Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, our Nation is facing a serious backlog in the processing of passports. Since the new travel rules have been enacted, the number of Americans applying for a passport has increased dramatically. Unfortunately, the number of Foreign Service officers responsible for the processing of passport requests remains far below the necessary capacity. This discrepancy has led to long lines at passport offices nationwide and extended processing times.

During the summer months, travel typically increases to and from the United States. To assist U.S. residents with the passport backlogs, I have introduced H.R. 2845, a bill that allows for an increase in Foreign Service officers trained to handle passport requests. My good friend from New York, Senator Schumer, successfully moved similar legislation through the Senate, which we will be voting on today.

I am encouraged to see the House act on this important and time sensitive issue and am hopeful the President will quickly sign S. 699 to help alleviate the tremendous passport backlogs facing our constituents.

Madam Speaker, this year we recognize the 100th Anniversary of the United Parcel Service, or UPS. UPS was founded in 1907 as the American Messenger Company by James E. Casey

in Seattle, Washington, with $100 borrowed from a friend. Since then, they have grown from a 2-person message delivery firm into a 427,000- plus employee global transportation and logistics corporation that moves nearly 15,000,000 packages through its network each business day.

The 4th Congressional District is home to the Oak Street Processing facility. This facility employs hundreds of hard-working individuals and is critical to UPS' Long Island operations. I am proud to have such an instrumental facility in my district. I want to thank the UPS employees from the Oak Street Facility and throughout the nation, for their continued service and dedication to our country''.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a true American hero and a trailblazer from the 4th Congressional District. Joanne McNelis will make history when she is sworn into the Village of Malverne's Police Department.

Her actions will reverberate long after her service has finished. This is a historic moment. She will become the first female police officer in the 80-year history of the Village of Malverne. Those that follow after her will have a hole in the glass ceiling that Joanne McNelis created. Joanne's decision could not have been easy. It is never a simple matter to do something that had long been the purview of men. She has demonstrated significant courage--physical and emotional.

The daughter of one New York City Police Officer and the wife of another, law enforcement has always been in her blood. Joanne McNelis continues a long line of devoted public servants. She will risk her life to protect and serve her fellow citizens of Malverne. Her willingness to sacrifice her comfort and safety will make her village a safer place.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in recognizing the outstanding courage and the extraordinary achievement of Joanne McNelis. Together with her family and friends, I applaud Joanne for her dedication to her community and her sense of duty. I wish her continued success, and am honored to have her as a member of my district.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the repeal of the Tiahrt amendment which is up for a vote in the Appropriations Committee tomorrow.

The Tiahrt amendment restricts the use of firearm tracing data. Tracing data lets our police departments locate the gun dealers who sell guns used in crimes. One percent of gun dealers sell 57 percent of the guns used in the crimes across the country. That is a staggering statistic. If we can crack down on that 1 percent, we can make our streets and our police officers safer.

The collection of tracing data does not prevent anyone from not buying a firearm; it simply gives law enforcement officials the tools they need to do their job. Let's make our streets safer and help law enforcement by repealing the dangerous Tiahrt amendment.

With that, I hope the American people start calling their Congresspeople. This is important for all communities and all cities around this country.

Mr. Speaker, for far too long our veterans have been left behind. In fact, last year the Republican Congress and the Bush administration proposed cutting funding for the operation and maintenance of veterans' medical facilities by $464 million. Earlier this year, we saw the effects of these budget cuts manifested in the conditions of Walter Reed Hospital and other VA hospitals across the country.

Fortunately, this new Democratic Congress has a different set of priorities. We allocate the largest increase in funding for veterans health care in history, and we do it in a fiscally responsible way that does not produce budget deficits down the line.

The 2008 MILCON and Veterans Affairs Appropriations bill includes $70 million more than the President requested for veterans substance abuse programs, $69 million more than he requested for medical and prosthetic research, and $127 million more to address the 400,000-deep backlog of veterans benefits claims.

Mr. Speaker, we are finally keeping our promise to our veterans, not only to the veterans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today, but all veterans.

I thank you, Mr. Conyers, for yielding. I want to thank you for your leadership on these issues, and I appreciate the time.

I would like to thank my good friend, Congressman Dingell, for all the hard work in bringing this bill to the floor. Without his help, we would not be debating this bill today.

I also would like to thank Mr. Boucher, the original cosponsor and I would also like to say think you to Mr. Lamar Smith for working with us.

Mr. Speaker, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, is deeply flawed. Millions of criminals' records are not accessible by NICS, and millions of others are missing critical data, such as arrest dispositions, due to data backlogs.

The primary cause of delay in NICS background checks is the lack of updates due to funding and technology

issues in the States. Many States have not automated the records concerning mental illness, restraining orders or misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence. Simply put, the NICS system must be updated on both the State and the Federal level.

On March 12, 2002, a senseless shooting took the lives of a priest and a parishioner, Mrs. Tosner, at the Our Lady of Peace Church in Lynbrook, New York. That is part of my district.

This shooting brought attention to the need to improve information sharing, and it would allow and enable Federal and State enforcement agencies to conduct a complete background check on a potential firearm purchaser. The man who committed this double murder had a prior disqualifying mental health commitment and a restraining order against him, but passed a Brady background check because NICS did not have the necessary information to determine that he was ineligible to purchase a firearm under Federal or State law.

This same scenario happens every day. The shooter in the Virginia Tech massacre was prohibited from purchasing a firearm.

Unfortunately, flaws in the NICS system allowed his records to slip through the cracks. He was able to purchase two handguns and use them to brutally murder 32 individuals.

Today, Congress will stand up for the victims and pass commonsense legislation. According to a Third Way report, over 91 percent of those adjudicated for mental illness cannot be stopped by a background check due to flaws in the system. But this issue allows other barred individuals to purchase firearms. Twenty-five percent of felony convictions do not make it into the NICS system. That is why I introduced the NICS Improvement Act with Mr. Dingell.

My bill will require all States to provide the NICS system with the relevant records needed to conduct effective background checks. It's the State's responsibility to ensure that this information is current and accurate. They must update the records to ensure that violent criminals do not have the right to own firearms.

However, I recognize many State budgets are already overburdened. This legislation would provide grants to States to update their records into the NICS system. States would get the funds they need to make sure records relevant to the NICS are up to date.

While the NICS system does have major flaws, it is responsible for preventing thousands of barred individuals from purchasing firearms. Approximately 916,000 individuals have been prohibited from purchasing a firearm for failing a background check between November 30, 1998, when the NICS system began operating on December 31 of 2004.

During this same period, nearly 49 million Brady background checks were processed through the NICS system. By improving upon the system, we can stop criminals from falling between the cracks. Today we are one step closer to bringing the records of millions of barred individuals into the NICS system. No system will be perfect, but that does not mean we should not make improvements to make it better. This is good policy that will save lives and should be passed by the House.

My legislation imposes no new restrictions on gun owners and does not infringe on the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

I also would like to thank Bob Dobek of my staff and Josh Tzuker of Mr. Dingell's staff for the tireless hours they put in to have this bill brought to the floor. This policy crosses party lines, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2640.

I think the most important thing that we must all remember, we have an opportunity to save lives. That is why I came to Congress. This has been a long, long journey for me, but it's working with people that, even though I disagree with at times on bringing this together, to make sure that more citizens are safer today than they were yesterday.

This is a good bill. I urge my colleagues to support that.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jack O'Connell on the occasion of his retirement as President and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, Inc. For over 30 years, Mr. O'Connell has tirelessly served the area's poor and vulnerable children, families and individuals. Mr. O'Connell began his career with the Health and Welfare Council in 1976 and has served as the organization's chief executive since 1988.

Mr. O'Connell was instrumental in creating the first ever studies of hunger and homelessness on Long Island in 1984 and 1985. Mr. O'Connell's other accomplishments on behalf of the poor are too numerous to name, but they include initiating the Child Health Plus Facilitated Enrollment Consortium, a program that has enrolled more than 30,000 Long Islanders into Child and Family Health Plus; organizing Long Island's social services response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; and the organization of advocacy coalitions that helped give a voice to the poor and hungry.

Mr. O'Connell has been a tremendous asset to Long Island, and particularly to the people he has helped bring out of the shadows through his work. The future of this country depends on the well-being of our children and families, and the contributions of talented, passionate and committed public servants like Jack O'Connell.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I would like to thank my colleague from the Education Committee, Congressman Holt, for bringing this measure to the floor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1051, the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarship Database Act. This legislation will help students become more competitive in science and math and allow them to find the scholarship that is right for them.

Mr. Speaker, in the audience today we have many young students. This is the future of this country. And we have to do everything that we can to encourage our young people to go into the sciences, math, and engineering. Last year the Education Committee went to China and we spoke with many students there and the minister of education. And their effort, and certainly on what they are pushing their young people to do, is to go into the math and sciences.

This country has an obligation to give our young people the ability to compete in the future. This kind of legislation is going to help in so many ways as far as our country on our economy. But more than that, our young people deserve this opportunity.

When you think back to the 1960s when we were looking at the moon and having programs that were putting us into space, those were kids' dreams. We need to reunite that dream, to have people understand that engineering and math is exciting. The last several years Mr. Holt and Mr. Ehlers have been talking about science and math in our committee; so it is right that at this time we are pushing to encourage our young people, saying if these are the careers that you want to go into, we are going to help you between a private partnership and certainly with the government's helping. This is a great piece of legislation. We should be seeing more and more of this. This is only the beginning.

And I have to say last week I had a field hearing back in my district, and the issue had to do with gangs. And we had testimony from all the experts. But even those young people that had gotten into gangs, all they were asking for were opportunities to better themselves. This young fellow did go back to college. He did start studying science and math, and now he is reaching out. Education is the most important thing that we can do for our young people and for this country.

So, again, I thank my colleague Mr. Holt for bringing this, and I encourage certainly all of my colleagues to support this legislation H.R. 1051. This is only the beginning. We must do more things like this.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my friend, Dorothy Walsh. Dorothy is the owner of Dorothy Walsh Fine Clothes, in Northport New York. Dorothy Walsh Fine Clothes is a women's boutique known for an exclusive inventory that runs the gamut, from bridal gowns and dresses for special occasions to trendy sportswear.

The very special shop has the distinction of being one of Main Street's oldest businesses, opened in 1950 under the name of Esther Stevens Fine Clothes. Dorothy said she responded to an ad in the newspaper and her first responsibilities as an employee there included bookkeeping and checking in merchandise. Dorothy took over this business in 1994. She will be retiring from this business in August of this year.

We, as clientele, have reaped the benefit of her flair for fashion and meticulous attention to detail, captured in the eye-catching store displays juxtaposing the right colors and accessories. The store became the place to go, not only because Dorothy's taste was impeccable but also because she gave us, her customers, the unparalleled experience of feeling as if we were shopping with a knowledgeable and reassuring friend. I have been shopping with Dorothy for 10 years and would always find the perfect blouse for my suits, a special scarf for a holiday or a gift for my daughter-in-law. (Wrapped, by Dorothy, of course.)

Time spent in the store always was sprinkled with local news and general discussion of political and national events. During the stressful time debating gun violence in this country, we would get a call from Dorothy with encouraging words to keep up the good fight. How grateful I am for her kindness and thoughtfulness.

Dorothy Walsh is a member of the Northport family. She has lived there for more than 30 years and was recently acknowledged by the Northport Historical Society and Museum for years of commitment. She has always supported the community and never said ``no''.

For the last four years, as a member of the Northport Chamber of Commerce, Dorothy has orchestrated Operation Warmth, calling upon the community to donate gently used coats, jackets, gloves and scarves to be distributed to the needy. She has been an integral part of the beautification projects throughout the seasons--bringing her special and tasteful touch to Main Street's outdoor displays.

Madam Speaker, those people who have been lucky enough to know Dorothy and shopped at her store, will miss this special place. We are happy to know that Dorothy will still be in Northport, active in the chamber, her community and her church. Most particularly, Dorothy will be able to have more time for herself and her beloved family. Lucky for us she will still be in Northport. I am grateful to have Dorothy as my friend. I ask that you, and all my colleagues wish Dorothy great success in her next adventure and praise her as a great citizen.

Mr. Chairman, earlier today I was questioning administration witnesses on school safety at a Homeland Security Committee hearing. I missed one vote. I would like the Record to reflect how I would have voted had I been able to get to the floor in time.

Rollcall No. 367 on the Tierney amendment to HR 1585, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment No. 11 Offered by Mr. Franks of Arizona

Mr. Speaker, since the beginning of the year, gas prices across the Nation have been increasing. With the summer driving season fast approaching, prices at the pump are again reaching record highs.

With the price quickly approaching $4 a gallon, it is time again for Congress to act to help consumers with this increased cost. High gas prices not only increase the cost of living for American families, but increased gas prices will affect the prices on nearly every single consumer good on the market. Working families are not only paying more at the pump, but at the grocery store, the pharmacy and the shopping malls as well.

These increases have a harmful effect on our Nation's economy and security. They make it harder for working families to commute to and from work, especially in cases where public transportation is lacking. It also increases the cost for public transportation, which makes it harder for those individuals without automobiles to travel.

But we see the effects of high prices across the board. Parcel delivery rates increase. Municipalities must increase their taxes to pay for gas for their emergency responder vehicles. Our utilities go up. We cannot afford to stand by idly as our cost of living steadily increases for the sake of continued record oil company profits.

In response to the rising gas prices, I have requested that the Federal Trade Commission investigate possible gasoline price gouging and hold those accountable who engage in such practices.

I am also a cosponsor of Congressman Stupak's legislation, H.R. 1252, the Federal Gas Price Gouging Prevention Act. This much needed legislation calls on the FTC and the Attorney General to investigate possible price gouging, both nationally and locally, and to prosecute any group found to be taking advantage of the American people. As summer approaches, travel within the United States historically does increase. According to the Automobile Association of America, gasoline prices may reach an all-time high by Memorial Day.

The time has come for Congress and the President to work together on a solution for the American people. Earlier this year the House passed legislation to repeal tax breaks for oil companies while devoting more Federal resources to renewable fuels. I am hopeful the Senate will quickly act on this much needed legislation this month.

If we are serious about reducing our dependency on foreign oil, we must work with manufacturers and researchers to bring renewable fuels to the forefront. Our environment and economy depend on it.

I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure American consumers are given a voice about the high price of gasoline.

Mr. Speaker, last week, President Bush vetoed the Iraqi supplemental. I am disappointed that the President did not attempt to work with us here in Congress prior to his veto. We are now back at square one.

The American people want a new direction for Iraq. Our current strategy is not working, with more sectarian violence spreading throughout Iraq each and every day. If a solution will be reached in this conflict, the Iraqi government must take more responsibility for their future.

The U.S. commitment to end the war in Iraq cannot be open-ended. We must put pressure on the Iraqi government to make political, economical and diplomatic reforms. So far these reforms have not been made, and little progress has been shown by the Iraqi government.

Mr. Speaker, when we talk about the Iraqi war and we talk about terrorism, Iraq did not have terrorists there until we went in, did not do our job in the first several months, and that is why we have terrorism in Iraq today. We must defeat it. We must bring our boys home.

Let the Iraqi government now take care of their own problems.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Rob Ratner on the occasion of his retirement from teaching. For 35 years Mr. Ratner has been a teacher, serving the last 22 years with the Mineola Public School District with passion and commitment. Mr. Ratner began his teaching career in 1974 with the William Floyd School District, eventually serving as Music Chairperson. In 1987, Mr. Ratner was appointed Mineola's Director of Performing and Fine Arts.

Mr. Ratner has been a brilliant asset to his colleagues, the Long Island music community, and particularly to the students he has influenced and taught. The Mineola Arts Department has not only grown under his leadership, it has flourished. Mr. Ratner's goal has always been the intellectual and emotional development of his students through the arts; a goal which he has certainly achieved. Even in retirement, he will continue to educate through teaching college courses in school administration and the arts as well as educational consulting. Currently, he is preparing to record a jazz CD with his two sons.

The future of this country depends on the hopes and dreams of its children, and our community and our nation are enhanced by the contributions of talented, passionate and committed teachers like Rob Ratner.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 334) supporting the goals and ideals of National Community College Month.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert materials relevant to H. Res. 334 into the Record.

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

(Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Miller) for introducing this resolution and for the work he has done.

This month is recognized as National Community College Month. Community colleges represent much of what is great about America. Diverse, dynamic and innovative, open and inclusive, they are one of America's greatest inventions.

The first community college, Joliet Junior College, opened its doors almost 100 years ago in Illinois. It was one of the many that sprung up in the early 20th century amid worries that America could not remain competitive without a better educated workforce.

Policymakers and educators sensed that one of the barriers keeping students from keeping their education was that they were unable or unwilling to leave home. And so a network of community colleges was set up to encourage more students to earn college degrees or obtain specialized training. Today, over 11 million students are enrolled in America's 1,200 community colleges.

Community colleges educate over half of the country's undergraduate students. Community college open enrollment policies mean that they welcome all students regardless of wealth, heritage, or previous academic experience. As a result, community colleges are more diverse in terms of age, income, race and ethnicity than traditional colleges and universities. They enroll students from all over the world.

About 40 percent of all international undergraduates in the United States attend our community colleges. By bringing people from all walks of life together to learn from one another, these schools enrich and enhance our communities.

Community colleges educate over half of the new nurses and 65 percent of new health care workers. They are also responsible for the education of 50 percent of teachers and close to 85 percent of our emergency responders.

Community colleges retrain workers who have lost their jobs, those looking to change fields mid-career or reenter the workforce after an extended absence, and high school students hoping to get a head start on college credit or take a course not offered in the regular curriculum.

Because of all that they have done for this country, on this day we would like to thank our Nation's community colleges and recognize the dedication of their facilities and staff for helping to educate our Nation's students.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my colleague, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).

Madam Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Miller), the sponsor of this resolution.

We have one more speaker.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hare).

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

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 112) supporting the goals and ideas of a National Child Care Worthy Wage Day.

Madam Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may insert material relevant to H. Con. Res. 112 into the Record.

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

(Mrs. McCARTHY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Madam Speaker, on May 1 of each year, child care providers and other early childhood professionals nationwide conduct awareness and education efforts highlighting the importance of good early childhood education for our Nation's young children.

In support of these actions, I have introduced H. Con. Res. 112, a bipartisan resolution in support of National Child Care Worthy Wage Day. This resolution is an effort to support these initiatives and to help develop greater public awareness in this area. Every day, approximately 13 million children are cared for outside the home so that their parents can work, including some who work in our congressional offices.

The committed individuals who nurture and teach these young children are undervalued, despite their important work. We know that children begin to learn at birth, and that the quality of care they receive will affect their language, development, math skills, behavior and general readiness for school. However, the inadequate level of wages for child care staff, roughly $18,000 a year, has led to difficulties in attracting and retaining high quality early childhood caretakers and educators.

In addition to low wages, less than one-third of child care workers have health insurance, and even fewer have pensions. As a result, the turnover rate for child care providers is 30 percent a year. This high turnover rate interrupts consistent and stable relations that children need to have with their caregivers.

Please join me in recognizing the important work of child care providers and support the efforts to provide them with a worthy wage. The Nation's child care workforce and the families that depend on them deserve our support.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.

I want to thank the ranking member, Mr. Platts from Pennsylvania. Working with him on the committee has certainly been a joy. We do work very well together.

As the gentleman has said, passing H. Con. Res. 112 is extremely important. I stand by the words that my colleague has spoken. But I think that this Nation really has to start looking at how we prepare, certainly for the few future and for the global economy that we are all facing. Certainly having high-qualified teachers, day care workers to make sure that our children are getting the best education they possibly can at the earliest age possible. We look at the other countries and see what they are doing. I have to say that many times we are shortchanging our children.

Madam Speaker, I am asking that our Members vote for H. Con. Res. 112.

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

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.