Floor Statements

Thank you very much, Chairman Pallone, and for your leadership.

This week the House approved billions in new funding for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Congress has yet to fully address the impact of the event that caused the war in the first place, the 9/11 terrorist attack.

Today we will vote on a bill that provides guaranteed help for the survivors of 9/11 and the brave first responders who rushed to Ground Zero to save the lives of others.

I thank Congressmen Nadler and King, my colleagues in the New York delegation, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer for their dedication to the heroes and heroines and the survivors of 9/11.

On 9/11, roughly 3,000 people lost their lives, but thousands and thousands lost their health because they rushed in to save others.

To date, the Federal Government has identified more than 20,000 individuals who have health problems as a direct result of the attacks.

Caring for those who are suffering is a national responsibility. Every single State, 428 of the 435 congressional districts have someone enrolled in the Federal World Trade Center Health Registry because they were near Ground Zero or worked at Ground Zero.

The 9/11 Health and Compensation Act meets our moral responsibility to help those who were there to help us. It seems inconceivable to me that we would choose to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on wars in foreign lands and not spend this modest amount right here at home to help the warriors, the first people who were there, those who were there for us on 9/11 in the place where it all began. They were there for us; we need to be there for them.

This is the veterans of the war of 9/11, those who saved the lives of others. And 9/11 was a great tragedy, but it was also a great rescue effort, one of the greatest in history.

So I urge my colleagues to support the heroes, the heroines, the warriors right here at home, the first in the line of fire at Ground Zero where it all began.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the war supplemental funding bill.

After years of war that have strained our military, their families, and the country, I cannot continue to support funding for the war in Afghanistan--a war marked by increasing violence and attacks on our troops and no clear definition of success.

The last time this measure was before us, I voted with my colleague Rep. Barbara Lee on her amendment to prevent an escalation and limit funding to the safe and orderly withdrawal of our troops and military contractors from Afghanistan.

I also voted in favor of the McGovern-Obey amendment that would require the President to provide Congress with a plan for the expeditious redeployment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and a timeline for completion of the redeployment.

But the bill before us is simply a continuation of a policy that needs to be changed--with no accountability and no debate on the merits of continuing this conflict in a country beset by corruption and seemingly endless violence.

Contained in this bill is badly needed funding for Haiti, disaster relief and funds for our veterans, which I wholeheartedly support and would urge a separate up or down vote.

But a vote for this bill before us today is a vote to continue this war and the time has come to bring our troops home.

Reports of corruption abound in Afghanistan, and without a true partner in the Karzai government, our prospects for making real progress have grown dim.

In recent days, even more troubling reports have come out of the region indicating that Pakistan intelligence may be collaborating with elements of the Taliban against the United States. With claims such as these coming to light, how can we move forward with business as usual on the war?

I cannot in good conscience vote to continue funding this war at so high a cost and with no guarantee that our efforts are reaching our goals there and keeping the American people safe.

That is why I vote ``no'' today.

Mr. Speaker, this week, yesterday, we approved billions for the war in Afghanistan but Congress has yet to fully address the impact of the events that caused the war in the first place, the 9/11 terrorist attacks. On 9/11, thousands of Americans were murdered and killed in the first act of the war on terror on our soil, but thousands more on that day lost their health when they ran into burning buildings to save the lives of others. Nine long years after the attack, we have yet to approve guaranteed help for the first responders that risked their lives for others.

The House will soon vote on the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, a bill that provides health care and compensation to the thousands of Americans that came from almost every congressional district around this country to help others. The bill is fully paid for and meets our moral responsibility to help those who came to the aid of our Nation in one of America's darkest hours.

I urge my colleagues from across the country to support this patriotic bill.

Mr. Speaker, Thursday the House took action to help nearly 2.5 million Americans with the very basic needs of putting food on the table and paying the bills by extending unemployment insurance. After weeks of Republican efforts to withhold these benefits, we are sending a lifeline to families while sending a jolt to our economy because most of the aid will be spent quickly on food, rent, and other necessities.

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation, EUC, Program began to phase out at the end of May. This means individuals exhausting their 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits since that time, or exhausting any of the tiers of Federal EUC benefits, are not eligible for emergency unemployment benefits. H.R. 4213 retroactively restores those benefits and continues the EUC program through November.

Those in the Minority who are opposed to helping our middle class families often claim that providing unemployment insurance discourages Americans from seeking work. This couldn't be further from the truth. The Joint Economic Committee, which I chair, has just released its 2010 Annual Report. One of the findings is that extending unemployment benefits does not discourage job seekers from looking for work. The JEC report finds that unemployment benefits actually serve to keep some workers attached to the labor force who might otherwise shift to other more costly government programs.

By the end of the year, if no further action is taken, some 290,000 unemployed disabled workers will exhaust their unemployment benefits, and two-thirds of these workers will leave the labor force and move onto the Social Security Disability Insurance program. Shifting these workers from the labor market and onto the SSDI rolls would be a $24.2 billion lifetime cost. Compare that with the $721.3 million cost of extending unemployment benefits for these workers.

These numbers demonstrate that extending unemployment benefits is not only morally right, it is the fiscally responsible thing to do.

Madam Speaker, this week, once again, we commemorate the tragic 36th anniversary of the 1974 illegal Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Thirty-six years later, Turkey continues forcibly to occupy more than one-third of Cyprus with more than 43,000 troops. This amounts to almost one Turkish soldier for every two Turkish Cypriots. It is time for Turkey to withdraw its troops from Cyprus so that the island can move forward as one nation.

I am honored to represent Astoria, Queens--one of the largest and most vibrant communities of Greek and Cypriot Americans in this country. I truly enjoy participating in the life of this community and treasure the wonderful and vital Cypriot friends that I have come to know. Cyprus has long been a key partner for the United States, and our friendship rests on the bedrock of shared democratic values.

As co-chair and co-founder of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, I have worked diligently with my colleagues in the Caucus out of our mutual concern for the continued division and occupation of Cyprus. We have 158 members today, one of the largest caucuses in Congress.

Cyprus is playing a vital role in European affairs while also strengthening relations with the United States. It has joined with us on issues important to our own security, including the fight against terrorism and other international crimes. Ending the island's tragic division will pave the way to prosperity and peace throughout the entire region.

Last year, I was joined by Hellenic Caucus co-chair Representative Gus Bilirakis in urging our colleagues to sign a letter to President Obama thanking him for his vocal support of a unified Cyprus and urging the United States' continued support for a solution to the Cyprus problem that is by Cypriots, for Cypriots.

To date, Turkey has repeatedly ignored all U.N. Resolutions pertaining to Cyprus and has continued to occupy the island in complete violation of international law. Turkey has continued to do so despite the fact that it has been a member of the U.N. Security Council since January 2009. Turkey has also refused to abide by the Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in numerous cases, thereby continuing to violate the basic human rights of the Cypriot people. This is an outrage.

The current negotiations aim at reaching a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, as defined in the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions, with a single sovereignty, single citizenship and single international personality. The solution must reunite the island, its people, its institutions and its economy and safeguard the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots and the withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces from Cyprus.

The United States and the international community must continue to provide support to this process. The people of Cyprus deserve a unified and democratic country, and I remain hopeful that a peaceful settlement will be found so that the division of Cyprus will come to an end.

Madam Speaker, the Joint Economic Committee, which I chair, has just issued the latest edition of our series of State-by- State snapshots of the economy. It notes that, in June, private sector employment grew in 32 States and the District of Columbia while the unemployment rate declined in 39 States and the District of Columbia. Yet the report also makes clear that our economic recovery is at a crossroads and still faces major challenges, in large part because of the staggering job losses caused by the policies of the prior administration.

You can see on this chart how a steady descent into a red valley of severe job loss began in December 2007. The red is the prior administration. The last month that the former President was in office, this country lost 790,000 jobs. The journey back up, under the Obama administration, began in early 2009 and coincided with the passage of the Recovery Act. As you can see, we have been trending in the right direction and gaining jobs these past few months.

It's not victory, but it certainly is movement in the right direction.

But as our report notes, even if the private sector was currently creating jobs at the rate of 217,000 jobs per month, as occurred during the Clinton administration, the highest sustained rate of job creation in our Nation's history, it will still take over 3 years to recreate the 8.5 million private sector jobs lost during the Great Recession.

The lingering high unemployment rates, particularly the long-term unemployment rate, suggest that targeted actions such as our recent extension of unemployment insurance benefits are sorely needed to support growth and provide a safety net for the millions of families hurt by the recession.

But there is still much more that Congress can and should do, particularly to help small businesses recover.

As Chairman Bernanke pointed out today, we need to find ways to provide small, credit-worthy businesses with additional lending, something that I have supported and the Democrats have supported from day one.

Small businesses and establishments, these small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. labor market. Seventy-five percent of working Americans are employed at businesses with fewer than 250 employees.

But a study earlier this year by the Joint Economic Committee found that, in the wake of the financial crisis, limited access to capital and credit continues; and it has a serious impact on small business hiring.

The tough credit standards that banks are now imposing, even on credit-worthy small businesses, have hamstrung their ability to expand and create jobs.

You can see the results of that in this chart, which the Joint Economic Committee prepared. And this chart looks at the business hiring by mid- and large businesses, and compares it with the small business hiring, which is still in decline.

In most recoveries, it is small businesses that are the first to hire. But in this recovery, we see that it is the mid-sized and the large businesses that are hiring, and that small businesses are not hiring, so they do need more support and more help in this economy.

One additional thing we should do is ensure that small businesses are able to compete fairly for the Federal contracts for which they are qualified. And the Federal Government contracts out roughly $435 billion every year. And under current law, Federal agencies are required to establish contracting goals with at least 23 percent of all government buying targeted to smaller firms, because they are the backbone; they hire the majority of Americans.

But according to an analysis prepared by the American Small Business League of Federal data, some of the ``small businesses'' that have been awarded Federal contracts under the provision for small business contracts include some of the largest companies in America. Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Hewlett-Packard, AT&T and Rolls Royce. These are all extremely fine companies, but by no stretch of the imagination are these small companies.

That's why I urge my colleagues today to join me in supporting the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act of 2009, sponsored by my good friend and colleague, Congressman Henry Johnson. H.R. 2568 would modify the definition of small businesses in the Small Business Act to include the requirement that no publicly traded company can qualify as a small business.

Mr. Speaker, may I request additional time?

Well, it would require the publication of a report; and, in short, it would require that small should actually mean small, and require fairness and transparency. So I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this important bill.

Mr. Speaker, for too long the heroes and survivors of the 9/11 attacks have struggled to receive the health care and compensation that they need and deserve. They came to Ground Zero to aid in America's recovery. Now we must aid in their recovery.

After 8\1/2\ years of hard work, we are closer than ever to passing H.R. 847, the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The bill, which would provide health care and compensation, is nearing consideration on the House floor next week.

But another tragedy threatens the health of cleanup workers. The warnings from 9/11 must be heeded as crews restore the gulf after the BP oil spill.

I urge my colleagues to remember and support those who aid our country in time of need. They were there for us; we must be there for them, with their health care and with support.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4684) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to strike medals in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the establishment of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert any additional material that they wish to insert on this issue.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to commend my colleague from New York (Mr. Nadler) for his leadership on this bill and on so many other issues and for working selflessly to help the survivors and the residents and to help the city recover from 9/11. This is an example of another one of his efforts to help the city, to help our country, and to help us remember the terrible events of 9/11.

The monumental events in a nation's life have always warranted memorialization. The events of 9/11/2001 are no different.

Those who died on that day, just going about their lives, just going to work that day, as we went to work today, they truly deserve to be honored forever as heroes and heroines.

We know that we lost almost 3,000 lives on 9/11, but many thousands more lost their health. Those who came to the aid of those at the sites of the attack also deserve to be honored and remembered.

And each of us in this body who lived through that day, each of us in this country who lived through that day, we each have vivid memories of our own seared in our minds, which deserve recognition as well.

Thus, it is very fitting that, as we approach the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we offer a means to honor the dead, and our memories, and the victims, and the heroes, and the heroines, and the responders, and the residents, with H.R. 4684, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum Commemorative Medal Act.

This bill authorizes the U.S. Mint to strike a commemorative medal in honor of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 next year, the price of which will include a $10 donation to support operations and maintenance of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center site, with a design which will include the inscription, and I quote, ``Always Remember.''

This medal will allow all Americans and, indeed, anyone around the world, an opportunity to remember and to honor the thousands of men, women and children who died on that horrible day.

This medal also supports the mission of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, to ``Recognize the endurance of those who survived, the courage of those who risked their lives to save others, and the compassion of all who supported us during our darkest hour.''

The Memorial & Museum will demonstrate the consequences of terrorism on individual lives and its impact on communities at the local, national and international levels. The museum will attest to the triumph of human dignity over human depravity, and it will affirm an unwavering commitment to the fundamental value of human life.

Mr. Speaker, those not yet born cannot understand in the same way that we do the events of that day, so we who do understand must establish a means by which generations to come may, in their own way, note and remember what our generation went through. The National September 11 Memorial & Museum Commemorative Medal Act provides this means, this opportunity.

I am proud to recognize my fellow New Yorker and colleague, Jerrold Nadler, who is the chief sponsor of this bill, and I yield to him such time as he may consume.

I thank the gentleman for his statement and for his leadership. I also thank my good friend and colleague on the other side of the aisle, Christopher Lee. This has been a strong bipartisan effort, and I congratulate him on his leadership in passing this important bill.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC, July 19, 2010.

Hon. Barney Frank,

Chairman, Financial Services Committee,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Frank: I am writing regarding H.R. 4684, a

bill requiring the Secretary of the Treasury to strike medals

in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the September 11,

2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the

establishment of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum

at the World Trade Center.

As you know, the Committee on Ways and Means maintains

jurisdiction over bills that raise revenue. H.R. 4684

contains a provision that establishes a surcharge for the

sale of commemorative medals that are minted under the bill,

and thus falls within the jurisdiction of the Committee on

Ways and Means.

However, as part of our ongoing understanding regarding

commemorative medals and in order to expedite this bill for

floor consideration, the Committee will forgo action. This is

being done with the understanding that it does not in any way

prejudice the Committee with respect to the appointment of

conferees or its jurisdictional prerogatives on this bill or

similar legislation in the future.

I would appreciate your response to this letter, confirming

this understanding with respect to H.R. 4684, and would ask

that a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter be

included in the Record.

Sincerely,

Sander M. Levin,

Chairman.

I thank the gentleman for his statement, and I thank my colleague Mr. Nadler for his hard work in securing the 300 cosponsors. The World Trade Center site and museum will be in the district that he is honored to represent. And he has continued to be an outstanding, forceful spokesperson, as Mr. Lee has, in support of not only the suffering of those who lost their lives, but for the men and women who lost their health and who are in dire need of health care and support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank my colleagues in this Chamber. I thank Americans across this country.

On 9/11 many people remember the attack, but they do not remember that this was also one of the greatest rescue efforts in history. I was at the site on September 12, and they were estimating that 25,000 Americans perished. But because of the brave work of volunteers, of police and fire, of responders, many, many lives were saved. Many people on that day lost their lives, but more people lost their health.

As we know in this body, this was a response not only from New York, but 432 different congressional districts sent first responders, volunteers, help. They worked at the pile, they worked at the site, and they helped America recover. These men and women were there for us. We need to be there for them. That's why this bill is so important. I urge all of my colleagues to collectively vote and support it. I congratulate Mr. Nadler and Mr. Lee for their leadership in moving this to the floor for a vote.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative Barbara Lee's amendment to prevent an escalation and limit funding to the safe and orderly withdrawal of our troops and military contractors from Afghanistan. After 9 years of war, the time has come to bring our troops home.

I will also vote in favor of the McGovern-Obey amendment that would require the President to provide Congress with a plan for the expeditious redeployment of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and a timeline for completion of the redeployment.

I would like to thank Speaker Pelosi and the Democratic leadership for bringing this bill to the floor today in a manner that allows clear up or down votes on funding for the war and other domestic priorities.

The challenges in Afghanistan are great. As the violence and attacks on our troops continue to increase, we still do not have a clear path forward or a way to measure progress there.

We cannot afford to sustain an open-ended commitment with no clear definition of success.

Reports of corruption abound in Afghanistan, and without a true partner in the Karzai government, our prospects for making real progress have grown dim.

Our troops have fought with honor and professionalism in the face of great challenges, and at great cost--I am truly humbled by their service and sacrifice. These brave men and women in uniform deserve our full support and commitment to return them home safely to their families and loved ones.

President Obama did not start this war, and I was among those who have spoken out in support of allowing for the time necessary for a new strategy in Afghanistan to turn the tide.

But after years of war that has strained our military, their families, and the country, I am unable to continue to support what increasingly looks like an intractable situation in Afghanistan.

That is why I vote in favor of these amendments today.

Despite my opposition to our continued military presence in Afghanistan, the bill does include critical domestic funding that I will support. These include saving teachers' jobs, Pell Grants, emergency food assistance for hungry Americans, and disaster aid to respond to the Gulf oil spill catastrophe.

For example, today we are providing $10 billion for an Education Jobs Fund to provide additional emergency support to local school districts to prevent impending layoffs. Estimates suggest that this fund will help keep 140,000 school employees on the job next year.

Moreover, when we invest in education, we save jobs in other sectors and spur economic recovery. According to the Economic Policy Institute, for every 100,000 education jobs lost, another 30,000 jobs are lost in other sectors due to reduced consumer spending and tax revenues.

The list of important programs this bill funds is both extensive and impressive: Among other priorities, we are providing $304 million for the Gulf Coast oil spill; $50 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program for food purchases to distribute through local emergency food providers; $13.377 billion for the payment of benefits to Vietnam veterans and their survivors for exposure to Agent Orange, which has been linked with Parkinson's disease, ischemic heart disease, and hairy cell/B cell leukemia; and $2.93 billion for Haiti.

These are extremely important priorities which are fully paid for and which I support.

Mr. Speaker, unemployment benefits are a necessary lifeline for jobless workers trying to make ends meet and also provide a boost to the economy. These benefits are crucial when there are five job seekers for every available job. Unemployment benefits keep workers attached to the workforce, preventing some workers from shifting to other more costly programs, such as Social Security disability insurance.

By the end of 2010, the Joint Economic Committee estimates that 290,000 unemployed disabled workers will exhaust their benefits. Shifting these workers from the labor market and onto the Social Security disability insurance rolls--the cost of inaction--is a staggering $24.2 billion lifetime cost, contrasted with $721.3 million this year by extending the benefits.

Extending unemployment benefits is both morally right and the fiscally responsible thing to do, providing a boost to the economy and a savings to the government.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues Representative Chris Smith and Representative Kay Granger in congratulating the government of South Africa for their efforts to combat human trafficking.

Let there be no mistake: human trafficking is modern-day slavery. Although slavery was abolished almost 150 years ago in the United States, millions of people worldwide are still deprived of their freedom. Victims of this growing epidemic are forced into a world of abuse and exploitation. I have worked with my colleagues in Congress for years to fight this horrific problem but our work is far from over.

Past experiences indicate that global sporting events such as the World Cup strongly affect the human trafficking industry. The influx of millions of tourists to South Africa for the World Cup increases the demand for prostitution and facilitates the entry of trafficking victims to the country. Women and girls are reportedly being trafficked to South Africa from all over the world in order to meet the demand for commercial sex. With so many people entering the country, it is important to raise awareness of the horrors of human trafficking and be able to identify victims from tourists. The government of South Africa not only needs to protect its vulnerable population but also those that have been trafficked from across the globe.

House Resolution 1412 is an important measure that not only commends the government of South Africa for their efforts to combat human trafficking but also urges them to act quickly to pass anti-trafficking legislation. Strong police enforcement and strict government laws are especially critical during the World Cup in order to protect potential victims and ensure victims are given proper attention. Although the government of South Africa has worked to tackle this issue and has successfully convicted two human trafficking cases more needs to be done to prosecute traffickers and buyers of the industry.

It is our duty to protect men, women, boys, and girls from this devastating scourge that is destroying people's lives.

Madam Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the achievements of Captain Robert R. O'Brien, Jr., on the occasion of his retirement as Commander of the United States Coast Guard's New York Sector. He has served our Nation, and its greatest city, with distinction, and all Americans owe him a debt of gratitude.

Captain O'Brien assumed command of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Sector New York on June 15, 2006 after completing his previous assignment as the Commander of the USCG's Marine Safety Office in Hampton Roads, Virginia. I know that my distinguished colleagues join me in extending our appreciation and gratitude to Captain O'Brien, who throughout his career has courageously and selflessly dedicated himself to protecting, defending and serving his fellow Americans.

Captain Robert O'Brien's remarkable career in the United States Coast Guard has spanned more than four decades. Enlisting in the Coast Guard in 1970 after leaving the Roman Catholic Seminary, he first served aboard the United States Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Laurel in North Carolina. In 1976, he was assigned as Officer-in-Charge of the USCGC Blackberry, also stationed in North Carolina. Upon his promotion in 1979 to Chief Boatswain's Mate, he was transferred to the largest Aids to Navigation Team in the Atlantic Area as Officer-in-Charge.

In 1983, Robert O'Brien was promoted to Lieutenant, and for the next 20 years served with distinction in assignments that found him in areas ranging from Galveston, Texas to Detroit, Michigan, and numerous places in between. Upon his promotion to Captain in 2003, he assumed command of the Marine Safety Office in Hampton Roads, Virginia. After serving in that capacity for three years, he then became Commander of the New York Sector, where he has been stationed since.

Throughout his long and distinguished career in the United States Coast Guard, Captain Robert O'Brien has earned a number of awards and honors. He has received the Meritorious Service Medal, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, the Coast Guard Achievement Medal and the Coast Guard Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon, among many others.

Captain Robert O'Brien was born in Savannah, Georgia and raised in Ridgeland, South Carolina. He and his wife, Martha, have three children: Reid, Jennifer and Caroline, all of whom must be tremendously proud of their father's accomplishments and honorable service to this Nation.

Madam Speaker, in recognition of his lifetime of service to this country, I request that my colleagues join me in paying tribute to Captain Robert R. O'Brien, Jr., a distinguished member of our armed services and a patriotic American who has devoted his professional life in service to our country. Captain O'Brien's selfless and enduring dedication to our Nation provides a worthy example for all of us.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Mr. Arthur Wolf, a great New Yorker and a great American who has devoted himself to serving others. Arthur provided top-notch public service to the citizens of the Empire State for decades as an official at the Social Security Administration and then at the New York City Department for the Aging. He has provided invaluable and expert advice to me on issues related to aging, and in particular, Social Security and Medicare, for the last seventeen years. Last month, he hosted a celebration of his upcoming 80th birthday (he will actually turn 80 on September 25) at a gathering at Aleo restaurant in Manhattan.

Here in Congress, we are elected by the people to make laws, but the job of implementing, applying and enforcing them falls to others. Throughout his professional life, Arthur Wolf has, in his own mild- mannered way, helped citizens overcome the barriers that sometimes exist between often byzantine bureaucracies and the people whom government is supposed to serve.

A proud son of the Bronx, Arthur Wolf has been a consummate New Yorker throughout his life. He did venture far from home to begin his undergraduate education at the University of Georgia, where he witnessed first-hand the mean-spirited racial segregation that then permeated the region, an experience that helped inspire him to try to make a difference for the better. After two years, Arthur returned to his hometown to finish his undergraduate education at New York University, an outstanding institution of which he is a proud, loyal, generous, and highly revered alumnus. After earning his bachelors degree, Arthur became a welfare investigator. In areas like the South Bronx, Arthur Wolf ensured that often underprivileged New Yorkers got a fair shake from the government when it came to accessing benefits to which they were legitimately entitled. He was also a diligent steward of taxpayer dollars who made certain that the public till was not bilked by those who fraudulently tried to qualify for welfare benefits.

As a Social Security Administration official, Arthur helped countless senior citizens cut through red tape that stood between them and the benefits to which they were entitled. Many of these citizens would be penniless if it weren't for the dedicated work of this extraordinary man. In one memorable instance, Arthur helped an elderly widow tap into Social Security benefits to which she was unknowingly entitled, providing her with a sum in the six figures that constituted an enormous boost to her quality of life. He carries that same commitment to serving others everywhere he goes. A longtime resident of Peter Cooper Village, a bastion of middle class housing on Manhattan's East Side, Arthur often helps seniors in the neighborhood by offering uncompensated counsel on how to traverse the Social Security bureaucracy. His work ethic is only matched by his remarkable selflessness. A former Scout Master, he helped introduce inner-city kids to the great outdoors. For many years, he also volunteered his time hosting a radio show on Fordham University's radio station, WFUV, answering callers' Social Security inquiries.

An active member of many community, civic and fraternal organizations, Arthur Wolf is a Full Mason and upstanding member of the Grand Lodge of Accepted Masons of the State of New York, which he has served as Secretary for many years. He remains a longtime member of the Executive Board of the Samuel J. Tilden Democratic Club.

Madam Speaker, for his extraordinary contributions to others and to the civic life of our nation's greatest city, I ask that my distinguished colleagues rise and join me in honoring Mr. Arthur Wolf.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the Stickball Hall of Fame, an institution that promotes and preserves the great athletic tradition of stickball that has been a mainstay of urban life in America and has helped countless youths learn about the precepts of fair play, teamwork, and the pursuit of excellence. The Stickball Hall of Fame has recognized and commemorated a sport which truly represents the spirit and innovation that exemplifies New York, our nation's greatest city.

Adapted from and closely linked to our great national pastime of baseball, stickball helped transform the urban landscape of 20th century America. Since the 1920s, the game of stickball has been an important team sport in cities across the country, where it served to strengthen personal relationships between families and friends, and forged strong bonds within the communities in which it was played.

In 1968 in New York City, a group known as the 111th Street Old Timers was formed. It organized an annual festival centered around the game of stickball. In 1999 the group began to focus its efforts on reaching out to the kids and seniors within the community. The group raised money to send youths to summer camp, established a scholarship fund, and distributed toys to children in hospitals. Today we

honor this organization for its meaningful contributions to the citizens of New York City.

In 2000, the 111th Street Old Timers founded the Stickball Hall of Fame in order to recognize the pastime which made these charitable works possible. The Hall of Fame is dedicated to preserving the game of stickball as well as commemorating great players and community activists for whom stickball was a beloved pastime. Annually, four to six members recognized for skills both in the game of stickball and for their community service are inducted into the Stickball Hall of Fame. Additionally, this year, the organization will pay tribute to a great player and citizen, Charlie Rivera, founder of the Puerto Rican Stickball League, who passed away in May 2010.

The current president of the Stickball Hall of Fame, Carlos Diaz, exemplifies the spirit of selfless service. He has long been devoted to community activism, serving on the advisory boards of many important institutions, including those of Con Edison and New York Telephone, the East Harlem Baseball Federation, and the George Conroy Educational Fund. He served as chairman of the East Harlem Council for Community Improvement, and founded a group called the Explorer's Program in which junior high school students were exposed to careers in healthcare. Last month, his years of tireless and effective community service were recognized and honored by the Community Advisory Board of Metropolitan Hospital.

Madam Speaker, in recognition of the tremendous contributions made to the civic life of our nation by the game of stickball by its most skilled players, I request that my distinguished colleagues join me in paying tribute to the Stickball Hall of Fame, which has helped preserve a great American tradition and is an inspiration to us all.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and to the United States National Committee for UNIFEM. This month, the UNIFEM-U.S. National Committee (USNC), in partnership with the National Council for Research on Women, is holding its 2010 Annual National Conference in New York City. The theme of this year's conference, ``Strategic Imperatives for Ending Violence Against Women,'' is timely and important, and I salute UNIFEM-USNC for convening prominent leaders and activists to address these critical issues. The Conference is being held at Hunter College of the City University of New York on Manhattan's Upper East Side and is being co-hosted by the College's Women & Gender Studies Program and historic Roosevelt House.

The 2010 Conference is helping to increase awareness of the nexus between violence against women and its harmful effect on key indicators, be they economic, educational, or relating to public health. Convening prominent leaders and activists from the worlds of business, academia, philanthropy, advocacy, nonprofit organizing, and public policy, the Conference will advance UNIFEM's critical mission and develop and promote strategies to combat gender-based violence.

UNIFEM's vital mission is to advance women's rights and achieve gender equality around the world. UNIFEM begins with the fundamental premise that all women have a right to live a life free from discrimination and violence. By supporting national as well as local programs, UNIFEM has helped pave the way toward a more just society, free of gender discrimination and the oppression of women. UNIFEM supports the advancement of existing international commitments for gender equality on a national level. It has helped advance some of our loftiest ideals, values of human and civil rights embraced by the vast majority of U.N. member nations, as embodied by important initiatives such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.

UNIFEM is active all across the globe, from sub-Saharan Africa to the islands of the Caribbean. Its staff works with countries to formulate and implement laws and programs to promote gender equality in all aspects of civil society, working to secure fair and fairly compensated employment opportunities for women, to end the scourge of violence against women, and to help secure their inheritance and property rights. In Sudan, UNIFEM has partnered with the United Nations Mission in Darfur to promote awareness of, and to try to stem, the surge in violence against women. Its staff works closely with tribal leaders and refugee camps to teach women how to protect themselves from sexual assault and violence, achieving a noticeable positive impact on the area.

UNIFEM also strives in collaboration with governments to achieve greater gender equality and increase awareness of the basic human rights of women. In collaboration with various NGOs, UNIFEM has successfully pushed for increased female representation in the legislatures of numerous governments in the Middle East and Asia.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my distinguished colleagues join in recognizing the remarkable contributions toward improving the quality of women's lives around the world made by UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women, and the UNIFEM United States National Committee, on the occasion of its 2010 Annual National Conference. For thirty-four years UNIFEM has worked closely with governments and organizations across the globe to make the ideals that we hold a reality, and all citizens of the world owe a debt of gratitude to UNIFEM and to UNIFEM-USNC.