Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and honor members of the South Cobb High School Blue Eagle Marching Band. Under the direction of Band Director Zachary Cogdill and with the support of Principal Dr. Grant Rivera, the faculty and students at South Cobb High School, these students were chosen to represent the great State of Georgia during the 56th Presidential Inaugural Parade next Tuesday. I am immensely proud of their dedication and diligent preparation for this occasion, as President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President. Madam Speaker, I would like to submit for the record a copy of the official letter I submitted to the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee recommending South Cobb High School for participation in the parade:

To Members of the Committee:

I would like to recommend the South Cobb High School Blue Eagle Marching Band for participation in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade.

South Cobb's marching band continues a long tradition of exemplary musical groups at the school. Under the outstanding leadership of Mr. Zachary Cogdill, the marching band program has increased to 60 students. This year, the Blue Eagle Marching Band has won 11 trophies at two competitions, including Best in Class and Grand Champion in Class.

This band also features a young man who suffers from leukodystrophy-- a rare, progressive genetic disorder that affects the nervous system. Although he cannot march, he walks in front of the band and plays a single drumbeat throughout the band's entire performance. His special role is the basis for the band's theme--``Heartbeat.''

Lastly, most students have never been to Washington, DC and this would be an excellent for them to visit our Nation's Capital. I look forward to meeting members of the marching band should they be selected for your events. I know they certainly have earned the opportunity to perform, and hope you will feel the same.

Again, I encourage you to grant the South Cobb High School Blue Eagle Marching Band the opportunity to perform in January. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

David Scott

Member of Congress

This fall, the Blue Eagle Marching Band won 11 trophies at two competitions, including Best in Class and Grand Champion in Class. They also performed at the Georgia Dome in Downtown Atlanta. With the support of the Atlanta community, the high school was able to raise $70,000 in five days for their trip. I am thankful for the generosity of my hometown and each individual who supported our students, financially and otherwise.

On Friday night, the Blue Eagle Marching Band will depart Austell, Georgia for Washington, DC. For many, this will be a first visit to our Nation's Capital. I wish them a safe journey and congratulations on this outstanding achievement. I am honored to represent such talented constituents.

Madam Speaker, as the Proverb states, ``Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.'' I rise today to recognize a truly virtuous woman whose life is not only far above rubies, but one of great milestones and accomplishments that is worthy of celebration. On December 8, 2008, Mrs. Maggie Katie Brown Kidd will turn 104 years old and I am honored to serve as a spokesman for Mrs. Kidd's family members and friends who will recognized her birthday with a party in November of last year.

Born during President Theodore Roosevelt's second term in office, Mrs. Kidd has been blessed to see 17 Presidents in her lifetime. The eleventh and youngest child of William and Lucy Brown, Mrs. Kidd learned the importance of hard work and faith in God at an early age. Baptized at the Mount Zion Baptist by the Reverend Henry Gresham, she served under the leadership of the Reverend W.M. Combs until to she moved to her current home in Atlanta Ga. However, her faith is her Lord and her dedication to the church never left her and she instilled the traditions of faith and her work in her own family. She married the late Willie Kidd, III on November 30, 1940, and together they raised their two children, John and Rosalyn. She is also the proud grandmother to four and the great-grandmother to three and serves as the matriarch of her loving family.

Mrs. Kidd's family describes her as a loving and selfless member of her community, offering her time and whatever she has to those in need. She is also an avid quilter and participates in family gathers and activities outside of Georgia. Her most favorite moments, however, are the ones on a quiet afternoon stitching in her favorite chair.

Madam Speaker, I am so honored to serve Mrs. Kidds representative. Her life is a living history of the times and events that have shaped our great land and is a monument to how far we've come as a Nation. Moreover, her life serves as a testament to individuals and families everywhere that a strong unbinding faith in the Lord, coupled with hard work and a dedication to family will carry you far in life. As the Proverb states, ``favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised''. Mrs. Maggie Katie Brown Kidd truly embodies the example of a virtuous woman and I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her life by wishing her a very happy 104th birthday.

Let me first say, Chairman Frank, how much we all appreciate the outstanding job you have been doing on this issue.

Chairman Frank, it's very important that as we consider this financial package, we make sure we do everything we possibly can to reduce the number of foreclosures and keep families in their homes. We are losing 6,300 foreclosures every single day. In this regard, I have been working on, and I presented to you a four-point package to reach this goal. At this time, I certainly want to thank my collaborator, Dr. James Galbraith from the University of Texas, for his advice on this.

Essentially, what we want to do is really, quite honestly, in the spirit of our great Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, for I believe we need to give the Treasury Secretary efficient tools so that he will be able to allow us to be able to use a program such as our HOPE for Homeowners program to make sure that we are doing everything we do as he purchases these assets to put the ingredients in place that we can bring down these foreclosures and keep individuals in their homes, and I have presented this four-point plan to you.

Let me thank you, Mr. Chairman, for including certainly two of those four. I deeply appreciate that. Homeowners who are struggling across this country appreciate that. We thank you for that. I want you to know that I will support the bill and I will encourage my colleagues to do the same.

I certainly will. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6646) to require the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to provide detailed briefings to Congress on any recent discussions conducted between United States Government and the Government of Taiwan and any potential transfer of defense articles or defense services to the Government of Taiwan, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I would like to first thank my distinguished colleague, the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for introducing this very, very important legislation.

When it comes to arms sales to Taiwan, U.S. policy is clear. We must ensure that the thriving democracy of Taiwan has the military capability necessary to defend itself from outside threats.

The United States is obligated to provide defensive military equipment to Taiwan, not just because it is right to aid our democratic friends, but also because it is the law of the land under the Taiwan Relations Act.

This act, which has been at the core of our policy towards Taiwan for almost three decades, clearly states that the United States should base its decision whether to supply defensive military equipment to Taiwan solely on the security needs of the Taiwanese military.

The Taiwan Relations Act is also clear that it is the President and Congress that determine what military equipment shall be sold to Taiwan. Apparently, the White House does not understand the Taiwan Relations Act.

As we speak, the administration is refusing to move forward with $11 billion worth of arms to Taiwan, arms which the administration has already

agreed to sell. The Taiwanese government wants the weapons, and the administration has recommended that the sales be approved. The only thing remaining is for the administration to notify Congress, and yet, no notification has come.

To address this peculiar situation, over the past months the Foreign Affairs Committee has repeatedly requested briefings from the administration. Most often, the answer is simply no response. When pressed, State Department and other administration officials throw up their hands and tell us to ask the White House because it is the White House that is making the decision to delay notification of the sales and not to talk to Congress.

H.R. 6646 requires the administration to brief the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on all discussions that the administration has had with the Taiwanese Government regarding the arms sales and on any potential transfer of defense equipment to Taiwan.

I would like to point out the extraordinary measure we are taking by introducing this legislation. Section 15(b) of the State Department Basic Authorities Act provides that the Department ``shall keep the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives fully and currently informed with respect to all activities and responsibilities within the jurisdiction.'' With respect to these arms sales to Taiwan, this law has been ignored.

Because of the importance of the U.S.-Taiwan relationship and the importance of the Taiwan Relations Act, which has helped keep peace in East Asia for almost 30 years, it is time for Congress to take a more direct step in compelling the administration to explain its decision- making on arms sales to Taiwan.

The stakes are too high to let the White House continue its policies of secrecy and disregard for congressional oversight. It is an injustice to our Taiwanese friends. It is a danger to our national security, and it is against the law.

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

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

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from Nevada, Ms. Shelley Berkley.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1314) remembering the 75th anniversary of the Ukrainian Famine-Genocide of 1932-1933 and extending the deepest sympathies of the House of Representatives to the victims, survivors, and families of this tragedy, and for other purposes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1435) recognizing the 70th anniversary of the 1938 occurrence of Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Let me first thank the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Hodes) for offering this important resolution, which marks the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. His leadership on the Holocaust-related issues is greatly appreciated.

On the night of November 9, 1938, the streets of German and Austrian cities were littered with the shattered glass of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues. Ninety-one people lost their lives and 30,000 were deported to concentration camps during the course of

this pogrom. Buchenwald and Dachau soon filled with Jews who had been deprived of their property, their savings and their livelihoods by the Nazis.

Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, showed the world once and for all the true face of the Nazi regime and served as a prelude to the horrors that would soon befall Europe's Jewish community. As Germany's synagogues burned on this terrible night, the governments of the west, including our own, failed to take meaningful action. Ambassadors were recalled, speeches were made, but the Nazis' orchestrated pogrom resulted in the diplomatic equivalent of just a slap on the wrist.

We condemn not just the destruction wrought against Germany and Austria's Jewish community that terrifying night, but we also condemn the world's inaction, which undoubtedly led the Nazis to believe the international community would offer little resistance to their plans to murder all the Jews in Europe.

Though 70 years have passed since the Nazis began to set in motion the final solution, and 63 years since the liberation of the last of their death camps, we must continue to maintain our vigilance against all forms of ethnic, national and religious hatreds.

Adolf Hitler exploited the world's failure to protect those threatened by the Nazi's vicious ideology of hate. As we reflect upon the anniversary of this infamous night and pay tribute to the over 6 million people killed in the Holocaust, we must recommit ourselves to preventing genocide anywhere and any time.

I strongly support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers at this time.

However, let me conclude by simply stating that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis perpetrated the most heinous tragedy of man's inhumanity to man. We will never forget it, and people all across this Nation on this 70th anniversary say never, never again.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1451) establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I first want to thank our colleague, the newly appointed Democratic cochairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, Congressman Jim McGovern, and the distinguished Republican Human Rights Caucus cochairman, Congressman Frank Wolf, for their strong leadership in bringing this important legislation before the House of Representatives.

This legislation before us will immediately and fully institutionalize the biggest and most active human rights entity in the United States Congress, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. The new entity will carry the name Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and will be led by the current caucus cochairs assisted by the executive committee.

This year, the caucus should have joyfully and proudly celebrated its 25th anniversary, on which Members of this House and human rights NGOs could have paid tribute to the tremendous human rights accomplishments of the caucus under the leadership of its founding cochairman, Tom Lantos.

This joy was, of course, overshadowed earlier this year with the passing of this extraordinary human being and human rights giant, our good friend and distinguished former chairman of our Foreign Affairs Committee, the Honorable Tom Lantos.

With him, the caucus had lost its inspiring cochairman; the Foreign Affairs Committee, its visionary leader; this body, one of its most respected, passionate and eloquent colleagues; and this Nation, a foreign-born public servant who loved this country with every fiber of his body.

Given Tom's biography and life experiences before he was elected as the only Holocaust survivor to this distinguished body, and his burning desire to stand up for people around the world who do not have a voice in the corridors of power, it certainly is no surprise that 25 years ago our distinguished former colleague, John Edward Porter, collaborated with Tom to establish a working group dedicated to the defense of global human rights.

With Annette Lantos and Kathryn Cameron Porter at their sides, the Congressional Human Rights Caucus was launched. It is impossible today to chronicle every single accomplishment of the Human Rights Caucus. But over the last 25 years, the caucus has intervened on behalf of countless individuals and groups whose human rights have been violated, raised human rights issues which were on nobody's radar screen, used its strong voice for the voiceless, and has actively engaged Members of the United States Congress on the important matter of human rights.

Over the last 25 years, the caucus has also proven that human rights is a truly bipartisan issue and has driven totalitarian regimes and their lobbying agents to the brink of utter despair when liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans--and every shade in between-- relentlessly stood shoulder to shoulder on global human rights issues.

Under the strong leadership of our colleagues, Jim McGovern and Frank Wolf, I have no doubt that the new commission will continue to stand as a beacon for human rights around the world.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) who has taken over Chairman Lantos' duties as cochair of the Human Rights Caucus as the new Democratic cochairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished congresswoman from Nevada, Ms. Shelley Berkley.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as we have heard and seen with this extraordinary outpouring of passion and support, this legislation establishing the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission naming Mr. McGovern and Mr. Wolf as cochairmen is extraordinary important, and we urge support across the aisle for this important piece of legislation.

We have no further speakers. I yield back my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1461) recognizing the 10th anniversary of the terrorist bombings of the United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and the memorializing of the citizens and families of the United States, the Republic of Kenya, and the United Republic of Tanzania whose lives were lost and injured as a result of these attacks, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

August 7, 1998, is a day that will never be forgotten. With near simultaneous vehicular bombing attacks by members of al Qaeda on our embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, the United States was challenged to face a new world. The violence that day claimed the lives of Americans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians with a death toll of 213 individuals in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania. The injured numbered well over 5,000. As great as the tragedy that day, without the dedication and bravery of the security individuals of those embassies, those acts of terrorism would have been far more catastrophic.

Shortly after the bombings, Congress provided $50 million in emergency supplemental appropriations to aid in the recovery process. And last October, the House passed the Foreign Service Victims of Terrorism Act of 2007 which provides compensation to the families victimized by these tragedies who are still recovering from their loss.

Our embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam have been rebuilt. Nevertheless, we must never forget the tragedy of that fateful day, and we must always remember the significance of the lives of those lost.

Madam Speaker, that is why I strongly urge and support this resolution, and I urge my colleagues to join me in that support.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it is with both sorrow and gratitude that we indeed recognize this 10th anniversary of the terrorist bombings of the United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and in memorializing the citizens and families of the United States, the Republic of Kenya, and the United Republic of Tanzania whose lives were lost and injured as a result of these horrible terrorist attacks.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 371) strongly supporting an immediate and just restitution of, or compensation for, property illegally confiscated during the last century by Nazi and Communist regimes, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

First I would like to thank the gentleman from Florida and the chairman of the Europe Subcommittee, Mr. Wexler, for introducing this important resolution calling for immediate and just restitution of illegally seized property from the Nazi era. Among the many atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis during World War II was the illegal confiscation of private homes, of businesses, of art work, and communal property. Many of these stolen assets were retained by the Communist governments after the war.

While the vast majority of Central and Eastern European countries should be praised for passing property restitution laws in order to right historical wrongs, others have failed to enact necessary legislation, or they have thrown legal roadblocks in the way of individuals or religious and communal organizations who are seeking to reclaim property rightfully belonging to them.

Though it had the largest pre-war Jewish community in Europe, Poland has, for over half a century, resisted efforts to return private property--be it homes or businesses--stolen by the Nazi and Communist governments to its original owners.

I am very heartened now to learn that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is currently finalizing a draft restitution bill, and I hope the Polish Parliament approves this long overdue legislation.

My concern is that we have been down this road before with previous Polish governments, all of whom have failed to deliver on their promises. The Lithuanian Government has been similarly disappointing in its failure to implement fair and comprehensive restitution legislation.

While it should be commended for enacting laws that provide restitution for individual property owners, attempts to pass legislation paving the way for the return of nonreligious communal Jewish property taken by the Nazis, such as schools and hospitals, have stalled.

As many of those individuals awaiting restitution are in their waning years, it is imperative that the United States continue to encourage the governments of Poland, Lithuania, and others to adopt meaningful legislation ensuring the prompt return of or compensation for property seized during the Nazi and Communist eras.

I strongly support this resolution, Madam Speaker, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in doing the same.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to extend 3 minutes to the distinguished congresswoman from Nevada, Ms. Shelley Berkley.

I yield the gentlelady 1 additional minute.

I'd like to just add this one point in closing, that it is so important that we take this opportunity as a United States Congress to put pressure on Poland and Lithuania and other countries to adopt meaningful legislation ensuring prompt return and/or compensation for the property seized during the Nazi and Communist eras.

This is the height of injustice. We have an opportunity to right a terrible wrong, and it is important that we pass this legislation and send a very strong message to these countries to finally, finally restore the property and/or the compensation to these individuals.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 5834) to amend the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to promote respect for the fundamental human rights of the people of North Korea, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I wanted to first thank our colleague and the ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, who introduced this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, the human rights situation in North Korea remains one of the bleakest on the planet. This is an extraordinarily important piece of legislation which speaks to some extraordinary abuses of human rights in North Korea.

As we speak, millions of North Koreans live in desperate conditions; political, economic, and religious freedoms are nonexistent, and many are starving and undernourished and live in fear of arbitrary arrests when they know they may be tortured or executed.

The North Korean government knows that access to information outside the country is a threat to the regime's control, and so it maintains an absolute grip over all legal media using it to manipulate the population into believing that life is no better anywhere else on the planet.

Those who manage to leave the country in North Korea face further danger. They face denial of rights and threats to their lives. China stubbornly refuses to categorize North Koreans who flee horrific living conditions and persecution as refugees. Instead, they label them as ``economic migrants.'' This disingenuous semantic trick relieves Beijing of its obligation to assist the North Koreans who escape into China in accordance with international conventions on refugees to which Beijing is a signatory.

North Koreans are routinely arrested and abused by the Chinese authorities and sent back to North Korea where they are considered traitors. Upon return, they are arrested. They're likely tortured, and sometimes, Mr. Speaker, they are killed.

The suffering people of North Korea need assistance. And in 2004, Congress passed with overwhelming bipartisan support the North Korea Human Rights Act in an effort to focus U.S. attention on their plight. This Act provided new resources to assist North Korean refugees, support democracy and human rights programs and improve access to information through radio broadcasts and other activities. It is also required that the President appoint a special envoy on North Korean human rights.

Our bill, H.R. 5834, reauthorizes this vitally important legislation. The current bill extends the North Korean Human Rights Act through fiscal year 2012 and enhances the role of the special envoy by making it an ambassadorial rank and requiring it be a full-time position.

H.R. 5834 was passed by the House on May 15 of this year, and the Senate made minor amendments to the bill on September 22.

Mr. Speaker, the North Korean Human Rights Act has been instrumental in ensuring the issue of human rights for North Koreans remains a key priority of U.S. policy toward North Korea. I strongly support this legislation. It is badly needed. And I encourage my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5834.

And a final comment, Mr. Speaker. House Resolution 5834 indeed gives us an ambassador rank for human rights in North Korea. This is extraordinarily important, and this is not just right and needed for the people of North Korea. It's needed and it's right for all freedom-loving people on this planet, for us to move forthrightly and to be able to finally make this a critical, key part of our foreign policy.

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

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3019) to establish an Office of Housing Counseling to carry out and coordinate the responsibilities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding counseling on homeownership and rental housing issues, to make grants to entities for providing such counseling, to launch a national housing counseling advertising campaign, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous materials thereon.

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

Today, I rise in support of H.R. 3019, the Expand and Preserve Home Ownership through Counseling Act. This important legislation establishes an office of housing counseling at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to carry out and to coordinate the responsibilities of the Department with respect to counseling on homeownership and rental housing issues.

The House of Representatives has already approved this bipartisan bill in three separate measures that have passed during this Congress. They include H.R. 3915, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007; H.R. 5830, the FHA Housing Stabilization and Home Ownership Retention Act of 2008; and the initial House version of H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Given that the Senate has yet to act upon this important housing counseling measure, it is important that the House pass this legislation as a stand-alone bill.

HUD's current Housing Counseling Program authorizes HUD to provide or contract with organizations to provide counseling and advice to tenants, homeowners and low and moderate income families on a range of housing issues. However, the current program lacks the stature, organization and prominence in the Department to help ensure that its counseling activities are high quality, widely available and well- coordinated within other Department activities.

In the midst of this foreclosure crisis, this extraordinary crisis we are going through at this very moment in our financial markets, there can be no doubt that housing counseling, whether it is pre-purchase or post-purchase, is a vital component of the homeownership process, and I urge this House to support this bill, which will create an Office of Housing Counseling at HUD to better focus the Department's resources in this area.

Now, specifically this bill will do the following: It establishes an Office of Housing Counseling to carry out and coordinate the responsibilities of the Department with respect to counseling on homeownership and rental housing issues; it will require and facilitate the coordination of HUD's homeownership and rental housing counseling programs, including programs targeted at low and moderate income individuals, the homeless and senior citizens; it will require the launch of a national public service multi-media campaign to promote housing counseling, including the establishment of a Web site and toll- free hotline; and it will authorize the assurance of homeownership and rental housing counseling grants to HUD-certified State, local and nonprofit organizations.

This is an important and critical piece of legislation, and much needed, for all we know that the need for housing counseling far outstrips its current availability. The enactment of H.R. 3019 is a major step in addressing this need in a very comprehensive, thorough, efficient and effective manner, and I urge this full House to support this very important bipartisan home counseling legislation.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, as we conclude this, let me state the appreciation this entire Congress has for the distinguished leadership of Mrs. Biggert on this issue. She has been a pioneer in financial literacy. She has committed a tremendous amount of her time and energy to this bill and to other bills. I want to commend her for that.

Another bill which she has provided leadership on has been a financial literacy bill of utmost importance as we see now, and that is K through 12th grade literacy programs, to get them into our schools. I think it is very important for all of us here to know, and the Nation to know, that Mrs. Biggert has provided sterling leadership on this entire issue of financial literacy. I certainly want to say how appreciative we all are for that leadership, Mrs. Biggert.

It points out, Mr. Speaker, as we look at where we are today with the downturn of the financial markets, the meltdown of our mortgage industry, at the core of it as we peel back the reasons and the causes we will all find and come to the conclusion that we have a tremendous need for financial literacy and financial education, because the core of our problem is that there are so many complicated and complex entities involved in financing, that we as a nation are coming up short on financial literacy.

To you, Mrs. Biggert, I thank you for your leadership on this. It has indeed been a pleasure working with you on this subject, and this bill is a testimonial to your leadership.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5611) to reform the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon.

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

First, I want to thank Chairman Kanjorski of the Capital Markets Subcommittee, as well as Chairman Frank, for working with us and allowing H.R. 5611, the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act, to be considered today. This is, indeed, an important piece of legislation.

I was pleased to introduce this bill, along with my good friend, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis), as insurance regulatory reform is an issue many involved agree requires action. It, indeed, has been a pleasure to work with Representative Davis on this, who is one of my distinguished colleagues on the Committee on Financial Services. We both believe that this bill is a good starting point for leveling the playing field for insurance agents and brokers.

Never before, Mr. Speaker, have we really seen the significance and importance of the financial services industry as we are seeing it today. There are so many, many, many pieces that need to be reformed and looked at and improved upon, and this legislation happens to be one of those pieces.

H.R. 5611 will simply establish the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, which we refer to as NARAB, to provide for nonresident insurance agent and broker licensing while preserving the rights of States to supervise and discipline insurance agents and brokers. The legislation will further benefit consumers through increased competition among agents and brokers, leading to greater consumer choice.

This legislation is straightforward. Insurance agents and brokers who are licensed in good standing in their home States can apply for membership in the National Association for Registered Agents and Brokers, NARAB, which will allow them to operate in multiple States. This is very much needed. Membership will be voluntary and not affecting the rights of a nonmember producer under any State license, respecting the sanctity of the State. This legislation will benefit policyholders by increasing marketplace competition and consumer choice by enabling insurance producers to more quickly and responsibly serve the needs of the consumer.

A private, nonprofit NARAB entity consisting of State insurance regulators and marketplace representatives will serve as a portal for agents and brokers to obtain nonresident licenses in additional States. This is provided that they pay the required State nonlicensing fees and meet the NARAB standards for membership.

This bill would also establish membership criteria which would include standards for personal qualifications, education, training and experience; and further, member applicants must be required to undergo a national criminal background check. And, to be very clear, NARAB would not, I repeat, would not be part of nor report to any Federal agency and would not have any Federal regulatory power. This is being done to streamline and bring greater efficiency and greater choice to consumers.

Federal legislation is needed to ensure a reciprocal licensing process for insurance agents and brokers, and Congress already endorsed this concept when we passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act would have created NARAB if a number of States had not reached a certain number of licensing reciprocity, and although enough reciprocity was provided to avoid the creation of NARAB, it has been brought to my attention and to Mr. Davis' attention by agents across this country that there is a frustration over incomplete insurance licensing reciprocity, and this legislation addresses that important fact. It is abundantly clear that the bar was not set high enough in Gramm-Leach-Bliley, thus the reason behind this important legislation that we are considering today. We, my colleague, Mr. Davis and I, are simply working to ensure an updated version of NARAB.

I believe the increased competition among agents and brokers this bill would create will be beneficial to all, and on all accounts, be more fair; and, in addition, lead to greater consumer choice. Mr. Speaker, this is what is important. The bottom line, it is the benefit to the consumer.

As more and more agents operate across State lines, this problem of reciprocity has become worse, and it has become apparent to us that true nonresident licensing reform for insurance

agents could only really be achieved through legislation at the Federal level. That is why this Congress is acting today.

The NARAB Reform Act that we are looking at today has garnered support from both sides of the aisle, both Democrats and Republicans, with 48 bipartisan cosponsors, and 27 of these cosponsors are Members serving on the Financial Services Committee.

Again, I was very much pleased to work with the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) on this legislation which again narrowly targets only the area where there is a problem. We have gone in with a laser beam and simply targeted where there is a problem to fix, and we have done that.

Our manager's amendment was recently endorsed by the NAIC, showing that the State insurance regulators believe that this type of legislation is badly needed reform. Other groups that support this bill include the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, the IIABA; the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisers, the NAIFA; the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, the NAMIC; the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, PCI; and the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, the CIAB; as well as a number of individual insurance companies.

As talks continue on this issue, we are very hopeful for the expansion of our regulatory board to include PIA, the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. This has been a very inclusive process, Mr. Speaker, working in a very much needed area to bring a greater degree of consumer choice and benefits to the American consumer of insurance products.

I am proud to have the opportunity again to work along with my colleagues on the Financial Services Committee and Mr. Davis on this important legislation. And to close, I would just simply urge all of my fellow Members to support H.R. 5611.

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

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I just want to again echo my sentiments, and appreciate the fine work that Mr. Davis has done on this. It's been a pleasure working with him and the full committee and all of our staffs combined and working with the insurance industry itself and especially our agents to make their work smoother and to pass a bill that is very forward-looking to improve consumer benefits on their end.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a spiritual and community leader in my district, Pastor Donald Battle of Divine Faith Ministries International, on the occasion of his 54th birthday.

Pastor Donald E. Battle and his wife of 34 years, Gwen, along with their three adult daughters, TaVondria, Jamie, and Christin, are all leaders of this life-changing body of believers. I am proud that the southern campus of Divine Faith Ministries International, along with Divine Faith's School of Biblical Studies, are both located in my district, the 13th Congressional District of Georgia.

Pastor Battle is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Gwen. He served in the U.S Army six years and served 15 years in Georgia law enforcement as a police detective for the City of Atlanta. Pastor Battle's ministry began in 1990 as Divine Faith Baptist Church with a group of 60 members. Today, Madam Speaker, Divine Faith Ministries International currently serves God with a membership of over 8,000. This explosive growth can be directly traced to the servant leadership of Pastor Battle and his family.

But Pastor Battle does not content himself with service in the church alone. A leader in the community, Pastor Battle has served in the Association of Christian Ministers of Clayton County, and guided the creation of the Clayton County Public Schools' Mentorship Forum. The forum includes business leaders, judicial system leaders, state and local elected officials and pastors who serve to mentor high school students. Pastor Battle also led the call for incorporating the faith community in the Clayton County youth offender program to allow churches to be involved in the juvenile offenders' community service program.

Other examples of Pastor Battle's unshakable commitment to the 13th District and the entire Atlanta area are Divine Faith Ministries International television broadcasts which reach thousands of homes weekly, a day care program--Divine Faith Ministries Christian Academy, and the Divine Faith Ministries School of Biblical Studies.

Again Madam Speaker, I am honored to recognize this great man on his birthday. His presence, his purpose and his commitment to service have blessed not only his family, his friends and his congregation, but undoubtedly the entire world as the effects of his ministry are felt in the hearts of thousands. Thank you for the opportunity to honor Pastor Donald Battle, his family and Divine Faith Ministries International.

Thank you very much, Mr. Ross. Good to be with you again.

I thought I would just start for a few moments on the fact that we are going to vote on a ban to lift the ban on offshore drilling. Democrats are taking the lead and Democrats are moving forward in a very responsible way to take the ban off offshore drilling and drill.

What is important here are two points. One is that we need to make sure--and I understand that we are making sure--that whatever oil we are able to get from offshore drilling stays in America. This is a very tricky maneuver. Right now, as I understand it, all oil goes on the world market, but I do understand that we have the Continental Lands Act, and in that Act of 1953, as amended, it states that all oil that is discovered or pulled out of waters in the United States coastal areas will be American and will stay in America. That's very important.

That's the question that a lot of my constituents want to know, if we go, we get this oil, are we going to be able to keep this oil in America, because fundamentally, that's what's at issue. This is more than just a just basic energy crisis as we've had before. This is a national security issue of the highest regard.

I spent this afternoon for about 3 hours in our Foreign Affairs Committee talking with the Under Secretary of the Secretary of State and discussing the ramifications of Russia invading Georgia and what that was all about, and I hasten to add that this was all about, in many respects, energy and about Russia's position in that.

Europe gets 31 percent of its oil--I mean, we get a lot of ours from foreign sources, but right now, Europe gets 31 percent of its oil and gas from one Nation, Russia. There is a lot at stake that is going on in that part of the world, and underneath it all is oil and gas and energy and who's going to remain in control.

We need to understand that our basic charge is to get American dependent. So that part of the question has to be answered, and I think we've done that.

The other part is, and I think and I hope in this legislation, as we have worked and crafted--I might add that this legislation that's being crafted that we will vote on before we go back home on many, many sources. We're pulling in many ideas because no one has a monopoly on these ideas. Some of these ideas that we'll be voting on are contained in what the Senate calls the ``Gang of 10.'' That is very important.

But I think one aspect of that--and I've been very supportive of that--is that we will allow four to five States on the eastern seaboard, Georgia being one of them, to decide and opt in to whether they want to drill. We are going to have to come up with what the mileage is offshore, whether it's 3, 5, 10, 50 or 100 miles offshore. But I think we ought to entertain the possibility of allowing it open to every State, that every State may make that choice so that you're not deciding one or the other. Perhaps we will go in that direction, to allow the entirety of America, the United States of America, wherever we can get oil that we can keep, that is American dependent oil, we must do so, and wherever that drilling needs to take place, we must do so. And hopefully, that will be incorporated into the bill.

But we must not stop there. What we have more than any other country, we have the greatest amount of technology. Nobody's smarter than we are. We've got to unleash our technology, our scientists, our chemists, our engineers to go and hurry up and get alternative sources of fuel away from fossil fuels. We can't drill our way out, no matter what it is. There's just so much oil there. We've got to grow our way out of it.

And that's why we hope that this bill will be multifaceted, but drilling will be an important component on it, and we're excited for the future. I think the American people can be proud of what the Congress is about to do.