Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I acknowledge a great friend of labor, Jef L. Eatchel--recognized with the ``Solidarity Award'' by the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Jef L. Eatchel has served as Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Executive Officer for UNITE HERE, Local 30 (formerly, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, Local 30) of San Diego since he was first elected in 1985. Jef began his career at Local 30 as a cook at La Costa Resort & Spa, where he was appointed Shop Steward by International Vice-President, Herbert ``Pinky'' Schiffman. He was appointed as Business Representative at Local 30 in 1982. After representing the employees for three years, he was elected Secretary-Treasurer in 1985. He continues to serve as its Chief Executive Officer. Jef does a great deal of work beyond UNITE HERE Local 30. He serves as the Treasurer to the California Culinary Alliance; he was elected a voting director of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits for the West Coast and has served as a Trustee and member of the Educational Program Committee. He also serves on the Executive Committee for the Council of Institutional Investors and is National Vice President for District 9 for the UNITE HERE International.

As chairman of the San Diego Health & Pension Plan, he founded the Labor Union 401K in 1997 which now has forty different unions participating. He is also the co-founder of the San Diego Hospitality Training Trust. In these capacities, Jef works tirelessly to assure that the hard working union members who fall under these plans have a safe and secure financial future. Jef's innovation, enthusiasm and insight bring so much to the working families of San Diego.

People like Jef Eatchel perpetuate these qualities and that is why the San Diego Imperial Counties Labor Council recognize and honor him with the 2005 ``Solidarity Award.''

Mr. Speaker, today I acknowledge a great friend of labor, Tom Wood--named the ``Labor Leader of the Year'' by the San Diego- Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.

Tom began his career as a Distribution Clerk with the United States Postal Service as a member of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU-- Local 197) in January 1972. Within six months, he became a Shop Steward and started representing employees' rights. He noticed that other employees needed representation because they were too shy to represent themselves; he then became involved in assuring that employees would be treated fairly and justly.

In 1974, Tom was elected as Clerk Craft Director and subsequently has represented the APWU in several capacities since: Secretary-Treasurer, Executive Vice President and as the President of his Local Union since 1990. He has been the APWU chief negotiator for all local contracts for San Diego represented employees, and has made it a point to see that all postal managers treat employees with dignity and respect. Tom has established a reputation of vigorously representing his members, while still being responsive to the needs of the employer and their constant struggle with the ``budget.''

Tom has served as a member of the Board of Directors on the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council for the last fifteen years and as President since 2004. Several years ago, under his leadership, the APWU began looking with other labor unions in town to buy their own property, and became partners with the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFSCME, HERE, CWA and IATSE in Mission Valley's United Labor Center.

Congratulations Tom Wood, on your recognition as ``Labor Leader of the Year''!

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 223, on H. Res. 298, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Chairman, as a Senior Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I oppose this appropriations bill because the amount included for veterans' healthcare is woefully inadequate. An additional $2.6 billion, the amount called for in the Obey amendment which was not accepted, is desperately needed for the coming fiscal year because the number of veterans is growing and the quantity of health care per veteran is growing.

As many of our servicemembers return from Iraq and Afghanistan without legs and arms and with many and varied physical and mental heath care needs, as many of our veterans live longer and need long- term care, a grateful nation should be prepared to provide for them. Shamefully, this appropriations bill does not keep that promise, and I cannot support it.

Finally, the new appropriations structure irresponsibly pits active military needs against veterans needs. Our great Nation can support both!

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 224, on the Melancon Amendment, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Blumenauer

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 225, on the Blumenauer Amendment, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 226 on H.R. 2528, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 227, on H.R. 3 Motion to Instruct, I was in my Congressional District on official business. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, as California's border Congressman, I rise to oppose this amendment.

I am amazed at some of the arguments supporting this amendment. Members who agree that we need more security on the border, yet every one of them voted for a budget that only had 10 percent of the border patrol increase that this Congress has authorized. So they talk about more border patrol, but they voted for a budget that did not include it!

Mr. Chairman, I would not vote for an amendment that militarizes my colleagues' districts, and I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment aimed at militarizing my district on the California-Mexico border.

We have a highly trained military. It is the best in the world, but it is not trained to perform domestic security duties. It is not trained to go on patrol in my neighborhood. It is trained to pursue and kill foreign enemies, not to check if visas have expired.

We do need more border security, but we should give the border patrol the support they need to do the job. They are the professionals. Let us give them the critical manpower and equipment they need. Let us invest in 21st century technology.

The gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) talked about a haystack. As our border patrol looks for the dangerous needle in the haystack, we can use technology to make that haystack smaller. Let us pass more support for the border patrol, let us pass comprehensive immigration reform. Let us allow the border patrol and other homeland security officials to focus on the real dangers to our national security.

We must have a secure and efficient border, but do not confuse immigrants with terrorists, and do not send the Army into my neighborhood. The Goode amendment is bad!

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I thank the gentleman from San Diego, California (Mr. Hunter), for including my amendment in the en bloc amendment.

My amendment would call for a study by the Secretary of Defense in conjunction with the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs on the feasibility of allowing veterans with a service-connected disability rating 50 percent or higher access to transportation on military aircraft on a space available, or Space-A, basis. Such a study is supported by the national organization, Disabled American Veterans.

Space-A, of course, is used for government-owned or contracted aircraft where there is space available that is unused for the primary purpose of the flight. Currently, disabled veterans are not eligible for this Space-A travel solely on the basis of their disability. But other groups are, whether they are members of the uniformed services and their families, foreign exchange servicemembers on permanent duty with the Department of Defense, civilian employees of the Department of Defense stationed overseas, American Red Cross personnel stationed overseas. All these are eligible for Space-A travel.

We should allow disabled veterans the same access to Space-A travel. From all indications, the Department of Defense would incur no cost by allowing disabled veterans access to this Space-A travel. We need to allow the seats which would otherwise go unused to be occupied by men and women who have been disabled in their service to our great Nation.

Again, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for including the amendment in the bill.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I understand the point of order, and I appreciate the advice he gave me yesterday, and I will just take a few minutes today to make some important points regarding our border communities.

This should be a simple and common-sense amendment to protect the air quality in border States without adding or subtracting appropriations from a single account in this bill. The amendment simply requires that power plants in northern Mexico that want to transmit electricity into the United States must meet U.S. air quality standards. Pretty simple.

Many communities in border States, including many in my district (I represent the whole California-Mexico border) are literally under siege from air and water pollution from northern Mexico. Companies that wish to avoid American environmental regulations, but want to meet our energy needs in California and other southwestern States, are building power plants in Mexico directly across the border from American communities. Yet many of these power plants do not have to meet any of the American regulations, even though they are in the same air basins as towns on the U.S. side of the border.

For example, companies that recently built power plants in Mexicali, which is right across the border from the Imperial County of California that I represent, have not funded any road paving projects and other clean air efforts that would be required to offset their pollution if they were a mere 3 miles to the north. In a place like Imperial County, which is plagued by the highest childhood asthma rates in the Nation, and limited public resources, these offset projects are needed to mitigate the public health problems that are worsened by the power plants.

While the Mexicali plants have largely brought their emissions into compliance in response to this Congress' pressure, they have refused to pay for any mitigation projects. The Department of Energy, which acknowledges that Imperial Valley is in the same geographical air basin as the power plants in Mexico, have turned their backs on the residents of Southern California and approved the permits without requiring the companies to pave the dusty dirt roads or implement other clean air projects that would offset their pollution. The Department had the information and opportunity, but apparently did not feel obligated to fully protect clean air in Imperial County.

I believe the Department should be obligated to require offsets because there are a dozen more power plants in northern Mexico on line right now. These power plants are now under no obligation to meet any U.S. standards despite sharing air basins with American communities.

My amendment does not interfere with the Mexican Government's right to regulate pollution; instead, it prohibits the Department of Energy from using funds in this bill to issue permits for the transmission of electricity into the U.S.

I urge adoption of this important clean air amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), the cosponsor of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I would just say that I understand the point of order, and I appreciate the gentleman's advice and I hope he will stay interested in this topic.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take the time of

the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the fourth national Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month, the month between Mother's Day and Father's Day. This month is a time for teachers, parents and youth group leaders nationwide to promote parenting education and relationship skills classes for all young people.

Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month is being sponsored by a national nonprofit organization formed in 1995 called Prepare Tomorrow's Parents. Suzy Garfinkle Chevrier, founder and president of Prepare Tomorrow's Parents, says, ``Parenting is not a hobby. It is the most important work most of us will ever do. Let's not leave our grandchildren's future to chance.''

Is it not strange, Mr. Speaker, that one of the most important and difficult skills, raising children, goes untaught? Learning parenting skills is vital because the early experiences of children's lives impact their potential for learning and for mental health. We need to create better parents because neglected or abused children are especially prone to perpetuate this cycle when they become adults without resources for healthy parenting.

An alarming number of children are at risk of being abused, neglected or otherwise poorly nurtured by inadequately prepared or nonsupportive parents. Inadequate parenting can contribute to teen pregnancy, depression, addictions, academic failure, delinquency and, later, criminal behavior.

I imagine that the vast majority of adults in the United States believe that parenting and relationship skills should be taught. Yet few students now receive this instruction. School-based parenting education programs can help to prevent future child abuse and work to build healthy children by developing an understanding of child development in future parents and by providing parenting skills such as empathy, listening, problem solving and critical thinking. Regardless of how much detail the young people remember from their classes by the time they become parents, the instruction gives them a deep sense of the reality of parenting, of the sacrifices and demands as well as the joys. Prepare Tomorrow's Parents is a group working towards a society in which every child is well-nurtured and parenting is valued and undertaken by prepared adults.

Parenting education for students is being taught successfully in many schools around the Nation, primarily through family and consumer science classes, but not enough young people, especially boys, participate in these elective courses. Expanding and requiring these classes will save many more current and future families much heartache. It will help us to help our young people succeed at being parents that will make them, their children and their parents happy, productive and proud.

Finally, establishing parent education classes honors the work of mothers and fathers by teaching our young people what a complex effort it takes to raise a child. As well as learning new skills, they will begin to appreciate more and more the care they have received from their parents.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Prepare Tomorrow's Parents for sponsoring Prepare Tomorrow's Parents Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Stop the Theft of Our Social Security Numbers Act of 2005'' (H.R. 2518).

Many of my constituents have alerted me to a serious attack on our personal privacy, and an insidious practice that has become known as identity theft. Amazingly enough, this theft is facilitated by a public agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, which aids and abets this theft not through the Internet or any high-technology means but through the U.S. Postal Service. By including our Social Security numbers on Medicare related mailings, the Department of Health and Human Services places thousands of Medicare beneficiaries at risk of becoming victims of identity theft.

To combat this problem, I have introduced this bill which prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services from including our Social Security numbers on Medicare related mailings the department mails us every year.

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes of this decade. It creates a nightmare for those who become victims. Identity thieves make off with billions of dollars each year and each day more than 1,000 people are being defrauded. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission recently listed identity theft as the top consumer complaint. With just your name and your Social Security number, a thief can open credit lines worth $10,000, rent apartments, sign up for utilities, and even earn income. Your credit rating is ruined, you risk being rejected for everything from a college loan to a mortgage, and it is up to you to fix it all. Law enforcement will generally not pursue these identity theft cases.

Having your Social Security card number on a Medicare related mailing puts people at a higher risk for identity theft. Mail that is lost or stolen with personally identifiable information like a person's Social Security number can be used by criminals to steal someone's identity and commit fraud.

The Department of Health and Human Services has said that the health insurance claim number on Medicare related mailings is a variation of the recipient's Social Security number, not the actual number. This agency has noted that the number may be based on the Social Security number of a spouse or parent; however, more often than not, the number the agency uses is the person's Social Security number preceded or followed by a single letter of the alphabet. The agency has said that it has no immediate plans of stopping this practice. What more can the Department of Health and Human Services do to aid the theft of your identity? Give thieves and unscrupulous people your mother's maiden name?

Not to long ago, we were experiencing the same problem with the mailing labels sent to us from the IRS. I was told that there was no way the IRS would change this practice. I found it incomprehensible that neither the agency nor its contractor would change a computer program for booklets that would be mailed out to millions of Americans all over our Nation. After I introduced a bill to require the IRS to stop putting our Social Security numbers on its mailings, the department finally found a way to stop this bad practice.

Many commercial health insurance companies have already taken steps to remove Social Security numbers from their mailings as well as all other forms of client identification. Some States prohibit companies from displaying Social Security numbers internally and assign consumers unique numbers that would appear on Medicare cards. It is time for the Federal government to do its part to stop identity theft and help protect an individual's personal privacy.

There is no excuse for leaving Medicare beneficiaries vulnerable to identity theft with a thinly disguised Social Security number on Medicare related mailings.

My bill will force the Department of Health and Human Services to make this change to protect one of the most precious keys to our personal information, our Social Security number.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, too, represent an area where boating is a very important recreational activity, representing San Diego, California, with its wonderful bay, Mission Bay Park, and, of course, the Pacific Ocean, all as places where tens of thousands of people do their recreation; so I also support House Resolution 243.

This is National Safe Boating Week. Over 70 million people this year will participate in recreational boating activities in the United States. Unfortunately, about 700 of them will die from boating accidents. National Safe Boating Week is always the week before the Memorial day weekend, the start of the summer boating season. The goal this week is to educate the public about what they can do to enjoy our Nation's waters in a safe manner. In my State of California, two-thirds of the deaths from recreational boating accidents will occur during these summers months.

Mr. Speaker, safe boating begins before you even step in a boat by planning your trip and being safety conscious. The most important thing a boater can do to save their life is to wear a life jacket. That sounds simple; but in 2003, 416 boaters were drowned while not wearing their life jackets. Today there are Coast Guard-approved life jackets that are inflatable so you can easily sail and still be safe.

Just as in driving a car, alcohol and boating do not mix. Do not drink and drive in a boat.

Today there are over 17 million boats in our Nation's waterways. It is getting crowded, so everybody should know and follow the nautical rules of the road. If you are in a small boat, do not stand up. You could flip your boat, sending you and your family into the water.

Mr. Speaker, these are simple, but they are a few of the basic tips that people should follow to have a safe and enjoyable time when they are boating.

The Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the National Safe Boating Council have boating safety education programs to help everyone learn how to boat safely. I encourage everyone to take advantage of these courses. If you follow their simple guidelines, you can have a fun and relaxing time while being as safe as possible.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to join us in support of House Resolution 243.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time, and I thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Chairman Boozman) for his great work on this very necessary item.

I too rise today in support of the Servicemembers' Health Insurance Protection Act of 2005, a bill that we have heard will assure the men and women in active service that their private health insurance premiums will not be increased, nor will reinstatement be delayed when they return from Iraq or Afghanistan. The last thing these servicemembers need while they are at war is to worry about the details of their life after service, and health insurance, of course, being one of the most important.

H.R. 2046 will ensure a smooth transition from health care under the military to health care in civilian life.

This bill has support from the veterans service organizations around the country, as well as our Department of Defense.

I think, as we have heard, in addition to the primary purpose of the bill, a technical change is included which will help many disabled veterans to use what is called their adaptive housing grant prior to their discharge from the military. This will expedite their release from hospitalization because they will not have to wait for changes to be made to their homes to accommodate their disability. This provision was inadvertently omitted when changes were made in 2004 in the Veterans Benefit Act, and I am glad that we are fixing this problem today.

Congress must do everything it can to recognize and reward our brave men and women fighting today. Many are serving longer than they expected. Many are in danger each and every day.

They serve with pride and with dignity. Let us honor their service by passing this legislation to treat them with the respect that they deserve.

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 1: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Madam Chairman, unfortunately I did not get a chance to offer an amendment with Mr. Reyes to provide an additional $10 million for a critical program in the Interior-EPA Appropriations bill. The funds would have been used for ``architectural, engineering, planning, design, construction and related activities in connection with the construction of high priority water and wastewater facilities in the area of the United States-Mexico Border, after consultation with the appropriate border commission.''

This is the section of the EPA's State and Tribal Assistance Grants program that funds the Border Environment Infrastructure Fund (BEIF). The amendment would have transferred the $10 million out of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) $974.5 million appropriation. The USGS appropriation in this bill is currently $39 million more than the FY2005 appropriation, and $41 million more than the president's request. The border program, on the other hand, has been flat-funded at $50 million for several years.

The record should reflect that we did not intend for the USGS's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to be impacted by the reduction in USGS's appropriation. NAWQA carries out very important work collecting and analyzing data and information in more than 50 major river basins and aquifers across the Nation in order to develop long-term information on streams, ground water, and aquatic ecosystems in support of sound management and policy decisions. This critical program would have been shielded from the $10 million cut in USGS appropriations.

In Imperial County, California, the New River carries raw sewage from Mexico through the town of Calexico, and air pollution from Mexicali contributes to the worst childhood asthma rates in the state. A modest increase in funding for the BEIF would begin to improve the situation. The BEIF, which was established by the North American Development Bank to

administer grant resources provided by the EPA, helps finance the construction of water and wastewater projects in the U.S.-Mexico border region.

The objective of the BEIF is to make environmental infrastructure projects affordable for communities throughout the U.S.-Mexico border region by combining grant funds with loans or other forms of financing. It is designed to reduce project debt to a manageable level in cases where users would otherwise face undue financial hardship.

We have seen what BEIF can accomplish when it has adequate funding. BEIF grants have played an important role in the successful construction of water conservation projects in the Cameron Irrigation District in Texas; a wastewater project in Heber, California; a wastewater collection and treatment project in Patagonia, Arizona; and a sewer system and wastewater treatment plant in the Salem and Ogaz communities in New Mexico.

All projects supported by the BEIF must have a health and/or ecological benefit in communities on the U.S. side of the border. All projects must also be certified in a rigorous vetting process undertaken by the Border Environment Cooperation Commission.

There is strong support for increasing BEIF funding. The bipartisan Border Governors' joint declaration last year called for a ``substantial increase'' in funding for the program.

While many important programs in the Interior-EPA Appropriations bill have been shortchanged, the lack of funding for BEIF is particularly troubling. The border region is in desperate need of assistance. Communities in the border region struggle with some of the highest poverty rates in the Nation as well as air and water pollution--often originating in northern Mexico--that contributes to severe public health problems. The region lacks basic infrastructure, such as water and sewer service, that most of the rest of the country takes for granted.

The neglect of these largely low-income and Hispanic communities, along with the dirty air and water they are forced to endure, represent a grave environmental injustice. According to the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission, the border region includes three of the ten poorest counties in the United States and twenty-one counties that have been designated as economically distressed areas.

The Commission also reports that approximately 432,000 people live in 1,200 colonias in Texas and New Mexico, which are unincorporated, semi- rural communities that are characterized by substandard housing and unsafe public drinking water or wastewater systems. If the border region were made the 51st state in the Union, it would rank last in access to health care; second in death rates due to hepatitis; last in per capita income; and first in the numbers of school children living in poverty, according to the Commission

The Good Neighbor Environmental Board, an independent U.S. Presidential advisory committee that operates under the Federal Advisory Committee Act, recommends restoring BEIF to its mid-1990s funding level of $100 million dollars.

There are currently 105 certified clean water projects in the pipeline waiting for funding. Examples of the many certified projects that could be carried out in disadvantaged communities if the BEIF had an appropriate funding level include: Water/wastewater systems improvements in Brawley, California; a wastewater project in Nogales, Arizona; a solid waste project in Dona Ana County, New Mexico; and a water conservation project in Brownsville, Texas.

Supporters of this amendment include the Border Trade Alliance, the Border Counties Coalition, Clean Water Action, National Council of La Raza and others.

I will continue fighting to increase appropriations for the Border Environment Infrastructure fund and protect communities in the border region.

Offered By: Mr. Filner

Amendment No. 12: In title I, in the item relating to

``United States Geological Survey--surveys, investigations,

and research'', insert after the first dollar amount the

following: ``(decreased by $10,000,000)''.

In title II, in the item relating to ``state and tribal

assistance grants'', insert after the first dollar amount the

following: ``(increased by $10,000,000)''.

In title II, in the item relating to ``state and tribal

assistance grants'', insert after the fifth dollar amount the

following: ``(increased by $10,000,000)''.