Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent Paul Masih Das and congratulate him as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search 2010. The Intel Science Talent Search is America's most prestigious science competition for high school seniors. Paul is one of only 40 finalists nationwide.

Paul's project, ``A Novel Chemical Synthesis for >1 MUm 2 Graphene Sheets,'' synthesized single-layer graphene (a sheet of carbon that's as thick as a single atom) using a relatively

quick, easy and inexpensive method that he developed.

As a student at Lawrence High School, Paul participates in numerous activities and clubs. As a member of Young Ambassadors of America, Paul has represented the United States on cultural tours of Japan, Spain and Italy. In addition, he plays on the school's tennis team, is captain of the math team and is a member of the chess club. Paul is also an award- winning musician and manages the chamber orchestra. As a senior member of the Education and Labor Committee, I am truly impressed by Paul's accomplishments.

Madam Speaker, it is with pride and admiration I offer my congratulations to Paul Masih Das and commend his dedication to education and science.

Mr. Speaker, first, I want to applaud Chairman Miller on this important, bipartisan bill.

As we know, the use of seclusion and restraint has resulted in harm to schoolchildren, and also death in some cases.

This is wrong, and I am glad we are taking this important step to change it.

I am proud to have been one of the first cosponsors of the bill.

I also want to thank the Committee for working with me to include a technical change important to New York.

The definition of Chemical Restraint would have required that only a ``licensed physician'' be allowed to administer any medication prescribed by the physician for the standard treatment of a student's medical condition.

However, in New York and other states, we allow health professionals other than physicians, such as nurse practitioners, to prescribe drugs.

I am glad we have been able to correct the bill to allow states this flexibility.

While I am happy the House is moving ahead on this important bill, I want to say a word about the issue of corporal punishment--that is hitting of children in schools. Each year in the United States, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren in twenty states are hit in public schools according to the Department of Education.

However, thirty, including my state of New York, states have appropriately banned this practice.

Often this is called ``paddling'' and the student is struck with a wooden paddle, which can result in bruises, other medical complications that may require hospitalization.

Just as with seclusion and restraint, paddling can cause immediate pain, lasting physical injury, and on-going mental distress.

Gross racial disparity exists in the hitting of public school children.

Further, public school children with disabilities are hit at approximately twice the rate of the general student population in some States.

Corporal punishment is associated with increased aggression in the punished child, physical and emotional harms, and higher rates of drop out, suspension, and vandalism of school property.

The federal government has outlawed physical punishment in prisons, jails and medical facilities.

Yet our children sitting in a classroom are targets for hitting.

We know safe, effective, evidence-based strategies are available to support children who display challenging behaviors in school settings.

Hitting children humiliates them.

Hitting children makes them feel helpless.

Hitting children makes them feel depressed.

Hitting children makes children angry.

Hitting children teaches them that it is a legitimate way to handle conflict.

We are adults.

We shouldn't be hitting kids in schools.

One of my other concerns is that by placing restrictions only on seclusion and restraint and allowing hitting to continue, we may be encouraging hitting.

Instead, we, as a nation, should move toward these alternative strategies when it comes to our schoolchildren.

I plan to introduce legislation in the next few weeks to ban the use of corporal punishment in schools and look forward to hearings in the Committee on this topic.

In the meantime, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent Eric David Brooks and congratulate him as a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search 2010. The Intel Science Talent Search is America's most prestigious science competition for high school seniors. Eric is one of only 40 Finalists nationwide.

Eric's project, ``Transition from Indolent to Metastatic Prostate Cancer Characterized through the Health Disparity between African American and Caucasian American Men,'' studied the racial and genetic factors affecting the metastatic potential of prostate cancer.

As a student at George W. Hewlett High School, Eric participates in numerous activities and clubs. He is a member of the Math Olympiads and Mock Trial Team. Eric is also the news editor of the school newspaper. In addition, he is a cellist with the Long Island Youth Orchestra and part of the chamber and pit orchestras at George W. Hewlett High School. As a senior member of the Education and Labor Committee, I am truly impressed by Eric's accomplishments.

Madam Speaker, it is with pride and admiration I offer my congratulations to Eric David Brooks and commend his dedication to education and science.

I have an amendment at the desk.

I'd like to thank Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall for bringing forward this important bill.

The images of growth and the Internet over the years has brought, and will continue to bring, new and exciting opportunities. While these opportunities, however, have new challenges for all of us, H.R. 4061, the Cyber-security Enhancement Act of 2009 is an important bill that will foster safer and more productive Internet use nationally.

I am so proud that the President, his administration, as well as my colleagues in Congress, have all made Internet innovation and security a priority. I am even more proud of the educational provisions in H.R. 4061 that, in my opinion, are vital to the successful growth and sustainability of the Internet and its many real-world applications.

Computer literacy may be something that some of us take for granted, but there are significant portions of our Nation that are unfamiliar with the full spectrum of dangers careless computer use can have.

Our daily lives have become increasingly reliant on the Internet, and over the years, Congress has made substantial investments in its growth. It is

only natural that Congress compliment this technological investment with targeted educational initiatives as well.

I am proud to offer, along with my esteemed colleague, Mr. Kratovil of Maryland, an amendment that will ensure that proper cybersecurity education efforts focus on those that need them most, namely new computer users, elderly and low-income populations, as well as those residing in areas of planned Internet expansion and deployment.

My amendment will do much to ensure that vulnerable populations receive due attention as part of a public awareness campaign for cybersecurity. According to the Pew Research Center, only a third of the elderly are considered to be Internet users. Moreover, the Pew Research Center finds that household income plays a significant factor in cyber literacy.

Too often we hear stories of those taken advantage of or ignorant to the dangers of the Internet. We have the opportunity to educate and prevent careless Web surfing.

Today, with my amendment, we, as a Nation, have an opportunity to ensure that those new and less experienced computer users are given the opportunity to be proactive members of the Internet community.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I'd like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski).

I urge all of my colleagues to support the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize my constituent Lori Ying and congratulate her as she is named a finalist in the Intel Science Talent Search 2010. The Intel Science Talent Search is America's most prestigious science competition for high school seniors. Lori is one of only 40 finalists nationwide.

Lori's project, ``Female Mating Patterns and Mate Quality in the Dengue Vector Mosquito, Aedes aegypti,'' studied whether or not mosquitoes that are genetically altered not to carry diseases like malaria and dengue fever can be viable mates for normal female mosquitoes.

As a student at South Side High School, Lori has participated in numerous science research programs including Columbia University's Summer High School Program, Cornell University Science Research Program and the Intel Science Talent Search. In addition, Lori is a member of the engineering club, the forensics club, the environmental and social awareness club and the Science Olympiads. She has been recognized by the National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, National Foreign Language Society, and the National Science Honor Society.

As a senior member of the Education and Labor Committee, I am truly impressed by Lori's accomplishments. I am pleased to see that Lori values not only her education, but also service and volunteerism within her community. In her spare time, Lori is a volunteer for the Rockville Centre Public Library, where she writes book reviews for the library's Web site and reads books to children; the Big Chief School and Camp, where she works with 2nd graders over the summer and South Side High School Summer School, where she helps to teach third graders mathematics.

Madam Speaker, it is with pride and admiration I offer my congratulations to Lori Ying and commend her dedication to education and science.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1021, a resolution expressing condolences to and solidarity with the people of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake there.

My sincerest condolences and prayers are with the citizens of Haiti, their friends and families on Long Island and throughout the United States as well as the many American citizens who live and work in Haiti.

In times of tragedy, it is essential that we come to the aid of our neighbors. have been proud of the response by U.S. Federal, State, and local agencies that have been centrally involved with providing emergency response to Haiti. Local law enforcement and first responders throughout Long Island and New York have pledged to lend their expertise to the relief efforts. After the initial emergency has passed, it is important that we stay committed to helping Haiti onto the path towards a full recovery.

Madam Speaker, yesterday, I missed 2 votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows:

Rollcall No. 969, on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended, to H. Res. 779, I would have voted ``yea.''

Rollcall No. 970, on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 942, I would have voted ``yea.''

Madam Chair, I would like to thank Chairman Frank and his staff for working with me on a clarification included in the Manager's Amendment. The provision addresses how the Financial Services Oversight Council and the Federal Reserve should interact and supervise financial holding companies that do not own banks, but which are subject to stricter standards because the Council has found them to be systemically risky.

The provision requires the Federal Reserve to be flexible when applying the standards to non-bank holding companies, rather than using a bank-centric approach that may not be appropriate for their structure. In addition, the Federal Reserve will have to consult with the Federal Insurance Office when determining how best to supervise insurance companies that are subject to stricter standards. For companies that are also foreign-based, the Federal Reserve and the Oversight Council must take into consideration if the company has comparable home-country supervision and decide how best to coordinate with that supervision. These minor clarifications help to ensure that institutions which are not banks will not be forced to comply with regulations that do not fit their business structure.

The beauty of the U.S. financial system is diversity, both in products and in structure. It is important to preserve that diversity for the purpose of domestic and international competition. I thank Chairman Frank for his willingness to incorporate these changes into the manager's amendment.

I would like to ask the gentleman from Massachusetts, the distinguished chairman, to engage in a short colloquy.

I would like to clarify how the analysis of systemic risk and assessment factors would be applied by the Financial Services Oversight Council and for dissolution fund assessments.

Is it the chairman's intention that the factors used for identifying companies subject to stricter standards should be applied in light of the more detailed and balanced risk matrix set out in the dissolution fund section of the bill?

I thank the chairman and look forward to working with him as the process moves forward.

Madam Speaker, on November 4, I missed one vote. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows.

Rollcall No. 844, on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree, as Amended, to H. Res. 839, I would have voted ``yea.''

I thank my colleagues, Mr. Andrews, and I also thank George Miller for also working with us.

We have known for years that we have a shortage of doctors, especially primary care doctors, and we have had a shortage of nurses. This bill is going to help that.

You know, when we talk and I hear some of the charges coming from the other side, I am wondering where have I been all of these months when I sat through the committee hearings and heard what we are doing.

I want to say with the Education and Labor Committee, the Nurse Training and Retention Act and the Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act is in this bill, H.R. 3962. The Nurse Training and Retention Act will provide grants so we can have more new nurses, but to have more new nurses, we have to have those who are educated to teach those nurses. We have that in this bill, too.

I also want to say that for years I have been fighting with the insurance companies to make sure that children who are born with disfigurements on their face can have corrections so long term they won't have those scars, physically and mentally, and to help those families adjust to the child. In this bill, we will be able to say that the plastic surgeons can work on these children.

Think about a child who is born without an ear. The insurance companies say that is cosmetic. That is not cosmetic. The ear is actually part of the body so you can actually hear better. But the emotional scars that happen to the children that are born with these deformities, that is wrong.

If we can't take care of our children in this country, if we can't make sure our seniors on Medicare get the kind of care that they need-- I will tell you, I just went through surgery. I went to get my prescriptions filled, and my pharmacist said to me, How lucky, you don't have to pay anymore for your prescriptions until January 1. Why? Because I have coverage, because I have health care from the Federal Government. We can do better, and we should.

I have an amendment at the desk made in order under the rule.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Frank and his committee staff for working with me and Congresswoman Markey on this amendment. It has not gone unnoticed that some credit card issuers have used this time before the pending effective date of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 to raise interest rates and reduce credit for some consumers.

Let me say, though, that I think there needs to be a reminder here on why we're even standing here. We have seen the economy just about collapse because there has been no oversight. We saw trillions of dollars being lost by our constituents because there was no oversight. So when I say that I'm not alone when I have heard from many in my district who are frustrated with credit card issuers who continue to raise rates during this small window of time before the Credit Card Reform Act is enacted, in these very difficult economic times, when many people are worried about being able to put food on the table or being able to pay their bills, credit card companies choose to push their consumers deeper in debt by raising the interest rates.

Many of us are outraged by this practice and agree with my colleague Congresswoman Markey that something has to be and should be done. Our amendment would seek to modify H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009, to allow credit card issuers to choose to impose a freeze on increases to interest rates, fees and the terms of the conditions of the contract. In return for imposing a rate freeze, issuers would be given flexibility to comply with a provision in the act regarding payment allotments until the credit card reform law becomes enacted in February 2010.

Payment options and many of the system changes issues must be made in order to comply with the pending enactment date of the credit card reform law. These changes should be carefully executed so that there is little room for error and confusion to the consumer. I believe our amendment will stop the unfair rate increases and will allow the companies that are doing the right thing to remain on the path of compliance for the pending enactment dates of the provisions, many of which do not have final regulations issued yet by the Federal Reserve.

If the real reason behind this bill is to make issuers stop raising interest rates and other abusive practices, merely moving up the implementation dates on provisions will not address the interest rate problem. My amendment will address the problem by letting the issuer make the decision to do the right thing.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

I would like to say thank you to the gentlelady, Ms. Markey, for working on this legislation. Certainly her voice has been a strong voice for the consumers. I will say again, we're in this particular position mainly because there had been no oversight. If you want to talk about health care also, there has been no oversight on giving our constituents the care that they need.

I yield the remainder of my time to Ms. Markey.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I enter into the Congressional Record an essay published in the New York Times and written by a constituent of mine, Mr. James H. Burns (Jim Burns) of Valley Stream.

[Oct. 23, 2009]

Watching the Giants, and Ambushed by Zombies

Columbia Pictures Images from ads for films such as

``Zombieland'' can startle or frighten unwary TV viewers.

Halloween has always been the season when Hollywood

unleashes some of its most suspenseful and supernatural

offerings. When I was a child in the late '60s and early

'70s, the horror slate was a splendid array, ranging from the

relative innocence of monster-ramas to the erotically tinged

creature flicks of Britain's famed Hammer Studios. Somewhere

in between were the less stylish but often enjoyable low-

budget drive-in fare from America's exploitation studios

(almost all of which went out of business years ago) and the

occasional major-studio horror movies often rereleased at

this time of year.

But this mostly imaginative crop devolved to the dime-a-

dozen, cut-'em-up-and-watch-'em-bleed movies, of which

``Friday the 13th'' is perhaps the most famous example.

Although I was one of the earliest group of writers for

Fangoria, the horror-movie magazine, and also acted in a

couple of horror films years ago, my opinion of the genre's

more grotesque examples has changed.

I used to believe that slasher movies--or ``gore-or,'' as I

started calling them in the 1980s--were like a celluloid

roller coaster, a relatively harmless catharsis. But now I

think that the intensity of Hollywood's blood-and-guts

barrage and the ability of such films to desensitize at least

a portion of the audience cannot be denied. And they

certainly should not be advertised on television during what

are supposed to be family viewing hours.

Sometime back, I was stunned to look up from a halftime

snack to see horrifying images from one of the ``Hostel''

movies--rapidly edited for maximum terrifying impact--being

run as a commercial during a 4 p.m. football game.

A few weeks ago, the Giants game included an advertisement

with a zombie child (dressed in her chiffonlike finest, a

pink bow in her hair) being dragged behind a car, and a

bikinied beauty running in a parking lot, her mouth covered

with a darkened ooze. (The spot, an ad for ``Zombieland,''

ended with a ``hero'' threatening an obese ghoul with an

oversized pair of garden shears.)

Last Sunday about 2 p.m., Giants fans saw possibly even

more disturbing sequences--an apoplectic screamer, a man

having convulsions, and an almost subliminal shot of a

foreboding, wraithlike alien--even though

the movie being advertised, ``The Fourth Kind,'' has been

rated PG-13. Late afternoon also had a particularly creepy

``Criminal Minds'' clip about forced impregnation, with a

chilling baby-doll motif. Comparable commercials have been

shown during early-evening prime-time broadcasts.

This is the week when we're reminded of how much fun can be

derived from a sense of the fantastic, and how deeply the

desire for terrifying thrills is imbued in many film fans.

But the choice of whether to be confronted with these images

should clearly still belong to each person. Innocent

bystanders should not be ambushed by these kinds of

graphically violent, disturbing scenes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the students, faculty and staff of the Centre Avenue Elementary School and congratulate them for having received the prestigious Blue Ribbon School Award. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap or whose students achieve at very high levels.

Centre Avenue Elementary School has been successful in meeting the highest standards of the New York State assessments, with test results consistently meeting the state's expectations by having a high number of students performing at maximum levels. Centre Avenue succeeds in providing an atmosphere where students foster a desire for lifelong learning and are motivated to reach their highest potential academically, creatively, socially, physically and emotionally.

Centre Avenue is committed to providing an educational environment where safety permeates. Students are encouraged to expand their social and emotional development with involvement in groups and participation in any of the numerous clubs offered. A supplemental aspect of their curriculum is to teach the students social responsibility. A school- wide Jump-A-Thon supported the American Heart Association, money was collected to assist Island Harvest in their quest to end hunger on Long Island, the Toys for Tots program helped disadvantaged families have a happier holiday, and the Food Drive helped restock the supplies at the Ronald McDonald House.

The future of this country depends on the hopes and dreams of its children. Our community and our nation, are enhanced by the contributions of high achieving students like those at Centre Avenue Elementary School. Additionally, I would like to recognize the work of the teachers and administrators who dedicate their lives to their students. The staff is the back-bone of the student's success and I thank them for all that they do on a daily basis.

Madam Speaker, it is with pride and admiration I offer my thanks and recognition to the Centre Avenue Elementary School.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the students, faculty and staff of the Brookside Elementary School and congratulate them for having received the prestigious Blue Ribbon School Award. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program recognizes schools that make significant progress in closing the achievement gap or whose students achieve at very high levels.

The teachers and staff at Brookside School aim to provide a rigorous yet nurturing environment where on-going academic, social and emotional support is provided so all students can realize their potential. Brookside School has the advantage of small class sizes which creates an atmosphere where each child is recognized for his or her individual gifts and talents.

Character education is woven throughout the curriculum at Brookside Elementary School. Each month, the school hosts ``BBOTB'', Brookside Brings out the Best, Assembly, where students are recognized for excellent citizenship, character, effort, respect, neatness and organization. As a member of the Committee for Education and Labor, I have the privilege of learning about school both locally and nationally. The future of this country depends on the hopes and dreams of its children. Our community, and our nation, is enhanced by the contributions of high achieving students like those at Brookside Elementary School. Additionally, I would like to recognize the work of the teachers and administrators who dedicate their lives to their students. The staff is the back-bone of the student's success and I thank them for all that they do on a daily basis.

Madam Speaker, it is with pride and admiration I offer my thanks and recognition to the Brookside Elementary School.