Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Apollo Theater on kicking off its 75th Anniversary Season and its long-time success in showcasing many of the world's greatest entertainers. Additionally, I want to pay tribute to my dear friend Percy Sutton who saved the Apollo Theater and made this moment possible.

I also congratulate the Apollo Theater Foundation president & CEO Jonelle Procope and board chairman Richard D. Parsons for their leadership and their efforts in putting together this anniversary celebration.

Before there was American Idol, there was Amateur Night at the Apollo which launched the dreams of stardom for many of America's greatest entertainers. Among them are some of the legends: Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder, and James Brown.

Located in the heart of Harlem on 125th Street, the Apollo is the musical soul of our community. For the past 74 years, it has thrilled Americans of every race and religion who have enjoyed unforgettable performances by new and established artists. This year continues and celebrates that tradition.

I truly wish I could be there to celebrate this historic event. However, my work on the House Ways and Means Committee focusing on President Obama's economic recovery plan requires me to be in Washington.

The Apollo is special place in the entertainment world where many celebrities who started here come home and ``look back.'' That is

the case with Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson who starred at the Apollo years ago and will be with us this week participating in the 75th Anniversary Season Kick-Off.

Once again, I congratulate the Apollo Theater and join in its celebration. Our district is proud to serve as the home of the Apollo and deeply appreciates all it has done for the community. We look forward to a 75th season filled with amazing talent and memorable performances.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 181, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is critical in the struggle for financial equality. Even in 2009 women still on average earn 78 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts in a nation where 41 percent of women are the sole income providers for their families. Economic equality is not an issue that should be based on gender but on fairness and the quality of ones hard work. The Supreme Court Case of Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., by the narrow 5-4 vote, greatly impaired the ability of women and others to challenge pay discrimination. The passage and enactment of this act will restore prior longstanding law which will enable women and others to challenge instances of pay discrimination within 180 days of a discriminatory pay check. For too long women have performed the same tasks and have been unequally compensated. Unequal pay is not merely a women's issue but a disparity that affects all of us.

Though there is still more work to be done in the fight for equality this legislation is an important step.

I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes and ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the time be allowed to be controlled by Richard Neal, a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Chairman, not only does the other side reject this plea of our newly elected President, but for whatever political reasons insist on sticking their thumb in the eyes of millions of Americans, 11 million of them unemployed. Ninety-five percent of all of our taxpayers are being asked to have this tax cut be rejected, people who work every day, people who dream, people who aspire, are now going to be told that some people in the House of Representatives voted against the President's bill and the bill that's before us on this historic day.

I don't know what occasion it was, but the late Jack Kennedy once made a remark that sometimes, just sometimes your party asks too much of you. And for Members of the other side that are being asked in this substitute to vote against exciting infrastructures that would take us into a modern technology to be competitive, that would deny poor folks money for energy, for air conditioning and heat, food stamps, health information technology, why they would ask you to vote against this I will never but never know.

And then as a substitute for this, not only do we remove the tax benefits from the low and the middle class, but to find some category of doctors, lawyers, consultants and lobbyists and just say, across the board, they have decided not to give you the 20 percent tax cut, because you know it's not going to happen, but just to suggest it so you might get famous in the future.

It just seems to me that there should be some compassion for working families that have children. There should be some understanding that people who work each and every day, and still come out under the poverty line or close to it, are entitled to the earned income tax credit so that they can meet their basic needs of rent, paying their mortgage, food, clothing. Every community, not Democrats, but Democrats and Republicans are feeling the impact of these fiscal crises that we are going through.

Banks don't cry, fiscal institutions don't cry, but people in the neighborhood cry when they lose their job, lose their dignity and they will have to tell their kids that they are pulling them out of college, all the provisions that

we put in, and especially those that provide incentives for teachers and kids and school construction.

How could you do it? What were you thinking, and just how are you going to explain it when you get back home?

I really think that this goes beyond politics because I don't think the people back home should be made to pay for political decisions that are being made here, but there is a particular part in this bill that the House and Senate wanted in there, and that was a $6 billion tax benefit for crises that exist in our cities and in our rural areas, which allows local governments, based on census tracts, not based on your party line, not whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, but just based on unemployment, based on how many people are poor, how many people are feeling the pain of this crisis.

Oh, I know Wall Street in my district is inconvenient and the banking CEOs have been inconvenient, but the people that are suffering are American people, are middle class people. That's the dream that we have in this country, not to be rich and certainly not to be homeless.

But we even had a provision for the work-opportunity training program. It came from one of your Members that said, what about the veterans, they came out feeling that they were going to be accepted as the heroes that we all believe they are, and yet have extended unemployment. What do you say when you go home and tell them that that too has been stripped from the bill, as have kids that have special problems?

It's painful to believe that this is being discussed in a political way, because I would like to believe that it's America that's in trouble, not a party that's in trouble. And people are going to evaluate what's in this paper. I congratulate the Republicans for their honesty.

This thing is talking about cutting away tax benefits for our working poor people. And so it seems to me that people to learn more about this might contact their Representatives, Democrat or Republican, and I am confident at the end of the day that Congress will do the right thing, not by their party but by their country.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend anyone who dedicates his or her time to mentoring this country's impressionable youth--in any capacity, in all capacities. There is no greater gift than the selfless giving of one's time and energies to the emotional, scholastic, and moral development of another. We can all trace back in our histories that one person or group of people who set us on the straight and narrow, from whom we drew inspiration, motivation, and a sense of purpose.

For far too long, wayward youth have had few role models to emulate, few adults to guide them in an otherwise confusing, self-deprecating, and turbulent moment in their lives. For far too long, the corrosive influence of drugs, domestic abuse, academic failure, and delinquency have instilled in our youth a hopelessness that permeates far into their adolescence and even adulthood. These honorable many, who have taken the charge of leading these youngsters to the road of successes, deserve our praise and our respect, and I am thrilled to support naming this month of January ``National Mentoring Month'' in an attempt to do just that.

Three million youngsters are currently benefitting from a mentoring relationship, but that just isn't enough. Five times as many kids are in urgent need of guidance, and it is up to us to demonstrably reward mentors for their vows of time, commitment, and effort. A mentorship is not a task taken up lightly or without the resolve to work diligently, generously, and openly--but it provides its participants such innumerable, intrinsic rewards that it becomes a challenge, and pleasure, certainly worthy of fulfilling.

May mentors across this great Nation feel proud of the work they are doing, and may others take note of their tremendous example and develop a mentoring relationship of their own.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 3 minutes.

(Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

My colleagues, someone once said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I think of our great country, knowing that through the Depression, that's just what happened. We came back stronger, more competitive, and became a nation that was respected. I remember so clearly in 1941 they thought America was a loser. We almost lost our entire fleet. But what happened after that? Again America came back stronger as a world power economically and militarily. And now we're in trouble again.

This $275 billion bill brings relief. The Ways and Means Committee is proud to bring this to you for your consideration. It doesn't help our banks. It doesn't help our fiscal institutions. They don't cry. But those of us who go back home know who's doing the crying: those people who work hard every day, and yet they're losing their jobs, they're losing their dignity, they're losing their homes, they can't put food on the table.

There is only one way to do it, and that is to be equitable and to make certain that we have a decent and fair response to their tax relief, and that's what we intend to do.

We provide $144 million to people who work every day to put food on the table, to be able to get clothes for their children. And the reason they don't have confidence is because they don't have money, and we provide that for them. For families that are low income that have children, we try to provide something not only for those people who don't have tax liability immediately but to relieve them of that payroll tax, because at the end of the day, it's what you take home and not what you call it.

For working families we have the earned income tax credit. And we tried desperately hard to make certain that for those people who have lost their jobs that they not lose their dignity, they not lose their health insurance, and that they be able to get education and retraining.

For small businesses, unless we have the people who are working that have resources to be able to buy, we try to help our small businesses by giving them an easy opportunity to depreciate and to buy equipment and not to have to lay off.

And one of the most important parts of our bill is something that they'll never be able to take away from our great country, and that is education and technology training. So we can come back stronger. We can come back notwithstanding what's happening here. And I can't see anybody in this House going back home saying we didn't do enough because for those that are out there feeling the pain of what we're going through, they are just waiting for relief to be coming. And our President has promised this, our leadership has promised this, and this is the time for the Congress to be a part of that.

The health information technology is not only going to save lives, it's going to be able to say at the end of the day that we moved forward to make our country healthier, better educated, knowing more about technology. And once we do that, when people ask how are you going to pay back the money, you don't pay it as a sick Nation. You pay it back as an educated, healthy Nation that restored the dignity and prosperity that we know. And so we find Members will have ribbons on, and I refer you to the Record to know more about the bill.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), who will share with you our concern about people who have lost their jobs.

(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), who is going to share with us his dreams about a country that is not dependent on fossil fuel.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

(Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

At this time I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), who will share his idea of a new America.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 1 minute to my friend from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

I yield 1 minute to the gentlelady from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), a hardworking member of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), a new member of the committee, but a seasoned legislator.

I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Nye), and commend him for his hard work to expand the work opportunity to encourage business to hire our beloved veterans.

Well, this could be one of the roughest times our great Nation has faced economically, but I think that history is going to recall this as one of the proudest moments that our Congress would be involved in. No, we're not taking care of banks or fiscal institutions or those who buy the jets. But we are taking care of our middle class. That is the heart of America. That is what pumps our economy. And that is why we're trying to help them by expanding their disposable income, helping the working families with kids, helping our veterans who are unemployed, bringing some relief to those who feel the pain yet are looking toward the future for new economies to make this a greener America, getting involved in high tech and helping people out with health.

In the final analysis, besides the flag, what makes us so great is that this country is going to be healthy, educated and competitive. And at the end of the day, it will be recalled that, yes, we got hit hard economically, but the strong middle class and this United States House of Representatives came forward, and we saved our country and we saved our economy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of National Service Day that is held on the third Monday of January each year, the same day that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday is observed.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is well known for his peaceful march on Washington, D.C. where he delivered his famous ``I Have a Dream'' speech and other nonviolent protests. But as a minister and civil rights activist, his vision was to end discrimination and to improve the lives of all mankind. He focused on community organizing where he told others that they can make a change if they worked together.

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. it is important for people to get involved in their communities and give back to those in need. Volunteering at a food bank, helping to clean up a neighborhood, donating blood are simple ways that people can participate in National Service Day.

It is time for us to get involved to help others and to improve our nation as a whole.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and that won't be long.

This is a great opportunity for Members who have returned to this Congress, but it's a better opportunity for the new Members.

I won't be speaking on this bill because so many people want to be associated with this on our side. And I'm convinced it's not a Republican/Democratic issue. It's an issue of whether the families of 11 million kids are going to get health care. You cannot say in dollars and cents what it's worth. We had overwhelming support in the other Congress. Now we don't have the threat of a veto.

So I hope that you consider the children and not technical things that you're seeking in perfection.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time over to Pete Stark, who for over a year has attempted to perfect this bill to reach the popularity and support it's gained on both sides of the aisle. I thank Chairman Waxman for the work that his committee and Mr. Dingell have made to make certain that we all read from the same page. And I look forward to this being the beginning where one day this Congress can say that no child will be able to say they're not covered by a decent health care program. So by unanimous consent I do hope that you will allow me to turn the balance of my time and

my thanks to Chairman Stark, who brought us to this point once again.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Claiborne Pell, Princeton Graduate, former senator from Rhode Island, creator of Pell Grants, and writer of legislation that created the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. He served six terms in the office, until 1997.

Words alone can not express my sincere admiration for Claiborne Pell and the legacy he has left behind: a program that has given grants to tens of millions of college students and will continue to give grants to generations of college students to come.

I truly admire Claiborne Pell for his commitment to aiding students in paying for college education. The Pell Grants began with the creation of a bill that created the Basic Education Opportunity Grant (BEOG) which provided financial aid to the needy to attend college. The Basic Education Opportunity Grant (BEOG) was renamed in honor of Pell and his work for these grants in 1980 as Pell Grants: Pell had sponsored the research of a two-volume report that had been the basis of the bill that

created the BEOG. Pell's dedication to providing assistance to college students in meeting the high costs of a college education will be remembered for years to come.

Claiborne Pell was also very dedicated to the Arts and Humanities. He was the author of the National Foundation of the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965. Both of these led to the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The National Endowment for the Arts fostered many techniques and styles that are credited with making American artists distinguished worldwide.

Mr. Pell's outstanding leadership, patriotism and accomplishments will surely serve as an inspiration for many Americans.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to the life of Dr. I. Bernard Weinstein for his significant accomplishments as a scientist, professor of medicine, physician, mentor, colleague, advisor, administrator, and humanitarian, who passed away on November 3, 2008 at the age of 78.

Dr. Weinstein was a world authority in the fields of chemical carcinogenesis, cancer treatment and prevention, and a founder of the field of molecular epidemiology. His pioneering discoveries and visionary theories, including the breakthrough concept of ``oncogene addiction,'' opened up new frontiers in cancer research and led to the development of new, effective, life-saving therapies for patients.

For more than 47 years, Dr. Weinstein was on staff at Columbia University Medical Center, where he also served as Frode Jensen Professor of Medicine, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences; Professor of Genetics and Development; and, for a decade, Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. In recognition of his groundbreaking, seminal scientific work, Dr. Weinstein received some of the most prestigious national and international awards in his field. Additionally, he was a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, a fellow of the National Foundation for Cancer Research, and he served with great distinction as president of the American Association for Cancer Research. Dr. Weinstein also provided his renowned expertise and wisdom as a valued and respected member of many scientific advisory and editorial boards.

In addition to his scientific discoveries, Dr. Weinstein also leaves a remarkable legacy as a mentor and a teacher, having helped train many generations of leaders in cancer and biological research. Dr. Weinstein guided and inspired scores of devoted students, who mourn the passing of this great scientist and remarkable man. It's a loss also deeply felt by his family, to whom he was so loyal and so loving.

In honor of this great American scientist and his commitment and contributions to the field of oncology, I express my gratitude to Dr. Weinstein for devoting his life to preventing and curing cancer. America mourns his passing while also celebrating his inspiring legacy. He is survived by his son Matthew, his two daughters Claudia and Tamara, and two grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember the life of an exemplary American citizen, a friend, a comrade in arms during our service together on the frontlines of the Korean war, and a true hero--Joseph R. Burns, who passed away on November 9, 2008.

Joseph R. Burns was born on August 21, 1930, in Charity Hospital, New Orleans, LA. Joe dedicated his life to protecting the freedom of this great country through his many years of public service. Joe served in the U.S. Army during the Korean war conflict and underwent extreme hardships as a prisoner of war for 33 months and 11 days.

After his service in the U.S. Army, Joe continued to build his career in public service by obtaining a position as El Paso's Deputy Sheriff and creating programs to help children. Joe's faith in his religion and love for service manifested itself when he performed his duties and responsibilities of a deacon at the Unity Missionary Baptist Church, and when he served as a senior usher for the church.

Although Joseph R. Burns has passed, his legacy in public service will not go unnoticed. His calm demeanor and quiet spirit will never be forgotten. He was a great influence to his family, his community, and our country. Joseph R. Burns is a national hero who will be greatly missed.

He is succeeded by his beloved son Tyronne J. Burns, his family, and friends.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge Debra Fraser- Howze, a constituent and HIV/AIDS activist, for her many years' of dedication and hard work to find ways to test, educate, and treat those that have HIV/AIDS.

The November 11, 2008, CARIB News article, ``Debra Fraser-Howze: Making a Difference,'' points out her more than 20 years' commitment to helping the fight against HIV/AIDS in New York where she resides, across America, and around the world. Since the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, PEPFAR, passed, which will allocate $48 billion in Federal money towards fighting this epidemic in Africa, she is now pushing to have some of the money go towards battling HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. There are 14 Caribbean nations that could get some of the money, including Jamaica where her mother is from. This is a great initiative that Debra Fraser-Howze has made. With her leadership, I am confident that she will be able to get funds from PEPFAR to go towards fighting this epidemic in the Caribbean.

Again, I commend Debra Fraser-Howze for her determination to find cures, provide funding and to educate people about HIV/AIDS around the world.

[From CaribWoman, Nov. 11, 2008]

Debra Fraser-Howze: Making a Difference

(By Causewell Vaughan)

There's growing optimism for fighting AIDS in the Caribbean

region as billions of dollars become available to fund

programs aimed at preventing and containing the disease.

With $48 billion in federal money being set aside to battle

the disease in Africa, the Caribbean is actively seeking to

qualify for a share.

The funds will be allocated through a U.S. foreign aid

program known as the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS

Relief (PEPFAR). It is the largest commitment in history by

any nation to fight a single disease.

``It's going to open doors to a new stream of funding where

those doors were not open before,'' said Debra Fraser-Howze,

a long-time HIV/AIDS advocate.

``The Caribbean will have the same positioning as some of

those African nations with whom they share a similar AIDS

situation.''

Fraser-Howze has been helping to lead the fight against

HIV/AIDS for more than two decades. She founded the National

Black Leadership Commission on AIDS in 1987 and subsequently

advised two presidents while she served on the Presidential

Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.

In 2003 she was appointed to the New York City Commission

on AIDS and last year to the New York State Governors

Advisory Council.

Fraser-Howze is now vice president of External and

Government Affairs for OraSure Technologies, a medical

diagnostics company. While her responsibilities with the

company focus on domestic matters, she remains an active

advocate for anti-AIDS funding for the Caribbean.

``It's a personal issue with me,'' Fraser-Howze said,

``because I know the numbers, and I see the rising rate of

infection.''

That's why she's resolute about the funding, especially

since the Caribbean did not receive any of the initial PEPFAR

money, which became available in 2003. ``The Caribbean

islands to which Americans travel all the time need to get

the same focus as Africa,'' she said.

There are 14 Caribbean nations that could get some of the

new money. They are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas,

Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada,

Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the

Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Any

PEPFAR money they receive will be for AIDS testing,

prevention, treatment and care.

Fraser-Howze is quick to credit U.S. Rep. Donna

Christiansen of the U.S. Virgin Islands for taking the lead

in getting those nations included in the PEPFAR funding.

``I've known her for more than 25 years, and I've worked with

her and her staff on this issue. We understand that it is

imperative that the Caribbean have a robust testing

initiative,'' Fraser-Howze said.

But, she added, even with funding the battle against AIDS

is truly difficult in the Caribbean because the region's

culture is almost an ally of the disease. Fraser-Howze's

mother is from Jamaica so she has knowledge of the cultural

barriers to AIDS testing.

``Sex and drugs are very taboo topics in the Caribbean, and

there is a lot of homophobia because the disease is very much

focused on gay men,'' she said. ``That is why the key to

testing in the Caribbean is to have those barriers broken

down by the community itself.

``I've seen government send in different people and

different groups who are not culturally competent. The best

approach is for Caribbean nations to develop their own plan.

We want them to craft their own proposals to PEPFAR.''

Fraser-Howze cited Barbados as already having ``a major

HIV/AIDS initiative.''

She said she's ``extremely optimistic'' the Caribbean will

get PEPFAR money and, she added, ``I'm humbled at playing

some small role in opening up this opportunity.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the lifelong accomplishments of the late Nancy Hicks Maynard, a pioneering advocate for greater diversity in the newsrooms of this country's newspapers. She was a native daughter of Harlem, where her mother nurtured her love for journalism, where she first

noted the incredible power of the press and decided its black-and-white pages desperately needed more color. Both as a strategist working to draw minorities to newsrooms, and as a groundbreaking journalist in her own right, she paved the way for women and African Americans in an industry home to few of either group. She rose from New York Post copy girl to reporter by age 20 and soon thereafter became a member of the New York Times' metropolitan staff--the youngest and first African American woman to do so. There, she covered New York and Washington science, health, education, and domestic policy issues until 1977. At Long Island University, she earned her bachelor's degree and studied journalism, and later, she earned a law degree from Stanford University.

But her love affair with journalism did not end at the written word. In 1983, she and her husband, Robert C. Maynard, purchased the declining Oakland Tribune, which then became the only major daily with African American owners. She and he founded the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, where they ran a summer program aimed at training minority reporters. Cultivating a broader cultural perspective for American media became the cause of her life. She served as a role model to aspiring journalists of all colors and genders, an exemplar of what dedication to a cause and a strong work ethic can accomplish.

That tenacity and sense of purpose will be missed, but because of her work, her dream of a diversified newsroom has, and will continue, to concretize.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Taiwan's National Day, also known as Double Ten Day. This day marks a special moment in Taiwan's history. It was the start of the Wuchang uprising that led to the overthrow of the Ching dynasty and laid the foundation for the establishment of the first democracy founded in Asia.

Taiwan has been a long time supporter and ally of the United States and its people. Taiwan continues to be our ally in the war on terrorism by cooperating with humanitarian assistance in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have shown generosity and compassion by contributing to the Twin Towers Fund and Pentagon Memorial Fund, and now to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Continually, Taiwan has proved to be a true ally to the people of the United States.

In sharing the same beliefs in freedom and democracy, we can further our ties by protecting these ideas in our countries and throughout the world. May this year's celebration be one of the most memorable and enjoyed in Taiwan's history.

Madam Speaker, today is a historic day in the United States Congress as the President has called on us to meet the challenge of the failure of the mortgage market, and our failure to do that would not only cause a crisis in the United States but throughout the world.

Seven hundred billion dollars we've asked to expose the taxpayers to from an administration that all I've heard in the last 8 years is that we have to keep government out of the free market, that government and regulations would strangle our economy.

And the fact is that in such a short period of time, had it not been for Barney Frank and people on the other side of the aisle in trying to do the best we can, we leave here with a heavy conscience that if we do nothing then the sacrifice will be felt by employees, their thrift accounts, their savings accounts, and small businesses.

So, in a sense, we have a political gun at our heads that we can't afford to say that we know better, and so most of us have agreed that Secretary Paulson and economists have given us fair warning.

Now, that's enough and it's complicated enough, but then we have had the threat of tax bills that expire at the end of the year. Companies that have relied on tax credits, individuals who relied on it, expire. And four times we sent energy bills to the other body, and four times they've ignored it.

Included in these bills, of course, has always been disaster relief, and all of us believe these people should get it; mental health parity, which God knows all of us that have any sensitivity recognize that this inequity has to be taken care of; and of course, the alternative minimum tax, that no Member in this House or the other body can ever explain to taxpayers why this over $60 billion burden should fall on their shoulders because the Congress didn't think far enough ahead in order to adjust this tax for inflation.

And so in a sense, Madam Speaker, we're being told that the burden would fall on 25 million people by the Senate, by our constituents and the country and entire world, by the administration if we don't have this $700 billion rescue bill. And I just hope and pray that sometime historically we might be able to regain the power that we used to have in the House, introduce bills, have hearings, and fully understand what we're doing rather than having to yield to the threat of disaster, whether it's fiscal or whether it's tax liability.

I see John Tanner walking on the floor, and I do want to say that he's an outstanding member of our committee. He's been talking about the deficit for a long time, and his contribution to this package, I'd like to point out, has made him a proud member of our committee and the Congress.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to say farewell to my friend Jim McCrery without having it attributed to the allotted time.

I had no idea that we would be coming back here and I would have this opportunity, but for some of us being Members of Congress, and especially members of the Ways and Means Committee, it has been a special privilege.

This historic committee, however, has had its ups and downs with partisanship, the likes of which we had not seen on the committee or in the House of Representatives.

I hardly knew Jim McCrery during the years he was on the committee because the other side was dominated by one personality, but as soon as things changed and I had the opportunity to meet and talk with him as the ranking member, I not only found a scholar and a gentleman, but I found someone who loved his country and Congress more than he loved the partisanship.

It wasn't as though we have been able to resolve many of the crises that exist in our committee, but the one thing that he did do, and it will continue after he leaves us, is to create a climate where we had a degree of respect for each other and especially when we needed that respect, when we disagree and our parties disagree.

His legacy, even though he leaves, will continue to know that in this House no matter how frank we are politically, we still can be civil. We still can get things done, and even when we're not successful, we can work in such a manner that other people following us would know that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

So, Jim, I speak for all of the Democrats on the committee, for the tone, for your congeniality, for your humor, for the wisdom that you contributed, and I know that it's been awkward for your party and mine at times to do the things that we wanted to do. We started off dealing with the Secretary Treasurer and we promised him we'd do the world. Unfortunately, we didn't check with our leadership on a lot of things that we thought we could do.

But we will continue to do that, and I do hope that the lessons that you taught so many of us will continue long after you're gone.

Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished chairman of the Health Subcommittee, who's worked hard on the overall bill before us today, Chairman Pete Stark from California.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to Mr. Neal, an outstanding member of the Ways and Means Committee who has done a great job for all of us.

Madam Speaker, there is no one in this House that cares more about the tax burden that we're putting on the next generation and the children that follow than the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Tanner). He has made a great contribution in improving this bill, and he continues to be a watchdog of the deficit that this administration has taken us in.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman.

(Mr. TANNER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

At this time, I yield 1 minute to Mr. Blumenauer of Oregon, one of the outstanding members of our committee, the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, Mr. John Lewis is a subcommittee chairman on the Ways and Means Committee and sometimes described as ``the conscience of the Congress.'' I regret I only have 1 minute to yield to him at this time.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield to Mr. Kind of Wisconsin for 1\1/2\ minutes.

Madam Speaker, at this time, to Mr. Pascrell from New Jersey, a great member of the Ways and Means Committee, I would like to yield 1\1/2\ minutes.

Madam Speaker, at the Speaker's request, I would like to yield 1 minute to Mr. Sherman of California.

Madam Speaker, I would like to yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley).

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order today for the Speaker to entertain motions to suspend the rules relating to H.R. 6867.