Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 25, I was away due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 26, I was away due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 27, I was away due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 28, I was away due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 23, I was away due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 24, I was away due to a family emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1396) to authorize a major medical facility project to modernize inpatient wards at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

I want to thank all the Congress colleagues from Georgia, especially my Atlanta colleagues Mr. Johnson and Mr. Lewis, and especially the Senator from Georgia, Senator Isakson, for making sure this is on the floor today.

The poor state of a lot of the infrastructure of the Veterans Affairs is well-known.

Through what we call the CARES process, the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services, the department found that the existing inpatient wards at the Atlanta VA Medical Center are far below community standards.

This renovation project will go a long way to address the American with Disabilities Act accessibility requirements, the needs of women veterans, particularly as they relate to privacy issues, and the improvements in efficient functional design.

These deficiency corrections are long overdue, and we think they will be met

here. These infrastructure improvements to utility systems will include the plumbing, electrical, fire and safety concerns on the inpatient floors.

With the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is even more important that the VA is able to provide the best health care available in the most updated and modern facilities.

In fiscal year 2005, this project received $20.5 million, and S. 1396 provides the reauthorization of this project to move forward.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Buyer, for his cooperation. I know that he has great respect for the CARES process and would like to consider all of the facilities in one construction bill. We are pledged to do that early next year, but I think this is an obvious need at this moment, and I look forward to working with the ranking member to make sure we meet the needs of VA infrastructure across the whole country, and we intend to work together and do that early next year.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

I'm prepared to yield back when the gentleman from Indiana yields back.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 1396.

Madam Speaker, again, I thank Mr. Buyer for his comments. Putting this bill on the floor as quickly as we did shows what can happen when we work together. I'm looking forward to that mutual discussion of priorities. We are pledged to deal with this aging infrastructure of the VA. It has got to be remedied as quickly as possible, and we're both committed to working to do that.

So I urge my colleagues to support S. 1396.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to take reasonable steps to prevent avoidable disasters related to seismic activity in connection with the lease and development of non-excess property of military departments, H.R. 4719.

In San Diego. California, the Department of the Navy is planning a mixed-use development along the downtown waterfront that will incorporate not only a new Navy headquarters, but also business, commercial, and housing elements. It has come to my attention that the land in question is within the Uniform Building Code, UBC, Seismic Zone 4.

My bill requires the lease for this development to be revoked unless the Secretary of the Navy determines that seismic activity would not have any significant impact on any

portion of the proposed development. My bill would also extend this requirement to other leases on which no substantial construction has already begun.

In my view, it is only reasonable to require a scientific review of this issue before construction begins. Please support H.R. 4719.

Madam Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to speak about a bill that I have just introduced that recognizes and honors the service and sacrifice of many members of the United States Armed Forces who fought in Vietnam, H.R. 4720, the ``In Memory Medal for Forgotten Veterans Act''.

Those so recognized are veterans who have died as a result of their service in the Vietnam War but who do not meet the criteria for inclusion on The Wall of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund has a program called ``In Memory'' which has raised money for a plaque that has been placed near The Wall. The plaque honors ``those who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service''. No names are on the plaque, but all names are kept in the ``In Memory Book'' at a kiosk near The Wall, and families can order a copy.

My bill adds to this recognition by presenting the families of these veterans with a medal, to be known as the ``Jesus (Chuchi) Salgado Medal'' to be issued by the Secretary of Defense. Chuchi Salgado was an outstanding individual who lived in my Congressional district, whose exposure to Agent Orange ultimately led to his death. His relatives continue to live in my district.

Because of the boundaries that have been set for the names to be placed on The Wall, Chuchi and many, many other Vietnam veterans are not honored in this manner. Now, with new veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, we are all taking a second look and a closer look at how veterans from past wars have been treated. While we must care for the newer veterans, we must also take this opportunity to do right by veterans of Vietnam, along with other past wars and conflicts.

I invite my colleagues to join with me in honoring these veterans. It is critical that we remember those who have fought so gallantly and sacrificed their lives for our freedom! Please join me in supporting

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 855) providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 797, with amendments.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007.

I was glad to be able to work with my colleagues on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, on both sides of the aisle and in both Houses, to get here. I want to thank Mr. Rangel and his staff for their guidance on the provision that fell under the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee.

I especially want to thank our colleague from Madison, Wisconsin, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, who led the effort for this, who got it to the floor today and who will explain it in whatever detail she thinks is important.

I note that this bill was previously introduced in the last Congress; however, it never became law. I am glad this Congress has the opportunity to do more for our blind and vision impaired veterans.

The Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007, named after a noted physician and ocular pioneer who worked for over 35 years in the VA, would allow veterans who receive veterans' disability compensation for impairment of vision in one eye to be eligible to receive additional disability compensation for impairment of vision in the eye that is not service-connected, where the impairment in each eye is to a visual acuity of 20/200 or less or of a peripheral field of 20 degrees or less (the definition of ``legal blindness'' adopted by all 50 states and the Social Security Administration.)

H.R. 797 also directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to match and compare VA needs- based pension benefits data, parents' dependency and indemnity compensation data, health-care services data, and unemployability compensation data with the National Directory of New Hires maintained by DHHS, for the purpose of determining eligibility for such benefits and services.

It would also authorize $5 million for establishing, improving and expanding for the operation and maintenance of state-owned veterans' cemeteries. Additionally, the bill will repeal the time limitation for States to file for reimbursement costs for interring unclaimed veterans' remains, making it retroactive to October 1, 2006.

Finally, this measure extends the authorization of the veterans work study program until 2010.

This bill affects an estimated 5 percent of the 13,109 veterans who have service-connected blindness or loss of vision in one eye. As of September 17, 2007, 1,129 service members have sustained serious eye wounds in combat according to the Defense Armed Forces Institute of Surgical Pathology (any of which may later lead to blindness).

Also, it is reported that many of the over 4,400 traumatic brain- injured OIF/OEF servicemembers will likely suffer from serious vision- related complications and at least 57 percent of all eye injuries of this war are caused by lED explosions.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center alone has treated close to 540 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom service members for visual injuries and over 230 of our soldiers unfortunately have sustained legal blindness in one eye.

It is worth noting, that in 2002, Congress passed and the President signed Public Law 107-330, which included a provision to correct a similar deficiency in the Paired Organ law for hearing loss. In 2006, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs held a legislative hearing and received favorable testimony on H.R. 2963, a bill similar to H.R. 797. In that hearing, the VA supported H.R. 2963.

This is important and meaningful legislation for our men and women in uniform--who have fought and are fighting for our country.

I urge my colleagues to support passage of this resolution and urge swift consideration of the Dr. James Allen Veteran Vision Equity Act of 2007 by the Senate before the end of this session of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I yield whatever time she may consume to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin).

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

Mr. Speaker, at this time I will include in the Record an article published in the Ophthalmic News on protective eye gear, and I urge my colleagues to unanimously support this resolution.

[From Ophthalmology Times, May 1, 2007]

Protective Eye Gear Essential for Modern Soldier: Ocular Injuries Have

Climbed to Number 4 Slot Behind Amputation, Traumatic Brain Injury,

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on House Resolution 855.

Madam Speaker, on Monday, December 10, the United States joins the world in celebration of Human Rights Day, remembering the historic occasion when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document affirms the elementary rights that belong to all humankind.

Nearly six decades after the adoption of this critical Declaration, and 46 years after I joined the first Freedom Rides to uphold civil and human rights for all citizens of the United States, there are still many people around the globe struggling to gain the rights that we as Americans hold dear.

The plight of one man, Ayman Nour, is emblematic of the myriad injustices that continue to afflict our fellow citizens of the world today. Nour, a parliamentarian and a leading voice for democracy in Egypt, was arrested and jailed in 2005 after his candidacy in the country's first open presidential election. He was charged with forgery, but his imprisonment is widely understood as a political move by the Egyptian government to crack down on the opposition. The illegitimate nature of the charges against him, along with Nour's serious health concerns, including heart problems and diabetes, are grounds for his immediate release. This week, however, Nour enters the third year of his 5-year sentence with little reason for optimism. His latest appeal was rejected earlier this year after the state-sponsored Egyptian media launched a smear campaign against him.

Nour is not the only victim of this crackdown. Judges, journalists, ethnic and religious minorities, civil society and human rights activists, and everyday citizens have all been targeted. Nour and countless others fighting for their fundamental freedoms continue to look to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as an ideal, not as a reality. For the millions who have suffered greatly, Nour's release would symbolize a recommitment to the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as cited in the Declaration's Preamble.

On this Human Rights Day, in the spirit of cooperation between nations, I urge the Egyptian government to release Ayman Nour, and to uphold its stated commitment to civil and human rights.

I thank the gentlelady, and I thank you for your leadership, which has come very early in your congressional career. It's nice to be here. Thank you for allowing a Congressman from San Diego to join you in this celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Port of Los Angeles.

As a representative of San Diego, there are a lot of things we don't want to imitate about Los Angeles, but we look with envy at the economic engine that the Port of Los Angeles represents. It is truly, and I say this with some envy, Southern California's gateway to international commerce, maintaining its competitive edge with record- setting cargo operations, groundbreaking environmental issues, progressive security measures, and diverse recreational and educational facilities.

The port's economic contributions are far-reaching. The port is connected directly and indirectly with tens of billions of dollars in industry sales each year in the Southern California region and in the Nation, translating into hundreds of thousands of local jobs and billions of dollars in wages, salaries and State and local taxes.

One out of every 24 jobs in Southern California is generated by the port. That's almost 260,000. One out of every $23 paid in wages and salaries, almost $9 billion, comes from the Port of Los Angeles.

Almost 1\1/2\ million jobs are generated nationwide, and the port generates almost $1.5 billion in State and local taxes.

So this economic engine is far-reaching. We marvel at what you have produced there. We hope to take away sometime some of the congestion that the previous gentleman talked about by expanding our Port of San Diego, but we look at you again for a model of how to do these things. At least one business in every congressional district in this Nation imports or exports goods through the Los Angeles port complex. It is truly America's gateway, and we have an opportunity provided by you to recognize the 100th anniversary, and we hope there is unanimous support for your resolution.

Madam Speaker, I would like to call to your attention H.R. 4254, the Fair Taxes for Seniors Act, a bill I have just introduced that would provide financial relief to our Nation's senior citizens.

The Fair Taxes for Seniors Act would provide a one-time increase in the capital gains tax exemption on the sale of a home for citizens who are 50 or older. While home prices have decreased from their all-time high, the tax burden is still there for senior citizens who have lived in their home for many years. Passing this bill would give many seniors the additional money they need for nursing home care, medical costs, and other retirement expenses.

The current capital gains tax exemption works well for younger people who often move from job to job, selling their homes. The current exemption works well for people who live in areas where housing prices are below average. But it is not working for individuals who have lived in one home for 20 to 50 years and have a capital gain that is much larger than the present exemption. In other words, it is not working for seniors who live in areas with higher housing prices who end up paying thousands in capital gains taxes.

My bill would provide a one-time increase to $500,000 for a single person and $1 million for a couple in the amount that can be excluded from the sale of a principal residence for taxpayers who have reached the age of 50. Let us help our citizens over age 50 who have lived in one home for many years and who need the proceeds from the sale of their home for retirement and health care costs. An added benefit is that family members and perhaps the government will be relieved of the burden of caring for these individuals as they grow older.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I would like to call your attention to H.R. 4255, the ``United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Paralympic Program Act of 2007.''

This legislation authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide grants to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to plan, develop, manage, and implement a Paralympic Program for disabled veterans and servicemembers.

Paralympics, sports for the physically disabled, traces its origins to World War II when the paralympic movement began to offer sports as a form of rehabilitation for the injured veterans of that era. Paralympic activity has a proven track record in terms of rehabilitation and improving the quality of life for the physically disabled. Paralympics also improves the mobility, vitality, physical, psychological, and social well-being of disabled veterans while reducing their incidence of secondary medical conditions.

It is particularly important that the thousands of injured military and veterans returning to the United States after service in Iraq and Afghanistan be afforded the chance to participate in such paralympic activities as part of their rehabilitation, both while on active duty and when, as veterans, they return to their home communities.

The United States Olympic Committee is particularly well-suited to plan and institute a Paralympic Program for our military and veterans. In 1998, Congress passed the ``Olympic and Amateur Sports Act Amendments,'' which charged the USOC with the responsibility of encouraging and assisting amateur athletic programs and competitions for athletes with disabilities. Since that time, the USOC has led a resurgence in paralympic sports in the United States.

When our injured servicemembers began returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, the USOC began offering Paralympic Military Sports Camps at its training facilities, including at the USOC training facility in my district in Chula Vista, California. To date, over 1,200 injured veterans have been introduced to paralympic sports as a result of these training camps. The USOC has spent millions of dollars on this military and veteran Paralympics Program and will continue to support these efforts. However, with so many injured military and veterans, much more needs to be done.

The paralympic sports camps of the USOC last for a week at a time. The USOC is also beginning an effort to bring paralympic sports to various locations throughout the country. It is imperative that we expand these efforts so that once our injured military personnel graduate to veteran status, they will be able to participate year round in their own communities in paralympic activities as part of their continuing rehabilitation.

Under this program, the USOC will develop community-based Paralympic Programs that provide services and activities for disabled veterans and servicemembers. These activities will include instruction and competition in paralympic sports, training and technical assistance and other program-specific medical and personal care support activities necessary to create a network of community-based Paralympic Programs easily accessible to our injured veterans.

This legislation also requires the Secretary to conduct an outreach program to inform all disabled veterans about the existence of the Paralympic Program and to encourage their participation. Although non- veterans may participate in these community-based programs, the funds authorized by this legislation can only be used to support activities and services for disabled veterans and servicemembers.

The purpose of this program is to enhance the rehabilitation, readiness, and quality of life of severely injured servicemembers and veterans. There is great urgency to implement this expanded program as quickly as possible in order to motivate, teach, and inspire veterans at all stages of recovery and to return them to a lifestyle full of activity, accomplishment, and enjoyment in their own communities.

I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation. We owe it to those who have given their all for their country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation intended to simplify the charitable giving rules for automobile donations, H.R. 4090.

As you know, in 2004, Congress enacted legislation that imposed new reporting requirements on individuals and charities for automobile donations. This legislation has had the unintended consequence of reducing the number of automobiles donated to charities in my district. The corresponding loss in revenue and reduction in services offered by these charities has hurt the San Diego region.

To correct this situation, my bill will exempt certain charities from the reporting requirements of the 2004 law. My bill is targeted only to those charities that operate ``in-house'' vehicle donation programs and that retain at least 80 percent of the proceeds from their vehicle donation programs.

I invite my colleagues to join me as cosponsors of this legislation to simplify the vehicle donation process for charitable organizations across the United States.