Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Judith Rodin, a native Philadelphian and former President of the University of Pennsylvania, and to congratulate her on receiving the 2006 Gold Medal Award from the Pennsylvania Society. In her decade long tenure leading the University, Dr. Rodin demonstrated a strong commitment to the Greater Philadelphia region and the West Philadelphia neighborhood in which the University is located. She has proven herself not only an asset to the academic community but more broadly to the City of Philadelphia.

As an established social psychologist, Dr. Rodin has contributed much to our knowledge of pressing social issues and has been instrumental in bringing women's health concerns and behavioral health issues more generally to the forefront. The first female president of an Ivy League institution, she has opened doors for young women across the country and it is with Dr. Rodin's leadership that Penn saw a period of remarkable growth and development strengthening and transforming the University's academic core.

In keeping with her commitment to the common good, she currently serves as President of the Rockefeller Foundation and works to advance that organization's mission of alleviating global poverty. It is a privilege for me to recognize Dr. Rodin and her work. I congratulate her on the receipt of this prestigious honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Honorable W. Wilson Goode, 2006 recipient of the Purpose Prize, a new and exciting award by Civic Ventures that honors and promotes social entrepreneurs who are age 60 or older. Over 1200 people competed for five $100,000 gifts, creating publicity and support for programs developed to address society's biggest challenges.

Wilson Goode, former Mayor of Philadelphia, left government in 1992 after earning a Doctorate in Ministry, and moved into the nonprofit world. At age 62, he committed himself to helping the seven million children in America who have one or both parents in jail, on parole, or under state or federal supervision. Research shows that without intervention, 70 percent of these children are likely to follow their parents to jail. As Director of Amachi, Wilson Goode has championed a proven method of intervention, mentoring with a faith-based recruitment strategy. He has rallied pastors, particularly in the African-American community, to engage their members. Today, more than 240 programs in 48 states are connected with Amachi, and have helped more than 30,000 children.

Mr. Speaker, I also would like to commend Civic Ventures, along with Purpose Prize, the Atlantic Philanthropies, and the John Templeton Foundation, for their vision and generosity in creating this important stimulus for expanding citizen initiative for public good. The Purpose Prize joins Experience Corps as an important innovation by Civic Ventures, a nonprofit organization dedicated to generating ideas and programs to help society achieve the greatest return on the experience of older adults. I believe these programs will help transform society's view of aging, and lead to better investments in America's greatest untapped resource, which are experienced and engaged older adults.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in extending my heartfelt congratulations and appreciation to Wilson Goode, and wish him continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and also the chairman of my former committee, the House Administration Committee, for their fine work in bringing this resolution to the floor.

On Sunday I spoke at the VFW post in my district, the Charles Young Post, as they celebrated 76 years of providing a service to veterans, returning veterans from a host of wars and conflicts, in Philadelphia.

I have been over to Walter Reed visiting with soldiers who have been wounded in the Iraqi war, and it is true that they are receiving great medical care, but they do need employment. And I thank the gentleman who is the prime sponsor of this who I have also served with for many years, for fighting for this to come to the floor because it is something that is tangible that we can do.

I just wanted to rise in support of it. House Administration is a committee where these issues are dealt with, and I think the committee should be commended for bringing this to the floor. And I hope all Members heed what I think is a reasonable challenge, that each of us should reach out to returning veterans.

Many have disabilities that are visible, and others have other challenges. We do know, as has been stated by a former President, Ronald Reagan, that one of the best things that could ever happen in terms of addressing some of the social challenges that people face is a good job. So providing a good job for veterans who return, many of whom are disabled, I think is a rightful thing for this House to consider, in all of its various offices both here on the Hill and at home in our district offices.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I thank the chairman for the great guidance he has given to my former committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions made by KPMG, LLP to Philadelphia, our people, our businesses, and the health of American capital markets, and do so on the occasion of the firm's 100th anniversary in our city.

In 1906, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. opened its doors on Chestnut Street. Marwick, Mitchell & Co. was then a small accounting firm with less than a handful of partners. In the last 100 years, Philadelphia has added greatly to its history as the birthplace of the American republic to its renown as one of the nation's leading ports, centers of commerce, and home to many Fortune 500 companies. Marwick, Mitchell & Co. grew with Philadelphia and is known today as KPMG.

Throughout its history, KPMG has been an outstanding citizen of Philadelphia. Today, KPMG is one of the oldest and largest professional services firms in the city, employing more than 850 professionals headquartered, on Market Street and providing a variety of audit, tax, and advisory services to the public and private sectors.

KPMG's partners and employees serve as officers, directors and volunteers for many of Philadelphia's philanthropic and charitable organizations. Earlier this year, KPMG sponsored the ``City Hall in Bloom'' spring planting. As part of the event, more than 200 KPMG volunteers joined students from the Bach-Martin Elementary School in clearing, cleaning and preparing beds for more that 8,500 flowers plants and trees in the largest volunteer clean-up ever mounted at City Hall. There are many other examples of KPMG's volunteerism. Employees helped paint the interior of Bach-Martin school and created a new mural for the entrance. The firm also has assisted the ``Help Philadelphia'' women's shelter with a number of events over the years. Last year, KPMG helped welcome refugees from Hurricane Katrina, assisting in their relocation. This year, a group of KPMG professionals traveled to the Gulf region to help rebuild homes with Habitat for Humanity.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to pay tribute to KPMG and its people for 100 years of service to Philadelphia, for its contributions to the growth and health of the city's commerce, and for its many efforts benefiting our community's quality of life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Alexander L. (Pete) Hoskins, who has diligently served as President and CEO of the Philadelphia Zoo for the past 12 years. Pete is the Zoo's 12th president and the fourth-longest serving leader since it opened in 1874. America's first zoo and one of the region's foremost conservation organizations, the Philadelphia Zoo is home to more than 1,500 animals, many of which are rare and endangered. The Zoo, fulfilling its mission of conservation, science, education and recreation, supports and engages in conservation efforts to protect endangered species around the world.

I am proud to have known Pete, not only as head of the Zoo, but also during his tenure at the Fairmount Park Commission and the City of Philadelphia. Pete has been serving the citizens of Greater Philadelphia for over 30 years. His vision and cultural destination advocacy reaches beyond the Zoo. He championed a plan to promote a network of family-friendly attractions in Fairmount Park, revitalizing the Park and positioning it as a family destination with the Zoo as anchor. The relocated Please Touch Museum will be a key step in making the ``Centennial District'' a reality. I am pleased that Pete, farmer chair of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, will continue to work on behalf of the arts and culture community in the Philadelphia region.

During his tenure at the Zoo, Pete led an unprecedented, $100 million capital investment, including the Zoo's spectacular, $20 million Bank of America Big Cat Falls exhibit that recently opened. The list of new facilities and other Hoskins-led initiatives includes: New Animal Health Center, PECO Primate Reserve, Reptile House Renovation, Dodge Rare Animal Conservation Center, Lorikeet Landing, Monkey Junction, and Channel 6 Zooballoon.

Pete also has laid the foundation to raise capital for three more master plan projects, including a series of new bird exhibits, a new elephant habitat, and a new children's zoo. In 1997, he guided the Zoo's Board and staff through the development of ``Vision 2020'' and the Zoo's master plan as the Zoo renewed and strengthened its mission to educate visitors and inspire them to take action in their own lives to protect animals and their natural habitats. All of the Zoo's new exhibits now include key conservation messages and opportunities to engage in conservation outreach.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to pay tribute to Pete Hoskins. His knowledge, dedication and vision for Philadelphia are truly an asset. I would like to thank him for his Zoo leadership and sincerely look forward to working with him for the betterment of Philadelphia into the future.

Mr. Speaker, could I ask the gentleman from Nebraska if he could yield another 30 seconds of his time?

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the 100 year anniversary of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, which is a great institution in our country and will be having its centennial conference starting tomorrow here in Washington.

As a member of the Alphas, I know of its reputation for academic involvement. One of the first programs of our fraternity was an effort to get young men to stay in school and to go to college, and our work here in the Congress continues that effort.

I want to welcome all the Alpha brothers from across the country and the world who are coming here to Washington, DC. It is a proud day for this great organization, and I thank the Congress for honoring this organization and its great contributions to our country.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time.

Mr. Chairman, I also want to extend my personal thanks to the chairmen for their work to bring this bill to the floor. As one of the original cosponsors, this today is a signal across the world. I represent the city of Philadelphia where the Constitution was written. It was clear then and stated that we needed to work towards a more perfect Union.

The work that began when this bill was passed into law in 1965, and as it has been reauthorized on a number of occasions, today we again signal to the world that we continue to work towards a more perfect Union. As we promote democracy around the world, this is an opportunity for us to further secure it here at home.

I want to thank my colleagues as we dismiss these amendments and move to final passage later on today and thank the Congress because today we truly do represent the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act. I believe that this is a high-stakes test for the world's democracy that is the focus of efforts all around the globe to promote democracy. Right here at home, we still need to move towards a more perfect Union.

In my home city of Philadelphia, where the Constitution was written, we, some 150 years after that, saw the death of a young African American male, Octavius Catto, who was just going to go vote and was beaten to death by a white mob that was upset about his exercising his franchise.

The question of the Voting Rights Act is not just a question for the South; it is a question across our Nation. And the benefits and the protections of the Voting Rights Act, as we seek its reauthorization, and we seek it today, suggests to the world whether this is a democracy truly that the world should seek to emulate.

Mr. Speaker, across America, too many children remain in the foster care system for far too long. Through efforts known as subsidized guardianship, though, the amount of time from entrance into foster care to permanent placement is being slightly reduced.

Currently, there are more than six million children living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives. The reasons vary, some children enter due to the death of a parent, others have been neglected while others have suffered abuse and still more live in foster care because of poverty or the military deployment of a parent. Whatever the reason, these children lack the security that permanent residency affords. I celebrate grandparents and other relatives who unselfishly and at great financial sacrifice provide safe, stable homes for these children. There are compassionate programs such as subsidized guardianship, that permit children to transition from the foster care system into the permanent custody of loving and supportive relatives in a comparatively short period of time.

In my State of Pennsylvania, 7 percent of the children live with non- parent relatives. Grandparents and other relative caregivers are often the best chance for a stable childhood for the children in their care, but their hard work and dedication often go unnoticed. I appreciate and congratulate those who put the interest of our Nation's children first. Future generations will be better because of those who provide the continuing services of subsidized guardianship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the West Philadelphia High School's Academy for Automotive and Mechanical Engineering for winning their second Tour de Sol Championship.

The National 2006 Tour de Sol, a nationwide competition, allows students and entrepreneurs to showcase their efforts to design vehicles that approach zero climate change emissions and reduce oil use. The Tour de Sol highlights the largest innovations in alternative-energy technology and advanced fuel vehicles, showcasing the future of the clean-energy and transportation industries. The cars are put through rigorous tests to assess emissions, fuel economy, and other technical standards.

The Tour de Sol provides a key platform for vehicle manufacturers, students, and entrepreneurs to demonstrate future designs and current products that aim to reduce oil use and climate change emissions to near zero. This year, over 50 teams from all over the world participated in the Tour de Sol Championship, which began in 1989. The competition aims to inspire students and businesses to design, build, showcase, and use concept vehicles that push the envelope and work toward the ultimate goal of the event.

The winner of the coveted ``Student Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Division'' was awarded to one of the only high school teams to enter the competition, West Philadelphia High School's Academy for Automotive and Mechanical Engineering, for their Hybrid biodiesel electric car called The Attack. The team beat university and private teams from around the country for developing a vehicle that demonstrates high energy efficiency. The Attack ran the equivalent of 50 miles per gallon of gasoline.

I salute the students, faculty and team sponsors who worked tirelessly over the past 2 years to construct a hybrid vehicle that efficiently uses gas to create a cleaner environment. I applaud their efforts and congratulate them on a winning design that makes all Philadelphians proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate celebrated boxer Bernard Hopkins on his illustrative career spanning 18 years and 53 fights as the former WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO undisputed middleweight world champion and light heavyweight world champion.

At the age of 41, Bernard Hopkins accomplished what few other boxers were able to do successfully. A 3-to-1 underdog, Hopkins jumped two weight classes and soundly defeated light heavyweight champion Antonio Tarver, who previously had a 24-4 record. Hopkins' victory over Tarver quieted critics who claimed Hopkins was overly ambitious in his desire to challenge Tarver for the light heavyweight championship, and secured his place in the boxing world as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in history.

Overcoming adversity as an underdog is a situation in which Hopkins is well familiar. Born and raised in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bernard Hopkins grew up in an environment surrounded by poverty, hardship, and violence. A repeat juvenile offender at the age of 13, Hopkins was a frequent visitor to a detention facility for juveniles in Philadlphia. By 17 years of age, Hopkins estimates that he appeared before a juvenile offender judge at least 30 times. After being charged with his eighth felony for strong-armed robbery, Hopkins was convicted and served in an adult detention facility until the age of 22. It was in prison where Hopkins found religion and his inspiration to dedicate his life to boxing.

Citing his time of incarceration as a ``blessing,'' Hopkins boxed in prison and turned pro shortly after his release. Despite suffering several early career losses, Hopkins quickly gained the reputation of being an ``old school'' type fighter, dispatching his opponents mercilessly with speed and precision. By the end of 2000, Hopkins defended his IBF title 12 times without a loss, while beating upper- echelon fighters such as John David Jackson, Glencoff Johnson, Simon Brown, and Antwun Echols. Perhaps the most defining fight of Hopkins boxing career occurred when he defeated six-division titleholder Oscar De La Hoya for the undisputed middleweight championship with a jarring knockout blow in the ninth round.

Mr. Speaker, please join me today in congratulating Bernard Hopkins for establishing his place in boxing history as one of the most prolific professional fighters of all time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise again today in opposition to the war in Iraq, a position I have consistently held since the President first undertook this misguided policy at the expense of our nation's men and women in uniform and our domestic priorities. While I found myself in a relative minority at the time I first voted in opposition, I find myself now situated amongst a majority of the American people in addition to some of the most knowledgeable and committed patriots this country has ever known.

I am today opposed to H. Res. 861 and remain committed to a better course, one that is in the interest of American foreign policy, America's fighting men and women, America's future security and American victory. The Resolution, which has been discussed, is flawed, not only in substance, but in process. The decision to enter into and remain involved in foreign conflict is one of the most serious responsibilities the Framers of the Constitution granted to the Congress at the drafting in Philadelphia. The Republican leaders in this Congress have shirked their oversight responsibilities and have denied a democratic process even in the debate over a nonbinding resolution.

Throughout this conflict we have heard of shortages of supplies from armor to protect the lives of our soldiers to reliable intelligence to guide their mission. Surely the most devastating shortage has been the lack of leadership in this conflict. The President has failed, since the beginning, to chart a course for victory, to correct mistakes as they have arisen and to secure that the ideals for which the American forces are fighting are never compromised.

I rise in honor of the sacrifice that far too many men and women have been called to make and in the hope that this conflict will find a new direction, one which will support American victory, security and justice. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to chart a better course and plan a better future for the people of America and the people of Iraq.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from New York, and I want to thank and congratulate the chairman. I wanted to submit for the Record letters from the Secretary General of the U.N., the Ambassador for the European Union, and from Prime Minister Tony Blair in support of a Safe Blood for Africa Initiative

that the chairman and the ranking woman from New York have agreed to insert into the report that will accompany this bill which has to do with an initiative to make healthier the blood supply throughout sub- Saharan Africa. It has the potential of saving millions of lives, and these letters illustrate international support for it. So for Secretary Kofi Annan and Tony Blair and the European Union, I want to submit these letters for the Record.

The Secretary-General,

May 30, 2006.

Hon. Chaka Fattah,

Congressman, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congressman Fattah, Thank you for your important

efforts in support of improving the blood supply in Africa.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic poses an unprecedented threat to human

security and development in the continent. The epidemic

demands an exceptional response and your Initiative on Safe

Blood will play an invaluable role in benefiting the lives of

millions of Africans.

I commend your leadership on this issue and look forward to

hearing more about it in the weeks and months ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Kofi A. Annan.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Nation, the 2006 Laureates of The Franklin Institute Awards Program. Ten brilliant individuals will be honored on April 27, 2006 in the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, for their outstanding achievements in science, technology, business, and philanthropy. Through the outstanding leadership of The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia's great science museum, a 182-year tradition of recognizing brilliant achievement and promoting the pursuit of science and technology for the public good continues to inspire a passion for learning in millions of people each year.

The Franklin Institute Awards Program--considered by many as the American version of the Nobel Prize--is one of the oldest and most renowned science and technology awards programs in the world. The program's distinguished history dates back to 1824, when the Institute was founded by a group of leading Philadelphians to train artisans and mechanics. Philadelphia, then the largest city in the United States, was the Nation's innovation and manufacturing center. In 1824, the Institute arranged the first of what became a series of regular exhibitions of manufactured goods and inventions.

With these exhibitions came the presentation of awards--first certificates and later endowed medals--for scientific and technical achievement. Recipients are selected by the Institute's Committee on Science and the Arts, which was founded as the Committee on Inventions with the beginning of the program. Fields recognized today include Chemistry, Computer and Cognitive Science, Earth and Environmental Science, Engineering, Life Science and Physics. Through a rigorous and unique case-prosecution process, the Committee evaluates the work of nominated individuals whose uncommon insight, skill or creativity has influenced future research or applications to benefit the public.

The newest awards, the Bower Award for Business Leadership and the Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science, were made possible by a $7.5 million bequest in 1988 from Henry Bower, a Philadelphia chemical manufacturer. The Bower Science Award carries a cash prize of $250,000, one of the richest science prizes in America.

The list of Franklin Institute Laureates reads like a canon of 19th, 20th and 21st century scientific achievement. The honor roll includes Alexander Graham Bell, Marie Curie, Rudolph Diesel, Thomas Edison, Niels Bohr, Max Planck, Albert Einstein and, more recently Stephen Hawking, David Packard, Roy Vagelos, Jane Goodall, Herb Kelleher, and Gordon Moore--to name a few. To date, 105 Franklin Institute Laureates have also been honored with 107 Nobel Prizes.

I invite Congress and all citizens of these United States to join me in congratulating the newest names to be added to this roll call of genius:

The winner of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry, Samuel J. Danishefsky, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Columbia University, for his achievements in the art and science of synthetic organic chemistry, particularly for the development of strategies and methods for the preparation of complex natural products and related compounds, including oligosaccharide immunoconjugate vaccines, and their emerging applications in the field of cancer chemotherapy.

The winner of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer & Cognitive Science, Donald A. Norman, of Northwestern University and Nielsen Norman Group, for his development of the field of user-centered design, which through the use of conceptual models, feedback, affordances, and constraints leads to the creation of interactive technologies which are easily employed by humans.

The winners of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth & Environmental Science, Luna B. Leopold, of the University of California and M. Gordon Wolman, of The Johns Hopkins University, for advancing our understanding of how natural and human activities sculpt landscapes and influence landscape evolution. They developed the first comprehensive explanation of why rivers have different morphologies and how floodplains develop. Their contributions form the basis of process geomorphology, modern water resource management, and environmental assessment.

I regret to inform the Members that Dr. Leopold passed away in February. We express our sympathy to his family and join them in honoring his legacy.

Please also join me in honoring: The winner of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, Fernando Nottebohm, of The Rockefeller University, for his discovery of neuronal replacement in the adult vertebrate brain, and the elaboration of the mechanism and choreography of this phenomenon; and also for showing that neuronal stem cells are the responsible agents, thereby generating a completely new approach to the quest for cures for brain injury and degenerative disease.

The winner of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering, Ray W. Clough, of the University of California, Berkeley, for revolutionizing engineering and scientific computation, and engineering design methods, through his contributions to the formulation and development of the finite element analysis method, and for his innovative leadership in establishing the field of earthquake engineering.

The winners of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics, Giacinto Scoles, of Princeton University and Peter Toennies, of the Max Planck Institute, for the development of techniques to study molecules embedded in superfluid helium nanodroplets by high-resolution spectroscopy. These techniques allowed for the investigation of reactive and fragile molecules that could not be examined in other ways, and also enabled them to study superfluid helium with unprecedented precision, yielding insights into superfluidity at the nanoscale level.

Finally, we congratulate: The winner of the 2006 Bower Award and Prize for Scientific Achievement, Narain G. Hingorani, for the conceptualization and pioneering advancement of the Flexible Alternating Current Transmission System (FACTS) and Custom Power in electric power systems, and for outstanding technical contributions in High Voltage Direct Current Technology, which have enhanced the quality and security of the electric power system.

And, the Winner of the 2006 Bower Award for Business Leadership, Ted Turner, for his visionary leadership in the worlds of business and media, as well as his philanthropic commitment to the health of our planet and the well being of its people.

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to honor these trailblazers. Their collective body of work has changed the course of modern progress and greatly improved the human condition. This year, as our Nation celebrates the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin and his legacy of industry, learning, patriotism and liberty, it is very fitting--in the spirit of Dr. Franklin--that we recognize the achievements of these individuals.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Pennsylvania State Representative Frank L. Oliver, for his outstanding service and invaluable dedication to the people of the 195th Legislative District of the State of Pennsylvania.

Representative Oliver, a lifelong Philadelphian, began his tenure in the State House in 1973. He serves on the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee, the Democratic Policy Committee, and most notably, as Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, a post he has held since 1995. As Chairman, he has overseen proposed regulations of the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Public Welfare, and the Healthcare Cost Containment Council.

Most recently, Mr. Oliver recommended a study on ways to improve urban public health, specifically investigating the lack of supermarkets in urban areas. Within months of the study's completion, the General Assembly passed, and Governor Rendell signed into law, an economic stimulus package that will provide financial assistance to urban and rural supermarkets in underserved areas. Pennsylvania is the first state to create a statewide supermarket-directed development program of this kind.

Also notable in his legislative career is Mr. Oliver's ``Healthier Women Today for a Better Tomorrow'' initiative. The plan calls for expansion of family leave, strengthening of domestic violence laws, funding for community outreach to at-risk families with young children, and providing access to treatment options for breast and cervical cancer.

Representative Oliver's extensive legislative accomplishments are a testament to his unwavering commitment to the causes of the residents of the City of Philadelphia and the State of Pennsylvania. For that reason I am proud to recognize his accomplishments here in the United States House of Representatives.