Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last week all of Chicago and all of those who read the Chicago Sun Times were shocked at the death of Steve Neal.

Steve Neal was one of the premier political columnists in the country. I was particularly shocked because I was scheduled to have lunch with Steve on Friday of last week. Steve Neal was one of the premier writers about politics and political action in the Nation. All of us are going to miss him, so I express my condolences to his family, his wife and children and say that all of our lives have been enriched by the opportunity to read the writings of Steve Neal.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Tom Davis); the gentlewoman from Virginia (Chairwoman Jo Ann Davis); the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member; and their respective staffs for working so diligently to improve the General Accounting Office Human Capital Reform Act which we are considering today.

I believe that GAO is a good demonstration project for reform that may eventually be extended to the rest of the government. As a matter of fact, in the November 2003 issue of Washingtonian magazine, the GAO is listed as one of 50 great places to work in the D.C. area. GAO was noted for a pay system that rewards top performance, stability, upward mobility, and such benefits as repaying employees' student loans, on- site child care, and Metro subsidies. This does not mean that GAO is perfect, but it has set an example of how to prepare for and implement human capital flexibilities.

Unfortunately, I cannot say that for the Department of Defense and a host of other agencies that are asking for and receiving unprecedented exemptions from title V. Most agencies are simply ill equipped to manage such major reforms. We should be concentrating our efforts on government-wide reforms rather than agency-by-agency requests.

Having said that, several improvements were made to the bill during the subcommittee markup and subsequently by Ranking Member Waxman. The original bill did not contain any reporting requirements. I offered an amendment that requires GAO to submit an annual report to Congress on its use of flexibilities under the bill. Additionally, the original version of the bill only allowed enhanced annual leave for high-grade managerial or supervisory positions. My amendment changed that so it would apply to all GAO employees.

I also requested and received written assurance from the Comptroller General that GAO would provide the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization with an annual report on pay adjustments received by women minorities and veterans at the Government Accounting Office.

The gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) insisted on additional changes to the executive program that have been incorporated into the bill. These changes include reducing the number of participants who can participate in the program, having the program sunset after 5 years, and ensuring that private employees working at GAO are subject to Federal ethics and conflict-of-interest laws, and do not have access to trade secrets. Now we have a responsibility to continue our oversight of agencies like GAO that have received human capital flexibilities to ensure that they are working and working in a fair and equitable manner.

Finally, I would like to take note that this bill has bipartisan and bicameral support, the result of doing civil service reform the right way; and I trust that we will learn from that as we continue to reform the government.

I support this bill and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the ranking member of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to engage in a colloquy with the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Jo Ann Davis) to clarify our understanding regarding section 7 of this bill.

This section relates to the executive exchange program, which authorizes a small number of private sector employees to work at GAO. The bill states that these private sector detailees shall be considered GAO employees for the purpose of several Federal ethics provisions. In 1979 and 1999, the Justice Department stated that GAO employees are subject to 18 U.S.C. 208 and 209, which cover financial conflicts of interest. The Comptroller General has confirmed that it is a long- standing practice for GAO employees to be subject to these provisions.

Our understanding is that private sector detailees to GAO shall be subject to the financial conflict of interest provisions in 18 U.S.C. 208 and 209. My question is, does the Chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization have this same understanding?

I yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia.

I thank the gentlewoman so very much, and I continue to urge support for the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, much has been said, but then you can never say enough when the lives of thousands of people are at stake. You can never say enough when bloodshed is imminent, when chaos is all around.

I have been told that the primary responsibility of leadership is to lead, and I want to commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, for his leadership on this and many other issues with which we have been confronted. Recognize that in times of crisis you have to act; you have to do something. You cannot just sit back and wait and hope.

So, Mr. President, I join with all of my colleagues. I join with those in the international community, those who expect this country, a world leader, to take the initiative and the responsibility to lead, to bring together international thought, international action, establish a real presence in Haiti, establish a presence that will say to the people, come and let us reason together. Otherwise the whole island may be utterly destroyed by the edge of the sword; if not the sword, then the M1s, the grenades, the homemade bombs.

Mr. Speaker, this is a situation where it is difficult to see how our country, the United States of America, the protector, guarantor of rights, if we do not see the humaneness of intervention, and we are not talking about intervention to take over, we are not talking about being oppressive, we are talking about enough presence to settle the climate, to create the environment where people can at least sit at the table, work out an agreement, settle in.

So, Mr. President, I hope that you have heard what my colleagues have been saying. I hope that you and your advisers are listening, and I hope that you understand that the fate of a Nation is actually hanging in the balance, and to imagine that we have the power, we have the ability to save that Nation.

I think it is our duty, it is our responsibility, it is our heritage. It is only what could be expected of a Nation that wants to be the leading Nation of the world. Then we have to take that responsibility. We have to lead, and the best way to demonstrate leadership is to send in enough force to have a presence to bring about a peaceful solution to this imminent bloodbath that is about to occur.

Please, Mr. President, listen to the voices of reason and take action now.

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

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 9 o'clock and 16 minutes p.m.), the House adjourned until tomorrow, Thursday, February 26, 2004, at 10 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, I want to first of all commend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) for introducing this resolution, and I want to thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Dr. Dorothy Height is a steadfast pioneer of women's rights and racial justice for people of color. She has set an example of what can be achieved through commitment and group activism.

As the fourth elected president of the National Council of Negro Women, Dr. Height led a crusade for justice for black women. To help strengthen the black family, she conceived of and organized the Black Family Reunion Celebration, which has been held here in Washington since 1986, an activity in which I have participated.

Under the leadership of Dr. Height, the NCNW achieved tax exempt status; raised funds on behalf of thousands of women in support of erecting a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune, NCNW's founder, in a Federal park; she developed several model programs to combat teenage pregnancy and address hunger in rural areas; and established the Bethune Museum and Archives for Black Women, the first institution devoted to black women's history. She was instrumental in the initiation of NCNW- sponsored food, child care, housing and career educational programs.

No stranger to political activism, in the 1960s Dr. Height called on the NCNW to sponsor Wednesdays in Mississippi when interracial groups of women would help out at Freedom Schools and conduct voter registration drives in the North and voter registration in the South. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Roy Wilkins to prevent lynchings, desegregate the Armed Forces, reform the criminal justice system, and provide equal access to public accommodations.

Dr. Dorothy Irene Height has a long legacy as a leader in the struggle for equality and human rights. She has through her words and deeds proven distinguished service to humanity and her many contributions for equality, social justice and human rights for all people. She is commended for her efforts. And even at this stage of her life, every time I go to an event, an activity, she is generally there in her wheel chair. Someone is pushing her, bringing her, but she is there.

I grew up as a great fan of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. And Dr. Height inherited the legacy. I also work with two women who are very close to Dr. Height, Ms. Rosie Bean and Ms. Arnetta Wilson. I am sure that they are both rejoicing to note that their distinguished leader who is deserving of such an honor is to be recognized.

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

Let me, first of all, commend the gentleman for his introduction of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, H. Con. Res. 264 honors the 200th anniversary of the birth of Constantino Brumidi. Mr. Brumidi was a wonderful artist who dedicated over 25 years to painting the Capitol Building. He is a symbol of the American dream. Born in Italy, he moved to the United States and, like so many other immigrants, made wonderful contributions to our great country.

Although Mr. Brumidi was known for his masterpiece, The Apotheosis of Washington, located in the Capitol dome, I would like to mention the fact that he was first to use the Capitol to pay tribute to an African American when he painted Crispus Attucks in his portrayal of the Boston Massacre.

Another treasure is Brumidi's corridors, the beautifully decorated corridors on the first floor of the Senate wing in the Capitol.

Mr. Brumidi's work is enjoyed by the millions of visitors to the Capitol each year, as well as by those of us who have the privilege of using the Capitol for official business.

Mr. Speaker, an outstanding artist, whose work continues to delight and inspire millions of people each and every year as they come and visit the Capitol, as they view portraits of the Capitol and as they recognize the tremendous masterpiece that this edifice is, and so I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), for introducing 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 rise today in support of the Democratic substitute to H.R. 3030, the Community Services Block Grant Act of 2003. Community service block grants have played an essential role in our society to help fight poverty by establishing programs, to help with such issues as employment opportunities, housing, facilities development, and food assistance. These community action agencies have become pillars in communities throughout the country. We all know and accept the fact that over two-thirds of community action agencies have a faith-based organization or representatives on their board of directors. Approximately 75 percent of community action agencies work directly with religious institutions and denominations. Affiliations with faith- based organizations and houses of worship have strengthened their message, outreach, and support for community action.

I am amazed that we would take a good process, a good program, a good approach, and then urge religious institutions to discriminate. I can understand a person who tithes at the New Galilee Missionary Baptist Church where I am a member, and they even let me be a deacon at times. When you tithe, you give of your free will. You decide that you are going into your pocket, and so you should have a right to determine who the clerk of that church becomes. If you want a Baptist person to be the clerk, that is quite all right.

But when you pay your income tax, you are not necessarily doing it of your free will. You are doing it because it is the law of the land. If you do not pay, then something bad is likely to happen to you. There is a tremendous amount of difference between a religious institution having the ability to determine who the pastor's secretary is on the basis of religion, but to determine whether or not a Ph.D. psychologist can work in a program, or to determine whether or not a certified public accountant can be the comptroller for a $2 million grant, or a $3 million grant, that seems to be stretching it a bit; and we are comparing apples with oranges.

Of course religious institutions have had the ability to determine that the church secretary is in need of being Methodist or Baptist or Jewish or Catholic, but please do not tell me that you can handle a $5 million grant using my tax dollars and other people's tax dollars and then tell me that I cannot work here because I am not Baptist.

Members talk about taking us back; yes, we can go back, back to the days when NINA existed, and we would see in the store windows of businesses N-I-N-A, meaning that no Irish need apply. Or if you are African American, you went to the back to get a drink of water or a hamburger or a hot dog. Or you were told that you did not have enough experience or the expertise.

I would urge that we support this amendment so that religious freedom can really be religious freedom. The whole social service, human service system in my community is undergirded by faith-based organizations,

Lutheran Family Services, Jewish Federation, the Baptist Council, Methodist Urban Renewal. They all provide excellent services. So do not change it. Do not urge them to discriminate. Vote to support the Woolsey amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I agree with the gentleman from Washington. In my home State of Illinois, it is estimated that in the first half of 2004, 91,928 individuals will have exhausted their benefits, with no relief in sight.

We have heard about the unemployment rate going down, but what we have not heard is the way in which the rate is calculated. The real deal is that there are so many people not even looking for work, who have given up, until that makes it look as though the rate is going down.

The reality is unemployment is sky high. We need relief and we need it now. Vote for the Miller amendment.

Mr. Chairman, in my home State of Illinois, it is estimated that in the first half of 2004, 91,928 individuals will have exhausted their benefits and will not qualify for additional aid. This places Illinois along side of nine other States as reaching the second highest on record for the number of unemployed workers expected to exhaust their regular benefits without being able to receive further assistance. We all have heard the news of the unemployment rate going down--but unlike the paper it is printed on, the unemployment rate is not clear as black and white but hazy and has a lot of gray. According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the Illinois unemployment rate dropped in December from 6.8 to 6.4 percent with the number of unemployed declining by 20,800. However, as the Illinois Department states, the declines in both the number of unemployed and the unemployment rate were largely due to people who just stopped looking for work and therefore not counted as unemployed. Even according to the U.S. Department of Labor, as unemployment declined from October 2003 to December of 2003 by 8,797 to 8,398 unemployed individuals, the number of individuals considered not in the labor force grew from October 2003 to December 2003 by 75,147 to 75,631.

Our real concern and focus should be on who is unemployed and on the growing number of individuals that are not in the workforce and are no longer looking for employment. In Illinois, the group of individuals unemployed and no longer looking for employment jumped by 15 percent between the third quarters of 2000 and 2002. Men accounted for a third of those counted as not currently employed along with a 20-percent increase in no longer seeking employment. Men are also on unemployment for a longer period of time. From the third quarter of 2000 to the third quarter of 2002, the duration of unemployment grew by more than 75 percent or from 7 weeks to just under 13 weeks. The racial minorities are also finding themselves unemployed for a longer period of time. The average unemployment period for African Americans in Illinois rose by more than 50 percent of 4.6 weeks. African Americans are dramatically unemployed more so than any other ethnic group. According to the Department of Labor, in December 2003, 10.3 percent of all unemployed workers were African Americans compared to 6.6 percent of Hispanic workers and 5 percent of White workers.

Mr. Speaker, thousands of Americans have already exhausted their benefits and approximately 2 million unemployed workers will exhaust their benefits in the next 6 months. To fully stimulate this economy, we must ensure we are assisting not the few at the top but the masses of workers, who keep this country moving. I am in full support of the Miller amendment to authorize additional funds under CSBG to be used to pay for a 6-month extension of unemployment benefits. Instead of contributing to our economy by buying school supplies, paying rent or a mortgage or going out to dinner, without this amendment and without an extension of unemployment benefits more of our constituents will be forced into poverty with the chance of losing their home, having no food to eat, no new shoes for their children, no way to pay for a doctor let alone over the counter medications and the list continues. The old saying remains clear--we either pay for it now--or we pay more for it later. I urge all my colleagues to support the Miller amendment.

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

I rise today to join with my colleagues in remembering the loss of the seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia on February 1, 2003, as well as to express our heartfelt sympathies to the families of Rick Husband, commander; William C. McCool, pilot; Michael P. Anderson, payload commander; Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; David M. Brown, mission specialist; Laurel B. Clark, mission specialist; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist.

The seven astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia were on a 16- day scientific mission. The mission held the promise of answering scientific problems that we confront here on earth. The lives and sacrifices of these seven men and women should be remembered. That is why last year I wrote a letter urging the United States Postal Service to design a stamp that would honor them and the space program.

The space program has meant a great deal to our Nation, and its benefits to mankind are enormous. The brave crew of the Shuttle Columbia was disembarking from a mission which they believed in and loved doing. They are indeed fallen heroes who are held in high regard as role models for many children around the world who dream of going to space someday.

Mr. Speaker, these men and women represented the best and the brightest of what America and the world has to offer. They were willing to go to the outer limits to explore for the benefit of all humanity. As Socrates said, ``Man must rise above the earth, to the top of the world, to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.''

Once again, our heart goes out to the families and colleagues of these brave

men and women who gave the most that they had to offer; indeed their lives, for the cost of space.

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

Mr. Speaker, a bigger-than-life screen actor and television personality, Ronald Reagan moved from being governor of California in the 1960s to President of the United States and dominating American politics in the 1980s. Media-made and media-presented, President Reagan got millions of Americans to feel proud of their Nation. America's 40- year Cold War with the Soviet Union cooled considerably and perhaps actually ended during Reagan's presidency. Many Americans credit him with having achieved that significant outcome.

Born the son of a shoe salesman in small-town Illinois, Reagan's impoverished but loving parents instilled in the lad a sense of optimism that carried him through college as an average student. After graduation, he worked for a few years as a sports broadcaster in midwestern radio before landing a film contract with Warner Brothers which took him to Hollywood in 1936. Over the next 30 years, he made scores of films, including Army films produced during World War II. He hosted two popular television series, and he actively engaged in politics as president of the Screen Actors Guild.

In the 1950s, Reagan changed from being a Roosevelt New Deal Democrat to a conservative Republican. In 1966, he became Governor of California. He was reelected in 1970.

Using his popularity in California, Reagan unsuccessfully challenged President Gerald Ford for the Republican nomination in 1976. He tried again and won the nomination in 1980, and thereafter defeated the incumbent Democrat, Jimmy Carter. With his 1984 reelection victory, President Reagan became the most politically successful Republican President since Eisenhower.

Today, we celebrate former President of the United States Ronald Reagan's 93rd birthday. We wish him the best, and recognize the contribution that he made to the development of these United States of America.

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.

Mr. Speaker, when John Stockton broke the career record for assists, 9,922, the owner of his team, the Utah Jazz, suggested he should set his career goal at 15,000. Such an idea was laughable, even preposterous to some. John Stockton, though, retired at the end of the 2002 and 2003 season with 15,806 career assists.

Success in American professional sports is often defined by statistics. Mr. Stockton is a match for anyone. In addition to being the NBA's all-time leader in assists with more than 50 percent more than the next highest player, Stockton also holds the league record for steals in a career with more than 3,200.

He is a 10-time all star and was selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

What sets John Stockton apart from most athletes, however, is his sense of team. Mr. Stockton played for 19 seasons. And due in large part to his excellence, the Jazz made the playoffs in every one of those seasons. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. No player spent as many years in games with only one team. And, remember, those 15,000 assists means 15,000 easy baskets for his teammates. That is not bad, especially since Stockton was considered too small to succeed when he was drafted out of Gonzaga in 1984.

John Stockton is such a consummate team player that it is almost impossible to talk about him without also mentioning Karl Malone, Stockton's teammate and partner for 18 seasons. Malone's status as the NBA's second all-time leading scorer is directly attributable to the thousands of passes Stockton threw him over the years. In June, when Stockton retired, Malone gave this testimonial to his teammate, and I quote: ``I hope and I pray people here realize a couple of things,'' said Malone. ``There absolutely, positively will never, ever be another John Stockton. Ever. He gave me more than I gave him.''

Stockton is also a family man, a father of six. He is the sort of man who once signed a contract for millions less than he would have received on the open market so that he could secure ice time at Salt Lake City's Delta Center for his 7-year-old son's hockey team. In an era when far too many athletes and other public figures put selfish motives and personal glory foremost in their actions, a consummate teammate, unselfish player, and quiet superstar like John Stockton is well deserving of this resolution in his honor. He is indeed a role model to be emulated by others along the way.

The gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson), who is the sponsor of this resolution, had wanted to be here but, unfortunately, could not get back in time to speak, so, Mr. Speaker, he will submit his statement into the Record at the appropriate point.

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

Mr. Speaker, what was happening is that the Bulls were moving so fast until the referee just could not see what was happening.

Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest last week as the President gave his State of the Union address and was quite pleased at one point when he mentioned the need to establish programs for ex-offenders, for people returning home after having been incarcerated. And I could not agree with him more.

So I urge my colleagues to get on board with me and support H.R. 2166, my Public Safety Ex-Offender Self-Sufficiency Act, which is designed to build 100,000 units of SRO-type housing for these individuals over a 5-year period.

If we really want to help people returning home from prison, let us start by giving them a place to stay.

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

Mr. Chairman, in July 2001, the Office of Personnel Management updated its report entitled Human Resources Flexibilities and Authorities in the Federal Government. The report states that the government as a single employer remains sound public policy. Consequently, it is important to retain government-wide approaches, authorities, entitlements, and requirements in several areas, including collective bargaining, merit system principles, due process protections related to adverse actions and, among other things, veterans preference in employment and retention.

If, as the report states, government as a single employer is sound public policy, the overly broad and hastily developed human resources authorities granted to the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and now the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, are simply not the best sound public policy.

That is not to say that the current civil service system is not in need of reform. It is. Members of Congress, their staffs and stakeholders have worked diligently to improve agency-specific reform proposals as they speed to enactment, but that is not the way to create a fair and equitable civil service. Congress, the Office of Personnel Management and Federal employee groups should be concentrating our efforts on government-wide reforms rather than agency-by-agency requests.

The bill being considered today is no exception. Although S. 610 has been greatly improved since its initial introduction, it serves only to further fragment the civil service. I applaud the fact that the bill includes a provision that mandates that NASA's Administrator submit a plan for OPM approval detailing the workforce needs of NASA, how NASA intends to use new workforce flexibilities to meet those needs,

and how the agency has utilized existing flexibilities.

NASA is also required to submit a workforce plan to Congress and provide it to all employees at least 60 days before exercising any of the flexibilities in the plan. These are very prudent steps for Congress to require NASA to take. However, they are steps that should have been taken before granting NASA the authority.

Mr. Chairman, I would urge that the Subcommittee on Civil Service and Agency Organization of the Committee on Government Reform exercise its authority over NASA and other agencies that have received new human capital flexibilities. If nothing else, we can examine how effective these agencies are in implementing these new flexibilities before granting them to other agencies.

There has been a great deal of effort to reach bipartisan agreement on this legislation. I commend the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), for the leadership and civility that they have displayed. So I am going to vote in favor of this legislation and further urge that we continue to take a good, hard look at the implementation of these flexibilities before granting them to other agencies on an individual-by-individual agency request. I still believe that agency-wide reform throughout the entire government is the best approach.

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

Mr. Speaker, on Sunday I had the opportunity to participate in a tremendous ceremony, the naming of a dining hall at the

church that I attend on a regular basis. We named it the Charlie H. Murray, the Reverend Charlie Murray, who is the pastor emeritus of this church; and as we thought of the contributions that this gentleman had made, we had brought practically every Senator, every mayor, Presidential candidates, all to this small church because of the tremendous outreach and appeal of the Reverend Charlie Murray.

So as we go into primary elections and people are voting and thinking about electing a new President, we thought that was an appropriate time to pay tribute to a church man who had been civically involved.

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

Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the Committee on Government Reform's Special Panel on Postal Reform and Oversight, I am pleased to join my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) in consideration of H.R. 1385 extending the issuance of the Breast Cancer Semipostal Stamp through December 31, 2006. H.R. 1385, as amended, was introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca) on March 20, 2003, and has 145 cosponsors.

Semipostals are stamps sold with a surcharge above the cost of a first-class postage stamp with the net surcharge amount going to a designated cause. We owe our interest in semipostal stamps to Dr. Ernie Bodai, Chief of Surgery at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Sacramento, California, and former Representative Vic Fazio. Dr. Bodai first proposed the idea of a semipostal with the money raised going towards breast cancer research. He took his idea to Representative Fazio, and on May 7, 1996, Representative Fazio introduced the first semipostal bill, H.R. 3401, the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Act. Representative Fazio was joined in this effort by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California when she introduced identical legislation in the Senate.

The following year, Representative Fazio joined Representative Susan Molinari of New York in introducing H.R. 1585, Stamp Out Breast Cancer. This bill was subsequently enacted into law, Public Law 105-41. The law not only authorized a breast cancer research stamp for 2 years, it also required the General Accounting Office to submit a report to Congress that evaluated the effectiveness of the appropriateness of this method of fund-raising. In its first report issued in 2000, GAO determined that the semipostal statute was successful and an effective and appropriate way to fund-raise.

By way of addressing the health issues raised by many of the semipostal bills pending in Congress, the chairman and ranking members of the former Subcommittee on the Postal Service, the gentleman from New York (Mr. McHugh) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) introduced H.R. 4437, the Semipostal Authorization Act. This measure, which became law, Public Law 106-253, provided the Postal Service with discretionary authority to issue semipostals provided the revenue raised goes to Federal agencies and is for medical research. Such authority is similar to the discretion the Postal Service currently has in deciding which commemorative stamps to issue.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in our country. More than 2 million women have been diagnosed with breast cancer and at least another 1 million are unaware that they have it. Every year, nearly $7 billion is spent on breast cancer treatment, all the more reason to support the issuance of a Breast Cancer Semipostal Stamp.

Since its issuance in 1998, the Breast Cancer Stamp has raised over $30 million for research. By law, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense are the recipients of the money and are required to submit an annual report to Congress on the amount of funds received, how the funds were spent, and accomplishments. The sale of the Breast Cancer Research Stamp has done much to increase public awareness of the disease and has allowed millions of people the opportunity to participate directly in raising money for this much- needed research.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for his effort and cannot express enough my support for his measure. I would also like to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis), the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), and the House leadership, both Democrat and Republican, and the Senate for working to ensure an additional source of research money for breast cancer.

I urge the swift adoption of H.R. 1385.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca), who introduced this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).

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

Mr. Speaker, I would indicate that California is leading the way on this issue, and the rest of us are very pleased to follow their example. I urge swift passage of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I am pleased to join the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Boehner) in support of this resolution.

I also want to commend the gentleman from Louisiana for introducing this resolution as we recognize the diversity of our educational systems throughout the country. Today's resolution recognizes the contribution of Catholic schools. Mr. Speaker, children all across America have benefited from Catholic education. Certainly we can all agree that Catholic schools are a strong and positive force in America's educational system.

Fortunately, the great, truly great aspect of America's education system is its diversity. The goal of our system should be both public and private, and it is to provide anyone and everyone in any city, any State with the opportunity they need to succeed.

The educational recipe for success in our country certainly includes Catholic schools, schools with other religious focuses and non- religious private schools, along with our public schools which means so much to so many. It is this variety, this diversity that truly makes American education powerful. It makes American education successful in its mission.

Today we recognize Catholic schools for their long commitment to education, to a value system, to developing the kind of lifestyles that students as well as adults need to seek.

There are many outstanding Catholic schools in my Congressional district. Among them Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois, Resurrection Elementary Schools in Chicago, and, of course, St. Ignatius Prep, which is recognized as one of the top prep schools in the Nation.

So I am pleased to join with the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter) in supporting this resolution, commend him for his insight.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the Democratic Whip, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, let me just indicate again that I strongly support this resolution for a number of reasons. We all know that Catholic schools are noted for a strong emphasis on discipline, which is so important for young people. As a matter of fact, important for all of us. They are noted for a strong emphasis on values education, values that we all need to internalize and make a part of our every day lives.

They are also noted for parental involvement. Catholic schools' parents must be involved in the education of their children. All schools should follow this concept because without parental involvement, then children do not really get the information that they need to have to know that education is not just inside the school, but it is an actual part of life.

And so, again, I commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Vitter) for introducing this resolution. I am pleased to join with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) and others in support of it.

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