Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1285, a bill to amend the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999. In 1999, I sponsored the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act, formerly H.R. 441-P. L. No.: 106-95, to address an immediate nursing shortage in my district, the First Congressional District of Illinois. This legislation sunset last year in June of 2005.

Today, there are many areas in this country which are experiencing a scarcity of health professionals, some areas more than others. In 1999 when I sponsored this legislation there were only pocket areas that experienced a shortage of nurses, now there exists, a national shortage. This shortage unfortunately, exists in my district, the First Congressional District of Illinois.

The Englewood community, a poor, urban neighborhood with a high incidence of crime, is primarily served by St. Bernard's Hospital. This small community hospital's emergency room averages approximately 31,000 visits per year; 50% of their patients are Medicaid recipients and 35% receive Medicare.

Prior to the creation of a non-immigrant visa (H1-C) St. Bernard could not attract nurses into the Englewood area and was forced to hire temporary nurses to service its patients. This resulted in St. Bernard nursing expenditures to increase in the millions. The Immigration Nursing Relief Act of 1989 created the H-1A visa program in order to allow foreign educated nurses to work in the United States. The rationale for the H1-A program, as acknowledged by the AFL-CIO, the American Nurses Association and others, was to address spot shortage areas.

My legislation merely seeks to close the gap created by the expiration of the H1-A program. H.R. 1285 simply extends the sunset provision in the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act to three years. It does not substantively change any language in the law, it still prescribes that any hospital which seeks to hire foreign nurses under these provisions must meet the following criteria: (1) be located in a Health Professional Shortage Area; (2) have at least 190 acute care beds; (3) have a medicare population of 35 percemt; and (4) have a Medicaid population of at least 28 percent.

As one who has always fought for the American worker, I can assure you that this proposal does not have a detrimental effect on American nurses. My legislation continues the cap on the number of new visas that may be issued each year. It also includes processing requirements that require employers to attest that the hiring of foreign nurses will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of registered nurses. The Secretary of Labor will oversee this process and provide penalties for non-compliance.

Health care is a basic human right. The hallmarks of civilized nations are health care, education, and democracy.

The state of health care is a grave concern in my district. Hospitals have closed. City health clinics are closing. Payments for Medicare and Medicaid have been cut back.

The legislation we must pass today is aimed at helping hospitals, like St. Bernard's, keep their doors open to the communities they serve. That said I would like to thank my colleagues Congressman Sensenbrenner, Congressman Hostettler, Congressman Hyde, Congressman Conyers and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee for their support and for recognizing the national and local importance of this bill. Again, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to show support for the Out of Iraq Caucus and to add my voice to this much needed debate on the war in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I voted against this war because I thought it was a mistake from the beginning. Iraq was not an imminent threat to our security, there were no weapons of mass destruction, and it has never been a part of American foreign policy to preemptively invade another country in order to spread our will on their citizens.

But Mr. Speaker we are in Iraq now, the President has committed our troops there and we now have an obligation to fix the mess that we've made over there.

But how long do we stay the course when the course that we have been on has not been a successful one. How long do we keep our troops in a country where they are not treated as liberators, but are instead fueling the violence there just by their mere presence?

The American people are starting to realize that this war was a mistake. The reason for going to war was wrong, the planning for keeping the peace after the war was nonexistent, and there does not seem to be any clear indication of what victory in Iraq looks like.

This was a war of choice and the people of Iraq are very suspicious about our motives for being there. Many people in and out of Iraq believed America's motivation for invading Iraq had more to do with its oil fields and strategic location in the Middle East, than with its supposed weapons of mass destruction.

The American public also overwhelmingly believes this war was not worth the human or financial burden, and how can we blame them?

At a time when our education system needs vast improvement, our schools are deteriorating, and our children are losing their edge in the fields of math, science, and engineering, we are sending billions of taxpayer's dollars overseas on a weekly basis.

While we have sent close to a half a trillion dollars over to Iraq, here at home many Americans still do not have the basic necessities they need to live whole, fruitful lives.

Millions of our citizens do not have healthcare, and millions more are working overtime just to make ends meet. Sadly, many Americans are not feeling the great economic boom that the Administration is trying so desperately to tout.

Constituents in my districts are feeling the pinch in their pockets due to skyrocketing fuel costs, an overpriced housing market, and debt that will follow them to their graves.

My constituents are starting to wonder, how can we continue to justify sending billions of dollars out of the country when they need better services and resources here at home?

How can we continue to ask our men and women in uniform to give their lives for a cause that was built on deceptions and misinformation?

Our national deficit is fast approaching $8 trillion, I repeat $8 trillion, and yet Congress is more concerned with enacting tax cuts for the wealthy, while simultaneously spending billions in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, something has to give. We cannot continue on this path that we are currently on. The resources of this country, as great as they are, are being stretched too thin.

Our forces, as mighty as they are, are being stretched too thin for the long-term health of the country.

Mr. Speaker, for the sake of this great Nation, we need to set a new course. We need a new policy on Iraq and Congress needs to start focusing its attention on the problems facing our citizens here at home.

I urge all of my colleagues to support the Murtha Resolution, which establishes a time line for a responsible troop redeployment and allows Iraqis to stand up and take responsibility for the course of their own nation.

As long as we are there doing the job that Iraqis should be doing for themselves we cannot expect them to stand up and take control of their own country.

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I am in kind of a difficult situation here. I am a minority, I am a Democrat, I was raised in the civil rights movement, I live next door to a public housing residence in the City of Chicago, and I am a supporter of this rule.

Why am I a supporter of this rule? I am a supporter of this rule because my constituents want to get much-needed relief from the escalating and high cost of cable television. I am amused and I am bemused by the comments of some of my colleagues from the party that I am a member of because they are talking about build out. They are talking about video services in my community, the community that I represent, that I haven't left, that I have been a part of.

Well, let me tell you about that community. That community has the highest viewership of cable television than any other demographic group in America. We pay more for video services, for high premium packages than any other group in America. And why is that? Because only on cable do we see people who look like us, speak like us, and who understand us. That is why we pay more for cable.

Let me just tell you, Mr. Speaker, we don't need build out, we need build up in my community; build up by allowing minority entrepreneurs to get access to the telecommunication industry. And that is what this bill would do, and that is what this rule will provide for. We need build up and not build out. This legislation represents a huge step in lowering prices and creating more choices for cable services, not only to my hard-pressed constituents, but to the entire Nation.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. This is a good rule. Of course, there were amendments in the committee that were voted down. I voted against a lot of them, because the intention of those amendments was to gut the bill. And I cannot go back to my community, because I came here to represent my community. I came here to represent my community, no philosophy, no party, my community, and that is what I am going to do. I am going to represent my community, and my community wants this bill. They want lower cable prices, they want more access, and they want more diversity and content on the video platform. That is what this bill does.

I urge my colleagues, those who can think for the little people in America, not the elite, but for the little people in America, I urge you to vote for this rule.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule for H.R. 5252, the Communications, Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006, a bill that I jointly and proudly sponsored with my Colleague Congressman Barton. This legislation represents a huge step in bringing lower prices and more choices for cable services, not only to my hard pressed constituents, but to the entire Nation. Specifically, this bill would provide equitable competition amongst a variety of video service providers. Video service providers can compete in price, quality and quantity, and consumers can finally decide which service provider they prefer. Specifically, this bill would create a nationwide approval process for pay-TV services. By streamlining the archaic franchise system, companies will be able to offer new TV services in many areas while protecting local interests. It would prohibit discrimination on the basis of income and give the FCC the power to impose stiff fines up to 500,000 a day or revoke a provider's franchise area if there is willful or repeated violation of discrimination. The bill also preserves net neutrality by allowing the FCC explicit power to go after companies that violate network neutrality principles and lastly and more importantly H.R. 5252 creates new jobs when video entrants make new investments in advance network.

Mr. Speaker, I believe this is a fair rule it allows for meaningful amendments by my Democratic colleagues. I respectfully urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying legislation.

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

Mr. Chairman, I am from the other side of town. I live on the other side of town; and, Mr. Chairman, those who live on the other side of town understand the Biblical principle, the verse in the Bible that says, know ye the truth, and the truth shall set you free.

Mr. Chairman, there are some untruths that have been spoken today about this bill. This is a good bill. This is a marvelous bill. This is a bill that is worthwhile. This is a bill that will make a difference in the lives of the people who live on the other side of town.

Mr. Chairman, there are five truths about this legislation that I want to share with you. This legislation, number one, represents a huge step in bringing lower prices and more choices for cable services, not only from the other side of town, but from all of town, and also to the Nation.

Mr. Chairman, this bill will provide equitable competition amongst a variety of video service providers on the other side of town. Video service providers can compete in price, in quality, and in quantity. And the people on the other side of town, on my side of town, can finally decide which service provider they prefer.

Number two, Mr. Chairman, the second truth, this bill will create a nationwide approval process for pay TV services. The people on my side of town, on the other side of town, pay more money for cable TV services than any other demographic group within the Nation. And by streamlining this archaic franchise system, companies will be able to offer new TV services on the other side of town, while also protecting the local interests.

The third truth. And this is a truth, Mr. Chairman, that I take to heart. I have spent all of my life fighting against discrimination. And I will never, never, ever be a sponsor or cosponsor or vote for a bill that allows for discrimination in any area of life within this Nation.

The third truth, Mr. Chairman, is that this bill will prohibit discrimination on the basis of income and give the FCC the power to impose stiff fines, up to $500,000 a day, or revoke a provider's franchise area if there is willful or repeated violation of discrimination.

And it goes even beyond that. The burden of proof will be on the company and not on the consumer.

The fourth truth, Mr. Chairman, is that this bill also preserves net neutrality by allowing the FCC explicit power to go after companies that violate network neutrality principles.

And, Mr. Chairman, on network neutrality, let me just say this: network neutrality is a Trojan horse in this whole debate. It is not about build-out; it is not about access. The opponents of this bill are in favor of network neutrality, and they are not in favor, Mr. Chairman, of lowering cable costs for the people on the other side of town.

I thank the gentlewoman. Mr. Chairman, her amendment is a very worthwhile amendment. It goes a long way toward getting to the essence of a problem that I have determined is one of the barriers to economic parity within this Nation.

Mr. Chairman, we are sick and tired in my community of just being viewed as consumers of technology. We also want to be providers of technology. And this amendment, the Jackson-Lee amendment, would go a long way in making us providers of that amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Mr. Chairman, my amendment establishes a dispute resolution process for monetary disputes between local franchise authorities and cable operators. If localities and video operators have disputes over franchise fees or other fees, this amendment will allow them to negotiate a resolution in a timely process.

The amendment is simple. It sets forth a deadline for the initiation and resolution of a complaint process. First, the amendment calls for the parties to meet and settle their differences before issuing a complaint at the FCC. It simply states that a franchise authority or cable operator must provide written notice to each other if there is a dispute regarding franchise fees or PEG/I-Net support. Both parties must meet within 30 days of notification. If the local franchise authority and the cable operator have not resolved the dispute within 90 days, then both parties can petition the FCC to resolve the complaint. The FCC then has 90 days to resolve any fee disputes.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I want to thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard it all. I have heard every argument against the bill, and I have heard all in this motion to recommit. But I must rise to oppose this motion to recommit. And I don't do it lightly, but I must do it.

I must do it because, Mr. Speaker, what I have heard from the opponents of this bill is so confusing, it is creating a confused state in this Chamber. But I would ask all of my colleagues to not get confused about this bill. This is a good bill. This is a great bill. This bill will do a lot and go a long way to making sure that the cost of cable television throughout America, particularly in underserved areas, that we will have competition and the cost of cable will be reduced.

Mr. Speaker, the opponents of this particular resolution, they are trying to confuse us. They are trying to confuse us. They want us to eat the wrapper and throw the candy bar away. They want us to walk outside when it is bright and the sun is shining with our umbrella over our head, and when there is mist from the rain and the storm, we will walk out with nothing covering our heads. They are trying to confuse us.

Mr. Speaker, I know that this bill will drive the cost of cable down for my community in my district and districts like mine across the country. More than that, this bill, Mr. Speaker, will allow for diversity and ownership diversity in programming. This bill will allow minorities to get into the cable industry and into the telecommunication industry.

I urge my colleagues, don't fall for the confusion. Be clear. Vote against this motion to recommit.

Madam Speaker, I rise here today to extend my remarks on H.R. 4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act that was passed here on the House Floor on May 23, 2006. Madam Speaker, the Palestinian Anti- Terrorism Act was a bill that I and I am sure many of my colleagues as well, struggled with and deliberated on a great deal. While America's support for Israel is unwavering, Congress does not want to send the wrong message to the Palestinian people that we have given up on them or the path to peace in that region.

Madam Speaker, the intent of H.R. 4681 was not to alienate the Palestinian people, but rather to demonstrate America's resolve against terrorism in all its forms, including the leadership of Hamas and the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority. This bill was passed to send a strong message to Hamas'

leaders that they cannot continue to sponsor terrorism and call for the destruction of Israel and expect to receive American financial and diplomatic support. America will stand firm with Israel against any enemy who seeks to terrorize its people or disrupt the lives of its citizens.

With that being said, it is also important for the Palestinian people to know that America is not an enemy, but that we seek to help establish a two-state system, with Israel and Palestine coexisting side by side in peace. America strongly believes in the peace process and we hope to facilitate that process so the entire region will be better for it. When Congress passed H.R. 4681 it was not a vote against the Palestinian people, but a vote against terrorists of those who have called for the destruction of Israel and who have sponsored terrorism in the past and continue to do so.

Congress understands that we must be resolute against terrorist leaders, but also show humanity and compassion towards the poor and innocent children and destitute people of the Palestinian territories. That is the only way we can achieve peace and stability in the region. Madam Speaker, I will continue to support the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian people along with my colleagues here in Congress, and America will continue to provide humanitarian aid and assistance for those people who need it most. We will not let the election of Hamas hijack the road to peace that we have all sought for so long.

Offered By: Mr. Rush

Amendment No. 21: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following new section:

Sec. 7__. It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of

Agriculture should conduct a study to evaluate the impact of

the lack of readily available fresh fruits and vegetables in

economically underserved areas on persons residing in such

areas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer recognition to Dr. Don Michael Randel, the outgoing president of the University of Chicago. Dr. Randel has presided over the University of Chicago since 2000, and he has been instrumental in strengthening the humanities and the arts on the campus. Dr. Randel has also been active in overseeing a broad range of interactions with the city of Chicago and further strengthening the University's programs in the physical and biomedical sciences and its relationship with the Argonne National Laboratory. He also led the Chicago Initiative, an ongoing campaign for $2 billion, the largest in the University's history, which has raised more than $1.3 billion toward this goal.

Dr. Randel came to Chicago after 32 years at Cornell University, where he served as a faculty member in the department of music and in many administrative posts, including department chair, vice-provost, and associate dean and then dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He became provost of Cornell University in 1995.

Dr. Randel is one of the nation's leading musicologists and served as the editor of the Journal of the American Musicology Society. He also is editor of the Harvard Dictionary of Music 4th ed., published in 2003, the Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, published in 1996, and the Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians, published in 1999.

During Dr. Randel's presidency, substantial improvements to the University of Chicago's facilities were completed, including the Palevsky residence halls, the Ratner Athletic Center, the new Graduate School of Business and the $200 million Center for Integrative Sciences, the largest building in the University's history. The University also completed several joint programs with the city along the Midway, including opening a highly successful charter school, which has now been joined by another, under the auspices of the University's Center for Urban School Improvement. The University also has launched the Collegiate Scholars Program, a College bridge program aimed at preparing Chicago public school students for elite academic institutions.

Dr. Randel will leave a long-lasting impact on the First Congressional District by encouraging a greater awareness of the value of diversity. Speaking on the importance of combating prejudice, Dr. Randel noted the related virtue of diversity, both of ideas and of experience when he commented, ``No part of the University community can think of itself as immune from this concern for diversity. An unprecedented number of programs are in place to increase diversity in the functioning of our academic programs and in the ways in which we carry on our business affairs and our relations with the neighborhood and city of which we are a part. Each of us must believe that embracing--not merely tolerating--diversity is a personal obligation.''

Mr. Speaker, the University of Chicago, as well as the city itself, will be losing an exceptional, first-class leader, but we want to wish Dr. Randel well on all of his future endeavors, as well as thank him for his many contributions to the school and to the great city of Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great public servant: John H. Stroger, Jr., President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

John Stroger is the first African-American to have been elected as Cook County Board President after serving Cook County for many years in other capacities, including as Chairman of the Board of Commissioners Finance Committee. During his lifetime of public service, President Stroger has always served with distinction and with an unwavering dedication to improving the lives and well being of all of the residents of Cook County.

As Chairman, he was instrumental in the development and construction of a new hospital facility, which bears his name, John H. Stroger Hospital. The facility, which is state-of-the-art, serves the health needs of all of Cook county's residents, including the indigent and uninsured. John Stroger is the past President of the National Association of Counties and in that capacity, he provided leadership on public policy issues affecting local governments across the Nation. He was particularly concerned with the need of county governments to ensure health care access for all county residents.

Mr. Speaker, I know that you will join me in wishing President Stroger a full and speedy recovery from his recent illness and all the best to his wife and family.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to tell this Congress and this Nation about a high school success story. Today I would like to acknowledge students and teachers from the Morgan Park High School located in my district, the first congressional district on the south side of the City of Chicago.

Morgan Park High School students posted world-class advanced placements test scores. Mr. Speaker, it must be noted, particularly as this is the month that we celebrate black history, February, it must be noted that out of the more than 15,000 high schools and 31 countries worldwide, more students at Morgan Park High School passed their AP exams in two courses, English language composition and European history, than at any other high school in the Nation or in the world.

The vast majority of these students were African American. The number of African-American students passing these college-level exams at Morgan Park High School is even more amazing considering the fact that African Americans are the most underrepresented racial group in the country in AP classrooms.

Mr. Speaker, thanks to the excellent teaching and tutelage of their teachers, Ms. Judith Keyhoe, Ms. Marilyn Jackson and Mr. Martin Luzzo, all of the Morgan Park students deserve special recognition and congratulations from this Congress today.

Morgan Park High School is a great example of what dedicated administrators, committed teachers, motivated students, and involved parents can accomplish; and I ask all my colleagues to please join me in congratulating Morgan Park High School, this fine school, for their wonderful academic achievement.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I would like to just take a moment to name the individual students that allowed Morgan Park High School to soar to these unprecedented heights. These students are: Jorge Anguiano, Jenele Anderson, Desney Avery, Nicole Banks, Brian Belcher, Aryelle Berry, Evan Beverly, Jasmine Bomer, Justin Booz, Christina Boyce, Jenise Chappell, Monique Childress, Angelo Dasilva, Eric Dorsey, Natalie Dowdell, Patrice Gardner, Jeffrey Gonzales, Brandon Hamilton, Zellonda Harris, Rachel Hoffman, Dominique Jones, Edward King, Latasha Kinnard, Juwaun Mcclain, Amanda Moore, Tichina Moore, Eduardo Morales, Jeffrey Nelson, Cecilia Ortiz, Kimberly Randle, Ashley Rouse, Lajoi Royston, Renata Sago, Bradley Thomas, Jerome Wade, Langston Wesley, Alexandria Willis, Rachel Woods, Joshua Young.

To the students at Morgan Park High School, we take our hats off to you. Keep up the good work. Make sure that you keep on the path to success. This Congress, this Nation, is very proud of you. God bless you.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman of the committee for yielding his time to me, and I certainly want to thank the ranking member of this committee for all of his efforts on behalf of human rights and justice throughout not only this Nation but throughout the world. He has been an inspiration to us all.

Mr. Speaker, we lost an inspiration. We lost an icon. Mrs. Coretta Scott King was more than just the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King. She was, indeed, an incredible force in the movement for equality, for justice in her own right. And she was the strong spirit and character that certainly laid the foundation for many of us who are

present in this body tonight who serve in this Congress and in other elected offices throughout our Nation.

Mrs. King, as was indicated earlier, was born Coretta Scott on a farm in Heiberger, Perry County, Alabama to Obadiah and Bernice McNurry Scott. She graduated from the Lincoln Normal School in Marion, Alabama, at the top of her class before going to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. After graduating from college, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where she was classically trained as a promising opera singer.

The story is well known about her meeting Dr. Martin Luther King, another student in Boston, and their unity that was ordained before the Lord. Mrs. King was a steadfast partner of Dr. King, and she shared in his sacrifice and also his hardships. It was not an easy life that they led. It was a very difficult life that they led. They raised four children. Mrs. King raised four children. It was very difficult for her to keep her family safe and united in the face of what would ordinarily be overwhelming anger, extreme violence, and deep-seated resentment. But for Mrs. King, her majestic poise and grace made her efforts seem to the rest of us almost seamless. And after the death of her husband, she continued on with his legacy of seeking justice, equality, and liberty for all citizens.

Leading marches, participating in protests and organizing civil rights groups, Mrs. King continued to struggle against racial injustice, economic inequality, military adventurism, hate crimes, and violence.

Mr. Speaker, this Nation owes Coretta Scott King an incredible debt. We owe the King family an incredible debt for the sacrifices that they made.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, when the House considered H. Res. 444, a Gynecological Resolution for Advancement of Ovarian Cancer Education, I was unavoidably detained in my Chicago district. I would like to take this

opportunity to express my support for this resolution, which has been sponsored by my good friend and colleague, Ralph Hall of Texas, to bring attention to a disease that has afflicted one of his long time staff members, Grace Warren.

That disease is ovarian cancer.

Mr. Speaker, ovarian cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer mortality among women in the United States. Research has proven that early detection of the disease can improve the long term survival rates among those with the disease dramatically yet, unfortunately, there are few, if any, effective methods of early detection. As a result, often when the disease has been diagnosed, it is often far advanced.

While the mortality rates have decreased in the United States for other cancers, they have remained high for women with ovarian cancer. This is the result, in part, because the symptoms of the disease are not well understood and in part, because there are no reliable and reasonably priced screening tests to detect the disease in its early stages. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that more than 22,000 American women will be diagnosed with the disease this year, yet last year, the National Cancer Institute dedicated approximately one-fifth of the research dollars to ovarian cancer as it does to breast cancer.

Earlier this year, when Ralph advised me that he was sponsoring legislation to increase the awareness of ovarian cancer and to dedicate resources to research on its causes and cures, I agreed to cosponsor the legislation. Not only as a testament to Grace, and to the strength and courage which she has demonstrated while battling this devastating disease, but to all of the women in this country who are the victims of ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancers.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased and proud that the House has passed this resolution overwhelmingly. It is my hope that the Senate will soon follow suit and pass similar legislation. Grace Warren, and the other victims of this disease, deserve no less.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank sponsor of this resolution, my friend from the Chicago City Council, my friend in the civil rights movement,

my colleague here in the Congress, the Congressman from the Seventh Congressional District, Congressman Danny K. Davis, for the lead that he took in terms of this particular resolution, the sponsoring of this resolution; and I want to thank him for all the work that he does on behalf of not only his constituents but the constituents of Chicago and the constituents of the Nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is proper that I would follow a Cubs fan because for a long time the Cubs have been known throughout the Nation as being Chicago's team, and that moniker was earned because the entire Nation sympathized with the Cubs. They have lost so much and they have lost for such a long time that they have really kind of endeared themselves in their losing manner to the Nation; and so, therefore, the Nation has responded to them accordingly.

But I stand here now to say to the Cubs fans and to all of the Nation really that there is a team in Chicago now that has earned the respect and the love and the endearment of all the citizens of the City of Chicago. We are not Chicago's team because of sympathy. We are Chicago's team because the Chicago White Sox have instilled a sense of pride in Chicago. Indeed, the Chicago White Sox are now the pride of Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the White Sox for their dominant, excellent performance in the World Series and the playoffs, how they conducted themselves, both as professionals and how they conducted themselves as superior and supreme athletes. They made us all proud, particularly those of my constituents who share, as Congressman Davis said, share the ethos and share the pride and share the workman mentality of the City of Chicago with the Chicago White Sox.

The Chicago White Sox team epitomizes the lunch-pail approach, the lunch-pail mentality that I would like to think all of my constituents represent. This is the team of the little guy. This is the team of the unheralded heroes. This is the team that fights based on heart. They have got big hearts, not big names, but they have got big hearts, and their big hearts won the World Series.

Mr. Speaker, this win that we were able to experience over the last few days really united the City of Chicago unlike it has been united in recent memory.

I remember back in 1959 I was a 13-year-old lad, living in Cubs territory; and although all of my friends and my teachers and everybody, all those who I was associated with, they all were die-hard Cubs fans, but Chicago, the White Sox, kind of captured my imagination. I became a Chicago White Sox fan at 13 years old when they were in the American League pennant race, and since that time I have been following the team closely.

I have become friends with Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn and Kenny Williams; and it just gives me a sense of pride, gives my constituents a sense of pride just to know that within the neighborhood that we all reside in that we have a world championship team there. We have a World Series team there.

Mr. Speaker, the black and the white is all over the City of Chicago.

When I got off the plane last week from Washington here, the whole entire airport was an avalanche of black and white all over the airport, and people from far and near were coming trying to buy some of the White Sox logos and some of the White Sox t-shirts and some of their paraphernalia.

I am just so proud of this particular team. It is really a shot in the arm for those of us who work hard every day, those of us who do the right thing, those of us who really just put our hearts and our minds and our spirit out on the field. Sometimes we come back victorious and sometimes we do not come back victorious, but we still go out and approach our day-to-day activities with the kind of zeal and with the kind of understanding that this is fair. This is fair. We go and put everything, our guts on the ground, and if we do that, then sometimes we are able to be victorious.

The Chicago White Sox have really cemented the fact that if you just work hard you do not have to be the big names, you do not have to have the dazzling system. All you have to have is an organization of people from the elevator operator to the janitor all the way up to the president of the company, the owners of the company. If you have that kind of organization and you really, really have a single focus, you have the power of a made-up mind, you can accomplish and you can be victorious. The Chicago White Sox have shown that with the power of the made-up mind that they could be victorious.

Mr. Speaker, they started out this year saying they had one thing on their mind, that they were going to go to the World Series, and they did it. We are proud of them. They have shown the way, and I am just so grateful to have the opportunity to come and to speak on behalf of this resolution. So I want to congratulate the Chicago White Sox and their entire organization.

Lastly, Mr. Speaker, before I take my seat, I just want to say to my colleague from the Seventh Congressional District and to others, we will try to do all that we can to ensure that this franchise, that this organization, that this World Series champion has what it takes in order for them to continue on with their success.

I want to let the world know that we will be erecting a new public transportation system, a metro system, that will have a stop there at the White Sox field there, U.S. Cellular Field. The Cell will have a metro stop there so that people from far and near can come. And if my colleagues from the Cubs part of the city, from the north side and from the other places, if they want to get on the metro and come to Comiskey Park to see some winning going on in the City of Chicago, then they are invited to come over. It does not take a lot of money. We invite them to come from the north side to the south side in order to see some victories in the City of Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank the gentlewoman from California for her outstanding, steadfast leadership not only on this issue and in this regard but for all the work that she has done on behalf of the people called Americans, people who are in this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, the Bible tells us that the glory of the Lord is our strength. We are strengthened in order to glorify him and glorify his creation.

I think of that particular scripture as I think of Rosa Parks. You see, because ordinarily back in 1955, a person who was an African American, called ``colored'' at the time, was supposed to respect a system that denied the dignity of African Americans, of blacks, during that time. So tradition had it that once you got on a bus, you could take a seat at the back of the bus as long as there was not a white person who needed a seat; and if there was a white person who needed a seat on the bus, then the black person was, out of honor and a sense of second-class citizenship, to rise up and give that white person their seat on the bus. That was wrong, and today we all realize how wrong that system was.

The Lord, in my estimation, had some serious problems with that kind of a system, and he wanted that system corrected. So in a singular moment, in the batting of an eye, he whispered to Rosa Parks, ``Don't move. Sit there. I will protect you. I will be with you. I have a hedge, a protection, that surrounds you. Sit there. And just in case you are not listening to me, I want you to think about Emmett Till. Remember Emmett Till. But just sit there. Whatever you have to do, just sit there, because I have got something that I want you to do. I have got something, a task, a goal, an objective for you to accomplish. I want you to teach the world, teach this Nation, about what I can do using an ordinary woman to accomplish some extraordinary things.''

So, Rosa Parks sat there. This humble seamstress from the South did not realize that just by her sitting there, that she was beginning to stitch together a torn fabric called America and that she was beginning to stand by sitting. The Lord in his glory uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.

Mr. Speaker, I am a product of the civil rights movement. I was raised in the civil rights movement. I started out in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and then I became a member of the Black Panther Party. In all of my activities in the civil rights movement, I focused on the strength, the calmness, the deep commitment of Rosa Parks.

I know that without Rosa Parks, there would not be 40 members of the Congressional Black Caucus today. Without Rosa Parks, we would not have an African American in the U.S. Senate. Mr. Speaker, I know that without Rosa Parks, we would not have the successes that we have been able to enjoy over these last few years here in America.

Mr. Speaker, I want us to realize that there was more to Rosa Parks than just what happened in Montgomery, in the borders of this country. By her taking that simple act, which took enormous courage and commitment and resolve and persistence, by her taking that one act, she inspired an entire world.

Mr. Speaker, as I close my eyes, and if I look across the landscape of this world, and as I look in Europe, I see images, I see Lech Walesa in Poland being inspired by the actions, the sitting down of Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama. As I look in China, I see the students in Tiananmen Square being inspired by Rosa Parks. And as I look to Africa, I see Nelson Mandela being inspired by Rosa Parks sitting down. And as I look in Latin America, I see youth groups and I see the students in Colombia and other places being inspired by the legacy of Rosa Parks sitting down. Of course, we all know here in this Nation, Dr. Martin Luther King was brought to the forefront of the world's consciousness by Rosa Parks sitting down.

So, Mr. Speaker, it is with deep honor, profound privilege, deep- seated admiration and undying love that I stand here as a Member of Congress, a product of the civil rights movement, a young boy who remembered the segregated buses as a lad in Albany, Georgia. I stand here today proud of being a Member of this Congress, proud of the Senate, proud of the House of Representatives, but I am just so, so, so, so proud that I lived in a generation that not only heard about Rosa Parks, but walked with Rosa Parks, that talked with Rosa Parks, that was able to touch just the hem of the seamstress' garment.

Mr. Speaker, I support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this morning we learned that a 23-year-old mother threw her three children off a pier in San Francisco killing them all. Apparently she heard voices that told her to commit this unthinkable act.

Mr. Speaker, we do not know yet whether this woman suffered from a most severe form of postpartum disorder known as postpartum psychosis. We do know that postpartum depression and psychosis can emerge even a year after a child's birth.

That is why for the last three Congresses I have introduced the Melanie Blocker Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act, H.R. 1940. My bill would direct funds to researching this misunderstood disorder, and it would also provide grants for services and care for mothers who suffer from postpartum depression.

I urge all of my colleagues in the House to cosponsor this important bill. What happened in San Francisco happens way too often in this Nation, and we must do what we can to prevent similar tragedies in the future. The mothers of America desperately need this Congress to recognize this deadly malady and pass H.R. 1940.

Mr. Speaker, this evening I rise before this House condemning the words spoken yesterday by former Secretary of Education William Bennett. It is truly reprehensible that as we try to heal the wounds that were laid bare following the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, that powerful elements in the Republican Party still insist on espousing racial rhetoric while trying to divide Americans based on the color of their skin.

I was shocked, I was appalled that the former Secretary of Education, William Bennett, a prominent member of the Republican Party, would go on public radio and say, ``But I do know that it is true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.''

Mr. Speaker, as a proud black American who was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army, I know that this is precisely the kind of insensitive, hurtful, and ignorant rhetoric that Americans have grown tired of.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Bennett still has power and influence within this Republican administration; and he is representative of the ignorant, inconsiderate politics that have been displayed in this government today. And I am calling on my friends, the responsible Republicans, to rebuke Mr. Bennett for his damaging statement.

Where is the indignation from the GOP, as one of their prominent members talks about aborting an entire race of Americans as a way of ridding this country of crime? How ridiculous. How asinine. How insane can one be?

Mr. Bennett's remarks were thoughtless, mean-spirited, and well, well off the mark. We all know that aborting black babies would not decrease or erase the crime rates in this country. Aborting the Republican policies which have hurt the disadvantaged, the poor, and average Americans for the benefit of large corporations would be a much more sane and reasonable way to address crime and poverty in this Nation.

Americans are sick of the poisonous, divisive atmosphere that is prevalent in this Republican era. Americans want reform. Americans want change. Americans want an end to the culture of corruption and bitterness that the Republican Party and this House have come to embody.

It is ironic that the same people who promised America that they would clean up the system 11 years ago, have used their power and influence to benefit their own agenda and defile the