Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I rise as the Health Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus to express my strong support for the Congressional Black Caucus' alternative fiscal year `08 budget and to urge its passage.

I want to begin by applauding our leadership, our chairwoman, Carolyn Kilpatrick, and the person who headed up our Budget Task Force for his hard work, skill, leadership and commitment to justice it represents, Congressman Bobby Scott.

This is a smart and responsible budget that is as fiscally sound as it is congruent to the needs, hopes and aspirations not only of African Americans, but of all Americans.

This budget uses the Democratic budget, a good budget itself, as a starting point and takes a step further by putting $112 billion more in education, training, employment and social services; $9 billion more in veterans benefits and services; $8 billion more in homeland security. And over a 5-year period, it spends more than $101 billion on health care. It does all of this and more while balancing the budget in 2012 and creating $141 billion surplus, beginning to reduce the burden that the Republican spending spree would have placed on future generations.

Four years ago, the current administration began taking us down the slippery slope of huge deficits and unprecedented debt by giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans instead of using that money to strengthen our country by investing in the American people. This budget rescinds some of those tax cuts and incentives, including the tax cuts to the top two tiers of income, tax cuts that this country could not afford then and cannot afford today.

By rescinding those tax cuts, which is where our budget departs from the Democratic base budget, we begin now to correct the wrong that was perpetrated particularly on the poor and middle class, and we put the interests of the majority of this Nation's hardworking families at the forefront of our spending priorities, and Mr. Speaker, it is about time.

While this is true across every line item, it is especially true as it relates to spending on health and health care. As I have previously observed and stated on the Record, the President's fiscal year 2008 budget proposes to eliminate, cut or flat fund every single program that is critical to reducing health disparities or to strengthening the health and wellness of African Americans and other people of color across this Nation.

The Democratic budget, for which I applaud Chairman John Spratt, does much to restore these programs, at least in part. But the health deficit of African Americans and other people of color, of the poor and rural Americans requires a major investment to reverse the severely adverse impact of long-term neglect, neglect which is not only causing excess deaths, but driving up the cost of health care and undermining the quality of care for all Americans.

And so, Mr. Speaker, the CBC alternative budget uses the additional funding stream from the funds we put back into the budget to maintain, create or expand programs that are proven to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities that have left more people of color in poorer health, without access to adequate health care, and more likely to die prematurely from preventable causes often during their most productive years for far too long.

Programs like Healthy Start, nurse education and other health profession programs, the Ryan-White Care Act, Health Careers Opportunity programs, Gulf Coast Health Infrastructure, Maternal and Child Health get the funding they need. And NIH and community health centers get an additional increase as well.

Most importantly, we create a health equity fund to fund prevention programs that pay for themselves and create value, and which make that investment to fill in the gaps in health care in poor and rural communities and communities of color, and to improve the health status of all Americans.

The CBC budget through its investment in education, economic opportunity, housing, and all of the social determinants of health provide that kind of holistic approach to our communities and our Nation's well-being that had been missing and for which we are all, but especially people of color, paying the price.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King once said that the moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice. The CBC resets the moral compass of our Nation, and the CBC sits at the elbow of justice. And by supporting the CBC budget we not only will be championing justice and equity in health care but in all social, public and economic policies and programs that currently fail far too many of our Nation's citizens and which have thus created two Americas separated by a wide and deep chasm of inequality.

Mr. Speaker, Dr. Martin Luther King also said that the time is always right to do what is right. Well, that time is now, and doing what is right is passing the CBC alternative budget. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote for this well- constructed, sound budget that sets a new direction for this country not just for today but for tomorrow.

Mr. Speaker, we owe our Nation's freedom and quality of life to America's veterans. These brave men and women left their families behind and risk their lives for us and their country. Our government promised to take care of them when they returned home; this is a promise we simply must not break.

Today, the House has an opportunity to live up to these promises. The emergency supplemental bill provides $1.7 billion more than the President's request to fund veterans' health care needs. The bill provides $550 million to address the maintenance backlog at VA health care facilities, preventing situations like the one at Walter Reed. $250 million for medical administration to ensure sufficient personnel to maintain a high level of service for the rising number of veterans. $100 million to allow the VA to contract with private mental health care providers to offer veterans timely mental health care. And $62 million to speed up claims processing for returning veterans.

Mr. Speaker, those who put their lives on the line for our country deserve not only our respect, but also the best medical care we can provide. This bill will ensure that they receive just that, while beginning a process to bring our troops home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1591. It will bring our troops home, take care of our veterans, and begin to address critical needs here at home.

I applaud the leadership of the House--our Democratic leadership team--for bringing this important and far reaching bill before us today.

I, like many of my colleagues, would have preferred to have a bill before us that would get our troops out of Iraq tomorrow, or even in 3 months. I most certainly would like not to have to send the 100 members of the V.I. National Guard out to Iraq next month. But that is not doable, it is not realistic.

What is realistic is setting some benchmarks--actually the president's benchmarks as goals and legally holding him to them, while planning for the complete re-deployment by summer of next year!

More than that though, it provides what the soldiers and their families have been crying for, for the past 5 years. Equipment, training, protective gear and armor and all that adds up to troop readiness. It is negligent to send our men and women into the middle of a civil war where they become targets without the proper preparation and equipment.

H.R. 1591 sets guidelines for length of deployment, and it does something that I think will go a long way to reducing the violence against our troops, and that is it establishes that there will be no permanent bases in Iraq. It further restores our values and principles in combat by prohibiting torture.

More funding is also channeled to Afghanistan where the war needs to be brought back on track and we need to make up lost ground in the real war on terrorism.

But this bill goes further. For all these 5 long years we have also complained that funds needed here at home were not only being spent but wasted in Iraq--there is still over 9 billion that is unaccounted for and we are losing.

Well what we do in H.R. 1591 is begin to take better care of our soldiers when they return home. The stories about conditions at Walter Reed, and of persons in need of mental health care being turned away are not only heartbreaking, they border on criminal.

And we also begin to take care of some long overdue issues here at home:

Agriculture disaster assistance, State Children's Health insurance payments for rural schools, better homeland security preparedness, improving oversight and accountability and finally doing what we ought to have done 2 years ago for the victims we left behind in Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

And we help some countries with whom we have close ties and who need our help--Jordan, Afghanistan, Liberia and several other African nations.

This bill sends funding to our defense needs on the two major fronts at which our troops need us, takes care of critical needs at home, and begins to rebuild our reputation for leadership and our moral authority in the world.

I support it, the people of the Virgin Islands support it, and I urge my colleagues to support and pass H.R. 1591.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Madam Speaker, next month the Virgin Islands National Guard is scheduled to deploy another 100 soldiers to Iraq. Already over 400 have served several tours of duty; of that 100 to be deployed, 36 are women.

We in the Virgin Islands have lost a total of seven soldiers, five Virgin Islanders, and two whose families moved there. Having just lost two of our finest, the first VI National Guard to be killed in Iraq, that April deployment will be a very difficult one not just for the families, but for the entire community. I want to be able to go with a message of hope.

This week we will be debating the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act. This bill sets a reasonable timeline for troop withdrawal, ensures funding needed to ensure that our troops are trained, protected and equipped while in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that they are properly cared for when they return.

Colleagues, this is an important bill; our country needs us to pass it. I want that when the April deployment ceremony comes about, I can meet my VI National Guard knowing that they will not be there for more than one tour, that they will have what they need to get the job done, that they will come home in a time certain, and that all the services they need will be there for them when they return. That is a message that will make all the difference in the world to them and their families.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my support for H.R. 1227, the Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act and commend my colleague Congresswoman Waters and the Financial Services Committee for bringing this very important legislation to the House floor today.

The devastation of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma has required an unprecedented response from the Federal, state and local governments, as well as the private sector. While, there has been progress, there is still widespread dissatisfaction in the government's response to providing emergency and long-term recovery, especially housing. There are still tens of thousands of families that cannot return to their homes or any home because there is still a major crisis in the public housing sector. As their needs were not met in the immediate wake of the storm, many of the former residents of public housing units in the Gulf Coast have continued to find their needs severely neglected over the past 19 months.

The Gulf Coast Recovery Act addresses the concerns that were expressed by disaster victims at hearings held in the affected areas. This bill includes provisions that will address the crisis of affordable housing in the Gulf Coast, including freeing up $1.175 billion appropriated for the Louisiana Road Home program. Another important provision is the extension of the September deadline that would cutoff 12,000 families currently receiving Disaster Voucher Program assistance. This also helps the thousands of citizens who generously opened their homes to those in need, when our own government did not step up to the plate to assist.

Relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts for Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma are ongoing--and will continue until the Gulf Coast is completely up and running again and all displaced victims are once again living in a permanent home. H.R. 1227 helps us to achieve this goal. I urge passage of the Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise with great pride to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the transfer of the three small islands in the Caribbean from Danish to American control on March 31st, 1917. On that day, the Danish West Indies became the U.S. Virgin Islands and my district, the district that consists of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John and a host of other smaller islands became part of the American family.

The people of the U.S. Virgin Islands are both proud Virgin Islanders and proud Americans. We are a diverse community comprised of people who are native to the island, those who have moved there from Puerto Rico and many of the surrounding Caribbean island nations, mainlanders from the continental United States, and people from many other parts of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. In our 90 years, we have come to reflect the American melting pot, evolving from many people, yet striving to become one.

One of the aspects that make the U.S. Virgin Islands a special place is our reverence for our history and our past and our concern that we pass on to our children the story of how we came to this place and how we have lived here, and struggled here and thrived here.

Transfer Day, the day that our islands became part of the American family, has long been a source of pride as we have celebrated it over the years with parades and fanfare and speeches of historic significance. But our relationship with the United States of America, began long before 1917.

Christopher Columbus, credited with the discovery of the Americas stopped at Salt River Bay on the island of St. Croix on his second voyage, making it one of the only confirmed Columbus landing sites under the U.S. flag today.

One of this country's founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, who also served as its first Secretary of the Treasury, spent his boyhood on St. Croix in the Virgin Islands, where he is said to have learned the rudiments of finance, as he worked as a clerk in the international trade business of his mentor Nicholas Cruger in the busy Caribbean port town of Christiansted. It was in the Virgin Islands that his talent was first noticed, as his writing in the local newspapers, in particular on the 1772 hurricane, spurred his supporters to send him to New York the next year where he became part of the brewing American Revolution.

The Virgin Islands with its natural harbors had long been a trading partner of the colonies of North America, and during the American Revolution, it was the small Danish fort on the western side of St. Croix, Ft. Frederik that was one of the first to salute the new American colors when one of its ships sailed into Frederiksted harbor.

The United States of America recognized the strategic importance of the tiny Virgin Islands, then known as the Danish West Indies as early as 1865 when negotiations began for their purchase. According to historians, ``the need for military bases at strategic points in the Caribbean'' was bolstered by the construction of the Panama Canal. Purchasing the Virgin Islands became important because it would ``enable the United States to defend the approaches to the Panama Canal and it would prevent the islands from falling into the hands of countries that were hostile to the United States.''

During World War I, it was the fear that Germany wanted a foothold in the Caribbean and fear that Denmark, who owned the islands at the time would be overrun by the Germans in the war, that prompted a more aggressive approach towards their purchase. By January 1916, ``agreement was reached on $25 million as a compromise between the Danish demand for $27 million and the American offer of $20 million.''

We are told by our parents and grandparents that Transfer Day, March 31, 1917 was one of mixed emotions. While some were excited at the prospect of becoming part of the American nation, others were sad that the ties with Denmark that were 250 years old were about to be broken. Residents of the islands were given the choice of Danish or American citizenship and some remained loyal to the Danish flag while others enthusiastically embraced their new nation.

The United States of America entered World War I one week after the Virgin Islands were transferred to its ownership and the islands were placed under Navy rule as they were used as a coaling depot for U.S. ships during that period. The Navy enacted a number of social reforms to include reorganizing the hospitals and improving its equipment, instituting a sanitary code and mosquito control which drastically reduced the death rate. They also built the St. Thomas catchment and the St. Croix Creque Dam which increased the amount of safe, reliable drinking water. They instituted a sewage disposal system, and a fire and police system. They built and improved schools and trained and hired teachers at a higher rate of pay. They were not as successful at economic development and annual revenues plunged to less than what it was under the Danes, prompting an out-migration to then U.S. controlled territories like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama and the mainland. During that time, new immigrants from Puerto Rico and the mainland and an increased birthrate due to better sanitation bolstered the population numbers.

It was in 1931 that the Department of the Interior was given the authority to administer the islands and charged with the economic regeneration of the islands. It was during that time that the first civilian governor was appointed, Dr. Paul M. Pearson who was responsible for the institution of the homestead program which allowed for the purchase of old plantation lands for homes and small farms. It was during this period that our tourism industry began as the first three hotels were built on St. Thomas and that opportunities for higher education were provided with scholarships to Hampton and Howard Universities for our worthy students. But the economy of the islands was still in need of a shot in the arm and political development was still in its infancy. These were the cause of discontent among the people.

It was not until 10 years after the Transfer, on February 25, 1927, that United States citizenship was granted through congressional enactment to all natives of the Virgin Islands and residents on and after January 17, 1917 including those who moved to the U.S. or Puerto Rico before or after January 17, 1917 who had not become citizens of any foreign country and to all children born in the Virgin Islands on or after January 17, 1917.

Another Act of Congress in 1932 further extended U.S. citizenship to all natives of the Virgin Islands living in the United States or any other U.S. territory who were not citizens of any foreign country regardless of their place of residence on January 17, 1917.

It was in the years between the Transfer and the early 1930s, that the people began awakening to their political power and began agitation for more local, democratic control, extended voting rights, and other enfranchisement common to the American Nation. Advocacy through the local press came from men such as Rothschild Francis on St. Thomas, D. Hamilton Jackson on St. Croix and Casper Holstein, a wealthy St. Croix born New Yorker. They began pushing for more local democratic control of the institutions that governed the people of the Virgin Islands.

In this atmosphere, under some political unrest which included demonstrations and congressional inquiries and investigations, two major constitutional achievements were gained, namely the right of women to vote in December of 1935 and the passage of the First Organic Act on June 22, 1936.

The First Organic Act was said to represent a considerable extension of political power with the creation of two municipal councils, St. Thomas-St. John and St. Croix and a Legislative Assembly consisting of the two councils. Property and income qualifications were abolished, but English literacy was required of voters. Other features of the Act were a governor appointed by the President, who had veto power which could be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the Council, with final decision making rested in the President. The governor was also required to report annually to the Secretary of the Interior on financial transactions.

It was during this period that the first of our Virgin Islands soldiers began fighting and dying for their new country. Whether joining the military from Puerto Rico, the closest enlisting station to the territory or from where they had migrated in New York or elsewhere, our young men joined to defend our nation and some of them paid the ultimate sacrifice.

It was after World War II, in the period between 1950 and 1970, with increased economic expansion and political power that the population in the Virgin Islands began to double and triple. It was the result of increased birth rate, immigration from the mainland, Puerto Rico and the surrounding Caribbean islands to fill the new jobs created by the expanding tourism industry and the new oil and aluminum refineries and watch industry. There was also a movement of native Virgin Islanders who had moved away in earlier decades for economic opportunity back to the islands.

In 1950, the first native Virgin Islander, Morris deCastro was appointed governor. With his appointment came the recognition by the United States of the growing ability of the people of the Virgin Islands to govern themselves. The growth of political parties and the increased participation of the electorate, the growth and diversification of the economy and the population all set the stage for the need to

revise the Organic Act to provide for the political and administrative re-organization of the Virgin Islands. With the Revised Organic Act of 1954, the present governmental structure of the Virgin Islands with its laws, administrative departments and its unicameral legislature were formed. The English literacy requirement instituted in 1936 was removed paving the way for Spanish speaking residents to have a voice in governmental affairs.

In 1968, after the First Constitutional Convention of 1964-65, the Elective Governor Act of 1968 provided for an elected governor and lt. governor to serve four year terms, a delegate to Congress, and the lowering of the voting age to 18. In 1970, the U.S. Virgin Islands elected the first of its seven governors to office. The Honorable Melvin Evans was elected the first Governor. My predecessor, the Honorable Ron de Lugo became our first Delegate to Congress and I am proud to serve as the fourth elected and first woman Delegate to Congress.

Since that time there have been several attempts to deal with the internal structure of our government, through drafting a new Constitution in 1981 and through a referendum on the nature of the territory's relationship to the United States which culminated in a referendum in 1993. This summer, Virgin Islanders will again attempt to draft a constitution to address many of the structural issues that continue to pose challenges to governance and every day living. It is my hope that on the 90th anniversary of the Transfer and our sojourn as part of the American family that we use it to analyze, plan and bring to fruition a common vision for our territory by 2017, the hundredth anniversary celebration.

Madam Speaker, there is much good that has come from this 90-year-old relationship between the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United States of America. Our islands have not only grown in population and diversity, but have made strides in governmental infrastructure and the provision of services in health, education, transportation infrastructure, and social welfare. Much of this has been accomplished in partnership with the federal government. There are many challenges that have also arisen because of rapid growth and development and lack of control over issues such as border control and the lack of a plan to manage our resources to include land and water use. We have been a beacon for development and advancement in the region and have attracted people from all over the world. It is my hope that this 90th anniversary will strengthen our resolve to become a stronger, more cohesive community with a dream and a plan for peace and prosperity into this 21st century and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 884 to establish a Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office. In an ongoing effort to promote effective methods of addressing antiterrorism, this legislation would establish a Science Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office to facilitate international cooperative activities throughout the Directorate of Science and Technology.

Terrorism is no longer confined to one country. It is now a threat to international security. The means, missions and motives of terrorism have changed, forcing the counter-terrorism community to react accordingly. Our strategies and implementations, in order to be more effective, need to be global. The most disturbing developments have been a growing partnership in organized crime between countries. As a result, and since the 9/11 attacks, the international community has focused on the issue of terrorism with renewed intensity. Gathering,

coordinating and sharing of information among the international community is a critical effort to prevent and combat terrorism. H.R. 884 creates this opportunity by facilitating international cooperative activity that encourages international partnerships in the fight against terrorism.

Mr. Speaker, it is important that we join our allies on and off the battlefield. Terrorism is a global phenomenon that requires a coordinated global response. H.R. 884 provides a global response to terrorism. This legislation was passed in the House during the 109th Congress and I urge my colleagues to support it again.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, while we were here at work, his family, my prior coworkers at the Department of Health, my friends and community said farewell to a beloved son, Albert Bryan, Sr.

His sudden passing caught us all off guard, but that was often his way. Never one to call attention to himself, despite his good looks, tall stature and significant presence, he was unassuming and gentle, with a generous spirit.

Whether it was as a senior officer at one of our banks or as PTA president at the Pearl B. Larsen Elementary School our children attended, or whether it was as an administrator of the Charles Howard Health Facility or co-owner of a favorite watering hole, or whether it was as the devoted son, husband, father, grandfather who was always about family, he was the best there was.

Born and raised in St. Thomas, but living much of his adult life on St. Croix, he accomplished the impossible in bringing the two islands together, especially through the camaraderie of the Cruzan Gentlemen of his current home and the Gentlemen of Savaan, where he spent his early life.

Bert was my coworker, supporter, confidant and friend. I will miss him, as all who knew him and loved him will. He gave a lot to everyone that he touched as he passed this way. We are grateful for his life, a life he lived fully and well.

My family, staff and the Congress of the United States extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife, children, grandchildren and his entire family. May he rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, I come to the floor of this House today wearing my American Legion auxiliary pin, as I do every day, to honor the men and women of our Armed Forces who have served and continue to give the highest service to this country even today in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world.

And I rise as a proud American and the representative of the more than 120,000 people of the United States Virgin Islands who love this country and desire nothing more than it be the strongest and best it can be in support of House Concurrent Resolution 63, which expresses our strong support for the members of the U.S. Armed Forces for their honorable and brave service in Iraq, but just as forcefully and clearly states our disapproval of the decision of the President to deploy the over 20,000 additional troops.

I don't take this position lightly, as we currently have over 100 members of the Virgin Islands National Guard serving in that theater today, and having recently lost two members of the Guard as well as four other soldiers who preceded them.

However, Madam Speaker, as the sole Representative of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Congress, Americans who have fought and died in every war and conflict from the Revolutionary War to this and yet cannot vote for the Commander in Chief, I consider it my solemn duty to express their views on this, the most pressing and important issue facing our country.

Madam Speaker, our fellow Americans spoke loud and clear last November, expressing a desire for a change of direction in Iraq, and by a more than 2-to-1 margin, they presently oppose the President's plan.

It is important, Madam Speaker, that we engage in this important debate today. The American people are demanding that we do so. Far from second-guessing the President's strategy and undermining our troops, as the White House charges, we are fulfilling our constitutional role and doing the responsible thing. The last 4 years have demonstrated that the present course in Iraq is not the correct one, and it is time that we demand that the President listen to other experienced experts and responsible voices that are calling for another approach.

This modest resolution is but the first step in that effort, an effort to support our troops and support our Nation by holding the President and the Department of Defense accountable, by insisting on an exit strategy that extricates our men and women from what is now a civil war, and allows the Iraqi people and their government to take responsibility for their country's welfare.

We are also told by Members on the other side of the aisle, Madam Speaker, that if we change course in Iraq, it will be disastrous for the Iraqi people. But the Iraqis themselves don't think so. Not only do polls show that 78 percent of Iraqis believe that American troops

provoked more violence than they prevented and that nearly three- quarters of Baghdad residents would feel safer if American forces left Iraq, but previous surges have indeed resulted in an escalation of violence, killing greater numbers of Americans as well as Iraqis.

Instead of beating the drums of war, the President should be engaging in diplomacy, as the Iraqi Study Group called for, to pursue our common interest in a stable Iraq, even if it means sitting down with Syria and Iran, as we have done in the past. Peace and the lives of our men and women deserve this effort.

With all of the thousands of Iraqis killed and over 3,100 of our troops having made the ultimate sacrifice, we have paid a far greater price for the decision to invade Iraq without the proper justification or an exit strategy and without adequate preparation, training, and protection for our troops. We have further paid the price of the loss of respect and esteem by the international community and the loss by the people of this country of any confidence that what we are told by the White House is the truth.

While we, sadly, cannot bring back those who have died, we can honor their memory by restoring truth and restoring this country to the high respect, regard, and leadership that the brave men and women of our Armed Forces dedicate and sacrifice their lives to preserve.

House Concurrent Resolution 63 begins that restoration and repair. I urge my colleagues to adopt this resolution.

Madam Speaker, Sgt. First Class Floyd Everett Lake was a courageous, dedicated and committed soldier who died on January 20, 2007 when the Blackhawk helicopter in which he was riding with fellow Virgin Islands soldier, Lt. Col. David C. Canegata III and ten other brave Americans was shot down over Baghdad, Iraq. Soldiers Canegata and Lake served together in the Virgin Islands National Guard, and at the Pentagon at the National Guard Bureau.

He was an exemplary soldier who cared for his family and his community and he served his country with distinction. He was said to be quiet and plainspoken, honest and forthright, caring, gentle and generous. In a single moment he was taken from his family, from his wife, Linda, mother, Mrs. Buchanan, children Andre, Keeshawn, Floyd, Jr., J'Nell, Tamila, his mother-in-law Junie and sisters and brothers Patricia, Bernadette, Cheryl, Odette, Zelda, Earl, and Asbert, many friends and his National Guard family.

The Gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verse 13 states that ``Greater love than this has no man, but that he lay down his life for his friends.'' SFC Lake and his comrades have done just that.

God lent us a wonderful gift in the life of SFC Lake. He now returns to his loving embrace.

We honor him and thank him for his sacrifice. May he rest in God's eternal peace.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of a family man, a soldier, and a friend, LTC David C. Canegata III who was killed in Iraq on January 20 when the Black Hawk helicopter in which he and 11 of his colleagues were flying went down over Baghdad.

My district, the U.S. Virgin Islands mourned the loss of Lietenant Colonel Canegata and his fellow Virgin Islander SFC Floyd Lake for they were among the best and brightest of our National Guardsmen who have served their country faithfully in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since the onset of hostilities on September 11.

The gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verse 13 states that ``Greater love than this has no man, but that he lay down his life for his friends.'' Lietutenant Colonel Canegata, who was a man of faith, has given us the greatest gift of all, the gift of love, through his service and sacrifice.

I knew David, or ``Tershie'' as he was affectionately called, since his early childhood as our families were close and his cousins were my best friends and so his passing is a very painful, personal loss.

David left a wonderful legacy of devotion to family, community, the National Guard, and his church. In his short life, he touched the lives of many in different parts of the world, but more than anything else, he was a father, who while giving his all to his own, extended his nurturing and love to the young people of his church and community. His brothers and sisters in arms, his National Guard family, remember him as a source of strength and inspiration and leadership.

On behalf of my family, staff, and the Congress of the United States, I extend our heartfelt sympathy and eternal gratitude to his wife, Shenneth, his parents David and Carmen, his children Nicole, David- Mychal, Andre, and Jessica, his siblings Diane, Terry, Yvette, and John, the entire Canegata clan, Speak the Word Ministries and his National Guard family. His life, and the loving, caring man of God that he became is a beautiful and enduring tribute to you, the family that nurtured him.

We all loved him, but now he is with the One who can love him more perfectly than we ever could.

David fought, defended, and protected us in war, but he was a man of peace. We honor him, we thank him, and we will never forget him, his ultimate sacrifice and the love he gave in the most profound way to all of us.

May he rest in Eternal Peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 134, recognizing and honoring the employees of the Department of Homeland Security for their efforts and contributions to protect and secure the Nation. I would like to commend my colleagues, Congressman Carney and Congressman Bilirakis for their leadership in bringing this resolution to the floor today.

As an original member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I know firsthand the many challenges within the Department of Homeland Security. Last week, the committee conducted hearings on the status and budget of the agency. A concern that was expressed by a majority, if not all members of the committee, was the issue of employee moral at the agency. We know that it has not been easy to withstand and respond to the harsh and constant criticism resulting from the aftermath of 911 and other disasters that followed.

But, today, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize all of the DHS employees, especially those within FEMA who have had to bear the brunt of criticisms post-Katrina. Although this committee has conducted oversight hearings to address these criticisms, we also recognize and know firsthand all the good work that they do. In addition to supporting all that H. Res. 134 provides, I would also like to add that as the members of this committee begin the appropriation process, we will do everything possible to make sure that they have the resources they need to continue to effectively and efficiently get their job done.

Congratulations to the Department of Homeland Security on their fourth anniversary.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to express my strong concern and disappointment over the budget that the President sent to us this week. This budget--like those that The President has presented every year for the past 7 years--clearly shows that his priorities are not in sync with that of the American people. This budget takes money that could help millions of the most vulnerable Americans--the poor, the chronically ill, the elderly, people with disabilities and children and uses it instead to give a few wealthy Americans tax breaks they don't need and many don't want.

While many have called this budget fiscally irresponsible, which is an appropriate description, Madam Speaker, in my opinion this budget goes far beyond fiscal irresponsibility! It lacks compassion and humanity and it is unjust. The American people expect better, Madam Speaker, and we must answer their call.

As others of my colleagues have conveyed, this budget does not just cut, but slashes Medicare and Medicaid, two programs that literally sustain the lives of millions of Americans who have serious health needs. And simply cannot afford coverage.

And, in this budget, the State Children's Health Insurance Program is so under-funded that the 9 million children who are uninsured today will likely remain uninsured tomorrow.

The President's budget also takes aim at people living with HIV/AIDS.

The CARE Act and its ADAP program are drastically under-funded, and will leave far too many people with HIV/AIDS without reliable access to the most advanced medications, the most appropriate health care and treatments, and the support services that they will need to manage their conditions, protect their health and care for their families.

Additionally, under this budget, the CARE Act will find itself expected to serve more people with HIV infection, but without adequate funding to do so.

Madam Speaker, as both a physician and the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, more than just being disappointed, this budget makes me angry. As though the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, and the inadequate funding for the CARE Act and SCHIP were not bad enough, after what has been hundreds of years of preventable premature deaths in people of color, I am particularly disturbed that the President's budget completely ignores and does nothing to end the travesty and injustice of racial and ethnic health disparities; nor is their funding in Health and Human Services for Katrina recovery or rebuilding the healthcare infrastructure in the Gulf region.

Further, this budget cuts or under-funds all of the programs--from aging programs, social service grants, and nursing programs, to SAMHSA, newborn screening programs, maternal and child health programs, state and local capacity building and training for doctors, nurses and other health providers--that are not only integral, but essential to the elimination of health disparities. Further, the cuts in that budget to Veterans programs will also impact their services and undermine their health.

And, as though to add insult to injury, even though NIH gets a slight increase in this budget, the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH instead gets a cut!

Madam Speaker, the nation's leading economists often talk about ``good'' debt as investment debt that creates or improves value and ``bad'' debt, which creates no value. It's time that we champion a budget that creates good debt!

By making an increased investment in the health and health care of all Americans who have unmet health and health care needs, we would be making an investment that will, in fact, create value by bolstering the health and well being of not only individuals and communities, but of the workforce, our defense and ultimately our nation and our nation's security.

Unfortunately, this budget does little more than continue to create the ``bad'' debt that has accumulated during the last 6 years and from which most Americans have not benefited at all. In fact, despite the very high levels of spending in those years, most find them selves worse off economically educationally and with respect to their health.

Now that the prior bad debt has been created and used for tax cuts and squandered on a war that yet leaves our soldiers under-protected and under-equipped, the poor and people of color who have been further marginalized are told they will have to continue to suffer because there is no money and now at our expense, the budget must be balanced.

This is patently unfair and unjust. This budget does not put access to healthcare within the reach of the millions of hard working, low income Americans and their families. All it does is continue to ensure the huge tax breaks for million and billionaires. The president's budget continues the misguided health priorities of the Republican Party, wealthy corporations and their conservative base.

We have a great challenge before us in this budget with the unprecedented deficit and the huge debt this administration has put us in to countries like China.

Madam Speaker and colleagues, far too many of the people we represent have waited patiently for far too long and in that time hundreds of thousand have died because of the unhealthy communities they live in and because they could not get the healthcare they needed.

Despite the fire fiscal circumstances left for us to deal with, and for us to correct, we cannot delay healthcare justice for them, for justice further delayed is justice further denied.

We must reject the president's budget and replace it with a new one that responds to the needs of the people who are depending on us and is in keeping with the ideals this nation was founded on.

The time to do more is now; this is our moment to answer the call of millions of Americans who have the desire for a healthier today and a healthier tomorrow for themselves and their families. This is the time to redefine our Country through realigning its priorities.

This budget is our opportunity to set a new direction for our Nation.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to observe National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. In doing so, I ask my colleagues and I ask the Nation this question: How many more reports on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and its disproportionate, detrimental and devastating impact on the African American community must be published before we, as a Congress and as a Nation, acknowledge, observe and uphold the objectives of National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day?

African Americans have been and continue to be the hardest hit by this epidemic. Today, HIV/AIDS kills African Americans during the most productive years of life, robbing them of their opportunity to follow their dreams and pursue their destinies and to contribute, not only to their families and their communities but to our society and our Nation. What's more, the numbers are not improving.

African Americans have a HIV diagnosis rate that is more than eight times that of whites. African Americans, who are represented in about 13 percent of the population, account for nearly 50 percent of all new HIV infections, and more than 40 percent of all individuals currently living with AIDS, and 40 percent of all AIDS deaths. The AIDS case rate among African Americans is nearly 10 times, 10 times higher than that among whites.

Particularly affected by HIV and AIDS are African American women. In fact, in 2002, AIDS was the leading cause of death for African American women age 25 to 34 years of age. African American women today are represented in about 7 in 10 new AIDS cases among women and are roughly 25 more times more likely than their white counterparts to be infected with HIV.

Madam Speaker, often as Members of Congress we take to the floor to discuss and debate an issue that resonates with us, not only because of our constituents who are affected but because we personally identify and are disturbed by the issue. And not only as a physician and as chair of the Health Brain Trust of the Congressional Black Caucus but as an African American woman with daughters and granddaughters, this issue is particularly salient. The numbers are particularly disturbing, and our inaction as a country inspires me to stand here today and call on my colleagues to stand up and do more.

I also rise today, Madam Speaker, not only to observe National Black HIV Awareness Day but to encourage my colleagues in Congress on both sides of the aisle to do the same in a manner that is consistent with the day's intent. That intent is to get educated, to get tested and to get involved.

We know that, as members of the Congressional Black Caucus, almost all of whom have been tested, we have a key role to play. I urge all of my colleagues to embrace these objectives today, February 7, and beyond. The HIV epidemic in the United States will not be conquered until we not only encourage but also embrace the destigmatization of the disease among not only African Americans but also all people living and struggling with HIV/AIDS. How one gets infected is irrelevant. HIV affects all people the same way. And we, along with all Americans, should extend a hand of compassion, understanding, fellowship and, most of all, action to help.

Madam Speaker, in this new time with new opportunities, we need to leverage ourselves as Members of Congress to fully fund the Minority AIDS Initiative to at least $610 million, although we should be asking for more in order to really build the capacity in the minority communities that are hardest hit by the epidemic. That includes the Latino community as well. We should expand voluntary testing, especially among incarcerated, ex-offenders and other high-risk groups, and ensure that all individuals who need it are enrolled in adequate HIV/AIDS related care.

We should also work together to reduce the social determinants of health that put people at greater risk for HIV infection. And we should expand access to culturally appropriate substance abuse prevention programs as well as to drug treatment and recovery services.

Madam Speaker, the budget that was released on Monday clearly deprioritizes the health and health care needs of all people with HIV and AIDS and their families. However, our new political climate has brought us a new day, and we, therefore, must leverage ourselves to redeclare HIV and AIDS as a state of emergency. We must demand that this administration responds to this emergency with adequate funding and resources instead of tax breaks to the wealthy. The lives of far too many people literally depend on it.

And so, today, Madam Speaker, I am proud to stand with my colleagues to observe National Black HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. I affirm, and we all must stand to affirm that HIV and AIDS in the African American community and communities of color has long been a state of emergency, and from today forward we must respond with compassion and justice. And we, the representatives of the people who are infected and affected, as all of us are, must act.