Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record a July 8, 2008 New York Carib News editorial entitled: ``The Path to Success in Education: University of the West Indies and Medgar Evers College Join Hands.'' The partnership came about as a result of the CARICOM Conference in New York that brought together Caribbean heads of government as well as the titans of the New York City financial community.

Medgar Evers and UWI have existing ties because of the similarity of the populations they serve. ``UWI is a regional university serving the English-speaking Caribbean population and MEC is the college most closely associated with the Caribbean-American community within the CUNY system and the New York City metropolitan area.'' The strong connection between the two universities will be mutually beneficial and it will give UWI, the most prestigious institution of higher learning in the Caribbean, tangible ties to an American university that can give greater opportunities for exchange in both university communities.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the time that I use be yielded to Mr. Stark, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, and he would have the right to distribute it to Members that he recognizes.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the veto, of the President demonstrating once again a reckless, mean-spirited disregard of the health of our children, our poor folks, and now the aging. And yet I stand on the floor proud of the fact that we're on the brink of a new day, where people like Chairman Stark, working with Chairman Dingell and Chairman Pallone, will be able to create a system where, whether you're old or young or live in rural or urban areas, that health care is going to be a priority, and we don't have to come to this floor and fight each other as to who can be the meanest in denying people health care.

And so I just want the people to know that this really isn't a question of Republican and Democrats because, to some extent, we're united in sending a message to the President: Think about what you're doing to the American people and try to help us to move forward. I hope I'm not violating the rules by saying that.

When Ted Kennedy got out of his sick bed and walked over to the Senate

floor, it wasn't a Democratic Senator speaking to a bipartisan Senate. It was the voice of someone who has demonstrated compassion for all of the things that all of us believe in. As a result of that, he has brought us together. Let us stay together; and let's send a message to the President, his days of doing us harm are very, very limited.

I yield the balance of my time to Chairman Stark.

Announcement By the Speaker Pro Tempore

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce an Opinion Editorial from the New York CaribNews that reflects support for the development of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) states. CaribNews is a New York based publication that serves as the voice of the Caribbean community.

The editorial which was published on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 is entitled; ``The Diaspora And The Rolling Heads of State''. The author of the Op-Ed, Dr. Basil Wilson, recognizes the achievements made by CARICOM nations to improve trade relations within the region and globally. ``In 2008, CARICOM is to make further strides in the development of a single market economy''.

Dr. Wilson also addresses the New York based Caribbean Diaspora as it relates to Caribbean economies. He explains; ``Billions of dollars (from the U.S.) are sent to the respective islands to help out family members, to expand existing homes, to start businesses, and to provide some of the basic necessities of life''.

This piece acknowledges the economic achievements made by Caribbean nations, therefore contributing to the region's legitimacy as a viable trading partner. At the same time, Dr. Wilson encourages entrepreneurial leadership in the Caribbean to further stimulate economic growth.

[From the CaribNews, July 8, 2008]

The Diaspora and the Rolling Heads of State

(By Dr. Basil Wilson)

It was befitting to hold the meeting bringing together the

Caribbean community in New York and the Caribbean heads of

state at York College, City University of New York, where the

President of that institution, Marcia Keizs and the Provost

and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs have roots in

the Caribbean and a majority of the 6,000 student body are

either first or second generation Caribbean.

As one of the Caribbean heads of state remarked, he had to

travel to New York to address an audience of Caribbean people

as the movement of Caribbean people within the region remains

limited with the exception of the students in higher

education moving among the Mona, Cave Hill and St. Augustine

campuses of the University of the West Indies. The Friday

evening meeting on June 20, 2008 was designed to facilitate

an intellectual exchange between leaders and non-leaders

about the Diaspora and the future of, CARICOM.

The Diaspora community already plays a critical role in the

form of remittances. Billions of dollars are sent to the

respective islands to help out family members, to expand

existing homes, to start businesses, and to provide some of

the basic necessities of life. In many islands remittances

have been instrumental in reducing the percentage of people

living in poverty.

The format of the exchange enabled designated heads of

state to address the audience and to allow the audience to

ask questions or to make comments. This kind of mass

questioning tends to attract to the open microphones speakers

who are long-winded and with wide ranging concerns that

invariably brings a certain incoherence to the discourse.

The world economy has changed dramatically since the

initiation of CARICOM. In 2008, CARICOM is to make further

strides in the development of a single market economy. Even

within the units of CARICOM, there are no economies of scale.

There are opportunities for investment and for the pooling of

resources. The economist, Dr. Norman Girvan, has produced a

paper outlining the future for further economic expansion.

Trinidad and Tobago has emerged as the economic giant in the

region and is standing even taller as the price of oil soars

towards one hundred and fifty dollars per barrel. T and T is

overflowing with investment capital at the same time

nonexporting oil countries in the region are reeling from the

rapid rise in oil and food prices that are now the norm in

the world economy.

CARICOM at the beginning of the year signed a trade

agreement with the European Union that opens those economies

to Caribbean products and European products to the Caribbean

region. CARICOM and CARIFORUM can no longer look inwards. It

must look outwards either as a region or as independent

islands. There is the dire urgency to put together an export

oriented strategy to compete in the global economy of the

21st century.

The crime calamity in the Caribbean basin is indeed an

outgrowth of the economic crisis and even though some sorely

needed initiatives will be able to strengthen the shaky

social order, long term stability will depend on the

strengthening of the export sector in relationship to the

world economy.

The Caribbean entered the world economy as an exporter of

sugar with African slave labor. By the beginning of the 19th

century, sugar production in the old English colonies had

peaked and was unable to match the yield per acre of the new

sugar-cane fields in Cuba. In the post-emancipation years and

post-colonial interlude, the economies of the Caribbean

remained moribund, starved of British investment capital and

survived through the British protectionist system reserved

for primary producers of the colonial empire. That

arrangement created a condition of chronic surplus labor and

forced segments of the Caribbean labor force to seek their

fortunes elsewhere such as in the banana fields of Central

America, the sugar-cane fields of Cuba, the construction

complex of the Panama Canal, and the industrialized factories

in the United States at the advent of World War 1. In the

post-second world war, thousands fled the region to work in

the industrial and service enterprises of the United Kingdom.

In the post-colonial years in an age of global

protectionism, most Caribbean countries opted for the

developmental strategy of industrialization by invitation

hiding behind the high walls of tariff barriers. That

resulted in an economy with an export producing primary

sector of sugar and banana and the new sector of light

manufacturing serving the needs of the domestic market. The

developmental strategy accelerated the movement from country

to town where the

limited manufacturing sector lacked the capacity to absorb

the burgeoning labor force. Salvation came through the export

of skilled and unskilled labor to the United States, Canada

and the United Kingdom.

The growth in the labor force has tapered off in the

contemporary period and the unemployment rate in April 2006

was estimated at 134,000 or 10.7 percent of the labor force.

Nonetheless, Jamaica has a precious stratum of own-account

workers estimated at 376,000. In the goods producing sector,

there are 200,000 people employed in agriculture, 105,000 in

construction and a mere 80,000 in manufacturing. Traditional

agriculture, particularly sugar-cane, there is an effort to

adapt that industry through the conversion of sugar-cane into

the fuel producing ethanol. The purchase of the sugar

industry by Brazilian investors should make the sugar

industry more viable and contribute to reducing Jamaica's

dependency on fossil fuel and with sufficient capacity to

export ethanol to the United States.

Jamaica's economy in the last decade has seen the expansion

of the alumina industry and a massive increase in the tourist

sector. Alumina and bauxite are highly capital intensive and

only 7,000 workers are absorbed in the mining industry. The

tourist industry is labor intensive but has failed to absorb

all those looking for work as the burgeoning squatter

settlements are rampant in the parishes where tourism is

concentrated.

Jamica has made some headway in the export of manufacturing

goods. That sector exports approximately 700m in 2006 and if

Jamaica is going to absorb its surplus labor problem, there

will have to be exponential growth in that sector of the

economy, particularly in agro-products.

The Jamaica exporting sector is assisted by state policy.

Members of the Jamaica Exporters Association are eligible for

loans with reduced interest rates. But what is desperately

needed is a strategic developmental plan that brings together

venture capitalists from abroad and Jamaica's indigenous

bourgeoisie aimed at creating large scale production of

juices like guava, june plum, etc. aimed at flooding both the

European and the United States market. Micro-enterprises

cannot compete in a global market and Jamaica is in need of

large scale production aimed at mega-markets to absorb

Jamaica's surplus workers.

All the successful countries that have made the transition

from fledgling developing countries, like Singapore, South

Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and China, have made it through

adopting an export-oriented strategy.

What is required is the emergence of an entrepreneurial

class with a clear understanding of the complexity of

globalization that will partner with government to build that

export capacity. In this age of globalization, CARICOM must

look outwards and build the necessary bridges with the

Caribbean Diaspora to ensure that the Caribbean is not

trapped in the backwater of globalization.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the work of the U.S. Council of Mayors for the progress made at their 76th annual meeting in Miami, Florida.

I wish to express my full support for the three resolutions adopted by the council that call for immediate immigration reform. These resolutions: (1) Calling for Comprehensive Immigration Which Promotes the Reunification of Families, Provides Legal Status With a Path to Earned Citizenship, and a Plan for Current and Future Immigrant Workers, (2) U.S. Immigration and Customs Worksite Enforcement and (3) Increasing Customs and Border Protection Staffing and Improving Infrastructure at International Ports of Entry, all serve to address many of the challenges the U.S. immigrant community faces.

I would like to recognize and thank the U.S. Council of Mayors for their efforts in promoting immigration reform.

Madam Speaker, I rise with great sadness as I pay tribute to Dorothea E. Hoskins an outstanding daughter of Harlem who recently passed away. As I speak with profound sorrow, I ascend to celebrate a life well lived and to remember with fondness the accomplishments of a remarkable woman who, over her many years and under much adversity, was an ardent supporter of civil rights, human liberty and a leader in the Postal Service.

The death of Dorothea on June 28, 2008, brought immense sorrow and loss to her family and friends, and to the countless individuals associated with the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees. Dorothea was respected and esteemed by all the members throughout the United States Postal Service where she served as a clerk from 1989 until her retirement from the New York Planetarium Station.

``Dottie'' as she was affectionately known, was an inspiration and true symbol of strength and commitment to her church family as a faithful member of St. Luke's Baptist Church for more than 60 years. She was a shining representation of selfless love for mankind, and derived significant gratification from her years of service with St. Luke's, citing the joy of spreading the word of salvation through Jesus Christ to the lost and created support for missionaries throughout the world.

As a staunch supporter of civil rights and human liberties, she served as an Executive Committee Member of the NAACP Mid-Manhattan Branch for over two decades, served on various committees, and frequently chaired Black History Month Programs.

Dorothea also served as a leader by encouraging the exchange of professional knowledge among Alliance members nation-wide and provided long-term service within District VIII of the National Alliance of Postal and Federal Employees while serving as District VIII President from 1990-1992. She achieved so much during the span of her career that her comrades will continue to benefit from her work even as they miss her ongoing presence among us.

Madam Speaker, rather than mourn her passing, I hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the life of Dorothea Hoskins by remembering that she exemplified greatness in every way.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my appreciation for Marva Allen and the Hue-Man bookstore's contribution to the community.

Marva Allen, entrepreneur, author and visionary, became a managing partner/CEO of the Hue-Man bookstore in 2004. Born in Jamaica, Allen earned her degrees in England and the U.S., launched a multi-million dollar computer tech company and built a very successful career in the business world. Her creative ways and fresh ideas for a new business made Hue-Man Bookstore and Cafe a successful project and a crown jewel of Harlem. In addition to being a bookstore, Hue-Man is a cultural and community center.

Marva Allen's focus is the literacy for all. She firmly believes that through her business, she is able to bring and impact change for the community of Harlem. She is a member of various philanthropic organizations, such as LitWorld, that addresses literacy worldwide, St. Hope Leadership Academy, an educational center, and Melvin Van Peebles Foundation,

that promotes worldwide access to education and research.

Despite the difficulties and hardships of competing with internet website stores and street vendors, the Hue-Man bookstore remains a thriving venture with a lot to offer. Marva Allen's plans for the future are enthusiastic and impressive. She envisions the expansion of the Hue-Man bookstore through the e-commerce project with state of the art technology, branding and global marketing.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record a July 1, 2008 New York Carib News article entitled: ``Saint Vincent and the Grenadines PM wants LIAT, Caribbean Airlines Collaboration.'' The article attests to the combined Caribbean effort to forge business ties with partners in the U.S. financial community.

There is a new way of thinking about air service to the Caribbean. ``We have to think large and we have to think in a strategic sense with these matters,'' said Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. He has suggested that the Antigua based airline LIAT become a subsidiary of Caribbean Airlines and essentially create a ``nexus.'' In the future he believes that Air Jamaica and Bahamas Air will join the collaboration to create a regional airline service.

These plans were largely facilitated at the New York CARICOM Conference. The conference provided a medium through which Caribbean leaders could propose their vision for the economic reshaping of the Caribbean.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support of the Thurgood Marshall Resolution that recognizes the 100th birthday of Thurgood Marshall, introduced by Congressman Donald M. Payne.

Thurgood Marshall was one of the America's most important leaders of the civil rights revolution and architects of affirmative action. Being born as a grandson of a slave in Baltimore, MD, Marshall grew to become the Nation's first African-American Supreme Court justice and a recognized fighter for equal rights and integration. Marshall, who was rejected by the University of Maryland Law School because of his race when he applied, eventually earned his law degree from Howard University. And again, when he was refused the opportunity to practice law, he became the lead attorney for the Legal Defense Fund of the National Association for the Advancement

of Colored People. Marshall firmly believed that only through racial integration could equality of opportunity be achieved for blacks and whites in our society. Throughout his life Thurgood Marshall worked to abolish the legacy of slavery and eliminate the racist segregation system. His most famous successful legal case, Brown v. Board of Education, created historic precedent and stopped the separation of black and white children in public school. The victories of his Supreme Court cases led to enormous accomplishments for the American people in the areas of housing, education and voting.

In recognizing the 100th anniversary of Thurgood Marshall's birthday, we are not only honoring his life and superior accomplishments, but also continuing his noble mission. This great man's lifelong struggle to end racial bias and discrimination is highly meaningful and inspiring. Marshall fought for legal protection of children, women, elderly, homeless and prisoners. His role in ending legally sanctioned inequality and segregation which had created an American apartheid was of critical importance and deserves the Nation's recognition.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record an editorial by Tony Best published on June 23, 2008 in the New York Carib News, entitled: ``Caribbean Community Conference in New York Had Its Successes but Effective Follow-up Needed by CARICOM States and Their Leaders.''

By all accounts, the Conference was a success. With the Caribbean leaders leaving New York having made powerful connections with the financial community and the New York Stock Exchange, one of the biggest successes was New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson's announcement that New York City pension funds will soon be investing in the region. There is also news of an expanded educational exchange and cooperative agreements between Medgar Evers College and the University of the West Indies.

Despite the high hopes that are a result of the conference, there is some skepticism that Caribbean leaders will hold up their end of the bargain. ``One thing is certain: any success would depend on an efficient and well coordinated follow-up, something the region itself has failed to do on many occasions,'' says Tony Best, the New York Carib News editorial writer. Now that the conference is over, the ball lies in CARICOM's court and it is up to them to make sure that the relationships established during the meetings lead to tangible results in the Caribbean. I remain ready to do whatever I am able to facilitate the full flowering of the promising relationships that were established at the conference.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record the July 1, 2008, New York Carib News article entitled: ``Wyclef Jean Travels to Haiti to Bring Mission of `Together for Haiti' Food Initiative Home.'' I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Wyclef Jean for the important work he is doing for the Haitian people.

Wyclef is a Grammy Award winning international recording artist and social activist. He started Yele Haiti, a foundation that supports projects in education, health, environment and community development in his home country of Haiti. Wyclef is also a founding member of Together for Haiti, an alliance of three major humanitarian organizations including Yele Haiti. Together for Haiti's mission is to address the food crisis by providing food, creating jobs, and restoring hope and pride within the nation's poorest citizens.

Wyclef's mission to help Haiti has shed a much needed light into the food crisis that is plaguing the nation. The crisis is not because of a shortage of food but rather the cost of it. Although there is food available, it has become too expensive for the majority of the population that lives on one dollar a day to afford.

Wyclef's Together for Haiti has four initiatives: Targeted Food Distribution, Immediate Employment Creation, Micro-Enterprise Grants, and Seed and Fertilizer Training. These four initiatives lay the groundwork for the continued effort to stimulate economic growth in the country and lift our Haitian neighbors out of devastating poverty.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record a New York Carib News article entitled: ``Caribbean Countries Stress Investment Opportunities.'' The article recognizes Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana for their precisely drawn out proposals presented by their heads of government during the New York CARICOM Conference to the leaders of the New York financial community.

The New York CARICOM Conference held from the 19th through the 21st of June 2008 will continue to produce results because of the hard work that Caribbean leaders did in preparation for the meetings. Their proposals are a declaration of their willingness to follow through in this initiative to more clearly define the role of the small economies of the Caribbean in the world economy. I believe that their efforts are only the beginning in the aim to build mutually beneficial relationships between the U.S. and the Caribbean and a clear message that the Caribbean is ready to do whatever it takes to increase their potential for economic growth.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record a June 24, 2008 article about Adolfo Carrion in the New York Carib News. Mr. Carrion is the Borough President of the Bronx and has served in that capacity since 2001.

In his seven years as President, Mr. Carrion has aided in bringing down unemployment and speeding up housing development in the borough. Most notable is Mr. Carrion's fresh approach to the economic mindset of those in the notoriously depressed neighborhoods of the South Bronx; he wants to ``shift people's thinking about how they're going to succeed in the New York economy . . . from social intervention to economic growth and opportunity.'' Mr. Carrion's vision for a new way of facilitating economic growth through changing the way that people think is indicative of the innovation and economic will that Caribbean Americans contribute to the continued growth of the New York economy.

Mr. Carrion's next goal is to become the City Comptroller. He believes that the position will further help him elevate the economic standards in the borough as an integral part of the economic revival of the city as a whole. His success is yet another testament to the tenacious spirit and strong will of the millions of Caribbean immigrants that are so much a part of New York City and America.

Madam Speaker, I rise to enter into the Record an article entitled: ``Actress Cicely Tyson to be Honored at the 2008 Caribbean Heritage Salute to Hollywood and the Arts,'' which appeared in the June 24th edition of the New York Carib News, our local weekly newspaper which chronicles and recognizes the achievements of people of caribbean origin. Ms. Tyson is a legandary actress and has appeared in timeless works such as the miniseries ``Roots,'' the daytime soap ``The Guiding Light,'' and the popular TV show ``The Women of Brewster Place.''

Cicely Tyson is the daughter of immigrants who came to the United States after leaving the Caribbean island of Nevis. This legendary actress began her career in the '50s and has built up her reputation as a remarkable dramatic actress who continues to grace the screen of television and film today.

Tyson's success is another testament to the courageous spirit and deep determination of Caribbean Americans. Their contributions are innumerable and integral to American culture and were deservedly celebrated during last months Caribbean Heritage Month activities.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the profiles of four prominent members of the Caribbean Diaspora during Caribbean- American Heritage Month that were featured in a special section of CaribNews, a New York based publication that serves as the voice of the Caribbean Diaspora community.

Jamaican American, Beryl Levi, is the President of a successful frozen food company. Mrs. Levi and her husband started the company with high hopes and countless well-wishers. Today, Tower Isle Frozen Foods is considered ``the pioneer Jamaican food processing company in the

Madam Speaker, I rise today to bring your attention to remarks made by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. during the CARICOM Conference luncheon at the Brooklyn Marriott Hotel on Thursday the 19th of June.

Bill spoke first and foremost to the uniqueness of the New York Caribbean relationship. He mentioned, ``While Caribbean Americans made up only 5 percent of the United States'' foreign-born population in the 2000 Census, over one in five foreign-born residents of New York City came from the Caribbean. He also recognized the tremendous economic potential that the New York Caribbean population has; ``Caribbean Americans are creating jobs and stimulating the economy with businesses across the city . . . [and] helping to insulate us from the cyclical highs and lows in our finance and real estate sectors.''

Most importantly, Mr. Thompson spoke of the increasingly influential role that emerging markets are having on the world economy. ``Since 2002, emerging markets have outperformed many developed markets'' and ``It is estimated that forty-five percent of the aggregate Gross Domestic Product in the world comes from emerging markets today.'' He made it clear that he will be considering the Caribbean as, a place to invest funds under his control as New York City Comptroller.

The CARICOM Conference was crucial to address key issues of enterprise in the Caribbean but also to recognize the substantial economic influence of Caribbean nations as well as their enormous potential for growth.