Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I join with the hundreds of thousands of Dominican residents of my congressional district and the millions of Dominicans around the world in celebrating August 12's 25th Annual Dominican Day Parade.

What was once an expression of pride through Washington Heights has grown to be one of the largest and loudest displays of cultural pride seen along New York's Sixth Avenue, a culmination of a series of events celebrating the Dominican Republic's traditional second day of Independence, El Dia de la Restauracion or Restoration Day.

It is also a time to remember Dominican achievements, on the island and in the U.S. A time to remind the world that many of the hemisphere's first institutions were established on the shores of Quisqueya, including the first cathedral and the oldest university. A time to remind the Nation that from the first big wave of Dominican migration in the 1960s to the most recent wave in the 1990s, Dominicans have struggled and worked hard to become a part of our national identity. Their contributions can be found in every facet of U.S. life--from baseball stars like Pedro Martinez, David ``Big Papi'' Ortiz or Alex Rodriguez to fashion legend Oscar de la Renta to the thousands of professionals that do battle as soldiers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, educators and social workers.

I can see that hard work in my own congressional district. Dominicans have a zest for grassroots participation, as evidenced by the number of Dominicans, especially women, who are involved in government or as leaders of professional and nonprofit organizations. They are an entrepreneurial group with a keen nose for business and a yearning to be their own boss, as evidenced by the way they have transformed the livery cab, travel, and hair salon industry.

Finally, who can deny the strong desire that Dominicans have for education. Although graduation rates for all Latinos are way too low, more and more Dominicans are choosing to go back to school, get their GED and enroll into the city's university system. This is seen by the fact that 50 percent of are Latino's that are enrolled in CUNY is of Dominican descent. In the number of after-school programs and activities that there are in northern Manhattan and other Dominican barrios.

So I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating this day and congratulating founder Nelson Pena and the hundreds of volunteers that help put on this grand display of pride. The success of our current democracy depends on us keeping our doors open to communities that energize our economy and our local neighborhoods. It depends on us remembering that we are a Nation of immigrants and that how we treat our newest Americans will go a long way to how we are treated around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 3221, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, section numbering and cross-referencing, and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 615, I call up the bill (H.R. 2776) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide tax incentives for the production of renewable energy and energy conservation, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 2776, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficient Tax Act.

Our committee has provided long-term incentives for electricity for renewable sources, production from wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, river currents, ocean tides, landfill gas and tracks combustion resources. And at the same time, we were able to provide incentives for States to provide bonds and grants in order to make certain that working families would be able to purchase energy-efficient heat pumps, home improvement appliances, solar, and a variety of other things.

And in order to pay for this, at the recommendation of the Internal Revenue Service, we were able to raise the funds to close the loopholes to make certain that at the end of the day the bill is revenue-neutral.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent at this time that the remainder of my time I be able to yield to Mr. McDermott on the committee, who has provided a lot of work on this subject and which we're so proud to present to this House and ultimately to the American people.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the life and contributions of the late Marcus Mosiah Garvey and to acknowledge the 120th anniversary of the day of his birth, August 17, 1887, a day which will be celebrated later this month in the United States, the Caribbean, and throughout the diaspora.

One hundred and twenty years ago, on August 17, the revolutionary, Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born in Saint Ann Bay, Jamaica. His father was a mason and his mother was a farmer. Although his dad used his hands to make a living, he loved literature and created a large library. The library became the initial information source that cultivated young Marcus's love of reading and hunger for knowledge.

At approximately the age of 14, he left Saint Ann's Bay and became an apprentice. He held the positions of Master Printer and Foreman at P.A. Benjamin Printery. In a short time, he was elected to serve as vice president of the Kingston Union, participated in a printers strike, was fired from his job, created The Watchman newspaper and found a new job at the Government Printing Office. All of this advocacy on behalf of the rights of workers prepared him for becoming an outspoken leader against oppression and an advocate for freedom and self determination.

From 1910 to 1913, he traveled throughout Central America and London. During this time, he attended Birkbeck College and held jobs as a timekeeper and newspaper editor. While in London, he spoke at Hyde's Park Speaker's Corner, where his public speaking skills, developed in Jamaica, were honed before ever larger audiences.

He returned to Jamaica in 1914 and founded the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League. The mission of the organization was to ``unite all people of African ancestry of the world to one great body to establish a country and absolute government of their own.''

He came to the United States and established himself in Harlem, New York, to share the mission of the organization in 1916. Initially he spoke out on the street corners of New York and later went on a nationwide speaking tour. The late Adam Clayton Powell declared that Garvey ``awakened a race consciousness that made Harlem felt around the world.'' Through speaking and the newspaper he created, the Negro World, membership in the organization grew to an amazing two million plus. To further support the ideas of the organization's mission, he incorporated a shipping line, Black Star Lines to transport goods and people of African descent back to Africa. An investigation of the organization and Black Star Lines led to a wrongful indictment and arrest of Mr. Garvey. This investigation marked the beginning of an effort to destroy him and the organization.

In 1919, he was shot by a man who committed suicide immediately after the shooting. In that same year, he and others were unjustly investigated by the FBI and charged with mail fraud in connection with Black Star Lines. Only Mr. Garvey was found guilty and received a sentence of five years. He adamantly proclaimed his innocence and many believed then and now that he was set up for political reasons. He served time in Atlanta and his sentence was commuted by President Calvin Coolidge in 1927. Upon his release, he was deported to Jamaica.

He continued to serve as a revolutionary and political activist by establishing Jamaica's first political party, the People's Political Party, serving as the Councillor for the Allman Town Division of the Capitol City, Kingston. In 1935, he moved to London and worked on issues that involved Ethiopia and set up a school to train leaders for the organization he founded. In 1940, he passed away from a stroke after reading a false obituary of himself published in the Chicago Defender.

Mr. Garvey was a bold visionary. His idea and commitment to move people of African descent back to Africa and establish a government of self-determination are still inspiring today. Since he was investigated and convicted, his vision and efforts to mobilize people of African descent to return to Africa did not materialize. President Coolidge's action could be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing by the U.S. government. However, his name has not been formally cleared.

On August 17, 2007, people will celebrate the birth and life of Mr. Garvey. I applaud and encourage people all over the world to celebrate the life of such a great man. I also urge my colleagues to support my bill, H. Con. Res. 24, which calls for expressing the sense of the Congress that the President should grant a pardon to Marcus Mosiah Garvey to clear his name and affirm his innocence of crimes for which he was unjustly prosecuted and convicted.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record an opinion editorial published in the New York CaribNews newspaper the week ending July 17, 2007 titled ``Ambassador Lisa Shoman: Belize's First Female Foreign Minister,'' and honor the contributions of Ambassador Shoman to Belize and the rest of Central America and the Caribbean.

Ambassador Shoman has been a trailblazer and a pioneer in many different areas. She has often taken the path less traveled, excelled in her chosen field and created opportunities and hope for women in her country. Known to be a vocal advocate of women's issues, she used to conduct free legal clinics for women and has helped draft domestic violence, sexual offenses and sexual harassment legislation for Belize.

In 2000, Ambassador Shoman was selected as the first woman to serve as Belize's ambassador to the United States, permanent representative to the OAS and high commissioner to Canada. She proudly represents a country that is a model of racial tolerance and cultural harmony and a beacon of multicultural plurality and while ambassador worked tirelessly to train the people of her nation and educate policy makers about its many virtues.

In June 2007, she led the Caribbean ambassadors in a working group with congressional staff to identify and prepare a substantive agenda for the CARICOM Presidents and Prime Minster Summit in Washington, DC, that addressed the core issues in the U.S. and CARICOM bilateral relations. Ambassador Shoman was instrumental in putting this summit together. She clearly articulated the goals of these meetings and insisted that tangible results should be accomplished. She deserves a great share of the credit for a summit regarded by everyone as a great success in achieving a new enhanced framework for consultation and cooperation between the governments of the United States and the CARICOM nations.

Since the Summit, the U.S. Secretary of Education is scheduled to travel to the region to provide assistance in expanding tertiary education programs in the CARICOM nations. The Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in response to the concerns expressed by the leaders of CARICOM, held a hearing on that examined the effects criminal deportees are having on Caribbean nations. The administration and senior members of the Committee on Ways and Means have committed to a renewal of the Caribbean Basin Initiative to guarantee special access to the U.S. market for exports from the Caribbean.

Ambassador Shoman has been a powerful and effective advocate for the interests of the people in the Caribbean and Latin America. I look forward to continue to work with her in her new capacity as foreign minister of the great country of Belize.

[From the CaribNews, July 17, 2007]

Ambassador Lisa Shoman Belize's First Female Foreign Minister

(By Tony Best)

Belmopan.--Lisa Shoman was sworn in as Belize's Minister of

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, recently at a quiet

ceremony at the residence of Governor General Sir Colville

Young.

The first female Foreign Minister, in her characteristic

style, insisted on having her grandmother at her side to hold

the bible while she took her oath of office.

According to her father, Yasin Shoman, her mother, Hilda

Hoy Shoman could not stop the young Lisa from heading out on

to the then rough campaign trail in the Cayo district. From

the outset, Lisa proved to a shrewd observer with a knack for

dealing with difficult people and talking to even the most

hostile with a natural ease. She also proved to be one of the

best polling agents and counters that an unbiased campaign

manager could want. She has never missed a campaign since,

serving in Cayo, Freetown, Caribbean Shores, San Pedro and

Port Loyola, and on the PUP's National Campaign Committee.

According to Lisa Shoman's family, they always knew she

would study law, a natural for this feisty advocate, and she

remained fiercely focused on her path, winning scholarship

after scholarship; from high school to sixth form to

university and doing exceptionally well at CXCs, O and A

levels.

At 24, Shoman returned to her beloved Belize fresh from law

school and went to work at the DPP's office. After her return

from doing a Masters Program in Barbados at UWI, Shoman

returned to private practice at Young's Law Firm and during

the five years she was there, also devoted time to community

service, giving talks and lectures to a variety of groups,

and serving as the first female president of the Belize Bar

Association.

She is perhaps best known as a vocal advocate of women's

issues, appearing on radio and television programs,

conducting free legal clinics for women, working with Women

Against Violence (WAV), and helping to draft Domestic

Violence, Sexual Offences and Sexual Harassment Legislation.

During those years, Shoman worked on children's issues, and

served as legal advisor to the Toledo Maya Cultural Council

on land rights issues. She also lectured Constitutional and

Administrative Law for UWI's Challenge program and the UB

Paralegal program.

After the 1998 election, Shoman was chosen by the PUP

Administration to be the Government of Belize's

representative to the Board of Directors of Belize

Telecommunications Limited, and was duly elected as Chairman,

serving for an eventful two year term, while on her own in

private practice, and then going into partnership with Michel

Chebat.

In July 2000, Prime Minister Musa tapped Shoman to serve as

Belize's Ambassador to the United States, as well as

Permanent Representative to the OAS, and High Commissioner to

Canada, the first woman to be so honored. She has now served

for almost seven years, under four Belizean Foreign Ministers

and is currently the deputy dean of Ambassadors at the OAS.

Shoman has been a member of the Belize-Guatemala

negotiating team since her arrival in DC and has been a part

of virtually all negotiating meetings under the auspices of

the OAS. In a difficult and delicate phase in 2004, she was

sent by PM Musa as his Special Envoy to Guatemala for two

months, just prior to the publication of the historic

Facilitators Report.

She has served with three OAS Secretaries General and was

able to attain Belize's membership in the Grupo Centro

Americano (GRUCA) caucus of ambassadors, thereby gaining for

her country the singular honor of being the only country at

the OAS to belong to two regional groups, CARICOM and GRUCA.

Shoman has served twice as regional coordinator and chair of

both groups for the customary six month term.

Shoman was given Mexico's highest honor to a foreign

Diplomat, in the highest grade--the Order of the Aztec Eagle.

Lisa Shoman also earned the Order of Jose De Marcoleta in the

Grade of Grand Cross later that same year from the Republic

of Nicaragua. At the OAS, Ambassador Shoman served two 18

month terms as Chair of the Management Board of the Inter-

American Agency for Cooperation and Development, and also

Vice Chair of the Permanent Council and has chaired several

key meetings of the Permanent Council.

Ambassador Shoman has been a powerful and effective

advocate for the interest of the people of Belize.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to enter into the Record an opinion editorial published in the CaribNews newspaper the week ending July 31, 2007 titled ``St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Launches Poverty Assessment Survey'' and an article entitled ``Poverty Picture in the Caribbean: Barbados to Undertake Assessment.'' Both examine the initiatives these countries have taken to address poverty.

As CARICOM nations look to move to a single market economy, they should be encouraged to take a proactive approach to assess poverty in their individual nations. Poverty assessments serve as the key instrument of poverty reduction strategy. They are designed to assess the extent and causes of poverty in a given country and to propose a strategy to ameliorate its effects. Understanding the causes and characteristics of poverty in the Caribbean is particularly important at this time as there are indications that living conditions in some countries have declined in recent years.

The data gathered from these assessments will be used to evaluate the quality of life and living conditions being experienced at the community, family and individual levels, with particular interest and emphasis placed on vulnerable groups like women, and children.

The increases in competition stemming from global economic changes in trade and capital markets, the erosion of preferential market access, the vulnerability of the tourist industry and competition from other destinations, and decline in official capital flows from bilateral sources all present a particularly difficult challenge for the Caribbean. Given this environment, there is an urgent need for countries to pursue policies that will stimulate and sustain economic growth and prioritize investments aimed at reducing poverty and developing human resources. So I commend the leadership of the governments of Barbados and St. Vincent & the Grenadines for the steps they are taking to assess poverty in their countries.

[From CaribNews, July 17, 2007]

St. Vincent Launches Poverty Assessment Survey

Kingstown, St. Vincent, CMC--St. Vincent and the Grenadines

has launched an EC$2 million-dollar (US $749,000) poverty

assessment programme that Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves

said would be welcomed regardless of the outcome.

``Only on the foundation of truth we can build efficacious

policies,'' Gonsalves said as he addressed the launching of

the project on Tuesday. The poverty assessment project will

seek to create a profile of poverty on the island and is

being funded by the European Union and the United Nations

Development Programme.

The last poverty assessment survey was undertaken in 1996

and it found that 37.5 per cent of the population was poor,

while 20.4 per cent of the households and 25.7 per cent of

the population was indigent, or living below the poverty

line.

Gonsalves, who said that poverty reduction is one of the

central pillars of his government's programme, said he was

prepared to accept the results of the new survey.

He noted that in the event that the assessment showed there

had not been a significant enough reduction in poverty, more

would have to be done in addition to what is already in

place.

``History is replete with failed leaders who want to hear

what they want to, they don't last long,'' he said, blaming

the then New Democratic Party (NDP) government of not

properly preparing the nation for the quickly changing

economy.

He said they were too concerned with keeping spending down,

maintaining a surplus on the current account and other things

that amounted to simply keeping their heads above water.

The Prime Minister suggested that more concrete policies

needed to be enacted to deal with the crippling challenges

that globalisation and trade liberalisation was going present

to the region.

``There was no preparation on the most critical resource

before us, people, to address the changing nature of the

colonial political economy,'' Gonsalves said.

The poverty assessment will be conducted by the Trinidad

and Tobago based firm KAIRI Consultants Limited, the same

group that did the 1996 assessment.

[From CaribNews, July 23, 2007]

Poverty Picture in the Caribbean, Barbados To Undertake Assessment Soon To Find Out How Many Living Below Poverty Line, Assessment To Begin in

August

(By Tony Best)

With poverty levels running the gamut from about nine per

cent in the Bahamas and 18 per cent in Jamaica to 21 per cent

in Trinidad and Tobago and almost 60 per cent in Haiti,

according to the United Nations, Caribbean governments are

extremely sensitive to figures which indicate that poverty

was either on the rise or was far too high. That explains why

the Arthur Administration in Barbados is gearing up to

undertake a comprehensive national poverty assessment,

beginning possibly in about a month's time and using a

broadened definition of poverty.

Trevor Prescod, Minister of Social Transformation, told the

CaribNews that it was important for the government to have a

firm idea about the full extent of poverty so that it could

target more of its programmes, projects and resources to the

task of meeting the needs of people living in dire

circumstances.

``We haven't had any recent scientific analysis of it

(poverty) and we are now into, probably within a month or so,

we are going to have a wide assessment of poverty,'' the

Minister said in New York after he signed the United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Disabled, the first human

rights treaty of the 21st century.

``We are now putting together the kinds of operational

management structures to ensure that that assessment is

carried out in a very scientific manner,'' he explained. ``We

have just established a planning unit within the Ministry of

Social Transformation. We are working with the Statistical

Department, the Caribbean Development Bank and we are going

to have other agencies coming in as well.'' For instance, the

University of the West Indies may be invited to carry out the

actual research for the country's human development report,

according to Prescod.

``When we get that report we would be in a better position

to tell you if there has been any fundamental changes, if we

have been able to reduce the numbers'' of people living in

poverty,'' he said. The Inter-American Development Bank

carried out the last assessment of poverty in Barbados a

decade ago and it showed that about 35,000 persons or an

estimated 13-14 per cent of the population lived below the

poverty line. ``Enough time has elapsed that we need to have

a new report to see if we have made any dent into that 35,000

that we talk about,'' Prescod added. ``But it all depends on

what you use as a measurement for poverty. The IDB dealt with

an income consumption analysis and what the Ministry is

doing, we now have a broader definition of poverty.''

Specifically, it would focus on ``social deprivation,''

taking into account access to health care, education and

other essential services rather than simply zeroing on income

and consumption, he pointed out.

However, the approach the government plans to adopt would

make it difficult to compare the IDB's rate with any new

findings, because the latter would touch on the lives of a

broader cross-section of the Barbadian population. That

raises the distinct possibility that the actual number of

poor people could be higher than in the late 1990s.

``It is going to be very difficult if we now have the new

definition to compare it with what occurred with the IDB's

assessment,'' the Minister said.

While he acknowledged that any assessment which showed a

rise in poverty could become a political controversy, with

the Opposition Democratic Labor Party leading the charge

against his Ministry, Prescod said that it was clear that the

Arthur Administration had attacked the problem of poverty by

eliminating many of the debilitating conditions under which

some Bajans had to live. ``If we do an assessment we would

discover there has been a change, especially in the provision

of housing, many of the persons identified the last time

around have since been empowered, were retooled by giving

skills to those persons who previously had no skills,'' he

argued.

``You would discover that both the Urban Development

Corporation and the Rural Development Corporation have

replaced the dilapidated houses. On the basis of observation

alone, without having the kind of empirical figure to show,

there is obvious evidence of an improvement. I think that is

what worries the opposition more than anything else.

``We have done a lot of work, especially in the urban and

rural communities across Barbados,'' he said. ``We had lots

of people living in horrible conditions and we have been able

to make substantial changes in the lives of those persons. No

one can realistically question the quality of life and the

way it has improved in Barbados over the last 10 years or so.

We have done exceedingly well.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2707, Mr. Kucinich's resolution to reauthorize the Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program. I praise the initiative contained in this resolution to point out the historical, cultural, and educational legacy behind the Underground Railroad. It is through that network of tunnels and secret hiding places that many African Americans escaped slavery. As a symbol of freedom, the Underground Railroad deserves greater recognition and appreciation; regrettably many of its artifacts and secrets remain hidden and lost.

I have long believed in and fought for more and better education of African American history. Well, an important part of that history is contained in the struggle for freedom that characterized the slave experience. Some would have us believe that slaves passively accepted their captivity in the plantations in the South. The truth is there was an active resistance to slavery; which included periodic uprisings and constant efforts to escape. The full role and extent of the Underground Railroad has yet to be discovered and remains unknown. The legislation authorizes the Secretary of Education to sponsor studies and make grants for programs that promote knowledge of the Underground Railroad.

With the resources and technology available today, we owe it to the history of African Americans and the history of the United States to study, preserve, and make available to all the hidden secrets of the Underground Railroad. Secret routes and safehouses still remain unknown--secrets that may remain buried in our backyards.

The establishment of this facility would allow significant missing pieces in African American history to be properly studied and commemorated.

Through the passage of this legislation, the work of the National Park Service and its study of the phenomenon known as the Underground Railroad will be continued. Established by Congress in 1990, the National Park Service has made major progress in learning more about the secret routes and the processes used in escorting these fugitive slaves to freedom.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to Calvin Copeland, the legendary owner of Harlem's Copeland's Restaurant and Reliable Catering. I rise because while the kitchen of this Harlem staple may have served its last meal this past Sunday, it will always be open in the hearts of many a beacon of hope and great cuisine that you could call home.

Calvin Copeland, was born in Smithfield, Virginia, one of eight children and grew up in Newport News, VA with relatives when both his parents died. If you ask him, Copeland still remembers the names and addresses of all the restaurants and establishments where he worked since his first job in Virginia kitchens at the age of 13. He moved to New York in the late 1940s, where he married Rita Copeland, an Irish immigrant, who was a waitress at a New Jersey restaurant where he worked.

When Copeland arrived in New York, he thought, like many recent arrivals and immigrants that dream in our fine city today, that the streets in New York were paved with gold. He took any job he could, from dishwasher to bus boy to cook. Yet no matter where Calvin he was employed, he studied and watched the chefs and tried to pick up techniques. He worked from 3 p.m. to 12 a.m., seven days a week, for six years, and very often, never saw the sun set; and

The first Copeland's restaurant opened in 1967 in a cubbyhole on Broadway, between 148th and 149th Streets, around the comer from his present location. It was a dream that only came about after his Aunt Alma told him to take the money he had saved from working in restaurant kitchens all across Manhattan and open up his own place. By 1980, Copeland's Restaurant and Reliable Catering was established at its current location at 547 West 145th Street, its southern style foods a testament to both to Calvin's proud Virginia roots and his adopted family uptown.

I submit into the record the following two articles from the Associated Press and the New York Times that captures a piece of the important role Copeland played in the city and the neighborhood. For over five decades, Calvin Copeland been committed to his roots and his community, enduring through the riots of the 1960's, the crack epidemic of 1980's, personal financial ruin and even fire. He always found away through his cooking to keep people like me, Muhammad Ali, Richard Pryor, Stevie Wonder, David Dinkin, Harry Belafonte, Dakota Staton, Natalie Cole, Bishop Tutu,

Sammy Davis, Jr. and Michael Jackson as frequent and enthusiastic customers.

How? As any great chef will tell you--its not just about the food. It's not just about the presentation. It's about the entire package.

Harlem Restaurant Serves Its Last Fried Chicken Brunch

(By Karen Matthews)

New York.--A soul food restaurant that survived rioting and

looting could not survive gentrification.

Copeland's held its last brunch Sunday, closing for good

after 50 years and bringing an end to one of the greatest

restaurant runs in Harlem history.

``It's a sad occasion,'' diner Gloria Jackson said. ``You

feel like a celebrity when you come here. They always cater

to your every need.''

Owner Calvin Copeland, who opened the place on l45th Street

with $850 in savings and saw it overcome hard times such as

the riots of 1964, said the neighborhood's changing

demographics no longer made it viable.

In recent years, middle-class black and white families have

bought Harlem's handsome brownstones and fixed them up. They

just didn't crave his savory fried chicken anymore.

``The transformation snuck up on me like a tornado,'' he

said.

Copeland's denouncement brought out many elected officials

including the dean of Harlem politicians, House Ways and

Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel. They all paid

tribute to Copeland.

Rangel and others heaped praise on Copeland as high as

their plates were piled with chicken, cornbread, potato salad

and collard greens.

``You are more to us than a restaurateur,'' Rangel said.

``You're a legend. You're hope. And you're inspiration.''

The Rev. Calvin Butts, the influential pastor of the

Abyssinian Baptist Church, thanked Copeland, 82, for his

dedication and hard work and prayed ``that this will be a new

day for him, a day of relaxation and enjoyment for the rest

of his years.''

Proclamations were presented from Congress, from Gov. Eliot

Spitzer, from the City Council and from the state Senate and

Assembly.

``It's an institution,'' said Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott,

a 30-year patron of Copeland's. ``It's important to come out

and say thank you and let Mr. Copeland know that we

appreciate all he's done for the community.''

As Copeland thanked his customers Sunday, he left the door

open for a Copeland's rebirth or for starting another

restaurant somewhere else.

``With what you've showed me and how you feel about me, I

think there's another chapter,'' he said. ``Going home with

no place to go and no purpose, I don't think that could work

for me.''

Madam Speaker, today I rise to congratulate one of my constituents, Calixto Chinchilla, on the completion of what has quickly become a New York film tradition: the New York International Latino Film Festival.

This past Sunday, Chinchilla and a group of dedicated volunteers and sponsors closed out another fantastic 5 days of film screenings and panels for the eighth straight year. Chinchilla, then a young marketing executive, founded the festival in 1999 to showcase the talent of the growing Hispanic community, at home and abroad.

Its crazy to think that despite's New York's immense Latino talent, there has never been a consistent side-by-side display of Spanish- language and English language films from all of Latin America and the U.S. But there wasn't. So he pulled together an event that looked to shatter stereotypes that society had about Latinos with films that came from all over the Hispanic Diaspora and that challenged notions that both mainstream society and the Latino community had when it came to race, ethnicity and class. He sought to do this in an environment where Hollywood could meet independent cinema, so that fresh faces could be brought to the stage and longtime community voices could be heard.

The journey has not been perfect, yet Chinchilla, current co- Executive Director Elizabeth Gardner and enthusiastic mix of veterans and newbie volunteers always seem to pull it off bigger and better each time around. Although many of the films are shown downtown, Chinchilla has made a habit of bringing the festival to other parts of the city during and after the summer festival. The only local festival to feature a night exclusively dedicated to Dominicans, NYILFF this year will also treat my constituents in Washington Heights with a family day filled with games, activities and movies for children.

I submit into the record two articles from the New York Daily News that provide a little more information about this year's showcase. It's just another example of the great body of artistic talent that has called and will continue to call Northern Manhattan home.

[From the New York Daily News, July 25, 2007]

Pictures of Latino Life

(By Roberto Dominguez)

It took a few years for aspiring director Bruno Irizarry to

get around to making a movie about the trouble many Latino

actors have finding quality, nonstereotypical roles.

But Irizarry didn't hesitate when it came to submitting his

feature-length film, ``Shut Up and Do It!,'' to the one

festival he knew would appreciate it.

The comedy is among the 80 or so features, shorts and

documentaries at the New York International Latino Film

Festival, now in its eighth year of showcasing new movies by

or about Hispanics.

The festival was founded in 1999 by Calixto Chinchilla, at

the time a Warner Bros. marketing employee, who felt the need

to counteract the dearth of Latino themes and characters in

mainstream movies.

``Shut Up and Do It!'' is about a down-on-his-luck Latino

actor compelled to make his own movie--and cast himself in

it--because of a lack of good parts.

``To have my first film accepted into the festival has been

a totally amazing experience,'' says Irizarry, 40, who

directed the film together with Veronica Caicedo and also

cast himself in a leading role--as a struggling actor.

``Most of the stuff in the movie has really happened to me

as an actor trying to make it in New York,'' adds Irizarry.

``Like the characters, I was fed up and tired of casting

directors seeing me for roles like `Garbage Man No. 1.' But

being in this festival has allowed me to start off my

directing career with a bang, because it's so well-

established.''

That wasn't always the case. The first year's festival

screened just a handful of movies at a community center in

midtown that Chinchilla rented for a couple of nights.

It has since expanded into the largest event of its kind,

with movies from both established and emerging filmmakers

from across the U.S., Latin America and Spain. They're

presented in several Manhattan locations, along with panel

discussions, free outdoor screenings of classic movies (like

``West Side Story'') and themed evenings like Dominican

Night--with the backing of corporate sponsors eager to tap

into the buying power of the U.S. Latino market.

As the number of submissions from around the world has

grown into the hundreds, so has the festival's reputation and

prestige.

Director Alfredo De Villa, whose first feature, the low-

budget drama ``Washington Heights,'' was a festival darling

five years ago, has seen his career grow as a result.

All three of his films have been screened at the fest over

the years, and De Villa has gone on to work with several name

actors, including Dominic Chianese of ``The Sopranos'' and

Heather Graham, who star in De Villa's drama ``Adrift in

Manhattan.''

``It's definitely like coming home,'' says De Villa of the

festival. ``As long as they'll have me, I'll keep bringing

them movies.''

In recent years, the festival has also become a springboard

for bigger-budget projects--``El Cantante,'' produced by

Jennifer Lopez and starring Marc Anthony as troubled salsa

singer Hector Lavoe, is premiering at this year's fest before

it hits theaters in August.

But according to Chinchilla, the true measure of the

festival has been giving locals like Sonia Gonzalez the

chance to display their work.

``They've always been very supportive of Latinos, but now

it's become a really visible showcase for first-time

filmmakers,'' says Gonzalez, whose documentary on New York

stickball, ``Bragging Rights,'' premieres today.

``To have a feature [at the festival],'' she adds, ``makes

you feel like a celebrity.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this great piece of legislation that this august body has the privilege of supporting.

There may be some concerns in the House, some with merit, about procedure, but we on the Ways and Means Committee are so proud of the work that has been done by the subcommittee, led by Mr. Stark, working with Mr. Camp, that we had 15 hearings on what was involved in this bill and a half a dozen sessions where we just talked with the professionals to make certain that not only did we support the great work that had been done by the Dean of our House in terms of education, in terms of Energy and Commerce and the SCHIP bill, but so at the same time we could preserve the benefits that are provided to our senior citizens through medical programs.

Mr. Stark did one great job at making certain that we worked with the administration, tried to find out where the abuses were and, where we could, we were able to raise $15 billion so that the poorest of our seniors would have the ability to receive health care enhanced.

Of course, those who live in rural areas and who for years have not be able to receive the type of access to health care, we found $5 billion to do it.

I am not thoroughly convinced as to what PAYGO is going to mean in the future, but it is the rules of our party. It seems now that it makes some sense. But when you say that you have to enlarge this program so that an additional 6 million people, kids, that are already on the program, adding 5 million people to it, nobody, Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, does not believe that these children should be entitled to health care.

It is not just the right and moral thing to do. But in terms of being fiscally responsible, everyone would tell you that having a kid in the family exposed to preventive care actually costs less money than just ignoring the care of our children. I could go even further in saying that, even kids that go to school, if they are not well, they can't learn. And God knows we have millions of people in the street that had health impediments, that they thought they were educational impediments, and they are out there. I personally believe that a stronger country is a healthier country and a well-educated country.

Now, it is true when you have these PAYGO rules and you don't want to raise taxes that you have to find the money. And so it is a great deal of empathy that I have for our poor cigarette smokers, because I used to be one; and, two, I just don't like the idea of regressive taxes where the poor are penalized. But I am learning to live with it in such a sense that these cigarette smokers, these addicts, they hate themselves for smoking. And I have stretched it to the point that when I talk with them and tell them what we are about to do, after they finish coughing and spitting, they said, ``I have got to stop this smoking.'' Then, when you look at the little kids, this is the one thing that an increase in prices sharply reduces, it is kids going to smoke.

So, I am trying to get myself to think that maybe I am doing it for the tobacco companies, because they advertise they don't want kids to smoke, and we are going to help them by increasing the price of cigarettes, which one thing is abundantly clear, it will stop a lot of children from smoking.

Mr. Speaker, I am going to yield the rest of my time to the gentleman from California, Pete Stark, who has done such a fantastic job in finding out where the problems were and bringing to this floor not only a great child insurance bill, but also improving Medicare, increasing the benefits of our seniors who are poor and help into rural areas.

While we may have a lot of procedural differences, and I understand that, I just hope that whether you are Republican or Democrat that you feel comfortable being able to say that there may be some pain for cigarette smokers who really are costing us a lot of money with these lung transplants and whatnot. But that is painful enough.

So you may have some problem with your smokers. But just think about 11 million children and their families that love them so much and a country that wants them healthy, and I am certain that at the end of the day that the kids

are going to win, we will have a better health care delivery system, and you will feel very, very comfortable in talking about the procedural differences that you differed with. But, in your heart, you would know that every major advocate for children and health and hospitals and doctors have signed up saying, ``do the right thing.'' I personally believe that that is what you are going to do today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California, Pete Stark, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, and I thank him publicly, and the staff, for the fantastic job that they have done in having hearings and letting all Members have a better understanding of the problem, but, better than that, in being able to bring a solution to this floor today.

Mr. Speaker, may I be recognized to respond?

Mr. Speaker, it appears as though the decision for extra time should be one that our leadership should have decided on. It just seems to me that since our leader has not been conferred with, that if you just reserve the opportunity, that in a very short while we will be able to discuss this.

Well, Mr. Speaker, the minority somehow manages to find time to speak on this and many other subjects. But I am saying that under normal conditions, you would think that your leadership would have discussed this issue with ours so that at some times the Members would know exactly what to expect.

Now, I don't see any reason why this should not be agreed upon, but I just don't think Members can come to the floor by unanimous consent and ask for an hour or 2 hours or 3 hours. We don't even know whether or not the minority intends to follow any other procedures that could kind of take away floor time in terms of debates and exchanges. Just based on some of the things that I've seen from your committee, it appears to me that we have to find out what you want to do with that hour.

I want to compliment my colleague on his concern about earmarks; and I hate to see your record and credibility shattered merely because many Members, Republicans and Democrats, did not want certain hospitals to suffer the cuts, as has been recommended by this administration. And where we could and where there appeared to be some doubt, I gave my word to the members of the Ways and Means Committee, as did Mr. McCrery, that Pete Stark and I would be taking a look at each and every one of them. But it would be a tremendous stretch of anyone's imagination to call that an earmark.

Let me extend an olive leaf to my friends on the Republican

side, because it just wouldn't be fair for you to be going home thinking that people will be talking about politics and process when the bottom line is: Where were you when this government, as big as it is, wanted to protect 11 million kids in health insurance? That's going to really be the bottom line.

And if you think that government is really so big that $50 billion is just too much money to invest in these little kids, then kind of think about what you're willing to invest in Afghanistan, in Baghdad, in improving its schools and its hospitals.

And think of what we get back. Just think of what we get back in preventing these kids from getting diseases and illnesses that would not only cost us billions of dollars in health care, but the lost competition, the inability to learn and to be productive. What a heck of an investment this is, even for our United States Government, to be concerned with 11 million Americans becoming healthy, better educated and competitive.

This is not a question of Democrats being so dumb, so stupid, so apolitical that we want to hurt our own folks. Unlike children, they vote. And every organization that has dedicated themselves to older Americans for health services have endorsed this: the hospitals, the doctors, the nurses, the Catholics, the Protestants, the Jews, the gentiles. People who are concerned about human lives are concerned that we do these things.

What do you think we are? We were born yesterday? No. I don't know what the President intends to do, but you can't hurt this President anymore. You don't have to do this to yourselves. Just think about your explanations: The bill wasn't ready; it didn't come out of committee. I don't know. How are you going to pay for it in 2012? Or maybe some of you youngsters have to think about it. But just think about how many people are going to get health care between now and 2012 before we look at the President's tax cuts. Somehow they kind of broke it off at 2010. So it's not the first time people had these creative ideas.

But let me suggest this to you: This bill expires on September 30. Now, I don't know whether they have town hall meetings on the other side or not, Steny, but I would hate to be at one of them when they explain why there is not going to be insurance for these six million, and additional five. I hate for them to say how they were reading the bill because they didn't participate.

These are things that we can improve upon. And Mr. McCrery and I work every day to see whether we can do a better job on communication. But don't you let our lack of communication interfere with having coverage for 11 million kids who deserve better than what we've given them in terms of the debates and the discussion on this historical piece of legislation.

So we have the opportunity to join with hundreds of Americans that are concerned about our young people, our old people, a better America. Our educators, our teachers want to do this. I cannot think of anything that's more important for our national security and our national defense than investing in these young people who carry the torch of freedom for the generations that follow us.

But if you don't do this, if they find themselves without health care, if their parents cannot be productive on the job because they're worried about their kids and not being able to get to a clinic, if they can't enjoy the preventive care that you enjoy and I enjoy and our children and grandchildren enjoy, you explain it, that we weren't talking to each other, we didn't cooperate, and the program just expired.

No. I don't want you to go that way. I don't even think the President wants to go that way. I want you to think about the bottom line: 11 million kids, an improved Medicare system, $15 billion helping citizens or older that don't have the funds to get insurance, 5 billion for those in the rural areas that don't have access to health care. This is what we're doing.

You may not have liked the roadmap, but you can't walk away from what we've done. You can never say anything that's wrong about helping children. So let us try to think about how we end this up, because come this November people will be asking the questions. I don't think it's going to be on process. I don't think it's going to be how long you kept us up at night. I don't think it's going to be how many parliamentary maneuvers we had. I don't think it's whether we missed our Easter recess. Did you let this program expire and were you there when the children called on you?

I hope we can count on your vote.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today to express praise and support for H.R. 176, introduced by Representative Barbara Lee.

This bill would provide financial assistance for an educational exchange program for U.S. and Caribbean students and enhance training for Caribbean educators. A program such as this would enable students from the U.S. and the Caribbean to gain a wealth of academic and cultural knowledge. Further, it would contribute to enhancing the relationship the U.S. has with its Caribbean neighbors.

This past June, heads of state from the Caribbean visited Washington, DC for a week long conference. I attended meetings with them to learn more about the needs of their countries and to begin a dialogue that would foster closer diplomatic relations. I learned more about the Caribbean nations difficult challenges with widespread poverty, crime, and drug addiction.

While I and others in the executive and legislative branches of government worked towards strengthening our government-to-government ties, non-governmental organizations and ordinary citizens meet in seminars organized to foster closer people-to-people ties.

I am particularly concerned about trade, economic growth, and national security, all of which have a connection to the social challenges in some Caribbean nations.

Due to globalization and other advances in technology, the world is getting smaller and thus competition in the marketplace will be more rigorous. In order for people of the Caribbean to compete in the future marketplace, they will need an education in the characteristics of globalization.

It is clear that education is a key ingredient to resolving poverty, not only in the U.S., but in the Caribbean as well. The lack of opportunities to receive an education has far reaching implications. This bill offers some help with addressing the social issues that are threatening the health and stability of the Caribbean, which has a direct connection to limited educational opportunities. It is important for the U.S. to play a role in uplifting the people of the Caribbean.

I applaud Representative Lee for introducing this bill and highlighting the need for the U.S. to create strong educational exchange programs with the Caribbean. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Supporting this bill will affirm the U.S. interest in building relationships with the Caribbean, which strengthen the ties between our people and have a lasting beneficial impact upon the region.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my full support for H. Res. 27, a bill introduced by Representative Lantos, which urges the Government of Canada to end the commercial seal hunt. This bill addresses the inhumane treatment of seals.

I would like to express my thanks to Representative Lantos for introducing this bill and raising awareness on the inhumane treatment of seals in Canada.

At present, there is a practice of hunting and capturing seals for commercial purposes. The United States addressed this issue in 1972 through the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which barred the import of seal products in our great country. Today, despite opposition from the United States and other countries, our Canadian neighbors continue to hunt seals.

In Canada, seal hunters maim and kill their prey by shooting and clubbing. Each year thousands of seals experience this tragedy, of which a large portion are under 12 weeks old. This is unacceptable.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, which will send a message to our Canadian neighbors about our discontent with the mutilation and killing of seals. Our great Nation opposed this issue years ago and should continue to do so.

Madam Speaker, I stand today to call attention to the issues of diversity this country is facing at the moment. I would also like to enter into the Record an opinion editorial by Lee Bollinger, president of Columbia University, from this week's edition of the New York Amsterdam News, entitled, ``What's next for diversity?''

Diversity has been, and continues to be, an issue faced by America's institutions of higher education. Brown v. Board of Education was a monumental step forward in achieving diversity for the students in these institutions, but Supreme Court decisions like Grutter v. Bollinger, have caused many to wonder if we have forgotten what those involved in Brown v. Board of Education sought to do. Instead of seeing the Supreme Court continuously striving to achieve diversity, Americans see the decisions of the Supreme Court slowly chipping away at the precedents set forth in Brown v. Board of Education. The question, ``What's next for diversity?'' is one at the forefront of current issues and it calls all those who support diversity to support all that promotes it and denounce all that contradicts it.

I believe that programs meant to achieve diversity like affirmative action are necessary, and those who oppose such programs should be questioned for their motives. I hope that the questions brought forth by worried Americans will be answered in a timely fashion. Diversity has not been achieved, therefore I do not agree with those who believe diversity aimed programs should be phased out. I support affirmative action, as well as other programs aimed at achieving diversity, and call for the support of all others who feel the same.

What's Next for Diversity?

(By Lee C. Bollinger)

For those of us who worked over so many years to reach the

Supreme Court and affirm the constitutionality of affirmative

action in higher education, which occurred in 2003 in Grutter

v. Bollinger, this is the moment we have been dreading. The

recent 5-4 decision limiting voluntary desegregation programs

in our nation's public schools represents an inversion of the

historic Brown v. Board of Education decision's clarion call

for racial equality in education. And it is all too easy to

understand how societal efforts to achieve racial

integration, including through affirmative action in higher

education, are now in serious jeopardy.

To be sure, Justice Kennedy in his concurring opinion

stopped the majority short of slamming the door on race-based

diversity in our schools; and even the Chief Justice tried to

explain why the use of race in law school admissions is

different. Specifically, the Court said it was tolerable to

consider race as one of several factors in Grutter because

individual applicants were evaluated in a ``holistic'' way

and because ``the expansive freedoms of speech and thought

associated with the university environment''--and fostered by

diversity--``occupy a special niche in our constitutional

tradition.''

Yet anyone reading between the lines of the majority

opinion could feel the Chief Justice straining to explain

Grutter's constitutionality before making the point he really

wanted to make: Grutter is a weak precedent with ``expressly

articulated key limitations'' and that ``the lower courts''

have ``largely disregarded'' this ``in extending Grutter''

beyond ``the unique context of higher education.''

It is important that we read the narrowness of this

interpretation of Grutter alongside the sweeping rhetoric

that Chief Justice Roberts really wants this holding to

signify: ``The way to stop discrimination on the basis of

race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.'' This

is the language anti-affirmative action advocates and a host

of others will seize on. In this way, the methodical process

Thurgood Marshall and others followed to achieve the Brown

revolution will be used by the Roberts Court to undo it.

The difference is that the Brown decision brought the law

down to earth, where it could finally see that separate

school facilities were, as a matter of fact and experience,

``inherently unequal.'' The Seattle and Louisville decision

removes the law to its formalistic and disconnected position

of a century ago, where, as empty rhetoric, it imagines an

America that never was--and because of it, may never be.

In doing so, it obscures the larger debate about race in

this country. Stripped bare, however, these school decisions

are not about precedent, they are about broad philosophical

differences about the role of public institutions in dealing

with issues of race in America. Undergirding them is the

feeling that Justice Scalia has made explicit, that society

is tired of mending centuries of slavery and Jim Crow

segregation, and that it is now up to those who have been

discriminated against to ``make it'' on their own, as other

groups have. For them, to consider race even for the noble

end of integration does more harm than good by inflaming

racial tensions.

These arguments make many Americans uncomfortable, and so

they avoid them. I say let them be put on the table and

debated, not hidden beneath phony ``interpretations'' of

Brown. How should we respond to the fact that cities are more

segregated today than they were a half century ago, or that

the unemployment rates among African Americans in our inner

cities is a multiple of the national number?

The problem for the Chief Justice is that wishing Brown

stood only for the simpler proposition of ``stopping

discrimination'' does not make it so. From the very

beginning, Brown impelled us to take affirmative steps to

achieve racial justice. And it is absurd to think the Court

that decided Brown would have struck down these local school

districts' efforts to carry out this mission. Yet this is

precisely the result the Roberts Court wants us to take at

face value. It is up to us to confront them on this and

insist, that if they are going to take this new turn in our

basic law, they must state their real reasons for it.

Otherwise the Court will continue pretending that its rulings

are consistent with the Brown line of cases--and thus devoted

to ``conservative'' principles--until there is nothing left

of Brown. If that is not the epitome of ``judicial

activism,'' what is?

I often wonder what the unanimous Brown Court would think

of a country fifty-three years later that has proven itself

too impatient to achieve racial justice after centuries of

being too slow to recognize it. Perhaps, knowing painfully

the legacy of invidious discrimination they were seeking to

overturn, they actually would not be surprised by this most

recent turn of events. After all, every half century or so,

the nation seems to back away from solving the problems of

racial injustice, only to recommit itself to the cause when

the pot is about to boil over. From the beginning of the

Constitution to Dred Scott; from the Civil War and

emancipation to Plessy; from Brown to today--we always seem

to be better at articulating our ideals than delivering on

them.

But it doesn't have to be this way. One of the things I

learned in leading the litigation in the affirmative action

cases was that dealing with issues of race is not something

that people in the mainstream of American life want to talk

about, but with the proper leadership, they will.

For example, while we were eventually praised for enlisting

the support of forty of the Fortune 500 largest US

corporations and from leaders in the military, it was

exceedingly difficult to get those advocates to sign on to

the cause of affirmative action in higher education. Like

many of our political leaders, they were convinced that a

majority of Americans would oppose them, and pointed to Prop

209 in California for proof. It was only after the Late

President Gerald Ford agreed to stand with us that things

began to change. ``I don't want future college students to

suffer the cultural and social impoverishment that afflicted

my generation,'' he wrote in the New York Times. That is what

inspired General Motors to sign on--only then were we ``in

business.''

I fear this latest Court decision represents the first act

and scene of a national tragedy of withdrawal from Brown and

Grutter's promise of a more inclusive America--a perilous

shift in the direction of constitutional law from the last

half century. But the scenes that follow are still ours to

write--if only we have the courage and will to take up the

pen. As President Ford said, ``If history has taught us

anything . . . it is the notion of America as a work in

progress.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007, H.R. 180.

The passage of this bill will require the identification of companies that conduct business operations in Sudan and prohibit the United States Government to contract with such companies. The atrocities in Sudan have only continued to escalate. The U.S. Government must cut ties with a government that fails to address the genocide within its own boundaries. The Government of Sudan has not put any action to disarm the Janjaweed militia and is therefore equally responsible for the human rights violations against Darfurians.

An estimated 450,000 people have been killed, and 2 million people have been displaced--234,000 of which have been forced into neighboring Chad. Janjaweed soldiers continue to ride into villages stealing whatever goods they can find, slaughtering men, women, and children along the way. These soldiers systematically rape women and children, holding some as sex slaves for weeks at a time before releasing them.

Colleagues, we are in a position to help stop the carnage in Darfur. We must continue to pressure the Government of Sudan to stop the massacre in Darfur. Enforcing economic

sanctions is a way to achieve this goal. I urge you all, for the sake of humanity, to support the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act. We are not blind to the truth and we have a responsibility to do our part to alleviate this awful tragedy.