Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman.

I rise in support of this important piece of legislation and suggest that our good friends on the other side of the aisle are either suffering from some state of amnesia or maybe stuck in an alternative universe because it's pretty clear that the American people are suffering, that we are living through the worst economic crisis in almost any of our lifetimes. I don't know that there's anybody who is a Member of this Congress today that lived through the Great Depression, but there is an unprecedented crisis that the spending and appropriations in this legislation will help address beyond the important

recovery legislation that we passed last week.

It is critical that we invest in the quality of public education, that we make sure that children and the frail elderly have the services that they need, that we make sure that we rebuild our infrastructure, and that we make sure that we make an important and historic commitment to improving the quality of life of all Americans. That's what this legislation will do, and I am proud to support it.

Madam Speaker, over the past eight years, American consumer safety has taken a back seat to the special interests. As a result, many Americans have been exposed to dangerous toys for their children, hazardous household products for their families and even contaminated food, resulting in illness. Now is the time to support consumer advocates across the country by encouraging the new administration to restore the White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

Our country gave the government a clear mandate for change in November. Without question, a new focus on consumer safety should be part of this change. Under President Clinton, consumers had an effective advocate with a long record of commitment to protecting consumers in Ann Brown, former Chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Unfortunately, staff cutbacks suffered by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have undermined effective efforts to protect consumers.

While bipartisan legislation has attempted to address these challenges, it is clear that more progress is required. We must act now. Americans should have confidence that the products they use are safe and will not pose any dangers to them or their families. The new Administration can make significant progress toward this goal by restoring the Office of Consumer Affairs to its rightful place in the Executive Branch. I strongly encourage President Obama's administration to do so, and I echo the New York Times and their call to action.

The editorial follows.

[From the New York Times, Jan. 4, 2009]

A Voice for the Consumer

The time has come to give the American consumer a much

stronger voice in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama

has already named what amounts to an energy and environmental

czar in the White House, and America's beleaguered consumers

deserve no less.

Mr. Obama should restore the White House Office of Consumer

Affairs, which vanished during the Clinton years, and appoint

a director who has both the president's ear and the authority

to rebuild the consumer protection agencies that were

undercut or hollowed out by the fiercely anti-regulatory Bush

administration.

There is no shortage of agencies ostensibly designed to

protect consumers. But without an emergency like killer

spinach or lead in children's toys, the Bush administration

has mostly failed to hear customers' complaints. The consumer

safety net is simply far too weak.

The Food and Drug Administration has suffered cutbacks in

expert personnel, and still relies too heavily on industry to

police itself. Credit-card holders who have been subject to

all kinds of Dickensian tricks and traps were finally told by

the Federal Reserve that relief is in sight--in 2011. Not so

long ago, there was only one official toy tester at the

Consumer Product Safety Commission, and oversight generally

was so weak that Congress was forced to step in with new

protections, which still could be strengthened.

It will be up to the Obama administration to bring these

agencies back to life. In part this means restoring the

morale of government workers who have too often been stymied

by the anti-regulators at the top. It will also mean stronger

consumer protection policies and hiring more skilled people.

It will mean giving one official responsibility for

coordinating the entire apparatus.

Presidents Johnson and Carter both recognized the need for

a strong person to do that job. Both chose Esther Peterson,

who during about eight years in office pushed for then-

radical ideas like nutritional labeling on food and truth in

advertising. As the Reagan anti-government era began, the

consumer protection job steadily lost clout until it was

shuttered in the late 1990s.

During his campaign, Mr. Obama promised consumers that he

would help them get a fairer deal. As the victims of lead

toys and predatory lenders can attest, they certainly need

one. Restoring the Office of Consumer Affairs and appointing

a director as strong and capable as Mrs. Peterson would be an

encouraging first step.

Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, February 10, 2009, I missed Rollcall Vote 55, Supporting the goals and ideals of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, because I was attending to official events in my home state of Florida. If present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my profound concern and indignation regarding the recent attack on the Tiferet Israel Sephardic synagogue in Caracas, Venezuela.

The attack, which occurred just days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on the Jewish Sabbath, was reminiscent of Kristallnacht.

For five hours, violent anti-Semites profaned and vandalized a Sephardic synagogue in capital city Caracas, leaving behind graffiti with words of hatred.

But the violence didn't stop there. Sacred torah scrolls were hurled about recklessly and damaged. The synagogue's guard was held at gunpoint and was found on the floor of the building by synagogue members on Saturday morning.

Let me be clear. This brazen attack on the Venezuelan Jewish community did not occur in a vacuum.

It was the direct result of the Venezuelan government's leaders, officials, media commentators and others, who have fostered an atmosphere of intimidation against the Jewish community.

During the Gaza crisis, anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements were made by the Venezuelan President, the foreign minister, interior minister, the president of the national assembly, a number of congress members, and governors across the country.

In the most recent example of his blatantly anti-Semitic public comments, President Hugo Chavez said ``the Israelis criticize Hitler but have done something worse,'' and also asked ``Don't Jews repudiate the Holocaust? This is precisely what we're witnessing.''

Hateful, fear-mongering comments like these were condemned by our own Department of State, in a 2008 report where they listed ``drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis'' as an example of anti-Semitism.

President Chavez ``condemned'' Friday's attack on Tiferet Israel as briefly as possible, making no mention of plans to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community in his country. He did, however, take a considerable amount of time to throw mud at his opponents, accusing them of staging the synagogue assault. This is unacceptable.

In November 2008, President Chavez signed a statement along with the presidents of Argentina and Brazil condemning religious

intolerance, and ``in particular anti-Semitism and anti-Islamism.''

In the strongest of terms I urge the government of Venezuela to live up to this statement, and end the incessant bullying and harassment of the Jews of Venezuela.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Theodore Bikel on receiving the Creative Leadership Award from the National Jewish Theater and the American Theater Festival. Throughout his life, Mr. Bikel has displayed an unwavering commitment to arts awareness, human rights, and Jewish activism, and his service to our nation is truly inspiring. No stranger to the Sunshine State, Theodore Bikel was the co-creator, co-author and co-star of the successful play Sholom Aleichem Lives, performed in early 1997 in several Florida theatres. He is also the writer and star of Sholom Aleichem: Laughter Through Tears, which recently had its world premiere in Washington, D.C. Additionally, on his long list of accomplishments, Mr. Bikel created the role of Baron Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of The Sound of Music and starred as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof more than 2,000 times. Bikel's career began in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he co-founded the Cameri Theatre, and performed classical and modern drama in Hebrew. Some of his most prominent honors include receiving an Emmy Award in 1988, having held the position of senior vice president of the American Jewish Congress, and accepting both a Doctor of Humane Letters from Hebrew Union College and the title of MAGGID from the World Union for Progressive Judaism. As Mr. Bikel marks his 85th birthday this June with a celebratory concert at Carnegie Hall, I feel grateful for this talented individual whose artistic vision and civic activism have profoundly touched the lives of all Americans.

Madam Speaker, as a proud University of Florida alumna who bleeds orange and blue, I am delighted to be an original cosponsor of H. Res. 58, Commending the University of Florida Gators for winning the 2008 Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game.

The University of Florida Gators football team squarely defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14. This tremendous victory is nothing but extraordinary on all counts. The Gators' win over Oklahoma was the third football national title for the University of Florida and the second in the past three seasons.

This victory makes the University of Florida the fourth school in the modem era to win two outright national collegiate athletics title in three years. Additionally, Gators' quarterback Tim Tebow was named the game's Most Valuable Player, with 340 yards of total offense, the third-best pass-rush total in a BCS Championship game.

While this victory is among the many reasons to be proud of the University of Florida, I am most proud of that the excellence of its academic, athletic, and research programs is beyond compare. It is both a premier public research university and a top contender in the athletic arena.

With so much to be proud of, it is no wonder that the Gator nation includes millions of people from all over the world--students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, sports fans, and anyone who shares the values and spirit of the University of Florida. It goes without saying that the Gator nation has continued to make its mark and make her alumni and the Gator family proud.

Madam Speaker, I met Lilly Ledbetter during a Judiciary Committee hearing in 2007. She told us then how it was only after 20 years of working at Goodyear that she learned of the long- standing pay discrimination against her. Immediately upon learning this, Lilly took her case to court. But instead of following long- standing precedent that each new unfair paycheck represented a new cause of action, the Supreme Court denied Lilly Ledbetter justice.

In the real world, discrimination is subtle and takes years to become evident. However, Justice Alito ruled that victims have only 180 days after the start of a discriminatory action to file suit, even if that employee has no way of knowing about it. This standard is impossible to meet. The Ledbetter Fair Pay Act rights this wrong. It clarifies that an employee is discriminated against each and every time she receives an unfair paycheck.

I thank Chairman Miller and Congresswoman DeLauro for their outstanding leadership on this issue, and for my two beautiful daughters and the daughters of America, urge my colleagues to support fair pay in the workplace.

Mr. Speaker, in 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in order to address the nation's wage gap. And yet, 46 years later women still make on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for the same work.

But thanks to Lilly Ledbetter, we are going to right that wrong today on the House floor.

In 2007, I had the opportunity to meet Lilly. She told me how she had no proof of pay discrimination until someone anonymously slipped payroll records into her mailbox. Anonymously because Goodyear's payroll records were secret.

This bill lifts the cloak of secrecy that allows these kinds of unfair pay practices to fester--which is exactly why the House proudly passed this bill last Congress.

I urge my colleagues today to once again support fair pay practices, and see that this important legislation becomes law. What you don't know, can hurt you.

I thank Chairman Miller and Representative DeLauro for their leadership on this issue.

The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bold step forward in righting the wrong of pay discrimination.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to be a cosponsor of this essential Resolution, recognizing Israel's right to defend itself against attacks from Gaza, reaffirming the United States' strong support for Israel, and supporting the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

As Israel faces intense international criticism for exercising its legitimate right to self-defense, southern Israel is being repeatedly and

consistently showered with Hamas rockets and northern Israel has been hit by rockets from Lebanon.

Like all sovereign nations, Israel has not only a right, but moreover, an obligation, to ensure the safety and security of her citizens.

Let me be very clear. Israel's response, her defense of her people, is in reaction to the hundreds of Hamas missiles that were targeted at Israeli citizens throughout the flimsy ceasefire of 2008.

Hamas's leaders, choosing terror against Israel over the welfare of the Palestinian people, have chosen violence over peace.

And while Hamas has been going out of its way to kill innocent Israelis, Israel has been going above and beyond--even putting itself at risk--to protect innocent Palestinians.

Specifically, Israel drops leaflets and makes phone calls to targeted Palestinian areas to warn citizens they are in danger, even if this means losing the element of surprise and putting the lives of its own soldiers at risk.

In contrast, Hamas deliberately attacks Israeli civilians and uses its own people as human shields.

In addition, Israel has been facilitating the transfer of significant amounts of humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip; delivering 15,000 tons of aid over the past week and a half.

Hamas, on the other hand, has stolen some of those humanitarian medical supplies from civilians to give to their gunmen.

Undeniably, the suffering is great in Israel and Gaza. Now is the time for us all to stand together in support of Israel and peace. I urge my colleagues to support this critical resolution, and pray that Hamas stops firing rockets into Israel, and starts working towards peace instead of terror.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support Senate bill 1738, the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008.

Mr. Speaker, I don't have to tell you that children today are growing up in a completely different world than we did. Our children have wonderful opportunities to learn in ways that we never had, but there are also dangers our generation never had to consider.

The Internet has facilitated an exploding multibillion dollar market for child pornography. Tragically, the demand for this criminal market can only be supplied by graphic new images, and these images can only be supplied through the sexual assault of more children.

This bill, like its House companion, H.R. 3845, that passed the House overwhelmingly last November, addresses an issue that is central to the goals and vision of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New Direction Congress, protecting our children.

The Internet is a truly wonderful tool. It has opened up the world for our children, but it has also opened up our children to the world.

A year ago, in June, I visited with a very special group of parents called the Surviving Parents Coalition, and I was not prepared for what they had to tell me. They shared with me their own horrific stories of how their children were abducted by sexual predators. As we all know, some of these children will never come home.

As the mother of three young children myself, their stories broke my heart. And as a Member of Congress, I felt compelled to act. What surprised me most about these brave parents was their message; they told me that if we wanted to prevent predators from hurting other children like theirs, that the way to do it is to go back through the Internet and get them.

A 2005 Justice Department study found that 80 percent of child pornography possessors have images and videos of children being sexually penetrated, another 21 percent possess images of bondage, sadistic abuse, and torture.

The children depicted in these photos are very young. There are even Web sites that provide live pay-per-view rates of very young children. These images are crime scene photos created by a thriving industry that uses children as sexual commodities.

Special Agent Flint Waters of the Wyoming State Police, a highly respected child exploitation investigator, testified at a Judiciary Committee hearing last year that there are nearly 500,000 identified individuals in the United States trafficking child pornography on the Internet. That's half a

million people right here in the United States. And law enforcement knows who they are and they know where they are. But what shocked me the most and what compelled me to get involved in this issue is that, due to a lack of resources, law enforcement is investigating less than 2 percent of these known 500,000 individuals. And make no mistake, law enforcement knows where they are, they just don't have the resources to go get them.

Even more shocking is that it is estimated that if we were to investigate these cases, we could actually rescue a child victim nearly 30 percent of the time.

Think about that. That means there are thousands of children out there in America just waiting to be rescued.

Alicia Kozakiewicz, whose testimony at last October's judiciary hearing moved all of us, is a living, breathing reminder of the lives that we can save. Alicia told us how over a period of months she was groomed by a 40-year-old predator pretending to be a teenage girl. When Alicia, who was 13 years old at the time, agreed to meet her cyber- friend in real life, he kidnapped her from her suburban Pittsburgh driveway and held her captive in his Virginia dungeon where he performed unspeakable sexual acts upon her day after day and broadcast it over the Internet. Just when Alicia told us that she had given up all hope, she was rescued by FBI agents.

The FBI found her because the Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, or ICAC, had the technology to lift the digital fingerprints of this perpetrator's crimes and to discover the location where he had held her captive chained to the floor.

The PROTECT Our Children Act will help provide the safety net that we so desperately need by giving us the resources and the coordination we need to bring these predators to justice. It will create statutory authority for these highly successful ICAC Task Forces, which support State and local law enforcement agencies. It will supplement this new local effort with hundreds of new Federal agents who will be solely dedicated to crimes against children. It will also provide desperately needed forensic crime and computer labs so agents can uncover troves of electronic evidence, locate these perpetrators and bring them to justice.

At the October Judiciary Committee hearing, a representative from the FBI told us two things that boggled my mind: First, that the number of agents being exclusively assigned to these cases was actually shrinking, and second, that they are giving millions of dollars that Congress had appropriated to combat child pornography to programs that have nothing to do with child protection.

This bill will set us on a new course by creating a National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention. And although I preferred the special counsel provision in the House bill, I am proud to support this measure because this national strategy will ensure that the Federal Government's efforts in this era are no longer disjointed or haphazard. Instead, there will finally be a person in charge at the Department of Justice who will report to Congress and be responsible for real results.

I want to thank my House cosponsor, Ranking Member Joe Barton, for his leadership, his concern, and his compassion for our children and their safety. And thank you, Senator Biden, for your capable staff and for your tireless work in the Senate. Your skilled negotiations helped us arrive at this moment. Thank you to NCMEC President Ernie Allen and my good friend and colleague from Houston, Congressman Nick Lampson, for your improvements to the bill with the SAFE Act. And honestly, thank you, Oprah Winfrey and all of your viewers for every letter, every telephone call, every fax and every e-mail. You helped break the Senate logjam and proved that Congress is responsive to the people.

Thank you, Erin Runnion, Ed Smart, Mary Kozakiewicz, names that are far too familiar to Americans because of the travesty that happened to their children, and to all the founding members of the Surviving Parents Coalition. When this bill got mired in petty partisan politics, they helped us remember what our effort was really about. It is about Samantha, it is about Elizabeth, and it is about Alicia. It is making sure we rescue every child we can and that we leave none behind. And thank you to Flint Waters for developing the software to locate predators and rescue children. Your work and the work of the ICAC Task Force agents across this country from Broward County, Florida to Wyoming, who wake up every morning, work long hours each day, only to go home at night knowing they don't have the resources or staffing power to rescue every child. The angst that must cause is unimaginable.

Last and certainly not least, I want to commend the inexhaustible determination of Grier Weeks, Camille Cooper, David Keith and all our friends with the National Association to PROTECT Children. They kept our noses to the grindstone and our eyes on the prize. And we would never be here without their effort. They have shown us what we can do when Congress comes together and puts partisan differences aside.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to ask the Members to join me in paying a special tribute to one of the most respected and knowledgeable staffers here on Capitol Hill. After more than 30 years of Federal service, Chuck Turner is retiring from the Appropriations Committee today.

Chuck is one of the finest examples of a public servant that we have in this institution. He has worked tirelessly on the Legislative Branch Subcommittee for more than 20 years, and leaves behind a record of integrity and service to this institution that few can match.

The tremendous expertise and insight he has brought to the day-to-day oversight of the House of Representatives and the entire legislative branch will be sorely missed. I have gotten to know Chuck over the past 2 years in my role as Chair of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee. We owe Chuck a deep debt of gratitude for the great contributions that he has made, and this rookie Cardinal owes him a tremendous personal debt.

Chuck, we will miss you. We thank you for your service, and wish you good luck with all of your future endeavors. Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6625, the Veteran Voting Support Act. I want to thank my colleague, Chairman Brady, for sponsoring this important legislation.

We have a special duty to make it easier, not harder, for all our citizens to participate in this great democracy. I was utterly appalled to learn that earlier this year, the Department of Veterans Affairs was blocking non-partisan voter registration organizations from its facilities.

Congressional and public outrage forced the VA to revise its policy. However, their ``new'' directive still falls short of providing the voting assistance our veterans deserve. This is simply unacceptable. H.R. 6625 requires the VA to actively offer voter registration and assistance opportunities to our veterans.

Every day our soldiers risk life and limb to protect our liberties and defend our freedoms. When they come home, we owe them the most sacred of freedoms--the right to vote. We must do everything in our power to help them register and participate in this historic election.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Mitchell Appleman, a south Florida veteran of World War II and President-Emeritus of the Hallandale Jewish Center. Mr. Appleman was a well-known member of our community, involved with numerous causes and organizations. He was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Princeton University before enlisting and fighting in General Patton's army in Europe during World War II. Upon his discharge from the U.S. Army, Mr. Appleman made a living in architectural woodworking, lending his skills to schools, hospitals, courtrooms, and religious institutions. After retiring to south Florida in 1976, he began his second career of service in his new community. Mr. Appleman became active at the Hallandale Jewish Center, serving as its longest acting president for many years and most recently as Chairman of the Board and its President-Emeritus. He was also Treasurer of the South Florida Chapter of Friends for Life. Through his work at the Hallandale Jewish Center, Mr. Appleman went on to support Jewish day schools in the south Florida community, American Friends of Bar-Ilan University, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Federation. In addition to his wife of 12 years, Riki, Mr. Appleman is survived by his two children, Nanci Vassil and Mark Appleman, and their spouses Nick and Billie; his grandchildren, Aslan, Michael, Layla and Jason; his great-grandson, Brighton; and a very close cousin, Howard Appleman. Mitchell Appleman was a kind, wonderful man whose presence will be greatly missed.

Mr. Speaker, how can words adequately describe someone who is larger than life? Stephanie Tubbs Jones was a change- maker and a risk-taker. As a woman, she helped blaze a trail for generations to follow, first in her role as a prosecutor, then a judge, then as Ohio's first African American female Member of Congress.

To me personally, Stephanie was a mentor and a role model. Someone who didn't hesitate to pull me aside when I first came to Washington and give me advice, from my wardrobe to my hair, Stephanie kept it real, because that is exactly what she was in every sense of the word.

Above all else, though, Stephanie was my friend, and one of my first friends here in Washington. Her room-filling energy, her passion, her dedication, her voice for the downtrodden, all of these will be missed by the people of Ohio. Her intelligence, her expertise, her counsel will be missed by all of us here in this Chamber.

And me? Well, Mr. Speaker, I will miss my friend.

Mr. Speaker, in 1963 President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in order to address the wage gap, and yet 45 years later, more than my entire life, women still make on average only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men for the same work.

Last summer I had the opportunity to meet Lilly Ledbetter during a House Judiciary Committee hearing. When she worked for Goodyear, she had no proof of pay discrimination until someone anonymously slipped payroll records into her mailbox. When Lilly took her case to court, the Supreme Court failed her, telling her she should have known all along she was being discriminated against, even though Goodyear's payroll records were secret. This bill lifts the cloak of secrecy that allows these kinds of unfair pay practices to fester.

I urge my colleagues today to support eliminating discriminatory pay practices. Let's create an America where our next generation of daughters get paid for their worth equally, regardless of their gender.

My congratulations to Congresswoman DeLauro and Chairman Miller for their leadership on this issue. The Paycheck Fairness Act is a bold step forward in righting the wrong of pay discrimination.