Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the principal, Ms. Jeanette Smith-Barry, and her team of dedicated individuals at the Charlotte Amalie High School in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, on the occasion of their re-accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Their tireless efforts, hard work, dedication and faith have paid off and will truly make a difference in the future of our youth and of our Territory.

At a time when school districts around the country are faced with budget cuts and higher standards, our schools have to do more with less. The school's accreditation team comprised of administrators, parents, community and business leaders set a goal of obtaining re- accreditation by graduation date 2005 and achieved it.

Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS) is the first of four public high schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands to regain the accreditation that was lost in 2002. Now their students will be able to compete as equals for college and university entrance as well as entry into the U.S. Air Force which will not consider any student from an unaccredited school.

Mr. Speaker, this year's graduation which will take place on June 5, 2005 will be a doubly joyous and celebratory occasion for the CAHS Class of 2005 who will receive their diplomas and also be able to finally and proudly say once again that they they received them from an accredited high school.

It is in appreciation of their efforts that I use this opportunity to commend the CAHS students, faculty, parents, administration, and their private sector supporters for their successful efforts in developing and executing a successful strategy for regaining accreditation. They are an example to all of us who strive to improve our community.

I am proud of their success and wish the entire CAHS family and the Class of 2005 continued success as they continue to ``Excel Always.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 938, to establish the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area in Connecticut and Massachusetts. I am particularly pleased that Title 2 of the bill includes legislation I sponsored in the last Congress and again in this Congress to provide for a study of the suitability and feasibility of establishing my home island of St. Croix as a National Heritage Area was also included in this package.

I want to begin by thanking Chairman Richard Pombo and Ranking Member Nick Rahall for their support in including my bill in H.R. 938.

Mr. Speaker, I can think of no more fitting place that should be studied for possible designation as a national Heritage Area than my home island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The island of St. Croix has a long, distinguished, and varied history, including being the site where Christopher Columbus first stepped onto what is now American soil. There is significant interest in preserving and enhancing the natural, historical and cultural resources of the island on a cooperative basis and such a study would provide guidance on how we can best achieve those purposes.

Even though each one of the four major islands of the U.S. Islands Virgin Islands can make a good case for designation as a National Heritage Area, the island of St. Croix with its two historic towns-- Christiansted built in 1734 and Frederiksted built in 1752--is richly blessed with all of the attributes that would justify this designation.

The towns historic architecture matured over a 100-year period. The town of Christiansted is one of the finest examples of Danish architectural designs in this hemisphere. Its history can be traced back some 4,000 years to 2500 B.C. It is also the place where one of our founding fathers and first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, lived and worked during his formative years.

In 1493, Columbus arrived at what is now the Salt River National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve, making it the only site under the American flag where his men went ashore, as well as the first recorded hostile encounter between Europeans and Native Americans.

Frederiksted has the distinction of having been the first jurisdiction to have raised its flag in salute of the new Republic of the U.S.A., and indeed the first designed flag was done by a resident of that Island.

Mr. Speaker, I can go on and on about the many unique and significant features of the island of St. Croix, but in the interest of time I would say that this is the third time that we would have passed this bill in the House and sent it to the other body and I hope that the third time will be the charm. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 938.

Mr. Chairman, I am proud to join my fellow committee members of the Committee on Homeland Security in strong support of H.R. 1544, the Faster and Smarter Funding For the First Responders Act of 2005. This bipartisan legislation was unanimously supported at both the subcommittee and full committee levels of the Committee on Homeland Security.

The chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox), and the gentleman from Mississippi (Ranking Member Thompson) should receive high praise, as they have on the floor already this morning, for the skillful manner in which they worked so swiftly to shepherd this important bill through our committee and to the floor of the House.

Over the past 2 years, the committee has traveled around the country to listen to the first responders. We used the information garnered from these meetings as a guide in developing the first piece of legislation. H.R. 1544 seeks to remedy the problems first responders face because of a lack of guidance and standards, the need for flexibility in how they can use first responder funding, as well as just getting the money to them in the first place. It also provides a vehicle for ongoing first responder participation and planning and updating essential capabilities with the department and responds to the issue of how grants will be distributed and on what basis.

My own district, the U.S. Virgin Islands, came under scrutiny this year, particularly because of poor funding levels. When one assesses vulnerability and risk, as this bill lays out very clearly as the basis for distribution of level funding for the first time, my district would still be fairly treated and receive the funding that they need. And, importantly, H.R. 1544 will provide monitoring of the use of the funds provided for under this bill, through an office of the comptroller, which responds to the rightful concerns of the appropriators.

Mr. Chairman, most importantly, H.R. 1544 implements relevant 9/11 Commission recommendations to allocate Federal homeland security funds to first responders based on risk rather than political formulas. In doing so, we not only do what is right, but we honor the sacrifice of those who were killed and their families; and this is a bill we can all be proud of. I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Waters/Scott amendment to H.R. 1279, the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005. If the Waters/Scott amendment is defeated I would urge my colleagues to oppose the underlying bill because it broadens the definition of gangs and metes out even harsher punishments for offenses that already have very long sentences.

Mr. Chairman, the Scott/Waters amendment strikes those sections of the bill which set mandatory minimum sentences. I agree with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP) who propose that by increasing the number of crimes that have mandatory minimum sentences, and stiffening those sentences, the bill will exacerbate the already troubling and offensive racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

According to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, such ``sentences are bad regardless of the crime because they prevent judges from making distinctions between defendants and sentencing them according to their culpability. Instead, mandatory minimums impose one-size-fits-all sentencing, which guarantees injustices''

In my district the US Virgin Islands we are in the midst of gang violence amongst our young males. Over the years, through various preventative programs within our law enforcement community and amongst private organizations, we have seen a difference in behavior within our teen population as it pertains to conflict resolution. Prevention is truly the best cure in this situation not inflexible mandatory minimum sentences

I urge my colleagues to support the Waters/Scott amendment.

Madam Speaker, as an original cosponsor, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 142 to support the goals and ideals of `Rotary International Day' and to celebrate and honor Rotary International on the occasion of its centennial anniversary.

Rotary began in my district, the U.S. Virgin Islands with what was called non-district clubs. The first non-district club to receive a charter was The Rotary Club of St. Thomas in 1957, followed by The Rotary Club of St. Croix in 1958 and from their inception they emphasized their commitment of Service Above Self.

Rotary West of St. Croix for example has provided (5) $1,000 scholarship for graduating seniors from St. Croix high schools for over 25 years. They have also donated over 350 wheelchairs to residents of St. Croix and Haiti, and provided over 3 trailers loads of dry goods to the residents of Grenada in the wake of the disaster they suffered last year. Just this past March, they presented a $10,000 check to Juan Luis Hospital to help the facility purchase an EEG machine.

On St. Thomas, three 2004 graduates of the Ivanna Eudora Kean High School were given full four-year scholarship awards to attend the University of the Virgin Islands, thanks to Rotary Club of St. Thomas East. St. Thomas' Rotary East works closely with students at Eudora Kean, its adopted school, year-round and at the end of the year it awards up to four scholarships to deserving graduates. With Rotary International in its 100th year, each club is mandated to create a special project. For its Centennial project, Rotary East created a tropical arboretum with the help of Kean students, planting 100 trees on the school's campus concentrating on native species, such as pink cedar and sea grape trees.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased that Rotary International and the U.S. Coalition for the Eradication of Polio have chosen to recognize me as a 2003 Rotary ``Congressional Champion of Polio Eradication. The drive to eradicate polio has been one of the largest private-public sector initiatives ever organized. Rotary International has been working since 1985 to help eradicate polio from the world and it is now possible. They have mobilized tens of thousands of Rotarians to work together with their national ministries of health, UNICEF and the World Health Organization, and with health providers at the grassroots level in thousands of communities. By the time polio has been eradicated, Rotary International will have expended more than $500 million of its own money on the effort.

I am pleased to support H. Res. 142 and applaud Rotary International for all of their good work in service to their community. I urge my colleagues to support passage of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ms. Delta M. Dorsch on attaining her ninetieth birthday. Ms. Dorsch is one of the outstanding educators of the Virgin Islands educational system, and a ``Tradition Bearer'' of our oral cultural ``Anansi'' stories, which is a continuation of the African oral tradition.

Ms. Dorsch was born and raised on the island of St. Croix, where she received her elementary and secondary education in the local public school system. Ms. Dorsch traveled to the U.S. mainland to further her education and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Education at Central Michigan University. Before returning home she received her graduate and post graduate degrees at New York University and Columbia Universities respectively, with an emphasis in Supervision and Administration of Schools, and also studied International Education at the University of London in England and at the University of Heidelberg in Germany.

Delta Dorsch served for more than thirty-eight (38) years as a teacher in the Virgin Islands school system and in a supervisory capacity as Deputy Commissioner for Curriculum and Instruction. She was also an Instructor of Elementary Education in both undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of the Virgin Islands; and was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the St. Dunstan's Episcopal School. In addition to addressing educational components in her various positions, she also used them to stress the importance of preserving our traditional values and cultural heritage to parents, teachers and students.

This dedication to duty and approach to life combined in having Ms. Dorsch as the recipient of numerous service awards from civic and community organizations. The most noteworthy to her was having the Elena Christian Junior High School's Honor Society named in her honor.

The Anansi stories, part of the African oral tradition, have been an integral part of Virgin Islands culture and tradition for centuries. These stories were told around campfires in slave quarters and later on, in yards and villages, by giving insects and animals human qualities to weave an interesting story that always had a moral ending. The stories have always been enjoyed by our youngsters, the moral lessons staying with them throughout their lives, and unfolding as morals tend to do, when we experience the lessons of life. This was an aspect of our folktale culture and tradition that was on the verge of extinction. The fact that they are still a vibrant part of our culture today is due to the efforts of Delta Dorsch in keeping them alive.

In recognition for preserving this part of our culture and tradition, Delta Dorsch was among the Tradition Bearers from the Virgin Islands that participated in the Smithsonian Institution's Senegal Folk Life Festival that was held here on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in 1990. This event enabled her to proudly communicate our tradition and culture to many visitors from around the world that attended the Festival. Ms. Dorsch's recent contribution to Virgin Islands History was authoring the book ``The Role of the Storyteller in the Preservation of Virgin Islands Culture'' and its accompanying video.

There is an old adage that behind every great man there stands a woman. This was proven true in the marriage between Delta and Frederick D. Dorsch. Mr. Dorsch served and enriched our Virgin Islands community in many capacities: Humanist, Educator, Dramatist, Civic Enthusiast, School Superintendent of the Virgin Islands, and as Chairman and Member of the Virgin Islands Municipal Council.

On behalf of the Congress of the United States of America, I salute Delta M. Jackson Dorsch on attaining her ninetieth birthday, for her dedicated service to the United States Virgin Islands as an Educator and Preservationist of our Tradition and Culture.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Congressional Black Caucus's alternative budget.

Among the critical investments it makes are those in health. Mr. Chairman, without these albeit moderate increases, we would do nothing to reduce the almost 100,000 premature preventable deaths that will occur in the African American community this year and every year because of our failure to act.

It is important to note that while the increases in the CBC budget apply specifically to programs that improve minority health, many studies have demonstrated that our lack of access, our poor health, and the failure of this country to focus on prevention in our

communities contribute greatly to escalating health care costs and adversely impacts the quality of health care for everyone.

So the CBC budget through improving the health of African Americans and other people of color improves health and the quality of life for all Americans. And with the additional $167 billion reduction in our national deficit it provides, this is a budget that everyone can and should vote for.

I proudly applaud the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) and this committee for this outstanding budget.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in support of the Congressional Black Caucus alternative budget this evening.

This budget would not only add funding to close the glaring and shameful disparities which have existed too long for African Americans, but it is fiscally responsible. Our budget would provide additional protection for our troops today and provide more funding to honor the debt to our Nation's veterans, including those who are returning as we speak. It also protects us at home by adding funding to address unacceptable deficiencies in homeland security.

But our investment in homeland security goes beyond the important funds we provide for first responders, for fighting bio-terrorism, and providing interoperable communications. Our homeland security also depends on a well-educated citizenry, and so we fully fund Leave No Child Behind, TRIO programs as well as increased Pell grants.

Our homeland security depends on a healthy citizenry. The Congressional Black Caucus budget restores much of the funding for minority AIDS, Health Professions Training, and the Office of Minority Health, as well as provides funding to help close gaps in the Caribbean and Africa. And, Mr. Chairman, we do all of that and reduce the deficit by an additional $167 billion over 5 years; $167 billion more than the majority budget resolution does.

The Congressional Black Caucus budget would make us more economically secure.

Mr. Chairman, the CBC alternative budget, like the Congressional Black Caucus itself, speaks to the conscience, not only of the Congress but to the conscience of our country. It is a budget that reflects our values and seeks to create not just a stronger America but also a better America.

The Congressional Black Caucus alternative budget is a morally and fiscally responsible budget, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it when it comes to the floor tomorrow.

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

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, as the majority has explained, H.R. 126 makes a number of slight adjustments in the management of the herd as a means to assure their long-term survival.

Over the course of the last several hundred years, a herd of wild horses has established itself on the Shackleford Banks area of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The herd developed on the banks because of shipwrecks and abandonment. When the National Seashore was established, there were approximately 100 wild horses on the barrier island. Since that time, the National Park Service has taken steps to control the herd size to prevent damage to park resources.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 126 is a workable solution to the wild-horse management needs at Cape Lookout, and we support adoption of this legislation by the House today.

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

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

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, we support passage of H.R. 186, which will provide financial assistance for cleaning up contaminated drinking water supplies in the Santa Clara Valley area of southern California. I appreciate the support of the leadership demonstrated by the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) on this important matter.

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

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

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the majority has explained the purpose of this legislation which the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) introduced at the administration's request. The gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) succeeded in moving this legislation through the House during the last Congress, including several changes made at the request of the minority. We appreciate the chairman's decision to include those changes in H.R. 584 as well, and urge our colleagues to support this legislation.

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

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

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, as Congressional action is required for lands in trust to be sold and the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah has contacted us for assistance, we are supportive of authorizing the Secretary to convey these lands as directed by the Tribe. We support the Tribe's sovereign decision to sell these lands and wish them the best in further economic development.

We urge our colleagues to support H.R. 680.

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

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

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, as my distinguished colleague the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) has explained, this legislation provides for the disposal of specific forest lands in Nevada and specifies the uses of those funds from the sale of these lands.

The gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) succeeded in moving this legislation through the House during the last Congress. We do not object to the passage of this legislation at this time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, today we are poised to pass this bill for the second time. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for his kind and supportive remarks. I also want to take this opportunity to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), particularly, but all of the members of the House Committee on Resources and the staff on both sides for their unwavering support in getting this bill to the floor again today.

Mr. Speaker, most people in my district agree that with the passage of this bill, H.R. 62, which would create a Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Virgin Islands, we will make an important step forward and lay a stronger foundation for our children's future. We also would restore the confidence of the public in our government.

While it has not been an easy journey, it has become very clear that the people of the Virgin Islands recognize the need for more accountability, transparency, and efficiency in the management of Federal and local funding. The implementation of an independent CFO is clearly not the only way to achieve this, but it is the only viable proposal that has come forward over the last 8 years or more of increasing deficits and narrowly averted fiscal crises, crises which have only been delayed through repeated borrowing.

Included in H.R. 62 is also funding for the planning and implementation of a financial management system. This is a critical part of the bill and the responsibility of the Chief Financial Officer this bill would create. While the groundwork has already begun under the current administration, it is my belief, given the millions of dollars that have been spent in the past on financial systems, that the only way to ensure that it is fully transparent, networked, and integrated is if it is overseen by someone who is independent and has no official territory to protect.

This is not to cast any aspersions on the hardworking public servants who currently head or work at any of our departments, including our Office of Management and Budget. Protecting one's turf is simply human nature. On the other hand, the system under which they labor is outdated, cumbersome, ineffective and cannot support the missions of their offices or the optimal functioning of our government.

I would be remiss, however, if I did not commend the Governor and his staff for the recent steps they have taken to restore our government to fiscal health. Yet our public services, our salaries, our contracting process with compliance with contracts, our infrastructure, and our accounting is not where it needs to be. And the fiscal information needed for effective planning is simply unavailable in a reliable form.

While the support for my bill is not unanimous, especially in the higher echelons of local leadership at home, it is broad. It exists at all levels of our society, and it spans all three islands.

I do not want to belabor the reasons which made it necessary for this bill to be here before this body today, except to say that major hurricanes, changes in Federal tax policy, as well as a systemic dysfunction in central government operations, have played a role.

There is no need or reason to point blame, but shame on us if we do not provide the leadership for which we were elected, and fix the problem. Pushing for passage of this bill has neither been easy nor have I taken it lightly. I understand the consequences of stepping beyond the political status quo, as I have done with this legislation; but I have also seen in other jurisdictions the consequences of acting as though everything was fine and doing nothing. And I have pursued it on behalf of and because of the strong and unwaiving support of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

I want to thank my colleagues again for their support and ask for a ``yea'' vote.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, National Heritage areas are grassroots projects where business and community leaders, local residents and State and local governments come together as neighbors to conserve and interpret the valuable historic and scenic resources in their communities.

Through the National Heritage Area Program, the National Park Service provides seed money and technical expertise to get these local projects off the ground and to leverage private, long-term funding for these areas.

H.R. 412, sponsored by our colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan), will authorize a study to determine whether or not an area in Ohio once known as the Western Reserve would qualify as a National Heritage Area.

The House approved this legislation during the 108th Congress, but the measure was never taken up in the other body.

The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is to be commended for his efforts on behalf of the communities that would be included in this new area.

Despite being a relatively new Member of Congress, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) is already demonstrating a willingness to work tirelessly on behalf of communities in need of the kind of Federal support the Heritage Area Program can provide.

We look forward to working with the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) to create the Western Reserve Heritage Area should the study we are authorizing today support such a move. The gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and I congratulate the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan) on this important legislation and urge our colleagues to support H.R. 412.

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

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