Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for these six bills brought forth by the Committee on Homeland Security. I would like to commend Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King for their continued efforts and leadership on presenting legislation to enhance and strengthen our Nation's security. I would also like to congratulate my colleagues on the committee who authored these bills--Chairman Thompson, Congresswoman Clarke, Congresswoman Lowey, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, Congressman Dent and Congressman Langevin.

The enactment of H.R. 1, The Implementing 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act, was a major milestone for this Congress and I was proud to be a conferee to H.R. 1. With the passage of H.R. 1, Congress took the lead in making America more secure. H.R. 1 was a comprehensive measure to enhance our Nation's homeland security capabilities in profound ways.

The Homeland Security Committee has conducted numerous hearings to investigate the many areas covered by H.R. 1 and has worked diligently at developing legislation that focuses on specific areas of homeland security that require fine tuning in order to make H.R. 1 as effective as possible.

The bills being considered today will do everything from providing redress to Americans misidentified against the terror watch lists to enhancing DHS' capability to address the threat of improvised-explosive devices to ensuring the integrity of aviation security covert tests.

H.R. 4179, the Fast Redress Act of 2008, would enhance information sharing at DHS and between DHS and other Federal agencies that use the terrorist watch list or database. The bill also includes measures that would make the redress process more efficient and protect the civil rights of individuals on TSA's ``Cleared List'' and ``No Fly'' or ``Selectee'' lists.

H.R. 5909 is vitally important given the Committee's knowledge of at least three incidents that compromised the integrity of covert tests at TSA's screening checkpoints. It provides for security measures that would prevent disclosures that will jeopardize covert testing. H.R. 5982 will also enhance airport security by requiring information sharing on best practices for using biometrics to improve airport security. H. Res. 1150 recognizes the continued importance of rail security and ensuring that it is given equal importance in our national transportation security plans.

Bombing prevention is an integral part of our national security and requires that we provide the necessary resources for this purpose. H.R. 4749 does this by increasing funding and the capabilities of the Office of Bombing Prevention. Along similar lines, The Nuclear Forensics Attribution Act authorizes programs within DHS to develop an international framework to identify and intercept nuclear materials further reducing the possibilities of nuclear threat worldwide.

Lastly, I support H.R. 1333 which calls for both GAO and the DHS Secretary to examine and prepare a report on how the Civil Air Patrol can be integrated in our efforts to enhance national security and our war against terrorism. This is a positive effort in using local resources in supporting our homeland security mission.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support these bipartisan bills that have been thoughtfully crafted to enhance national security measures that are important to the implementation of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5680) to amend certain laws relating to Native Americans, and for others purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5680, introduced by our colleague, Mr. Grijalva, contains multiple proposals to address the needs of several Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages. I would like to commend Mr. Grijalva for his hard work on this legislation. Without his dedication and commitment, we would not be here this morning. Some of these provisions may seem small and insignificant, but they mean much to those they affect.

Under this legislation, the Colorado River Indian Tribes would be authorized to receive funds from the Secretary of the Interior in order to establish and run an Office of Energy Development. Funds are available for such purposes under section 1(b) of the Act of June 1938. The establishment of an Office of Energy Development will allow the tribe to better oversee and manage the operation, management and funds derived from the BIA power system located on their reservation.

This legislation would authorize the Gila River Indian Community to agree to mediation over construction contracts. It supports the right of an Indian tribe to dispose of land held in fee simple status. It further authorizes two Indian tribes to enter into long term leasing of tribal land. Finally, this legislation clarifies certain powers of Alaskan Native Regional Corporations with respect to the issuance of common stock.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 5680, as amended.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I could not travel to Haiti with my colleagues last week, but I have been there several times over the past 12 years, and it breaks my heart to see a country which ought to have had so much promise in the critical state it now is. I have to agree with what I have heard from many Haitians, that the day to day existence of the people is worse than it ever was during the Duvalier period.

The people of Haiti welcomed the democracy our country helped to bring. They participated enthusiastically in the electoral process.

They were patient as they waited for the assistance that never came in full.

Today they are in the middle of a terrible food crisis--one that we can and must do what we can--and we can do a lot--to abate.

The food crisis in Haiti is responsible for recent riots, killings, and the ousting of the country's prime minister. In just the past few weeks, five Haitians and one United Nations worker were killed in the violent protests stemming from the overwhelming food shortage. The situation, which has been labeled a ``silent tsunami'' by the U.N. World Food Programme, has not received the attention and action it warrants.

Haiti is our neighbor. In my estimation, we have not done all that we could and should have to avert this and every other crisis it has faced in recent years. The instability that is increasing every day, not only threatens the life of every Haitian but can destabilize the region and send adverse ripples here.

Madam Speaker, I applaud the current administration's commitment to provide $200 million in emergency food aid. I implore my colleagues to join me in urging the President to commit no less than $60 million of the $200 million for Haiti.

We need to pass the HERO Act to provide investment and create jobs.

I am also calling on this Congress to pass Temporary Protected Status for the people of Haiti in this time of great peril. In the face of the inequity in treatment of Haiti under immigration, it is the least we can do.

It is time for the United States to take seriously our obligation as the lead Nation in this hemisphere and assist our neighbor in this time of extreme need.

Mr. Speaker, the fact that more than half a million women die in what is the most natural of processes and what should be one of the happiest, pregnancy and birth, is totally unacceptable and should call everyone in this world to action. But for simple and inexpensive medication, adequate trained providers, and because of poverty and poor sanitation, but mostly from the lack of an adequate global response to this tragedy, a mother somewhere dies every 60 seconds.

These same factors, in addition to lack of access and other social determinants of health, also cause maternal mortality rates among black women in

the United States to be three to four times higher than that of white women. Because of this, the United States ranks 41st in the world, with many poorer countries having lower mortality rates.

Reducing maternal mortality is the fifth Millennium Goal and we are so far from reaching it. Last year, Johnson & Johnson and the Government of Norway stepped up in a big way to help.

Just having celebrated Mother's Day, this is a good time for other companies and other countries, especially ours, to make sure we meet this goal and keep our, and all, mothers alive.

Madam Speaker, I rise to commend a soldier from my district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Major Bernard Warrington, Jr., who will be promoted today to lieutenant colonel. Bernard Warrington, Jr., was born in Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands in 1970. He attended public school there and graduated from Central High School in 1988. Since that time, he has distinguished himself as a soldier and a scholar, working his way up in the military, first as an infantry officer in 1992, in the 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division at Ft. Benning, Georgia. While assigned to the 3rd Brigade, he deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Southern Watch.

In 1996, he relocated to Ft. Hood, Texas, where he served with the 1st Cavalry Division Support Command, (DISCOM), as its Plans Officer and Assistant Brigade Operations Officer. He was then reassigned to 615th Aviation Support Battalion (ASB) to command its Headquarters and Supply Company (HSC) and deployed with the 1st Cavalry Division to Bosnia, Herzegovina, in support of Operation Stabilization Forces Four (SPOR4).

Major Warrington then served as the Combat Service Support (CSS) Team Chief for the 348th Training Support Brigade (TSB) Ft. Buchanan, Puerto Rico, responsible for training U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard Forces. He was next assigned within the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) as a G4 Power Projection Logistics Planner and Crisis Action Team member for CENTCOM during Operation Enduring Freedom.

He was deployed in 2003 to meet the 101st Corps Support Group (CSG) in Mosul, Iraq, where he served as its Brigade Operations Planner, Deputy Brigade S3 during Operation Iraqi Freedom I during its reconstitution at Ft. Campbell.

From July 2004 to December 2006, he served as both the Battalion Executive Officer and Support Operations Officer for 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, during which time he redeployed in 2005, with the battalion to Tikrit, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3658, to amend the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to permit rest and recuperation travel to United States territories for members of the Foreign Service, sponsored by my good friend and neighbor, Mr. Fortuno of Puerto Rico.

Mr. Speaker, the Foreign Service Act unfortunately is not consistent in the way it treats citizens from the mainland and those from the territories. While it allows for the State Department to pay for Foreign Service members to return home, to any of the 50 states or U.S. territories, after being posted abroad, it only permits residents of the 50 states who are at hardship posts, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, to be granted R & R for a period of time while posted.

This bill, at its core, is about equal and fair treatment for residents of the U.S. territories. When most of us hear the word home, we have a clear picture in our head of where that is. But for these Foreign Service members, it is not that simple. Under current law, these diplomats must pay their own way if they want to visit their family and friends back home in the territories, while diplomats from the states have their travel costs covered.

Although these members are from a U.S. territory, they are our fellow citizens and commit their lives to the diplomatic causes. They join for the love of their country and risk their safety in dangerous posts.

The bill before us today would eliminate this unequal and unfair treatment between Foreign Service members who reside in the territories and those that reside in the states. I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 3658.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2830, ``The Coast Guard Authorization Act'' and would like to commend Chairman Oberstar and Ranking Member Mica for their work on the bill and their efforts in bringing it to the House floor today. The development of this bill has been a long process and a collaborative effort. We are pleased that it is before the House for passage. I would also like to commend Chairman Thompson, my colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee and staff for their work on the Port Security section of this legislation. I would like to thank Chairman Cummings and Ranking Member LaTourette for theirs on Deepwater and their support of the Port Security provisions in H.R. 2830.

The United States Coast Guard has a broad and important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, marine environmental pollution response, and the maintenance of river, Intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation. Yet it has been grossly underfunded and therefore understaffed and under-resourced. This bill provides much needed resources and capacity building to effectuate these changes without compromising security. In addition to increasing funding by $8.4 billion and the bill provides a much needed increase from 1,500 coast guard personnel to 47,000.

There are many important provisions in the bill but I am particularly pleased with the provisions to improve Port Security, particularly for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean. Section 419 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to station additional Coast Guard assets in the U.S. Virgin Islands for port security and other purposes. Currently, the Virgin Islands are without a coast guard cutter and have to depend on Puerto Rico for use of their vessel. This provision is a step forward in establishing a permanent Coast Guard unit in the Virgin Islands.

Another very important issue to the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean is cruise security. It

is estimated that 10.6 million Americans took a cruise from a U.S. port in 2007. These ports include locations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and points throughout the Caribbean. H.R. 2830 includes incident notification requirements that would enhance cruise ship security. This provision would make our ports more secure and thus more attractive to cruise ship travelers.

Enhancing Port Security has been a priority for the Homeland Security Committee and The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2007 will give the Coast Guard much needed reform as well as strengthen our homeland security, protection of the marine environment and maritime safety. It reflects our commitment to improving port security.

We all remember with gratitude the stellar work of the U.S. Coast Guard during Hurricane Katrina. Were it not for them many more lives would have been lost. This bill is a down payment on the gratitude we owe them for this and their work in the waters of our Nation. I encourage my colleagues to support the bill and urge its final passage.

Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate Mr. Roland Roebuck, on the occasion of his retirement. Mr. Roebuck is a Virgin Islander who has served the Government of the District of Columbia, his adopted community, in an exemplary manner, for 25 years. Roland, or Rolando, as those in the Hispanic community affectionately refer to him, has been an advocate for the social, economic and political causes of people of color.

Roland grew up on St. Croix, the protege of a Puerto Rican mother and a Crucian father, where he was able to bridge the two cultures and gain the best of both worlds.

Later, he served in the U.S. Air Force, giving back to the Nation that he loves, before furthering his education and earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the District of Columbia.

In 1984, Roland joined the District of Columbia Government and worked in various positions over the years. He excelled in ensuring that the rights of Latinos were protected and facilitated the understanding of their cultures and more.

As a guardian of culture, Roland travelled around the world, giving lectures and workshops in understanding the lives of others who were different. As a former board member of the St. Croix Landmark Society, he used the opportunity to dialogue with the people of Denmark, a country that sold the then Danish Virgin Islands to the United States for $25, 000,000 in 1917, to preserve and incorporate their influences on the lives of Virgin Islanders. He assisted in developing an archival program that has allowed my constituents to search their genealogical connections and get a sense of their ancestry.

Roland is a dependable, compassionate person, who truly cares about those with whom he has come in contact. His responsiveness to those who seek his knowledge and wisdom, speak to his dedication. He is always there, giving support to his family, friends and community and he has left a fitting legacy in the Government of the District of Columbia that others will do well to exemplify.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of myself and my family, my entire staff and the communities of the United States Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, let me express our gratitude to Roland for his many contributions over the years. We know that he will continue to work on behalf of his many causes as he begins his retirement. Roland, thank you for a job well done.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for those kind remarks. And I am pleased to rise in support of S. 2739, which includes two bills that I sponsored, H.R. 3079, the CNMI Immigration, Security, and Labor Act (ISLA), which also includes the NMI Delegate Act, and H.R. 2705, the Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2007. Both were unanimously passed by this Chamber this year.

ISLA resolves two issues which have been before this Congress for decades. First, it would extend U.S. immigration laws to the CNMI. And second, it would authorize a CNMI nonvoting delegate to serve in this body beginning in the 111th Congress.

For two decades, the CNMI has had local control over immigration policy, and it has never been represented in this Chamber. For those unheard voices, for the prosperity of those islands, and for the security of our Nation, the path should now lead in a different direction.

ISLA provides the needed policy flexibility to transition immigration from local to Federal control. It ensures that employers can fill jobs, residents receive vocational training, nonresident guest workers be protected,

the region's economy be diversified, and the Marianas archipelago be strategically secure.

H.R. 2705 makes technical corrections to the Compact Agreements of 2003 and ushers in a new disaster assistance regime between FEMA and USAID for the FAS.

I'm grateful to Chairman Rahall for his commitment to prioritize issues affecting U.S. territories in the Freely Associated States. I thank the committee ranking member, Mr. Young, and the subcommittee ranking member, Mr. Fortuno. I also want to thank the staff of the subcommittee.

I want to especially acknowledge Mr. Faleomavaega and Ms. Bordallo, both members of the subcommittee, for traveling with me to the CNMI to conduct our hearing. They are tireless in their support of the subcommittee's agenda, and Ms. Bordallo worked closely with me to ensure that the interests of all the people in the Marianas, as well as the priorities for our Nation's security, were included in ISLA.

I urge my colleagues to pass S. 2739.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of H.R. 5613--the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008.

The millions of people who depend on this critical safety net and I thank and applaud Chairman Dingell for once again protecting our Nation's critically important Medicaid program.

It is a shame that every year Democrats have to fight back at least one attempt to cut funding and provisions in this program that is so vital to the Nation's poor--the majority of which are people of color.

The administration and the Secretary's policies are going in the absolute wrong direction. Rather Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance funding needs to be increased to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of un- and under-insured which includes 9 million children. This administration's failed economic policies have left more people vulnerable.

Racial and ethnic minorities suffer worse morbidity and mortality because of lack of access. Caps on Medicaid in the territories don't even allow us to cover residents at 100 percent of poverty and per capita spending is a shamefully small fraction of that of our fellow Americans in the States.

This Nation's healthcare system as we all know has become a sick-care system and not only is it not doing a good job at that, it is in crisis and on the verge of catastrophe.

The proposed actions restricting payments for graduate medical education and blanket regulations against payment for certain services, threaten to not only make the healthcare situation in this country worse for the poor, but for everyone, and to threaten the competitiveness and security of our Nation.

I look forward to the new Democratic administration, who will work with Chairman Dingell and others to transform health care in this country and reduce the skyrocketing costs through emphasis on prevention and equal access to quality, comprehensive culturally competent care for everyone who lives here. The foundation of this effort must be stronger Medicaid and SCHIP.

By stopping the assault on these two programs; by stopping payments to hard working providers and for the training of the healthcare workforce needed, we set the stage for that transformation to begin.

Thank you Mr. Chairman, for your continued leadership.

I urge passage of H.R. 5613 to protect this important safety net.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 865, welcoming the recommendations contained in the March 2007 World Bank report ``Crime, Violence, and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the Caribbean.'' I would like to commend my colleague and sister from the Caribbean, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke inroducing this legislation.

Too often the Caribbean is overlooked when issues of global economy and diplomacy are discussed. I am pleased that H. Res. 865 urges the United States, other drug-consuming countries, and the Caribbean countries to increase counter-narcotics efforts in the Caribbean region. As a member of the House representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, I know firsthand the negative impact that crime can have on the economy of Caribbean islands. The report indicates that high rates of crime and violence in the Caribbean are undermining growth, threatening human welfare, and impeding social development. For the most part, the economy of the Caribbean is tourism driven. Safety and security are vital to providing quality tourism, and crime is a direct threat to the Caribbean tourism industry.

One contributing factor to the growing crime problem in the region is our country's deportation program that sends individuals who have

lived in this country for years--almost all their lives in some cases-- back to their native country, if they have committed a crime. The individuals who learned their trade in this country are sent back often with no notification, many times without any known family and sometimes not knowing the language, as in Haiti. As long as we continue to deport criminals as we do now, we will continue to seed the growing drug and criminal activity in the Caribbean. Churches, especially those associated with Prison Ministries International are concerned and actively pursuing programs to address this situation.

Today, H. Res. 865 takes a positive step toward addressing the crime in the Caribbean by recognizing that a resolution requires an approach that ``transcends Caribbean national boundaries.'' I am encouraged and hopeful that this report will provide a basis for developing good practices to eradicate crime in the Caribbean.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5472, which designates the post office at 2650 Martin Luther King, Jr. Street, Indianapolis, Indiana as the ``Julia M. Carson Post Office Building'' in honor of my friend and former colleague, Congresswoman Julia Carson.

Julia Carson was a tireless representative of the people of Indiana who served them from her position as a congressional aide in the 1960s to two terms in the Indiana House of Representatives to service in the Indiana Senate from 1976 to 1990. She vigorously pursued issues related to the needs of working men and women, public health, the environment, and fundamental justice. When the AIDS epidemic broke out, Mrs. Carson was one of the early champions of the right of the sick to be treated fairly as she worked to bring public understanding about the new illness.

As a victim herself of discrimination in health care, which delayed the diagnosis and treatment of her heart disease, she was an ardent advocate for the elimination of all health disparities.

Julia Carson coupled her career in public service with a 10-year stint in corporate America. As Marion County Center Township Trustee in 1990, she saved the financially floundering office, earning the accolade of Indianapolis Woman of the Year from the Indianapolis Star for the second time in her career.

Julia Carson came to Congress in 1996 and brought the same energy and enthusiasm to this body to which her constituents in Indiana had grown accustomed.

As a Congresswoman, Julia Carson was proud of her vote against the Iraq War, her legislation that awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor to Rosa Parks, and her tireless advocacy for women, children, the homeless.

After more than 40 years of service to the people of her district and the State of Indiana and indeed to the country as a whole, I join my colleagues in their overwhelming support of the Indianapolis post office being named in her honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the naming of the U.S. Post Office at 11001 Dunklin Drive in St. Louis, Missouri, as the ``William `Bill' Clay'' Post Office Building.

William ``Bill'' Clay served his country and his community at an important juncture in history, as he was one of the cofounders of the Congressional Black Caucus, an institution in this body that has grown in size and stature to 43 members, of which I am proud to be a part.

From his work in his native St. Louis as a real estate broker, labor coordinator and union affiliate, Bill Clay brought a reservoir of knowledge and experience to his service in this body for 33 years. He was well respected and he served as a mentor to me and other members as we learned our way around the House of Representatives.

William ``Bill'' Clay chaired the House Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service from 1991 until 1995. It is even more fitting that a U.S. Post Office in his beloved city bear his name and the memory of his work on behalf of so many.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in overwhelming support of H. Res. 1038, recognizing the fifth anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security and honoring the Department's employees for their extraordinary efforts and contributions to protect and secure our country.

As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, I am proud to work side-by-side with DHS on keeping our Nation secure. We have come a long way and it is hard to believe that so much has been accomplished in 5 years. For certain, consolidating 22 different agencies has been extremely challenging as it is the first act of its kind. The Department now employs more than 200,000 workers in its efforts to keep the Nation secure. Although there are many issues to still be resolved, and there always will be, I commend Secretary Chertoff and the DHS employees for their success in preventing another terrorist attack, thus far, and intercepting terrorists plots.

My colleagues and I remain committed to working on ensuring that the agency has the support and resources it needs to continue to get the job done. One of our top priorities and concerns has always been staff morale. We believe that the employees are the backbone of the agency and that the agency is a reflection of its employees' approach and outlook toward their job. Their continuing efforts are crucial to the security of our Nation in the years to come.

I would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to Secretary Chertoff and the employees of DHS, especially those in the U.S. Virgin Islands, for their outstanding service.

General Leave

Madam Speaker, I rise to salute a cultural icon in my home community of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, Camille ``King Derby'' Macedon, who has spent much of his life in the performance and preservation of our musical art forms.

In 1957, Camille ``King Derby'' Macedon began singing calypso, or ``kaiso'' as he always reminds us, as it is a link from our African musical heritage that took root in the Caribbean over the 400 years of our people's sojourn there. Since that time he has performed for audiences large and small and is an 11-time winner of the St. Croix Calypso Crown. He has won competitions in calypso tents from St. Lucia to Canada.

King Derby is a well-known figure, as he performs with his ukulele, solo or with a quelbe band, lending his rhythm and distinctive musical styling to the songs of our lives, which are often social commentary par excellence. He has recorded several popular compositions such as ``Juan Luis Jam'' (1979), ``Rum and Coke'' (1989), and ``Witey Could Wine'' (1982).

In 1982, in an effort to preserve the calypso art form, King Derby founded Calypso, Inc., an organization which gives workshops in the Virgin Islands schools to students who have the talent and are interested in becoming musicians. He has taught our youth the traditional means of preserving history and telling stories with local flavor and color in order to keep our vibrant culture alive. The young people with whom he has worked over the past two decades are known as ``Junior Calypsonians'' and perform every year during our Christmas Festival and Agricultural Festival.

As his day job, Camille ``Derby'' Macedon has worked for the Virgin Islands Department of Public Works for the past 40 years, the last 20 in the Utilities Division.

He has been married for 39 years to his wife Leona and they have seven children to include Walton, Randall, Michelle, Renee, Doreen, Monique, Marjorie and Aubrey.