Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last week I had the opportunity of visiting Taiwan, the Republic of China and I was very impressed with what I saw. Taiwan has clearly grown to be a modern democracy and its people are well educated and prosperous. The people whom I talked to were all friendly toward us and supportive of our global war against terrorism.

In fact, I was most impressed with Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian. This young statesman was reelected president of the Republic of China last March and was inaugurated on May 20. In my conversation with him, he said again and again that he is seeking a genuine dialogue with the leaders of the People's Republic of China. He said Taiwan does not seek confrontation but a friendly dialogue with mainland China leading to talks on all issues. President Chen would like to see more cooperation and less confrontation in dealing with mainland China leaders. In addition to its ``relationship'' with mainland China, President Chen considers Taiwan's relations with the U.S. a matter of utmost importance and he would like to see further strengthening of this relationship. I personally believe that Taiwanese people are truly lucky to have President Chen as their leader for the next four years.

I am delighted that Taiwan is now ably represented in Washington by its young and energetic ambassador, Dr. David Lee. Ambassador Lee knows Washington well and he will most certainly strengthen the ever-growing bonds between Taipei and Washington. Taiwan and the United States,. I wish to assure both President Chen and Ambassador Lee, have always stood together shoulder to shoulder and will always remain strong partners in maintaining peace and stability.

I had a good visit to Taiwan and I hope my colleagues and my fellow countrymen will follow my steps in visiting this beautiful island of freedom and prosperity soon and often.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2486, the Veterans Benefit Improvement Act, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith), as well as the gentleman from Illinois (Ranking Member Evans) and the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Benefits, for their leadership in this particular issue.

One of the best things about being a member of this committee is the ability to pass a comprehensive bill, a benefits bill, every year while keeping on with the PAYGO provisions.

Although I was worried this particular year that that might not happen, I am glad that our colleagues in the Senate and the staff of our committees worked out this compromise.

Mr. Speaker, this bill has many wonderful provisions that would enhance the benefits of our veterans, National Guardsmen and their families receive, including additional educational benefits.

With passage of this particular piece of legislation, veterans will be able to use their Montgomery GI bill for apprenticeships and on-the- job training, as well as national admissions exams.

I am very pleased that this bill acknowledges the rewards and sacrifices many of our Reservists are making. With the passage of this particular piece of legislation, those men and women, Reservists who are called to active duty for more than 24 consecutive months, will be able to pay into the GI bill and become eligible for benefits.

This bill also includes some enhanced VA home loan language, which I know the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis), my colleague, has been advocating for.

Like all Americans, our veterans dream of obtaining the American dream of homeownership. Our veterans have fought selflessly on behalf of our country and are entitled to the benefits we have promised them, including home loan benefits. Unfortunately, for many, this dream is faced with many obstacles.

The current VA home loan limit of $240,000 prevents many veterans from using their loan benefits to purchase a home in high-cost areas, such as in California or Florida and parts of the State of Texas. This legislation indexes the maximum loan amount to 100 percent of the Freddie Mac conforming loan rate to make the VA home loans compatible with the home loans available to the public nationwide. Additionally, this legislation allows the maximum VA loan amounts to adjust automatically each year to Freddie Mac standards in order to remain compatible with the national housing markets.

This legislation is extremely important. During 2003, 3 million veterans took advantage of the VA home loans, and I am positive more veterans will be able to take advantage of this particular benefit because of the improvements we are making today. As our troops are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, we must continue to show them the thanks of a grateful Nation.

I cannot think of a better way of saying thank you than improving the benefits of our soldiers, and so by this particular legislation, although there are many benefits we would like to take advantage of for our veterans, I am glad that the committee has been able to work with the money to make this happen.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3936, the Veterans Health Programs Improvement Act of 2004. I want to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for his efforts, the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) also, as well as the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) of the Subcommittee on Health, and the House and Senate committee staffs for addressing some of the concerns raised in earlier pieces of this legislation. We now have a bill which I am pleased to lend my support to.

The bill includes provisions from a bill I introduced, H.R. 3849, the Military Sexual Trauma Counseling Act of 2004 to permanently extend VA's authority to provide counseling and treatment for the women and men who have experienced sexual trauma during their service in the military. Current authority for the program expires at the end of this year. Therefore, it is critical that we pass this legislation today.

Overwhelming demand has been demonstrated for this program. Thousands of veterans, in addition to Reservists and National Guardsmen, have taken

advantage of the resources available to them.

As the number of women serving in the military continue to grow, the need for the program is sadly more evident. Already we hear media reports that more than 100 troops returning from both Iraq and Afghanistan have stated that they were raped during their service.

Although it is unfortunate that we need this particular program, I am pleased we are now on the road to ensuring that we will have these services for current and future veterans.

Again, I would like to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for his leadership and cooperation in including the Military Sexual Trauma Program in this bill. I also thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member, for their support.

I am also supportive of the provisions to increase the funding levels available for the homeless grant and the per diem programs from $75 million to $99 million for 2005. We still have a very long way to go in meeting the Congress's goals to eliminating chronic homelessness by 2011, and this bill can help us get there.

This particular legislation also includes a provision that will require the Secretary of the VA to establish and maintain an inventory of the medical waste management activities in VA facilities, including inventory, regulatory violations and plans for management improvements. We believe the VA should be on the frontline of environmental protection policies, and these provisions help to make that happen.

There are provisions also from our Senate counterparts in this bill, including a requirement that the VA report annually through 2007 on veterans waiting more than 3 months for scheduled appointments in specialty care and the reasons for these delays.

This measure also requires the Secretary of the VA to establish a pilot program to study innovative recruitment tools to address the nursing shortage within the VA. We must be able to recruit and retain well-qualified nurses to care for our veterans. This pilot will help the VA Health Administration identify and adopt the best practices of private industries in hiring of well-qualified nurses.

Now the largest provider of long-term care to our Nation's veterans, the State veterans' home system plays a vital role in caring for the growing number of aging veterans.

This bill will authorize VA to make payments to assist State veterans' homes in hiring and retaining nurses, to help care for our aging veterans, and adds a clarification that per diem payments made by the VA to State veterans' homes are not to be used to offset or reduce third-party payments, such as Medicaid, made to assist veterans.

There are a high number of veterans returning home that have injuries from the war in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This measure authorizes the establishment of four cooperative centers for research, education and clinical activities to improve the rehabilitation services available to veterans suffering from complex multi-trauma associated with combat injuries. These centers build on the Veterans Health Administration's nationally recognized care for special populations such as post- traumatic stress disorders, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, as well as visual impairment, and will prove to be most valuable in providing future combat injury rehabilitation.

While the CARES process was under way, the VA health care system has managed within infrastructure that is in sore need of repair and upgrade. This bill establishes a VA Capital Asset Fund that will help strengthen our funding flow to assist the VA in developing and improving its properties. These funds will allow the VA to improve properties for disposal as well as future disposal and for minor construction. These funds also will allow the VA to use funds for improving properties.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will be given the flexibility in using funds to develop advance planning for major construction projects previously authorized and additional authority to transfer unneeded real property and retain the proceeds from the transfer. The bill authorizes $10 million to be appropriated to the Capital Asset Fund where it can be used for these purposes.

Mr. Speaker, 16 major new leases are authorized in this bill, including leases throughout this country. Because many of the VA important historic buildings are poorly maintained or falling apart, I am pleased that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs concluded that the VA should use funds to preserve historic properties. It is the committee's intent for VA to provide a series of reports to address its large inventory of these registered assets.

This legislation will extend the VA authority to provide care to the veterans participating in long-term care pilot programs which were previously authorized until December, 2005.

This is a bill that we all should be very proud of.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), ranking member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner), a member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and an activist in pushing forward on issues regarding veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis).

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

Let me say that this particular piece of legislation is extremely important. I know, as has been mentioned, the importance of the number of veterans that are still estimated to be homeless, some 299,000 veterans out there that sleep under the bridges, and I know that our efforts in this area will help begin to continue to decrease the number of those homeless veterans that are out there.

According to the VA, 45 percent of the homeless veterans also suffer from mental health disorders. We know the importance of coming forth on post-traumatic stress disorder and how critical that is. And I also want to just emphasize how key and how important it is for the sexual trauma situations where we have improved in increasing the number of women in the military, and as we do that, we need to make sure that we have a good safe place for a work environment where they can feel comfortable in addition to the services that are needed.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2484, the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel Enhancement Act of 2004. I am pleased that this bill is the result of the collaboration of the House and Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs' staff working with the representatives from the VA, the National Association of VA Physicians and Dentists, and the American Federation of Government Employees.

This legislation has been a long time coming and provides much needed updated improvements in how the VA physicians and dentists are compensated. The VA's current system of pay for physicians and dentists has not been modified since 1991 and has not kept up with the compensation for doctors in the private and academic sectors. According to the testimony from the VA in June of this year, the effects of the noncompetitive pay and benefits are reflected in the dramatic increases in the VA's reliance on expensive, scarce medical specialist contracts and fee-based care.

This bill establishes two components that make up the physician's total salary and also incorporates additional performance pay.

Under this new system, base pay for doctors is comprised of 15 steps.

Physicians automatically move up one step every 2 years, so a doctor's base pay is based on the number of years he or she has worked in the VA health care system. Step increases in base pay are another way of rewarding the VA doctors for their long-term commitment to caring for our veterans.

The second component of this particular bill is market pay as set by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and will be determined according to geographic areas, specialty or assignment, board certifications, and experience.

The VA will rely on national surveys to establish market pay comparable bands, which are then to be published in the Federal Register. Market pay helps the VA achieve comparability with the private sector.

Performance pay makes up the final tier of this new system and is a result of the VA physicians' annual performance reviews measuring achievement as well as attainment of VA ``corporate'' goals. This bipartisan bill also contains special pay for the VA nurse executives, a bonus of between $10,000 and $25,000, which is based on several descriptive factors.

This will also help further the VA's ability to recruit and retain highly qualified nurse executives and adds incentive for those nurses to move into managerial positions within the VA health care system.

Since one of the major causes of dissatisfaction in the nursing workforce is inflexible work schedules, a more flexible work schedule for VA nurses is also provided in this piece of legislation.

This new system of pay for VA physicians and dentists and the provisions for the nurses greatly improves the VA's ability not only to recruit, but also to retain top-quality doctors and nurses to care for our veterans.

I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this piece of legislation.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for his leadership in this area and also personally thank him for his kind words. It has been rewarding working with him on this particular piece of legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), our ranking member.

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

Let me take this opportunity also just to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith) for his leadership and the bipartisan manner in which we have conducted this piece of legislation and during the last 8 years. I want to personally thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith) for his hard work and for reaching out on behalf of all veterans in this country. I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons), whom I have enjoyed working with, and I want to personally thank him also for all his hard work and for coming down to San Antonio also.

In the same light, I also want to thank Pat Ryan. I know that a lot of times the Members get all the credit and the staff does all the work. And I do want to thank the staff from both sides of the aisle and thank them for their hard work in a bipartisan manner.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to take this opportunity to thank our ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans). From the very beginning when I first got elected, he came forth to my district in San Antonio and was there with my veterans, one of the first times; and he has helped to educate me on a lot of the issues in my district. So I want to personally thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for the opportunity of working with him, and thank him, as well as all the other veterans here for their service to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4829, the legislation to honor State Representative Irma Rangel by naming the Post Office in her name in her beloved hometown of Kingsville, Texas.

Irma Rangel had three careers over the course of her life. She was a teacher first, then a lawyer, then a State legislator. In each one of those roles, Irma was dedicated to helping the poor, improving the Hispanic community, reaching out to everyone, and fighting for justice and equality. I have had the honor not only of calling her a friend but also a colleague in the Texas House.

During my tenure in the Texas legislature, I had the privilege of working with Representative Irma Rangel. As a colleague on the Committee on Higher Education, I saw Irma consistently fight to improve the quality and accessibility of education for not only her constituents but all students. She was a driving force in securing the passage of the 10 Percent Plan, which makes the top 10 percent of students in every high school eligible for admission to any State or college university, in the wake of the devastating Hopwood case.

I would like to just mention that, during this particular case, I had filed that particular legislation, and I was very pleased to have worked directly with her. It was at that point that I got elected to the Congress, and she was able to move forward a piece of legislation that has meant tremendous advantages for both African-Americans and Latinos, in spite of the Hopwood case, and when the administration in Texas went after us on affirmative action.

Her advocacy helped create the School of Pharmacy at the Texas A&M University at Kingsville, the first professional school in south Texas, now named the Irma Rangel School of Pharmacy. We all look forward to the day when the first class of the School of Pharmacy graduates from Texas A&M, Kingsville.

For many young Hispanic women, she was also a trailblazer. She was the first Hispanic woman elected to the Texas legislature and the first woman to act as the chairman of the Mexican-American Legislative Caucus. I would also add, she was extremely responsible, along with a large number of others, but she was right there, because

she was part of the Higher Education Committee in Texas, when we recognized the disparities that existed throughout south Texas, where we had no universities of any professional type, and we fought. We were very pleased with then Governor Ann Richards and others to be able to push forward what she made happen in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and that was the formation of a 4-year institution in Corpus Christi; the formation of a 4-year institution in Brownsville, Texas; the formation of a 4-year institution in Webb County; the expansion of the A&M downtown campus in San Antonio. During her tenure, in her efforts in higher education, she knew that those were the areas that she needed to move on.

She has left a lasting legacy, and this is a tribute that will continue to remind the residents of south Texas of her strength and courage.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We have no objection to this consideration of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to consideration of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to consideration of this measure.

This bill, S. 211, authorizes a single new National Heritage Area in New Mexico. Over the course of this Congress, however, a number of Heritage Area proposals have moved forward, but unfortunately, few have actually been enacted into law. Therefore, consideration of Senate bill 211 provides an opportunity to combine several of these proposals.

Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, we have no objections to consideration of this particular measure. Mr. Speaker, this bill is about the importance of the lands of the Native American. It is about protecting the rights of Indian parents to pass on the land that they received from their parents on to their children, where the value is not only commercial but also spiritual.

For these reasons, we have to get it right on this particular piece of legislation. We must ensure Indian lands stay in Indian hands and in the trust they believe in.

Congress has made several previous attempts to address the administration and management of the Indian allotments, and each endeavor has produced mixed results. We have had parts of two such attempts deemed unconstitutional, and the latest fix is under threat of being the cause of thousands of acres of land coming out of trust status if implemented as the administration plans. This would be a devastating policy throughout Indian country. We are acting together to keep this from happening.

We are pleased that this has occurred and I urge my colleagues to support the passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise in support of the Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2004.

Let me first of all take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), our chairman, for his activities in this area end his support of this particular piece of legislation.

The bill, as reported, includes provisions from the bill I introduced, H.R. 3849, the Military Sexual Trauma Counseling Act of 2004, to permanently extend the VA authority to provide counseling and treatment for women and men who have experienced sexual trauma during their service in the military. Current authority for the program expires at the end of this year, and it is critical we pass this particular piece of legislation today.

Since the military's sexual trauma program was authorized, the VA has embraced the challenge of developing unique resources to serve both women and men who have suffered such abuses during their military service. An overwhelming demand has been demonstrated for the sexual trauma program, with thousands of veterans, in addition to Reservists and National Guardsmen taking advantage of the resources available to them.

As the number of women serving in the military will continue to grow, the need for this program is sadly more evident. According to the VA report, more than half, 55 percent, of all women in the VA patient population said they had experienced sexual harassment while in the military and almost one quarter claimed to have been sexually assaulted.

Although the military is moving to address some of the longstanding problems it has had in managing sexism of all kinds in its increasingly integrated Armed Services workforce, we cannot expect the problem to disappear overnight. Already we hear media reports that more than 100 troops returning from both Iraq and Afghanistan have stated that they were raped during their service.

The VA's sexual trauma counseling programs are designed to create a secure and sensitive environment in which both women and men who serve in the military can deal with the emotional burdens of being a victim of sexual abuse. I am pleased that we are on the road to ensuring that these programs will be here for current and future veterans.

Mr. Speaker, I am also supportive of the provisions to increase the funding levels available for the homeless grant and per diem programs from the $75 million to the $99 million for 2005. We still have a very long way to go in meeting the Congress' goal to eliminate chronic homelessness by 2011, but this bill definitely takes us in the right direction.

Again, I wish to thank my friend, the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) for his cooperation in including the authority for the military's sexual trauma program in this particular piece of legislation as well as Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Evans for their support.

Mr. Speaker, let me also indicate, in terms of the data for the homelessness, the VA estimates that more than 299,321 veterans are homeless on any given night, and more than half a million experience homelessness over the course of a year. Roughly 25 percent of the homeless people out there are veterans. Additionally, 45 percent of the homeless veterans that are out there do suffer from mental health disorders. And in order to solve these chronic homelessness problems, we must provide comprehensive care for veterans, including housing, job training, and mental health care.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this time to thank my colleague here for his leadership on this particular piece of legislation. I also thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) on his efforts as well as the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4658, the Servicemembers Legal Protection Act. Although this legislation is a great measure and I urge its passage, I regret that it no longer has a provision introduced by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) and myself to assist the Department of Veterans Affairs in delivering a comprehensive maternity care benefit to women veterans. Women comprise an increasing portion of our armed services and will soon make up 20 percent of our active duty forces.

With that being said, we must continue to bring women veterans into the veterans health care system. VA medical centers do not deliver maternity care except in cases of emergency. Yet VA's contractors are reluctant to accept contracts if payment for infants' care is uncompensated, particularly if there is a risk for an adverse birth outcome. Ensuring at least partial payment for the infant's care would have allowed the VA to contract more easily for this routine care provided to women veterans and allow them to receive the care they deserve.

As I mentioned earlier, I am disappointed that the provision on women's comprehensive care is not in the final bill. However, I trust that the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Simmons) will continue to work with us in a bipartisan manner in order to ensure that we eventually bring passage. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill as it contains many important legal and financial protections for our military men and women and their families.

Mr. Speaker, in closing let me just say that we do have and we are expecting to have a larger number of women participating. If those veteran women are expecting, we are going to have difficulties unless we also take care of not only the veteran herself but also the child that she might be bearing.

Mr. Speaker, we are incredibly blessed in this country to have a group of veterans service organizations looking out for the best interest of our veterans. For the last 105 years, the Veterans of Foreign Wars have been making a difference in the lives of those who have given so much to this country, our veterans and their families.

Through their foundation, the VFW supports programs that promote citizenship education and volunteerism and facilitate aid for veterans and their families in need of both medical, rehabilitative, educational and employment services. Additionally, their members and those of the VFW Auxiliary volunteer countless hours at our veterans and military hospitals. During this time of increased military deployments, it is so important to have a network of veterans our injured soldiers and families can turn to for help and assistance.

Throughout my 7 years in Congress, I have been fortunate to meet with VFW members in Washington as well as in my district on a regular basis as they advocate for increased veterans funding, services for homeless veterans, better education benefits for our veterans and many other issues. They have an incredible history. I would like to take this opportunity not only to thank them for all they do for our veterans but also to congratulate them on their 105th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) personally for allowing me the opportunity to say a few words and for his hard work on this particular piece of legislation.

In addition, I would like to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo), as well as the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde) and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for their efforts.

I also want to take the opportunity to thank the Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and Jessica Lewis of his staff, who worked on this issue and helped make it happen.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 818, a resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Falcon International Dam. Like all large scale dams, the

Falcon International Dam is an architectural wonder, a man-made barrier of cement and steel reining in the power of the most precious natural resources, our water.

What makes this particular dam special, though, is its location right on the Texas-Mexico border down in Zapata, Texas. Its construction was part of an international plan to improve not only flood control, but also water conservation, and provide hydroelectric power for the benefit of communities living on both sides of the border. It serves as a representation of the unique relationship that Mexico and the United States hold.

The particular dam provides electricity that helps the entire southern part of Texas, from Laredo in Webb County, to Hidalgo to Brownsville in all that area. While controversies surrounding the decision to build the dam existed, many families lost their land and five townships were submerged under the reservoir.

The Falcon International Dam is part of a vibrant history. On October 15, 1953, construction on the dam neared completion. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and President Adolfo Ruiz Cortines of Mexico met at the center to dedicate it to the well-being of the residents of both countries. The dam itself was completed on April 8, 1954, and the Falcon Power Plant generated power for commercial use for the first time on October 11, 1954.

For 50 years, Falcon International Dam has served as an important source of water and power for irrigation and household use in this region, and its beautiful 60-mile-long reservoir known as the Falcon Lake is known as one of the best fishing lakes in Texas and supports an emerging recreational tourism industry.

Yet maintaining and operating an international dam does not come without problems. As a shared resource governed by international treaty, events over the past decade have underscored the need for a better binational water management plan.

Persistent and severe drought conditions put strain on both Texas's and Mexico's water resources. For South Texas, the struggle has even been harder because of Mexico's decision to withhold water from the

Mr. Speaker, President Bush has had only one policy in the last 4 years and that is the fiscally irresponsible tax cuts to the wealthiest people in this country. Today, an additional 5.2 million Americans are uninsured, and the family share of health care premiums has risen by over $1,000 in 4 years, a 57 percent increase.

In addition, prior to George Bush, we had, for the first time in 12 years, brought down the number of uninsured. Now we find ourselves with 45 million Americans that are uninsured. Family USA just reported the fact that at any given time there are over 80 million Americans without access to insurance during a period of their life.

So we find ourselves in a situation where this administration has failed to keep up with the CHIP program, the program that responds to the needs of our children that are uninsured, of working Americans that are out there paying their taxes, working hard, but finding themselves without access to health care.

This country can do better. We can do better. We have the best health care system in the world. Let us do better.