Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 9, the Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act.

Our values, our freedom, and our democracy are based on the idea that every eligible American citizen has the right to vote. They also have the right to expect that their vote will be counted.

It was only 40 years ago that minorities lived under the oppression of Jim Crow. As a result, millions of Americans were unable to fairly participate in our democracy.

In this battle for the most basic of rights, many heroic Americans were imprisoned, beaten, or even killed in the name of freedom and justice. The Voting Rights Act changed the face of this Nation.

We have made amazing progress over the past 40 years. However, progress does not mean that we stop trying. We can not and must not give up until every American citizen has the access and opportunity to vote--regardless of their skin color, ethnicity, or language ability.

Despite our progress there are still thousands of cases of voter intimidation and discrimination reported at every election. Minorities continue to face the uphill battle of misinformation over polling locations, the purging of voter rolls, scare tactics, and inaccessible voting locations. The reality is that there are still some people out there who don't want minorities to vote.

The Voting Rights Act was not and never will be about special rights--it is about equal rights and ensuring the rights of every American voter. Now is the time to reauthorize this historic cornerstone of civil rights. It is imperative to our rights, our freedom and our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act was our greatest accomplishment in the long struggle against discrimination and oppression. It has changed the face of this Nation and enabled millions of Americans the opportunity to vote.

During the 1960s, we saw many brave men and women rise up against the oppression of Jim Crow and demand an equal voice in our democracy. In this battle for the most basic of rights, many heroic Americans were beaten and imprisoned, saw their churches burned or bombed, or were killed in the name of freedom and justice. I am proud to serve alongside Congressman John Lewis, whose bravery and presence during that historic march in Selma changed this Nation.

There are many young people who may not know of this battle towards equality. It is imperative we recognize and celebrate our great accomplishments as a nation. We cannot develop future policies or laws without applying the lessons we have learned from the past.

This August will mark the 41st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. There are many who say there is no longer a need for the Voting Rights Act. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It is true that we have made remarkable progress since 1965, however, there is still much work to be done.

Minorities continue to face an uphill battle of misinformation over polling locations, the purging of voter rolls, scare tactics, and inaccessible voting locations. Prior to the 2004 elections, students at Prairie View A&M were told they could no longer register to vote in Waller County, Texas. The fear was that the eight thousand students at this Historically Black College would elect someone the local District Attorney didn't want.

The Voting Rights Act helped protect these students from becoming disenfranchised voters. This change in voter registration was not pre- cleared by the Department of Justice, as required by Section 5. Ultimately, the Texas Attorney General and the Department of Justice intervened and provided these students with the access and opportunity to vote. This is just one example of why we still need Section 5 and the Voting Rights Act.

Section 5 is current, necessary and protects the rights of millions of Americans. The reality is that there are still some people out there who don't want minorities to vote.

As part of the backlash against illegal immigration, there have been calls to eliminate bilingual voting assistance. I feel that Americans should be able to speak English; however, I do not endorse testing language abilities as a prerequisite to vote. Those who receive bilingual voting assistance are American citizens. They weren't required to pass a language test to pay taxes or serve in the military, so they shouldn't have to prove their language skills in order to vote.

The Voting Rights Act was not and never will be about special rights--it is about equal rights. Our democracy and our values as Americans are contingent upon the idea that every person should have the right to vote and have that vote counted.

We have made amazing progress since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, but progress does not mean that we stop trying. Now is the time to reauthorize this historic cornerstone of civil rights. It is imperative to our rights, our freedom and our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an enduring and rightfully honorable man, Dr. William J. Shaw. His dedication as pastor to the White Rock Baptist Church has provided the community with exemplary guidance for 50 years. His commitment to preaching is recognized both nationally and internationally.

Reverend Dr. Shaw will be honored as a true Living Legend July 2006 in Dallas, TX, by The E.K. Bailey Ministry. A well-respected pastor and family man, Dr. Shaw has most recently been a recipient of the Unitas Award given by Union Theological Seminary and the T.B. Maston Foundation Christian Ethics Award given by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Reverend has continually provided outstanding leadership with consistent community involvement throughout his lifetime. A native Texan, Dr. Shaw was baptized by the age of seven. He gave his first sermon at the youthful age of 11 and was ordained as a Pastor of the Oak Hill Baptist Church in Texas by the age of 17.

Presently, Dr. Shaw is serving a second term as President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. In addition, he has served on a multitude of boards, allowing him to guide the convention's efforts.

On behalf of the Dallas, TX, community, I commend the Reverend's many years of exceptional service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my deep heart-felt regrets for the loss of a great Texan, Doyle Willis, who dedicated 42 years of his life to Texas politics, and was fondly described as ``one of the last remaining war horses in Texas,'' by former Fort Worth City Councilman Jim Lane.

Mr. Willis was a World War II veteran who proudly represented central Fort Worth as both a State Senator and as a House Representative between 1947 and 1997, marking his 42 year career as the second longest tenure in Texas history.

Often referred to as a legend in Texas politics, Mr. Willis, was well known for looking

after the best interests of his constituents, his fellow veterans, and in his own words, ``the two classes of people I need to worry about in the Texas Legislature are the old and young people.''

His accomplishments included helping establish laws that let victims of child abuse give court testimony by videotape and enabling them to avoid face-to-face confrontations with their abusers.

He earned the Bronze Star medal in World War II when he fought in the Pacific, and later became a strong voice for advocating veteran's causes.

During his tenure in the Texas Legislature, he was instrumental in drafting many of Texas' civil service laws protecting police officers and firefighters. As a Texas legislator, Mr. Willis made it a felony to steal someone's dog.

Born August 18, 1908, on a farm near the small town of Peeltown located in rural Kaufman County southeast Dallas, Mr. Willis attended the University of Texas and earned degrees in education and economics and later attended Georgetown School of Law where he earned his JD.

Since retiring from the Texas House of Representatives in 1997 and until a few months before his death, he remained an active lawyer and a stagnant participant in his civic duties.

Mr. Willis was known as a friend to every man and woman who ever wore a uniform and spent the majority of his tenure making life better for all veterans.

Mr. Speaker, this morning I would like to highlight two new reports out over the last week that once again demonstrates how the pharmaceutical industry is benefiting from the new prescription drug plan, while American seniors and the American taxpayers are paying even larger bills.

The first study, done by AARP, concluded that wholesale prices on the most popular drugs used by American seniors increased by 3.9 percent over the first 3 months of the year. Pharmaceutical companies promised drug prices would go down when the Republican plan took effect, but now it is clear they have actually increased at four times the rate of inflation.

The second study was conducted by Families USA, which found that American veterans are paying 43 percent less for their drugs than their counterparts under the Republican prescription drug plan. Our veterans get cheaper rates because the VA negotiates to get better deals from the pharmaceutical companies.

Contrast that with the Republican drug plan that restricts Medicare from negotiating on behalf of the American seniors.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would increase the appropriations for the National Weather Service by $2.7 million. The current appropriation for the weather service is at $882.3 million. My amendment would increase that amount to a total of $885 million, which I think was the original recommendation from the budget office. I want to thank my colleagues on the Science Committee for assisting me.

Mr. Chairman, in recent years, both in Texas and around the Nation, we have suffered catastrophic hurricanes. The Midwest is tormented by tornados, as well as Texas. The West lives with a threat of a doomsday scenario, earthquakes, tsunamis. So weather predictions are very, very important. We have determined that the weather predictions have saved lives. We have not been able to save materials, so much, but they have saved lives.

We all saw what happened with the hurricanes of Katrina and Rita. Although the National Weather Service did its job in accurately predicting the magnitude and the path of the storms, city, State and local Federal officials were slow to act. Traffic was snarled, and all of us know exactly what happened after that.

The good work of the National Weather Service is at the root of an effective natural disaster preparedness, and the .3 percent appropriations increase will strengthen support for the weather service to help it perform even better. We do not want to discourage them by cutting their budget when we need their services so accurately. The timely and accurate information provided by the National Weather Service is a testament to its effectiveness.

On the front page of the weather service's Web site is a map of America depicting current weather conditions, as well as storm watches and warnings. We can click on any region of the country and get instant access to weather and climate news for that area. The National Weather Service also pulls real-time information on flood warnings, and it collects hourly data on temperatures throughout the day.

There is a wonderful section on weather safety that provides sound guidance on issues such as heat, lightning, hurricanes, tornados, floods and even topics like FEMA and the Red Cross. In Dallas, we are sensitive to the issue of flooding. Downtown Dallas relies on an antiquated 30-mile levee system to keep it dry from the Trinity River and its floods.

It is getting worse because of extensive development in the counties west and north of the city. The 50-year-old levees may not be able to handle all the runoff that they were designed to contain. So this is extremely important for that area. The flooding that would take place as predicted in Dallas would flood all of downtown and all executive offices, hospitals, medical centers and what have you.

I feel this is a modest amount of money to place back with NOAA and the weather service, and it comes out of the general Department of Commerce administrative funds. I hope that I can get support.

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

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I am going to not offer my amendment concerning the Juvenile Mentoring Program but will present this one concerning the Delinquency Prevention Block Grant program.

Initially, the amount of money designated earlier for these programs was $33 million. That was the initial amendment. However, that has been reduced to $7 million, and I rise today to support the funding for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Grants, because the funding is limited.

Mr. Chairman, as violent crime continues to rise throughout this country, it is important that we give our young people the support they need to become productive adults. Delinquency Prevention Block Grants do just that.

These grants provide assistance to at-risk youth through a number of programs, including family strengthening programs, drug and alcohol abuse treatment programs, gang prevention programs, job training and employment programs, and youth development programs. These activities are designed to prevent and reduce juvenile crime in communities that have a comprehensive youth crime prevention plan.

Simply building more prisons is not an effective crime prevention strategy. Mr. Chairman, we must give our children a path to success, not a path to prison. Delinquency Prevention Block Grants give our young people a chance to excel and become productive adults. Through youth development, prevention and intervention efforts, we can keep our children safe and out of trouble. Research has shown that early investment in youth can dramatically reduce youth crime and violence.

Additionally, delinquency prevention programs offer a considerable savings in the long term. For every dollar invested in prevention programs, we save about $4 to $7 in the long term.

Providing all children and youth with constructive programs and alternatives is essential for our Nation's at-risk children. We must give our youth every opportunity to grow into responsible, productive, healthy and law-abiding adults. I ask my colleagues for

their support for this important amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I will not offer the amendment earlier we talked about. I ask for support for this one. I think this is the one that we had discussed. The one that I withdrew had to do with the mentoring program that I was told already had funding in under various organizations like Girls Clubs and Boy Scouts and organizations like that. So that is the one that I withdrew.

This one was altered to show $7 million, which had been $33 million. That was an agreed amount. It is reduced to $7 million.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Wolf.

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

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, last year, our Nation was devastated with a series of natural disasters that negatively impacted our economic and social structures. The South especially incurred severe flood damage to their infrastructure and local communities. The floods varied from severe, slow and fast rising but were consistent in destroying people's homes and businesses.

This past hurricane season brought forth a series of catastrophes that devastated southern communities, injuring people's livelihoods and souls. The wave of destruction was insurmountable to none ever experienced.

The amendment that I have, Mr. Chairman, is to amend the Act simply to indicate the responsibility we feel that FEMA has to reach out and educate our communities.

FEMA uses the information produced by the flood insurance studies to prepare a flood insurance rate map that depicts the spatial extent of special flood hazard areas and our thematic features related to flood risk assessment.

The rate map is the basis for floodplain management, mitigation and insurance activities of the insurance program. As a result, flood risks have been assessed at approximately 20,400 communities nationwide.

As it stands, FEMA currently has a regulatory function that calls for communities to implement local outreach. However, no such function exists to mitigate any outreach responsibility on FEMA. Neither the code nor the regulations require FEMA to proactively implement outreach programs to educate local landowners.

In response to this oversight, I offer this amendment that requires FEMA to conduct educational programs to better inform local communities of changes made in the flood insurance map.

Currently, H.R. 4973, the Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2006, lacks a mandate that calls for FEMA to implement the initiatives necessary to reach out to local communities and educate property owners who are affected by the map update. Many homeowners do not know about changes in the map. The only thing they know is that, after they have suffered a severe flood, they are not covered.

I think this amendment is a necessary step to ensure that FEMA is made responsible to make the vital information available to everyone who might be a flood victim. I believe that this is a necessary step to protect the lives of innocent people who have no choice but to rely on this congressional body to implement necessary safeguards that protects their well-being.

I urge adoption of this amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman very much.

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

Offered By: Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas

Amendment No. 8. At the end of the bill (before the short

title), add the following:

Offered By: Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas

Amendment No. 9: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), add the following:

I rise today to pay tribute to one of America's great heroes, Dr. James Cameron. Dr. Cameron is a living representation of how greatness and truth can overcome the hatred and intolerance of racism.

As a young man, Dr. Cameron lived through the atrocity of being lynched and beaten in front of a mob of 15,000 for a crime he did not commit.

As the only living survivor of a lynching, Dr. Cameron has stood up and served as a reminder of the violence and hatred that can exist within mankind. Too often we seek to ignore such atrocities when writing our history; however, Dr. Cameron has dedicated his life to remind us of our true history.

Dr. Cameron has devoted his life's work to the pursuit and recognition of civil rights. He has revealed to millions of Americans the true account of this Nation's racial injustice through his founding of the American Black Holocaust Museum in 1988.

The American Black Holocaust Museum's straightforward presentations of pervasive racial injustices and violence serve not only to educate but to allow us to reexamine and rethink our own views towards racism.

There are many young people who may not know of or did not experience this period of history. However, it is imperative we recognize our true American history. We cannot develop future policies or laws without knowing or applying the lessons we have learned from the past. It is through work such as Dr. Cameron's that young people can remember the sacrifices and contributions of those who came before them, and find new inspiration to fight for change.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Hollis Brashear and his 14 years of outstanding service as Trustee to the Dallas Independent School District. His commitment to the students of Dallas ISD is to be commended. During his many years on the Board of Trustees, Hollis Brashear served as Chairman to multiple committees, vice-president and president.

Mr. Brashear has always had a special connection to Dallas ISD and the students, as he was a graduate of Dallas lSD's Lincoln High School. He then went on to earn his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Prairie View A&M University and his master's from Oklahoma State University.

In addition to his academic accomplishments, Hollis Brashear went on to serve a notable 21 years in the military where he was awarded two bronze stars during the Vietnam War.

Through his military service and outstanding academic and professional credentials, Hollis Brashear led the way towards improvement and change at Dallas ISD. His dignified dedication to the children, teachers, parents and administrators has made an immeasurable impact on the lives of Dallas ISD students.

I commend Mr. Brashear on his 14 years of exceptional service and wish him all the best on his retirement in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an ongoing moral crisis in this Congress and this administration.

Through fiscal irresponsibility and corporate welfare, this Congress has eroded away at American values and standards; and decent, hardworking Americans are the ones paying the price.

As Americans, we believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 365 days a year should be able to afford basic necessities for themselves and their families.

The reality is that there are millions of workers out there trying to support their families on $5.15 per hour, and I think my state has most of them. And as everyone knows, $5.15 does not buy you a lot nowadays.

Each day, millions of minimum-wage workers are forced to choose between food, shelter, health care, or clothing. No American who works hard for a living should have to make those types of choices.

Mr. Speaker, it has been an appalling 9 years since we have seen an increase in the Federal minimum wage. The Labor-HHS appropriations bill includes a provision to raise the minimum wage to $7.25, hardly a living wage. This was a chance for Congress to do the right thing, but the bill has not been sent.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of Mr. Oberstar's amendment.

It appears to me that we should see that we are in a huge deficit with the guarantees being foreign governments. We have lost jobs. We are selling companies and property to persons from out of this country. Now we are going to sell our airlines. I think that is one of the worst decisions we could make for homeland security. And I rise in strong support of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Oberstar-LoBiondo Amendment to H.R. 5576.

The Bush Administration's most recent proposal to alter policy regarding the role of foreign ownership of U.S. airlines is an issue that, without question, warrants the full attention and oversight of this body.

Yet, despite the expressed consent of Congress in 2003 regarding the ``actual control'' of U.S. carriers by U.S. citizens, the Administration seems intent on circumventing the will of this body in an effort to fast track an international air service agreement.

While I wholeheartedly support the notion of our aviation industry being afforded every opportunity to excel in the global economy, I do not support the Administration's utter disregard of this body-- particularly the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

The Congress should be afforded the opportunity to perform the necessary due diligence, conduct hearings, and debate any proposed changes to foreign ownership laws.

Any modification to laws governing foreign control of domestic carriers will have enormous implications for industry stakeholders and jobs here at home.

As a result, such changes should not be hastily promulgated through a proposed rule-making introduced in the dead of night.

To characterize DOT's current rulemaking proposal as an artful maneuver would be an understatement.

DOT asserts that in order for the U.S. air transportation industry to remain a leader in the global economy, a reinterpretation of ``actual control'' is needed to ensure access to capital afforded by global financial markets.

Under DOT's proposed rule, foreign investors would be allowed to exercise decisions over all commercial aspects of domestic carrier operations.

U.S. citizens would be required to control only decisions related to safety, security, organizational documents, and the Civil Reserve Air Fleet.

To think that commercial aspects have no implication on security, safety, and the CRAF program underscores the shortsightedness of this proposal.

I support the halting of DOT from issuing any final rule on ``actual control'' and urge my colleagues to vote yes on this commonsense amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend DeSoto on being named an All-American City by the National Civic League. Each year, the All-American City Award is given to ten communities that exemplify the true American spirit, and show outstanding abilities to identify problems and collectively conquer community-wide issues.

It takes collaboration from the whole community to be an All-American City, and DeSoto serves as a shining example of what can be accomplished when community members, government, businesses and non- profit organizations work together to address critical local issues.

I would like to congratulate my outstanding constituents in DeSoto; especially Mayor Michael Hurtt and the DeSoto City Council. Through their leadership, DeSoto has produced several exceptional grassroots initiatives including: DeSoto Dining and Dialogue, the Empowered Homeowners Associations Program, and the Youth Initiatives including the Hip Hop Summit.

DeSoto might be a small suburb of Dallas but has done a huge job in bettering the lives of average Texans through cooperation and grassroots initiatives. The accolades DeSoto is receiving are imminently well deserved, and I am confident of continued success for years to come.