Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, this is the last leg of the health care triathlon--three committees over here; our bill, the Senate bill

and the White House plan; our passing ours, the senate theirs and here we are for the finish.

And for me this is a very important part.

The Senate bill has many important provisions, some like no exclusion for preexisting disease for children, building our health care workforce and its diversity, expanding community health centers and community health workers, a strong CER provision, and very importantly the expansion of the Office of Minority Health, and the elevation of the Center on Minority Health and Health Disparity Research to an Institute at NIH.

But it is here that Medicaid is expanded, the exchange is set up and the subsidies provided. It is here that we really begin to close the donut hole and that all of the insurance reforms are finalized.

Very importantly for me and my constituents and all of the Territorial Americans, this is where our Medicaid cap is greatly and finally lifted, and that we are given access to the exchange.

This is not full parity but it is a major step forward towards inclusion of loyal American citizens who live in the off shore areas that are an integral part of the United States. It will give access to many more of our constituents and enable us to provide prevention and services that we intend to use to create a healthier community and a better quality of life.

Thank you again to our President, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Whip Clyburn and chairmen Rangel, Waxman and Miller, as well as my fellow territorial delegates who all worked so hard and together to make this day a reality.

As has been said, this bill is not perfect, and this is a major step but just a first step in all that has to be done to create equity and justice in our health care system. We ask our colleagues to give the reconciliation bill a big yea vote, and begin a new, better day for our citizens and our country.

Madam Speaker, I rise to proudly offer my congratulations, on behalf of Virgin Islanders everywhere, to Laverne Jones-Ferrette, number one in the world in the 60 meters with a time of 6.97, the first woman to run under the 7.00 seconds barrier in over a decade and a semi-finalist at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar. I also congratulate Tabarie Henry, a third year student at Texas A&M University who is listed by the International Association of Athletic Federations as the number one 400 meter runner in the world.

The Virgin Islands, with a population of roughly 120,000, has produced legends in every field who continue to be part of the fabric of America, and these two outstanding native Virgin Islanders, through their hard work, have made their contributions in sports that have brought worldwide recognition to them and to U.S. Virgin Islands.

There are also other outstanding members of the V.I National Track and Field Team who continue to excel in their respective events: Adrian Durant--100 meter; Leslie Murray--400 meter hurdles; Calvin Dascent-- 400 400 meter and 4 100 meter relay; David Walters--4 100 meter relay; Terry Charles--4 400 meter relay; Leon Hunt--long jump; Muhammid Halim--triple jump; Allison Peter--200 meter; Courtney Patterson--100 meter; Wyanetta Kirby--long jump and 100 meter hurdles and Desiree King--800 meter and 400 meter hurdles.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting Laverne on earning a silver medal at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Quatar, Tabarie, and all of our athletes and wish them god-speed as they continue to shine.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor this evening to anchor an hour for the Congressional Black Caucus on health care reform. I have several of my colleagues here to join me. Interestingly enough, three are from three of the relevant committees that put the bill together in the House.

When I left my private practice of 21 years, I promised my patients that I would continue to do everything I could to ensure that they got the health care they needed, even though I was leaving the practice. Too many were uninsured. Too many had several chronic diseases. Too many could not afford even 1 month's supply of medicine. And our low- capped Medicaid funding was of very little help.

Last night our Democratic leadership and my Democratic colleagues helped me make good on that promise. Because of the landmark legislation that we passed last night, the most momentous piece of legislation since Social Security, Medicare and the civil rights bills, not only my constituents but all Americans will have access to affordable, quality, and comprehensive health care. And African Americans and other minorities will benefit because of the provisions that are included to reduce the disparities that Surgeon General Heckler called an affront to American ideals and to the genius of American medicine.

So tonight some of my colleagues will help to explain the many benefits of the bill we passed last evening and the way that our communities will be able to be helped by the legislation.

I would like to first call on the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Health Subcommittee who played a very important role in developing the bill as it went through Energy and Commerce.

I thank Congressman Butterfield, and thank you for going through the process that we have gone through over the past year because it has been a little difficult, I think, for the American people to understand, and I think you helped to clarify how we got to where we were last night, and also you were able to clarify what some of those exchange subsidies and Medicaid would mean to the average family.

I just wanted to say before I recognize Congressman Scott, when you look at the uninsured that are going to be helped in this country--10.8 percent of non-Hispanic whites are uninsured. The uninsured rate for African Americans is 19.1 percent; for Asian Americans, 17.6 percent; and for Hispanics, the Latino Americans, the uninsured rate is 30.7 percent. So just providing coverage for the 32 million Americans that will be covered for the first time by this legislation will make a big difference in the lives of people of color and their families. But insurance is not enough, and there are other provisions that we will talk about a little later.

But at this time, I'd like to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Virginia, Congressman Bobby Scott, who not only is on the Education and Labor Committee, which played a major role in crafting the original House bill, but also on the Budget Committee, a senior member of the Budget Committee, which had a major role in preparing and reporting out the reconciliation bill that we voted on last night.

Thank you, Congressman Scott. And thank you for going over the provisions and those that come into play this year, when the President signs the bill, when the reconciliation bill is signed, and which provisions start perhaps in a year or so, because it's very important to understand that as this bill is passed, within 6 months, many of the provisions that provide, that stop the exclusion for children with preexisting disease, for example, is already in place, that the doughnut hole will start to be closed, that we'll start to build our primary care workforce to meet the needs of the 32 million newly insured, and that the small business tax credits will begin, all within 2010.

I would like to now yield such time as he might consume to my co- chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Task Force and also a valued member of the Ways and Means Committee--again, one of the committees that had a major responsibility for crafting the bill and the pay-fors in the bill that we passed in the House and the bills that we worked on and passed last night.

Thank you, Danny, for joining us.

I am pleased to yield to Mr. Butterfield.

I yield to Mr. Davis.

I thank you for those kind words, but I can say without any hesitation that each one of us here this evening, in our own capacities, and in the committees that we serve, and in the subcommittees that we serve, have really put in a lot of hours and have really helped to shape the final product that we are so proud of having voted on last night. And the Congressional Black Caucus played a major role in shaping that.

Congressman Butterfield mentioned Medicaid and the expansion of Medicaid, and we talk a lot about food desserts, but in many of the poor communities around this country we have provider desserts. The low reimbursement rates that have traditionally been paid and for Medicaid providers has caused hospitals and many health care providers not to be able to sustain practices or keep their doors open in poor communities.

This bill will change that. We will be increasing the reimbursement to Medicaid providers at the same level as Medicare and hopefully that that will encourage more physicians and providers to come into the poor neighborhoods where many of the patients are Medicaid beneficiaries and provide the care that they need.

You know, the turn of the 19th century one of our great intellectuals, W.E.B. Du Bois, spoke about the peculiar indifference to the poor health of African Americans in this country. And I am so grateful to be a part of a group of 42 individuals in the Congressional Black Caucus who have worked over the years, over the 40 years of our existence, but particularly in this last year as we have shaped this bill, to begin to end that peculiar indifference to the state of our health.

Some of the other areas besides the Medicaid expansion and the improved reimbursement to providers to encourage them to come back into poor communities is the expansion of the workforce. We know that as the 32 million people begin to come into the health care system that we are going to need so many more providers. But we are also an increasingly diverse society here in the United States, and so there is great emphasis on diversifying that workforce. I am talking here about some of the disparity provisions, the provisions in the health care reform bill that are targeted at reducing those health disparities that African Americans and other people of color have suffered from for so long. And part of reducing those disparities is making sure that we have a diverse workforce to work within those communities.

So in addition to encouraging, through programs like the health care opportunities program and increasing funding for that, increasing funding for the National Health Service Corps program, which pays individuals 4 years of their medical tuition, in addition to increasing loan repayments, especially for individuals who practice in poor and rural areas, we also have included provisions that provide additional support to institutions, minority-serving institutions, as Congressman Davis spoke of, the HBCUs, the Hispanic-serving institutions and the tribal colleges, but also any institution that has a history of training underrepresented minorities.

Those professions would be for physicians, for nurses, for nurse educators, and there is a specific section that deals with increasing the public health workforce, a very important part of the workforce when we talk about the emphasis that we are now going to be putting on prevention. In addition to that, there are mental health workers for our communities.

We also have grants to community-based organizations to train community health workers who, I think, will

be the backbone of the new health infrastructure, especially in communities that are poor, that have not had good health over the years, where people from within those same communities will be trained to be able to do outreach and support to people in their communities.

There is a provision that expands and strengthens the Office of Minority Health in the Department of Health and Human Services and adds two new offices, one in the Food and Drug Administration and the other one in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, two important agencies that do not have a specific office focus on minority health.

And at the National Institutes of Health, where we have had a Center For Minority Health and Disparity Research, we now will elevate that, with the signing of the Senate bill tomorrow, to an institute where that institute will have more, more funding, to begin with, but also more influence over the research that's done at NIH in every area to ensure that the concerns and the interest and the impact on minority populations or any population that is experiencing health disparities will be considered.

Data collection is another area that we have been able to insert provisions on, and not only to collect data on disease but to also talk about and collect data on racial ethnic minorities, gender, and to follow the disparities in Medicare and Medicaid, to monitor those disparities and to report on those disparities so that they can be corrected.

I want to speak lastly about the issue of the territories. This was something that, of course, the delegates from all over the offshore areas of the United States worked very hard on, and we were very lucky, blessed, to have the full support of the Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus and Asian Caucus, and of our leadership. We would not have had the inclusion in this monumental landmark legislation were it not for the support of our colleagues in those caucuses and the support of our leadership.

So I want to especially thank our Speaker again, she has been thanked many times here this evening, but for her strong support and for her strong leadership; our Majority Leader, Steny Hoyer; our Majority Whip; the chairs of the committees, the relevant committees here in the House, Chairman Rangel and also Chairman Levin, Chairman Waxman, Chairman Emeritus Dingell, Chairman Miller, and all of the entire leadership team for giving us the support, and really the entire Democratic Caucus, for encouraging us and supporting us and ensuring that, no, we don't have full State-like treatment, as the 50 States, but we do have a significant increase in Medicaid and the ability to be included into the exchange, and I want to thank our leadership for that.

We are coming close to the end of our time, and if there is no other issue that my colleagues want to raise, I want to thank them for joining me here this evening and helping to explain to the American people what is actually in the bill, clearing up some of the misconceptions and some of the misunderstandings that are out in the public.

Again, we are very proud to have been a part of this process and to have passed the bill that we did last evening, and we look forward to the President signing it tomorrow.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material under the Congressional Black Caucus Special Order on health care reform this evening.

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

Mr. Speaker, as a physician and chair of Health for the Congressional Black Caucus, someone who has worked long to bring quality health care to the underserved in country and inclusion for the Virgin Islands and other territories, I thank our President and House leadership for the commitment and determination that has brought us to the brink of this great victory, not just for some, but for all of the people of this great country.

Today we will make insurance accessible and affordable to 32 million Americans, begin to eliminate health disparities, provide our children what they need to reach their full potential, and ensure that our seniors and disabled have the care they need.

So let's get on with the rule and to voting ``yes'' on this bill, not just for a healthy America, but for a better America.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Madam Speaker, this morning the Congressional Black Caucus attended church together at the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Arlington, VA.

We left there blessed, inspired and claiming the victory we are about to have today for the American people.

As our Chair Barbara Lee reminded us from the Book of Esther, we are all here, called to service, for ``for such a time as this.'' And we are called to do what is right and best for the American people and for our country! We must pass H.R. 4872.

With the passage of H.R. 4872, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, we begin to guarantee that health care will be a right to all and not a privilege for a few.

It has been a long road getting here, not just this past year but the past hundred years and thanks is due to Chairman Emeritus John Dingell, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip James Clyburn and Chairmen Rangel, Waxman, Miller and Larson for their steadfast leadership, and commitment to making healthcare accessible, affordable and secure for all Americans across this country.

And we could not have arrived to this day without the leadership, commitment and determination of our President, Barack Obama.

We would have all wished for the perfect bill many of us envisioned when we started on this path. This is not it, but without question this bill will vastly improve the dysfunctional system we now struggle to be well in, and lay the foundation for the further work needed to achieve those things that are still needed but could not be included today.

I want to especially thank all of our Democratic leaders for ensuring that the people of the Territories were not left out and my Democratic colleagues--especially the Congressional Black Caucus and our TriCaucus partners for their support and encouragement.

They are all--including Senate Leader Reid--to be thanked and applauded for answering our call for prevention, nondiscrimination, equity and diversity in the bill's provisions and for going beyond insurance reforms to include measures specifically to eliminate health disparities for African Americans, all people of color, the poor, those living in rural areas and the Territories and our LGBT community.

This is not only a historic day for our country, it is a great day.

Today we begin to end the ``shocking and inhumane'' injustice in healthcare that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of. Today we continue the march to the full greatness that is our Nation's destiny!

I am proud to have been given the opportunity by the people of the Virgin Islands and our House leadership to be a part of this process, and though I am not able to cast a vote on this landmark legislation I support it fully, proudly and unreservedly.

When the vote is called, let's do it! The victory has already been claimed for us and for the people of the United States--all of us.

To God be the glory!

Thank you, Chairman Grijalva.

And although I could be at home this weekend since I don't get to vote, as a physician, a family doctor, and a person who has worked all my life, all of my adult life to ensure that people had access to health care--especially minorities, people of color, those in our rural areas and territories who have often been left behind--I am pleased to be here this weekend for this historic vote.

And Chairman Grijalva, I want to thank you for introducing this legislation and thank you for your leadership as chairman of the Subcommittee on Parks, Recreation and Public Lands and your leadership in preserving some of our Nation's most important treasures.

Madam Speaker, I'm pleased to join my colleagues on the floor this morning in strong support of H.R. 1612, the Public Lands Service Corps Act. I am sure that my Park Superintendents Tutein and Hargrove are very much in support of this bill. In fact, Superintendent Hargrove and I have been trying to set up exactly what this bill would do in St. Thomas and St. John for several years.

H.R. 1612, in expanding and reinvigorating an existing program, addresses at least two important needs. First, it creates jobs--jobs that are so badly needed in our Nation today; jobs in an age group that has the highest and most chronic unemployment. In the absence of decent job opportunities, they're lured into drugs and criminal activity that is threatening to destroy the fabric of many communities, communities such as mine.

And then it helps to clear up a longstanding maintenance backlog in our Nation's parks and public lands, but it also begins to reestablish a relationship between the people in the involved communities and the public lands in their area.

If I can just speak about St. John for a moment. Two-thirds of that island is national park, and while it is the anchor of tourism there, for the most part, the native population are not the major stakeholders in that important mainstay of our economy. And though it's a small community, too many of our young people in St. John are in need of jobs and job training, especially those that don't require that they travel by boat to St. Thomas every day.

But more than that, with the Virgin Islands National Park occupying so much of the island, it is critical that we make more St. Johnians an integral part of what happens there and that they begin to regain a sense of belonging and ownership with our Nation that has been lost over the years.

The same is true for the Salt River and the other parklands in St. Croix and historic Hassel Island in St. Thomas, where those same young men and women are also in need of job training and jobs.

Although these public land service corps jobs would be just entry level jobs in the beginning, I am sure that once our young people are provided with the jobs and the training in preserving our national treasures that this bill would provide, they will want to go further.

We will be building a cadre of new local park rangers, interpreters, and other positions, as well as management all the way up to superintendents in the future.

So Chairman Grijalva, thank you for this bill. I am glad to support it.

Mr. Speaker, we were so hopeful as this Congress opened and seemed on track to enact comprehensive health care reform to provide access to health care for every American.

Today, I am extremely disappointed to stand here to voice my consternation and frustration over the unequal, unjust, and inexcusable treatment of the millions of Americans living in the U.S. territories that we see in the President's proposal on health care reform.

Rather than working to provide quality, affordable care to all Americans, it would leave roughly 4.5 million, a disproportionate number who would desperately want and need health care coverage, leave them out in the cold without access to the health care exchange; without the same consumer benefits that other Americans would receive; without adequate Medicaid funding; and, thus, without the same comfort and security that comes with knowing that you and your family will have the quality health care when you need it, every time you need it.

The men and women in the U.S. territories are the same as those from California to Vermont, from Florida to Wyoming who love this Nation, who bravely serve in war to defend it, and who deserve to be treated as first class citizens in every aspect of our democracy.

This proposal fails them and, by extension, fails every American who believes in equality and fairness. I call on my colleagues, as we move forward, to honor the worth and the dignity of every American.

Thank you, Congresswoman Fudge, and thank you once again for holding this Special Order. I know how difficult it is to do this week after week, and we really appreciate all of your efforts.

Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus this evening in our tribute to Black History Month. Since we are largely a black community, I want to use this time to speak about my home district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the United States Virgin Islands.

I feel the need to do this because the mainstream media and some of our colleagues have been treating my district as though we were not a part of this country. Recently, some of our Republican colleagues in this body have even taken to using funding to my district as the poster child for spending that Americans simply cannot afford. Because we have been blessed with sunshine and beaches, and because most Americans from the States have only the images of people at play to reference our territory, we are often targeted as not deserving of stimulus funding, as being too expensive to be funded in health care, as not requiring homeland security, even though it is for the protection of the entire United States as well as for us, as not deserving of our funding to preserve our precious natural areas, as too beautiful for Federal officials to come to for hearings and site visits that are done in other districts. There are other unfair characterizations that overlook the fact that we are a community with health, education, economic development, and other needs just like other districts represented in this body.

We are Americans, and our people have fought and died in every conflict from the American Revolution through the world wars and right through to the present conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other points around the world. Today, 200 of my constituents are in Kosovo and Guantanamo, and others are about to be called up to other parts of the world. They serve in our National Guard. We are proud of them in their service. Like our sister territories, we have given more lives per capita in our wars and conflicts than most other States.

Well, Madam Speaker and colleagues, we are tired of being spoken of as though we are not part of the American family, and I wanted to use this opportunity to point out the familial bonds which stretch all the way to the founding of this Nation.

The Virgin Islands became a part of the American family in 1917 as this country needed a strategic presence in the Caribbean to help defend the Panama Canal during World War I. There was talk long before in the administration of President Abraham Lincoln of purchasing our island territories, but those talks stalled, and we were not to be transferred to U.S. authority until the Woodrow Wilson administration. During that time, our forefathers were not consulted about the sale and had no opportunity to say yea or nay. Yet we accepted our new Nation, as difficult and denigrating as those first years were for us, determined to make the best of it for us and for the United States of America. Let's go even further back than that.

During the Revolutionary War, St. Croix served as a transshipment point for the gunpowder for the Revolutionary Army, not to mention that our rum, which some tend to malign today, helped warm the soldiers during those cold nights on the battlefield. We were major fueling and ship repair stops for ships of the new American Nation and for others crossing the Atlantic.

One of our sons of the Marco Family, who served in the Revolutionary War, created the very first version of the flag for the 13 colonies. According to some accounts, the first salute to the stars and stripes occurred in the St. Croix harbor in 1776.

So we are not new to the support of and loyalty to this country, and we have and continue to serve and honor it in any way we can. The Virgin Islands proudly count as one of our own one of the great Founding Fathers of this Nation, Alexander Hamilton. He, of course, is credited, among other important contributions, with creating the Nation's financial system, and he served as the first Secretary of the Treasury.

He came to St. Croix as a boy of about 9 years old, and it was his education and training there in the shipping industry that covered the American and Caribbean ports which laid the foundation for the path he, and, indeed, our country, was to follow.

Many other early leaders of this country had ties to the Virgin Islands. There are many more, too numerous to name them all. But as we celebrate Black History Month, we can point to several other important persons who have helped to shape the United States that we know today. And note that I'm focusing on those who made their biggest contributions to our Nation. There are countless more also worthy of recognition who have guided and continue to guide us in the United States Virgin Islands.

The first person I want to mention is William Alexander Leidesdorff, a native of St. Croix, credited with being the first black millionaire. He helped to build the City on the Bay. He was a member of San Francisco's first town council, helped create its first school, opened its first hotel, and was the city's first treasurer.

J. Raymond Jones of New York, who was known as the Silver Fox of Tammany Hall in New York City, hailed from St. Thomas. Also born in St. Thomas, Terrence Todman served this country as ambassador for many distinguished years in Argentina, Denmark, and other countries.

One of the intriguing writers of the Harlem Renaissance, Nella Larsen Imes, also hailed from our shores. Arthur Schomburg, for whom the Center for Research in Harlem is named, is from a St. Croix family. In the U.S. labor movement, St. Thomas's Ashley Totten was a lieutenant of A. Phillip Randolph in the founding of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.

Frank Rudolph Crosswaith, another labor luminary, created the Trade Union Committee for Organizing Negro Workers, the Negro Labor Committee, and became a founding member of the anti-Communist Union for Democratic Action.

Famous American musicians who hailed from the U.S. Virgin Islands include Benny Benjamin, who wrote ``I Want to Set the World on Fire,'' and Jon Lucien, a jazz favorite for many generations. There are many, many others.

In sports, we have Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and Raja Bell of the

Phoenix Suns. They follow in the footsteps of many other mainstays from the golden era of American baseball like Horace Clarke, Valmy Thomas, Joe Christopher, and all the others who came from the Virgin Islands. And we have many young stars who are making their name in track and field and other areas.

Our boxing legends include Emile Griffith, Livingston Bramble, and Julian Jackson. There are many more, as I said, in sports that I can't name due to the time limitation.

But there are also the hundreds of thousands of Virgin Islanders who over the 93 years that we have been a part of the American family have loved it and served it in so many other ways, just like our fellow citizens of the United States who are represented by my other colleagues. And all that we ask is that we, our contributions, our service, and our citizenship be recognized and given the appropriate respect.

Madam Speaker, the Virgin Islands has a rich, diverse, long, loyal, and productive history as a part of the American family. Like many of our sister districts, we are also susceptible to all the challenges of our great country, such as the devastating recession, threats to our homeland, escalating crime, and the need for improvements in education and health care. Spending on the Virgin Islands and the other territories is not frivolous spending. And, by the way, much of those dollars that come to us are spent not only to improve the lives and services for our residents but for the millions of people from all over the United States who visit our shores every year.

It has been hard for me as a representative of these proud Americans in the U.S. Virgin Islands to have to listen to the negative rhetoric coming from the other side of the aisle as I have sought to represent, like they do, my district. It has been painful to have to work so hard to get fair treatment in Medicaid, other health programs, and to get that fair treatment in health care reform, as well as to provide SSI for our individuals who have special needs.

It has been difficult to have disparaging remarks made about our reported unemployment at 8.5 percent when the tools available in other States are not available to enable us to have an accurate count. When undertaken by our university some years ago when our unemployment was reportedly around 7 percent, a more thorough assessment determined that it was as high as 13 percent in St. Croix and a little less in St. Thomas, and that was during better times.

I consider it to be a disservice that there might be Republican objections to holding a hearing in the Virgin Islands on the Constitution that our elected delegates have drafted for this Congress' consideration in the place where it will govern if passed and adopted. It's a milestone for any territory. And why? Because it's a beautiful place? I was to go to the Grand Canyon for a site visit today. It's a very beautiful place, and I don't think anyone objected to that.

Madam Speaker and my colleagues, thank you for the time to speak about this important part of our country's black history, our country's history, and the opportunity to remind those who don't seem to know that we are proudly American and that we ask nothing more than to be treated as such.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1020) honoring the 95th anniversary of the signing of the Rocky Mountain National Park Act.

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

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, this resolution to honor the 95th anniversary of the signing of the act that created the Rocky Mountain National Park was introduced by Representative Betsy Markey and the entire Colorado delegation. President Woodrow Wilson signed the act on January 26, 1915, creating a park that preserves the remarkable beauty of some of the highest peaks in the continental United States. Some 3 million people visit Rocky Mountain National Park each year, making it one of the top 10 most visited national parks in the United States.

In March of last year, Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation designating much of the park's majestic terrain as wilderness, marking the culmination of decades of work by many committed park supporters. Therefore, Madam Speaker, it is appropriate to mark this important anniversary for Rocky Mountain National Park, and I commend Representative Markey for introducing this resolution.

I ask my colleagues to support the passage of this measure.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as we said, this resolution is an important resolution, marking the anniversary of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

I had hoped I would have another speaker. At this time, Madam Speaker, not seeing any other speakers on my side, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield to Congresswoman Markey such time as she may consume.

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

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Thank you, Chairman Rahall, for yielding.

Today I rise once again to speak on behalf of H.R. 3726, a bill that I introduced to establish the Castle Nugent Historic Site on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, for the first time in the 110th Congress.

The introduction of this bill, or the reintroduction, stands as testimony to our country's legacy of preserving our Nation's special places. H.R. 3726 deepens the commitment of our conservation trail blazers such as Henry Thoreau, George Perkins Marsh, and John Muir who worked tirelessly to protect our collective natural history in such a way that it would live on for generations.

As noted by Ken Burns when discussing the need to document the National Park System, the chronicle of America's parks isn't a mere celebration of our Nation's national treasures, but also a story of our people, of the forces that help shape our lands and the influences that will guide our children.

The site to be designated as the Castle Nugent National Historic Site continues to be heralded as one of the last pristine areas in the region. Without hesitation, I can attest to the fact that the Castle Nugent Farm is worthy of preservation, worthy of inclusion in the National Park System and truly worthy of being shared as more than just a ``beachfront property in the Caribbean'' but, instead, as an invaluable chapter in our Nation's official record of the American story. The National Park Service testified as such in November at the subcommittee hearing.

H.R. 3726 calls for the preservation of 2,900 acres, which include a Caribbean dry forest, sea turtle nesting areas, large and healthy fringe coral reefs, and Great Pond Bay, home to numerous species of bird and other wildlife. Today the landscape remains pretty much as it did historically with its rolling hills and open grassy shrub plains sloping into the Caribbean Sea.

In addition to guaranteeing the protection of one of the most ecologically sensitive areas on the island, H.R. 3726 also preserves a rich part of our historical and cultural past by preserving the archeological remains of our indigenous Taino inhabitants as well as a Danish estate house now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Estate Castle Nugent is one of the last working cattle ranches on St. Croix and one of the ranches instrumental in the development and exportation of the unique and sturdy Senepol cattle throughout the Caribbean and, really, throughout the world. H.R. 3726 would ensure the rearing of the Senepol cattle with a provision that guarantees a continued relationship with the University of the Virgin Islands Agricultural Experiment Station to support ongoing scientific research.

The family which owns the majority of this property has been incredibly patient. The pressure to sell their land to developers has been overwhelming and has created some conflict among family members, but they have held out because their first choice has always been that the ranch and its assets be preserved, which I agree is the best for all concerned.

There is no intent to interfere with privately held property. The sole purpose of this bill is to protect and preserve the historic, cultural, and environmental assets and the opportunity for the people of the Virgin Islands and our fellow Americans to continue to enjoy the area and to preserve it for future generations.

And while it might cost almost $1,000 to get there on President's weekend, President's weekend is the most heavily traveled time of the year to any part of the Caribbean, and most times of the year the cost to get to St. Croix is far less.

There is also no final assessment of how much the site would cost. This simply authorizes the Secretary to acquire it. We do not know that the entire 2,900 acres will remain in the park, and we expect to acquire some of what would be the National Historic Site through donations, easements, and possibly also exchanges.

There is no substantive reason to oppose this legislation. This is a beautiful and important natural and cultural resource that is in danger of being lost to the Nation's public forever. If we do not move forward now without waiting for the final process to get the study here, after having heard from the National Park Service that it is indeed determined to have been appropriate for inclusion into the park, if we don't move forward today, there is a real risk that when the study is formally transmitted to Congress supporting the designation, the land will already have been sold and condominium owners will be the only people who ever get to visit the area.

In places such as the U.S. Virgin Islands, there is always a danger of development getting out of control and the balance between development and conservation being lost in favor of development. With development brings the risk of restricting local residents' use of the area far more than park regulations would. There are examples, as well, of developers disregarding the relationship between the people of our community and the areas that they have purchased. Bringing this ranch into the Park Service is the best way to allow those who have purchased part of the property or adjacent property to develop, but to do so in a way that is sensitive to the importance of the land and least restrictive to all of my constituents.

Both the Bush and Obama administrations have supported this designation every step of the way. The current administration has determined that the site meets the criteria set by the National Park Service to determine national significance, suitability, and feasibility. The designation is supported by my constituents, including those who originally questioned the expansion of the park, and, as far as I'm aware, no one is challenging the conclusions of the study.

The people of St. Croix have long enjoyed the picturesque scenery and use of the area for various activities. For years, thousands of Virgin Islanders and visitors have frequented the property to learn about the natural, cultural, historical, archeological, and marine resources found in Estate Castle Nugent. Anyone who visits the property leaves with a deepened appreciation of our community's treasure and our place in American history. Failure to act now will guarantee the area to be developed privately, risking our historic and natural jewels and having them untold and lost to future generations.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Chairman Rahall and Subcommittee Chair Grijalva for their support in ushering this bill through the Resources Committee and back to the floor. I would like to thank the numerous community members and organizations who wrote in support of it.

Madam Speaker and colleagues, on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands, I ask for a ``yes'' vote on H.R. 3726. This is timely and responsible legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, in this time of sadness and tragedy for the people of Haiti and all of us who are their friends, I rise in support of Resolution 1021, expressing our condolences and solidarity with the people of Haiti and their families throughout the diaspora, and the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands join me on these sentiments.

On Martin Luther King Day, I joined some of our clergy in leading a prayer vigil for the people of Haiti, and I am proud to report on the funding that has been sent in, to report that the Haiti community support and teams of doctors and nurses from my district began a rotation of medical supplies immediately following the quake.

On Monday, a ship normally stationed at HOVENSA, the oil refinery on St. Croix, was commissioned to Port-au-Prince, and left, carrying supplies from several organizations including Rotary, Hispanos Unidos, and a group led by Haitian American Virgin Islander Andre McBean. We thank them and the Haitian American organization in St. Thomas led by Oskar Lalanne, Hans Oriol, and Gerard Bateau, who have also sent supplies and provided aid on the ground, including the assembling of creole speaking interpreters who are so needed during this disaster.

Today, with this resolution we signal the commitment of this Congress and the people of the United States to standing with Haiti----

Not just now, during the immediate response, but for what will be a long and difficult recovery.

I thank our chairwoman, Barbara Lee, for introducing the resolution and all of the Congressional Black Caucus and others for their leadership in support of Haiti, both before and since January 12.

Thank you, Madam Chair, for yielding.

Today, I rise to speak on behalf of H.R. 3726, a bill that I introduced to establish the Castle Nugent National Historic Site on St. Croix, in my district in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The introduction of this bill continues an effort started in 2006 to build upon that great precedent set by our Forefathers when Yellowstone in Wyoming became the first national park. The establishment of Castle Nugent National Historic Site would provide an excellent opportunity to preserve a very special and unique landscape for the people of St. Croix and visitors to the islands for generations to come.

H.R. 3726 calls for the preservation of 2,900 acres, which include a Caribbean dry forest, pristine coastal barrier coral reef system, and a pre-Columbian, as well as a post-European, settlement. The property has a long agricultural history dating back to the 1730s, when the Danish estate house, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was constructed. The farm is one of the last working cattle ranches on St. Croix and one of the ranches instrumental in the development and exportation of Senepol cattle throughout the Caribbean and the rest of the world.

H.R. 3726 would ensure the continued rearing of Senepol cattle with a provision that guarantees a continued relationship with the University of the Virgin Islands to support ongoing scientific research. In addition to guaranteeing the protection of one of the most ecologically sensitive areas on the island, H.R. 3726 would also preserve a rich part of our historic and cultural past by preserving the archaeological remains of the indigenous inhabitants of St. Croix.

The family which owns the majority of this property has been incredibly patient--the pressure to sell their land to developers has been overwhelming--and yet they have continued to try to do what they feel, and I agree, is best for all concerned. There is no intent here to interfere with privately held property. The sole purpose of this bill is to protect and preserve the historic, cultural, and environmental assets and the opportunity for the people of the Virgin Islands as well as their fellow Americans to continue to enjoy the area and to preserve it for future generations.

Even the person who purchased about 400 acres of this property a few years back is on record in support of preserving this area. Longtime neighbors of Castle Nugent support the bill. Both the Bush and Obama administrations have supported this designation every step of the way. The current administration has testified that the study is completed and that it fully supports the designation that we're seeking. The designation is supported by my constituents, including some of those who originally questioned the expansion of the park. As far as I'm aware, no one is challenging the conclusion of the study or the wisdom of preserving the area.

There's no substantive reason to oppose the legislation. The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates, as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; would impose no cost on State, local, or tribal governments; and would impose no private sector mandates either, as defined in the UMRA. This is a beautiful and important cultural and natural resource that is in danger of being lost to the Nation's public forever. If we don't move forward, there's a real risk that when the study is formally transmitted to Congress, supporting the designation, the land will already have been sold and condominium owners will be the only people who ever get to visit the area.

At this time, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Chairman Rahall and Subcommittee Chairman Grijalva for their support in ushering this bill through the Resources Committee. I'd also like to thank the numerous community members who wrote in support of this bill, including our national park superintendent, Mr. Joel Tutein; Mr. Olasee Davis, who traveled from the Virgin Islands to testify in favor of the bill; the Gasperi family, and to thank them again for their patience in holding out for this day; and the Trust for Public Lands, who's given them their support.

I just wanted to add a few other things. While it would be ideal to wait until spring when the study would be formally transmitted to Congress, there are certain examples where this committee and the Congress have moved forward with designations before studies were completed or, in some cases, without studies at all. I'd just like to mention two examples. The legislation designating President Reagan's boyhood home in Illinois and the

Oklahoma City Memorial were enacted without studies at all. Both were sponsored by Members from the other side of the aisle. So precedent has been set for bills to be acted on prior to the study being completed or even without studies.

In addition, on November 17, I want to just remind my colleagues that the National Park Service testified in the committee to the fact that Castle Nugent has met their criteria for suitability and national significance. We're confident in the National Park Service's testimony and that the final opinion will reflect what was testified to; but it is necessary for us to act expediently, as there is risk of losing the property if we don't move quickly.

And thank you, Congresswoman and Chairwoman Lee, for your leadership of the caucus through every event that we've had to deal with, but especially for the way that you have answered the call to action for the people of Haiti and have called us to action as well within the caucus and within the Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening with my colleagues to express our deep sense of concern for the plight of the Haitian people after yesterday's devastating earthquake, the most devastating some people have observed in 200 or more years. I want to again thank our chair lady and the past years of the Congressional Black Caucus for the leadership they have given over the years on behalf of the nation of Haiti.

Last year, we began this administration and this Congress with hope for this country because of the promised engagement of President Obama, the demonstrated commitment of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the work on the ground of former President Clinton. But today, after beginning to rebuild after an onslaught of hurricanes in years past, this country, which is poor in resources but never has been poor in spirit, has been dealt a devastating blow once again.

So on behalf of the people of the Virgin Islands who are Caribbean neighbors of the people of Haiti, I express my condolences on the loss that has not yet been counted and for a sorrow not yet fully expressed because of the shock at the sheer magnitude of the loss that affects us all as fellow human beings.

I would like to express special concern for the Haitian Americans in my district and across the country who are worried and devastated as they try to get some word about the status of their loved ones back at home.

Mr. Speaker, Haiti has always had a special place in my heart and the hearts of all of us in the Congressional Black Caucus as me and my colleagues have tried over several administrations to impress upon those administrations the need for assistance for a people who crave economic opportunity, political stability, and social advancement. Many Haitians have migrated to our shores and have made significant and magnificent contributions to our country, but many still yearn for a better future for the country that they left behind.

As we ponder how to help Haiti in this time of disaster, which has followed many other disasters, and the difficulty of daily living for many of her residents, I hope that we will look at how we can help this neighbor to turn the corner and be more able to grow and develop in a way that can be helpful and more supportive to her citizens and help them to build for the future. Haiti needs debt forgiveness, investment in infrastructure, assistance in health care and education, and many of the things that we take for granted that would create that brighter future for its people.

I commend President Obama for his quick response in getting first responders there to help those trapped in the rubble, medical assistance to help those who have been hurt or injured, and military assistance to help maintain the stability that is necessary to make sure that those most in need get the help. And we know that his commitment and our commitment as Members of Congress is there for the long term.

Mr. Speaker, this disaster has touched the lives of rich and poor, educated and not, Haitians and others. And as we fellow human beings who care stand ready to assist in this time of need, I join my colleagues tonight in the Congressional Black Caucus and pledge our help in this disaster and in the long term for their recovery. Right now the need is for monetary donations to credible organizations like the International Red Cross and others operated by churches and not- for-profit organizations that work with the people of Haiti on a regular basis. News reports last night told us that the people of Haiti, devastated by the disaster, took to the streets last night and hugged and prayed while trying their best to dig their friends and neighbors out of the rubble. We want them to know that we join in their prayers for relief and mercy and will do what we can as neighbors, as friends, as family, and as Members of Congress to assist them in their time of need.

Thank you, Congresswoman Fudge. And thank you for the great job you're doing in pulling us together every week.

We had a press conference last week--and I agree with Al Green when he said we shouldn't even have to call it, not when unemployment in our communities is over 15 percent, even over 30 percent in some, and 50 percent when we look at young African American males, not when our CBC foundation can tell us about the lack of jobs for black males who have not completed high school or who have just completed high school compared to other people with similar educational levels.

The stark gaps in unemployment for African Americans, American Indians, Latinos, and Asians cry out for a remedy, one that responds to those who are most in need and at risk. If no one else will answer tonight, the Congressional Black Caucus is answering, and we will answer every day until we turn the unemployment rates and every other inequity in our communities around.

I've had the opportunity, on a small scale, to see what can happen with programs like these because we don't have to go through the State and the local distribution. We will soon graduate 26 formerly unemployed men and women who knew nothing about solar water heaters who can now build them from scratch and install them. They have an opportunity, through the ARRA, the program created by our government, our utility, and a not-for-profit to put their training to work in real jobs. And what these young men have told us is please continue these programs and expand them for us. That is what we are here to say on behalf of them and the millions of others who need work today.

I want to just say that the same thing applies to health care jobs; they are needed in all of our communities on every level. This is a job industry that is growing and will continue to grow as we pass health care reform. There is a great opportunity for our communities in health care to create jobs.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Rev. Emanuel Cleaver, Congressman, and our Chair, Barbara Lee, for being so aggressive in working and moving the Congressional Black Caucus and using us to move our caucus towards the creation of these jobs, and to thank our President for making job creation a central part of his agenda. We are his strongest allies and supporters and advocates. And advocating, as we do for our community, we are working to ensure that the benefits of his Presidency reach everyone in this Nation.

Democrats don't plan to go home until we do something meaningful to create jobs. The Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa season must be one of hope for everyone. That is our commitment as Democrats and as the Congressional Black Caucus; our commitment is to make sure that these benefits extend to everyone, especially those who are suffering most, especially those in the African American community and other communities of color, not just for a few, not just for some, but for everyone living in this country.

I yield back.

I am pleased to join our Chairwoman Barbara Lee, Congresswoman Fudge who does such a great job of organizing these special orders every week and my other CBC colleagues to speak to the critical importance of creating jobs for the American people, as we Democrats are poised to do, but particularly in the hardest hit African American communities who when America sneezes gets pneumonia, when a breeze blows elsewhere we get a hurricane, and when surf is high for everyone else we get a tsunami.

We had a press conference last week, that as Congressman Al Green said and I agree, we should not have had to call.

Not when the unemployment in African American communities is over 15 percent, even over 30 percent in some areas and higher in some age groups. Not when the projections are as they always have been that joblessness will continue longest for us--especially for African American males.

Not when the CBC foundation issued issues a very telling report that has clearly demonstrated the severe gaps in employment for black male high school graduates or who have not finished high school even in unskilled jobs compared to every other group with the same educational levels.

And not when universities and others across our country have reported studies that clearly demonstrate racial bias in hiring and all of this is only the tip of the iceberg.

The stark gaps in employment for African Americans and Latinos cry out for a remedy--one that responds to those who are most at need and at risk and, if no one else will answer, we the Congressional Black Caucus is answering today and every day until we turn around the unemployment rates and every other inequity in our communities.

There is just no way that we will stand by and let our community be left behind as the country recovers from the recession and the focus turns, as it must, to job creation. And, we are determined that our community will not be left behind as we turn the page to a new green economy and as we embark on a reform of our healthcare system. Both will require massive training programs and a major expansion of our workforce on every level. This is an opportunity that we cannot afford to let pass us by--we won't!

I have had the opportunity to see on a small scale what can happen with programs funded thru ARRA because in my district--the US Virgin Islands--state and local are treated as one entity, so I do not have to depend on the state to distribute funds at the local level.

We will soon graduate 26 formerly unemployed men and women who knew nothing about solar water heaters soon who can now build and install several models from scratch. They are now in their practicum installing them in government youth and senior facilities. I was so impressed as they explained things I will never understand. They have an opportunity now with a program created by government our utility and a not for profit to put their training to work in real jobs.

But what the student-trainees we met with Paul Larsen, Dean Doctrine and Kahlil Simone--begged us was that we continue this program and provide them with even greater opportunities.,

This is what we--on their behalf and on behalf of millions of others--are asking this Congress and our President to do now.

And the same applies to health care jobs. They are needed in all of our communities. Community health workers, allied health techs and nurse techs will be needed to meet the demand of the newly insured, they will be the key to eliminating health disparities in our communities, and open a door to even more opportunities. Right now the Department of labor has 200 million dollars available for training for healthcare jobs our of the ARRA, we need to continue and expand that going forward in the jobs bill this body will pass and we need to ensure that the communities that suffer the greatest disparities are targeted with these programs for job creation in this industry where the demand will only continue to grow.

Health care provides a great opportunity for the now un- or under- employed to lift themselves out of poverty, to improve the health of their communities and to raise our nation's standing for all of the health indicators for which--like infant and maternal mortality as well as general health status we lag behind everyone of our industrialized global partners.

I would like to thank the Jobs Taskforce led by our colleague, Reverend Emanuel Cleaver, and our Chair Barbara Lee for aggressively moving to ensure that communities like ours which are distressed and the people who live there will not continue to be marginalized by post racial wannabees.

As was said at the press conference in response to those who would make this a racial issue--if it is, it is not because we made it so. It is made so by the fact that the communities with the highest unemployment and the highest rates of poverty are African American, American Indian and other communities of color.

And for those who want to make this a fight between the CBC and the President--nothing could be further from the truth!

The White House unfortunately has too many advisors to whom the distress and misery in our communities are if not invisible, are not clearly seen and definitely not felt!

It is our responsibility to be the advisors and the advocates on the other side, on the side of those who have felt and borne the brunt of every hard time, every recession or depression long before and a whole lot longer than anyone else in this country.

We are our President's allies, supporters and strongest advocates. In advocating, as we do for our community, we are working to ensure that the benefits of his presidency reaches every corner of this nation, and that his presidency surpasses every other through the prism, not just of history, but of what happens today to improve the lives of those most in need.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of HR 4213, the Tax Extenders of 2009 Act which contains the crucial extension of the rum cover-over program to the American Caribbean territories. The annual extension, which raises at least $20 million for the Virgin Islands for infrastructure development, is a vital component of our economic development strategies for continued growth and self sufficiency. In 1954, Congress extended the equalization cover-over provision to the Virgin Islands to foster greater fiscal autonomy and in 1983 and 2000, it enacted laws which vested the Legislature of the Virgin Islands with sole authority to determine how rum cover-over revenues should be utilized.

Recently, that authority has been challenged by legislation that would tie the hands of our local territorial governments in regards to determining how best to utilize those funds. The government and people of the Virgin Islands commend the early foresight of the Congress and reserve the right to determine what is in the best interest of our community.

Madame Speaker, Congress designed the rum cover-over program to create economic stability for its territories in the Caribbean, to include the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Over the years, each has benefited from this program and hopes to continue to do so in the future. If one territory believes that they no longer need or require this benefit, I am here today to tell you, that the people of the Virgin Islands are grateful for the continued opportunity to have this funding and to determine how best it can be utilized for their ultimate benefit.

In the present global economic development environment, the U.S. Virgin Islands has moved to stabilize this industry on its shore, guaranteeing revenue and jobs for Americans, securing our retirement system and repairing schools while at the same time working to clean up environmental issues associated with the rum industry.

The Congress support of today's rum revenue extenders and indeed the entire rum cover program is crucial to the economic future of the territories and today, I, along with the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands thank Chairman Rangel, the leadership of the House and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for your continued support.