Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Michigan in consideration of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the proud sponsor of this resolution to establish a National Community Health Center Week. As we continue to discuss health care and as we continue hopefully to move towards enactment of a national health plan which covers everyone without regard to their ability to pay and as we continue to discuss access, affordability, and strategic deployment of services, we can take pride in some of our accomplishments in health care; and one of the most important and effective accomplishments since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid has been the development of community health centers.

Fortunately, community health centers are available throughout the Nation to help those in need or those who get displaced by job status or other economic conditions. Community health centers have become the safety net within the health care system, caring for one of every eight uninsured individuals, one of every nine Medicaid beneficiaries, one of every seven people of color, and one of every nine rural Americans, as well as reaching out to over 621,000 homeless persons and more than 709,000 migrant and seasonal farm workers.

Community health centers are established in almost every corner of our Nation representing every aspect of any congressional district, whether it be assisting the working poor in the inner city or in the rural farmland, migrant workers, or even those who have insurance but do not have access to any other health facilities.

These health centers provide high-quality, cost-effective health care as they continue to meet escalating health needs and assist in reducing health disparities as they provide high levels of quality care. With the weakened economy and unemployment reaching its highest point in almost a decade, our Nation's health centers are feeling and will continue to feel the brunt of increasing volume of patients, especially the uninsured. So by establishing a week to raise awareness of community health centers, we will also be highlighting each year the great accomplishments these nonprofit community-owned and -operated health providers offer to many communities throughout the Nation.

With recent numbers indicating that the Nation's uninsured population is even higher than once thought, at a startling 60 million, if our Nation will not realize the need for universal health care, we need to at least realize the importance and the need to better fund our community health centers.

So I am pleased to note the significant increase in the fiscal year 2005 budget that our community health centers that are in great need are receiving in order to continue and expand these services as well as construction for new and expanded facilities.

One of the most amazing and important aspects of community health centers is the involvement of the community. Each center tailors their services to best meet the needs and priorities of the communities in which they reside. Citizens in these communities become active participants in their community's health care decision-making. Health centers even provide approximately 70,000 jobs to the residents in communities of these areas.

Mr. Speaker, community health centers are indeed the safety net which is committed to serving all individuals with the mission that everyone deserves quality health care services regardless of where they reside, if they can pay or whether or not they have insurance. They are vital to ensuring that even the poor and disadvantaged in this country have the greatest opportunity to be healthy. These centers

are indeed a hallmark of development of our Nation's health care delivery system.

I am pleased that I can stand and be a part of promoting the awareness that they exist and the accomplishments which they have achieved.

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.

I am pleased to join with the gentlewoman from Michigan in consideration of this resolution honoring David Scott Tidmarsh, the 2004 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a very special student for possessing a great skill. This year David Scott Tidmarsh survived 15 challenging rounds to win the 77th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling a very challenging word. As a matter of fact, I was saying to myself that had not it been for the fact that Mrs. Beadie King taught us to read phonetically, that is, to break words apart and separate them, I probably never would be able to enunciate this word. But it is ``autochthonous,'' and I thank Mrs. Beadie for the phonetic way in which she taught us to read. That helps me.

But the National Spelling Bee is a wonderful competition that celebrates a child's intellect and thirst for learning. Each year, students compete within their schools, then within their region, and then, if successful, at the national competition in Washington, D.C.

David Scott Tidmarsh advanced to the national competition by winning the Edison Intermediate Center competition in South Bend, Indiana, and then by winning the citywide competition.

At the National Spelling Bee, Tidmarsh was pitted against 265 other talented spellers from all over the U.S., as well as American Samoa, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, and the United States Virgin Islands. Using concentration and determination, Mr. Tidmarsh persevered to become national champion.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate David Scott Tidmarsh. His

willingness to study hard and to work toward a difficult goal is an example from which all Americans can learn. He is indeed a rare and talented young person. Again, I extend to him my congratulations.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with the gentlewoman from Michigan in consideration of this resolution, and it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the author of this resolution and one of the most distinguished and longest-serving Members of this body, the dean of the institution and the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues today to pay tribute to former President Gerald Ford on the occasion of his 91st birthday and to thank him for his service to our Nation. President Ford assumed the office of President under difficult circumstances and guided us with strength and steadiness that helped us to regain confidence that we had lost in our Nation's most important office.

Looking back on President Ford's life, it is easy to see that he would distinguish himself as a leader. At the University of Michigan, he excelled both at his studies and at football. He received a law degree from Yale University. When duty called, he enlisted in the Navy, where he earned the rank of lieutenant commander during World War II.

Following the war, President Ford returned to his home State of Michigan and was elected to the House of Representatives for his first of 13 terms. An innate ability to lead helped President Ford rise quickly through the ranks of Congress. He was soon assigned to the influential Committee on Appropriations and rose to became the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Defense of the Committee on Appropriations.

In 1972, Gerald Ford was nominated as Vice President. He became President in 1974, following the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Faced with many challenges when he took office, President Ford worked to repair the damaged relationship between the American people and its government and the image of America with the rest of the world.

Two of his historic accomplishments were bringing an end to the Vietnam War and facilitating improved relations between Egypt and Israel. Improved relations between Israel and Egypt would lead to a peace pact between the two rival nations, an unprecedented step towards peace in the region.

On his inauguration day President Jimmy Carter began his speech by saying, ``For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land.''

While we all may not agree with all of the decisions President Ford made during his political career, we can all concur that he carried himself with dignity at a time when our Nation needed it most.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank President Ford for his service. I commend the gentleman from Michigan for introducing this resolution.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 4380, legislation designating the United States Postal Facility in Holiday, Florida, after Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith. This measure, which was introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) on May 18, 2004, was unanimously reported by our committee on July 8, 2004. The bill enjoys the support and cosponsorship of the entire Florida delegation.

When Paul Smith graduated in 1989 from Tampa Bay Vocational-Technical High School, he did what a lot of young men and women do: he joined the Army. Sergeant First Class Paul Smith served in the Army's Eleventh Engineer Battalion, Bravo Company from Fort Stewart's Third Infantry Division, Mechanized. His unit was assigned to build a compound for Iraqi prisoners of war near the captured Baghdad Airport. As a combat engineer, Smith was part of a group that built bridges for troops to cross to difficult areas and found and destroyed enemy weapons.

According to news accounts, it was during the early morning of April 4, 2003, when Sergeant First Class Smith and his combat engineers were working on setting up roadblocks on the highway between the old Saddam International Airport and Baghdad. His battalion was attacked after knocking down the gate to a Republican Guard complex. At that point, a small group of American soldiers was confronted with over 100 Iraqi fighters.

Sergeant First Class Smith, after looking after his wounded troops, jumped into a damaged tank and fired upon the Iraqis with 50 caliber bullets for an hour and a half. His unit credits him with killing 30 to 50 of the enemy. When the fighting was over, Sergeant First Class Paul Smith was found shot in the head, the only soldier of his unit to die that day.

For killing the enemy and defending his unit against attack, Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith has received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. He has been nominated for the highest military honor: the Medal of Honor.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith in this manner. Sergeant First Class Smith was a loving husband and father, and now a hero. I urge swift passage of this resolution.

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

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, I think the virtues of the small businesses have already been outlined time, time, and time again. The only question is what is the biggest problem that small businesses have in this country? The biggest problem that small businesses have is access to capital. How do they get the money that they need to really start up? How do they get the money to expand? How do they get the money to operate? Without capital, there can really be no small businesses.

So it seems to me that, notwithstanding all of the difficulties that have been cited about where the money is or what we have to do with it, if we do not generate it, if we do not produce it, then we do not have the businesses that we need.

I would simply urge support for the Manzullo-Velazquez amendment, and also indicate support for the microloan program. I come into contact with hundreds of small business people every week, every month, who, with just a little bit of money, would really help them over what they call the ``hump.'' It would keep them in business, keep them employed, and keep the economy thriving.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk which I will not offer, but I would ask the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), the ranking member, if they would comment at the end of my comments.

My amendment would have increased money for ex-offender reentry by $50 million. It is unfortunate, Mr. Chairman, that our country has become the most imprisoned Nation on the face of the Earth per capita. We have about 2 million people in jails and penitentiaries in this country. Each year more than 600,000 of them return home to neighborhoods and communities. Many of them obviously have no place to go. Many of them have no programs to access.

Studies have suggested and have shown that if nothing happens with them, about 67 percent of them will have reoffended within a period of 3 years. About 53 percent of them will be back reincarcerated. In many States and localities, they cannot access jobs. For example, in my State, the State of Illinois, there are 57 job titles that an ex- offender cannot hold by State law without some kind of waiver. For example, an individual cannot cut hair, cannot get a license to be a nail technician, to be a cosmetologist, cannot work around any medical facility, cannot wash dishes in a nursing home or a hospital. So many of these individuals revert right back to whatever it was that got them incarcerated in the first place. That is, they are back on the streets in their neighborhoods hauling pills and thrills, nickles and dimes, whatever it is they have done to become a part of the underground economy.

It would seem to me that it would be far more cost effective if we were to create programs to facilitate their reentry back into society. Therefore, there is a need for far more resources to do so. I must confess I was hardened when I heard the President give his State of the Union address and suggested in that address that we needed to do something more for the more than 600,000 people who return each and every year from our Nation's jails and prisons.

Some communities are far more hard hit than others. Obviously, inner city communities that are severely depressed economically and rural depressed communities end up with the bulk of these individuals. Other communities may not feel them at all, but the reality is that if we want to have the opportunity to move freely throughout our Nation, throughout our country, then we have to do a more effective job of helping reclaim those individuals who have been incarcerated and are back trying to make a new life for themselves.

I would appreciate comments from the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Wolf) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), the ranking member.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, in that particular instance, State law prohibits it. There are barriers, hundreds of them, to the successful re-entry of these individuals because many people have thought that the best way to handle crime was to have the most severe punishment for individuals that they could come up with. And many of those laws are still lingering on the books in many States

throughout the Nation, and they too need to be revisited.

Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his response.

And we are working with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder). We are all working on that bill.

Offered By: Mr. Davis of Illinois

Amendment No. 21: Page 27, line 24, after the dollar

amount, insert the following: ``(reduced by $15,000,000)''.

Page 28, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert the

following: ``(increased by $15,000,000)''.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding me this time.

I am very pleased to join with my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), who introduced this legislation to rename a post office formerly known as the Grand Crossing Post Office for Mr. James Worsham.

James Worsham is synonymous with development of the letter carriers union in the city of Chicago and in the State of Illinois. He has provided tremendous leadership to the extent that the Illinois Letter Carriers are actually one of the most effective organizations of letter carriers in America. As a matter of fact, the Chicago local has a bevy of activities in which they are constantly involved, not only in terms of protecting the rights and privileges of union members but also being greatly involved in civic, community, and public interest activity.

Mr. Worsham has been honored by his local union. As a matter of fact, they have actually renamed the union hall the James Worsham Union Hall, and now with redesignating these postal facility buildings. He had actually retired from local leadership, became a national employee of the union, and then came back and was petitioned by his members to run again after having been away from the union for a number of years in terms of local leadership.

So I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush), for having the foresight and understanding of how we recognize someone who has given practically all of their adult life to a movement. So I am pleased to join in support of this resolution. I urge its passage. I want to commend Mr. Worsham for an outstanding career as a postal worker, a union leader, and as a great American.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 405 and the continued need to provide prostate cancer patients with meaningful access to information on treatment options.

Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among American men. The American Cancer Society estimates that during 2004 about 230,110 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed in the United States. One man in six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, but only 1 man in 32 will die of this disease. The key to decreasing the amount of men that die from this disease yearly is not only informing patients about all the available treatment options but identifying the disease early on.

Because early detection is essential in the treatment and survival rates of Prostate Cancer patients, often Americans with limited health care are more susceptible to detection at more advanced stages, and increased mortality rates. In fact because of their low levels of medical healthcare African Americans are two to three times more likely to die of prostate cancer than white men. Only 66 percent of African Americans diagnosed with prostate cancer survive for 5 years, compared with 81 percent of white men.

As Members of Congress we must do everything in our power to ensure that medical service providers are informing patients on all possible treatments of this devastating disease. Education will inevitably lead to the best treatment options for all patients. Furthermore this Congress must take action to ensure that all Americans have regular access to health care so that diseases like prostate cancer can be detected in their earliest stages. We cannot continue to fail the millions of Americans without health care coverage because this makes our citizens increasingly susceptible to many devastating diseases like prostate cancer.

Mr. Speaker, prostate cancer continues to plague thousands of men in our country every year. I support this legislation that will encourage medical service providers to increase awareness on treatment options for prostate cancer patients and I urge this body to continue the discussion that would eventually yield much needed health care service to every American.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a delightful lady whose life represents the epitome of what a well-lived life should be. For all of these years, she has been a child of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, a good Christian, a wife, a mother, a true neighbor, an anchor, a pillar of the community and a good and honorable citizen.

Mrs. Davis and her husband were pioneers when they moved into what had been an essentially all white community. They were a hard working young couple who produced a family of offspring who have done exceptionally well and contributed significantly to the well-being of our community and our city.

Her children rise up and call her blessed, for she has indeed been a blessing to them and to all of those whose lives she has touched. Happy Birthday, Mrs. Davis and may you have many, many more.

Mr. Speaker, four decades ago, on June 27, 1964, the Ukrainian American community marked a significant event--the unveiling of a monument to the Great Kobzar, Taras Shevchenko. Taras Hryhorovich Shevchenko, the great Ukrainian poet, artist and thinker, the revolutionary-democrat, and the ardent fighter against tsarizm and serfdom. He is considered the great son of the Ukrainian people. As the autocratic government of tsarist Russia attempted to erase Shevchenko's name from people's memory and suppressed all attempts to immortalize in sculpture the image of the poet of genius, the people could not forget this man. The first monument in the country, the bust in marble, to the great Kobzar was set up illegally in 1899 in Kharkov. On March, 24, 1935, it was a great holiday for the people in Kharkov as they joined together for the unveiling of the first legal monument of Shevchenko.

Almost 30 years after the people of Ukraine celebrated their monument, the Ukrainian Americans were able to have a holiday of their own. Through hard work, generosity, and dedication, the Ukrainian American community was able to honor their country's hero with a monument in the Nation's Capitol. Over 100,000 attendees participated in the festivities 40 years ago dedicated to the unveiling of the Taras Shevchenko monument. The Ukrainian American community is fortunate to celebrate this significant milestone 40 years later. I am proud to represent an area of Chicago that we call ``Ukrainian Village.'' I want to honor this special day with my constituents and praise the Ukrainian community, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the Ukrainian National Women's League of America (UNWLA), the U.S.-Ukrainian Foundation and all the organizations involved in honoring the 40th Anniversary of this special monument.

Mr. Speaker, this monument stands for more than just honoring a great man but also as a way to never forget the struggles and the human rights violations by the former Soviet regime and political repressions against those who struggled for Ukraine's liberation.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner) and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), as well as all of those who have actually been involved to make sure that we had a good, solid, bipartisan piece of legislation that affords the greatest opportunity for our school children to get nutritious meals and to make sure that those individuals who are in need of this kind of action on the part of our Congress do in fact receive it.

I think this is one of the greatest examples of bipartisanship, of the opportunity that people have to work cooperatively together. It has been a great process, and I think the results are going to be even greater.

So, again, I commend the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, our ranking member, and, of course the ranking member of my subcommittee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey). It has been a great process.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate along with my colleagues and recognize the importance of the blues. Some have called the blues the native musical and verse form in America, with a great blend of European and African traditions.

During the 1920s, blues became a national craze. Records by leading blues singers like Bessie Smith and later, in the 1930s, Billie Holiday, sold in the millions. The 1920s also saw the blues become a musical form more widely used by jazz instrumentalists as well as blues singers.

During the decades of the 1930s and 1940s, the blues spread northward with the great migration of many blacks from the South and entered into the repertory of big band jazz. The blues also became electrified with the introduction of the amplified guitar.

In some northern cities, like Chicago and Detroit, during the later 1940s and 1950s, Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Howlin Wolf and Elmore James, among others, played what was basically Mississippi Delta blues, backed by bass, drums, piano and occasionally harmonica, and began scoring national hits with blues songs.

Each year the city of Chicago has its Blues Festival, holding the 21st festival this year, with great talent from up and down the Mississippi River to delight thousands of blues fans. I am proud to represent the district where the Blues Fest is held, where many great blues clubs are still singing the blues and be part of one of the greatest cities that is home to some of the greatest blues musicians. Otis Clay, Tyrone Davis, Cicero Blake, Lil' Shorty and Inez Davis are just a few that Chicago holds close to its heart and are the pride of our city's culture.

But Chicago would not be complete without the man known in Chicago and

by blues lovers all over the world as the Blues Man, the voice of WVON radio, Pervis Spann, who has distinguished himself as a broadcaster, exposing generations to the blues. Starting to promote the blues in the 1950s, he actually used it to move to the point where he actually owns the radio station, and not only that radio station, but other radio stations throughout America.

So I am pleased to simply be here to pay tribute to not only the blues but to the great individuals who have become business persons, who are civic and community leaders, who not only showcase talent, but also showcase life.

I thank the gentleman from Maryland for yielding me this time. I also agree that Governor Clinton, and I grew up in the State of Arkansas, did an outstanding job as Governor of the State of Arkansas. But I really rise to join with all of those who have expressed support for extension of TANF. Like all of those who have spoken before me, I would have hoped that we were not talking about extension, but that we were talking about permanent legislation.

I represent a district that includes more than 80 percent of the public housing in the city of Chicago, and so there is no doubt about the tremendous need for assistance to needy families. But I also think that assistance has to be strong on child care, that people must know that they have access to opportunity for their children to be cared for them while they are in school or while they are at work.

I hear a great deal about making sure for women. We also have to make sure that there are training opportunities for men. I represent a district that has lost more than 120,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs over the last 40 years. Many of the jobs that men in those communities expected to be able to get no longer exist. In order for them to be able to get off welfare and not participate in what we call the ``underground economy,'' they need job training, they need skills, they need development, they need the opportunity to believe that there are careers waiting for them and available to them.

I would urge that we do come together in a bipartisan way and hammer out a bill that can become permanent so that those individuals who are currently in lurches can know that there are opportunities to move out, to move up, and to move ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) for yielding me time. I also want to commend the subcommittee of the Committee on Financial Services that is dealing effectively in many ways with the creation and development of instruments that lend themselves to increasing homeownership. So I come to support this resolution.

We have heard how home ownership is a part of the American dream. I think it is commendable that we can boast of 68 percent homeownership in America. But, at the same time, I am reminded of disparities that exist.

For example, in my Congressional district only 38 percent of the people own their homes. Only 28 percent of the African Americans in my Congressional district own their homes. Yet I

commend Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, local mortgage companies, banks, the City of Chicago, for programs that have been established and are working well.

I also commend the Congressional Black Caucus, who recognized that with ownership comes wealth, and has created a national program called WOW, With Ownership Wealth, pointing out to people that you can spend 50 years paying rent, and at the end of 50 years all that you really have to show is a drawer full or a desk full of rent receipts; that you have no ownership, no equity value, nothing that you can pass on to those coming after you.

So we still need additional instruments, because, for many Americans, the dream is still a horrible nightmare, because they feel that there is no way they can purchase a home. They think that you have got to have too much down payment. They think that their credit does not meet the standards or the requirements.

So as we commend ourselves, we also need to continue to look for instruments that can help make the American dream for more of our citizens a reality, so that they too can have that dream of living in the house by the side of the road, watching men and women go by.

So I commend the subcommittee for its progress, I support this resolution, and urge that we continue to find those ways that can include and bring more people into the system.