Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Patrick M. Manning, whose triumphs were fittingly and deservingly acknowledged by Medgar Evers College on September 26, 2007. The head of government was presented with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, according to a New York CARIB News article published on September 25, 2007, titled ``Medgar Evers College Honors Prime Minister Manning Of T&T.''

Mr. Manning is noted for his fervid defense of democracy in the region and as a generous supporter of his struggling neighbors. A liberal democracy known as a leader among its peers, Trinidad and Tobago is a steadfast member of CARICOM--the regional pact intent on economic integration--and it sits on the recently created Caribbean Court of Justice. But Mr. Manning is well-reputed for striving to bolster his nation's political and economic prowess even further, vowing to surge it to developed-country status by the year 2020.

The Prime Minister has kept a keen and perceptive eye on the future, all the while refusing to forsake those peers embattled with a harrowing present. He is to be lauded for possessing the foresight and wherewithal to dream an ambitious destiny for the Caribbean and set it on the path towards getting there.

[From The New York CARIB, September 25, 2007]

Medgar Evers College Honors Prime Minister Manning of T&T

The Hon. Patrick M. Manning, Prime Minister of the Republic

of Trinidad and Tobago, will be honored by Medgar Evers

College on Wednesday, September 26, 2007 with the conference

of a Doctor of Laws degree--Honoris Causa. The ceremony will

take place at 10.00 a.m. in the Founders Auditorium. Prime

Minister Manning is expected to deliver a major address on

the occasion.

Prime Minister Manning's statement will address ``The Role

of Trinidad and Tobago in Shaping Regional and Global

Affairs.''

Trinidad and Tobago, a liberal democracy located in the

southern Caribbean, is a political leader in the region. The

country is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common

Market (CARICOM)--a regional organization aimed at the

ultimate integration of its member economies--and also the

Seat of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)--the recently

established regional judicial tribunal.

``Medgar Evers College welcomes Prime Minister Manning in

the spirit of ongoing international exchange. His visit is

yet another indication that our work here at Medgar is

receiving worldwide recognition,'' says Dr. Edison O.

Jackson, President of Medgar Evers College.

The College has been a venue of choice for several

government dignitaries speaking on issues of global import

such as Director General of US Commercial Services Israel

Hernandez, who spoke on the Bush Administration's Economic

and Trade Initiatives.

About Prime Minister Manning

The Honorable Patrick Manning was elected to his third term

of office as the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago on

October 7, 2002. Born in San Fernando in 1946, Mr. Manning

entered politics in 1971, at the tender age of 24, emerging

victorious in the general elections as the People's National

Movement candidate for the Constituency of San Fernando East.

Under two Prime Ministers, young Representative Manning

served as Parliamentary Secretary in Ministries ranging from

Works and Transport, Industry and Commerce, to Petroleum and

Mines. He became a full-fledged Minister in 1981 holding the

Industry and Commerce, and Information portfolios, then

Energy and National Resources. In 1986, he became the Leader

of the Opposition and within two months was elected to the

post of Political Leader of the PNM.

In 1991 Mr. Manning was elected Prime Minister of Trinidad

and Tobago. Four years later he returned to opposition after

a loss in the general election of 1995. In 2001, after a

deadlock in the House of Representatives, Mr. Manning was

appointed Prime Minister by President Arthur N.R. Robinson. A

general election was then held on October 7, 2002 and Mr.

Manning again emerged victorious. He is currently the Prime

Minister and the Minister of Finance.

Prime Minister Manning is well-respected in the

international community for his vision as a new-style

Caribbean leader dedicated to propelling his nation to

developed country status by 2020, while simultaneously

contributing to the development of fellow regional states.

His accolades include the Guyana Institute for Democracy

``Democracy Prize'' for his outstanding work in upholding the

principles of democracy in the Caribbean region (December

2003) and the Caribbean--Central American Action's ``Star of

the Caribbean Award,'' for his unwavering support of

Caribbean neighbors in their time of distress (December

2004).

Mr. Manning attained his primary and secondary education in

South Trinidad followed by his B.Sc. Degree (Special Honors)

in Geology at the University of the West Indies, Mona,

Jamaica.

He is married to the Honorable Senator Hazel Manning,

current Minister of Education, and they have two sons--Brian

and David.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 2007 Congressional Black Caucus annual legislative conference, the speakers who presented at the forum I hosted on the war, and the reason I selected the war for an issue forum.

On September 28, 2007, I hosted a forum to address issues related to the costs, lessons and future of the Iraq war. I was honored to have as my speakers: Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Reverend James Forbes, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Eugene Robinson, Senator Jim Webb, and General Anthony Zinni. I thank each of them for taking time to share their views on these important topics. I also wish to thank all of the people who attended the forum and those who watched it live via the Internet.

This is the fifth time in a row I held a forum on the war for the annual legislative conference. I decided once again to focus on the war for several reasons. There is a continuous need to explain to the American people why the war has not ceased yet. Americans are utterly confused about the politics as well as the rationale for continuing. Day in and day out Americans hear rhetoric versus solid withdraw plans and solutions. Americans are outraged and tired of the loss of life and other human tragedies associated with fighting the war. The human, financial, spiritual, and loss of reputation cost for our great country is immeasurable. I will continue to express my opposition to the war and work to bring it to an end.

The forum speakers were phenomenal and provided their ideas on how America got in the war and how America can get out. Specifically, Dr. Dyson, a professor at Georgetown University, eloquently encouraged the audience to speak out against the war and described the similarities in the Bush's administration response to hurricane Katrina to the handling of the Iraq war. Rev. James Forbes, Jr., founder of the Healing of the Nations Foundation, passionately spoke about the moral failures of the war. Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, discussed the difficulties she faced in opposing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Eugene Robinson, a Washington Post columnist, discussed the administration's use of fear to build support for the war. Senator Jim Webb of Virginia, emphasized the need for the U.S. to get out of Iraq and addressed issues related to fraud, waste, and abuse. General Zinni, a former commander of U.S. forces, explained the U.S. interests in Iraq and discussed his ideas on how the U.S. can get out of Iraq.

I would like to express heartfelt thanks to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation chair, Congressman Kendrick Meek, and the Congressional Black Caucus chairwoman, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, for all their hard work to organize the annual legislative conference, which provides members of the Congressional Black Caucus an opportunity to highlight issues that impact the lives of Americans. The information shared by the speakers was informative and provided another outlet for critics of the war to openly express their views.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the article, ``Heritage Watch: Breaking the Silence,'' written by Howard Dodson and published in Africana Heritage in its Vol. 7, No. 4 periodical. It details the Schomburg Center's efforts--through innovative exhibition and persistent advocacy--to render a history of slavery that grants its subjects active agency. More than mere objects of exploitation, oppression, and victimization, the enslaved population crafted a rich history, wielding the powers of critical thinking and self- actualization to transform language, religion, family, and culture.

The center boasts of its unprecedented ``Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery'' exhibition, the first of its kind focused exclusively on the topic of slavery. Showcasing an exhaustive 300 items, travelling versions of the presentation have made their way to 16 countries across the Atlantic and back. Its other ambitious production, ``In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience,'' follows the major migrations of Africa-descendant people.

It led the charge for historic preservation of an African burial ground discovered in the recesses of Manhattan, a cemetery to 20,000 Africans from colonial New York. Already both a city and national landmark, a segment of the burial ground was named a national landmark in early 2006. In 2008, the Schomburg will take center stage in commemorating the bicentennial anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

A cherished institution nestled in the heart of my district, the Schomburg Center serves an oft-unsung--but necessary--purpose. It strives to keep slavery and the slave trade a fundamental thread in the fabric of this country's heritage, so that the contributions of the enslaved will never fade from the American consciousness.

Heritage Watch: Breaking the Silence

Prior to the 1960s, the basis of much of the scholarship

and the perspectives on slavery available derived from the

abolitionist literature and campaign of the 1830s to the

1860s. This body of literature was written or collected to

document the horrors of slavery. Its purpose was to show how

slavery oppressed, exploited, and victimized the enslaved

African population--hence the victim's perspective. A closer,

more critical reading of many of the same sources, especially

the slave narratives, revealed a much more complex set of

relations in slavery and an equally more diverse and complex

enslaved African population.

Over the next four decades, the scholarship on slavery and

the slave trade shifted from the dominant victim's

perspective to a more nuanced one in which the enslaved

African population became the subjects--active agents in the

making of their own history rather than mere victims of

oppressive, exploitative, all powerful slavery systems. The

results of this approach and the scholarship it produced have

been stunning and quite revelatory--becoming the foundation

of the Schomburg Center's action strategy to remember

America's slavery past and hopefully prevent its ever being

forgotten again.

Seven years ago, the Schomburg Center celebrated its 75th

Anniversary and unveiled an exhibition on the slave trade and

slavery. Lest We Forget: The Triumph Over Slavery became the

first major exhibition on the subject in the United States.

Comprised of more than 300 objects, Lest We Forget documented

the origin and development of the slave trade from Africa to

the Americas. Reflecting the new scholarship, however, it

went a step further. It explored the ways in which

critically-thinking, self-actualizing enslaved Africans

transformed themselves into new people in the midst of

slavery. The new languages, religions, families, and cultures

they created were documented and celebrated as well as the

forms of resistance and struggle they fashioned.

In conjunction with National Geographic Press, the Center

published a companion book to the exhibition entitled

Jubilee. An online exhibition was also created on the

Schomburg's Web site. Early in 2004, the Center entered into

an agreement with UNESCO to expand the site and make it one

of the centerpieces of the Year to Commemorate the Struggle

Against Slavery and its Abolition. In its expanded form, the

site added more content about slavery and abolition in Latin

America and the Caribbean. Lest We Forget, the online

exhibition, is now available in four languages. The Center

also collaborated with UNESCO to create traveling versions of

the original Lest We Forget exhibition. A total of six

bilingual exhibitions in 32 framed color panels have been

created for distribution throughout the Atlantic World. To

date, bilingual versions have appeared in Cameroon, South

Africa, Cape Verde, Senegal, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, The

Bahamas, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Brazil,

Ecuador, Sweden, France, Finland, and Norway. While on tour,

it has served as a catalyst for a variety of educational and

cultural programs interpreting and/or commemorating the

struggle against slavery and its abolition.

In February 2005 another exhibition, In Motion: The

African-American Migration Experience, focused on documenting

the major migrations of people of African descent to, within,

and outside of the United States. A remarkable online

version, www.inmotionaame.org. includes over 8,000 images and

over 16,000 pages of text--narratives, scholarly essays,

primary source documents, and curriculum modules. National

Geographic Press published a companion book and the Center

produced a Black History Month Kit for dissemination to

teachers. A traveling version of In Motion opened for a

limited time during Black History Month 2006 at Miami's Lyric

Theatre. Since the rediscovery of the African Burial Ground

in lower Manhattan during construction on a federal office

building in 1991, the Schomburg Center has been involved in

its historic preservation and interpretation. A Federal

Steering Committee, headed by Schomburg Chief Howard Dodson,

drafted a report to the United States Congress outlining the

ways in which the burial ground should be memorialized.

Following the report's recommendations, Howard University's

W. Montague Cobb Laboratory conducted scientific study of the

419 remains that were excavated. The African Burial Ground

has been designated as both a City and National Landmark and

in February 2006, President Bush proclaimed the portion

located at Duane and Elk Streets a National Monument. The

full five-acre site is believed to be the final resting place

of over 20,000 Africans from colonial New York.

The 419 excavated ancestral remains were reinterred at the

African Burial Ground Memorial site on October 4,2003. As

part of the reinterment ceremonies, the Schomburg Center

organized a series of commemorative programs in five cities

over a three-day period, ending with a vigil, tributes, and

special programming in New York City. Since then, annual

tributes to the ancestors have taken place, including a Ring

Shout ceremony with New York City schoolchildren circling the

original burial ground site. The Ring Shout has grown every

year--reaching 3,000 participants last year.

In April 2005, the U.S. General Services Administration and

the National Park Service selected Rodney Leon, of AARRIS

Architects, to design the African Burial Ground Memorial. A

dedication ceremony as well as celebratory events will take

place the weekend of October 5, 2007. The Office of Public

Education and Interpretation, located in the lobby of the

federal building at 290 Broadway, continues to provide site

tours of the commemorative artwork and memorial site,

documentary film presentations, and programs for educators. A

link documenting the African Burial Ground and the

commemorative tribute programs is available on the Schomburg

Center's homepage. Keeping with the goal to make New York's

African Burial

Ground a major heritage tourism destination, the African

Burial Ground Monument Foundation was founded by Edward

Lewis, Chairman and Founder of Essence Communications, Inc.;

Dr. James Forbes, former Senior Minister of Riverside Church;

and Howard Dodson, Schomburg Chief. The Foundation aims to

raise funds and generate global outreach for the African

Burial Ground National Monument.

October's Dedication Ceremony will be the Foundation's

first task. A second slavery-related project undertaken by

the Schomburg Center focused on a New York State legislative

initiative, which established a New York State Freedom Trail

Commission to document and interpret the state's Underground

Railroad history. The Schomburg Center was contracted to

research and write the Commission's background document

and action agenda. Historic sites, personalities, and

events related to slavery in New York have been documented

and selected historic properties are being restored. A

historic marker program is being planned to identify

significant Freedom Trail sites, events, and personalities

throughout the state, the ultimate goal of which is to

organize educational programs and heritage tourism

activities throughout the state. The Center has also

drafted a Freedom Trail Curriculum which has been mandated

to be incorporated into the State's K-12 curriculum. This

year, Great Britain marked its Bicentennial of the

Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade with a series

of events and in 2008 the United States will recall its

own.

To coincide with these two important milestones, the United

Nations organized a special month long exhibition of Lest We

Forget in March 2007, to observe the International Day for

the Commemoration of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave

Trade; and the Amistad America's Freedom Schooner Amistad

began its yearlong Atlantic Freedom Tour sojourn in June

retracing the slave route. As part of its continuous

involvement and interpretation of slavery, the Schomburg

Center is a member of the planning committee for the 2008

U.S. commemoration. The Schomburg Center has continued to

build its collections of primary and secondary source

materials on slavery, the slave trade, and the African

Diaspora. Slavery-related topics have been a regular part of

the Center's annual program agenda.

Finally, the Center and these initiatives have been

catalysts for additional programs by other organizations.

Americans in general and African Americans in particular are

still wary of remembering slavery and the slave trade as a

fundamental part of America's national heritage. But the

contributions of those who were enslaved to building this

country should not be forgotten. The educational content of

the initiatives described herein have contributed in

meaningful ways to opening dialogues on these subjects. While

there is still a lot of work to be done, the strategies for

action described herein have worked and are working to break

the silence.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in tribute to a pioneering entrepreneur, a natural-born salesman, a trailblazer in the African- American and business communities, and a dear friend, the late Richard Daniel Gidron. Dick Gidron overcame the many obstacles to success that faced Black entrepreneurs of his generation to become a successful car dealer who opened doors of opportunity for the current generation of successful Black businessmen. A man of firsts, Mr. Gidron rose from car jockey at a Cadillac dealership in his native Chicago to become the company's first Black salesman, and later, the second African-American Cadillac dealer nationwide and the first in New York. In honor of that stellar legacy, I want to recognize his achievements on the floor of the House so that his contributions can be appreciated. I introduce for the information of my colleagues his New York Times obituary, ``Richard D. Gidron Is Dead at 68; Ran an Empire of Car Dealerships,'' published October 15, 2007, and written by Robert D. McFadden.

Mr. Gidron was head of a dealership empire that spanned three companies--Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Ford--and four regions--Bronx, Yonkers, Mt. Kisco, and Mahopac--that became quite a successful enterprise. He boasted impressive numbers, eclipsing $45 million in annual sales by 1980 to become one of the Nation's top 10 Cadillac dealers.

The one-time president of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Bronx County Democratic Committee, Mr. Gidron maintained a slew of friends representing the fields of politics, sports, and entertainment. At a time when African Americans found themselves seldom represented in the upper echelons of the entrepreneurial world, Mr. Gidron successfully led a franchise that served as the very symbol of wealth, stardom, celebrity, and power. We should remember and praise him for the pathway he blazed for the successful Black entrepreneurs of today.

Richard D. Gidron Is Dead at 68; Ran an Empire of Car Dealerships

Richard D. Gidron, a politically savvy Bronx businessman

who became one of America's earliest and most successful

black owners of a Cadillac dealership before falling on hard

times and going to prison for a year for fraud and tax

evasion, died Thursday at a New York hospital. He was 68 and

lived in Scarsdale.

Mr. Gidron died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill

Cornell Medical Center, said his son, Richard Jr., who

declined to disclose the cause of death.

For three decades, Dick Gidron, as he was known to a

generation of car buyers as well as mayors, congressmen, star

athletes and other celebrities, presided over an empire of

Cadillac, Oldsmobile and Ford dealerships that began in the

Bronx and moved into Yonkers, Mt. Kisco and Mahopac.

Starting as a teenage car jockey parking Caddies at a

dealership in Chicago in 1957, Mr. Gidron, a born salesman,

learned his trade when America's craze with Cadillacs

inspired visions of stardom and celebrity--of Elvis Presley

whizzing through Memphis in a gold Cadillac and of Sugar Ray

Robinson cruising the streets of Harlem in a flamingo pink

convertible.

In 1972, when General Motors wanted a minority owner for

its Bronx Cadillac franchise, it selected Mr. Gidron, by then

one of its top salesmen, over competitors who included Sammy

Davis Jr. and Henry Aaron. He thus became New York's first

African-American Cadillac dealer and the second in the

nation.

By 1980, with annual sales of $45 million, Mr. Gidron was

among the top 10 Cadillac

dealers in the United States. He acquired three homes, a 36-

foot yacht and a host of prominent friends and political

connections. He was president of the Bronx Chamber of

Commerce for more than 10 years in the 1980s and '90s, and

was chairman of the Bronx County Democratic Committee for

several years in the 1980s.

On his showroom walls were photos of Mr. Gidron with

President Ronald Reagan, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, Mother Teresa

and Muhammad Ali. Super Bowl parties at his home drew a

pantheon of judges, politicians and celebrities. Friends

included George Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the

Yankees; Stanley M. Friedman, the former Bronx Democratic

leader; Mayor David N. Dinkins; State Senator Guy J. Velella;

Representatives Mario Biaggi and Charles B. Rangel; and Dave

Winfield, the Yankees slugger.

But by the 1990s, as the nation's love affair with

Cadillacs waned, America's most prestigious car had become an

outsize relic, overtaken by fuel-efficient imports and other

luxury brands. As Mr. Gidron's sales plummeted, he fell

behind in his corporate taxes, General Motors terminated his

franchise, and revenue agents seized parts of his business.

In 2002, Mr. Gidron was indicted on charges of evading more

than $1.5 million in state and federal taxes from the sale

and leasing of cars from 1995 to 2000. In 2003, he pleaded

guilty to two counts of grand larceny and one of offering a

false instrument for filing--admitting that he kept car

payments meant for lending institutions--and was ordered to

pay $1.6 million in restitution and sentenced to three years

of home confinement and five years of probation.

In 2005, state tax agents shut down Gidron Cadillac-

Oldsmobile in Yonkers, seizing assets for what they said was

his failure to pay more than $800,000 in sales taxes. Three

other Gidron dealerships were also closed. Mr. Gidron was

arrested after a monitor appointed to oversee his business

charged that he had again kept car payments intended for

lending institutions. He pleaded guilty to violating

probation and defrauding nine victims of up to $100,000, and

was sentenced to one to three years in prison. State

officials said his former dealerships still owed $12 million

in taxes.

In 2006, Mr. Gidron emerged from a year in prison, said he

hoped to make a comeback and sued General Motors for $150

million, charging that the automaker had reneged on a deal to

sell him an auto repair center in Yonkers that he had

restored at a cost of millions after it was damaged in a fire

in 2000. The suit is pending.

Richard Daniel Gidron was born in Chicago on Oct. 10, 1939,

and was raised by his mother and grandmother after his father

died when he was 7. At 19, he got a job in a Cadillac

dealership on Chicago's South Side. He went to night school

but learned salesmanship on the lot and in the showroom. By

26, he had become Cadillac's first black salesman, a natural

who did not come across as a super pitchman but moved cars

with drumbeat regularity.

Besides his son, of Scarsdale, Mr. Gidron is survived by

his wife, Marjorie; a daughter, Bridgett Gidron of Scarsdale;

two sisters, Dorothy J. Holmes of Stone Mountain, Ga., and

Freddie M. Kessee of Aliso Viejo, Calif.; a brother, Thomas

Parker of Little Rock, Ark.; and two grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month to introduce the documentary film ``The Borinqueneers.'' This compelling film chronicles the never-before-told story of the Puerto Rican 65th Infantry Regiment, the only all-Hispanic unit in United States Army history.

El Pozo Productions. in collaboration with Raquel Ortiz, acclaimed producer of ``Mi Puerto Rico,'' released ``The Borinqueneers,'' the first major documentary to chronicle the story of the 65th Infantry Regiment.

Narrated by Hector Elizondo, the documentary explores the fascinating stories of courage, triumph, and struggle of the men of the 65th through rare archival materials and compelling interviews with veterans, commanding officers, and historians.

The 65th Infantry Regiment was created in 1899 by the U.S. Congress as a segregated unit composed primarily of Puerto Ricans with mostly continental officers. It went on to serve meritoriously in three wars: World War I, World War II, and the Korean war. The unit was nicknamed after ``Borinquen,'' the word given to Puerto Rico by its original inhabitants, the Taino Indians, meaning, ``land of the brave lord.''

When they were finally called to the front lines in the Korean war, the men of the 65th performed impressively, earning praise from General MacArthur. They performed a critical role containing the Chinese advance and supporting the U.S. Marines in the aftermath of the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. Sent to every corner of the peninsula, they showed outstanding resilience and a legendary fierceness as combatants, even as they faced discrimination within the Army. But in the fall of 1952 the regiment was at the center of a series of dramatic events that would threaten its very existence.

Puerto Ricans occupy a special place in the history of the U.S. Army. Because of the island's commonwealth status, they don't have the right to vote in U.S. elections, and yet they serve in the military and can be drafted. For many of the veterans of the 65th, this paradox became an incentive to be even more patriotic, to prove themselves in battle 200 percent.

Although thousands of Puerto Ricans have served courageously in the Armed Forces since World War I, their contribution and sacrifices have gone largely unnoticed in the silver screen, until now.

As a testament to the legacy of the Borinqueneers, I submit into the Record an article from the New York Times-Metro Section regarding the film, that illustrates the rich history of this unique regiment and recognizes the Puerto Rican commitment to the United States Military.

[From the New York Times, Oct. 2, 2007]

Bloodied in Battle, Now Getting Their Due

(By David Gonzalez)

Among the lamps, the religious cards and the knickknacks in

Eugenio Quevedo's Upper West Side apartment is a worn and

creased Banco Popular envelope. Tucked neatly inside, tiny

black-and-white photos taken more than half a century ago

show a rifle-toting soldier against a backdrop of hills and

mountains.

``Korea was an ocean of mountains,'' Mr. Quevedo said.

``We'd push forward and the enemy pushed us back. It was that

kind of war.''

He sounded tranquil, which in many ways he is at 81, though

his eyes betrayed his emotions. In one corner of his living

room, a poster shows the Puerto Rican flag, a nod to where he

was born.

``We lost so many,'' he said. ``The American people don't

know the sacrifices of so many Puerto Ricans who died in

Korea. It was the bloodiest war for Puerto Rico.''

It is also a forgotten war for many Americans. Yet in

recent months, veterans of a once-storied Puerto Rican

regiment, the 65th Infantry Regiment--including Mr. Quevedo--

have gotten their due in a documentary called ``The

Borinqueneers,'' which was first televised in New York over

the summer and continues to be broadcast on public television

nationally.

In a way, it is a passionate rejoinder to Ken Burns, whose

World War II documentary drew sharp criticism from Latino and

American Indian groups for initially ignoring their

contributions during that war.

Noemi Figueroa Soulet, a New York actress who produced

``The Borinqueneers,'' understands why people were upset with

Mr. Burns. But she set her sights on a different battle, in

more ways than one.

``Why should we be begging Ken Burns for a few minutes in

his series?'' she said. ``We have other guys we can cover

ourselves. I really felt there was enough there to tell our

story in a full program.''

The idea came to Ms. Figueroa Soulet in the late 1990s,

after she saw the film ``Saving Private Ryan'' and around the

time she learned that her husband's uncle had been wounded in

Korea.

``I started thinking, what about the Puerto Rican

experience?'' she said. ``I would see a war movie or

documentary and I would look for the Latino faces. I always

want to see how we are represented. Historically, I knew we

served in the military, but you wouldn't know it.''

Though she had never made a documentary before, she set out

to chronicle the Puerto Rican military experience. In time,

she zeroed in on the 65th Infantry's campaigns in Korea.

The regiment, she said, was founded in 1899 as an

essentially Puerto Rican unit, including a fair share of

island-born officers, led by mainland, or ``continental,''

officers. The group also served in both world wars, though it

was in Korea where it was hardest hit.

The regiment's bravery earned the admiration of no less

than Gen. Douglas MacArthur, as well as a disproportionate

share of casualties when compared with mainland regiments.

One of its continental officers said the unit ``got every

dirty job that came up,'' while another said it was so feared

by the enemy that ``I was very glad the Puerto Ricans were on

my side.''

But in 1952, scores of soldiers in the regiment were

arrested and court-martialed after refusing to fight in

battles where untested and poorly led replacement troops were

sent to take hills without artillery or medical support. The

refusals came after a battle that left hundreds wounded or

dead. In another case, they would not follow an officer they

knew had no clue where he was trying to lead them.

Some of the men were sentenced to 10 or more years in

prison. Outcry over the trials eventually resulted in the

Army pardoning them and commuting sentences.

Ms. Figueroa Soulet set out to tell a story that placed the

regiment's history in context, rather than let it either be

forgotten or reduced to the ignominy of the trials. She said

that some Latino organizations that she had thought would be

natural allies in her quest to finance and make the film were

turned off by the inclusion of the trials and did not support

her, while some veterans groups declined to back a project

about Puerto Ricans.

She persisted, and was joined by Raquel Ortiz, a producer

with many years working in public broadcasting who had

produced ``Mi Puerto Rico,'' a well-received documentary on

Puerto Rican cultural and political identity.

``Not very many people would have given a first-time

producer the amount of time I gave her,'' Ms. Ortiz said. ``I

did it because the subject was important to me. She was so

committed, too. When I saw the interviews, stock footage and

photos, I said' Wow!'''

The film took nine years to complete and involved

interviewing 275 veterans. Ms. Figueroa Soulet has had

special showings in various cities, often sponsored by local

Puerto Rican and veterans organizations, which have helped

spread the word despite the lack of an advertising budget.

It has struck a deep chord in men like Jose Cintron, a

retired longshoreman and a Vietnam veteran, who was moved to

tears when he saw it.

``I was so proud,'' he said. ``For the first time, I did

not have to hear about John Wayne. My people took part in

this. For once, we get recognized.''

Members of the regiment hold on to vivid memories of those

who served with them on freezing hillsides, dodging bullets

and mortars. Mr. Quevedo still talks about Master Sgt. Angel

Ocasio. At the start of an enemy offensive, the sergeant was

killed after he had gone around distributing ammunition to

Mr. Quevedo and his comrades. Another sergeant--Iglesias was

all he could recall--was shot dead when he went searching for

Sergeant Ocasio.

``Those two were sent by God,'' Mr. Quevedo said. ``You

think of him and the others. They died young. They never had

the chance to get married. To be grandfathers. To get to my

age. We are the ones who are left.''

His friend, Jaime Lopez, sat with him in the living room.

He, too, served in the regiment, though they became friends

stateside. Mr. Lopez is trim at 77, with a swagger to his

step and an unfiltered cigarette in his hand. Mr. Quevedo

jokingly calls him ``Lee Marvin,'' which only fuels Mr.

Lopez's eagerness to banter.

Mr. Lopez enlisted after high school, saying the military

was one of the few options he had as a small-town boy with no

money. In Korea, he earned two Bronze Stars, including one

for risking his life to wade into a river and rescue wounded

comrades while under fire.

He recalled one fierce encounter, when they took a hill,

only to find themselves under attack for 12 hours.

``There were dead and wounded everywhere,'' he said.

``Everything was destroyed. Everything. Boy.''

He bolted up from his chair, turned away and sobbed. He

steadied himself against the dinner table. The only other

sound was a clock chiming ``Twinkle, Twinkle'' at the hour.

``Korea was not easy,'' was all he said, slowly composing

himself.

Since the documentary's completion, the two men have made

public appearances together, talking to audiences about their

experiences. After years of being footnotes to a forgotten

war, they are glad to let others know they were there when

they were needed.

``This documentary is something historic,'' Mr. Lopez said.

``You see it from beginning to end and learn that Puerto

Ricans fought in World War I, World War II and Korea. The

truth is there.''

The support of the old veterans, men who came home and

settled into uneventful, but blessed, lives is what helped

Ms. Figueroa Soulet stick with her project when others would

not even return her calls.

``Those guys are my troops,'' she said. ``I look at the

long list of organizations who protested the Ken Burns thing

and say, `Gee, none of them contributed to my project.' Some

of them would not give me the time of day.''

She paused. Being an actress, she knows a thing or two

about timing.

``Now,'' she said, ``they're all calling.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce an article and an editorial written in the New York CARIB News on September 18, 2007 entitled, ``A Legend is Gone'' and ``The Last of the Region's Charismatic Leaders,'' respectively.

These reports highlight the accomplishments of Sir John Compton, St. Lucia's Prime Minister who died on September 7th, 2007. As a man of greatness he will be missed but even more as a key Caribbean leader.

He started his career, as an independent leader, as Member for Social Affairs on the Executive Council, post he acquired after winning the 2nd election under Adult Suffrage in St. Lucia, in fact, until 1997, he carried the distinction of being the youngest member of the country's parliament. He quickly advances in government and formed the National Labour Movement which eventually became the United Workers Party. Under the leadership of the party he was appointed Chief Minister and, when St. Lucia gains statehood in Britain, he became Premier. Almost a decade later, once independence from Britain is achieved, he was appointed Saint Lucia's first Prime Minister, where he continues to contribute to the formation of the country working actively in the government until he fell ill on April 2007.

He was a man of great conviction and aspirations; his dedication to politics is an example to all leaders. It is a shame he will not be here with us to continue to teach us but his legend will prevail for generations to come.

A Legend Is Gone

If St. Lucia's twin tower Pitons Mountains could visibly

react, they would whisper tears of joy, echoing the

speechless humming of the sulphur springs. Deploying time and

eternity to celebrate both a son stolen by death, and a man

honored in life, these majestic hills would display the sheer

relentlessness and untiring work ethic that Sir John

personified.

Placed on high alert, the earth endeared by the greenery

carpeting the land, would not hesitate to volunteer the

service of rainbow colored thunderclouds. Even these pregnant

clouds would be expected to carry signs of groaning

patriotism, lavaed by a drive in-volcano of tribute. A

tribute, no doubt that Soufriere's Botanical gardens would

give Sir John in the form of scented salutes. Salutes equal

to the appropriate sacrifices and unconventional risks he

pursued, which were at home with the collective interests of

his people.

Although I was born in Antigua and Barbuda, the passing of

Sir John particularly touches me, and my sentiments stand

revealed for what they are. Besides the fact that my parental

lineage is St. Lucian, the many personal interactions I

shared with him, and the intense professional relations we

had, sponsored insights into the elephantine authenticity of

the man.

Since closure brings disclosure, Sir John's death, has not

found us feeling that he has died. Through the tranquil gaze

of nourning, we see more clearly, how he spun webs of social

values and private life into unforgettable last rites of

unmatched public service. This man has left us a stubborn

legacy that nurtures the courage to live.

social values

Loved by friends and embraced by opponents, Sir John knew

the distinction between those with whom he had a very

different vision of country, and those for whom he was called

to serve. But in either case, he never compromised the

exemplary leadership of caring for all equally. To Mr.

Compton, freedom spelt justice for the poor without

eliminating an equal place for the privileged; honor was

meant to be faithful to one's values; service was defined by

how much it lifted the most unfortunate to real life

experiences of decency; and peace was only a positive good if

every child were given the opportunity to go to school. Sir

John rested calmly, when the wealth of the nation's

resources, surrendered to every parent's desire to support

their children's dreams.

Private life

I do not want to evaporate his humanity. It was filled with

the antagonisms of greatness and failures. Yet, Sir John will

be remembered as a loving grandfather, a caring father, and a

special son who made his parents proud. To Lady Jane, he will

forever remain, the lover who rang the bell of romantic love

within the steeple of her soul. Those who knew him personally

remarked that he had the gift of mixing private life with

public service. Sir John turned random acts of unparalleled

service into a national hero's legacy without straying from

the range of the common touch. It could be said that he did

meaningful and `small things with great love' (Mother

Teresa),

The Right Honorable Sir John George Melvin Compton was a

statesman of an extraordinary texture; incubator of his

people's hopes, light bearer of regional cooperation, a

firebrand politician with integrity oozing forth from his

breathing. He gave supremely of himself with abundance, to

every village, town and corner of St. Lucia, and the

Caribbean at large.

last rites

Sir John could have stayed in retirement from active

politics, but he chose to return as `Papa' to help the hand

that needed assistance. And what a dangerously powerful

campaign he showcased--a public good that should be valued

for what is really was--a leader's last rites of passage

between the cradle and the coffin. Mr. Compton brought his

party from the wilderness to the pride of his

people's confidence. Some said that he should have known

the limits of his health and age, but given his

personality and character, there were no limits and

certainly no human boundaries that would have kept Sir

John away from the love of his life--serving his people

selflessly.

Stubborn legacy

The range and scope of his life should not be reduced to `a

do it alone phenomenon.' Sir John's team of leaders, led by

Honorable Acting Prime Minister Stephenson King and Honorable

Deputy Political Leader Lenard Spider Montoute is just as

passionate about good governance as he was. Despite an uneven

beginning, the team embodies his vision for the betterment of

all St. Lucians in much the same way as Sir John did. The UWP

government must competently demonstrate to the world, that

Sir John shaped the party leaders, as the party leaders

sharpened their deceased leader. It is this mutually

intermixing of leadership intelligence that St. Lucians is

heir to.

For many of us, Sir John's death will jolt us into deeper

civic consciousness blazing in the glory of a wider communal

responsibility. His words should continue to challenge us, as

his deeds inspire us, not so much to itemize what he did do

well or could have done better, but to follow the direction

he pointed out, and the path he dared us to journey with him.

St. Lucia is better off for having granted Sir John the

honor of several seasons of prosperous leadership, and the

Caribbean region would have been worst off, without his

strength of character and humble service. His trail of

stunting accomplishments and gallant deeds is to be

memorialized for countless generations to come. If Rosa Parks

were to have been with us, and had the privilege of knowing

Sir John, she might have said of him, `there goes a man who

lived his life as a model for others.'

Courage to live

Healing moments of sadness often leaves room for wisdom

seen through the prism of serene acceptance. May Sir John's

ancestral spirit haunt us until we measure up to the ideals

he courageously wanted to attain in his lifetime. When we

mirror Sir John in our daily lives, we automatically inherit

the courage to live in the wisdom he practiced.

Sir John meant one thing to me, a symbol of unity

communicating a sterling message: the affairs of a nation, a

people and a region, must be given priority at all times, and

in

every possible way conceivable. Should the government and the

people of St. Lucia, take one slice of memory from Sir John's

closet of great achievements, they would make St. Lucia a

model Caribbean nation, where intergenerational prosperity

and quality of life development, orders the day. Aung San Suu

Kyi is right, ``the spirit of a man can transcend the flaws

of his own nature.''

Dr. Isaac Newton-International Leadership and Change

Management Consultant and Political Adviser. He specializes

in Government and Business Relations, and Sustainable

Development Projects. Dr. Newton works extensively, in West

Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America and is a graduate of

Harvard, Princeton and Columbia. He has published several

books on personal development.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my full support for H.R. 3432, a bill that would authorize the establishment of a federal commission to coordinate activities for the commemoration of the bicentennial anniversary of the U.S. Transatlantic Slave Trade Act.

Next year will mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in the United States. Although the transatlantic slave trade represents a dark aspect of not only U.S. history, but world history, it provides an opportunity to celebrate the progress with human rights, civil rights, and race relations in our great country. In addition to celebrating progress, the anniversary offers an opportunity to educate and remind people all over the world of the history slavery played in making race such a dominant reality in our history and the role of the slave trade.

The establishment of a federal commission to coordinate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade commemoration activities would assist with reminding and informing people of the past and present day implications of slavery in the development of America as a nation.

At the present time, people are rightfully consumed and burdened with issues that are impacting their personal lives, as well as, societal issues including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, terrorism, quality healthcare, education, and crime. Due to this, I believe people would welcome being refreshed by something to celebrate versus something to worry about; especially because African Americans have made and continue to make immeasurable contributions and advances in our great country since the abolishment of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery. Young people need to have an understanding of and develop an appreciation for our country's past, which would hopefully instill pride and hope for tomorrow.

I thank Congressman Payne for introducing this bill and encourage my colleagues to support it. I also encourage people all over the world, especially young people to learn about the history of slavery.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to ask my colleagues to take a moment to honor the outstanding achievements of the 35 million Hispanic Americans in commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

One of those 35 million Hispanic Americans is Dr. Guillermo Linares, whom I am honored to acknowledge for all his wonderful contributions and remarkable leadership in public service. Dr. Linares, who brings a long record of distinguished public service, has blazed an inspiring path so that future generations of Hispanic Americans can grasp the same opportunities to develop into tomorrow's leaders.

Dr. Guillermo Linares has the historic distinction of being the first Dominican elected to public office in the United States. He served from 1991 to 2001 in the New York City Council, where he advocated for quality education, vital health services, and affordable housing.

For more than 30 years, Dr. Linares has remained committed to improving public education and championing immigrant issues. His advocacy started in Washington Heights, where he worked as a school teacher. Witnessing the need for active involvement, he ran for membership of the local school board and served there for three terms. In the 1980s, Dr. Linares and others were responsible for the building of desperately needed public schools for the growing immigrant community in Washington Heights.

Dr. Linares' work has garnered him city-wide and national respect. In 1998, the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus of the NYC Council elected then-Council Member Linares as its copresident. Dr. Linares was tapped in 1995 to serve in a national capacity as a member of the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. President William Clinton appointed him in 1999 as chair of this initiative.

He was also a part of a movement in the late 1970s and early 1980s to establish key institutions that continue to serve Dominican and Latino populations. With other activists and leaders, Dr. Linares helped to establish the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, the Puerto Rican/Latino Education Round Table and the Parents Coalition for Education in New York City. Dr. Linares was instrumental in the founding of the Dominican Studies Institute at City College, the Audubon Partnership for Economic Development and the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center. He also served for six years as a board member of the National Council of ``La Raza.'' He currently is the co-chair of ``Encuentro 2000 and Beyond'' a national Latino leadership group.

In his current role as Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs for the City of New York, Dr. Linares works to strengthen bridges between city government and immigrant communities. He--who grew up dirt poor in a dirt-floored hut in the Dominican Republic--shares the experiences and aspirations of immigrant New Yorkers. Having left his native Dominican Republic to arrive to the City of New York at age 15 in 1966, knowing not a word of English, drove a taxi for long hours to support his family. At the same time, he pursued a higher education so that he could advance.

Dr. Linares received a Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Science degree from City College and a professional diploma in administration and supervision from Fordham University. He recently achieved his doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Linares' wife, Evelyn, is a dedicated public school principal. They are proud parents of two children, Guillermo Linares Jr. and Mayra Linares, who currently serves as the Democratic District Leader of Part A of the 72nd District of the New York State Assembly. His family has been critical to his accomplishments as a community activist, an elected official and an academic.

At a time when so many question the role and value of immigrants in today's society, it is essential to remember the achievements of remarkable public servants such as Dr. Guillermo Linares. Let us all remember that immigrant dreams and values--Hispanic dreams and values-- are no different than the dreams and values that we all wish for our families and our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to H. Res. 719, I call up the bill (H.R. 3056) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the authority of the Internal Revenue Service to use private debt collection companies, to delay implementation of withholding taxes on government contractors, to revise the tax rules on expatriation, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3056, the Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007. The bill has seven provisions and is revenue neutral.

First, the bill will repeal this excursion into private companies collecting the debt for the Internal Revenue Service. We've had many hearings, and the Internal Revenue Service, on more than one occasion, had indicated that, given the resources, they could do a more effective job than having to subcontract out to private firms.

There's nothing magic about privatization. Just saying that it's privatized doesn't mean that it's more effective or that you're doing the right thing. And I think, in this great country of ours, there is a special relationship between the Internal Revenue Service and the taxpayer.

No one would ever like the tax collector, but you do feel a little more secure when you know that a public servant is doing his or her job, rather than this job being sold out or given out to somebody that's income is going to be based on how much taxes they collect today.

No, if you've got to call the office and ask the taxpayer to pay, or call his home, let it not be a ride-by-night firm that is just getting involved in tax collection of Federal indebtedness. Let it be someone that you can trust, let it be a civil servant, and let it be the people that, over the years, have done the job, and no good reason has been given by anybody as to why they should not continue to do this.

The only sad thing that you can say about the collection of taxes by the IRS is that, admittedly, we never gave them the money; we never gave them the resources. But no one can challenge that there's no one better trained to do the job than the Internal Revenue Service.

And then, of course, I want to thank Representative Meek and Representative Herger for providing leadership in repealing this provision that would address the 3 percent withholding rate on certain government payments for goods and service. It didn't look good then; it doesn't look good now.

The bill also provides some equity to our citizens in the Virgin Islands to ensure fairness in tax collection there, and eliminates the restrictions on the statute of limitations, which means that their statute of limitations is our statute of limitations, that we're all citizens in this together, and they're not second class in this.

In addition, of course, we want to say that this bill is revenue neutral.

I ask unanimous consent to yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy) and give him the opportunity to control that time.

Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor to hear the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof) who's an outstanding member of the Ways and Means Committee and I appreciate his contribution to the committee. I was moved by his story of the hardship that he felt as a result of the estate tax.

What the heck that has got to do with collecting debts that is owed to the Internal Revenue, I have no idea. If you're suggesting that we kill the bill that eliminates bounty hunters from working on commission and unfairly leaning and putting pressure on people who owe the Federal Government, that's one thing. If you want us to just substitute that and take back to the committee your idea about what we should do with the estate tax, well, you know as well as I do that we have to find out how much money do we lose, where do we raise the money, and do it in a Republican-Democratic fiscal fashion to say, hey, I want to reduce taxes here and raise it someplace else, maybe on the kids, maybe on a little tobacco, maybe whatever makes you feel good, but don't kill something with a parliamentary motion. It's not the right thing to do.

I think the subject matter that you discuss does warrant some discussion, someplace, at some time, but to imply that we should report back promptly, how promptly should we deal with the question of estate tax or estate tax repeal? Where do we get the half a billion dollars? These are things that I think should be in another day and another time.

Right now, we're talking about a great bill that if you kill this bill through a parliamentary procedure, which is all we're talking about, then the small business people that have been collecting government taxes, they're going to get hit. The citizens that we have in the Virgin Islands that are treated unfairly with the statute of limitations, they're going to get hit.

And the people who really believe that if you have to deal with your government, if you have to deal with the Treasury Department, if you have to deal with the Internal Revenue, for God's sake, deal with a civil servant whose mortgage payment is not dependent on how much money he can get out of you. Deal with someone that's been trained by the United States Government to collect money that's owed to the United States Government and not some company that has been created to fill the need because some people believe that the private sector can always but always do it best.

I do hope that when the committee has something to discuss as important as estate tax, why not discuss estate tax when it's time to do it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the article, ``Caribbean Call Centers Booming,'' published in New York CARIB News on September 19, 2007. The piece notes that American corporations are increasingly setting up centers in the Caribbean, breathing new life into the region's workforce and diversifying its economy.

A drop in communication costs has ushered in newfound competition, willing the area's island nations to extend tax incentives in search of business--and it's working. For those economies with the smallest populations, it's made a world of positive difference, injecting droves of new workers and reducing rampant unemployment.

Caribbean Call Centers Booming

Castries.--In a global search for low-cost customer

service, AOL considered call centers in India and other

hotspots--then settled on the tiny island of St. Lucia.

In choosing the Caribbean island, AOL, a unit of Time

Warner Inc., joined other U.S. companies that have made the

region a new global hub for call centers.

Plunging communication costs, workers who relate easily to

American customers and the region's famed hospitality are

attracting American corporations, boosting the work force in

the ``nearshore'' service industry in the Caribbean.

Jamaica is one of the leaders with about 14,000 employees

in the sector. In the Dominican Republic, 18,000 agents, many

of them bilingual, are handling calls in English and Spanish.

Call centers dedicated to customer service have also opened

in Barbados, Trinidad, and Dominica.

According to Robert Goodwin, the AOL manager who chose a

call centre in St. Lucia, the islands all seem to be really

positive as opposed to the surly attitudes you have in

some of the other places. AOL still uses call centers in

India and elsewhere for technical support and other

services--taking advantage of that country's large numbers

of workers with technical and advanced degrees.

But the Caribbean is becoming increasingly competitive in

the call centre industry, with island governments offering

tax and other incentives to lure companies to their shores.

Jamaica, for example, granted call centers ``free zone''

status that allows owners to repatriate 100 percent of their

earnings tax-free. The Caribbean has taken only a tiny share

of the market from still-hot India and the Philippines, but

the impact is huge on islands with tiny populations. In

Montego Bay, a resort area on Jamaica's north coast that

accounts for about half the island's call centre jobs,

developers have rapidly built thousands of concrete, single-

family homes to accommodate the workers.

The industry owes much of its success to a

telecommunications liberalization that began sweeping former

British colonies in the Caribbean about six years ago. As new

suppliers have challenged the monopoly of Britain-based Cable

& Wireless PLC, lower prices allowed the region to compete.

The collections and call-centre firm KM2, which holds the

AOL contract in St. Lucia, has opened a site in Barbados and,

according to owner David Kreiss, the firm is looking to

expand again as new telecoms install fiber optic cable.

The number of people working at Caribbean call centers has

increased from 11,300 in 2002 to a current total of 55,000,

with an annual economic impact of US$2.5 billion. Large

American companies including Verizon, AT&T, Delta Air Lines,

AIG and Nortel have used Caribbean call centers, while often

keeping operations in Asia or elsewhere. While much of the

profits go to U.S.-owned operators, the islands welcome the

business to diversify their economies and counter high

unemployment.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize soldiers who are fighting and dying in the war, but are not American Citizens and to enter into the record an article from the September 18, 2007, edition of the New York Times entitled, ``Becoming an American Citizen, the Hardest Way'' by Clyde Haberman.

Everyday there are men and women who are not yet American citizens fighting on the battle fields in Iraq and Afghanistan. Words alone are not enough to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to American and soon-to-be American soldiers, who made the ultimate sacrifice by putting their lives on the line everyday. Volunteering to serve in the armed forces is a brave and noble act and there are so many soldiers who do so in part due to the opportunity presented by the accelerated naturalization process available to those who enter military service. To date, there have been 103 posthumous grants of American citizenship to non-citizen war soldiers.

The sacrifice made by non-citizens who have and are currently enlisting in the armed services demonstrates the value of American citizenship. Their sacrifice and commitment is honorable and should never be forgotten. Our great country, despite some of the challenges we face, continues to be the place in the entire world where people from all over the world are inspired by democracy, justice, freedom of religion, peace, and an opportunity to pursue happiness. This explains the motivation for non-citizens to enlist in the military and put their lives on the line in hopes of achieving their American dream.

I'm grateful that I had an opportunity to assist with the granting of American citizenship to Corporal Alcantara of the United States Army, one of my constituents, who lost his life in Iraq. I grieve at the loss of the life of a young man with such a great promise and I again extend my heartfelt sympathy to his family and many friends in our community.

[From the New York Times, Sept. 18, 2007]

Becoming an American Citizen, the Hardest Way

(By Clyde Haberman)

On an August day when some Iraqi's homemade bomb tore

through him, Cpl. Juan Mariel Alcantara became an American.

He never got to appreciate the honor.

A little-discussed detail of this war is that some of those

fighting in it as soldiers of the United States are not

American citizens. Over all, about 21,000 noncitizens are

serving in this country's armed forces, the Defense

Department says.

Until death claimed him on Aug. 6, one of them was Corporal

Alcantara of the United States Army.

He did not live long enough to acquire a richly textured

biography. He was born in the Dominican Republic, reared in

Washington Heights. He was 22 when the bomb--an improvised

explosive device, in military-speak--ended his life and the

lives of three fellow soldiers from the Second Infantry

Division while they searched a house in Baquba, north of

Baghdad.

At 22, Corporal Alcantara was old enough to have talked

about going to college and maybe becoming a New York police

officer, old enough to have a fiancee, old enough to have

fathered a baby girl he never saw, Jaylani, 6 weeks old when

he was killed. He was old enough, too, to have sought

American citizenship.

Every year, thousands of noncitizen soldiers do that,

through an accelerated naturalization process offered to

those who put themselves in harm's way so that the rest of us

can go about our lives untouched by war. And every year, some

of those soldiers become citizens only after they have

literally been wrapped in the flag.

No other war has produced anywhere near as many posthumous

citizens as this one, according to the United States

Citizenship and Immigration Services. Corporal Alcantara is

the latest, No. 103. He is the 12th from New York, an honor

roll that reflects today's city: 10 men and 2 women born in

the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Guyana, Belize, Trinidad and

Tobago, Myanmar and Nigeria

The Americanization of Juan Alcantara came at his family's

request. Representative Charles B. Rangel of Manhattan helped

shepherd the application through the bureaucracy in a matter

of days. Officially, the corporal was declared an American

from the day he died.

There was a formal ceremony yesterday in the colonnaded

Great Hall of City College of New York. Corporal Alcantara's

relatives accepted his certificate of posthumous citizenship.

They sat somberly in a front row: his mother, his two sisters

and his fiancee, Sayonara Lopez, who fed Jaylani from a

bottle.

Like scores of others filling the rows behind them, they

carried small American flags. Yesterday was Citizenship Day

across the country, a celebratory day for newly minted

Americans. In the vaulted majesty of the Great Hall, used on

occasion for such ceremonies, 242 people from 51 countries

took the oath of citizenship. They were men and women like

Lance Whitely, 32, formerly of Jamaica, now of the Bronx.

``It's everybody's dream to become an American citizen,'' he

said before the ceremony began.

The new citizens listened to speeches on America's grandeur

and watched a large-screen video of President Bush offering

congratulations.

Mr. Rangel, a critic of the Iraq war, left politics at the

door. He spoke of a country that is hardly perfect but is

ever working to make itself better. Once a combat soldier

himself, part of the same Second Infantry Division during the

Korean War, he talked about Corporal Alcantara's sacrifice

and America's debt to him.

Throughout, the Alcantara family sat disconsolately. They

applauded with the others and recited the Pledge of

Allegiance and waved their little flags. But their hearts

were elsewhere.

Maria Alcantara, the soldier's mother, is clearly a woman

of stricken soul. She holds Mr. Bush responsible for her

son's death. Corporal Alcantara's Iraq duty was supposed to

have ended on June 28, a day before his daughter was born.

But his tour was extended as part of the president's troop

``surge.''

``If my son had been allowed to return, he would be

alive,'' Ms. Alcantara said in Spanish, ``and he''--meaning

the president--``is guilty.''

``My happiness, my everything, is gone,'' she said.

The mother, who is not an American citizen, also spoke of

being grateful for her son's naturalization. Still, gratitude

does not bring peace of mind, said one of her daughters,

Fredelinda Pena. ``It's not a happy moment,'' Ms. Pena said.

Unlike others on this day of celebration, the family wiped

away tears. When the president's image appeared on the

screen, Ms. Alcantara kept her head down. She could not bring

herself to look at the man who she felt was the reason her

son did not come home.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 703, I call up the bill (H.R. 3648) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude discharges of indebtedness on principal residences from gross income, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

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

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank the minority ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee and our staffs for working to bring some relief to those people that are feeling the problems of the subprime mortgage crisis.

I want to make a special thanks to Congressman Rob Andrews, whose creativity in working with the committee, along with Zach Space, gave us the direction to remove some of the inequities that may relieve some of the pain that people are feeling.

It's a commonsense piece of legislation that when the banks and those that hold the mortgage decide to give forgiveness on some parts of that loan, that these parts of the loan not be considered as income and does not create a taxable event. So we do that. We passed it out by voice vote because it just made a lot of sense.

In addition to that, we make it easier for people to extend their mortgage insurance, as well as those people who own condos, to be able to get relief from debts that they may have by getting long-term extension of private mortgage insurance on all of them.

Finally, the bill makes it easier for taxpayers to form housing cooperation co-ops.

We give a general relief and at the same time make it more difficult for people to move into their rentals or vacation homes and enjoy the same tax relief as they move from their original homes. In other words, they can only get the tax relief for that part of the time they actually lived in the rental or the vacation home, rather than having the luxury of moving from one vacation home to the other and enjoying the tax benefits.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to one of the hardest- working members of the committee that spent a lot of time on this subject matter, Mr. Blumenauer, and allow him to delegate the time as requested by other Members of the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a story from the New York CARIB News of September 18, 2007 entitled, ``Black Pioneer Althea Gibson''.

This article highlights the accomplishments of Althea Gibson, the admirable tennis player who in spite of adversity reached great success, leaving a great legacy to the sport. Ms. Gibson became the first African American-male or female- to win the US. National Championships, which until then was a segregated tournament and she made history by not only breaking the color barriers but by winning the Grand Slam.

Ms. Gibson continued to leave her mark in tennis by winning the 1956 French Open, again, becoming the first black woman to win the Grand Slam event. Following those enormous achievements she continued to excel in important international tennis tournaments such as Wimbledon and the US. Championships.

In recognition of her incredible contribution to the sport of tennis and to society, the U.S. Tennis Association hosted a tribute to her life at the US. Open in New York in late August. The champion died in 2003 but continues to be admired and to be an inspiration to women throughout the world.

I applaud Ms. Althea Gibson for her great contribution to the sport of tennis and for the undeniable strength she endured to excel in a time when she was denied opportunity because of the color of her skin.

Black Pioneer Althea Gibson

(By Roy S. Johnson)

Fifty years ago, in the late summer of 1957, Althea Gibson

made history as she captured the U.S. National Championships

title on the grass courts of Forest Hills. With that win, the

30-year-old Gibson became the first African American--male or

female--to win that most prestigious Grand Slam tennis

tournament crown.

Just three years after the great Jackie Robinson had broken

the color barrier in baseball, Gibson broke tennis' color

barrier when she played in the 1950 U.S. Championships. Until

then, tennis had been a segregated sport, with Blacks playing

on their own tour--similar to the Negro Baseball Leagues--

under the auspices of the American Tennis Association. Her

participation at Forest Hills that year was facilitated, in

part, by Alice Marble, one of the top players of that era,

who wrote an editorial in a national magazine calling for the

sport to allow her to compete.

That she did. Tall and lean, Gibson's look and her game

resembled that of the elder Williams sister.

``Very graceful, very smooth,'' says former tennis star,

now U.S. Fed Cup captain Zina Garrison, who befriended Gibson

in the legend's later years and became a confidante. ``She

glided around the court. When you look at Venus [Williams],

Althea was very much like her.''

Six years after her Grand Slam debut, well before the tide

of civil rights began to rise throughout America, Gibson made

history once again--this time in magnificent fashion--by

winning the 1956 French Open to become the first Black to win

a Grand Slam event. The next year, she won Wimbledon and the

U.S. Championships, then successfully defended both titles

the following year. Gibson teamed with Angela Buxton, a

Jewish player from Briton, to win the 1956 doubles

championships at the French and Wimbledon. Both women

experienced discrimination by their fellow players, but after

their triumph at the All-England tennis club, a British

newspaper touted: ``Minorities win.''

All told, Gibson, the daughter of South Carolina

sharecroppers, won five Grand Slam singles titles and six

Grand Slam doubles crowns, but her impact on tennis--and

society--cannot be measured in mere trophy counts. She was a

trailblazer of remarkable heart and courage, marking a path

for those who would follow her, carrying herself with that

special grace and dignity known only to true champions.

``Althea made tennis a better place, by opening doors and

opening minds,'' said USTA president and chairman Jane Brown

Grimes. ``For that, all of us owe Althea Gibson a debt of

gratitude.''

In recognition of Gibson's myriad contributions to the

sport of tennis and to society at large, the U.S. Tennis

Association this year hosted a very special tribute to the

late champion, who passed away in 2003 following a long

illness. On an extraordinary evening of history and emotion,

African-American women who are pioneers in their own fields,

and the elite from the world of tennis, gathered to honor and

celebrate one of their own. Call her tennis's own Jackie

Robinson.

The event, entitled ``Breaking Barriers,'' was held on the

opening night, Aug. 27 of the 2007 U.S. Open at the USTA

Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, NY. It

commemorated the 50th anniversary of Gibson's pioneering

triumph at the 1957 U.S. National Championships (now known as

the U.S. Open), and also provided a stage for Gibson's

induction into the prestigious U.S. Open Court of Champions.

But the evening proved to be so much more--an acknowledgement

of the over- sight of having never before recognized Gibson

as a barrier-breaking pioneer, and a unique first-time

celebration of the historic firsts achieved by other

prominent African-American women.

Nearly two dozen Black women pioneers attended the tribute,

including Olympians Jackie Joyner-Kersee (first Black to win

back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the Heptathlon) and Dr.

Debi Thomas (first Black Winter Olympics medal winner),

astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison (the first Black female astronaut),

gospel singer Yolanda Adams (first Black female to win the

Contemporary/Inspirational Artist award at American Music

Awards) and Ambassador Carol Moseley-Braun (first Black

female U.S. Senator).

Billie Jean King, whose own pioneering efforts on behalf of

female athletes were celebrated at this venue last year, was

part of the tribute, as was New York City Mayor Michael

Bloomberg and Rachel Robinson. Jackie Robinson's widow.

Aretha Franklin, the first Black woman inducted into the Rock

& Roll Hall of Fame, performed at the tribute.

Other trailblazing Black women attending were former poet

laureate Nikki Giovanni (the first Black woman to receive the

Rosa Parks Woman of Courage award), former Washington, D.C.,

mayor Sharon Pratt (first to be elected mayor of a major U.S.

city), actress Phylicia Rashad (first to win a Tony for best

performance in a play), Essence chairwoman Susan L. Taylor

(first recipient of the Henry Johnson Fisher award), and

businesswoman Sheila Crump Johnson (first to have a stake in

three professional sports franchises).

``Althea Gibson dreamed the impossible and made it

possible,'' said Johnson, who was a BET founder. ``She was

one of the first African-American women in sports to say,

`Why not me?' She empowered generations [of Black women] to

believe in themselves, emboldened us to achieve and attain

the unattainable. Her drive, spirit and passion continue to

set an example for us today.''

``I will always be grateful to her for having the strength

and the courage to triumph in extreme adversity,'' said Venus

Williams, a six-time Grand Slam singles champion, who also

participated in the tribute. ``Her accomplishments set the

stage for my success, and through players like me, Serena and

many others to come, her legacy will live on.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce two stories written in the Washington Post on September 25, 2007 entitled, ``A Little Rock Reminder'' and ``The Legacy of Little Rock'', in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the integration of the school system of Little Rock, AR, by a brave group of Black children who came to be known as ``The Little Rock Nine''.

Integration has been a long and difficult process here in the United States. Only 50 years have passed since President Dwight Eisenhower decided to send soldiers to protect and defend the newly acquired rights of nine Black students to go to a previously all White school. Those brave Black students who endured the difficulties of starting the process of desegregation in schools in 1957 should be remembered and appreciated today, on the anniversary, and everyday.

It has been proven that integration is a key factor in the success of our society. A school where all races and nationalities work together is giving their students more than classes; they are teaching them the correct way to live, in harmony with the world. In addition it has been proven that an integrated learning environment leads to greater academic success.

Our society today still has a long way to go but it is a much healthier one than 50 years ago. These children were brave enough to understand what their parents and other leaders of their community knew--that they deserve the same rights as the next one; they too are citizens of the United States and all it represents. Their efforts need to be commended.

[From the Washington Post, Sept. 25, 2007]

A Little Rock Reminder: Nine Pioneers Showed Why School Integration

Matters

(By Juan Williams)

Fifty years ago this week, President Dwight Eisenhower

risked igniting the second U.S. civil war by sending 1,000

American soldiers into a Southern city. The troops, with

bayonets at the end of their rifles, provided protection for

nine black students trying to get into Little Rock's Central

High School. Until the soldiers arrived, the black teenagers

had been kept out by mobs and the Arkansas National Guard, in

defiance of the Supreme Court's 1954 ruling ending school

segregation.

The black children involved became the leading edge of a

social experiment. Their lives offer answers to the question

of what happens to black children who attend integrated

schools, a question underscored by the recent Supreme Court

ruling that voluntary school integration plans in Louisville

and Seattle are unconstitutional.

The June decision said a focus on mixing students based on

their skin color violates every student's right to be judged

as an individual without regard to race. The ruling

confirmed a political reality: America long ago lost its

appetite for doing whatever it takes--busing, magnet schools,

court orders--to integrate schools. The level of segregation

in U.S. public schools has been growing since 1988, reversing

the trend toward integration triggered by Brown v. Board of

Education.

The movement away from school integration is glaring. The

Civil Rights Project found in 2003 that the nation's 27

biggest school districts were ``overwhelmingly'' segregated

with black and Latino students. Nationwide today, almost half

of black and Latino children are in schools where less than

10 percent of the students are white. Those essentially

segregated schools have a large percentage of low-income

families and, according to researchers, ``difficulty

retaining highly qualified teachers.'' Meanwhile, the average

white student attends a school that is 80 percent white and

far more affluent than the schools for minority students.

This trend toward isolation of poor and minority students

has consequences--half of black and Latino students now drop

out of high school.

Integrated schools benefit students, especially minorities.

Research on the long-term outcomes of black and Latino

students attending integrated schools indicates that those

students ``complete more years of education, earn higher

degrees and major in more varied occupations than graduates

of all-black schools.''

That conclusion is reflected in the lives of the Little

Rock Nine, who represent the black middle class that grew

rapidly as better schools became open to black people during

the 1960s and '70s.

Ernest Green, 65, who became the first black student to

graduate from Central High, is the most prominent of the

nine. He earned a master's degree in sociology and worked in

the Carter and Clinton administrations. He is director of

public finance in Washington for Lehman Brothers.

Melba Pattillo Beals, 65, chairs the African American

history department at Dominican University in River Forest,

IL, and wrote an award-winning book about her experiences at

Central High; Elizabeth Eckford, 65, is a probation officer

in Arkansas; Gloria Ray Karlmark, 64, moved to Sweden to work

for IBM and later founded and edited the magazine Computers

in Industry; Carlotta Walls LaNier, 64, started a real estate

company in Colorado; Terrence Roberts, 65, is a psychologist

in California; Jefferson Thomas, 64, fought in Vietnam and

worked in government in Ohio for nearly 30 years; Minniejean

Brown Trickey, 66, worked in the Clinton administration and

is a visiting writer at Arkansas State University; and Thelma

Mothershed Wair, 66, became a teacher.

Part of their success comes from their ability to mix

easily with black and white people and to comfortably join

the social and professional networks that segregation kept

from black people. In fact, most of the nine worked in mostly

white organizations. And four of the nine married white

people (three black women married white men, and one black

man married a white woman).

In her book ``Turn Away Thy Son,'' Arkansas native

Elizabeth Jacoway notes that the nine never take a group

picture with white spouses or mixed-race children. Jacoway

believes they don't want to take away from black pride in

their achievement or reignite segregationist fears about

interracial sex.

Terrence Roberts, who went on to become a psychology

professor, thinks ``fear of black people in the family'' is

still a driving force pulling Americans away from integrated

schools. Ernest Green, whose first wife was white, calls it

the ``zipper issue. . . sex and race are highly

combustible.''

The interracial daughter of Minniejean Brown Trickey,

Spirit Trickey, works as a Park Service tour guide at a

memorial to the events at Central High. She says visitors

regularly ask why so many of the nine broke the taboo against

interracial marriage.

``My answer is that the Little Rock Nine followed the

principles of nonviolence,'' she said. ``They married who

they fell in love with. But it is telling that so many people

ask about it. It tells me where we are today.''

[From the Washington Post, Sept. 25, 2007]

The Legacy of Little Rock: Fifty Years Ago, He and 8 Others Became the

Faces of Integration. Now He Is a Sign of Its Success.

(By Avis Thomas-Lester)

Ernest G. Green Jr. sees much of the world now from a top

floor comer office on K Street, just blocks from the White

House and a very long way from where he started.

His BlackBerry holds the phone numbers of powerful men:

former president Bill Clinton; Robert L. Johnson, founder of

Black Entertainment Television and co-owner of the Charlotte

Bobcats; former ambassador Andrew Young; and three candidates

for president of the United States.

He spends his days negotiating multimillion-dollar deals as

managing director of public finance for Wall Street stalwart

Lehman Brothers with clients including the City of New York

and the State of Connecticut. He has a big house in Northwest

Washington, ``a beautiful wife, three wonderful kids'' and a

lot of gratitude for the circumstances that catapulted him

from segregated Little Rock into U.S. history as one of nine

students to integrate Central High School 50 years ago today.

``It has been a tremendous boost for me,'' said Green, who

turned 66 on Saturday. ``It provided me with opportunities I

never would have otherwise had. I had a tremendous window

into the last half of 20th century.''

Green returned to his home town this weekend for events

commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of

Central High. Five decades ago, Green and eight other

students were escorted into the school by the U.S. Army's

101st Airborne Division under orders from President Dwight

Eisenhower after Gov. Orval Faubus used the state's National

Guard to block the integration effort.

In the year that followed, Green and the others, who came

to be known as the Little Rock Nine, were tripped on the

stairs, attacked in the halls and pushed out of lunchroom

lines. Teachers and administrators largely ignored them. The

few white students who befriended them were subjected to ill

treatment as well.

``Clearly, none of us anticipated that it would be as

difficult as it was,'' said Green, the first of the nine to

graduate. ``But once we got there, all nine of us knew how

important it was to stay. Backing down was not an option.''

His story is a testament to the potential of forced

integration, a remedy widely debated now as many urban school

districts become resegregated. Green said people miss out

when they don't mingle with those who are different from

themselves. ``We need to make sure children understand that

they are more similar than different.''

Green never set out to become an icon of the civil rights

movement, with a movie made of his life and a congressional

medal to his name. What he did, he said, was simply step out

of his comfort zone.

``Too many blacks today,'' he said, ``opt for comfort over

taking a chance that might change their lives. We have to

work hard to break through our comforts.''

Many wouldn't consider a childhood in the segregated South

a comfortable place, but Green has fond memories of growing

up at the comer of 21st and Pulaski. His father, Ernest Sr.,

who died when Green was 13, was a janitor at the post office;

his mother, Lothaire, taught in Little Rock schools for 43

years.

He, his sister, Treopia, and his brother, Scott, learned

about taking a stand from their mother. In the 1940s, she

supported the efforts of black teacher Susie Morris, who,

with NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney Thurgood Marshall,

sued the Little Rock schools, demanding equal pay. His mother

opened their home to Marshall when he was in town working on

the case.

Green grew up riding past the impressive edifice of Central

High School, considered the best school in town. The name was

stamped into the secondhand books that taught him U.S.

history, algebra and chemistry. As a member of the marching

band--he played tenor saxophone--at segregated Horace Mann

High School, he had marched on Central's field.

``We didn't have a stadium, so the black schools played on

the field one night and the white schools another,'' he

recalled.

Green was 13 when the U.S. Supreme Court, acting on

arguments by Marshall, outlawed school segregation in the

Brown v. Board of Education case. Even so, many officials in

Southern states vehemently refused to carry out the order.

No such sentiment was evident in Little Rock in 1957, which

had a progressive reputation, Green said. Blacks owned

businesses. There was a thriving black middle class. The

public libraries and city buses were integrated, as was the

University of Arkansas campus. Several Arkansas school

districts had voluntarily integrated.

It was against this backdrop that the Little Rock school

board decided to integrate.

``I heard about it on the radio that they were looking for

students interested in going to Central,'' said Minnijean

Brown Trickey, another of the Little Rock Nine. ``It started

off that there were 23 of us, but by the time we got to

school that first day, there were only nine.''

It was Green's idea to attend Central High, and his mother,

like the other parents, supported the decision. ``They had

some idea of what it would do to change the opportunities for

all the black folks in Little Rock if we were able to

integrate the school,'' he said.

Green said they were all thunderstruck by the level of

resistance.

``We didn't think there would be a confrontation,'' he

said. ``Orval Faubus was regarded as a progressive white

Southerner. My mother had voted for him as governor. He

didn't have an image of being a firebrand segregationist or

racist.''

On Sept. 4, the students were denied entry by guardsmen and

racists yelling epithets. After the NAACP took the case to

court, they were allowed in on Sept. 23 but had to leave

early because of fears of violence. Two days later, with an

escort from the 101st Airborne, they were admitted.

For four weeks, things were relatively quiet. Soldiers

escorted the nine black students to class. Many avid

segregationists kept their children at home.

``Once they saw we weren't leaving, they started to trickle

back in,'' Green said. Soon, the harassment started.

As the only senior, Green was a prominent target.

``It seemed to me that one of the things that would drive

them crazy was if I were to be successful,'' he recalled.

``So I was determined to stick it out that whole year.''

Each morning, the black students would gather at one of

their homes or at the home

of Daisy Bates, the legendary Arkansas NAACP president, and

her husband, L.C. Bates, founder of the Arkansas State Press,

the state's leading black newspaper.

The hostility didn't subside until the day before Green's

graduation.

``There were a number of white kids who got up the nerve to

come over and congratulate me for getting through the year,''

he said.

The principal urged Green to take his diploma and go home

without attending the commencement ceremony.

``Local authorities were afraid there would be some attempt

to do physical harm to me, but I was convinced that I had

angels looking over me,'' Green said. ``I figured I had gone

through [too much] not to enjoy the benefits of the

service.''

As it turned out, Martin Luther King Jr., who had gained

prominence with the Montgomery bus boycott 2 years earlier,

was in Arkansas.

``He came up the evening of the ceremony to sit with my

mother, aunt and family,'' Green said. ``I didn't know he was

in the audience until after the ceremony was over.''

The next five decades of Green's life have, in many ways,

been defined by that year at Central High.

He devoted himself to civil rights causes. At Michigan

State University, which he attended on a full scholarship, he

became president of the school's NAACP chapter and often

protested the policies of the university's president, John

Hannah. Thirty years later, he learned that Hannah had

personally arranged for his scholarship.

After earning bachelor's and master's degrees, Green moved

to New York and worked with civil rights leaders A. Philip

Randolph and Bayard Rustin to recruit minorities into the

building trades. In 1977, he was tapped by President Jimmy

Carter as assistant secretary of labor for employment and

training. He later formed a minority consulting company with

Alexis Herman, who would be named Clinton's labor secretary.

In 1987, capitalizing on the relationships he made in

public service, he took a position with Lehman Brothers as an

investment banker; his projects included underwriting

municipal debt with governmental agencies and nonprofit

organizations. Again, he drew on his experience at Central

High.

``It made me a tougher negotiator, able to control my

emotions and able to handle the ups and down of business and

life,'' he said.

The years have brought proud moments: In 1999, Clinton

awarded Green and the rest of the Little Rock Nine the

Congressional Gold Medal. There have also been humbling

times: In 2002, Green was sentenced to 90 days of home

detention and given a $10,000 fine for failing to declare and

pay taxes on income he received as part of a planned business

venture.

Today, he works passionately to help young people. He noted

that last week, 50 years after he entered Central High, black

activists were gathered in Jena, La., to protest the

treatment of six black youths arrested after a racially

tinged brawl.

``A lot of people don't realize,'' he said, ``that there is

still racial injustice in this country.''

I will answer the question if you yield.

Let me explain to the ranking member how difficult I know it must have been for you to see how the leadership in the House and Senate did this.

The Republican leadership excluded that man. The Republican leadership excluded him, as I had been excluded as a Democrat. He was excluded from participating by the Republican leaders.

He was excluded, too.

Mr. Speaker, I want to support some of what Mr. Barton has just said in terms of being critical about the manner in which this bill, albeit it helps 3\1/2\ million more children, how it got to the floor. And I also want to sympathize with him, having been the ranking member of Ways and Means when the Republicans were in charge, so I know what being excluded means. But I want to assure him that he was not excluded by the House leadership, not the House Democratic leadership and not the House Republican leadership. The criticism that so many people have about this bill is misfounded.

This is not the House bill. For those that are so sensitive about legal immigrants not being covered, you had an opportunity when the bill was in the House to vote for the House bill. And I hope for political reasons when you get back home, that vote was recorded the right way. But the reason it is not in this is because this is not the House bill.

And I want to tell Mr. Barton that I was invited to go into the back room, but the back room was on the Senate side and it wasn't controlled by the Democratic leadership but by those Republicans who demanded that it be their way or the highway.

So you can debate all you want how you want to help or hurt the children, but don't be critical of the Democratic leadership in the House. Be critical of this bipartisan agreement on what? The Senate bill. And I have been assured by the majority whip of the majority leader in the Senate that he wanted to go to conference, and it would take 60 votes in order to beat a filibuster even for us to have a conference on the bill or perhaps we could have heard from the ranking member and others that would be appointed to the conference.

So the issue today is not how badly really the Republicans in the Senate handled this. They're in charge. They hold us hostage. You need 60 votes. You got a filibuster. So they have now capitulated to this bill that's now before us. And what is your decision? It is either you're going to help the kids or you're not. Either you're going to expand the coverage or you're not. And the President is not going to be in your district if you're lucky, but he doesn't have to explain anything if he vetoes.