Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Combating Autism Act of 2006--S. 843--as amended. I want to thank Chairman Nathan Deal and Chairman Joe Barton, and the Energy and Commerce Committee staff, for bringing this bill to the floor today.

Over the last 5 years or more, many of you have heard me speak many times on this floor

about the subject of autism and you will likely continue to hear me speak on this issue because I believe we truly have our work cut out for us. About 20 years ago, autism was considered a rare disease, affecting about 1 in 10,000 children. Now, that rate is about 1 in 166; making autism the third most common developmental disability that children face, even more prevalent than things such as Down's syndrome and other childhood cancers. In my own home State of Indiana we experienced a 923 percent cumulative growth rate for autism from 1992 to 2003. The annual growth rate of autism in Indiana averaged 27 percent compared to an average of 7 percent for the growth rate of all disabilities.

This literal epidemic of autism is a looming and immediate economic crisis to our education system, our health care systems, our long-term housing and care system for the disabled, and most especially, to an ever-increasing number of families across the country. Autism is a condition that has no known cure, which means that this is a crisis that is simply not going to ``go away.''

Today we take a huge step forward in terms of dealing with this problem. Although in my opinion, only a down payment on the resources that we must invest in order to defeat this terrible scourge, the Combating Autism Act, commits nearly $1 billion--in essence almost a doubling of funding for autism--to autism research, including essential research on environmental factors, treatments, early identification and support services. This bill amounts to a long overdue and vitally needed declaration of war by the Congress of the United States on autism.

Even so, while a needed step forward, this is not a perfect bill, because I believe we are missing a crucial opportunity to use this bill to help unravel the mystery of autism. Specifically, while the bill before us does include language on the need to research the environmental factors which may contribute to autism, it does not include a specific mandate that environmental research topics must include vaccines, other biologics, and their preservatives. Now I am not against vaccinations, but I do believe, as do many of my colleagues, that there is a strong link between the mercury contained in a product called thimerosal--commonly used as a vaccine preservative--and children developing neurological disorders such as autism. In fact, my own grandson became autistic after receiving nine shots in 1 day, seven of which contained thimerosal.

Because of what happened to my grandson, I took it upon myself to learn about autism and what I discovered during my research was deeply disturbing. During my tenure as chairman of the Government Reform Committee, 1997-2002, and as chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness, 2003-2005, a number of very credible national and international scientists testified at a series of hearings that the mercury in vaccines is a contributing factor to developing neurological disorders, including, but not limited to, modest declines in intelligence quotient, IQ, autism, and Alzheimer's disease. And the body of evidence to support that conclusion gets larger every day.

Yet we continue to hear repeatedly in congressional hearings, in media communications, and through government and scientific reports that ``there is no evidence that proves a connection between vaccines and autism.'' This conclusion is not too surprising when you consider that our health agencies seem to routinely dismiss out of hand any scientific study that does conclude thimerosal is a danger.

Experience tells us that, as with any other epidemic, while there may be underlying genetic susceptibilities, there usually is some type of environmental trigger as well, such as a virus, fungus, heavy metals, pollutants, or whatever. There has never, to the best of my knowledge, been a purely genetic epidemic. So, genetics alone cannot explain how we went from 1 in 10,000 children with autism spectrum disorders 20 years ago to 1 in 166 today. Considering that mercury is a base element and the most toxic substance known to science outside of radioactive materials, it is biologically plausible that mercury is an environmental trigger of autism.

Recent studies indicate that more than half of pediatricians said that in the previous year they had encountered at least one family that refused all vaccines, while 85 percent said they'd had a parent turn down at least one shot. Whether it's because of fear that mercury used as a preservative in childhood vaccines causes autism, or that the dangers of immunizations far outweigh their benefits, or that there is a conspiracy by drug companies, doctors and vaccine makers to conceal the harm, the facts are clear, more and more American families are fighting immunization.

It is imperative that we do all we can to restore the public's trust in vaccinations. And the only way we are going to resolve the conflict of opinion over thimerosal is through more research. Unfortunately, if the Department of Health and Human Services never funds or conducts the right studies, and given their current track record on the subject, that is very likely what will happen, this question will forever remain unanswered. That will be a national tragedy because often once an environmental cause is discovered, immediate steps can be taken to prevent new cases and abate the epidemic. In addition, knowledge of the environmental cause or triggers often leads directly to more effective treatments.

For example, this bill promotes the use of evidence-based interventions for those at higher risk for autism. However, so long as we ignore the potential danger of mercury, many biomedical interventions, such as restricted diet, applied kinesiology and/or chelation therapy--which many families have found to be the best treatments for their children with autism--will be excluded from the list of evidence-based treatments.

I stand here today not just as a concerned grandfather of an autistic child but as the voice for the hundreds of parents and families who continue to contact my office looking for help for their children. They are our constituents, we represent them in the People's House, and I hope we are all listening to them. The debate about mercury in vaccines must be addressed, investigated and resolved. Parents have a right to know what happened to their children regardless of where the truth lies. And we have a responsibility to those children and families already suffering. In the meantime, we should err on the side of caution and remove thimerosal, even trace amounts, from all vaccinations.

By failing to provide a clear congressional mandate to research all of the potential environmental causes of autism spectrum disorders, ASD, including vaccines and their preservatives, I believe we are handicapping our efforts to give all ASD patients the best possible quality of life and the ability to make the greatest possible contributions to society. I hope that in the coming weeks, months and years this Congress will push for further research into the question of thimerosal and autism so that one day we will be able to say that we have done everything possible to stop and treat this epidemic. In the meantime, I urge my colleagues to support this very good bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

I cannot imagine anybody denying the Holocaust. Anyone who has been to Israel and seen the Holocaust Museum or been to the Holocaust Museum here could have no doubt about the tragic events that took place by Nazi Germany in World War II.

But what I would like to talk about in addition to that right now is some of the things that are going on right now that bother me a great deal, that parallel this. In August of 1939 Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov stunned the world by signing the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact under the watchful eyes of German Foreign Minister Von Ribbentrop and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. They signed that nonaggression pact and what it guaranteed was that there would not be a war on two fronts. That was what Hitler wanted. And then Lord Chamberlain went to Munich and signed an agreement saying he would give away the Sudetenland in exchange for peace, and what happened was we had a war that killed 62 million people. Sixty-two million people.

We are now in the Nuclear Age, and this leader in Iran who is denying that

the Holocaust did not occur is hell-bent for leather to create another holocaust which, in my opinion, could kill hundreds of millions of people, not 62 million but hundreds of millions of people, by using nuclear weapons. And it is of great concern to me the things that he has been saying. Ayatollah Khomeini referred to the United States when he was alive as the ``Great Satan.'' The current leader and strongman, Ayatollah Khameneh'i, has ruled out any possible kind of relationship with the United States, calling us the ``Great Satan.'' And on October 26, 2005, addressing a conference in Tehran entitled ``The World Without Zionism,'' Ahmadinejad, the President of Iran, said Israel must be wiped off the map, described Israel as a ``disgraceful blot on the face of the Islamic world'' and declared that ``anybody,'' including the United States, ``who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic national fury.'' He went on to say, ``To those who doubt, to those who ask is it possible, or those who do not believe, I say accomplishment of a world without America and Israel is both possible and feasible.'' And then, quoting the Ayatollah Khomeini, he said, ``Israel must be wiped off'' the face of the Earth, ``from the map of the world, and with the help of the Almighty, we shall soon experience a world without America or Zionism, notwithstanding those who doubt.''

Now, today the Baker-Hamilton Commission indicated that we must start talking to Iran and others in the region. I have never been against talking, but it is distressful to me at a time when they are hell-bent to develop a nuclear program, a nuclear weapons program, and the whole world cannot stop them from doing it, that there should be dialogue with them. It is analogous to saying to Adolph Hitler, after he invaded Poland, ``We want to deal with you.'' They tried that. Stalin tried it. Chamberlain tried it. And 62 million people died.

What we need to do right now is do whatever it takes to make sure there is not another holocaust. Whatever it takes. And that means making absolutely sure that people who are hell-bent to destroy Israel and the United States and Europe, if they don't agree with their religious beliefs, that they are stopped from developing nuclear weapons. We must not let them develop nuclear weapons.

This resolution deals with the Holocaust that did occur, and what I am talking about is a holocaust that we do not want to occur. And the best way to make sure that does not happen is to make sure that the President of Iran and the ayatollahs over there do not get nuclear weaponry.

Mr. Speaker, at the end of every election cycle, we say goodbye to a lot of our friends and hello to new Members of the Congress. Tonight, since we are right near the end of our session, our special session, I thought I would take just a moment to say goodbye to some of my friends, whom I am not going to see again, unless they invite me to their House for a steak dinner when I get in their region.

A lot of the Members of the Republican Study Committee, which Sam Johnson, John Doolittle and Ernie Istook and I founded about 10 years ago, were defeated in this elect. We have some new Members, but a lot of them were defeated. I want to say to them you have done a great job for your country and all of you we are going to miss. I can't name all of you, but you know who you are.

I also want to say a fond farewell to some of my colleagues from Indiana who I think fought the good fight and I think did a good job for our Hoosier State, but won't be with us again. Mike Sodrel, who has a great southern Indiana accent, I loved to rib him when he was on the radio. Mike, we are going to miss you. He was very active on Agriculture Committee, the Science Committee, Small Business and Transportation. I don't know how he did all of that. That must be one of the reasons he wasn't able to win the reelection. He probably worked too hard up here.

Then, of course, Chris Chocola, who was on the Budget and also Ways and Means. Chris was also from the northern part of Indiana. He did a great job for our State. We will miss Chris as well.

John Hostetler, who came from what we call the bloody Eighth of Indiana. He carried the Republican mantle of leadership in that district for a very, very long time. He did a great job, but unfortunately this time the bloody Eighth got to him. John, we are going to miss you as well.

Ernie Istook, who as I said before was one of the founders of the Republican Study Group, we called it CAT, Conservative Action Team. Ernie ran for Governor and got hit with the tide. So, Ernie, he didn't make the governorship. We are going to lose him as a Member of Congress. Ernie, we are going to miss you as well. You did a great job with the Republican Study Committee.

Then I want to say goodbye to some of my buddies from the 98th Congress. There is only one of us left, the last man standing, Sherry. There were 24 of us that were elected back in 1982 and 1983. Sherry Boehlert, Nancy Johnson and Mike Bilirakis were the last four. John McCain was the other four, but he went over to that other body where the air is a little bit rarefied. John and I will be the only two left.

But Sherry, we are going miss you. I know you are going to go home and really enjoy being with your wife and family and not having to run every time you hear a bell ring. You will probably hear the phone ring and go nuts.

Nancy Johnson, you have been a great friend. I will certainly miss you as well.

Mike Bilirakis, fortunately Mike's son has joined us from his district. We are going to miss Mike as well. I had some great debates with Mike about Cyprus. Mike, I am going to miss you on those debates. Maybe your son will

take up the mantle, and we will have those debates just like you and I have.

Anyhow, goodbye to my old friends, the Republican Study Committee members. We will miss you. Hopefully you will come back and see us when you get a chance. As I said before, if I get in your neck of the woods, especially you, Sherry, I will stop by for dinner.

Mr. Speaker, on November 15th Abbot Shi Yongxin of the Shao Lin Temple in China visited Washington, DC to meet with Members of Congress and other U.S. Government officials. I had the privilege to meet this remarkable man and his traveling companions all of whom are expert practitioners of a specialized form of the martial arts commonly known as Kung Fu.

The Abbot leads one of the most ancient and most respected monasteries of its type in China, where he and his colleagues teach a synergistic philosophy based on the Buddhist, Confucian, and Taoist traditions. Thousands of Americans have traveled to the Shao Lin Temple over the years in order to advance their spiritual lives; and upon their return to the United States shared what they learned with their friends, family, and neighbors. I firmly believe that these types of person-to-person exchanges are and rightly ought to be a critical component of our foreign policy strategy. These types of exchanges inevitably break down old stereotypes and foster deeper understanding between the United States and other countries. Although my conversation with Abbot Shi Yongxin was all too brief, I was impressed with the Abbot's unique insight into China and Chinese culture. As our nation struggles to cope with the rising power and influence of China, these are the kinds of insights and perspectives we will need in order to understand what motivates China's leaders.

The Abbot's visit to the United States, specifically, Alabama, New York, and Washington, DC, was facilitated by Dr. Thomas J. Rosandich, the president of the United States Sports Academy. The Academy is a unique degree-granting institution of higher education, focused primarily on sports management, sports medicine, and sports education. In fact, Abbot Shi Yongxin recently received an honorary degree from the United States Sports Academy to coincide with the launch of a cooperative agreement between the Temple and the Academy to teach Shao Lin Kung Fu in various locations around the globe.

Mr. Speaker, the efforts of the Abbot and the other monks of the Shao Lin Temple--as well as the parallel efforts of the United States Sports Academy--to use their teachings to help foster international peace and understanding deserve our deepest appreciation and respect. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in commending Abbot Shi Yongxin and his colleagues for their outstanding work, and wishing them a safe and pleasant journey back home to China.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of Indiana's leading scientist and scholars, Dr. Harvey Feigenbaum, the recipient of the 2006 Builders of Israel award, which was presented to him at the annual Indiana-Israel Dinner of State on November 4, 2006.

The Builders of Israel award is given each year to a worthy recipient or recipients who demonstrate exceptional support of the Israel Bonds investment program, which helps strengthen Israel's economy, as well as for the recipient's personal contributions to the enrichment of American and Jewish life in Indiana and abroad. Since 1951, The State of Israel Bonds/Development Corporation for Israel has issued securities in the name of the government of Israel for the development of every aspect of Israel's economy, including agriculture, commerce and industry. Over the years Israel Bonds has secured more than $26 million in investment capital, and throughout its history, the State of Israel has maintained a perfect record of payment of the principal and interest on the securities it has issued. From humble beginnings, Israel Bonds have gone from a fledgling idea, to a powerful legacy of achievement; in the process becoming the financial bedrock upon which the modern State of Israel is built.

This simple concept of investment in people and communities is also the bedrock upon which Dr. Harvey Feigenbaum built his life. Born and raised in Indiana, Dr. Feigenbaum received his Bachelor of Science and Doctorate of Medicine degrees from Indiana University where he continued his academic career as a distinguished professor of medicine at Indiana University's School of Medicine. In addition to authoring or co-authoring over two-hundred fifty scientific articles during his career, Dr. Feigenbaum's pioneering work in cardiac ultrasound, or echocardiography, resulted in the development of ultrasound as a critical diagnostic tool in the battle against heart disease. Dr. Feigenbaum continues to push the boundaries of research into echocardiography, and I understand his most recent research has greatly aided in the refinement of echocardiogram imaging techniques and the creation of a hand-held ultrasound system. Dr. Feigenbaum's work with ultrasound is so well respected by his peers in the scientific community that if you look at the qualifications of many, if not most, of the world leaders in echocardiography, you should not be surprised to see that they were trained directly or indirectly by Dr. Feigenbaum. Yet even with all the demands of his teaching schedule and his research, Dr. Feigenbaum has always found time to give back to his community and his profession, including founding the American Society of Echocardiography in 1975--which now has more than 6,000 members--and serving as the organization's first president.

Last year, Dr. Feigenbaum's achievement earned him the American Heart Association's highest honor, the Distinguished Scientist Award, an award Dr. Feigenbaum so richly deserved.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Feigenbaum's conscientious good works as a citizen, scientist, and scholar represent the best tradition of selfless public service, civic stewardship and commitment to others and are deserving of our highest commendation. His service to the people of the United States, to the people of Israel and to my Hoosier friends and neighbors has truly helped to make our world a better place, and I ask all of my colleagues to take a moment and join me now to congratulate and commend Dr. Harvey Feigenbaum, for receiving the 2006 Builders of Israel award.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1245, `Johanna's Law' or the ``Gynecological Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005.'' I want to thank Chairman Nathan Deal and Chairman Joe Barton, and the Energy and Commerce Committee staff, for bringing this bill to the floor today. I also want to thank my colleagues, Representative Darryl Issa and Representative Sander Levin, the lead sponsors of this bill, who have worked so tirelessly for over two years to guide this bill through the legislative process. I want to thank the 257 House Members and 42 Senators, Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal, who co-sponsored this critically needed bi- partisan legislation.

I also want to congratulate Ms. Sheryl Silver, the architect of this bill. Sheryl's sister Johanna Silver Gordon (who this bill is named after) died after her battle with ovarian cancer in 2000; and Sheryl found the will and the strength to turn her personal tragedy into a passionate crusade to help make sure that other women will not die needlessly from gynecological cancers.

And last but by no means least; I want to thank Ms. Kolleen Stacy, a constituent of mine and a dear friend who is currently fighting her own personal battle with ovarian cancer. Kolleen first brought this bill to my attention and once told me that her most fervent wish was to live long enough to see this bill signed into law. Today, thanks to the efforts of so many, we take a huge step forward towards fulfilling Kolleen's dream. And I would say to her that today's debate is a victory for all women, but in my mind, Kolleen, this is your day.

The word ``cancer'' evokes powerful emotions. Along with many of my colleagues, I know first-hand how devastating cancer can be to the individual who has been diagnosed as well as their family. Ovarian Cancer for example, is the deadliest of the gynecological cancers, and it is the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths among women living in the United States. Each year nearly 80,000 women in this country are diagnosed with a new case of gynecological cancer, and an estimated 28,000 die from these diseases. This is a national tragedy, and what makes it even more tragic is the fact that many of those deaths could have been prevented if more women and their doctors knew the risk factors and recognized the early warning signs of ovarian cancer and other gynecological cancers.

That is why I am such a proud co-sponsor and passionate supporter of Johanna's Law. When it is detected early, ovarian cancer is very treatable, unfortunately, ovarian cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to diagnose because symptoms are sometimes subtle and may be easily confused with those of other diseases. As a result, only 29- percent of ovarian cancer cases in the U.S. are diagnosed in the early stages. When the disease is detected before it has spread beyond the ovaries, more than 95-percent of women will survive longer than five years. But, in cases where the disease is not detected until it reaches the advanced stage, the five-year survival rate plummets to a devastating 25-percent.

As there is still no reliable and easy-to-administer screening test for ovarian cancer, like the Pap smear for cervical cancer or the mammogram for breast cancer, early recognition of symptoms is clearly the best way to save a woman's life. Without increased education about ovarian cancer and recognition of women who are at higher risk for developing ovarian cancer, many women and their doctors will continue to ignore or misinterpret the symptoms of the disease. Any woman is at risk for developing a gynecological cancer. We owe it to our mothers, our wives and our daughters to do all we can to both raise awareness of these terrible diseases, and to fund the research necessary to stamp out this kind of cancer once and for all.

Johanna's Law is a giant step forward because for the first time ever, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will have explicit authority to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecological cancers, which shall include: (1) maintaining a supply of written materials to provide information to the public on gynecological cancers; and (2) developing and placing public service announcements to encourage women to discuss their risks of gynecological cancers with their physicians. The bill also requires the Secretary to study current and past outreach and education activities and then to develop a strategy to improve the way we increase awareness and knowledge of both the public and health care providers with respect to different types of cancer, including gynecological cancer.

I personally think we need to do more to attack this problem, but I am confident that with a national Public Service Announcement campaign describing risk factors and symptoms and encouraging women to talk to their doctors about their risk of gynecological cancers, we can and will increase early detection of these deadly cancers; and, when possible, help women reduce their risk of ever contracting them in the first place.

Johanna's Law is a good bill, it is good public policy. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I urge our colleagues in the Senate to act quickly and move this critically needed legislation to the President's desk for his signature. This is literally a matter of life and death.

Mr. Speaker, last September, the Committee on International Relations' Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and the Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a joint hearing on the increased cocaine drug flow to Europe, in an effort to encourage our European friends and allies to provide more help to the Andean region, and Colombia in particular.

At a November 2, 2006, Shared Responsibility Conference in London, which was sponsored by the Government of Colombia, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa sounded similar alarm bells on the massive increase in cocaine flow to Europe from Colombia and the Andean region. He said, regarding cocaine, among many important things, ``Wake up Europe! You are heading for a crisis.''

I ask that the full text of the UNODC official's statement on this important subject be printed in the Congressional Record, and urge all my colleagues to see how the burden of our drug-fighting efforts in Colombia and elsewhere in the region ought to also be shared by our European friends as well.

Mr. Speaker, I was regrettably unable to be on the House Floor for rollcall vote 517--passage of H.R. 3085--a bill to amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail; rollcall vote 518--passage of S. 819--the Pactola Reservoir Reallocation Authorization Act of 2005; and rollcall vote 518--passage of H.R. 5602--a bill to authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Vietnam, and to establish a procedure for imposing quotas on imports of subsidized textile and apparel products of Vietnam.

Had I been present I would have voted ``aye'' for rollcall vote 517, ``aye'' for rollcall vote 518, and ``no'' for rollcall vote 519.

Mr. Speaker, I was regrettably unable to be on the House Floor for rollcall vote 471--passage of H.R. 5059--New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006; rollcall vote 472--passage of H.R. 5062--New Hampshire Wilderness Act of 2006; rollcall vote 473--passage of H.R. 6102--Captain Christopher Petty Post Office Building Designation Act. Had I been present I would have voted ``yea'' for rollcall vote 471, ``aye'' for rollcall vote 472, and ``yea'' for rollcall vote 473.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I have great respect for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they oppose making sure that the people who vote in this country are American citizens.

We have 12 million illegal aliens in this country, and we all know that there have been phony Social Security cards purchased and other documents purchased, and, as a result, these people have been getting benefits from this country, and many of them, we believe, have been voting illegally.

The Constitution, as the minority leader said a while ago, guarantees the rights of American citizens to be able to vote, and the Constitution is supposed to protect the rights of American citizens. She talked about the oath of office that we took to protect the rights of the citizens of this country, and one of those rights is the right to make sure that their vote counts. And if you have illegal voting taking place, then every illegal vote takes away the right of one American's vote to count in that election. And you have to guarantee that right, that the American's vote is going to count. Now, how do you do that?

We know that there has been fraudulent voting in the past. I know some of my colleagues have said that hasn't taken place, but we know it has happened. So with all the illegal aliens coming into this country, all the border security problems that we have had, how do you guarantee that only Americans have the right to vote? You have to have some kind of an identification mechanism.

Now, one of the arguments that was made a while ago was that, well, some people cannot afford it. This bill provides that anybody who cannot afford this documentation, the government will pay for it. The State and the Federal Government will pay for it. So the fact of the matter is there are guarantees that people's right to vote, even if they cannot afford an ID card, will be taken care of.

Now, I have listened to all the arguments. I have heard of all the things that were said by my colleagues on the other side, and I have great respect for them and their opinions. But the fact of the matter is this boils down to whether or not Americans should have their vote counted and not negated by an illegal alien or somebody else who comes into this country who has phony documentation. And that is why a photo ID is very, very important, and other documentation, which will be worked out by my chairman here when it goes to conference.

This is very important for every American citizen, especially if they are concerned about the problem of illegal aliens and border security and their right to vote.

Mr. Speaker, I was regrettably unable to be on the House Floor for rollcall vote 451, final passage of H. Con. Res. 210--Supporting the goal of eliminating suffering and death due to cancer by the year 2015; rollcall vote 452, final passage of H. Res. 622--To recognize and honor the Filipino World War II veterans for their defense of democratic ideals and their important contribution to the outcome of World War II; and, rollcall vote 453, final passage of H. Con. Res. 415--Condemning the repression of the Iranian Baha'i community and calling for the emancipation of Iranian Baha'is. Had I been present I would have voted: ``aye,'' for rollcall vote 451, ``aye'' for rollcall vote 452, and ``aye'' for rollcall vote 453.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my remarks.

Mr. Speaker, last night we had a terrible tragedy occur in my office. My assistant for foreign policy, Dan Getz, who was age 37, dropped dead of a heart attack.

Dan was an outstanding young man. He worked very, very hard in dealing with foreign policy issues, and he was a real credit to everybody that works here in the House.

One of the things that Members and the people of the country don't realize sometimes is how hard the people behind the scenes work. The staff people here and the staff on the committees work very, very hard day and night to make sure we are ready for debate on the floor of the House and our committee meetings. And Dan was one of the people that I thought did exemplary work. He worked so hard for us.

In fact, this week we had two hearings, and he didn't have assistants to help him, and he did it all by himself. And I feel a little guilty that he had to work so hard. So we were going to give him today off so that he could recuperate from all the hard work.

He went home last night to his beautiful wife, Lydia, and his two daughters, Nova and Sonia, who are both very, very young. I think they are very young children. And evidently he was resting and he keeled over with a heart attack; and before the rescue team could get there, he passed away.

So I would just like to say to his wife and his children how sorry we are. And I want to make this commitment to them, that if there is anything they need, I and my staff will do everything we can to make sure that they are taken care of, and that means financially as well.

And we will miss you, Dan. And the Good Lord willing, we will see you in heaven.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 2006 recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. This medal--created in 1986--aptly named for Ellis Island, an enduring symbol of the diversity that characterizes our great Nation, commemorates and recognizes Americans of all ethnic backgrounds who have made significant contributions through their own perseverance and sacrifice to our society and culture. By honoring these outstanding individuals, we honor all who share their origins and we acknowledge the contributions they and other groups have made to America.

The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is presented annually by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO), representing more than 250 organizations that span the spectrum of ethnic heritages, cultures and religions. Since 1986, approximately 1,700 American citizens have received Ellis Island Medals of Honor, including six American Presidents, several United States Senators, Congressmen, Nobel Laureates, outstanding athletes, artists, clergy, and military leaders. Collectively they represent a remarkable fraternity of individuals who have distinguished themselves as outstanding human beings and exemplary citizens of the United States. In addition, NECO awards one International Ellis Island Medal of Honor each year. This year's international honoree was Martin J. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of American International Group, Inc. Mr. Sullivan is British.

When the immigrant station at Ellis Island, New York, opened on January 1, 1892, it admitted 700 immigrants into the United States on just its first day of operation. By the time the center closed in 1954, 17 million immigrants had passed through its doors. The Ellis Island administration and staff, on average, processed up to 5,000 people per day. Many of these newcomers had little or no knowledge of English, hardly any money, and many arrived with only the clothes on their backs. They arrived risking their lives in exchange for freedom and a better way of life.

I, once again, commend NECO and its Board of Directors headed by my good friend, Nasser J. Kazeminy, for honoring these truly outstanding individuals for their tireless efforts to foster dialogue and build bridges between different ethnic groups, as well as promote unity and a sense of common purpose in our Nation. As Rosemarie Taglione, Executive Director of NECO, so eloquently said in connection with this year's awards ceremony: ``NECO's message of tolerance and harmony among diverse ethnic groups is, perhaps, even more important today than it was 20 years ago.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in recognizing the good works of NECO, and congratulating all of the 2006 recipients of the Ellis Island Medals of Honor.

Elizabeth Agbabian, Cesar Baez, Vartkes Barsam, Harry E. Bovay, Jr., Dawn Bryan, Fredy Bush, Joseph R. Calabrese, M.D., Tykye Camaras, Charles Carey, Edmund N. Carpenter II, Josip Cermin, Vahan Chamlian, Yong Jin Chang, George Chimples, Benjamin B. Choi, Esq., Dr. Deepak Chopra, Maxine Chou, Richard Corkery, Frank Corvino, Rita Cosby, John R. Costantino, Robert E. Courtney, Esq., Ed Cox, Long Deng, Vlade Divac, Kathleen M. Donahue, Ali Ebrahimi, George Elias Jr., Nijad Fares, BG Margrit M. Farmer, Lu-Jean Feng, MD, Siegfried Fischbacher, Col. David Fitzgerald, Aldo G. Frustaci, Esq., Fred Grapstein, C. Joseph Grignaffini, Sang-Ki Han, William Hanna, Richard Hayden, Roy Horn, Mori Hosseini, Jirair S. Hovnanian, Irwin Jacobs, Chief Joanne Jaffe, Thomas F. Kane, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Charles Evans Kilbourne III, Kwang Sung Kim, Peter Koo, Nat LaCour, Shau-wai Lam, Dean Lampros, Thomas D. Lee, Hon. John Lehman, George G. Makris, Roberta Mann, Hon. Rafi Manoukian, Col. Rick Martin, Ronald Martino, Jamie Masada, Fariborz Maseeh, Martin G. McGuinn, Dr. Navin C. Mehta, Jose Mejia, Edward Miller, Hamid Moghadam, VADM Kevin J. Moran, Dr. Navin Nanda, Luke Nasta, Frank Newell, MD, William C. Norris, Antranig M. Ouzoonian, Dinesh Patel, Hon. Tim Pawlenty, RADM David Pekoske, Fred Pezeshkan, Mark Pigott, Robert Price, Hon. Thomas Ridge, Imelda Roberts, Col. Angela Salinas, Frank Sciame, Niranjan Shah, John Shall, Thomas Nunziato Shannon, Jr., Dr. Hosein Shokouh-Amiri, Dr. Grace Shu, Dr. William T. Smith, Bruce A. Smith, Lewis T. Smoak Esq., Klaus-Peter Statz, Mitchell Steinhause, Michael Stern, Martin J. Sullivan, Ramon M. Tallaj, MD, Dr. William Tansey III, Michael Tong, Rev. Nicholas Triantafilou, Lester Trilla, Manny Villafana, and Walter Wang.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Hyde and Mr. Lantos for their hard work on this bill. I think they have covered the details of the bill rather well.

The reason I wanted to take 1 minute was to say that I met with Prime Minister Singh in Delhi, India, along with some of his cabinet members, oh, a couple of months ago.

And although I have not always been in accord with some of things India has done, I am sure that they want to work with us on this nuclear agreement. They have assured me, and I am confident they will keep their word, that there will be a clear demarcation between civil use of nuclear energy, nuclear technology we might sell to them and their nuclear weapons program.

And there is about 800 million people in India that are living on less than $2 a day. And when you go through Delhi and you see how they are living, under horrible, horrible conditions, little children running around with no place to go, burning cow chips for the heat that they need to stay warm at night, you realize the need for energy that they have and they need it so badly.

So this nuclear technology we are going to sell them for civil use will be very helpful, not only for job creation over there, but for making the quality of life better for all the people in India.

Let me just say I support the amendment.

I have been concerned about the problems between India and Pakistan for a long, long time, particularly in the area of Kashmir. They are talking now. Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf have been trying to work out some differences. I know it is a very thorny issue and one that is going to take some time, but they are talking. They have opened up not only a dialogue but a small opening in the area between Pakistan and India in the Kashmiri area.

This is a problem that must be solved. It should be solved. It could be a flash point for another war over there. Since India and Pakistan are both nuclear powers, anything we can do to reduce that threat and make sure peace reigns is very important.

I support the gentlewoman's amendment and am proud to be a cosponsor.