Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it was with great sorrow that I learned of the passing of my dear friend and constituent, Tina Allen. Tina dedicated her life to documenting the spirit of black Americans through her sculptures.

Each of her subjects, famous or not, were her way of writing our history in bronze. As an artist, she was an inspiration. As a person, she was a beacon of life as she brought to life the features of great people.

She often said that ``great people should have great monuments.'' Her work includes abolitionist Frederick Douglass at the African American Museum of Birmingham and featured in the movie, ``Akeelah and the Bee''; Rev. Martin Luther King in Las Vegas, Nevada; botanist George Washington Carver at the St. Louis Botanical Garden; Sojourner Truth, City Hall Park, Battle Creek, Michigan; and more recently, entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr.

Tina worked on projects big and small. She was best known for her monumental statue of ``Roots'' author, Alex Haley, which was installed at Haley's Heritage Park in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1998. Her hands were able to create life-like images from simple mounds of clay. As a result of her work, Tina was interviewed as a featured artist on the ``Best of CBS Sunday Morning.''

Ms. Allen was a child prodigy in sculpture and at age 11 was taken under the wing of internationally renowned abstract sculptor, William Zorach. After earning her BFA from the University of South Alabama in Mobile, she continued her studies in New York and also in Italy.

To her family and friends, I extend my sincerest condolences on their loss. Her sculptures will live on as a testament and inspiration to others. She will be sorely missed, but forever remembered.

And Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield the remaining part of my time to the distinguished Congresswoman from California, Maxine Waters.

Thank you, Ms. Waters.

Mr. Speaker, with 8 straight months of job losses, the Bush economy has now shed 605,000 jobs this year. The state of our Nation's economy is a direct result of economic policies Washington Republicans have been waiting decades to implement. But it wasn't until they had control of all levels of power from 2001 to 2007 that they fully implemented their strategy. Middle class families are now paying the price.

For 7 years now President Bush and congressional Republicans have been looking out for the wealthiest few while 2.5 million more Americans are unemployed and nearly 5 million more Americans live in poverty. While the price of groceries, gasoline, and health care have all gone up, the purchasing power of a middle income salary has fallen over the last 7 years. Real wages have only grown .3 percent since 2000, compared to 7.7 percent growth during the Clinton years in the 1990s.

Mr. Speaker, middle class families fair much better economically when a Democrat inhabits the White House. The American people should support real change in November.

Thank you so much, Madam Chairman, and thank you, Mr. Speaker. I had some prepared remarks, but I think the intimate stories really speak to who she was and how we felt about who she was.

After the untimely passing of our colleague Juanita Millender- McDonald, Stephanie called and she says, ``Hey girl, I am coming out there to spend some time. I just want to be in Juanita's space.''

So she came out, and I picked her up. And representing Hollywood, I took her with me that weekend, and she met Ben Vereen and she met other celebrities, and she was so thrilled. She said to me, ``I'm coming out again, girl. I'm coming out again.''

After we had our AKA Boule several weeks ago here and we had our pink and green, she came in the last I saw her in her red. And she came strutting down this aisle, and she said, ``See, I got my red on. We are getting ready to have our Boule too.'' I said, ``Well, your red is just a deeper pink.'' We laughed. And that was the last time I saw her.

Stephanie was that kind of person, who, as everyone has described her as being, she lived life to the fullest. She was a fighter with a tremendous presence. She stood up for tens of thousands who could not stand up for themselves, and she fought for justice, equality and opportunity for every American. In her home State of Ohio and in her beloved city of Cleveland, she led the fight for election reform to assure that every American's vote was counted and was valued.

Stephanie was also loved and respected by her colleagues here on Capitol Hill, where in relatively short order she was appointed the first, among her many firsts, African American woman to the prestigious Ways and Means Committee. She also served as chairwoman of the Committee on Ethics and made great strides to work across the aisle in a nonpartisan manner.

I admired her enthusiasm for public service, her integrity, her warmth and her keen intellect. I extend to the family my condolences, to her friends and to all of her colleagues. Her presence will be missed. But I know she is in this assemblage at this moment. Her shoes will be hard to fill, but, Stephanie, we feel the surge of energy as we speak of you this evening.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Madam Speaker, Americans are driving out of their way to fill up on the cheapest gas and are skipping summer vacations and important appointments because gas prices today are just too high.

And while Americans are paying record-high prices, Big Oil is reaping record-high profits. But instead of investing those profits for exploration on the 311 million acres of land open to new energy production, Big Oil spends their money on stock buybacks and dividends.

In 1993, oil companies spent only 1 percent of their profits on stocks. Last year, that number rose to 55 percent. And yet Big Oil continues to spend only in the single digits on finding new oil. It's no wonder that 68 million acres of land already leased to Big Oil sits undeveloped because Big Oil is spending all of its profits buying back its stock rather than searching for new oil. And yet House Republicans continue to allow Big Oil to get away with this.

Last week, for the second time, House Republicans could have forced Big Oil to use it or lose it, but once again, they sided with Big Oil. How high do prices have to get before House Republicans will join us in providing relief for the consumer?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the integration of the U.S. Armed Forces. The policy that opened the door to full integration of the military was executive order 9981, signed by President Harry Truman on July 26, 1948. Despite the fact that President Truman signed this order, African Americans have served in this Nation's military with distinction since the Revolutionary War.

Some of the storied accomplishments of blacks in the military date back to the War of 1812. During the Battle of Lake Erie in September of 1813, which this event is depicted in a painting at the head of the east stairway in the Senate wing of the Capitol, nine small ships defeated a British squadron of six vessels, and due to the shortage of personnel, about 25 percent of the sailors involved were black.

During the Civil War in September, 1864, the Battle of New Market Heights was one of the last major fights before the war came to a conclusion. During the conflict, 14 blacks won the Congressional Medal of Honor for their bravery in the line of fire. This event marked the largest amount of blacks to receive the Medal of Honor for a single battle. This accomplishment has almost been left out of the history books, but today we recognize their honorable service and contributions to freedom.

During World War II in 1943 and 1944, a group of young determined black men who called themselves the Tuskegee Airmen, which my late first cousin, First Lieutenant Ira O'Neal, served as one of the original pilots, fought in the skies over North Africa and Europe with honor and with courage. The Airmen flew over 15,000 sorties and over 200 bomber escort missions. Some individuals have questioned their record of never losing a bomber to enemy fire, but, nevertheless, their accomplishments blazed a trail of fire towards integration in the Armed Forces.

Even after the signing of executive order 9981 in 1948, neither the Army nor the Navy planned to alter their existing racial policies, and it wasn't until October 30, 1954, when the Secretary of Defense finally announced that the last racial segregated unit in the Armed Forces of the United States had been abolished.

In April of 1948, there were only 41 black officers in the regular Army, and that was up from 8 in June of 1945. By the end of June, 1948, there were only 5 warrant officers and 65,000 black enlisted men and women.

During fiscal year 2004, the total strength of the Armed Forces was over 2.2 million people. Military demographics showed that African American men and women made up over 16,800 commissioned officers, more than 3,300 warrant officers and over 313,900 enlisted. At that time blacks made up 16.7 percent of the total strength of the Armed Forces.

We have come a long way as a Nation in 60 years to integrate the U.S. military. African Americans in defense of this Nation are now commanders of warships, advisers to Presidents, but there is still more work to be done in terms of diversity in the senior levels of military leadership.

Currently, less than 5 percent of officers at the rank of one star general and above are African American. As this Nation moves forward and we realize the future threats we will face, it is imperative that we tap into our full potential and give minorities opportunities to hold senior leadership roles in our military.

That is why I would like to thank Representatives Cummings, Meek, Johnson, and Castor of the House Armed Services Committee for sponsoring the Senior Military Leadership Diversity Commission. The commission will study the development of minorities to reach the general and flag officer ranks of the Armed Forces.

For many years blacks have fought on two fronts in their military careers. One front was on the battlefield in pursuit of freedom for our country, and the second front was on the city streets, where they fought against racism and discrimination.

So, Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues to further diversify the senior ranks of the military, and I look forward to the official celebration of the 60th anniversary of the integration of the Armed Forces in the Capitol rotunda.

And I would just like to add that our new superintendent of schools in Los Angeles is a former admiral, Admiral Brewer, and we're very proud to have him. Not an educator, but a well-proven military leader.

Mr. Speaker, Americans continue to suffer pain at the gas pump due to 7 years of missed opportunities and outdated policies. President Bush's energy strategy was literally written by the oil companies--give more public resources to the same oil companies that are raking in record profits while Americans are reeling from record prices.

Every day we hear House Republicans demanding the need for more domestic drilling in order to reduce gas prices. What we don't hear is anyone on that side of the aisle demanding that Big Oil drill on the 68 million acres of land they are sitting on, refusing to develop.

Legislation on the floor today will force those oil companies to produce oil and gas or diligently develop the 68 million acres of public land they already have, otherwise they will lose the leases. Experts estimate that these reserves could produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil.

Mr. Speaker, just how long are congressional Republicans going to follow President Bush's lead? Thanks to 7 years of Bush policies, Americans are facing skyrocketing costs for basic necessities. Millions of families have lost their homes, unemployment is rising, and 7 million more Americans are uninsured.

You would think any one of these statistics would send congressional Republicans looking for a different solution. Instead, it appears a plan to blindly follow until the finish.

When the President vetoed a bipartisan bill that would provide health coverage to 10 million children, House Republicans stood with President Bush twice in supporting his veto. When the President vetoed legislation for stem cell research that could lead to cures for diseases such as diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer's, House Republicans once again stood by President Bush and upheld his veto. Then last week a majority of Republicans refused to provide relief to 3.8 million Americans who are struggling to find new jobs.

When are congressional Republicans going to realize that following President Bush is not the answer?

Madam Speaker, it was with great sorrow that I learned of the loss of my dear friend, Pat Tobin.

Pat was the Founder and CEO of Tobin and Associates, one of the most prominent minority, female-owned public relations firms whose clientele included celebrities, entertainment companies, non-profit/political organizations and national/international corporations.

Pat was more than an astute business woman, she was a ``people person.'' She always had a big, beautiful smile that graced her face at all times. She was the epitome of ``grace under pressure.''

Pat was a mover and shaker in the public relations industry. She was a founder of the National Black Public Relations Society and a committed member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

She was a dedicated activist for causes that impacted minorities, women and youth and she secured financial support from corporations and philanthropic organizations for a variety of important initiatives. She was selfless and dedicated in everything she did. She was regarded as a standard bearer for public relations professionals of all races due to her innovative, hard working and compassionate nature.

One of her NABJ colleagues wrote the following poem about Pat:

I will not mourn Pat Tobin.

I will not be sad.

I will not let her passing depress me.

Instead I will continue to use the model she shared for

life's personal journey.

I will take the attitude that personal and professional

setbacks are an opportunity to make one-self stronger.

I will look at seemingly insurmountable road-blocks as

mental, emotional and sometimes physical challenges as

opportunities to become a force to be reckoned with.

I will choose to be what she believed all of us are capable

of.

I extend my most heartfelt condolences to Pat's family, her colleagues, her many close friends in Los Angeles and around the country. She will be sorely missed.

Madam Speaker, for 7 years now, Washington Republicans have allowed Big Oil to run our Nation's energy policy. From the very first days of this administration, Vice President Cheney was meeting in secret with energy executives to develop its energy proposal. Today we see the results of that secret policy that was approved by a rubber- stamp Republican Congress. When President Bush took office, the average price of gas was $1.47. Today, it has more than doubled to an average hovering around $4.

Since taking control of Congress last year, Democrats have rejected the failed Republican policies that are responsible for these record high prices. We are working to lower prices by cracking down on price gouging, holding OPEC accountable for price fixing, repealing subsidies for profit-rich oil companies, and instead investing in renewable energy.

Each of these efforts have received some partisan support, but the Republican leadership of this House and the President continue to oppose our efforts.

Mr. Speaker, this will be the first of a special order pinpointing and focusing on the need for universal health care insurance.

There will be speakers today that will point up various areas of need. But in opening this hour, I would like to say that over the past 15 years there has been incremental reforms that have expanded health care coverage to limited populations and have crowded out an increasing number of Americans from the private insurance market.

Preventable and mismanaged chronic disease, such as asthma, cancer, diabetes and heart disease, are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States and account for the vast majority of health care spending. They have affected the quality of life for 133 million Americans and are responsible for 7 out of every 10 deaths in the United States, killing more than 1.7 million Americans every year. Chronic diseases are also the primary driver of health care costs, accounting for more than 75 cents of every dollar we spend on health care in this country.

As reported by the Centers for Disease Control, in 2005, this amounted to $1.5 trillion of the trillions spent on health. Despite worldwide problems, the issue of chronic disease does not register with large segments of the public. As policymakers, we must raise the awareness of the health care crisis on this issue of the uninsured and underinsured as a primary concern in Congress.

Now, there is legislation to ensure that all Americans will have access guaranteed by law through the highest quality and most cost- effective health care services, regardless of their employment, income or health status.

The following Members will be speaking on this issue, and I call up as the first speaker the young lady from Texas, Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee.

I thank you, and call on the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).

We thank you for your depth of understanding of the issue.

Now I yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).

We would like to thank you, the Honorable Jan Schakowsky, for a thorough analysis of what the problem in access to health care really is. Thank you.

The Representative from Kansas, Nancy Boyda, Dr. Representative Christian Christensen, Mr. Speaker, you were on our list to make a presentation in this hour. Would you like to do it? And I don't know what's protocol. Mr. Speaker, Representative Schakowsky will take your place temporarily so you can make your presentation if you choose.

I just want to say that Members in this first hour have struck a chord with the American people and the needs. And when we talk about homeland security, it is not the land, it's the people on the land. And I am very disturbed that we're losing too many of our people who help defend this land to all kinds of diseases and health problems that need not be. With the proper kind of access to health care, we wouldn't be seeing so many of our viable citizens perish. We could do something about it.

So we intend, Mr. Speaker, to have a series of these discussions with America. And we do hope that maybe we can pull in CNN, Nightline, that's ABC, Channel 7, to hold a periodic series of these discussions about access to health care.

We do hope that you're able to make your presentation at this time, Mr. Speaker.

All right. I understand that you won't be speaking at this time, so let me--how much time do we have left on this hour?

I would just like to read some of the 51 stories of Americans with cancer who suddenly find themselves overburdened with medical bills, and they have gaps in their coverage. These are real people, Mr. Speaker. These are real Americans who are calling out to us.

As you know, we've had two very fine proposals coming from Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama that would address access to health care.

Over on our side, in our House, we have the valiant efforts over the years of Congressman John Conyers, Jr. He would have been here today, but there was a conflict. But he will continue the drum beat and the call for us to get down to business so we can have accessible health care.

I'd like to take some time to read you the plight of real Americans. This one is Susan M. She said, ``My husband, Tom, was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1996, just 4 months after our daughter was born. He underwent three series of chemotherapy before dying of encephalitis in 2001. At that time the entire family was insured through his employer.

``The monthly premiums went to $900 per month, and since I had left my job to care for him, I didn't have many options. I was able to get the kids covered by Medicaid, and I signed up for Ingram Health, which only covers doctors visits and prescriptions, not hospitalization or long-term treatment. This carried us along until a mammogram showed I had breast cancer in 2006, then I was put in to the breast and cervical cancer program. I received excellent care and am currently cancer-free.

``Earlier this year I took a contract position for 6 months at 20 to 30 hours per week. Working again helped my attitude tremendously. The depression I had struggled with for 10 years started to lift, and I was feeling positive about my future prospects.

``But, of course, the extra income meant that my kids were no longer eligible for Medicaid. So I had the added stress of finding insurance for them. I was afraid that my eligibility in the breast and cervical cancer program was also in jeopardy, so I never told my case manager about working.

``Now, the contract has run out and I'm looking for work again. I'm afraid that my coverage under the breast and cancer program will end before I can

get a job with benefits. And the bill for the children's insurance will be due in a few weeks. And I worry about what impact a pre-existing condition will have on my job prospects.

``It doesn't seem fair that my health should be tied so punitively to a job. It just adds to the emotional stress, which is already too high.

``Thank you for reading and thank you for caring.''

That was from Susan M.

Jennifer G says, ``My mother suffered and died with ovarian cancer. It was terrible. And as with many ovarian cancers, hers was not detected until it was way too late for successful treatment.

I am 36 years old now. My husband and I are finished having children. My doctor recommended that I have a hysterectomy because my risk of getting ovarian cancer is much higher now.

I am lucky enough to have health insurance. Unfortunately, an accountant working for the insurance company is able to override what my doctor recommends because they don't want to pay for it. They would rather take the gamble that I may or may not get the cancer. I, of course, would rather not gamble with my life.

``I am all for everyone having health insurance and having access to whatever health care they need. However, being covered by health insurance does not guarantee that you will get the treatment you need or any treatment that your doctor might recommend.

``It is not enough to demand coverage for all people. Insurance companies would still have the power to say no any time they want to save some money.

``And I don't have the solutions. I can just recommend that this is a problem on two levels. Getting some kind of universal health care coverage will just be the first step. Getting insurance companies to cooperate with doctors decisions will be the next step. This is where much of the reform will need to happen.

``Plus, I know several people who are fighting cancer and recovering from cancer. All of them have health insurance. Most of them are being denied coverage for medicine to fight their cancer. It is pathetic to have health insurance and not be able to count on it to help you when you need it the most.''

And Mr. Speaker, just this morning, I was called to be told that one of our dear friends and PR persons died of cancer at 2 a.m. this morning. Her name was Pat Tobin. She came from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Los Angeles a couple of decades ago. She has a daughter, a sister.

And we went to her bedside on Friday, and I could see at that point that she possibly would not make it through the night. But she did. She made it until 2:00 a.m. this morning.

And I tell about that particular account because if we could set priorities in this country to cover the health needs of all Americans, rather than pour billions of dollars into a conflict 10,000 miles away, that I see never ending, and I see us involving ourselves in sectorial problems that we don't even understand. We don't even understand the language the people speak. How in the world could we understand their customs and their conflicts with each other?

If we could take that money out of the gopher hole it's in and put it into research in this country to stop this deadly epidemic of cancer throughout our land, wouldn't this make our country stronger?

We're losing 4,000, we have lost 4,090 people, and countless innocent Iraqis and others. I hear it could be as much as 300,000.

But no, we stupidly, stupidly and incorrectly continue to dump monies, and we don't even take care of our own domestic priorities.

We argued over health care for children? Every child in this country, whether that child is here with legal papers or not, not only deserves an education, but deserves health care. What kind of country are we that let its own people die because insurance companies are saying oh, no, that's too much?

And we never see their actuarial data, by the way, Mr. Speaker. That actuarial data could go into investments that fail. We don't know it. They just up the premium.

And when you have a catastrophic illness or a long-term illness, it could bankrupt you. Look at Ed McMahon, Tonight Show host, along with Johnny Carson, for decades. And now he's on CNN on the Larry King Show, talking about his broken neck and his injuries, and now his Malibu home is in foreclosure.

That's an American of prominence who was worth at one time $100 million. But a catastrophic illness could run you into bankruptcy. And that story is told many, many times.

I will not take the time now, Mr. Speaker, but these are actual people with actual stories. And we are the policymakers, and we're going to continue to tell their stories night after night until we, as a body, until we, as the Congress, can come together and set our priorities on what is really necessary to keep America strong. And it might take a new administration.

So we're going to lay the groundwork for the next President and Commander in Chief of these United States to choose prosperity, to choose health care, to choose education, to choose social services over profiteering by your best buddies in the oil industry. You can read between those lines. And we hope that the next President of the United States will set, as its higher goal, to keep America healthy and be sure that every single American and persons here can get that kind of health care. So together we can conquer.

We should not lose another person to cancer. We should not in this country because we should have done the kind of in-depth research and tests so that we could come up with various prescriptions and remedies to save the lives of so many worthy people.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker, for this time. We will be back again another night.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to close out this hour by saying all those who came forward this evening we appreciate so much because you represent different areas of the country, and we hope this word can get out across the country that we're ready to move forward.

And I do hope that we can follow through on our plans to go over the media to present the case. So I'm going to request that all Members who have stories such as the ones I read, submit them to Congressman Conyer's office so we can compile these and be sure that we've referenced them as we move closer to accessible health care for all Americans.

And with that, I would like to close out this hour, reserve the balance of our time for another evening.

Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker, for the time.

Mr. Speaker, over the last month this Democratic Congress has passed important legislation that will help our economy, our veterans, and millions of middle class families. But our efforts are being opposed by a Bush White House that refuses to work with us to solve our Nation's most pressing problems.

We can't turn around our economy without addressing the escalating housing crisis. Last month, we passed a comprehensive package that addresses the crisis directly, helps stabilize the housing market, and makes a real difference for families at risk for losing their homes.

To help jump-start our economy and help reduce prices at the gas pump, we passed legislation that extends vital tax relief to millions of families, strengthens investment opportunities for American businesses, and encourages the production and use of renewable energy. To help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we passed a new GI Bill that restores promised 4-year scholarships so they can go to college after they complete their military service.

Mr. Speaker, we are passing legislation here in the House that can make a real difference for all Americans.

Madam Speaker, please let me set the record straight on congressional action on gas prices.

We now have a law, it is the farm bill, the historic investment in affordable biofuels, and beefed-up oversight on market manipulation. The President's veto was overridden on May 21 of this year. We also have the Renewable Energy and Job Act. It was passed on May 21 and there is a threat of a veto, but it was passed. Then, the Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act, holding OPEC and oil companies accountable for price fixing, and it passed on May 20, it is also under a veto threat.

Now we have a law, Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act. It was passed on May 13 and it had a pretty hefty vote to take it out of this House, it is now law. Let's set the record straight.

We also repealed subsidies to profit-rich big oil companies, and invest in renewable energy. It also is under veto threat. It passed here at the beginning of the year, February 27. We also have a law, Energy Independence Law with Market Manipulation Ban & New Vehicle Mileage Standards. It is now law. It passed the House last year on December 18, 2007.

We have another bill that is under a veto threat, a crackdown on gas price gouging. It passed the House on another pretty hefty vote that was bipartisan; it passed on May 23. And, Hold OPEC Accountable for Oil Price Fixing, it passed on May 22 on a vote of 345-72, and it is under veto threat.

Now, Madam Speaker, you are going to hear that the Democrats aren't doing anything, but let me give you the exact votes on all of these bills.

The Republican leader, John Boehner, voted ``no'' on OPEC price fixing, oil fixing. He voted ``no'' on price gouging. He voted ``no'' on renewable energy. He voted ``no'' on energy security.

Roy Blunt voted ``no'' on OPEC price fixing, ``no'' on price gouging, and ``no'' on renewable energy.

Adam Putnam voted ``no'' on price gouging and renewable energy.

Thaddeus McCotter voted ``no'' on renewable energy and ``no'' on energy security.

And it goes on and on and on.

So to set the record straight, we are putting out sound bills to address the oil, shall I say, surge in price, because in my city of Los Angeles I was astounded when I got home to see that Diesel 2 sells in Los Angeles on the average for $4.99.9. I am sure when I get back to Los Angeles in a week it will be $5. The average price of gas in Los Angeles, in my district, and really throughout California, is $4.12 a gallon.

Madam Speaker, we are proposing good and sound legislation to address the needs for energy and renewable energy sources in the United States of America so our constituencies can get back and forth to work and enjoy a better life, and so we need the help of the other party because this should not be an issue that is partisan. It is an issue for America.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas.

I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 335 which authorizes the use of the Capitol Grounds on Thursday, July 17, for a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

In January of this year, the sorority began its year-long celebration of its 100-year anniversary. Founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is the first Greek-letter organization founded by African American college women.

Alpha Kappa Alpha is a sisterhood of women who have consciously chosen to improve the socioeconomic conditions in their city, in their State, in the Nation and in the world. Its history tells a story of changing patterns of human relations in America in the 20th Century. The small group who organized the sorority was just 1 generation removed from slavery.

Through the years, the sorority directed its efforts towards improving the quality of life for all mankind, while living our sorority's motto, ``by culture and by merit.''

I am so proud to count myself and Eddie Bernice Johnson as members and proud members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Throughout the years, I have witnessed firsthand how the power, vision and commitment of our founders and members have inspired Alpha Kappa Alpha to endure and prosper through 10 decades.

I encourage my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 335, which will ensure that a vital component of the 100th anniversary celebration will take place on these distinguished grounds of the United States Capitol.

I want you to know, our membership is very tuned in to the issues that we face domestically and we face internationally. And they would want to see all of us be able to benefit from the legislation that is passing both Chambers and going to the Governor to reduce the prices of oil, to address our infrastructure, to provide the right to health care for every American, to be sure that Americans can receive and realize the American dream to home ownership.

I am so proud to stand here in support of H. Con. Res. 335, to allow our membership to come in and get into this progressive atmosphere and to celebrate their 100th year of existence.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak on the Watson-Cummings amendment to section 595 of the National Defense Authorization Act. Our amendment would strengthen the Senior Military Leadership Diversity Commission by including the U.S. Coast Guard as part of the commission's membership and including them in the overall scope of the study.

The U.S. Coast Guard has the worst diversity rates among minority commissioned officers of the Armed Forces. The Coast Guard's membership on the commission would help ensure that the study provides insight into ways to increase the number of minority senior commissioned officers within the services.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Representative Cummings for working with me on this amendment, and ask our colleagues to support diversity within the Armed Forces by supporting this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1144) expressing support for designation of a ``Frank Sinatra Day'' on May 13, 2008, in honor of the dedication of the Frank Sinatra commemorative stamp, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I stand to join my colleagues in the consideration and support of H. Res. 1144, as amended, which expresses support for the designation of Frank Sinatra Day in honor of the dedication of the Postal Service's Frank Sinatra commemorative stamp.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1144 was introduced by our colleague, Congressman Jose Serrano of New York, on April 23, 2008, and at the moment the measure enjoys the cosponsorship of nearly 60 Members of Congress. H. Res. 1144 was considered and approved by the Oversight panel on March 13, 2008, by a voice vote, after being amended for technical purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from New York (Mr. Serrano).

(Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York for sponsoring the measure at hand, and I would certainly urge passage of this bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.