Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to recommit.

Yes, I am, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, this motion to recommit is very simple. The motion ensures that the bill does not preempt State regulations regarding coverage for breast cancer, pregnancy and childbirth, and well-child OB/GYN services.

Mr. Speaker, this bill, the National Republican Governors Association, the Democratic Governors Association, they are all against it. Forty-one State Attorneys General are against it. There is a reason for that, going back many years ago, when the insurance companies were not giving health care insurance to those that would carry it.

Mr. Speaker, this bill undermines health care legislation in 48 States, including New York. As patients and advocates across the Nation quickly discovered that their basic health care needs were not being served by their insurance companies, they demanded the State step in and protect them.

Mr. Speaker, 48 States responded overwhelmingly and gave basic health care to their citizens. Today, we are undermining the State's efforts. Today, we are saying that basic health care does not matter.

As a nurse, my policy is ``first do no harm.'' Mr. Speaker, this bill does harm to millions of patients across the country. Mr. Speaker, a reduction in health insurance in any form is a reduction in health care. It is just that simple.

Almost every State has recognized the need to cut down the cost of health care and still provide basic health care to their citizens. The States know that without guaranteeing basic health care patients will not get the health care they desperately need. They will only seek help when they are very sick, thus requiring much more expensive medical care for their diseases, putting their lives and the lives of their children at risk.

Let us just look at what it would mean for breast cancer, which is so high in New York State.

According to the American Cancer Society, over 211,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year. In my State of New York, there will be 2,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed alone. Breast cancer is a fatal, but eminently treatable, disease. However, early detection is the key to proper treatment of the disease.

Mammogram screenings are essential for the early detection of cancer. Timely screening can prevent approximately 15 to 30 percent of all deaths from breast cancer among women over the age of 40. Currently, New York and 48 States require insurance companies to cover mammogram screenings. However, under this bill associated health plans would be exempt from having to provide this critical benefit. This amendment would at least prevent a reduction of health care services to those who already have this benefit.

Preserving the coverage of mammogram screenings will help save the lives of our wives, our mothers, and

their daughters. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and as I said earlier, the National Association of Governors, Democratic Governors, Republican Governors are against this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to my colleague, the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, Sunday was Mother's Day. An awful lot of us were down here in Washington to kick off the next several months on going to so many different States to remind people that September 13, the assault weapons ban will expire. In many ways it was great seeing people I have met over the last several years, people from California, Oregon, Washington, New York, Jersey, Connecticut, people that gave up Mother's Day to come down and to be here today and tomorrow to lobby Members of Congress to remind their legislators they want the assault weapons ban kept in place. One of the saddest things was talking to so many friends that I have met over the years, those that have lost their children, their husbands, their wives, and yet they are still out there fighting.

We know that reducing gun violence in this country will always be a tough fight. But the one thing I heard constantly, Why are we letting the assault weapons ban expire? It is going to be up to the million moms across this country. I happen to think the dads and the grandfathers, the husbands and wives, should certainly be out there. We have every national police organization behind us. They do not want to see the assault weapons ban expire. Yet when the White House was asked about what they were going to do about the assault weapons ban, the answer came back, NO comment. That is a far cry from what was said during the last campaign when President Bush said he would sign the bill if it came to his desk.

I know it is an inside Washington thing, but to get a bill on the desk, it actually has to be brought up here on the floor so we can vote on it. That is where the American people have to come into play. The American people have to start e-mailing, they have to start faxing their Representatives and say we want to keep the assault weapons ban in place. That is the only way that we can put pressure on this House to make sure it is coming up for a vote.

I happen to think that when our police officers start going to all their local legislators and their Senators, that we are going to see a change in the tide. I know we do things here at the last minute on the House floor. I accept that. But I have to tell you, when there is only 125 days left to make sure that the assault weapons ban stays in place and only 50 days before an election, I think the American people's voices should be heard.

I am a great believer in one person can make a difference. It was gratifying to see so many people from around the country down here in Washington. When you multiply that and multiply that throughout the Nation, we can make a difference. I always hear from the American people that it makes no difference what we do down in Washington, that they have no voice. I say that is wrong. Do you know how many votes pass in this House by one vote or fail by one vote? Over in the other body today, unemployment insurance failed by one vote. The assault weapons bill going back when it first passed, it passed by one vote. One vote does count. One vote means a lot.

Sixty-six percent of gun owners believe that the assault weapons ban should be renewed. Seventy-six percent of the American people believe the assault weapons ban should be kept in place. May I remind our people out there, the guns we are talking about are AK-47s, Uzis, the guns unfortunately that we see in the war every day. Do we actually want them back in our communities? Do we want them in our streets? In our schoolyards? Have we not seen enough gun violence in this country that we would want to put these weapons of mass destruction back out on the streets? I do not understand this. This is not taking away anyone's right to own a gun. Talk to hunters across the country; they do not hunt with these guns.

So what is the holdup here? They are back on their old rhetoric, saying the bill never worked. Talk to the police officers across this country and they will say the bill does work. May I remind everybody why we passed an assault weapons ban in the first place? Because too many of our police officers were being mowed down. Get out there and let your voices be heard. We can make a difference.

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday is Mother's Day; and while many of our colleagues will be spending time with their families and their wives, thousands of women will be coming down here to Washington again to have their voices heard. We are going to have an Assault on Washington to make sure the assault weapons ban stays in place. We only have until September 13 to make sure a vote comes up on this floor.

As you can see by the poster, when our children go back to school, when your kids go back to school, will assault weapons be going back too?

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday of last week, I went to a memorial service for our police officers that have died in the line of duty, and they were put on the Wall. Many of those police officers came up to me and they said, What is going on in Washington? Why in heaven's name would anyone down there want to have assault weapons back on the streets?

Well, the million moms, the grandmothers, their husbands, grandfathers will be here on Sunday. Our voices will be heard once again. But this is only going to be the kickoff; because from Sunday on, throughout the United States we are going to be touring the country and raising our voices and awareness. The American people have to realize, come September 13, assault weapons, Uzis, AK-47s, Bushmasters will be back on the street.

Do we want to go back there? Do we want to go back to the time when these guns were gunning down children in our communities, gunning down our police officers? Does anybody remember why we banned the assault weapons in the first place? Because too many people were dying.

The American people do not want assault weapons back on their streets. They can do something about that. Call the Speaker of the House. Call the President, who has promised to sign the bill if it gets on his desk. That is an empty promise. If we cannot have a vote here in the House to make sure the assault weapons ban is renewed and made permanent, they will be back on our streets. Even gun owners across this Nation agree that assault weapons should not be on the streets.

Mr. Speaker, we have to do an awful lot of work between here and the end of this session, but I am saying to my colleagues that we must all come together to make sure the assault weapons ban stays in place. We have to do this. It is common sense. It is not taking away the right of anyone to own a gun.

I know there are people out there that feel they should have an assault weapon. Well, unfortunately, when we see gangs in our communities growing every day, when we see drug lords coming into our communities every day, when they talk about having terrorists in our communities waiting who can go to a gun show or go into your local gun store now and buy assault weapons, is that what we wanted?

When I first got involved in this issue, it was for personal reasons. Many of the people that will be here on Sunday are victims. Many have lost their children, many have lost their husbands, many have lost their wives. This is something the American people can do, but we must hear from you.

Again, the American people on a grassroots level can make a difference. There are so many nurses out there, teachers out there, doctors out there that are behind us on making sure it gets through. But you cannot just say you want this. You have to call.

You have to call your Representative. You have to call your Senators. You have to make sure that they hear from you.

With this election season coming up, this should be an issue. We can save lives. We can save an awful lot of lives. Why should we go forward and let these assault weapons back on our streets, and then, all of a sudden, a tragedy happens in our school yard or on a train, or anywhere in this country? And again, the panic that comes here. We have to do something; we have to do something.

This is a bill that has worked. This is a bill that does work. I happen to think we should make it stronger by making it permanent. I happen to think the gun manufacturers should be held accountable for making copycats. But the main issue should be assault weapons of any kind should not come back onto our streets. This is something that we can do. I need your help. I need the American people's help. Come out on Sunday. Come out and support the assault on assault weapons bans. Protect our children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the people of the 4th Congressional District to express my heartfelt congratulations on the 56th anniversary of Israel's Independence Day. Today we celebrate the rebirth of the Jewish State. On this land, thousands of years ago, the Jewish people developed their culture and continue to cultivate it today.

The ideals, which Israelis live with, and for, were enshrined in their declaration of independence and represented by David Ben-Gurion, a leader in the struggle to establish the State of Israel, and the first Prime Minister. He presided over national projects, in order to rapidly develop the country, none more important than the airlift of Jews from other countries. There are over 6.7 million people, over 5.5 million of them Jewish, currently living in Israel.

Faced with constant fear and terror I commend the Israelis for creating and maintaining a viable democracy, founded on liberty, justice, and peace. They have overcome and accomplished so much in a short amount of time. Lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors remains the ultimate goal and peace has been achieved in certain regions. Together, we can make realize the ultimate goal of peace with all of Israel's neighbors and share legitimate security and success.

Mazel Tov!

Mr. Speaker, when I was speaking here last week, Italian customs officials were stopping a boat that had over 7,000 AK-47s being shipped here to the United States. We still do not know yet what their intended purpose was; but with 30-round clips, it could not have been good with AK-47s.

I have scheduled a meeting with the U.S. Customs officials to discuss this troubling shipment. After all, if it is legal to ship in AK-47s, when we are now looking on the assault weapons bill to expire on September 13, can you imagine the flood of guns that are going to be on our streets in a very short while?

Mr. Speaker, the assault weapons ban expires in 139 days. Today and tomorrow police chiefs from all over the country are calling for President Bush and Congress to renew the assault weapons ban. In Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle and many other cities, police chiefs are calling upon us to help them to make sure the assault weapons ban stays in place.

Tomorrow, I will join Members of Congress and the national law enforcement leaders in calling on President Bush to keep his promise during the 2000 year race that he would sign an assault weapons ban if it gets on his desk. Hopefully, the police officers will be able to convince the President to get involved in this issue.

If we cannot bring it up here on the House for a floor vote, it cannot get to the President's desk. I would love to see many of my colleagues there tomorrow at the press conference. The power of law enforcement was what essentially passed the last original bill. There is a reason why our law enforcement supports the ban so strongly: 10 years ago cops were routinely outgunned by criminals in our communities with powered assault weapons, but the assault weapons ban made getting these guns far more difficult. As a result, our police officers are safer today than they were 10 years ago. So are our neighborhoods; so are our communities. Why would we want to turn back this progress?

Can anyone tell me why we need AK-47s, Uzis back on the street? I understand the power of the NRA, but anybody with common sense knows that we do not use these particular kinds of guns to go hunting. Our police officers do not even like using them. Remember, a police officer is supposed to stop a criminal, not kill them unless their life is under risk.

If assault weapons are coming back on the street again, obviously our police officers are going to be in trouble once again. Please remember, when you have assault weapons and if we go back to the old way with the amount of clips up to 30, 40, 50, 100, what chance do our police officers have? Are we going to have a war right here in the United States, citizen against citizen, criminals against our police officers? Is that where we want to go? I do not think so.

I am asking my colleagues to stand up and be counted on this. Since I have been here I have worked on gun safety issues. I have never tried to take away the right of someone trying to own a gun. Our citizens know darn well if they have nothing to fear they can get the permit to go hunting. They can get the permit to go buy a gun, but why would you go open up the flood gates of assault weapons so our drug lords, our criminals and possibly even terrorists that are here in this country to be able to buy these guns?

Common sense. Think about the officers that have died. Think about the families they have left behind. Think about our community. Think about the school shootings we have had in the past. Do we want to go back there? Can we stop every killing? No, we cannot. But why would we open again the flood gates of having these kinds of guns back on our streets?

I remind my colleagues, I remind the people across this Nation, the guns we are talking about bringing back on these streets are the guns we see every single night being used in Iraq, assault weapons, AK-47s, Uzis, large capacity clips.

I beg my colleagues to think about this carefully. The law has worked. We should make it permanent and we should make sure that they are not allowed on our street.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Martyr's and Heroes Remembrance Day. I join the people of Israel and those around the world to memorialize the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

In 1933, there were over 9 million European Jews. By 1945, close to two out of every three had been killed as part of the Nazi's Final Solution. European cities have never recovered the diversity and way of life they had prior to the war. The Jewish people killed were teachers, lawyers, doctors, musicians, parents, and children. These innocents were killed because they were Jewish and targeted for no other reason, they were no different from you or I.

There are few Holocaust survivors alive and it is important for them to share their stories and educate people about the Holocaust, here and abroad. Over 50 years have passed since the Holocaust but anti-Semitism still exists. There has been an upsurge of anti-Semitism overseas and it must stop before there are further extreme acts.

We must also remember the others who were murdered for being different. Gypsies, the handicapped, and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny for no specific reason except they were different.

The Holocaust was not an accident. It was a planned attempted extermination. Individuals, organizations and governments made choices that not only legalized discrimination but also allowed prejudice, hatred, and ultimately, mass murder to occur. As a global society we must work to ensure something like this does not occur again.

We will never forget.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I congratulate the 63 elementary and middle schools from the 4th Congressional District which were recently designated as part of New York State's Most Improved Schools, and it is my honor to name them as my April Schools of the Month.

To qualify for Most Improved status, the schools have had to dramatically improve their English and Math scores. More than 50 percent of the students from the schools that made the list surpassed the English and Math standards and the number of students scoring at that level has increased by 20 points over the past 5 years, based on 4th and 8th grade test results.

The schools that made the list come from a mixture of areas from my Congressional district, proving that improving education isn't just a socioeconomic issue, but an area of concern that knows no boundaries. I am hopeful these schools will provide motivation to the rest of the schools in my district. It is common knowledge that education is the key to our children's future. We must ensure that not only the schools who made the list this year, but every one of our public schools has the funding to maintain their momentum and help all their students to meet the tougher Regents' standards.

The level of improvement by these schools is due to the hard work of the students, teachers, school staff and the parent body. Parents play a large role in the education of children by ensuring students complete their homework and improve their skills. However, I must specifically commend the teachers, who toil at a

tough job that doesn't receive enough appreciation. That is why I am going to begin honoring teachers each month by naming a Teacher of the Month. This honor will allow us to recognize the dedication and tireless effort put forth by these true professionals.

Once again, I congratulate all the honorees and look forward to honoring them, and other schools, in the future.

Mr. Speaker, in 146 days assault weapons will be back on our streets. In 146 days drug lords, criminals, cop killers will be able to buy the gun of their choice. If this House is not allowed to bring up the renewal of assault weapons ban, in 146 days we will be going back 10 years in time.

We have proof that, since assault weapons have been off the streets, many lives have been saved.

Unfortunately, today is the fifth anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. One of the weapons used in the shooting that day was the Tec-9. This weapon of war allowed two high school students to fire 55 rounds into students and teachers in a matter of minutes. Thirteen people were killed that day, 21 wounded.

The gun did what it was designed to do. It is an excellent product. It is a product that is out there to shoot rapidly, to kill as many people as possible in a short period of time. This gun did its job that day. In 146 days we are going to allow these guns back on the street.

These are the guns that we see being used over in Iraq, the same as an AK-47, the Uzis, the guns that were on our streets 10 years ago. And now we are going to go back and allow those guns back on the streets?

Where is the common sense? Gun owners across this country agree that these guns should not be allowed on the streets. Our police throughout this Nation have enough on their hands trying to find the terrorists that are supposedly in this country; and yet this administration, this House, will do nothing.

President Bush in 2000 said that he would sign a bill to renew the assault weapons if it came onto his desk. The President has been extremely effective. Every bill that has come through this House has landed on his desk. But that is because he worked it.

It is going to be up to the American people to start e-mailing their Congressmen, their Senators, the Speaker of the House, everyone, to allow this bill to come back on the floor for a vote.

Mother's Day in 2000, we had over 750,000 moms, dads, uncles, victims gathered down here in Washington to try to do something about gun violence in this country.

This Mother's Day, again, the million moms are coming down here to have their voices heard. We are going to be doing this all over the Nation. Again, the American people have the opportunity to make a difference, but you cannot just talk about it. You have to really get out there and say, enough is enough.

We should be having an assault on the assault weapons. The millions of dollars that are spent every single year on gun violence in this country could be used towards our schools. The billions of dollars that it costs this country on health care because of gun violence could be used towards our health care system.

One person can make a difference, but it is a lot easier when that one becomes two and three and then thousands. We can do this. Many of us here on the House floor will fight for you, but we have to outnumber the NRA. Believe me, the numbers are small. They talk about 4 million NRA members. There are only actually 435,000 of them that have a grip on this House. Our nurses across the country, our doctors, if we only took the health care providers, we could make a difference.

I ask the American people for help. It is 146 days before the assault weapons go back on our streets. Is that what we want in our communities? Is that what we want for our children of this Nation? Is that the bloodshed we want to see in this country?

Mr. Speaker, I rise in memory of Eliezer Schwartz, and in anticipation of the Elie Schwartz Memorial Baldwin Classic Basketball game being held in his honor on Sunday, April 11.

I never had the opportunity to meet Elie, but the number of relatives, friends, and community members who will attend the basketball game represent a testament to the special young man he was. The son of Rabbi Gershon Schwartz and Dr. Shuly Rubin Schwartz, Elie was raised with a strong, unequivocal connection to the Jewish community. From his involvement in United Synagogue Youth, to his dedication to Israel, to his education at Brandeis University, Elie was a favorite among both his peers and adults.

Ten years ago, Elie was the driving force behind the Baldwin Classic, a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that became an annual event. It is quite appropriate that this year's game, the first since Elie's passing in November, be held in his honor, and the proceeds benefit the newly established Eliezer Schwartz Memorial Scholarship Fund of the METNY Region of USY.

Mr. Speaker, the contributions Elie made to our community in his short lifetime will not be forgotten. I know this year's Baldwin Classic

will be a very special day, and I applaud those working hard to keep Elie's ideals and goals instilled in their minds and hearts.

Mr. Speaker, next week the House goes into recess. Yet the House has failed to address the expiration of the assault weapons ban. We in Congress should be looking at this again. September 13 is when it expires. We have 168 days to take care of this. The good news for terrorists, cop killers, and drug dealers is that they will be back on the streets with the assault weapons of their choice.

Since I took the floor last week, over 400 Americans have died from gun violence in this country. By the time the House comes back, we will have lost another 800 Americans in this country. But instead of doing the commonsense thing, instead of having a sense of urgency, the House has stood idly by.

Some seem content to let the assault weapons ban expire on September 13. I am not. The ban has kept us safer for the past 10 years. There is no reason why we should let assault weapons back on the streets. It has also respected the rights of gun owners, protecting the hunters, law- abiding citizens buying the guns that they want. But again do we need assault weapons back on the streets? Only criminals have been kept from their gun of choice. This explains why 66 percent of American gun owners support renewing the ban. The American people support it by even more overwhelming margins.

Once again, our Nation's law enforcement officers are leading the fight to keep the ban in place. The gun industry continues to evade the ban with copycat weapons like these. These are the ones that were banned. These are the ones that are out there on the streets now. They still do the same deadly thing. They take down as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time. This also has to stop.

I came to Congress to reduce gun violence in this country. I fought for commonsense, effective gun measures. That is why I have introduced H.R. 2038, which would renew the ban but also close the loopholes so that these guns cannot be back out on the streets either. We cannot let special interests control this Congress. We have 168 days left to renew it.

Let me say one other thing. Gun violence in this country costs the health care system over $1 billion a year, $1 billion. That is not counting the pain and the suffering that goes to the communities and to the families, those that might never walk again, those that end up never being able to go back to work. And, by the way, the American people pay half of those costs because insurance runs out for those that did have insurance, but, because rehab is so long, they run out of insurance.

Why do we tolerate this? Why are the American people not fighting? Here in Congress many a vote or many a rule, many a measure is won or lost by one vote. The American people have to understand they have a voice in this House. This is the people's House.

I am asking the American people to get involved in this issue. Do they actually want assault weapons back on the street? I think there is enough fear in this country now with the war on terrorism. Do they honestly want possibly the terrorists that are in this country in cells to be able to go to a gun show and pick up an assault weapon? Remember, in D.C., we had two people with a Bushmaster that paralyzed this whole area, cost millions of dollars. By the way, the Bushmaster was supposed to be a banned gun. The deaths that came from that incident can be multiplied throughout our cities and throughout our country. Is that what the American people want?

Common sense. Assault weapons, we see them on TV every single night in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Israel. Is that what we want in this country? Open warfare between our police officers, drug dealers, gangs? Wake up, America. We need America's help in the House. They have the right to call their Senators and their congressmen. We can do this, but we only have 168 days left. Please get involved.

Mr. Speaker, in April of 2003, James Oo- ja-muh of Seattle pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to help al Qaeda. He planned to train terrorists in Oregon. According to one recruit, members of the cell brought AK-47s, pistols, and other assault rifles, enough for anybody and then some.

Mr. Speaker, assault weapons will go back on our streets in 174 days, that is, September 14. If we do not bring the bill up for a vote here on the House floor, it will expire; and we will be back where we were 10 years ago. That is good news for terrorists and other criminals, but bad news for American families and communities and our police officers.

Since I came to the floor to talk about gun violence last week, almost 400 people have died in the past week to gun violence in this country. Simply put, assault weapons were designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible, and we want them back on our streets? Where in God's name do we understand that kind of an attitude? That sounds like the perfect weapon for a terrorist whose goal is to create as much death and fear as possible.

Following the fall of Kabul in November of 2001, a document was found in a safe house advising those that were training where to buy the guns: go to America and buy all the guns you can. It is also known that during the 1980s al Qaeda purchased dozens of advanced sniper rifles for use in the Afghan war against the Russians.

Since going into effect in 1994, the Assault Weapons Ban has increased public safety and prevented dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands.

There are those who wish to see this critical and commonplace public safety measure die a quiet death. The American people support this ban. Our law enforcements across this Nation support this ban.

During the 2000 year election, then-Governor Bush, now President Bush, promised he would sign the bill if it went on his desk. Well, that, unfortunately, is the trick. Unless we have a vote on it here, it is never going to get on his desk. It is up to the American people to use their right to have their voices heard. All they have to do is call the two bodies, call the White House and say, we want to have an assault weapons ban in place.

Let me say this: Ten years ago I was not in Congress. Ten years ago I was back home in Mineola. I was a nurse, and something happened to my family. They were shot with many others on the Long Island Rail Road. That is when I woke up to the gun violence in this country.

I promised that I would do whatever I could to reduce gun violence in this country, and the first thing I started working on was the assault weapons ban. If we do not approve this, it is going to die.

Large capacity clips, our police officers are allowed to use them, our military men are allowed to use them. Our hunters are not allowed to use them. Hunters give animals a better chance of surviving than we allow people. Clips that have 15 bullets in it. Well, we can go back to the old days, 20, 30, 40.

Why in God's name do we need these particular guns on our streets again?

Please, I am asking the American people, have your voices heard. I hear continuously they feel they have no voice in government. You can have a voice in government. You can make a difference. One person can make a difference. How many votes have we had here on the House floor where it is won or lost by one vote?

I am asking the American people to get involved in this. Please. We can make a difference.

Mr. Speaker, this past weekend Deputy Jason Scott of Tennessee was killed by a 16-year-old barricaded in his home with semiautomatic weapons with 30-round magazines. This must stop. One in five law enforcement officers slain in the line of duty is killed with an assault weapon. Our Nation's police officers have worked hard to keep assault weapons off our streets. That is why Congress must revisit the assault weapons ban without attaching special interest handouts. Otherwise, assault weapons will be back on our streets September 14. That is in 181 days. That is good news for terrorists, cop killers, drug dealers and the terrorists that live among us here in our country. Unfortunately, it is bad news for America's families and police officers.

Since I took the floor a week ago tonight, over 400 Americans have died in this country from gun violence. But instead of the sense of urgency that we should do something about it, the House has stood idly by. Some seem content to let the assault weapons ban expire on September 13. The ban has kept us safer for the last 10 years. It has also respected the rights of gun owners, protecting the hunting rifles, shotguns and pistols favored by law-abiding citizens. Only criminals have been kept from their gun of choice. This explains why 66 percent of gun owners support renewing the ban. The American people support it by even more numbers.

Once again our Nation's law enforcement officers are leading the fight to keep assault weapons off our streets. Before the ban, assault weapons were only 1 percent of privately owned guns but nearly 9 percent of all guns used in crimes. Following the ban's enactment, there were 18 percent fewer assault weapons traced to crime. This is a bill that has worked. It has some flaws in it and that is why I had introduced a bill that would close those loopholes. We know that the gun manufacturers have taken the guns that have been banned, and we know that they have made copycats. Those of you that remember the killings that happened here in D.C. with the D.C. sniper, that is a copycat.

Why do we need these particular guns on the street? I promise that I will never do anything to take away the right of someone to own a gun, but to have assault weapons back on the streets is totally insane and it is insane. The American people feel that they cannot do anything. Well, they can.

They can write to their Congressmen, their Senators, certainly the House Speaker and the President. The President of the United States has said that if he has a bill on the desk, he will sign that bill. I am begging the American people to use their right to be able to talk to their Congressman or their Senator. Let us hear their voices. Otherwise, in 181 days we will have assault weapons back on the street.

We do not even have the time to talk about the health care system and how much it costs from gun violence in this country. It is over $4 billion a year, and the American taxpayer pays for half of that, mainly because those that are injured lose their insurance halfway through their treatment; and, believe me, I know this from experience.

People keep saying they have no voice in the government. They can have a voice. They can have their words be heard by those who represent them here in the House. All I am asking is that we are allowed to bring up the Assault Weapons Ban here on the House floor and have a vote. Have a vote. But right now we are told that the bill will not be brought up. It is going to be allowed to just die.

Ten years ago before I ever came to Congress, I came down here to lobby the people that worked here, to tell them the story and why assault weapons should not be on the streets. Colin Ferguson of the Long Island railroad shooting had 15 bullets in his clips. He was able to get two rounds off, 30 bullets, and each one of those bullets found a mark in a victim. And now we are going to allow the large-capacity clips back on the streets again? This is basically what our men and women are using in war in Iraq.

Please let your voices be heard.

Mr. Speaker, assault weapons will go back on American streets in 188 days.

We pay a heavy toll at the hands of criminals, gangs, and terrorists. The average cost of a gunshot wound is more than $16,000 to treat. Treating severe gunshot injuries like wounds to the head or spinal cord can run well over $1 million. The direct medical costs for firearms or related injuries is $4 billion a year; $4 billion a year. Half of that is paid by us as taxpayers.

I know that the police across this Nation want to make sure that we keep assault weapons off the streets. Mr. Speaker, when we see that we are cutting the money for the COPS program and yet allowing assault weapons back on the street, to me it does not make any sense. Since I have been talking about this every Tuesday, we are hearing from people around the Nation. What I am saying to the people of this country is you do have a voice, and you can call Members of Congress and the Senate to make sure that we are allowed to bring the bill up on the floor so we can vote for it.

This is not the time to go backwards. In the last 10 years, we have seen certainly it come down as far as assault weapon killings. We have a report from the FBI. Before the ban went in place, one out of every five cops that were shot were shot with an assault weapon. Why should we go backwards? When we know that there might be a possibility of having terrorists here in this country, when we know that gangs and drug dealers, these are the guns of choice, why would we want assault weapons back on the street?

Mr. Speaker, $4 billion a year in health costs. I can talk about my own son who was shot. He was shot in the head. His medical care has cost over $1 million already, and the total keeps going higher and higher. This is going on with so many people. There are things that we can prevent. We cannot prevent every shooting; we cannot. We cannot see to it that every police officer is being protected. But we can do a better job, and that is by renewing the assault weapons ban by September 13.

Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago, before I came to Congress, I was here lobbying the Members of Congress to make sure we had an assault weapons bill passed. There are some that will say the assault weapons bill has not worked. Well, it has worked; but there are loopholes in it, and those loopholes are where the gun manufacturers are allowed to make copycats of the guns that were banned. One of the guns that everyone is watching on CNN and all of the other stations tonight is the Bushmaster, the guns that were used by the snipers in the D.C. area. That is a copycat. That is a gun that was originally banned. Yet the gun manufacturers allow these to have copycats and put back on our streets.

Do we actually want on September 14 for anyone to be able to go into a gun store and buy an assault weapon? Is this what this Nation is coming to?

Mr. Speaker, I am not for taking away the right of someone to own a gun. I happen to believe that if people want to own a gun, they have a right to own a gun. But assault weapons are made for killing machines. Assault weapons are made for our Army. When we see our police officers and they have to wear protective gear, assault weapons can go through that. One of the other things that a lot of people do not understand is, when we did the ban back 10 years ago, we cut back the amount of bullets in a clip, down to 10. On the Long Island Rail Road, the clips that were used by Collin Ferguson to do his killing and shooting of people had 15 bullets in the clip.

And every one of those bullets made their mark. And he was able to get 30 rounds off and kill six people and injure 19.

Hunters give animals a better chance of survival than we do with these large capacity clips. Our police officers are allowed to have these large capacity clips, our military are allowed to. And that is fine. I do not believe that our hunters need them, I do not believe that our ordinary citizens need those kind of clips.

These are things that we should be doing. Those are good safety laws. Those are good gun safety laws.

I hope that the American people will take up this challenge and demand that we are able to bring this vote up before September 13. It would be a shame to see assault weapons back on the street.

Mr. Speaker, today over in the Senate, our colleagues are having a debate on basically assault weapons to certainly make sure that we renew that by September 13 and also making sure that we close the loopholes in the gun shows.

Mr. Speaker, the NRA today, once again, reached into their bag of tricks to kill a bill it actually supported. Earlier the Senate had voted to add two commonsense gun safety measures to the gun industry liability bill. One would extend the ban on assault weapons. The other would close the gun show loophole bill. Because of this, the NRA said, Jump, and its supporters in the Senate said, How high?

It marked a triumph of special interests in this country. Our Nation's police officers have worked hard to keep assault weapons off our streets. That is why Congress must revisit the assault weapons ban without attaching special interest handouts. Otherwise, assault weapons will go back onto America's streets in 195 days. That is the good news for terrorists and cop-killing criminals. That is the good news for drug dealers. That is the good news for the gangs that are across our country. Unfortunately, it is bad news for America's families and communities and police officers.

Since I took the floor in the House 1 week ago, 400 more Americans have died from gun violence; but instead of a sense of urgency, the House has stood idly by. Some seem content to let the assault weapons ban expire on September 13, the ban that has kept us safer for the last 10 years.

It has also respected the rights of gun owners, protecting the hunting rifles, shotguns, and pistols favored by law-abiding citizens. We do not have problems with people owning guns, but gun owners need to take responsibility on making sure certain guns do not get onto the street.

Only criminals have been kept from their gun of choice. This explains why 66 percent of gun owners support renewing the ban. The American people support it by even more overwhelming margins. Once again, our Nation's law enforcement officers are leading the fight to keep assault weapons, making sure that they are not back on our streets.

But today, I want to highlight one notable flaw in the assault weapons ban. A loophole in the law has allowed gun makers to create hundreds of copycat weapons. The MAC-10, this gun right here, has become the MPA-10. The AK-47 has clones, so many of them, they are too numerous to count. Cosmetically altering the TEC-9, for example, has resulted in the fully legal AB-10. Cosmetically. This is what the gun manufacturers are allowed to do. The A-B, by the way, stands for ``after ban,'' but one can see they almost look identical.

Another weapon advertised for its ability to circumvent the law is the Bushmaster XM-15. People might remember this gun. This was the gun used by the D.C. snipers. Residents of D.C. and across this country know what that weapon was able to do. During October 2002, the snipers used the gun to kill 10 people and wound three others. Bushmaster's slogan for the gun, ``The Best--by a long shot,'' provided deadly accuracy for those in its cross-hairs.

I came to Congress to fight for gun safety. I have fought for commonsense, effective measures, which is why I have introduced H.R. 2038, which would renew the ban, while closing these particular gaping holes.

Let us face it, you cannot tell me that the American people want to see these particular guns back on the streets. You cannot tell me that you want to have our police officers coming across the drug dealer, the terrorists that possibly might be in this country, to come across these.

Another fact, by the way: our police officers have to wear special armor. These guns can go through that armor.

I came here 10 years ago when I was not in Congress to make sure that this bill went through, and now it is time for the American people to realize the power that they have. People always say they have no voice in government. Well, you can have a voice; but you have to call your representative here in Congress. You have to start calling the Senate again. You have to call the Speaker of the House and allow the bill to come up for a vote. We are told that it is not going to be able to come up for a vote. That is wrong, when the American people want to make sure this does not happen again.

Mr. Speaker, on January 17, 1989, a gunman used a weapon like this one behind me to fire 102 bullets into a crowded elementary school in California. The weapon is the AK-47, and it is very good at what it does. It kills as many people as possible as quickly as possible. Before the shooting stopped, 34 children and teachers had been shot. In less than 2 minutes, the gunman was able to spray the school yard with more than 100 bullets. America was rightly outraged.

On December 7, 1993, another gunman came on a train on the Long Island Railroad. This gunman had large-capacity clips and was able to shoot and kill six people, one of them my husband, and wound 21 people, one of them my son. It was at that time that I decided that I would do whatever I could to reduce gun violence in this country.

We were also having a debate here in Washington on having an assault weapons ban, and I became part of that debate. We were very lucky that when it came up for a vote, it won by one vote.

But there is good news for criminals, gangs and terrorists. Soon they will be able to buy an AK-47 once again. Soon criminals, gangs, terrorists can go into any gun store and buy any kind of assault weapon that they want. The assault weapons ban expires this September 14. Some in Congress wish this issue would just go away, but Americans overwhelmingly support the ban. Even 66 percent of gun owners support the ban. They support it because it worked and because it protected the rights of law-abiding citizens to own handguns, hunting rifles and shotguns. Once again, every major law enforcement agency in the country has endorsed the ban. The Supreme Court has even upheld a stronger version of the ban.

But nothing will get done if President Bush refuses to add his voice to the effort. He has promised to sign a new assault weapons ban if it reaches his desk, but if his leadership is not here, and if he does not tell Tom DeLay to bring the bill up for a vote, it is never going to reach his desk.

I have introduced H.R. 2038, which would renew the ban while closing its most gaping loopholes. I came to Congress to fight for gun safety. I have fought for common-sense, effective gun measures, but too many of my colleagues seem beholden to gun pressure groups. Yet we know the American people want to have assault weapons kept off their streets. We cannot let special interests trump the safety of American families and our police officers.

We have 202 days to renew the ban. Failing to do so would be an outrage, and the American people will demand an explanation in November. But there is something that they can do today. I urge all Americans to contact their Members of Congress and their Senators and tell them we want to keep assault weapons off the street. We have got to band together for the safety of our families, our children and our communities. This is something we can do.

People talk about they never have a voice in government. I happen to know that having a voice in government is very important. Here in this House, how many times have we seen bills pass by one vote? Or fail by one vote? It is up to the American people to get involved in this.

This evening we have heard so many of my colleagues talk about all the things that are going on in this world, budget deficits, medications that cannot get to our patients. These are all serious problems. But allowing assault weapons back onto our streets again to kill our officers, to go into our schools, this is something we can do. This is something where the American people can have their voices heard. We outnumber the NRA. We outnumber those that are trying to stop this.

Since I have been in Congress, I have always tried to uphold the second amendment, but this kind of a gun is only meant for one thing. It is to kill as many people as possible. It is guns like this that we are seeing in Iraq, Israel, Haiti. These are the kind of guns that are used to wipe out people as fast as they can. You are telling me a sportsperson wants these back on the streets again?

Mr. Speaker, I will be back here every single week until the American voices are heard, and I will be here to voice those voices.