have at least 1.65 million people. This would adequately limit the number of recipients in itself. So I oppose this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

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

This amendment would remove civil liability barriers from the donation of fire equipment for volunteer fire companies. As a former volunteer firefighter from a small community, I understand how important it is to have the equipment you need to protect fellow citizens. Although I am going to support this amendment, the issue needs to be studied further once we get into conference. I am concerned that there are no assurances that the equipment would perform as expected, and therefore, many of the firefighters who would use this equipment potentially could be harmed.

We must ensure that our firefighters are adequately protected.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 188, a bipartisan resolution that I have offered, along with the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), honoring the service and sacrifices of our Nation's firefighters.

I am a former volunteer firefighter, so I understand what our 1.1 million firefighters give up in the name of service. Our firefighters, whether they are paid or volunteer, put their lives at risk with every call they must answer.

Our paid firefighters are active in many charitable activities that benefit our communities. They lose time away from their families. They train and prepare, yet they never complain. Madam Speaker, in the case of volunteer firefighters, they often have to devote time in raising money to purchase equipment and pay for training that will keep them safe while they protect us and our property.

Sadly, each year over 100 firefighters lose their lives in the line of duty. I encourage every Member of Congress to pay a visit to the National Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

From my home State of Mississippi in 2004, two firefighters were killed in the line of duty. Those two firefighters, Elliott Davis, Jr., and Terrie Eiland, paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect their fellow citizens.

Recently, Mississippi constructed a memorial park in Pearl, Mississippi, to honor the 67 firefighters from the State who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. We all vividly remember the heroism of the firefighters in New York on 9/11; over 340 firefighters lost their lives on this horrific day.

It is impossible to know, Madam Speaker, how many thousands of lives the selfless response of the New York firefighters saved that day. Our firefighters and other first responders are the first line of defense for many incidents of terrorism or national disaster.

This week over 2,000 fire service leaders from around the United States are in Washington to attend the 17th annual Natural Fire and Emergency Services dinner and seminar. These fine men and women are here to learn more about what we are doing in Washington to support firefighters.

At the same time, we can learn a great deal from them. These men and women are the living embodiment of what makes this country so great. I encourage each Member of Congress to take time from their schedules to meet with their local fire service representatives who are in town.

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pride to stand before this body in support of House Resolution 188, a measure that honors and recognizes firefighters for their many contributions throughout our history. In many respects, this measure says thank you to all firefighters for all of the sacrifices, the dedication, and the commitment they continually display in protecting our towns, cities, States, and our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to express my condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent David Wilhelm who was killed by a gunman in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend. I join Agent Wilhelm's family, including the law enforcement community in America, in mourning the tragic loss of Agent Wilhelm.

Mr. Wilhelm dedicated his 18-year career in law enforcement to protecting America. He was one of the many men and women who put their lives on the line every single day, no matter what the danger. He was one of the good guys who helped to make America safer by putting away the bad guys. His specialty was investigating financial crimes, narcotics smuggling, and human smuggling.

Agent Wilhelm's service was distinguished. He was awarded the 2001 Blue Eagle Award for his work on a narcotics investigation--Operation Prospero. Mr. Wilhelm received the award because he went far beyond the call of duty. Indeed, he was the sole recipient of the award in 2001.

Agent Wilhelm's service will not be forgotten. His service will be remembered every day as our law enforcement officers continue his work, carrying on the mission Agent Wilhelm loved so much and did so well.

I would also like to extend my sincere sympathies to the families of Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, Julie Brandau, and Hoyt Teasley, who were killed at the Fulton County Courthouse. Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones as well. Their lives will be remembered in the work we do here in Congress.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to recognize China's National People Congress current meeting in Beijing. One of the most controversial bills under consideration is the Anti-secession Law targeted at Taiwan. If enacted, the law will give Chinese leaders the authority to annex Taiwan by force if Taiwanese leaders are found promoting Taiwan independence. This law is very unfriendly to Taiwan and I understand it has aroused public outcry and protests throughout Taiwan.

Understandably the leaders and people of Taiwan are disturbed by this proposed law. It is their position that Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China. They also feel there is no legal basis or justification for China's territorial claims. I believe the people of Taiwan value a free and democratic way of life and they would like to co-exist with the Chinese people on the mainland peacefully. The economic and cultural relations between Taiwan and China should be developed on the principles of peace, faith, trust and mutual respect.

The proposed law represents a unilateral change of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and threatens regional peace and security. Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has said that he is willing to dialogue with the Chinese leaders and discuss issues of mutual interest including eventual reunification of Taiwan and China. Both Taiwan and China desire peace and co-existence, and they should be able to work out their differences without enacting this new law.

Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in urging the Chinese leaders not to enact the Anti-secession law.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize outstanding African Americans of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi, and their contribution to Black History. The 23 counties of the 2nd District are well represented from both a local and national perspective.

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as ``Negro History Week'' and later as ``Black History Month.'' In fact, black history had barely begun to be studied--or even documented--when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a presence in our history books.

Though scarcely documented in history books, if at all, the crucial role African Americans have played in the development of our nation must not be overlooked.

I would like to recognize Judge Tomie Zean Turner Green of Hinds County. Educated in Jackson Public Schools, upon completing the 11th grade at Jim Hill School, Judge Green entered Tougaloo College where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree. She earned a Master of Science degree from Jackson State University, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Mississippi College School of Law.

Judge Green served in the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1992-1998 and served as the Vice Chair of Ethics and as sub-chair of the Judiciary A committee. She also served on the Elections, Insurance, the Managed Care and Local & Private Legislation, Constitution and Investigation of State Offices committees. In 1999, Judge Green took the oath of office to become the first woman elected to the Hinds County Circuit Court. Since that time Judge Green has increased the accessibility and efficiency to the court by shifting judicial operations. Since she took the bench, Judge Green has served on the Judiciary Advisory Committee on Rules, and the Supreme Court's Committee on Media and the Courts.

Judge Green is best noted for in Hinds County for her sponsorship and support of the several laws such as the Municipal Public Hazard Law; Illegal Acts on Premises Law; the Professional Licensure and Child Welfare and Child Support Enforcement Act, etc. Additionally, Judge Green has sought legislation to insure fairness for workers injured while on the job; raise the age for minors to legally possess a handgun from 18 to 21 years of age; to build and fund a stadium for Jackson State University; to establish a law school at Jackson State University; and to increase the opportunity and participation of minorities in state contracts for goods and services.

In addition to her dedication and commitment to her career, Judge Green has also expressed the same to her community. Judge Green is currently a member of the St. Peter Baptist Church of Jackson, MS. She is a member of the Magnolia Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the Hinds County Bar Association, Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity. Other memberships have included: Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), MS League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women and Central Mississippi Coalition of 100 Black Women.

I take great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to this outstanding African American of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi who deserves mention, not only in the month of February but year round.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize outstanding African Americans of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi, and their contribution to Black History. The 23 counties of the 2nd District are well represented from both a local and national perspective.

Americans have recognized Black History annually since 1926, first as ``Negro History Week'' and later as ``Black History Month.'' In fact, Black History had barely begun to be studied--or even documented--when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a presence in our history books.

Though scarcely documented in history books, if at all, the crucial role African Americans have played in the development of our Nation must not be overlooked.

I would like to recognize Aurelia Jones-Taylor of Coahoma County. In 1989, Ms. Taylor met the challenge to journey to Clarksdale, Coahoma County, MS to assume the position of Executive Director for the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center, Inc. after completion of her training for a community health center director at John-Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Upon her arrival, the center, founded in 1979, was operating on a $190,000 grant. It had lost several Federal grants, the books were in bad shape, many of the staff had left and there were numbers of other administrative problems. The Clarksdale office had closed, only leaving the Tunica office functioning with limited services on limited funding. Ms. Taylor's first task was to build a strong, cooperative management team with good skills. Secondly, she had to develop proposals and write grants to fund the diverse programs needed to serve the community.

Today, the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center, Inc., operates clinically in six counties from 10 sites (to include school- based clinics and a mobile medical unit) with over 150 employees on a $10M budget. Among those facilities are two new structures--one erected in 1995 in Tunica, MS--approximately 5,900 square feet and the newest facility in Clarksdale, MS--approximately 12,000 square feet.

In addition, Aurelia has built a rural general public transportation program under the name Delta Area Rural Transit System in seven rural Northwest MS Delta counties generating over 207,000 trips per year. These services include employee work routes, TANF eligible work- activity services, elderly and disabled human needs services, healthcare non-emergency transit, mental health work activity, shopping and other social services needs.

I take great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to this outstanding African American of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi who deserves mention, not only in the month of February but year round.

Mr. Speaker, throughout the month of February, I would like to recognize outstanding African Americans of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi, and their contribution to Black History. The 23 counties of the 2nd District are well represented from both a local and national perspective.

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as ``Negro History Week'' and later as ``Black History Month.'' In fact, black history had barely begun to be studied--or even documented--when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a presence in our history books.

Though scarcely documented in history books, if at all, the crucial role African Americans have played in the development of our Nation must not be overlooked.

I would like to recognize Mr. James Gales of Jefferson County, Mississippi, born May 18, 1922. Mr. Gales attended the Jefferson County Training School until sixth grade.

In 1940, Mr. Gales began public work as a construction worker for Shepp Time Construction Company and helped build the Natchez Trace. Following his work at Shepp Time Construction he went on to work for the WPA and construct many of the streets in Jefferson County. In addition, he assisted in erecting the Jefferson County Jail in 1942. He later went on to work for the Illinois Central Railroad.

In February 1944 he volunteered for the United States Army and started his service at Camp Shelby and later to Fort Bennitt, Georgia. After basic training he worked in the battalion headquarters breaking down rations, supplies, for four companies in the Services. In 1946, Mr. Gales attended Alcorn A & M College and later worked for the International Paper Company, working there until 1984.

Mr. Gales was very active in the civil rights movement and joined the NAACP in 1954. Through his commitment and activism in the civil rights movement, he played significant role in electing Jefferson County's first black mayor since Reconstruction, Charles Evers, as well as five city aldermen.

I take great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to this outstanding African American of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi who deserves mention, not only in the month of February but year round.

Mr. Speaker, throughout the month of February, I would like to recognize outstanding African Americans of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi, and their contribution to Black History. The 23 counties of the 2nd District are well represented from both a local and national perspective.

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as ``Negro History Week'' and later as ``Black History Month.'' In fact, black history had barely begun to be studied--or even documented--when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a presence in our history books.

Though scarcely documented in history books, if at all, the crucial role African Americans have played in the development of our nation must not be overlooked.

I would like to recognize Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Pippins Gates, of Leake County, Mississippi. Mrs. Gates is a graduate of Baldwyn High School and received her high school diploma at the age of 15. Ms. Gates continued her education and entered Mississippi Industrial College in Holly Springs, MS where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education. Mrs. Gates later received Master's degrees in Library Science from Delta State University, Cleveland, MS and in School Administration from Jackson State University, Jackson, MS. In addition, she has done additional study at Mississippi State University and at the University of Southern University.

Mrs. Gates began her teaching career at Conway Attendance Center in Conway, Mississippi. She also served as an elementary teacher at South Leake Attendance Center in Walnut Grove, MS. Mrs. Gates served as President of the Bolivar County Teachers Association and the Leake County Association of Educators. She served as full-time state president of the Mississippi Association of Educators in 1982-1983. She was appointed by Governor William Winter to serve on the first Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification, and Development. She served as chairperson of the Board of Directors of the East Central Community Action Agency for eight years. Mrs. Gates retired from the Leake County School district after 40 years of dedicated service to education.

Mrs. Gates served as First Vice-President of the Leake County Branch NAACP for twenty years and is presently serving her 4th year as President. She is a member of the Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She is currently serving as a member of the Thomastown Attendance Center Improvement Committee.

Mrs. Gates has received numerous awards for distinguished service to public education and civil rights which have included Outstanding Achievement in Education presented by the Leake County Branch NAACP, Outstanding Achievement in Human Relations from the Mississippi Association of Educators, Exemplary Service in the Promotion of Literacy from the International Reading Association and Distinguished and Dedicated Service as President of the Mississippi Association of Educators.

I take great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to this outstanding African American of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi who deserves mention, not only in the month of February but year round.

Mr. Speaker, throughout the month of February, I would like to recognize outstanding African Americans of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi, and their contribution to Black History. The 23 counties of the 2nd District are well represented from both a local and national perspective.

Americans have recognized black history annually since 1926, first as ``Negro History Week'' and later as ``Black History Month.'' In fact, black history had barely begun to be studied--or even documented--when the tradition originated. Although blacks have been in America as far back as colonial times, it was not until the 20th century that they gained a presence in our history books.

Though scarcely documented in history books, if at all, the crucial role African Americans have played in the development of our Nation must not be overlooked.

I would like to recognize Edwin E. Searcy, M.D. Family Practitioner of Bolivar County. Dr. Searcy is a member of the hospital staff at Bolivar Medical Center in Cleveland, Mississippi.

Dr. Searcy is a native of Cleveland, MS and received his undergraduate degree from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and his medical degree from The University of Mississippi Medical School in Jackson, MS. Dr. Searcy completed a residency in Family Practice at The University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, MS. He is the son of the late Dr. Rupert T. Searcy and Mrs. E.W. Searcy and has served as a physician for the past twenty-eight years.

Dr. Searcy is a member of the Mississippi State Medical Association Board. He was also selected by the Governor of the State of Mississippi to serve as a member on The State Board of Physical Therapy.

I take great pride in recognizing and paying tribute to this outstanding African American of the 2nd Congressional District of Mississippi who deserves mention, not only in the month of February but year round.