Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, there have been many characterizations and descriptions of our departed colleague Julia Carson. But let me just tell you how I view Julia Carson. For me Julia Carson epitomized the Christian value of joy divine. Joy divine, the Bible calls it an unspeakable joy. It's the kind of joy that the Congress, the world can't give you and the world can't take it away. This joy is based on your faith. Julia Carson had, in my estimation, joy divine because she understood the meaning of the Scripture when it states: ``All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and those who are called according to His purpose.''

What is His purpose, one might ask? Well, He makes it pretty clear in the Old Testament. He says: ``What do I require of thee, o man, but to love mercy, do justly, and walk humbly with your God?''

Madam Speaker, Julia Carson had the joy divine. She epitomized it. She represented it. Because she knew that everything that we do, the things that we bind on Earth, we bind in heaven. And she was really not working for just her constituents, but she was, indeed, working for eternal life. And now she is at a better place in the heavens with her God.

And I can just, in my own imagination, imagine Julia when she got to heaven how the angels erupted in applause because of the work that she had done while she lived here on Earth.

Madam Speaker, Julia Carson did something that was almost impossible in the few years that she served in this great House. She made this great House even greater because of her commitment, her dedication, her resolve, her leadership, her insight, her compassion, those things that make one great.

Madam Speaker, I know that in heaven when she approached the throne of grace, when she approached the company of her Lord and Savior, I can hear the words spoken to her right now in the old way. I can hear her Lord and her master telling her: Julia, servant, servant, well done. You did an extraordinary job under ordinary conditions. Servant, well done.

Mr. Speaker, on the week of November 18 we begin to celebrate in this Nation National Bible Week.

National Bible Week is the National Bible Association's signature event which is celebrated the week before Thanksgiving every year since it began in 1941.

In this week, we encourage the citizens of this Nation to read the Bible. Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I was not always an ardent Bible reader. I was always in and around the church, but as so many of us who belong to church, I was in the church, but church wasn't in me.

Mr. Speaker, I came to this Congress in 1993 and almost immediately upon my presence here I received a Bible similar to this given by Rev. Dr. D. James Kennedy. And, Mr. Speaker, I found my evenings alone, my wife and my family back in Chicago, and somehow I had a prompting to pick up the Bible and to read the Bible. I must admit, Mr. Speaker, that although I wasn't an ardent reader, now I'm a ferocious reader of the Bible, avaricious in my interests in terms of the words recorded in God's living book.

Mr. Speaker, I must say that I have been renewed as a man by the renewing of my mind according to the dictates and the Spirit that's incorporated in the reading of the Bible. I am a changed man; I am a new man. I don't have the same friends I used to have. I don't walk the same way; I don't talk the same way, and it's all because of this Bible.

Mr. Speaker, I am an activist, and for years I had shunned this Bible because it didn't speak to my activism. And then the Holy Spirit spoke to me through my conversations and through my interests in reading the Bible. And, Mr. Speaker, I came across a Scripture that really moved me, two, as a matter of fact. One is taken from the Old Testament, Micah 6:6-8: ``With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of ram, 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?''

The Lord answers, ``He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? But to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.''

Mr. Speaker, in those words, it encapsulated all that I had attempted to be, my activism, my love for humanity and my love for the Lord. Mr. Speaker, Luke 4 and 4:18: ``The spirit of the Lord is upon Me. Because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.''

Mr. Speaker, my life had been, and continues today, to be a reflection of the spirit that is within me, the Holy Spirit that is within me. I call on all good citizens, Christians and non-Christians alike, during this week and every week of the year, pick up your Bible. Read the Bible. You have no better friend. You have no better solution than what is recorded in these words.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlelady from Wisconsin for yielding me this time on this very important matter.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 20, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act.

I would like to thank Chairman Dingell; Ranking Member Barton; my colleague, Congressman Pitts; and the members of the Energy and Commerce Committee who unanimously supported this legislation's passage out of committee.

Madam Speaker, after 6 long, arduous years, today marks an important step in the protracted journey for Congress to recognize postpartum depression as a national priority. I am so proud that nearly 130 bipartisan cosponsors have united with me today to say no longer will postpartum depression be dismissed as mere ``baby blues.''

By passing H.R. 20, Congress will finally put significant money and attention into research, screening, treatment, and education for mothers suffering from this disease.

Sadly, Madam Speaker, I was moved to author H.R. 20 after watching the news accounts of the missing Melanie Stokes, a new mother, a successful businesswoman, and my constituent. Despite her family's valiant interventions, Melanie's psychosis was so severe that she slipped away from her family and from her friends and tragically ended her life.

Afterwards, I reached out to Melanie's mother, Carol Blocker, and was told of her daughter's diagnosis and suicide that occurred as a result of postpartum psychosis. And sometime later, Madam Speaker, I talked with Dr. Nada Stotland of the American Psychiatric Association, who is another constituent of mine, and she detailed the value in additional research. And she discussed the underreporting and mixed diagnosis of postpartum depression and psychosis in our country.

There is no denying, the needs for resources to combat postpartum depression grow more and more and more each year. Here are the facts, Madam Speaker:

Research indicates that some form of postpartum depression affects approximately one in 1,000 new mothers, resulting in up to 800,000 cases annually. Of the new postpartum cases this year, less than 15 percent of mothers will receive treatment. However, with treatment, over 90 percent of these mothers could overcome their depression. And approximately every 50 seconds, a new mother will begin struggling with the affects of mental illness.

Madam Speaker, these facts are profound. And in the words of Carol Blocker, ``Hundreds of thousands of women who have suffered from postpartum depression and psychosis are still waiting for this Congress to act 6 years after the legislation has been introduced.''

Madam Speaker, I want to thank you for this day, because today Ms. Blocker and hundreds of thousands of mothers will not have to wait any longer for Congress to act.

My legislation, to sum it up, would encourage the Secretary of Health and Human Services to further research at the National Institutes of Health on postpartum depression.

My legislation would also finance a national public awareness campaign to bring this illness out of the dark and shed new light on how to screen and treat mothers. It would also add depression to the biennial report the National Institutes of Health must submit to the Congress.

Lastly, my bill will finance much-needed grants to public and nonprofit organizations to establish and operate programs that provide screening, treatment and various health care and support services to individuals with postpartum depression or postpartum psychosis.

Moreover, Madam Speaker, this bill is an affordable approach to research and services. The CBO estimates that H.R. 20 costs less than $500,000 per year, and $18 million over 5 years.

This is good policy, Madam Speaker. This is good politics. And this is a good public health bill.

I want to take a moment, Madam Speaker, just to thank the many organizations and groups, groups like Postpartum Support International, whose president right now sits in the gallery, Ms. Susan Stone; the Family Mental Health Foundation; the American Psychological Association; the American Psychiatric Association; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and groups like the Children's Defense Fund, the Melanie Blocker-Stokes Foundation, Suicide Prevention Action Network, Planned Parenthood Federation of America Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the Mental Health Alliance, NARAL, so many organizations, including the National Alliance for Mental Illness, the Community Behavioral Healthcare Association, and the March of Dimes. I want to thank these individuals and various activists for their testimony at hearings, for their support, and for their participation.

Madam Speaker, lastly, I want to thank the Members of this Congress, those who, when I asked to become cosponsors, they indicated that they were familiar because they had personal involvement, this dreaded disease has touched them personally; and I want to thank them for their support.

Madam Speaker, I urge that this body pass this much-needed legislation, that this body, indeed, give women the help that they need in fighting this very, very difficult disease.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 814) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue regulations mandating child-resistant closures on all portable gasoline containers, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Madam Speaker, this is the first of four consumer protection bills on floor of the House of Representatives that the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection reported on July 30, and the Committee on Energy and Commerce subsequently reported on September 27.

The final versions of these bills have all been crafted in a thoroughly bipartisan manner and in close consultation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The committee staff, both majority and minority, should be commended for the hard work they put into these bills to ensure that they are thoughtful, careful, and bipartisan pieces of legislation.

H.R. 814, the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, was introduced by Congressman Dennis Moore and Congressman Spencer Bachus.

It requires child-resistant caps on gasoline cans, whether they are sold with or without gasoline. Currently, the law only requires such safety caps on cans sold with gasoline in the can. The absence of a requirement for child-resistant caps on empty gasoline cans makes no sense, and this bill addresses this dangerous inconsistency.

At subcommittee, we passed an amendment in the nature of a substitute which reflected arcane and

technical changes to the bill as recommended by the staff of the CPSC. As a consequence, the bill, as amended, employs the regulatory model used for automatic garage door openers to formulate safety requirements, which has proven to be a very successful regulatory model over the years for the CPSC.

This is a good bill, Madam Speaker, and I want to commend our colleagues, Mr. Moore and Mr. Bachus, for their bipartisan work. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to assure everybody that, in spite of the polemics, this is a bipartisan bill, and we do have bipartisan agreement.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1699) to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require certain manufacturers to provide consumer product registration forms to facilitate recalls of durable infant and toddler products.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, H.R. 1699, the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Act was introduced by the vice chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, Ms. Schakowsky, and Mr. Upton, a senior member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill is named after 16-month-old Danny Keysar, who tragically and senselessly died when his defective portable crib collapsed and strangled him to death. Unbeknownst to Danny's poor parents and caregiver, the crib was subject to a voluntary recall 5 years earlier.

H.R. 1699 directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require manufacturers of certain nursery products to create a voluntary registry to facilitate the efficacy of recall of those products when they occur. Under the bill, when a consumer buys one of 12 types of everyday durable nursery products as defined by statute, such as cribs, high chairs, bath seats and strollers, the manufacturer must provide the consumer with a postage-paid postcard. Parents will have the option to fill out the postcard and register with the manufacturer by mail or, alternatively, by e-mail so that they can be immediately notified if the product is the subject of a recall. The information on these postcards cannot be used for marketing or any other purpose than to notify consumers of the recall. It's worth noting, Madam Speaker, that this registry is based on an existing successful program for child car seats maintained by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

It's also worth noting that this bill is extremely timely, given the recent recall of infant cribs made by the company Simplicity, because of the strangulation hazard the defective cribs posed to young toddlers. Moreover, numerous press reports have recently cited just how ineffective product recalls can be. Unfortunately, parents are often unaware of defective recall products, and they remain in homes posing danger to children, as was the case with Danny Keysar. Indeed, in recent years, the CPSC has increasingly issued expanded recalls of products that have already been the subject of recalls, because the Commission continues to be vigilant and to receive injury reports on defective products. H.R. 1699 will go a long way towards remedying this problem and empowering parents to become aware of infant product recalls immediately after they are our initiated.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of the Members of the House to vote for this excellent bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the sponsor of this legislation along with Congressman Upton, the gentlewoman from Illinois, the vice chairman of the subcommittee, my friend, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky.

Mr. Speaker, this is a commonsense piece of legislation. It takes a giant step toward protecting our Nation's most important asset: our children.

I urge Members of this body to pass this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2474) to provide for an increased maximum civil penalty for violations under the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am the author of the third consumer protection bill that we are considering on the House floor this afternoon, H.R. 2474, the Product Safety Civil Penalties Improvement Act, which raises the cap on civil penalties that the Consumer Product Safety Commission can impose from $1.83 million to $10 million. Furthermore, the new cap will be phased in through two steps. It rises to $5 million as soon as the CPSC issues its new interpretive guidelines or one year after reenactment, whichever occurs first. Mr. Speaker, the cap will subsequently rise to its full $10 million one year after this initial increase. This new cap figure and two-step process is the product of careful negotiations and compromise with the minority.

Furthermore, the bill, as amended in this subcommittee, renders the factors used in assessing the amount of penalties more expansive and flexible, and it further makes clear that the current list of factors is not exclusive. This flexibility will allow the commission to take into account factors such as whether the manufacturer is a recidivist or a first-time offender when imposing these civil penalties. In this regard CPSC is required to promulgate interpretive rules on these penalty factors within 360 days.

Mr. Speaker, passage of H.R. 2474 is badly needed. For too long the CPSC has only been able to slap violators on the wrist with a puny civil penalties cap of $1.8 million. Under current law, section 15(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Act requires every manufacturer, every distributor, or retailer of a consumer product to notify the CPSC immediately upon information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a given product, one, violates a safety standard promulgated by the CPSC; two, contains a defect that could pose a substantial hazard; or, three, otherwise creates an unreasonable risk of injury or death.

Unfortunately, for many large companies, a civil penalty of $1.83 million is a mere drop in the bucket and does not always provide substantial and sufficient incentive for companies to report problems to the commission. The cost of civil penalties may be outweighed by the cost of compliance with the prohibitions and requirements of the law. For instance, at our June 6 hearing before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, we heard testimony that the $750,000 fine assessed by the CPSC against Wal-Mart for failing to report a defect in fitness machines represented 1 minute, 33 seconds' worth of sales for the retail giant.

While most companies try to do the right thing and report injuries in a timely manner to the CPSC, H.R. 2474 gives the commission a bigger hammer to crack down on bad corporate behavior that leads to defective and dangerous products on the market.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote from my colleagues on this bipartisan piece of legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, this, again, is another example of commonsense legislation, bipartisan cooperation that is aimed at improving and enhancing the flow of commerce between consumers and manufacturing.

Mr. Speaker, this piece of legislation takes a giant, giant step toward improving the overall product safety, product recall phenomenon that exists to stream the system that exists.

I urge passage of this outstanding piece of legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1721) to increase the safety of swimming pools and spas by requiring the use of proper anti-entrapment drain covers and pool and spa drainage systems, by establishing a swimming pool safety grant program administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to encourage States to improve their pool and spa safety laws and to educate the public about pool and spa safety, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, the fourth and final consumer protection bill on the floor today is H.R. 1721, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, introduced by Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Congressman Frank Wolf.

H.R. 1721 requires pools and spa drains with specified anti- entrapment standards, establishes a CPSC-administered grant program to encourage the States to enact pool and spa safety reforms, and develops a national drowning prevention education program.

Given the numerous tragic and preventable deaths of young children who have drowned in swimming pools, fountains and spas as a result of faulty drains, this bill is overdue and worthy of passage under the suspension of the rules.

The bill is named after Virginia Graeme Baker, the beautiful little girl whose tragic death drove her mother, Nancy Baker, to tirelessly fight for this legislation.

As amended in the subcommittee, H.R. 1721 requires a specified barrier around residential pools and imposes security and safety requirements on the home, such as self-closing, self-latching doors in order to qualify for Federal funds. Moreover, the bill authorizes an annual appropriation of $5 million over 5 years. At the subcommittee level, we chose this level of funding because of the simple reality that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has experienced with grant programs, and the Commission's overall budget currently is only $67

million. As such, we want to ensure that this program is run effectively and does not overshadow the other worthy and equally important programs under the watch of the CPSC.

This is another bipartisan, carefully crafted bill, and is yet another example of the bipartisan cooperation we currently achieve in the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

I want to commend the majority and minority staff for working together to produce thoughtful, quality pieces of legislation. And I want to thank my friend from Florida, the ranking member of this subcommittee, Mr. Stearns, for his continued bipartisan cooperation.

This bill, along with the three previous bills we have just considered on the floor, is a good start, but there is more to be done to reform the Consumer Product Safety Commission and its underlying organic statute to protect American consumers.

The recent barrage of high-profile recalls of toys manufactured in China highlights the need for Congress to decisively act and strengthen our laws that protect our children from dangerous products. I am currently working on a reform package that will do just that.

I hope that my colleague, Mr. Stearns, and I, along with Chairman Dingell and Ranking Member Barton, can continue our cooperative effort to produce a piece of legislation that we can proudly bring to the House floor with the same bipartisan support exemplified by the bills that we have on the floor today.

With that, I urge a resounding ``yes'' vote.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the coauthor of this outstanding piece of legislation, Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome our guest chaplain, the Reverend Dr. Clay Evans, the pastor emeritus of the Fellowship Baptist Church of Chicago, Illinois.

Dr. Evans, the son of A. Henry and Estanauly Evans, was born on June 23, 1925, in Brownsville, Tennessee. Ordained a Baptist minister in 1950, the illustrious founding pastor of the affectionately called ``SHIP'' has been responsible for launching the ministerial careers of 93 men and women.

Mr. Speaker, he was my catechizer at my own ordination.

Dr. Evans has been a leader in the civil rights movement since 1965. He was a staunch supporter in the Chicago crusade of Dr. Martin Luther King. That staunch support caused funding for his new church to be cut off, and the structure stood unfinished for 8 years.

From 1971 to 1976 he was the founding national board chairman of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Rev. Evans was the founding president and chairman of the African American Religious Connection, the founding president of the Broadcast Ministers of Chicago, and was a board member of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.

This radio and television minister, who reached listeners weekly in more than 20 States, has been happily married to the former Lutha Mae Hollingshed for more than 60 years, and they are the proud parents of five children.

Although Rev. Evans retired as pastor on December 8, 2000, he remains a man of faith, a man of vision, and one who emphatically believes: ``It is no secret what God can do.''

Mr. Speaker, I would like to voice my full support for H. Res. 643, recognizing September 11 as a day of remembrance, extending sympathies to those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and their families, honoring the heroic actions of our Nation's first responders and Armed Forces, and reaffirming the commitment to defending the people of the United States against any and all future challenges.

Six years after that infamous day, the emotional scars are still laid bare for millions of Americans. While many of our citizens lost families members, friends, and loved ones in the attacks of that day, we all lost the sense of safety and security that we had enjoyed before the greatest terrorist attack ever on American soil.

I am proud of how we came together as a Nation and stood united against those who would do us harm after the reality of what had happened sank in. Indeed, I cannot remember another singular event that caused that type of wholehearted solidarity, not only between all Americans, but between all citizens from around the world who stood with the United States against evil and tyranny after that fateful day.

Mr. Speaker, this is what makes it even that much more heartbreaking today, that we have squandered much of the compassion and goodwill towards our great country with the actions that the Administration instigated following September 11th. Instead of finding Osama Bin Laden and finishing the job against the Taliban in Afghanistan, we foolishly invaded another sovereign nation that had nothing to do with the terrorist attacks, and one that had never threatened our country.

Instead of capitalizing on the goodwill that was genuinely felt by citizens around the globe to help us fight terrorism and mark a new beginning in global cooperation and friendship, the President instead turned compassion and empathy into resentment and antipathy towards the United States by attacking another country without provocation or cause.

Mr. Speaker, it is our job as Representatives of this great country to repeal this failed policy of preemptive war. We must begin the business of uniting this country and winning the hearts and minds of the citizens of the world. America must regain its place as the leader of the free world, not through brute force and military might, but with the characteristics that put us there in the first place: compassion, generosity, empathy, and humility. In doing this we can ensure that those who died on 9/11 did not do so in vain, and we can ensure that those who sought to topple our great democracy and shake the American spirit have only succeeded in doing the very opposite.

Madam Speaker, we are here tonight to pay tribute to an historic American institution. This August the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the SCLC, will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

The SCLC is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in American history. From its storied beginning, under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the SCLC has practiced the cornerstone of its founding principles: nonviolence in the fight for civil and human rights.

Originating from the Montgomery Bus Boycott that began after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, the SCLC has been a stalwart in the struggle for equal rights and human dignity for all.

The bus boycott organized under the leadership of Dr. King and Ralph David Abernathy signaled to Black America the beginning of a new phase in the long struggle in what has come to be known as the modern civil rights movement.

Bombings, threats, and arrests could not dissuade church leaders from all over the Deep South from coming together and organizing under a simple mission and platform.

At its first convention in Montgomery, Alabama in August 1957, the Southern Leadership Conference adopted the current name, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the newly-formed group issued a document declaring that civil rights were essential to democracy, that segregation must end, and that all Black people should reject segregation absolutely and nonviolently.

Founders at these early meetings adopted nonviolent mass action as the centerpiece of their strategy against segregation and inequality. Additionally, the organization made the determination to open up the SCLC movement to people of all races, religions, and backgrounds.

At that time in American history there were many of us who questioned solely using nonviolent protest as a tactic in the fight for civil rights. However, today there can be no question that the strategy was effective.

One of the most dramatic moments in America history occurred during a SCLC campaign in Birmingham, Alabama. On May 2, 1957 more than 1,000 Black school children joined in the peaceful demonstrations where hundreds were arrested. The following day, 2,500 more students showed up, and Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor met them with police dogs and high-pressure fire hoses.

That evening, television news programs showed the nation, and the world, scenes of fire hoses knocking down school children and dogs attacking individual demonstrators, who had no means of protecting themselves.

Public outrage led the Kennedy administration to intervene more forcefully. A settlement was announced on May 10, under which the downtown Birmingham businesses would desegregate and eliminate discriminatory hiring practices, and the city would release the jailed protesters.

During this turbulent episode, the brutal response of local police and ``Bull'' Connor stood in stark contrast to the nonviolent civil disobedience of the activists, and public sentiment came down on the side of justice.

Madam Speaker, I take pride in doing my part to continue the work of Dr. King and other prominent SCLC members and moving the civil rights agenda forward.

Tonight my colleagues and I would like to salute the efforts and hard work of the SCLC. The world is a better place today because of their actions throughout these past fifty years. I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude for the legacy the SCLC has established, here in America and around the globe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the CHAMP Act of 2007.

I am disappointed that my Republican colleagues won't stand up to the HMOs and won't stand up for healthy children. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, ``Justice delayed is justice denied.'' The Republicans just don't get it. Delay is not debate. Health care delayed is health care denied.

There is no power like the power of a made-up mind; and, early on, the Republicans in the Commerce Committee markup made up their mind to forestall health care for our children. Then, last night and this morning, on this very floor, they made up their mind to stall health care for 12 million uninsured children.

Now it remains up to us, the Democrats in this House, to make up our minds and to install health care for

children, for those 11 million children and low-income pregnant women. Now is the time. There is no other time like this time, so now, most definitely, now is the right time.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill for America's babies. We must champion health care coverage for 11 million children. They need us. They depend on us. They need this health care coverage.

We must pass the CHAMP Act of 2007. We must put our poor children in the winner's circle.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise to thank Chairman Peterson Chairman Baca, and members of the House Agriculture Committee for their continued commitment and interest in supporting our agriculture industry, producers--and specifically supporting modernization of the food stamp program, increasing access to fresh produce, particularly for low-income neighborhoods and working with the Congressional Black Caucus and urban Members to accommodate the needs of diverse communities.

Throughout our Nation, we have a host of communities that are disconnected from accessing fresh fruits and vegetables. An increasing number of families are facing hunger and food insecurity: according to USDA's most recent data, more than 35 million Americans are unable to purchase food on a regular basis. Both sets of problems stem in part from the same cause: in urban as well as rural areas, too many low- income families live in ``food deserts'' where access to fresh, healthy foods is lacking.

I have worked with my fellow urban Members on a package of urban needs--ranging from making mandatory funds for the Community Food Project grant, increasing access to fresh fruits and produce, defining the term food desert, and creating a new Urban Health Enterprise grant program to strengthen links between producers to actual providers in urban communities.

All but one of these amendments are included in the Manager's Amendment, and I thank the Chairman for working with us to ensure urban members have a stake in the farm bill.

Mr. Chairman, although we still must find funding for the Community Food Projects grant; overall, the 2007 Farm Bill contains significant gains to promote access, expansion and education on nutrition.

As you may know, with regard to nutrition, the bill modernizes the food stamp program by: 1. Requiring all states go to an electronic system; 2. Increasing the minimum food benefit of participants; 3. Indexing asset limits and excludes retirement and education accounts, and combat pay.

The nutrition title extends and funds the Emergency Food Assistance Program to provide needed commodities to food banks and homeless shelters.

And it expands the authority of the Senior Farmer's Market Nutrition Program and creates a demonstration project to evaluate strategies to address obesity among low-income communities.

In conclusion Mr. Chairman, for far too many urban dwellers, the choice comes down to traveling long distances to buy groceries or shopping at expensive corner stores that often sell high-fat, high- sugar convenience food and little or no fresh produce. The consequences are byproducts of poverty: diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.

In the interests of public health, cost-efficiency, and social justice, we should consider policies to increase the availability of and access to fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved neighborhoods and communities.

I call on my colleagues to support the Farm Bill, because of the gains in nutrition the committee has included in this bill.

In addition to supporting farmers and our agriculture industry; this bill increases healthy food options in our poorest communities, creates incentives for producers and retailers to provide foods that provide healthy food options, and increasing consumer education about healthy alternatives at school and home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to express the support of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in particular the Subcommittee for Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, for H.R. 556, the ``Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007.'' This bill makes much-needed reforms to the process by which the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, hereafter: CFIUS, performs national security-related reviews of potential foreign investments in our country.

Since the DB World scandal, the Committee on Energy and Commerce has been actively involved in efforts to reform CFIUS. Along with the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on (then) International Relations, our Committee received referral of H.R. 5337, the ``National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Strengthened Transparency Act of 2006,'' in May 2006. Following a hearing by the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection on H.R. 5337 in July 2006, the Committee on Energy and Commerce ordered the bill reported. While H.R. 5337 was approved by the House, the Senate did not take it up before the conclusion of the 109th Congress.

In January of this year, the Committee on Energy and Commerce again received referral of a CFIUS reform bill, this time H.R. 556, the ``National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Transparency Act of 2007.'' In the interest of expediting House passage of this bill, our Committee agreed to waive its right to mark up H.R. 556, provided that the final bill include provisions for the establishment of a vice chairmanship of CFIUS, additional CFIUS reporting requirements to the Congress, and that the Inspector General of the Treasury Department investigate that Department's failure to report on potential industrial espionage or coordinated strategies by foreign countries with respect to U.S. critical technology. This understanding--intended for the express purpose of strengthening Congressional oversight of the CFIUS review process--is reflected in an exchange of letters between the Committee on Financial Services and Committee on Energy and Commerce, which itself is part of the record of the bill's initial House debate.

Given our jurisdictional stake and strong interest in CFIUS reform, the Committee on Energy and Commerce is pleased that the House will vote today on H.R. 556. This bill is the culmination of over a year's effort to improve the process by which our government reviews potential foreign investment in the United States for national security risks. While my Committee does offer its support of H.R. 556, we would note that our support is tempered by concerns with deficiencies in the Senate amendments to the bill. My good friend and colleague, Chairman Dingell, discusses these concerns in greater detail in a statement which has been inserted into the Record. Given this, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection fully intends to monitor the implementation of this new law. We feel, nevertheless, that the bill makes a meaningful contribution to the reform of the CFIUS review

process and would urge our colleagues to vote for its passage.

Madam Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Con Res. 169, and in recognition of National HIV Testing Day. As I speak, it is estimated that 180,000 to 280,000 individuals nationwide are HIV- positive but unaware of their status.

Today we commemorate this day because the HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to plague our Nation. In Chicago, 22,000 people are living with HIV/ AIDS, and more than 1,000 are infected annually.

And this disease is disproportionately impacting minorities. People of color account for 69 percent of the city's total population but represent 81 percent of recently diagnosed adult AIDS cases and 77 percent of recently diagnosed HIV cases.

Madam Speaker, these numbers continue to rise and we must do everything in our power to educate, prevent, treat and stop the spread of this deadly virus.

Madam Speaker, National HIV/AIDS Testing Day promotes awareness and empowers individuals to know their status, learn the facts about HIV and AIDS and take the proper steps to protect themselves and their communities.

In closing, I commend all of the organizations and individuals who participate in National HIV/AIDS Awareness day.

I encourage my constituents to get tested and I thank Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Englewood Neighborhood Health Center, the South State Family Health Center, the Taylor Family Health Center and others for hosting confidential testing services today in Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here today, along with my congressional Black Caucus colleagues, in recognition of Juneteenth Day. It is fitting for us to not only acknowledge where we have been in the past but also to evaluate where we are today as a people.

Mr. Speaker, one of the most pressing issues in the African American community remains the issue of education. Many of my colleagues have outlined the progress and the challenges that many African American students face as they strive to acquire the educational benefits that every American should receive.

In the words of the great African American leader Malcolm X: ``Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.''

Education is, of course, the key to a bright future. And it is the vital ingredient in finding success and achieving the American Dream. While African Americans have come very far, educationally, there is still much work to do at the Federal, at the State, at the local, and at the family level to ensure that all of our students are learning and are being given the chance to succeed.

Today, Mr. Speaker, African American females, in particular, are achieving gains in education that were previously unheard of. Black females are graduating from college, graduate school, and post-graduate school at record levels. And this is something we can all be proud of and take comfort in.

However, Mr. Speaker, there are still many problems. Today, our Nation has more African American men in prison than in college. In many urban cities, Black males are dropping out of high school at a rate of 50 percent and even less are going to college.

One problem that many of our young students face is the issue of gun violence that pervades our community. Mr. Speaker, we have to make the schools and the neighborhoods that we live in safe for our students. We must address the gun violence that is plaguing so many of our communities.

African American males under age 30 are nearly nine times more likely to be murdered than a white male under age 30. African Americans make up only 13 percent of the population of our Nation but in 2001 suffered almost 25 percent of all firearms deaths, and 52 percent of all firearm homicides.

Mr. Speaker, just days ago, on May 10, a student, Blair Holt, was riding home from school on a public bus and was fatally shot while trying to shield a young female friend from a gunman's bullet. Blair Holt was an honor student with plans to attend college, and instead, his young life was prematurely taken for no reason at all. Mr. Speaker, this school year alone, 31 Chicago public school students have been murdered; 31 students have lost their lives; 31 students have not given their talents, their skills, and their abilities to make this world a better place.

While this statistic is true for the schools in my district, gun violence is all around. Gun violence is prevalent in so many of the communities all around this Nation. And we must put an end to this domestic terrorism that is destroying communities and making our constituents live in fear. As elected officials, it is incumbent upon us to enact legislation that would help reduce the flow of guns into our communities and help our struggling and frustrated law enforcement departments all across this Nation to keep track of those who possess guns and where those guns are.

I have introduced H.R. 2666, Blair's bill, which would implement a Federal gun licensing and registry program. This bill will help law enforcement track over 200 million guns that are too often ending up in the hands of criminals, young people, and gang members.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2666 is a step in the right direction. We must do all that we can for our Nation's children.