Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today on the House floor, we passed a very important bill to reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security. Tonight, we must take time to remember the horrific event that made our Nation realize that we needed a Department of Homeland Security to begin with, the attacks of September 11, 2001.

We will never forget that fateful day and the thousands of people who lost their lives, and now we know that thousands more lost their health.

We must not forget the firefighters, police officers, EMTs and other first responders who bravely rushed to save the lives of others, even as everyone else was running in the opposite direction.

Within hours of the collapse of the World Trade Center, those first responders labored alongside hard hats and average New Yorkers without regard for their own health or safety. They spent countless hours working the pit, sifting through the rubble, hoping against hope that they would be able to rescue someone trapped deep below.

Unfortunately, as the days went on and the mission turned from a rescue-and-recovery mission to a cleanup site, these brave men and women stayed. While they labored, most were not given the proper respiratory equipment, and all were given inaccurate information about the quality of the air they were breathing. They were told that the ``air was safe to breathe.'' They were told that it was not a health hazard to be there.

Let us take a closer look: This air, the air enveloped by this massive toxic dust cloud, they said was safe to breathe. Unfortunately, we now know better. We know more about what was in that cloud, a poisonous cocktail of thousands of tons of coarse and fine particulate matter, pulverized cement and glass and other toxic pollutants.

To the mix were added 24,000 gallons of burning jet fuel and plastics, which created a dense plume of black smoke containing cancer- causing volatile organic compounds, dioxins and hydrocarbons, a specific combination of toxins probably never seen before and hopefully that we will never see again.

And all of this went into the mouths, throats and lungs of tens of thousands of workers while they tirelessly worked long shifts, not thinking first of their health but of serving this great Nation.

Later in this hour, I am going to share with you the stories of the individual brave men and women who worked at ground zero, but now let me just share one about the dust.

This is a story from Denise Bellingham of Long Island, New York. In her own words, as reported in the New York Daily News, she said, ``The air was indescribable,'' as you can see. ``You couldn't eat anything that wasn't covered with dust. We had paper masks, but they were no good. Condensation from breathing turned the mask into mud. It was worse to breathe with it on. We got respirators about a week into it, but they were not fit-tested. They just came in boxes, and we grabbed one that might fit.

``I worked more than 300 hours at ground zero. I considered it a thank you to America, a chance to do something for my country and for my fellow New Yorkers and for my co-workers who were buried in the rubble.

``We never expected anything to go wrong. Every day we were told the air was safe to breathe. Working down there as a team gave us healing. We could feel all the angels, all the people who had died there.''

Again, that was one of the personal accounts of work at ground zero, as reported in the Pulitzer Prize-winning Daily News series on the Forgotten Heroes of 9/11.

Now, well over 5 years after 9/11, we are seeing the potentially deadly effects on the thousands who worked around ground zero. This is in addition to the untold numbers of residents, area office workers and school children also exposed to the toxins of ground zero but have never received any medical monitoring or assistance from the Federal Government.

We have numerous peer-reviewed, scientific studies linking people's sicknesses to the toxins of ground zero.

Last year we learned from Mount Sinai, an important hospital in my district, and the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program that 70 percent of 9/11 responders suffered respiratory problems and 60 percent are still sick as a direct result of their work at ground zero. Making matters worse, nearly 40 percent of those screened have no health insurance, and for those who do have insurance, work-related illnesses are most often not covered.

We also learned from the fire department that the average New York City firefighter has lost 12 years of lung capacity following their service at ground zero, and many have been forced to retire or be reassigned due to their 9/11 illnesses.

And just 2 days ago, a new report from the fire department and Einstein College of Medicine in New York clearly linked World Trade Center dust to a rare type of lung-scarring disease, sarcoidosis, which involves an inflammation that produces tiny lumps of cells in the lungs. In some cases, the illness gets progressively worse and can be fatal.

Let there be no doubt. We now have scientific proof that the 9/11 health crisis is real, and that it is truly a matter of life and death.

Tonight I want everyone listening to understand this. The 9/11 health crisis is not only a New York City problem. The attacks on 9/11 were attacks against our Nation, not just New York. The whole country was touched; and, in the aftermath, people from every State in the Nation were exposed to these toxins while they assisted in the massive rescue recovery and cleanup efforts. Whether you came from California, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Alaska, you breathed in the same toxic air.

Last month, Congressman Vito Fossella and I released a report showing that Americans from all 50 States were exposed to the aftermath of 9/11 and have serious concerns about their health.

This map shows how many people from each State enrolled in the World Trade Center Health Registry, which is a comprehensive health survey of those most heavily exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero. Those who enrolled answered a 30-minute telephone survey about where they were and what they did on 9/11, and they were asked to report the status of their health. This will allow health professionals to compare the health of those most exposed

to the events of 9/11 with the health of the general population.

Over 71,000 people who met the eligibility requirements of direct exposure decided to enroll in the registry. We know that there are an estimated 410,000 people who would have been eligible, meaning that 410,000 people were likely directly exposed to the deadly toxins of 9/ 11.

Of the 71,000 people who were concerned enough about their health to enroll, over 8,000 live in New Jersey, over 1,200 live in California, another 1,200 live in Florida, 156 live in Arizona, 350 live in Georgia, 238 in Maryland, and 341 live in Texas. At least 28 people came from as far away as Hawaii.

The list goes on and on, but the message of this map is clear: This is a national emergency, and it deserves a strong Federal response.

Over 1,000 people are from Pennsylvania, including Ryan McCormick, who came to Ground Zero from Representative Dent's district in Pennsylvania. His father, David McCormick, sent me an e-mail explaining that Ryan was a paramedic for University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, who came to the aid of New York in our country in our time of need.

In his 5 days at Ground Zero, he served in many capacities. A year and a half later, he came down with Hodgkin's Disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system. He has undergone a great deal of chemotherapy and radiation, but nothing has worked. We sincerely thank Ryan for his service to our country, and we pledge that we will not forget his service or his health needs.

I also thank him for his hard work in getting the message out to country and Congress that we cannot forget the heroes of 9/11, and I am told that he is with us tonight in the gallery. We want to personally thank you for your service and your courage.

With a problem of this scope, what we need right now is a plan from the current administration on how they intend to medically monitor everyone who was exposed to the deadly toxins at Ground Zero, and we need a plan to treat everyone who is sick. That is the least that we can do for these heroes and heroines.

Along with my colleagues in New York and our entire delegation, I have been calling for a plan for years now. We don't have a plan yet, but we have made some important progress.

After a long fight with the administration, in May, 2003, we were successful in securing $90 million for medical monitoring for responders.

Then, with the leadership of Representative Shays, the Government Reform Committee started a series of important congressional hearings bringing this topic to light.

Then, after the President actually rescinded, they took out of the budget $125 million meant for New York recovery efforts, the New York delegation fought to have the $125 million restored in October of 2005. Of that, $50 million was set aside for workers' compensation, and $75 million was for medical monitoring and treatment. This was the first- ever Federal funding for treatment of sick 9/11 responders.

Unfortunately, then we had to fight just as hard to get that $75 million out of the hands of the Department of Health and Human Services and to the doctors and patients that need to be monitored and treated.

Finally, in late fall of this year, the $75 million was finally released to help the men and women who helped so many on 9/11.

While we were fighting to get that funding released, we took a step closer to having a coordinated Federal response when the Director of the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Dr. John Howard, was appointed at the request of the New York congressional delegation as the Federal coordinator for 9/11 health issues in February of 2006.

Since his appointment, we have seen the release of the first clinical guidelines on the physical health effects many have suffered from the World Trade Center attacks and a draft of autopsy guidelines.

We have also seen Assistant Secretary John Agwunobi appointed as leader of a task force on 9/11 health within the Department of Health and Human Services. While we were promised a plan from this new task force between February of this year, Congress has yet to see one. We still do not have a plan from the administration to medically monitor everyone exposed to those deadly toxins and treat those who are sick as a result of exposure in their hard work at Ground Zero.

That is why, along with Congressman Fossella, I have introduced a resolution which calls on the administration to create a comprehensive long-term plan to medically monitor everyone exposed and treat those who have become sick.

Along with many Members of Congress, I have also introduced the first comprehensive authorizing legislation to care for both the health and economic well-being of all those affected. Named after New York City Police Detective James Zadroga, one of the first 9/11 responders to have his death directly attributed to his exposure to the toxins of Ground Zero, this legislation combines and builds upon two pieces of legislation that we have previously introduced in the 108th and 109th Congress, the Remember 9/11 Health Act and the James Zadroga Act to reopen the Victims' Compensation Fund.

H.R. 1638, the James Zadroga Act, the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, has four main components. It provides, first, for medical monitoring and treatment; secondly, compensation; thirdly, research; and, fourthly, coordination.

To provide medical monitoring and treatment, the James Zadroga Health and Compensation Act continues and expands the current programs at three Centers for Excellence dedicated to 9/11 health issues to all people exposed to the toxins of 9/11, including first responders, rescue, recovery and cleanup workers, area residents, office workers and students. It would ensure that everyone exposed is monitored, and everyone who is sick is treated.

With regard to compensation, the legislation reopens the September 11 Victims' Compensation Fund to provide individuals who have become sick with 9/11 compensation for their loss. We can't make a person whole by helping them with their health but not addressing their economic needs.

For research, H.R. 1638 directs the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct or support diagnostic and treatment research for health conditions that are associated with the exposure to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

To ensure coordination, the bill establishes the 9/11 Health Emergency Coordinating Council for the purpose of discussing, examining and formulating recommendations to improve coordination between the Federal, State and local problems and getting those governments on all three levels to work together.

Passing long-term comprehensive legislation like this, and securing funding in the meantime, has proven to be a long, hard fight. Those who are sick from 9/11 are fighting for their lives, and we cannot forget them.

I stand here tonight to promise that I will not rest until we have a system in place that medically monitors everyone exposed to the deadly toxins and treats who is sick. On 9/11, we had many, many people rush to save the lives of others, and many worked for days to help others.

One of my colleagues has a constituent who is suffering from his exposure. He has been treated with chemotherapy. He, I understand, is here in the gallery tonight, up here. We applaud him and thank him for his service. Our prayers, our thoughts, our hope, our work to pass this legislation is for you and for other workers like you who went to help others after the deadly attacks.

I now yield to my good friend and colleague from the great State of Pennsylvania that had over 1,000 of their residents now registered in the official registry of those who worked at Ground Zero and whom we need to monitor for the next 20 or 30 years.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his statement. I thank him for working so hard not only for Ryan McCormick, his constituent, but all the men and women who came from every State in this Nation, including Alaska and Hawaii, to work at Ground Zero and to try to help save lives and to try to clean up the debris that was there.

As I mentioned earlier, the New York Daily News Editorial Board won the Pulitzer Prize for its groundbreaking series of editorials entitled, ``9/11, The Forgotten Victims.''

Now, I would like to share with you an excerpt from this award- winning series. It is called, ``Abandoned Heroes.''

``They cough. They wheeze. Their heads and faces pound with the pressure of swollen sinuses. They lose their breath with minor exertion. They suffer the suffocation of asthma and diseases that attack the very tissues of their lungs. They endure acid reflux, a painful indigestion that never goes away. They are haunted by the mental and emotional traumas of having witnessed horror. Many are too disabled to work, and some have died.''

Like Ryan McCormick, who is with us tonight in the Gallery, there were many other heroes. Another hero was Christopher Hynes, and I would like to discuss him, from this award-winning series:

``For Christopher Hynes, life as a forgotten victim of 9/11 is a battle of breath. Five years ago, Hynes was a 30-year-old, healthy, nonsmoking New York City police officer. Then, in September and October 2001, he was assigned to Ground Zero duty, spending more than 100 hours patrolling the area of the smoldering rubble of the Twin Towers. The air was thick with dust and smoky particles.

``Today, Hynes, married and the father of a 4-year-old son, has sarcoidosis, a disease that scars lung tissues, and asthma, a disease that inflames and obstructs the airways of the lungs. He coughs constantly and cannot exert himself without losing breath. He survives with the help of steroids and performs restricted duties for the police department.

`` `I will probably have this for the rest of my life,' he says.''

We must not forget him. We must provide him with health care and monitoring and treatment for the rest of his life.

Mr. Speaker, I now would like to recognize my good friend and colleague, Gerald Nadler, who represents the Ground Zero area and has worked tirelessly on this issue. I grant the gentleman 7 minutes.

I thank the gentleman for his hard work and for his statement and for being here tonight. I know that he has many constituents such as Congressman Dent, and we thank Ryan McCormick for being with us in the Chamber tonight.

I want to talk about another victim of 9/11, Winston Lodge. He was written about in ``The Making of a Health Disaster'' which was originally published July 25, 2006; and I quote from the Daily News.

``For Winston Lodge, life as a forgotten victim of 9/11 is the torment of chronically inflamed and bleeding sinuses.

``5 years ago, Lodge was a 44-year old iron worker who helped build things. Then, called on to help dismantle the pile, he pitched in at Ground Zero for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for a month.

``Today, Lodge's nose runs constantly and often bleeds. He suffers headaches from sinus pressure, has shortness of breath from chronic bronchitis, and has acid reflux, a painful heartburn. He has undergone surgery to relieve sinus difficulties and is waiting for a second operation.

``Since 2004, Lodge, a divorced father of four, has not been able to work; and he says, and I quote, ``I am sick to my bones, and I need help.''

A number of people have worked very hard on this and held hearings to focus on this issue, including Mrs. Clinton and, very recently, Ed Towns had one in Brooklyn, New York, about the health impacts on his constituents in Brooklyn. He held another one here in Washington.

But the first person to call a series of hearings on the health impacts of 9/11 was my colleague from Connecticut, Christopher Shays. Under the Government Reform and Oversight Committee, he held hearings in New York, many here in Washington, that helped focus the light on the need for everyone to be monitored who was exposed to those deadly toxins and everyone who is sick to be treated. We thank you for holding those hearings and for joining us tonight in this special order. Thank you, Mr. Shays.

Well, I thank my colleague and good friend from Connecticut; and I thank him particularly for the public hearings that really focused the need and, I think, helped us achieve partial funding, the $25 million that we got in the President's budget. As we know, Jerry and the New York delegation, along with Senators Clinton and Schumer, we have worked very hard to have $50 million added to the supplemental budget for the health needs of the 9/11 workers. This has been a delegation-wide priority on both sides of the aisle led by our two Senators and by the entire delegation.

I remember your hearings very vividly, the men and woman who came and testified who were sick. They came with their pills. They came with their coughs. Some could hardly breathe. They could hardly talk.

I want to share another story with my colleagues of Jeffrey Endean, who was highlighted in the Daily News articles as life as a forgotten victim of 9/11. And he says, 5 years ago, he was a 51-year old Division Commander for Morris County New Jersey's Sheriff Office. He was healthy, able to run several miles.

Then he was pressed into Ground Zero service because he had experience helping first responders cope at horrific scenes. He worked 12 hours a day, from September 11 to November 22, 2001.

Today, he has reactive airways dysfunction syndrome, RADS, a rare irritant-induced form of asthma. His sinuses often bleed. He is prone to headaches and upper respiratory infections.

Married, the father of three and grandfather of three, he retired in 2003; and he says, ``I start the day with four to five inhalers and a pill. Will I have cancer at 66? Will I live my life as long as I should?''

That is the question, and that is why Jerry and Chris and I have worked so hard to have monitoring. And we need to continue this monitoring treatment not just for the next 5 years but doctors say for the next 20 or 30 years. New diseases are coming up. Pulmonary fibrosis, where the fibers in the lungs, they can hardly breathe. It's like an iron lung.

And, Jerry, you were at those hearings. Can you comment and add to what Chris said about the hearings? And Jerry and I and Chris really represent many people who work there, the residents. We need to get the residents into the registry, too.

Jerry, I have his picture in my office. He found the flag, the flag that was flown around the world from Ground Zero, and they will not acknowledge that he worked there. He got awards. And what struck me about him and many others, Jerry and Chris, if you will remember, at that hearing they testified they would do it again even though they know they had lost their health.

It is a scandal. An absolute scandal. And at the hearing remember the Health Commissioner testified that Zadroga did not die from 9/11? I couldn't believe it.

Our legislation calls for that all the residents should be covered. But remember, at the last hearing that Congressman Towns had, Agwunobi testified that we no longer needed a plan, that he wasn't going to give us a plan.

They said they would give us a plan in February. Where is it? That is why we have a resolution calling for a plan on how we are going to monitor and treat these heroes and heroines.

That is very true. But I also want to build on what he said, that people are going to be watching how we treat these first responders. God forbid that we have another 9/11 attack or another terrorist attack, they are going to know that we weren't there to provide, at the very least, the health care and the monitoring that the heroes and heroines need, and that is a very important precedent. It is not only, do we need to take care of these men and women, Mr. McCormick, who is with us tonight in the Gallery, but we have to send a message that we are going to be there for our first responders.

I know. There were lots of terrible mistakes that are causing people their health now.

And in closing in this final minute, I just want to underscore that we as a Nation must not forget the firefighters, police officers, emergency medical technicians and all the other responders, volunteers and residents who bravely rushed down to save lives even as everyone else was running in the opposite direction. We must not forget the rescue, recovery and cleanup workers who stayed on for months at Ground Zero in service to our country. And we must not forget the residents, area workers and school children who lived, worked and studied through the toxins and have now become sick.

Once again, I stand on this floor of Congress and note that this was an attack against our Nation, and we know that the Nation responded. Every State has workers that were affected by the deadly toxins at Ground Zero. Every State had residents who rushed to our State and rushed down to Ground Zero to help. We will never forget them, and we will not stop. Both sides of the aisle, we are committed to making sure that everyone who was exposed to the deadly toxins is treated and everyone who is sick is going to get medical care. That is the least that we can do for these brave men and women.

I thank my colleagues and especially Ryan McCormick, who is here with us tonight, for coming. And I thank you for your work not only tonight on this Special Order tonight but throughout your year in Congress. Since 9/11, it has been a priority of yours. And my constituents, the thousands that were affected thank you for your efforts, and I thank you for having this opportunity of joining me in this Special Order.

Madam Speaker, today I am reintroducing the bi- partisan Repairing Young Women's Lives Around the World Act, a bill

vital to saving the lives of women and their children around the world. This bill funds UNFPA (the United Nations Population Fund) strictly for the prevention, treatment, and repair of obstetric fistula.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1429, the Improving Head Start Act of 2007. Since 1965, the Head Start early childhood education program has provided low-income children with comprehensive child development, educational, health, nutritional, and social activities to ensure that they are ready to enter kindergarten on an equal playing field with other children. H.R. 1429 will expand and improve the successful Head Start program, which research has shown works in raising children's achievement.

I want to thank Representatives Kildee, Castle and Chairman Miller for their outstanding leadership on this bipartisan bill, which would allow as many as 10,000 more children to access the benefits Head Start. It improves classroom and teacher quality, raising the qualifications of teachers and increasing funding for teacher and staff salaries and professional development. The bill also includes strong accountability measures to better ensure that Head Start funds are used appropriately and efficiently and that underperforming programs are either replaced or quickly improved.

As a former educator, I understand the importance of closing the school-readiness gap and ensuring that all children can start their education on an equal playing field. Today, we have the opportunity to pass a bill that will make great strides toward just that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference report to H.R. 1591, the ``U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act.''

For far too long this administration, with no oversight from the previous Republican-led Congresses, has committed our precious resources to this war without a sufficient plan to win the peace. It sent our soldiers to war without adequate armor and equipment. It wasted billions of taxpayers' dollars in sole-source contracts and lost suitcases of cash.

This war also has severely hampered our readiness should a military operation become necessary somewhere else in the world. Top Army officials have acknowledged that the demands placed on the military mostly because of the war in Iraq have caused critical shortages in the number of available ground troops and equipment. With the President's surge of troops in Iraq, we are at a crisis point.

The mismanagement of this war must not continue. The false promises must end. The administration's free pass must be revoked.

H.R. 1591 provides critical funding for American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan while establishing a necessary timeline for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. It also directs the president to certify that the Iraqi government is making progress in meeting certain benchmarks. While the timeline is not as strong as the one previously passed by this body, I believe that we are moving in the right direction.

The bill includes $2.1 billion more in funding than the president requested for military health care and $1.8 billion more than the President's request for veterans' health care. The Walter Reed scandal showed the potential for far more widespread problems across the military health care system if we do not act now to take better care of our war veterans. More troops are returning home injured than our government predicted or was prepared for, and the system runs the risk of being stretched thin. Taking care of the men and women who have battled with the stars and stripes on their shoulders is more than a feel-good issue, it is a moral issue.

When Americans enlist in the Armed Forces, they are assuming the responsibility of defending our country. They do so with the belief that their country will assume the responsibility of taking care of their injuries as attentively and humanely as possible. Today, we are taking steps to ensure that what happened at Walter Reed will not happen anywhere else.

I also want to commend the conferees for including $50 million for Ground Zero workers

and responders who risked their lives and are now suffering devastating health effects because of their brave service following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 249, which would restore the prohibition on commercial sale of wild horses and burros that was in place from 1971 to 2004.

I want to thank my colleagues Representative Nick Rahall from West Virginia and Representative Ed Whitfield from Kentucky for their hard work in restoring this ban, which should have never been lifted in the first place. In the 2 years since the prohibition was eliminated, hundreds of wild horses have been slaughtered. This is unacceptable.

Wild horses are a fixture in United States history. In the 1800s there were more than 2 million wild horses and burros in this country. Today, there are fewer than 29,000. This bill will protect the small number of wild horses and burros who remain, preserving them as national treasures.

Mr. Chairman, this House has time and again expressed the desire of the American people to end the slaughter of innocent, beautiful horses by voting in support of legislation that would ban the slaughter of horses. I urge my colleagues to vote``yes'' on H.R. 249.

Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and the representative of a large and vibrant community of Armenian Americans, I rise to join my colleagues in the sad commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.

Today we declare to people living in every corner of our globe that the Turkish and American governments must finally acknowledge what we have long understood: that the unimaginable horror committed on Turkish soil in the aftermath of World War I was, and is, an act of genocide. The tragic events that began on April 24, 1915, which are well known to all of us, should be part of the history curriculum in every Turkish and American school. On that dark April day, more than 200 of Armenia's religious, political and intellectual leaders were arrested in Constantinople and killed. Ultimately, more than 1.5 million Armenians were systematically murdered at the hands of the Young Turks, and more than 500,000 more were exiled from their native land.

On this 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the genocide, I join with the chorus of voices that grows louder with each passing year. We simply will not allow ice planned elimination of an entire people to remain in the shadows of history. The Armenian Genocide must be acknowledged, studied, and never, ever allowed to happen again.

Last year I joined with my colleagues in the Caucus in urging PBS not to give a platform to the deniers of the genocide by canceling a planned broadcast of a panel which included two scholars who deny the Armenian Genocide. This panel was to follow the airing of a documentary about the Armenian Genocide. Representative Anthony Weiner and I led a successful effort to convince Channel Thirteen in New York City to pull the plug on these genocide deniers. The parliaments of Canada, France, and Switzerland have all passed resolutions affirming that the Armenian people were indeed subjected to genocide. The United States must do the same. I will not stop fighting until long overdue legislation acknowledging the Armenian Genocide finally passes. I am hopeful that this resolution will make it to the Floor for a vote before the full House of Representatives this Congress.

An acknowledgment of the genocide is not our only objective. I remain committed to ensuring that the U.S. government continues to provide direct financial assistance to Armenia. Over the years, this aid has played a critical role in the economic and political advancement of the Armenian people. I have joined with my colleagues in requesting military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the FY08 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill.

We also have requested an adequate level of economic assistance for Armenia and assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh. Legislation passed in the 109th Congress and signed into law to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank included important language prohibiting the Bank from funding railroad projects in the South Caucasus region that deliberately exclude Armenia. American tax dollars should not be used to support efforts to isolate Armenia, and these provisions would prevent that by ensuring that U.S. funds are not used to support the construction of a new railway that bypasses Armenia. A railway already exists that connects the nations of Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, but because it crosses Armenia, an expensive and unnecessary new railway had been proposed. Allowing the exclusion of Armenia from important transportation routes would stymie the emergence of this region as an important East-West trade corridor. It is in our economic and security interests to ensure that the aggression against Armenia comes to an end.

On this solemn day, our message is clear: the world remembers the Armenian genocide, and the governments of Turkey and the United States must declare--once and for all--that they do, too.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 289, which expresses the ``sense of the House of Representatives with respect to raising awareness and encouraging prevention of sexual assault in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

I was the lead Democratic sponsor of the original legislation, introduced by former Representative Mark Green and signed into law in 2003, that designated April as National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

While we are taking the time today to highlight this important issue, it is important that we remember that preventing sexual assault should be a top priority during each month of the year. We must also remember that violence against women is not just a women's issue, it is a men's issue, too.

Every 2\1/2\ minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. I have long been a champion of increased efforts to prevent violence against women and in 2004, legislation that I first introduced, ``The Debbie Smith Act,'' was signed into law. Through this landmark act, we have the ability to protect our daughters, our sisters, and our friends by putting rapists behind bars through DNA evidence. We know that DNA evidence is better than a fresh set of fingerprints. And we know that it is often better than eyewitness testimony. With ``The Debbie Smith Act,'' the hundreds of thousands of rape kits that were gathering dust across the country are finally being processed.

It is vitally important that we support the Violence Against Women Act by fully funding the important programs that will help women escape abusive and dangerous situations and begin new lives that are free from violence and fear. The organizations, shelters, and counseling centers that are on the front lines of this problem need our steadfast commitment that they will have the resources to continue their important work.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, today we observe Equal Pay Day, the day that indicates just how far into each year a woman must work to earn as much as a man earned in the previous year.

Women are more highly educated and productive than ever, yet these gains have not yet translated into equal pay across the board. A Government Accountability Office study that John Dingell and I sponsored showed that when occupation, marital status, job tenure, industry and race are accounted for, women still earn eighty cents for every dollar men earn.

This wage gap extends across all income levels and occupations, and it's even wider for minority women. There is no excuse for this gap between men and women. Both men and women must feed their families and pay their rent. Let's pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and close the gender wage gap for good.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart as I remember my dear friend and colleague, Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. Juanita passed away April 22nd in her home State of California. She will be remembered as a strong woman and formidable legislator who broke down many barriers by becoming the first African- American woman in history to chair a committee in Congress, the House Administration Committee, and the first African-American woman to serve on the Carson City Council and the first to chair two committees in the California State Assembly.

I really got to know Juanita when I co-chaired the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues and subsequently when she became the co-chair. She was a strong advocate for women's and minority rights and was a strong ally in the effort to combat human trafficking. Juanita came to work with a passion and determination that is rarely found. She represented the 37th Congressional District with dignity and pride, proving to be an effective leader and caring Representative.

I especially want to extend my condolences to Congresswoman Millender-McDonald's husband, James, and to her five children and grandchildren. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the 23rd Street Association, Inc., of New York City, its President, Sharon L. Ullman, and its honoree Joseph Roberto on the occasion of its annual Distinguished Citizen Award Luncheon. This year, the Association is bestowing its Distinguished Citizen Award upon Mr. Joseph Roberto, Divisional Senior Vice President of North Fork Bank, for his outstanding service to the community.

The 23rd Street Association was formed in 1929 by 22 local business leaders to improve environmental conditions and promote economic development in Manhattan. Since that time, the 23rd Street Association and its civic-minded members have devoted themselves to maintaining and improving the quality of life for both businesses and residents of the vital and thriving area of Lower Manhattan between 18th and 28th Streets. Today, the Association plays an active role in the development and growth of the 23rd Street area, including the Gramercy Park and Flatiron neighborhoods and the Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village middle-income housing developments.

The Association also addresses a broad range of citizen complaints and concerns by working closely with local community boards as well as city, state and federal government agencies. Whether forming a partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation to ameliorate traffic congestion in Lower Manhattan or purchasing and planting hundreds of trees in conjunction with the City Parks Department, the Association's commitment to improving the neighborhoods and communities it serves has been truly remarkable. In recent years, the 23rd Street Association worked to block a plant to substitute a nearby women's shelter with a facility for high-risk men, a proposal forcefully fought by many local businesses and residents.

This year, the 23rd Street Association is honoring Mr. Joseph Roberto of North Fork Bank with its Distinguished Citizen Award. A veteran of New York's business community, Joseph Roberto began his career by working in his family business, a chain of retail stores known as Pzaz, from 1979 through 1998. In 1998, Mr. Roberto joined North Fork Bank, where he currently serves as the Divisional Senior Vice President for Manhattan. Overseeing the bank's 45 Manhattan locations, Mr. Roberto has still found time and boundless energy to devote to his community and to countless worthy causes ranging from the American Cancer Society to United Cerebral Palsy to the Special Olympics.

The 23rd Street Association's president, Sharon L. Ullman, has compiled an exceptional record of service to the community. She spearheaded the establishment of the new Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership Business Improvement District, working tirelessly for 5 years planning the project, raising the funding needed to bring it to fruition, and inspiring the will and energy to make it such an outstanding success for local businesses and residents alike. She has also dedicated herself to the community by serving as the Warden of Madison Square Park and as a longtime board member of worthwhile organizations like the Associated Blind, Inc. Ms. Ullman was also named one of the top 100 New Yorkers by New York Resident magazine.

Madam Speaker, I request that my colleagues join me in paying tribute to the 23rd Street Association, its president, Sharon L. Ullman, and its honoree, Joseph Roberto, for their outstanding service and dedication to the civic life of our nation's greatest metropolis.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Hour Children, a not-for-profit social service agency in Long Island City, New York dedicated to supporting mothers currently or previously incarcerated in prison and to providing a stable and nurturing environment for their children. This month, Hour Children is celebrating its 12th anniversary at its Annual Awards Benefit, where the organization is honoring 3 outstanding individuals: Abigail Disney, Kirk Goodrich and Xiomara Gutierrez.

Originally founded in 1995 by Sister Teresa Fitzgerald, CSJ, for children rendered homeless by their mothers' incarceration, Hour Children has grown into a full-service, multifaceted social service provider to countless families in need. Sister Teresa, familiarly know as ``Sister Tesa,'' secured housing at the Roman Catholic Convent of St. Rita's in Long Island City as a home for these children, and joined with 4 other Sisters to become foster parents. They went on to establish parent support programs at New York State's Bedford Hills and Taconic Correctional Institutions, facilitating visit schedules so that female inmates and their children were able to reunite for a few hours on a regular basis.

Although nearly one third of prisoners in New York State are reincarcerated, Hour Children's rate of recidivism is less than 10 percent because its clients are afforded ample time to make a successful transition to assuming responsibilities for family and work. Hour Children's unique approach begins by forging relationships with its adult clients while they are still in prison, bringing their children to visit regularly, and providing advocacy and mentoring on parenting, domestic violence, and employment counseling, thus easing their transition to reunification with their children. In forging long- term relationships with its clients built on trust, Hour Children helps them to attain independence and self-sufficiency at a pace suited to their needs.

Today, Hour Children is a community of 5 multi-family residences, serving families with children from infancy to 21 years of age. More than 200 ``graduates'' of its housing program have successfully made the transition to independent living, returning for monthly support group meetings and special events. In addition, Hour Children was officially recognized as a work release site, opening a Community Outreach Center and 3 thrift shops.

Hour Children's success would not have been possible without the extraordinary contributions of its 3 honorees this year. As Co-Founder and President of the Daphne Foundation, Abigail E. Disney, Ph.D., has devoted herself tirelessly to confronting the causes and consequences of poverty in our Nation's greatest city. She was indispensable in securing and providing the first funding for Hour Children's Early Learning program for children ranging from infants to 3-year-olds.

Hour Children is also honoring Kirk Goodrich, Vice President of the Enterprise Social Investment Corporation, one of the Nation's leading providers of community development capital, tax credit equity investments, and development services for affordable housing, mixed- use, and commercial development. His leadership helped secure the financing to enable Hour Children to open a new residence under construction at 35-54 11th Street in Long Island City, where 8 apartment units will be available to Hour Children's client families.

In addition, Hour Children is honoring Xiomara Gutierrez with its First Annual Jean Harris Award. A mother, child care worker, and trusted confidante to countless families, Xiomara Harris has touched and inspired the Hour Children community with her compassion and dedication.

Madam Speaker, I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in recognizing the remarkable successes enjoyed by Hour Children in helping countless individuals transcend their circumstances and realize their full potential.

Madam Speaker, the Bush administration has gotten what they wished for. The Supreme Court has upheld a ban on a medical procedure for women without a health exception, thereby reversing four decades of rulings supporting a woman's right to choose.

Women who face serious health consequences have lost their right to the safest procedure available. Politicians have taken the place of doctors.

Women have become a pawn in the hands of right-wing conservatives.

On my Web site, I keep a listing of all the ways this administration has chipped away at a woman's right to choose, but yesterday they used a sledgehammer. By upholding this ban and disregarding years of precedent, the Roberts court has shown not only its belief that women are second-class citizens, but also its potential to completely overturn Roe.

We need to stand up to right-wing, conservative, extremist efforts and protect the basic human rights of women.

Mr. Speaker, American families are leaving billions of dollars on the table each year by not claiming tax credits that help families pay for child care, to send their children to college, save for retirement, or work their way into the middle class.

Taxpayers claimed nearly $83 billion in tax credits in 2004. But families missed out on over $10 billion in unclaimed tax credits, according to a new estimate from the Joint Economic Committee. You can find this report on my Web site at maloney.house.gov.

The IRS can help close this tax credit gap by reporting on the characteristics of households not taking advantage of these credits. This will help us conduct better outreach to families who are missing out on credits that reward their hard work and help them get ahead.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

I thank my dear colleague, Mr. Garrett, on the other side of the aisle for your strong support for the TRIA bill and for coming to New York for that very important hearing. It is a challenge that both of our States face, and I congratulate your leadership on that very important measure.

But, regrettably, I rise in opposition. I do not see this amendment as straightforward and helping the process. It appears to just complicate it. It sets triggers and hoops that you have to jump through before we can get to a vote.

The underlying purpose of this bill is to allow shareholders to have a vote on a link between pay and performance. If a CEO is doing an absolutely fabulous job and coming up with new ideas and creating new industries and employing thousands and thousands of Americans, as a shareholder, I would probably vote a big pay increase.

But if that CEO was like New Century, where the CEO recently, I think was in the paper today, this gentleman walked away with a multimillion- dollar bonus and $13 million of profit in stock options while his company went bankrupt, and thousands of their borrowers are facing the loss of their homes. As a shareholder, I would be voting, very strongly, ``no'' on that pay package.

To me, the underlying thrust of this is to allow the voice of shareholders in the democracy of their companies and our country and to tie pay to performance. As a shareholder, I would vote for a large pay increase to someone who is doing a good job. But too often we hear about people who are doing a terrible job, bankrupting pensions, running their companies into the ground. With their cronies on the board, and their close friends walking away with these huge packages, it's really not good for the country, it's not good for capitalism, it's not good for business.

This proposal also would increase the cost and length of the time for both the firms and the SEC. The SEC is overburdened now, but this puts more burdens on them to collect the data and calculate the 10 percent that is required before they come forward and make the decision.

I join my colleagues. This was roundly defeated in the committee earlier, and I believe it should be defeated on the floor.

I would like to speak just a little bit about what I am so deeply concerned about, and why I think this is such an important bill. Like many of my colleagues, I am very concerned about the rising economic inequality in this country. Under the Bush administration, it has just gone like that. I don't think it's good for the country or for our future.

Despite 5 years of economic expansion, most American families have struggled just to hold their economic ground on President Bush's watch. Strong productivity growth has not translated into higher wages for most American workers. Those who were already well-to-do are those who continue to grow.

As this chart shows, and I think it's an important one, the red bar shows only modest gains concentrated in the upper half of the distribution from 2000 to 2006. The divergence between the haves and the have-nots and the Bush economy stands in marked contrast to the second term of the Clinton administration. The blue bars, where real

wages and gains were strong up and down the economic ladder for all people, the economy grew, not just for the top, but for all of our citizens.

The people experiencing the largest wage gains are executives and highly compensated individuals. While ordinary workers are not really sharing in this economic growth, their paychecks have not really grown after inflation.

I want to show the CEO chart, because it goes really to part of this bill. Now, this chart shows the compensation, as the bar on the left shows, in the 1980s, the average CEO made about 50 times as much as the average worker. As the bar on the right shows in 2004, that ratio was seven times greater. The average CEO made about 350 times the pay of the average worker.

According to recent studies, that figure has only gone up. The average CEO made 500 times the pay of the average worker in 2006. I say that it's time for shareholders to have a say and that this underlying bill is long overdue.

I congratulate Chairman Frank for his effort here. It's measured, it's reasonable, and it will enhance shareholder democracy and rein in the excesses of executive compensation.

I would just like to conclude, the main reason I am opposed to your amendment, Mr. Garrett, although I have a great deal of respect for your work and we have agreed in many ways, is, it does not link the pay to performance. That is what we want to get to the shareholders. That is what is good for economic growth for our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 71, legislation that I introduced, which commemorates the 85th Anniversary of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.

As a co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, I have had a close working relationship with AHEPA.

The Nation's largest and oldest association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes, AHEPA was founded on July 26, 1922, in Atlanta, Georgia, by eight visionary Greek immigrants to combat bigotry and discrimination and help Greek immigrants assimilate into American society.

Today, its mission is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, and family and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism.

Over its history, AHEPA has achieved remarkable accomplishments. It has fostered American patriotism, sheltered the elderly, educated our youth, promoted Hellenic heritage, and advanced rapproachment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Additionally, AHEPA's members exemplify the American Dream. With their strong work ethic, Greek-Americans have risen to become leaders in their respective professions, from government to business to the arts.

Currently headed by Supreme President Gus James, II, AHEPA has been a vehicle through which this advancement has occurred in our society.

I want to thank Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis for their support of this bill and for moving it through the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. I also want to acknowledge my fellow Caucus Co-Chair, Representative Bilirakis, for joining me in introducing this bill.