Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bell).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, College Education Month focuses our attention on a question Americans with children are asking themselves: How will I be able to afford a college education for my children?

Rising tuition rates force families to borrow thousands of dollars to fund their children's college education. The debt that these families and new graduates face after graduation is daunting. The majority of college students today will have borrowed over $20,000 by the time they graduate.

As Federal and State governments reduce student financial aid because of budgetary constraints, families have to bear more of the financial responsibility for college costs, and they need to plan accordingly.

To encourage families to save for their children's college education well before college, the College Savings Plans Network was formed in 1999 as an affiliate to the National Association of State Treasurers. To make higher education more attainable, the Network serves as a clearinghouse for information about existing college savings programs.

Tuition rates have risen well past the rates of inflation. During any 17-year period from 1958 to 2001, the average annual tuition inflation was between 6 percent and 9 percent, ranging from 1.2 times general inflation to 2.1 times general inflation. On average, tuition tends to increase about 8 percent per year. An 8 percent college inflation rate means that the cost of college doubles every 9 years. For a baby born today, this means that college costs will be more than three times the current rate when the child matriculates college.

College savings plans allow participants to save money in a special college savings account for college applicants' education expenses. Contributions can vary, depending on individual saving goals. Savings account funds can be used nationwide at eligible institutions.

To raise awareness about these programs, the Network has designated September ``College Education Month.'' This resolution supports the Network and its efforts to help families plan, prepare and save for college education without relying heavily on student loans and financial aid.

The steadily increasing costs of college education should not stop America's youth from reaching their goals and aspirations.

I urge passage of this important resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bell).

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

Mr. Speaker, 11 preteen boys from East Boynton Beach came within a game of winning the Little League World Series. They lost the Little League game to Japan, but they had a wonderful time playing the game and spending the summer becoming the first team from southern Florida to win the national championship. A pitcher on the East Boynton Beach team said of the Little League World Series game, ``I don't care that we lost. We had a blast.''

Little League baseball was created for just that purpose. In 1938, a man named Carl Stotz hit upon the idea for an organized baseball team for the boys of his hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Mr. Stotz gathered several of the neighborhood children and experimented with different types of equipment and different field dimensions during that summer. In 1939, he enlisted the help of others and formed three teams: Lycoming Dairy, Lundy Lumber, and Jumbo Pretzel.

Mr. Stotz came up with the name Little League, and the first Little League game was played June 6, 1939. His idea was to provide a wholesome program of baseball for the boys of Williamsport as a way to teach them the ideals of sportsmanship, fair play, and teamwork.

Carl Stotz would have been proud of the East Boynton Beach team. Sportsmanship, fair play, and teamwork are what made them the 2003 United States Little League Champions, an example not often set by the grown-ups involved in the game.

The East Boynton Beach Little League baseball team played with respect and friendship for their coaches, parents, and opposing teams. And all should be commended.

I join the sponsors of this resolution in commending them for their achievements.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler).

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

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I rise in support of H.R. 1883 which names a postal facility in Jacksonville, Florida, after Eddie Mae Steward. This bill was sponsored by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) and has the support and cosponsorship of the entire Florida State delegation. The measure was unanimously reported out of committee on September 12, 2003.

Eddie Mae Steward, a native Floridian and lifelong resident of the Jacksonville community, was well known as a community leader and civil rights activist. She began her career as a civil rights advocate when she filed the suit for desegregation for the Duval County School System. She continued her efforts on behalf of her community by leading a series of successful fights to improve run-down public schools in Jacksonville.

In 1972, Eddie Mae Steward became the first female president of the Jacksonville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a position she held for 6 years. She also served as the Florida State NAACP president from 1973 to 1974, as well as secretary of the Duval County Democratic Executive Committee. Sadly, she passed away on March 5, 2000.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues for seeking to honor the late Eddie Mae Steward by naming a postal facility near her family home in Jacksonville, Florida. I urge the swift passage of H.R. 1883.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and it is indeed a great honor to rise before this distinguished body as the original sponsor of H.R. 1821, a bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Dorothy Height.

I first want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for their diligent work on this bill, as well as staffers Joe Pinder and Jaime Lizarraga.

Dr. Height, who turned 91 earlier this year, continues to have an active and distinguished career as a human rights activist and humanitarian. She is recognized as the preeminent social and civil rights activist of our time and is known as the grand dame of America's civil rights movement.

Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that there is any recipient of a Congressional Gold Medal whose career has been as long and as productive as Dr. Dorothy Height's. It spans almost three-quarters of a century, and Dorothy Height is still going strong into the 21st century.

As a young woman, at the age of 25, Dr. Height joined forces with Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council of Negro Women, in her quest for women's full and equal employment and education advancement. During her tenure with the legendary Mary McLeod Bethune, Dr. Height's career as a preeminent civil rights activist began to unfold as she tirelessly worked to prevent lynching, desegregate the armed forces, reform the criminal justice system, and create free access to public facilities.

That same year, Dr. Height began her work with the national Young Women's Christian Association of the USA. She rose quickly through several leadership positions and developed numerous programs to promote interracial and ecumenical education.

Dr. Height is credited with developing strategies to ensure the success of the YWCA's mission of providing equal opportunity and facilities for women of all cultures, ethnicities and nationalities. Dr. Height is considered one of the major leaders of the civil rights movement of the 1960s. As one of the Big Six civil rights leaders, she was the only woman at the table when Dr. Martin Luther King and others made plans for the civil rights movement. Dr. Height was constantly inspiring others, from the poor to world leaders, to achieve at the highest level. As an adviser to Presidents through their First Ladies, Dr. Height has effected significant change in the lives of not only African American women, but all women and their loved ones. She counseled Eleanor Roosevelt and prodded President Eisenhower to desegregate the Nation's schools. And she pressed President Johnson to appoint black women to sub-Cabinet posts. Dr. Height's many achievements and her distinguished service to the Nation and the world has earned her over 50 awards and honors from local and State governments as well as the Federal Government. Some of them include the following, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award from the National Council of Jewish Women; the Ministerial Interfaith Association Award; the Lovejoy Award, the highest recognition by the Elks of the World; the Ladies Home Journal ``Woman of the Year'' Award; the Congressional Black Caucus's William L. Dawson Award for decades of

public service; the Citizens Medal Award presented by President Reagan for her distinguished service to the Nation; the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom Medal; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award presented by President Clinton.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor and humility that I proposed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Height. The time is long past due to recognize and to pay tribute to the significant works of this American treasure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the so- called partial-birth abortion ban conference report. This legislation is dangerous and deceptive; it is politically driven and filled with mischaracterizations for the sole purpose of inflaming the abortion debate. I strongly urge my colleagues to defeat this report.

Everyone in this House knows that ``partial birth'' is a political term, not a medical term. It was invented as political rhetoric designed to erode the protections of Roe v. Wade. In fact, the bill that passed the House this Congress would apply to more than just a single abortion procedure, the intact D&E or the D&X procedure, to include prohibitions on abortions well before viability. It is clear that the bill opens up a slippery slope where its ultimate goal is to ban abortion entirely.

The partial-birth abortion ban is opposed by numerous medical and health organizations. Among them are the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Women's Association and America Public Health Association, and the Medical Association of my State, California. All of these groups understand how the ban prevents women from receiving the level of medical care that would ensure their safety and their well-being. Most importantly, they recognize the fact that such medical care decisions must be left to the judgment of the physician and the woman.

We need to stop playing doctors here in this governmental institution. It is an intrusion into the woman's physical and mental health. No one on this floor is qualified to make that decision. The access to abortion is a constitutionally guaranteed protection. It is a private medical decision that should not be dictated by the Federal Government. I urge a strong ``no'' on this conference report.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. TIERNEY).

(Mr. TIERNEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous material.)

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I rise to support H.R. 3011, that will designate the facility of the United States Post Office located at 135 East Olive Avenue in Burbank, California, as the Bob Hope post office building.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 3011, legislation naming this post office after Bob Hope. The bill was sponsored by the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) on September 4, 2003, and it has met the policy of the Committee on Government Reform and has been cosponsored by the entire California delegation.

Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in 1903 in Eltham, England. He emigrated to America 4 years later. For more than 60 years, Bob Hope traveled around the world entertaining and supporting our military personnel. From World War II, to the Korean War, to the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War Bob sang, danced, joked, comforted, and took picture after picture with our men and women who were fighting for our country. But Bob Hope did not just give of his time and his talent, he also gave from his heart and his pocket. Throughout his career he raised more than $1 billion for war relief and various other charities.

Sadly, Bob Hope, the friend of presidents and a living legend in radio, TV, film, and on Broadway died at his home on July 27, 2003. However sad it was, he met the century figure, 100 years.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleagues for seeking to honor the late Bob Hope in this manner; and, as a representative of Hollywood, we will all cherish his memory and his works and hope that we can give back to humankind what he did. I urge the swift adoption of this bill.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, the son of a stonemason and an aspiring concert singer, Bob Hope had a career that stretched across the decades. His casual careers included a butcher's delivery boy, a soda clerk, shoe salesman, pool hustler and boxer, but it was the stage where he was most at home.

Bob Hope began performing in vaudeville in the 1920s, performing what he called songs, patter, and eccentric dancing. He made his Broadway debut in 1933 with the musical Roberta. He appeared in the 1935 production of the Ziegfeld Follies and starred with the legendary Ethel Merman in a production of Cole Porter's Red Hot and Blue.

In addition to his work on the stage, Hope landed a profitable stint hosting the popular Pepsodent show on NBC Radio. His program would air in some form or another from 1938 until the 1950s. Bob Hope's radio fame led him to Hollywood, where he appeared in his first film, The Big Broadcast of 1938. He starred in more than 50 films, but he is best known for the road movies with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

Though Bob Hope never won a Best Actor Oscar, he has been awarded two honorary Academy Awards and a humanitarian award. He made his first appearance on television in 1947 when he headlined the inaugural broadcast of KTLA, the first TV station on the West Coast.

In the early 1950s, he appeared frequently on ``The Tonight Show'' with Johnny Carson and alongside Lucille Ball on her sitcom ``I Love Lucy.''

Beginning in 1953, Hope hosted an annual Christmas television special, many of which were broadcast internationally for the sake of the United States troops stationed around the world. During World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars and even during peacetime, Bob Hope toured with a number of USO shows, entertaining U.S. troops and earning the title of USO's Ambassador of Goodwill.

Over his lifetime, Bob Hope has been awarded more honors than any other entertainer, an achievement that earned him a place in the ``Guinness Book of Records.''

Since 1934, Bob Hope has been married to Delores Reade, whom he met when they appeared together on Broadway in ``Roberta.'' The couple has four children.

Our condolences go out to the Hope family and his legion of fans.

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

General Leave

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

Mr. Speaker, I am representing the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) as a member of the Committee on Government Reform, and I am pleased to join the gentleman in consideration of H.R. 2075, legislation naming a postal facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, after Judge Edward Rodgers.

H.R. 2075 was sponsored by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings) on May 13, 2003. The bill has met the Committee on Government Reform policy, and has been cosponsored by the entire Florida delegation.

Edward Rodgers has lived in West Palm Beach since 1950 when he married West Palm Beach native Gwendolyn Baker. Mr. Rodgers began his career as a teacher, later becoming an assistant principal. In reaction to the injustices of teaching in a segregated society, Mr. Rodgers became an attorney, graduating from Florida A&M University Law School in 1963.

He went on to become the first black county prosecutor and the first black judge in Palm Beach County. Judge Rodgers served on the bench for 22 years before retiring in 1995. On his first run for office in 1999, Judge Rodgers won a seat on the Riviera Beach City Council, where he presently serves as council chairman.

Mr. Speaker, Judge Rodgers has spent a lifetime working hard to assist those in need, championing the rights of those with drug addictions and those who are suffering from mental illness. Judge Rodgers has used his legal and judicial talent to improve his town, establishing a Saturday drug court, working as a mediator and court- appointed special master in arbitration and investigating back-room judicial appointments. Passage of H.R. 2075 maintains our tradition of recognizing those very special and deserving individuals.

I applaud our colleague for seeking to honor Judge Edward Rodgers in this manner, and I urge the swift passage of H.R. 2075.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).

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

General Leave

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1882 designates the facility of the United States Post Office located at 440 South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Florida, as the Arthur ``Pappy'' Kennedy Post Office.

I am pleased to join with our colleagues in the consideration of this bill that will name the post office after Pappy Kennedy. The bill was sponsored by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown) on April 30, 2003. The bill has met the Committee on Government Reform policies, and has been cosponsored by the entire Florida delegation.

Arthur ``Pappy'' Kennedy was born in River Junction, Florida, in 1913. Ten years later, Mr. Kennedy moved to Orlando. He attended high school and college in the Florida area, and returned to Orlando to work at the Orange Court Hotel.

A lifetime member of the NAACP, Mr. Kennedy volunteered with many organizations: Meals on Wheels, United Negro College Fund, among others. He served as a deacon in his church, Shiloh Baptist, and spent time working with young people.

In 1972, Mr. Kennedy was elected Orlando's first African-American City Commissioner and had the distinction of being elected by the largest percentage between contestants in the 101-year history of the city.

A tireless public servant and advocate, Arthur ``Pappy'' Kennedy passed away on March 28, 2001.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for seeking to honor the late Arthur ``Pappy'' Kennedy in this manner, and I urge the adoption of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown).

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

I will work with my colleagues to see that the upgrading of this post office happens.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill, H.R. 1209, to extend the authority for the construction of a memorial to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the National Mall.

The authorization set by Congress in 1996 to raise funds for the memorial will expire on November 12, which happens to be my birthday, so I would like to extend the authorization until November 12, 2006.

The tireless efforts by the King Memorial Foundation to raise $100 million for the construction and maintenance of the project have been strong, but more time is needed to reach its fund-raising goal, and I believe it is our job as lawmakers to ensure that Dr. King will be memorialized in a manner that befits his legacy.

The idea of putting a King Memorial in the Tidal Basin on the National Mall between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials is a privilege within itself, and Dr. King deserves such an honor. However, Congress must authorize more time for funds to be raised to build the King Memorial, and it is a huge project.

Our National Mall is representative of the rich history and the strength of

our Nation. Dr. King is one of our Nation's most important leaders, and this monument should carry the same weight and significance as other distinguished Americans who have been honored with memorials.

Congressional leaders, including the Speaker of the House, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert), also support the effort to put Dr. King's legacy at Washington's forefront. They, along with several other of my colleagues, sit on an honorary bipartisan congressional committee for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.

Dr. King's preachings of nonviolent civil disobedience to combat segregation and racial equality affected not only minorities but every culture and creed in this Nation. In 1963, Dr. King led the march on Washington, very near the site where we wish to honor him today. Dr. King's leadership also helped in the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Dr. King acted on his dream for America and succeeded in making the United States a better place. We must ensure that Dr. King's valiant efforts will be remembered by generations yet to come.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in keeping the dream alive set forth by Dr. King and help continue to honor him amongst our Nation's finest.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a year since the President began pressing to invade Iraq. At the time, many of us pressed the President to fully account for the cost of his planned war. Most Americans would agree that if the issue of Iraq was important enough to start a war over, it was important enough to pay for.

For a year, Congress has asked for hard numbers on the cost of occupying and rebuilding Iraq, and for a year the President has given us nothing but blandishments and pie-in-the-sky forecasts. At the time, experts, including the President's own chief economist, predicted the war and reconstruction would cost as much as $200 billion. But the President and his aides actively downplayed those numbers, saying it would only cost around $50 billion.

Well, guess what? Last week the President finally admitted that he had low-balled the cost of the war when selling it to Congress a year ago. The President is now asking for an additional $87 billion, billion with a B, to extricate our troops from what is beginning to look like a quagmire.

Let me be perfectly clear: The current situation in Iraq should not have come as any surprise to anyone in this administration or in this Congress. Last fall, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Eric Shinseki, told Congress that it would require close to 300,000 troops to secure Iraq after toppling Saddam. Today, only about half that number are in Iraq. As the toll of American soldiers killed in the occupation of Iraq rises, our young men and women in uniform are paying the price of trying to wage war on the cheap.

I was just reading a news report referring to a young man from Micronesia, Hilario Bermanis, II, and how he was injured in Iraq. He has lost an eye, an arm and both legs. He is being honored by being made an American citizen. And a few weeks earlier, the proposal was made to reduce veterans' services. I cannot understand that.

This additional $87 billion comes on top of the $78.5 billion Congress gave the President just 5 months ago, bringing the grand total so far to $165 billion, and we would cut the cost of veterans' services.

If that sounds like a lot of money, hold on to your hat for this piece of information: A recent analysis by the Committee on the Budget shows that the entire cost for rebuilding Iraq could rise to as much as $400 billion over the next 5 years.

Now, this new $87 billion alone is a big number by itself. That is a number most people will never encounter at any point in their lives. So it is important to put these numbers into context.

Eighty-seven billion dollars is more than twice what the President requested to protect the United States from the terrorist attack that might come at any time. Eighty-seven billion dollars is about three times what the request was for highway and road construction across the country next year. Eighty-seven billion dollars is about twice the net worth, not annual income, but total net worth of America's wealthiest man, Bill Gates. Eighty-seven billion dollars is almost six times the profits of America's largest corporation, General Electric. Eighty- seven billion dollars is more than $300 for every man, woman and child in the United States of America. That is a lot of money to spend on a country halfway around the world, when our local schools, hospitals, fire and police departments are struggling to make ends meet.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, two years ago to the day after the tragic terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, this date will always be etched in the minds of every American as a new day of infamy, when over 3,000 innocent people lost their lives. My most heartfelt prayers go out to the victims, survivors, families, friends and the representatives who suffered losses on this tragic day.

The debris has been cleared and buildings repaired, but none of us will ever forget the massive loss of lives and the real fear that confronted each of us on that fatal day. In particular, my thoughts and prayers go out to thousands of our Nation's first responders, our firemen and women, emergency medical personnel, our police officers, who selflessly put themselves in harm's way, and in numerous instances paid the ultimate sacrifice with their own lives.

Despite these terrible events, we as a Nation must remain strong, and we have; we must persevere, and we have; and we must remain resolute in our thoughts and actions, that never again will this happen on America's soil.

The anniversary of September 11 also provides a time for an honest assessment of where we stand on our own Homeland Security. Providing for the security of our homeland must be the number one priority of government today. Despite the steps that have been taken to improve homeland security, I believe we must do more. In memory of the thousands who perished innocently when they got up that morning, not knowing what fate had in store for them, we must concentrate on how we protect our borders.

We currently have 600,000 containers coming into our ports each day, but less than 3 percent of the cargo containers entering America's ports are ever checked to determine their contents. And, tragically, our Nation's first responders still do not have the equipment and training they need to respond to another terrorist attack.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that as we memorialize all of these innocent Americans, that we pay attention to what their sacrifices mean and interpret it as meaning we must concentrate and move ahead.

Finally, to better protect our people, we must learn everything we can about this fatal date of 9/11. So I am looking forward to seeing the report that came in on lessons learned.

We must honor the people who were sacrificed, and we must see and put in place those necessary programs and projects, and we must have a philosophy that we start here today in memory of our dead to protect our own, as we protect others around the globe.

May God bless their souls. May they all rest in peace.

Mr. Chairman, I stand in strong opposition to the provision in the District of Columbia appropriation bill authorizing $10 million in funding for school vouchers.

Having worked as an elementary school teacher, a school psychologist, and having served on a school board of the largest school district in the State of California, I have seen firsthand the need to strengthen standards in our public schools and to demand more from our teachers and our students through better accountability and adequate resources.

However, voucher programs that divert precious funding away from the public school system, and particularly here in D.C., would do exactly the opposite.

First, vouchers lack accountability. Private schools funded by vouchers are not subjected to the same standards established by the Leave No Child Behind Act.

Second, vouchers can discriminate. Private schools have the ultimate say in deciding which students they want to enroll, and they can screen out applicants based on any factor without obeying Federal antidiscrimination laws. The children that need to be focused on are not going to be admitted in these private schools. Trust me when I say that.

Finally, vouchers simply do not have a proven record of success. There is no discernible difference in achievement between students and voucher programs and students in public education program. Every time vouchers have appeared on the California ballot, they have been voted down. Senator Feinstein's support of this provision is not reflective of the will of the people in California in this regard.

So how else could we use this $10 million? We could use it to improve the public schools which are already facing a $40 million budget cut.

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

I rise in the strongest support of the Norton amendment. I have listened very closely for the last hour and a half and I have heard very few people who are in opposition to this amendment support public schools. I heard them admit to the disaster that public schools are here in Washington, D.C. We invaded Iraq and it is costing us a billion dollars a week. The White House is going to come here and ask for multibillions of dollars in just a few days. Why does this coalition that is in so much support of the vouchers here, that will only address 2,000 students out of 70,000, not ask that we put money into what you consider a broken school district? We are going to go and build up the school system in Iraq, the health care system, the infrastructure, and you will not do that for the Washington, D.C. schools, where the seat of government operates? I am appalled. And you want to cut and run.

We already know that the D.C. schools are suffering from a $40 million budget cut and a $100 million shortfall. Why do you not argue and support more money to fix all the schools, because we indeed will leave all of our children behind. Two thousand students going into private education is ludicrous. If you really believe that education is the way and you have that commitment, then argue for additional dollars for the D.C. school district. The Mayor is only one person. The city council has a letter on hand that says they do not support the D.C. voucher program. And why? Because it will siphon money away.

Do not treat us like we cannot add and subtract. If we take $10 million to put into the private sector, that is $10 million away from the public schools. I urge my colleagues to support the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia who has worked so hard, who is the heart and the soul of this district and cannot even vote. So we must vote for her. Let us save our schools. Let us save all of our children and not cherry-pick 2,000 children for private education and send those public dollars into the private sector.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support the Norton amendment and remove the funding for vouchers in D.C. that will only shortchange our teachers, our students, and our schools. Let us improve all of the system.