Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 35 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, May 12, 2006, at 2 p.m.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Amtrak on its 35th Anniversary, and commemorate its 35 years of public service to this Nation through it's commitment to passenger rail.

I travel all over the country and the people I talk to love Amtrak. It is a great way to commute to work, it takes cars off our already congested highways, and in many areas of the country is the only mode of transportation available. In fact, ridership has increased in 8 of the last 9 years reaching a record level of over 25 million passengers last year. It is also important to note that Amtrak's long distance

trains are the only inner city passenger trains in half the states in America.

Amtrak was also a First Responder during hurricane Katrina, and helped evacuate thousands of Gulf region residents while President Bush and his Administration were nowhere to be found. Now they are becoming a key part in each State's future evacuation plans.

Now what I can't understand is why the Bush Administration is trying to destroy passenger rail in this country. Every industrialized country in the world is investing heavily in rail infrastructure because they realize that this is the future of transportation. But sadly, as there systems get bigger and better, our system gets less and less money.

President Bush has a lot of wacky ideas for dealing with the high gas prices he created, but I can assure him that as prices climb to $4 dollars per gallon, you are going to see Americans lining up to use a passenger rail system that has been neglected by this very Administration. But what more do you expect when you put J.R. Ewing in the White House.

Once again we see the Bush Administration's paying for its failed policies by cutting funds to vital public services and jeopardizing more American jobs. This Administration sees nothing wrong with taking money from the hard working Amtrak employees who work day and night to provide top quality service to their passengers. These folks are trying to make a living for their families, and they don't deserve this shabby treatment from the President.

With the passage of the latest emergency funding for the war, President Bush will have spent over $439 billion on the war in Iraq, but could only find $900 million for Amtrak's 25 million passengers. Just one week's investment in Iraq would significantly improve passenger rail for the entire country for an entire year. This is another perfect example of just how out of touch this Administration is because I can assure the President that there is a whole lot more support for Amtrak in this country than there is for the war in Iraq.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation spread about Amtrak, and it is important for people to know the real facts about Amtrak. Ridership numbers are at record levels, outstanding debt has been reduced by $300 million, major infrastructure projects have been completed. All with a workforce that has been reduced by over 4,000 employees.

We still have a lot of work ahead of us when it comes to Amtrak. But we're starting $900 million closer to our goal, and I know with the help of the American public, we can fully fund Amtrak at $1.6 billion and keep Amtrak running long into the future.

Mr. Chairman, the bill we have on the floor today is a good start to protecting our ports and waterways, but until this Congress has the fortitude to demand total cargo scanning and to dedicating real dollars to fully securing our ports, the American people remain vulnerable to a terrorist attack via our ports.

This legislation should have been on the floor on September 12, 2001, not May 4, 2006. Like so many other security needs of this country, this is too little too late. If we're not scanning cargo before it gets to this county, were closing the barn door long after the horse gets out.

I hear the complaints that scanning all cargo will slow commerce, but I would ask what these people think a nuclear bomb going off in a U.S. port would do to the flow of commerce. The shipping industry would be stopped in its tracks the way the aviation industry was after September 11th.

To me, nowhere is additional port security funding more important than in my home state of Florida, whose 14 major ports are the gateway to the United States. These ports play a crucial role in transporting ammunitions, supplies, and military equipment to our men and women fighting all over the world. In fact, ports serve as the main economic engine for many of the areas in which they're found, making an attack not only extremely dangerous for local citizens, but economically disastrous for the local economy as well.

Unfortunately, the administration's concentration of terrorism prevention funding on the aviation industry has jeopardized the safety of other modes of transportation. Last year TSA spent $4.4 billion alone on Aviation security, while spending only $36 million on all Surface Transportation security programs. Even after the rail bombings in Madrid and London we're still failing to provide adequate funding to protect our rail infrastructure. I just don't understand why it takes a tragedy in this county for us to react to security deficiencies.

I am hopeful that the Administration and this Congress will start to provide real dollars for the protection of our port ,and waterways. The citizens of this nation. deserve no less.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church on its Military Appreciation Day Service.

On behalf of the constituents of the Third Congressional District of Florida, and a grateful Nation, I am honored to join with the chorus of friends, neighbors, loved ones and this great church family, when we all come together this day to thank our men and women in uniform for their brave and unselfish sacrifices in defense of our Nation and of democracy. We owe their families our heartfelt thanks for their support and steadfastness, as their love ones stand in harms way to do a duty they have been sworn to uphold. These are surely not easy times; nor have they been called upon to demonstrate valor and bravery without consequence; yet it is that very valor we honor and pay tribute to.

Yours is the greater sacrifice so we may bask in the warm glow of freedom and hope. To date, there have been 114 Floridians who have served their country and paid the ultimate sacrifice, including 7 from Jacksonville, all of whom, and their families, took upon themselves to ensure that our freedoms are protected: from external and internal strife; from indifference and apathy and from being taken for granted, yet reminding that freedom is not free without sacrifice.

I wish to thank Pastor Darrell Gilyard and Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church for having the vision and love of God to set forth this day as a special day for all our brothers and sisters in arms. Thank this great church for their prayers, guidance and love.

It has been often said, ``To whom much is given, much is required.'' We as a Nation and a people have been given much by the sacrifices and commitments of our men and women in uniform, therefore, we are required, and are honored to say, ever so humbly, and with great praise, Thank You, and may God continue his blessings on each of you, your families, and on each of us as we join in this most honored and sacred occasion.

Mr. Chairman, ``I believe that the current budget proposal does not accommodate really crucial city safety net needs, education needs and health care needs . . . (and) I have tried as clearly as I could to lay out my concerns, which frankly are shared by a significant number in this caucus.'' Now, you might think that this quote was taken from someone in the Democratic leadership, or the Congressional Black Caucus, but no: This is a quote from a Republican Member of the House of Representatives. And I ask, why, my colleagues, was this said? Well, the answer is simple.

The Republican leadership is robbing from the poor to give tax cuts to the rich. That's what this budget, and this debate, are all about. We are talking about priorities here folks, and this Republican budget certainly makes it clear who the party in power supports, and who they don't.

Who do they support? That's easy: big insurance companies, HMOs, millionaires on Wall Street, the oil industry and huge defense contractors, that's who. And who don't they support? Well, that question is easy too, just look at who gets the short end of the stick in this budget: teachers, police, first responders, students, our veterans, and the elderly. Yes, since the Republican takeover it's the same old story folks: drastic cuts in vital social service programs, and going so far as to eliminate food programs for poor children and their mothers! This is a mean, mean spirited budget, my colleagues, and we need to send it right back to the smoky back room where the lobbyists and Republican leadership wrote it!

Madam Speaker, there is a saying that ``the road to hell is paved with good intentions,'' and once again, my Republican colleagues have missed the mark.

To be a strong Nation, we need a strong family. The glue that holds the family together are our Nation's women. Unfortunately, this administration and my colleagues across the aisle continue to send a clear message in the form of a budget that strips all of the support and programs that aid in fortifying that crucial glue. We should call the budget that they are bringing to this House the ``Women, Children and Family Left Behind Act.''

How can an administration that professes to be pro-value and pro- family get it wrong? The President's budget cuts education by 29 percent. The President's solution is to freeze funds for Head Start and Pell Grants. What is wrong with this picture?

The President's budget completely eliminates programs like the Women's Educational Equity Act and the Women's Apprenticeship Act. The President's budget cuts funds out for the Commodity Supplemental Food program that serves 420,000 seniors as well as 50,000 mothers and children.

Stand up America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my University of Florida basketball team for winning the first NCAA basketball championship for any college or university in the State of Florida. Go Gators.

Last night the Gators finished their run of winning six games in the tournament, winning by an average of 16 point per game.

The waltz was all blue and orange.

The Final Four's most outstanding player, Joakim Noah, certainly deserves the praise. He broke the title record with six blocked shots, in addition to 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. He also owns the tournament record of 29 blocks.

Coach Billy Donovan deserves credit for building this team from scratch and teaching the players how to win and act like champions. On behalf of all of the people of Florida, I want to say, ``Go Gators.''

Mr. Speaker, the countdown to the Bush drug tax, 44 days before May 15. May 15.

Last week, during the break, I held six town hall meetings throughout my district on the new Medicare Part D prescription drug program. And I would encourage all of my colleagues to do the same. Not only did it give my constituents a chance to get the help that they needed and answered their questions, it gave me an opportunity to really find out how the new program is working or, should I say, not working.

Unfortunately, I heard a lot of horror stories from a lot of people. Not only is picking a plan extremely complicated, but the arbitrary date of May 15 makes absolutely no sense. I have been an elected official for over 25 years. And this is the first time I have seen people who are going to be penalized for the rest of their lives if they do not sign up by a certain date, May 15.

Not only having them to set a ridiculous short time to sign up for this complicated plan, but the next time seniors can sign up will be November 15 through December 31, that includes both Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. So it is very complicated for seniors.

The Republican leadership wrote a bill that prevents the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating the price of the drug, even though both the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of DOT are negotiating these prices right now.

Can you imagine what would happen if Wal-Mart, if we told Wal-Mart they could not get a reduction price on bulk buying? Every Republican in this House would be on this floor screaming bloody murder. But when it is the needs of our seniors, there is a deaf ear; you do not hear them.

This bill allows the private plans to take drugs off of their approved lists and even charge more for drugs during that year. They can charge more, while seniors are locked in and cannot change plans until the next year.

It also turns seniors into criminals. Yes, criminals. What do I mean? If they buy drugs that are cheaper, let us say in Mexico or Canada, they will be criminals.

And one of the most troubling aspects of this bill, and the one that most people talk about is the doughnut. What do you mean doughnut? Well, no coverage is provided after you spend $2,250 until your cost reaches $5,001. That is $3,000 out-of-pocket.

Lastly, I want to talk about the independent pharmacists. This bill is killing your small town pharmacists who have been in business for years. They still know their customers by name. They are the only pharmacists who are still delivering medicine to seniors who cannot come out of the house or after hours when someone needs an emergency prescription.

This Congress needs to do the right thing for our parents and grandparents and extend this silly deadline date of May 15, allow the Secretary to negotiate bulk prices, and should make the appropriate changes that will save America's local pharmacies from extinction.

Again, I encourage my colleagues to hold their meetings and talk to their seniors and pharmacies about the drug plan. And seniors, for God's sake, please look at this: May 15, you need to sign up. But if you have questions, call Medicare counselors at 1-800-Medicare, that is, 1-800-633-4227. That is May 15. That is the drop-dead date. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Congressional District Three, the Central Florida community, and the City of Apopka, it is my sincere pleasure to congratulate Ella J. Gilmore for this historic street name designation.

Your numerous noteworthy accomplishments and leadership in the Central Florida community includes work in the early 1970's in obtaining street paving and lighting for West 14th Street residents. You coordinated and provided leadership for the Orange County's South Apopka Targeted Initiative Pilot Project in 1991, which included community improvement projects, street lighting and paving, public facilities and youth programs in the South Apopka community.

It has often been said, ``To whom much is given, much is required.'' This statement is exhibited by the work you have done and continues to be done in your position as Deputy Director of the Orange County Health and Family Services Department.

Continue to let your light shine as God directs your path in your mission to impact this and other Central Florida communities. Your unending involvement helps to improve the quality of many, many individual lives. Your community involvement will never go unnoticed.

Again, I say ``Congratulations.'' It is an honor to say you are truly a ``Phenomenal Woman.''

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Oberstar for his leadership on this matter and for forging this bipartisan agreement. I rise today in support of H.R. 4979, the Local Community Recovery Act of 2006.

I want Members to know I approve of this language allowing set-aside contracts based on a geographic region. Florida for years has pushed for more local company involvement. This is something that Florida has been pushing for after every hurricane has battered our State.

Every time contracts go to out-of-state contractors who have relationships with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, Florida companies do not get the work. This provision will allow local communities to recover more quickly. It is important for all contractors to work with local companies and local workers who know the area and the best way to get the job done.

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act provides assistance to States in response to natural disasters. I recommend that the agencies follow the law and allow local communities to recover from these natural disasters.

Mr. Speaker, on April 1, hundreds of us will be going to New Orleans. It will be my second trip to work in that area and to try to encourage local participation and to find out the status so we can come back and report to the Congress on the progress. I think every Member should go to the region and work in that region to make sure that the $100 billion dollars that we are appropriating is spent in the local area.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me say that in committee today we had the U.S. Coast Guard, and I want to commend them because after 9/11, they were the first agency within minutes to be on guard, guarding our bridges. And, in fact, after Katrina they were there and they did a yeoman's job. In fact, out of Homeland Security, FEMA, and the other agencies, it is the Coast Guard that really does a good job.

The administration's decision to allow the state-owned Dubai Ports to take over six major U.S. ports has bought the issue of port security to the forefront of national attention. Since September 11, in fact, I have been lobbying the Bush administration for additional security funds for our Nation's ports and other areas of our Nation's infrastructure, such as freight and passenger rail, our subway systems, buses, tunnels and bridges. They also need security.

To me, this funding is particularly needed in my State of Florida whose 14

major ports serve as a key gateway into the United States. Moreover, these ports play a crucial role in transportation of ammunition, supplies and military equipment to our men and women fighting all over the world.

The Bush administration has been telling the American public that they are checking, let us say, about 4 percent of the cargo that comes into the ports. But, in reality, they are only checking the manifests that list the inventory of the ships.

Now, I think the American people are smart enough to know that if you are reading a piece of paper provided by the shippers and what is passing for port security in this Nation, then we are all in a lot of trouble.

In addition, the administration's concentration of terrorist prevention funds in only the aviation industry has jeopardized the safety of other modes of transportation as well. For example, TSA is spending $4.4 billion alone on aviation security while only $36 million, let me repeat, $36 million is spent on all surface transportation security. And with respect to our Nation's ports, which serve as the main economic engine for many of the areas in which they are found, an attack would not only be extremely dangerous for the local citizens, but economically disastrous as well.

This is absolutely the wrong time for our government to make a decision that could give the impression of vulnerability in the security of our ports or our infrastructure system as a whole.

The increased attention on our Nation's security infrastructure has come to the surface on the heels of the possible Dubai sale. I hope that the mass resistance to the sale will at least bring a discussion of the importance of increasing funding for our Nation's infrastructure security in the near future.

In other words, security discussions should serve as a ``stand up'' for our Nation's security. I repeat, I hope this is a ``stand up'' for our Nation's security.

Mr. Speaker, last week, like so many Members, I attended the funeral celebration of Coretta Scott King. Her words: Struggle is a never-ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it in every generation.

And, of course, President Carter was profound when he talked about the face of racism; and that face is the face of the Katrina victims. As we take a look at the devastation, man-made devastation that this administration, the Bush administration have, as the report says, it is no question they did not do a good job in the past. But we are not talking about the past. We are talking about the present. We are talking about 6 months later, here and now, and the Bush administration is missing in action.

But the sad thing is that the leadership in this House, the leadership in the other body is also missing in action. We have failed the people of the United States in the People's House.

Mr. Speaker, as I said in my 1-minute and I want to repeat, because so many Members and people from all over the country went to the great celebration of the life of Coretta Scott King, her words: ``Struggle is a never ending process. Freedom is never really won. You earn it and you win it in every generation.''

And clearly we have a failure in this generation. If you would take a look, as President Carter said, at the faces of the Katrina victims: the faces of the poor, old, black and white, poor, infrastructure not in place. Thousands of people died because of the inefficient government. The report that was released, ``A Failure of Initiative,'' was released by the House Select Committee on Katrina, which criticized the poor preparation for the response to Hurricane Katrina. We all know that the slow response to Hurricane Katrina led to mass destruction in the gulf region, particularly in New Orleans. The loss of lives, the loss of homes. But those were just a few problems which were revealed. But the sad fact is that those conditions exist today. Six months later those conditions still exist. The question I ask now is whether the Bush administration is prepared today for a disaster of any proportion, man made or natural disaster.

There is no question that the Bush administration failed in its response to Hurricane Katrina. The sad thing is, and I want to repeat, that it continues to fail the victims of the storm today. I am calling on the people's House. The Congressional Black Caucus leadership has put together a comprehensive bill, H.R. 4197, a bill that would lead to the recovery of the gulf coast region for the scope of Hurricane Katrina's massive devastation, some of the points made in the committee's report and one that we made today in our press conference.

This devastation stands today, 6 months later. The region of New Orleans looks like a hurricane disaster, bombed-out area. It sends a serious indictment that we can spend $6 billion a month in Iraq, and yet we cannot solve the problems right here at home.

Where is the leadership in this House? Where is the leadership in the other body? And where is the leadership in the Bush administration? And I am starting with the top, the President, George W. Bush.

And I thank God that when we had our disasters in Florida that we had another administration that we worked with, the Clinton administration. I did not deal with the FEMA that was inept. Because we have had fires in Florida, we have had tornadoes in Florida, we have had hurricane after hurricane in Florida; but we dealt with a different administration, an administration that was willing to come to the community, that one piece of paper, if it was not filled out, we were able to get services. And how do you get that piece of paper? Well, we controlled that piece of paper.

God help us. God help America. And will the people in the people's House speak up for the people in the gulf region.

(1) The failure of a complete evacuation of New Orleans;

(2) Levees protecting New Orleans were not built for the most severe hurricanes, leading to a breach in the system;

(3) The collapse of local law enforcement and lack of effective public communications led to civil unrest and further delayed relief.

These are just a few of the problems which reveal that the government was not adequately prepared for a disaster of this proportion. The question that I ask now is whether the government is prepared today for a disaster of any proportion, man-made or natural.

There is no question the Bush administration failed in its response to Hurricane Katrina. The sad thing is that it continues to fail the victims of the storm still today.

Along with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, we are urging the Bush administration to support our hurricane relief bill, H.R. 4197, a bill that if passed into law, would be a great first step towards the recovery and restoration of the gulf coast region.

General Message Points for CBC Press Conference

The House Select Committee Report on Katrina, ``A Failure

of Initiative,'' is a scathing indictment of the incompetence

of the actions of the Bush Administration and the federal

government.

Unfortunately, almost six months after Hurricane Katrina

devastated the Gulf Coast region, the incompetence of the

Bush Administration continues everyday to the detriment of

the 1.5 million people who were displaced.

Natural disasters will continue to occur and we are not

prepared to handle them. Man-made disasters may happen

unexpectedly, and we clearly are not prepared to handle them

either.

The Congressional Black Caucus has been active

legislatively and we have been in regular contact with the

people of the Gulf Coast region. We are in the planning

stages of scheduling another visit to the region and holding

a hearing in Washington around our legislation and related

topics. We will also be holding the people in decision-making

positions, like the President, Secretary Chertoff, the FEMA

director, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and

the Congressional leadership in the House and Senate

accountable for their actions.

Mr. Speaker, the great Coretta Scott King, perhaps best known as being the wife of the Reverend Martin Luther King, was, like her husband, a pioneer in the civil rights field in her own right.

Rising from the dust of rural poverty of a small town in Alabama, she will be remembered as being an outstanding advocate of racial peace and nonviolent social change. Ms. King was a strong woman, one of the few women leaders in a civil rights movement which, at the time, consisted almost exclusively of men. Mrs. King was one of the first who broke the mold. A mother of four, which in and of itself is more than a full day's work, she also was a woman who took on a high profile position in the civil rights movement in a most difficult time of conflict in our country.

Soon after the death of the late Martin Luther King, she quickly developed her own voice and even her own causes. Although there was some overlap with her husband's battles, she broadened the civil rights agenda quite a bit, focusing on the inclusion of women in our society here at home, speaking out against the war in Vietnam, and promoting peace internationally.

She quickly moved on to stand in for her late husband at the Poor People's Campaign at the Lincoln Memorial on June 19, 1968, just two months after his assassination. At the Memorial, she spoke not just about the Reverend's vision, but also about her own, a vision about gender as well as race, wherein she called upon American women to ``unite and form a solid block of women power to fight the three great evils of racism, poverty, and war.'' She then joined the board of directors of the National Organization for Women, as well as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and became widely identified with a broad array of international human rights issues, rather than being focused primarily on race here in the United States. This broadened view, she went on to say, was her way of carrying on the legacy of her husband, the great Reverend Martin Luther King.

In doing so, she led the effort to memorialize Dr. King, and was the greatest advocate for a national holiday in his honor, which came to fruition on January 20th in 1986, and has been celebrated on the third Monday in January every year since then.

She later founded the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta, an institution dedicated to scholarships and activism, with the purpose of continuing on his work and providing a research center for scholars studying the civil rights era.

To the end, Mrs. King remained to be a most loved woman by all. Often compared to

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as a woman who overcame tragedy, held her family together and then became an inspirational presence around the world. Her admirers always said that Mrs. King took on a particularly difficult task, that of carrying on her husband's work and teachings-- with a sense of spirit and purpose that made her more than just a symbolic figure, but a true leader.

Indeed, her death is a heartfelt loss, not only for African Americans, but for our Nation. I wholeheartedly believe that the people of our Nation need to work to uphold the legacy of these two brave women and the civil rights movement, which, although it has come a long way, has taken recent strides in the wrong direction under a more than callous Republican leadership. Mrs. King was a most inspirational woman, whose unwavering spirit stepped in to continue the struggle for the ideals of the great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.

All of my heart and prayers go out to the King family.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Iraqi people on a successful election, and movement toward democracy.

I rise today to denounce the Republican leadership for manipulating the War in Iraq for political gain.

However, I want to stand up here and reiterate my opposition to the invasion of Iraq.

I have said it before and I will say it again.

I am against this war. Our troops have become the targets of the insurgents in Iraq who want us out of their country.

I knew that once we got into the war, there was no getting out. Many of our young men and women were going to get killed for the personal gain of the President.

There is no correlation between 9-11 and the War in Iraq.

Let me repeat: There is no correlation between 9-11 and the war in Iraq!

There was no faulty intelligence. We have people in key positions lying to the American people.

Get Us Out of Iraq!