Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 230, final passage of S. 193, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 231, motion to recommit on H.R. 5254, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 232, final passage of H.R. 5254, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 233, final passage of H.R. 5449, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 234, final passage of S. 2803, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 223, the King of Iowa amendment to H.R. 5441, I was in my Congressional district on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment Offered by Mr. Kingston

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 224, the Kingston amendment to H.R. 5441, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 225, table the Motion to Recommit H.R. 5441, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 226, final passage of H.R. 5441, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, as we near Memorial Day, it is especially important to recognize the dedication of the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces over the years. Across the country on Monday, flags will be flown, parades will be held, and many Americans will enjoy a day off work. However, truly honoring our veterans means making sure their needs are met every day of the year, not just on one day in May.

Democrats believe strongly in providing for America's veterans. That is why we introduced the New GI Bill for the 21st Century, comprehensive legislation that will strengthen benefits for veterans and military retirees, as well as the men and women serving our country today.

Unfortunately, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not seem to

share this same dedication to fully funding veterans programs. In fact, the Republicans recently passed a 5-year budget that cuts veteran health care by $6 billion, even as hundreds of thousands of new veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan in need of VA care. They yell ``support our troops, support our troops,'' but these returning men and women will have to wait almost a year for some appointments.

Mr. Speaker, the brave men and women who risk their lives in our Armed Forces deserve more than just our respect. They also deserve the quality health care we promised them when they enlisted.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, and I thank Mr. Miller of Florida.

I rise in strong support of this Veterans' Housing Opportunity and Benefits Improvement Act that is before us. This is bipartisan legislation and includes several provisions introduced by both Democrats and Republicans. It demonstrates what can be accomplished when we work together to deliver the best to our Nation's veterans, and again, I thank Chairman Miller and all the Members on his side for bringing to us this bipartisan legislation.

One of the most important parts of the bill is the reauthorization of appropriations for the Labor Department's Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), through fiscal year 2009 with a maximum level of $50 million per year. This program has proven to be very successful in providing job training and other services that help our Nation's veterans get back into productive lives.

Mr. Speaker, together with the ranking member, Mr. Evans, I convened a homeless veterans forum just last Thursday, May 18. We heard some very tough statistics, hard-to-hear statistics about our Nation's veterans. Each night as many as 200,000 veterans are sleeping in a doorway, under a bridge, in an alley, in a box, in a barn or a car or homeless shelter. In fact, one out of every three homeless males is a veteran, most of those from Vietnam. A hard-to-believe fact is that the number of homeless Vietnam-era veterans is greater, Mr. Speaker, than the number of servicemembers who died during that war. This is almost unbelievable, and Congress must renew efforts to fight this plague.

Women veterans, unfortunately, are also joining the ranks of the homeless. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, a survey of their members revealed that the percentage of women among homeless vets rose from 2 percent in 1966 to 7 percent at the end of 2005. Women who have served in the military are up to four times more likely to become homeless when compared with their peers in the general population. These statistics demonstrate the importance of passing S. 1235.

At the forum last week, we heard from a woman veteran, formerly homeless. Her story is one of a courageous person who fought for years to overcome the problems that kept her homeless. At the Mary E. Walker House on the grounds of the VA Coatesville Medical Center in Pennsylvania, she finally was able to get the assistance she needed to reestablish her life, regain her children and begin again. While testifying, tears came to her eyes. She said they were tears of joy at what the VA program had helped her accomplish.

We heard also about the success of the Stand Downs, which began in my home town of San Diego in 1988 and provide a one-stop 3-day event to provide all the services needed by homeless vets; that is, counseling, clothing, food, medical and dental, assistance with job applications.

We know how to help our vets. We have to bring together all these services in one place. And rather than have 3-day Stand Downs around the country, we ought to have these services available to our veterans everyday. In addition, the Homeless Court Program, which began a few years ago, brings the court to homeless shelters to assist homeless defendants in resolving outstanding cases that prevent them from getting jobs and moving forward.

I would also like to call attention to another important successful program not in this bill before us today, the VA Homeless Grant and Per Diem program which directs funding to providers of housing and traditional services for homeless vets. I believe this program should be given an authorized annual spending level of $130 million for the next 5 years. This would mean that the funding level would increase each year to reach by increments the $130 million level.

Our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee have authorized this program through September of 2007. I suggest our committee take steps to continue the authorization of this program through 2012.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard of other important components of this bill, improvements in employment, life and health insurance, adapted housing, and housing loans to Native American veterans. I would like to thank Chairman Buyer, Ranking Member Evans, and the chairman and ranking members of the subcommittees and their staff who diligently worked to make this bill a reality. I urge the passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, the ``Tax Cut for the Rest of Us'' Act of 2006 (H.R. 5257) transforms the standard income tax deduction into a ``refundable'' standard tax credit. Doing so will not only simplify the tax code, but put

more money into the pockets of poor Americans.

For 25 years, refundable tax credits--such as the Earned Income Tax Credit and the ``additional child tax credit''--have proven to be simple, effective ways to help the poor.

The logical next step is to transform the standard deduction and personal exemptions into a refundable standard tax credit (STC) of $2,000 for each adult and $1,000 for each child. The STC will provide all the poor with a small but badly needed tax credit, and give a tax cut to virtually everyone who chooses not to itemize their deductions.

Transforming the standard deduction into a refundable tax credit will not eliminate poverty, but it will be an enormous benefit to the poor who were completely overlooked by the Bush tax cuts. The poor pay sales taxes, property taxes, and many other taxes, but because they do not pay very much in income tax, they have little to gain from tax simplification unless it includes something like the STC.

Transforming the standard deduction into a standard tax credit will give a tax cut to those who need it most. Now is the time to pass a ``Tax Cut for the Rest of Us.''

Madam Speaker, it is hard to believe that when President Bush took office in 2001, the average price of gasoline was $1.65. Since that time, on both the President and Congressional Republicans' watch, gas prices have doubled, leaving everyday families squeezed to afford other necessities.

Washington Republicans have had 5 years to develop a comprehensive energy proposal that would not only free America from reliance on Middle East oil, but would also crack down on price gouging and market manipulation. Instead, almost immediately after taking office, the Vice President began holding secret meetings with oil and gas company executives to create a special-interest energy plan. The secret Bush administration energy plan was finally rubber-stamped by the Republican Congress last year.

Under this energy plan, oil companies got at least $20 billion in both tax breaks and royalty-free drilling rights, while hardworking Americans got stuck with the bill.

It is no wonder that their initials are G-O-P: Gas, Oil and Petroleum. Democrats refuse to do the dirty work of the special interests and are demanding that this Congress crack down on price gouging. It is time House Republicans join us in providing some real relief to the American consumer.

Mr. Speaker, today I acknowledge a great friend of the legal community, Judge J. William Beard, who passed away last month at the age of 85.

Born March 20, 1920 in Chicago, Judge Beard moved with his family to the San Fernando Valley in 1925. He attended the University of Redlands before enlisting in the Army Air Forces during World War II.

Leaving the military as a lieutenant, Judge Beard married Ann Dodgen in October 1945 and returned to his Los Angeles-area roots. As an aspiring lawyer, he opened a legal messenger service and attended Southwestern University School of Law.

In 1951, two years after graduating and passing the State Bar, Judge Beard joined the District Attorney's Office in El Centro, which is located in my district in Imperial County, California. Several months later, he opened a private practice. One of his subsequent law partners, Cruz Reynoso, became the first Latino appointed to the California Supreme Court in 1982.

When future U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston and other Democratic leaders formed the California Democratic Council in 1952, Judge Beard became a charter member. He interrupted his legal career to serve as an Imperial County-based state senator from 1957 to 1961 (District 39), and was appointed to the El Cajon Municipal Court bench in 1980.

As a recovering alcoholic, Judge Beard was active in the state Bar Association's committee on Alcohol Abuse. He started a support group for alcoholic legal professionals and doctors in the 1970s. Judge Beard believed that his background with alcoholism provided him with insights into the human psyche that were invaluable in the courtroom.

Later, while serving on the Municipal Court bench in El Cajon, he handled small claims court cases in Ramona. The informal, rural setting provided an intimacy that he found lacking in a larger venue.

By the time he retired a decade later, he had also established an alcohol counseling program for drunken drivers at the El Cajon court-- one of the first of its kind in the county. In retirement, Judge Beard served on the state Medical Assurance Board and spoke at 12-step recovery meetings.

Judge Beard's passing will not only be felt in the legal community but society as a whole, as Judge Beard was a humanitarian who truly cared for his fellow human beings.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 44, H.R. 4944, I was en route from my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 42, H. Con. Res. 190, I was en route from my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have vote ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 39, on H. Con. Res. 354, I was en route from my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

I want to thank Chairman Souder and Ranking Member Cummings for bringing us this bill, and I have an amendment based on my experience as the Congressman that represents the whole California-Mexico border.

Just a few weeks ago, we discovered almost a mile-long tunnel, half on each side of the border, in my district. We all like to take credit for things in our district, but this is one that I do not take credit for.

It was a very sophisticated tunnel the way it was constructed, the way it was shored up, the way it drained water, and it was even air- conditioned. We found 2 tons of marijuana that was left behind. Who knows what went through that tunnel, whether it was people, drugs or potentially weapons of mass destruction?

Thinking about that and looking at the reaction we had in San Diego over those tunnels, I thought we should slightly amend this bill to authorize the ONDCP to coordinate with all relevant agencies to combat border tunnels that are used to smuggle drugs, people, and could potentially be used to smuggle terrorists and their weapons, specifically between California and Mexico.

It gives the office authority to join in the development and implementation of a strategy to fight these subterranean border tunnels and requires that the office submit to Congress a recommendation for penalties for those involved either in digging or using these tunnels.

We have been dealing with this issue over many years. Eight tunnels between San Diego and Tijuana have been discovered this year alone, and there have been over 20 tunnels discovered in the last decade.

We know that with all of the fences that we are building, double fences, triple fences, walls, what we have here is an easy way under all of those fences that we are building. So we need to have a far more coordinated policy. There is not even a law against tunneling under the border! There are laws for smuggling and for other parts of the crime, but not specifically for tunneling under our international border. So we have to take note of them. We have to concentrate and focus our efforts. We have to understand that terrorism can find a whole new approach to getting into the United States through these tunnels underneath our international border. They are a threat to us and America. They allow drugs and people to come through.

These are busy times for the Border Patrol, the customs agents, immigration folks; but if we are going to send these agencies to fight a war on drugs, to fight a war against illegal behavior, we have to send them the proper tools. I believe this amendment will do it.

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

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

I want to thank the chairman for his leadership on these issues, for coming personally to the border to see the situation. Through my district, Mr. Chairman, every day 300,000 people go back and forth legally. That is the movement of a major amount of people, and we have to do that efficiently. But within that amount of movement, people take advantage with illegal movement. That is what we have to try to get at. We have to try to get at the illegal while making it efficient for all of those people going back and forth for trade, shopping, family visits, for schooling, for cultural visits. We have to allow that to continue efficiently while stopping, in a more efficient fashion, the illegal activity.

I thank both Mr. Cummings and Mr. Souder for their support.

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