Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, as this country will shortly celebrate Memorial Day, we pay tribute to the veterans who have honored us with their service, and their sacrifice.

As a Nation, we are united in honoring our war dead, we also need to be as united in honoring our living veterans.

In the last paragraph of his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln uttered the words that would ultimately comfort untold numbers of veterans and their families for generations to come. Lincoln challenged the divided nation to ``Bind up the Nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.''

Mr. Speaker, the promise of lifelong health care that this country made to our men and women in uniform is being threatened, not by the aggression of a foreign power, but by inadequate funding. As our veterans grow older, they require increased dependence on health care services.

Before elected for public office, I served as the chief psychiatric nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Dallas during the 70's. I was privileged to serve in the day care and rehabilitation center of that facility for 15 years. I know firsthand that caring for America's veterans is the ongoing cost of war.

The Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center is an excellent example of how our nation can repay some of the debt it owes our brave veterans. The DVAMC operates 216 internal medicine beds, including a 28-bed pulmonary service. Moreover, a number of small VA hospitals and outlying community hospitals refer patients to the DVAMC for the diagnosis and treatment of complicated and unusual problems.

Mr. Speaker, I am worried that the proposed cuts will adversely affect over 70,000 Texas veterans. This number includes more than 18,000 veterans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It is estimated that 5,200 active patients in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will drop out of the VA Health Care System.

Mr. Speaker, how can Congress and this administration even consider slashing benefits at a time when our young men and women are still in harm's way in Iraq, Afghanistan and Southwest Asia.

Veterans should not be expected to wait in long lines, and travel farther for health care services at a diminished level. If we fail our obligation to veterans, how can we justify sending more and more young service into harm's way?

As we salute our veterans, we must also recognize the medical care provided by VA medical centers, clinics, and nursing home facilities. I applaud the efforts of the hundreds of compassionate men and women who have dedicated themselves professionally to our veterans. Let us say to them: We salute you and we thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the declining state of the economy. When President Bush took office, we had a $236 billion budget surplus and the Nation had created 22 million jobs in the previous 8 years. The country was experiencing the biggest drop in child poverty in a generation and the lowest poverty rate in 20 years.

Today, 8.2 million Americans are looking for work and the unemployment rate is 30 percent higher. 2.2 million private sector jobs and 2.7 million manufacturing jobs have been lost. Household income has decreased by almost $1,500 per family. The number of the uninsured has increased by 3.8 million. College tuition is up 28 percent.

As busy as we are and as important as the effort on foreign policy is, I hope this administration would dedicate some of its time to economic security as well. The American people have suffered much from terrorism. They do not need to suffer any more from President Bush's faltering and failed economic policies.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

I rise in support of the Waxman-Tierney amendment to establish a Commission on Politicization of Science in the Regulatory Process. We need this commission because Congress and the administration have failed to do their jobs adequately. We also need this commission because scientific information has become politicized more and more recently, and this really has to change.

We have all read and heard of the allegations that politics has been used as a litmus test for the appointment of scientists to the Federal science advisory panels and that interpretation of scientific information has been skewed to emphasize uncertainties and justify inaction.

When 20 Nobel Laureates sign a letter stating that their belief is in the existence of a problem, we should take notice and examine the allegations. Yet Congress has failed to hold any hearings on this issue.

Dr. Marburger, the President's chief science advisor, does little more than issue a rebuttal to the Union of Concerned Scientist's report, denying that any problem exists.

It is true that the plural of anecdote is not data. However, at some point a series of anecdotes begins to look like a pattern. The pattern is disturbing and threatens to undermine our ability to rely on scientific and technical information as we weigh alternative policies.

At a minimum, the number of cases and the range of scientific issues they encompass create the perception that the Federal science advisory process has been undermined by politics. The perception alone is damaging. Policymakers and the public must have confidence in scientific information and scientific advice provided by experts.

Policy and regulatory decisions are political. Science can inform our decisions and help us to understand the likely outcomes associated with different policy choices. However, science does not determine policy choices. This is our job.

We must examine the processes we use to incorporate scientific information into our policy decisions, and we need constructive suggestions about how to ensure that political influence over the development of scientific information is minimized. It appears the current system is ripe for manipulation, and reform is needed. There are steps we can and should take to make it more difficult to politicize science. The commission can help us to identify these steps.

I urge support of this amendment. It is too costly and too misleading for us to depend on hearsay and ideology to substitute for the truth in scientific findings.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared segregation of public schools illegal. The case was sparked by Linda Brown, a black girl denied admission into a white elementary public school in Topeka, Kansas. The NAACP took up her case, along with similar ones in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. All five cases were argued together in December, 1952 by Thurgood Marshall.

I am proud to stand here today in honor of one of our country's pioneers in the history of civil rights. Before serving 24 years as the first African-American on the United States Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall served as legal director of the NAACP. Marshall was once asked for a definition of ``equal'' by Justice Frankfurter. He responded, ``Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time, at the same place.''

I am grateful to have contributed to the legacy of such a great American. As immediate past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am pleased that the seed planted under my administration has now blossomed into a fruitful initiative.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank all of my colleagues here in Washington, around this nation and Topeka, Kansas for commemorating this significant event, so fundamental to our societal growth. I am here today because I believe that education must be our number one national priority. In my almost thirty years as a legislator, I have fought to ensure that education is at the forefront of the legislative agenda.

The President has promised to ``leave no child behind'', unfortunately, the current administration is not getting the message. The President's budget falls $9.4 billion short of the funding commitment made in No Child Left Behind to K-12 education for Fiscal Year 2005. In my home State of Texas, the President's budget will impact math and reading programs for 205,157 children.

How can we ask educators to meet high standards at the same time we hand them a budget that forces class size increases, cuts in academic programs, and teacher layoffs? Demanding more but paying less does not work.

Other programs barely survive the budget chopping block--resources for teacher training, educational technology, after-school programs, and safe and drug-free schools are frozen; while for the second year in a row he allocates no money for school modernization.

Education is not a luxury item that can be trimmed when more enticing budget items beckon. It is an essential element that should be our highest national priority. Now is the time to increase education spending.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to close by asking my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in extending my appreciation to the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Brown family, and all of the unsung heroes who worked so tirelessly for equality and justice in America's public institutions of learning.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity, while discussing National Transportation Week, to personally thank the 11 million Americans in our Nation's transportation workforce, especially those in Texas and the Dallas-Fort Worth area, for their hard work. They literally keep America moving, and I am pleased that we can recognize them all today.

Mr. Speaker, moving people and goods quickly and efficiently is vital to keeping the United States globally competitive, and we need to break the impasse and complete a right-sized highways and transit bill. The needs are many, and many Americans need the work.

Not only must we adequately invest in our transportation systems, but we must also continue to invest in transportation workforce development. Today's youth in America will be constructing and operating our future transportation systems, and we must encourage imagination, innovation and interest in transportation.

Mr. Speaker, National Transportation Week could not have come at a better time. I urge the administration to allow us to proceed with a highways and transit bill that will create good jobs for Americans and provide resources to deal with the bottlenecks, crumbling bridges, the need for more light rail construction, intermodal terminals, trade corridors, transportation security, and safety programs.

I would like to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and ranking member, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), for being some of our Nation's biggest advocates for safe and efficient transportation systems. I look forward to continuing to work with them to address our Nation's infrastructure needs. I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) for leading this discussion.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter). I rise in support of this resolution to authorize the use of the Capitol grounds for activities associated with the dedication of the World War II Memorial. The main dedication event is scheduled for Saturday, May 29, during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

The resolution authorizes the use of the Capitol grounds for public events in conjunction with the dedication. In 1993, President Clinton signed PL 103-32 to authorize the construction of a memorial in Washington, D.C., to all the members of the armed services who served in World War II. In 1995, President Clinton dedicated the site on the Mall and the proposed design was unveiled at the White House in 1997.

The gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is a leading advocate for the memorial and has been its staunch champion and sponsored this resolution.

Consistent with any event on the Capitol grounds, this event shall be free of charge and open to the public. To accommodate overflow visitors and participants, the Architect of the Capitol is authorized to set up a stage and any sound equipment that may be required for the event. Further, the Capitol Hill Police shall enforce the traditional restrictions on advertising on the Capitol grounds.

The dedication is an event long anticipated by World War II veterans and their families. I support the resolution and urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Sudan today.

Sudan is the ninth largest country in the world and Africa's largest. The wars of Sudan have killed more people than in Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda and Somalia combined, most of them civilians. For the best part of 50 years, peace has eluded the people of Southern Sudan.

Southern Sudan has not only been neglected by Northern Sudan, it has also been neglected by the world.

It is estimated that more than 3 million people have been uprooted from their homes and the numbers of dead are unknown.

Destruction of homes, huts, crops and agricultural areas, wells, shops and entire villages are systematically taking place. Women report that they would be kidnapped and raped if they went any further than one and one-half kilometers away from their camp to collect wood or to tend to their vegetables.

These actions have resulted in a dire human rights and humanitarian crisis.

Neighboring governments have generously received Sudanese refugees. It is estimated that over 110,000 Sudanese refugees are in Chad; 223,000 are in Uganda; 88,000 are in Ethiopia; 69,000 in Democratic Republic of the Congo and 60,000 are in Kenya.

Women arrive in refugee camps already greatly traumatized by hardship and loss. They may have walked for months through hostile territory, living on wild fruits and drinking water from puddles. Often the weaker members of their family, particularly, their children, have died along the way.

In a Kenyan refugee camp, a Southern Sudanese woman says, ``We flee the Sudan and our problems follow us. The security is fine but it's an alien environment--hot and windy, no grass or rain or water. We get homesick for familiar surroundings. Most people who came here have died even though there's a hospital. The place where they bury people is full. Now they have started another one.''

Mr. Speaker, the United States must do everything in its power to encourage the government of the Sudan to end this abuse.

Although this current conflict was initiated by rebel forces, the government of the Sudan has a legal responsibility to protect all its citizens and uphold the law.

We must act immediately to prevent the recurrence of the human rights that have already taken place and act swiftly to restore

the Southern Sudanese's survival, security and human dignity. In doing so, we not only honor them, we bring honor to America.

Mr. Speaker, to appropriately honor the Right Reverend John Hurst Adams and his beloved wife, Dr. Dolly Desselle Adams, upon his retirement as the Senior Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church's Eleventh Episcopal District which comprises the state of Florida and the Bahamas. I'd like to submit for the Record the following letter to the St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Again, the people of Dallas join me in saluting Bishop John Hurst and Dr. Dolly Adams, and wishing them Godspeed.

The Bishop John Hurst Adams Celebration Committee,

Attention: The Reverend Doctor Samuel L. Green, Sr., St. Mark

African Methodist Episcopal Church, Orlando, Florida.

Dear Celebration Committee: I congratulate the Right

Reverend John Hurst Adams, and his beloved wife, Dr. Dolly

Desselle Adams, upon his retirement as the Senior Bishop of

the African Methodist Episcopal Church's Eleventh Episcopal

District comprising the state of Florida and the Bahamas.

As a minister of the AME Church, as a preacher of the

Gospel, and as an educator, Bishop Adams has served both the

community of God and the community of man. Credited with

initiating 70 congregations, Bishop Adams is a modern-day

apostle. Because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him, Bishop

Adams has played an instrumental role in transforming the

souls and the minds of untold thousands.

From 1972 until 1980, the Right Reverend Adams served as

the Presiding Bishop of the Tenth Episcopal District, which

comprises the entire state of Texas. In this capacity, he

devoted all of his energies to ministering to the spiritual,

intellectual, physical and emotional needs of parishioners,

converts, churchgoers, the un-churched, the lost, and

those on the edge of the church.

The citizens of Dallas are forever indebted to Bishop Adams

and Dr. Adams for their leadership of Paul Quinn College and

their stewardship of the venerable institution of higher

education located in Dallas. As its President from 1956-1962,

the Right Reverend John Hurst Adams put his distinctive touch

on the college.

During his helmsmanship as the Chairman of the Board of

Trustees at Paul Quinn College, he raised it to the highest

Heights of excellence. The college, which was founded in 1872

by the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was doubly blessed

by the presence of the Adamses on its campus.

As the Dean of Students at Paul Quinn College, Dr. Dolly

Adams not only changed the lives of students, she also

changed the lives of all around her. This veteran educator

served in the Woman's Missionary Society for nearly three

decades. Dr. Adams supervised the Tenth Episcopal District of

Texas. She also served as the National President of Links,

Inc. and was accordingly named one of the ``100 Most

Influential Black Americans'' by Ebony magazine.

It is an understatement to say that Bishop Adams and Dr.

Adams will be greatly missed. Our lives are richer and our

hopes are brighter because of their contributions. This godly

couple has served as a source of inspiration for others.

Each of them has given their ``utmost for His Highest.''

The couple can truly say as the Apostle Paul famously said,

``I have fought a good fight, 1 have finished my course, I

have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a

crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,

shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all

them also that love his appearing.''

Although they are retiring from active ministry, they will

not recede from our memories. I will enter an official

statement into the Congressional Record highlighting his

lifelong accomplishments of Bishop John Hurst Adams and

honoring his retirement. Once it is printed, I will be happy

to forward you a copy to your attention. Again, the people of

Dallas join me in saluting Bishop John Hurst and Dr. Dolly

Adams, and wishing them Godspeed.

Sincerely,

Eddie Bernice Johnson.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate two great journalists, David Leeson and Cheryl Diaz Meyer of the Dallas Morning News, who were recently awarded the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

We Texans saw blood spill, tears shed, and conflict unfold in the trenches of Iraq through their camera lens.

Mr. Leeson, who was with the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division for 6 weeks, captured an image of an Iraqi rolling out of a vehicle engulfed in flames, only to be shot by an American soldier; Ms. Meyer photographed a gripping scene of American troops risking their lives to save a wounded civilian.

The Pulitzer is Leeson's first. He had been a Pulitzer finalist three other times. The Iraq war is the 11th major conflict Leeson has covered. He has also produced work on the apartheid in South Africa, a portion of the gulf war and flooding in southeast Texas.

It was the first Pulitzer for Ms. Meyer also, a news photographer since 2000. In late 2001, she traveled to Afghanistan to photograph the war on terrorism and its effects to topple the oppressive Taliban regime. She has received numerous awards for her body of work there including the John Faber Award from the Overseas Press Club. In April 2002, Ms. Meyer traveled to the Philippines and Indonesia where she photographed Muslim and Christian extremism and the violence caused by religious hatred.

Mr. Speaker, I also congratulate the Dallas Morning News' entire staff for their seventh Pulitzer.

Mr. Leeson and Ms. Meyer, I commend you for this great accomplishment. Keep capturing those shots because they are worth thousand words.

Mr. Speaker, American soldiers are serving with honor, and we stand behind them. We are grateful for their patriotism, courage and sacrifice, and we continue to support them as they finish their dangerous mission. The disgraceful acts in the Iraqi prisons have endangered our troops and made their mission more difficult to accomplish. They have endangered our chance to succeed in Iraq, and they have endangered our national security.

Reports of mistreatment have been available for a year and a half at least, yet the Bush administration failed to take them seriously. These abuses occurred because soldiers were put into situations they were not trained for and for which they did not have proper supervision. This is a failure from the very top, and it is time for the President and Secretary Rumsfeld to stop shifting the blame and take responsibility. Congress must conduct a full and open investigation.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be here this afternoon, and I want to especially thank my good friend, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender- McDonald) for her work in bringing us together here to recognize the contributions of people of Indian origin to the United States and the benefits of working together with India.

Mr. Speaker, there are vital Indian-American communities in Texas. In fact, Texas's Indian-American community is one of the leading ethnic groups in my home State, and its members have made important contributions to the local economy and culture.

As the largest immigrant group other than Mexicans, Indians account for 4.3 percent of North Texas's foreign-born population. Indian immigrants in this area come from all over the subcontinent, but especially the western Gujarat province.

Many of Texas' Indian-Americans are professionals who play key roles in sectors like the technology industry and the field of medicine. Many others are business owners.

About 1 million Indian-Americans live in the United States. Many Americans assume that Indian-Americans, because they are often well- educated, do not face the same problems as other minorities. They are wrong. In many parts of this country Indian-Americans are victims of hate crimes and racial harassment. They are victims of discrimination in business and in education. We in Congress cannot allow people who come to this country seeking out the American Dream to be victimized or subjected to bigotry.

Indian-Americans are proud of the tremendous strides their homeland has made. By the year 2050 India will be the most populous democratic country in the world. India and the United States today represent the greatest democracies on the face of the earth: the oldest and the largest.

The United States is also one of India's largest trading partners. India's economy has been advancing rapidly, with a large stock market and strong high-tech enterprises like aircraft, a computer industry, and its own space program. We must promote greater understanding between the United States and India, particularly in the economic, political and cultural areas.

Mr. Speaker, again I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation to the Indian-American community. I know my colleagues join us in recognizing the profound contributions Indian- Americans have made to American society and their descendants throughout the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate two great journalists, David Leeson and Cheryl Diaz Meyer of Dallas Morning News, who were recently awarded the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

We Texans saw blood spill, tears shed and conflict unfold in the trenches of Iraq through their camera lens.

Mr. Leeson, who was with the U.S. Army's Third Infantry Division for six weeks, captured an image of an Iraqi rolling out of a vehicle engulfed in flames, only to be shot by an American soldier; Ms. Meyer photographed a gripping scene of American troops risking their lives to save a wounded civilian.

The Pulitzer is Leeson's first. He had been a Pulitzer finalist three other times. The Iraq war is the 11th major conflict Leeson has covered. He has also produced work on the apartheid in South Africa, a portion of the Gulf War and flooding in Southeast Texas.

It was the first Pulitzer for Ms. Meyer also, a News photographer since 2000. In late 2001, she traveled to Afghanistan to photograph the war on terrorism and its effects to topple the oppressive Taliban regime. She has received numerous awards for her body of work there including the John Faber Award from the Overseas Press Club. In April 2002, Ms. Meyer traveled to the Philippines and Indonesia where she photographed Muslim and Christian extremism and the violence caused by religious hatred.

Mr. Speaker, I also congratulate the Dallas Morning News' entire staff for their seventh Pulitzer.

Mr. Leeson and Ms. Meyer, I commend you for this great accomplishment. Keep capturing those shots because they are worth a thousand words.

Mr. Speaker, John Kerry did serve his country honorably in Vietnam and stood up with many Americans to question a war that had lost purpose and was losing many American lives.

John Kerry's speech played an important role in moving the debate from the streets to the floor of the Senate. The Nixon administration was not responding to the changes in the war in Vietnam and was deceiving the American people about the war.

Kerry's testimony saved lives. Kerry and other veterans who marched in D.C. in 1971 exercised the same patriotism that drove them to serve their country in the battle in Vietnam. They had fought for liberty and freedom of expression for the Vietnamese, and they returned to the United States to stand up and be heard. His actions should be praised, not scorned.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to replace the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Wynn), the next speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 34th annual celebration of Earth Day. I have a long-standing commitment to conservation and environmental protection, as well as to peace and justice; and I am pleased to join in today's celebration.

Earth Day festivities take place all across the country. I would like to pay special tribute to my constituents in Dallas, Texas, who are so active in their support of environmental issues.

I would like to give special recognition to TXU under the leadership of Mr. Earl Ney, who has shown a great deal of sensitivity in correcting many of the environmental damaging fumes from their electrical power plans, and to Mr. Stavely of Irving, Texas, who led the dry cleaning industry into taking a responsible position of establishing a State fund to share in cleaning up industrial waste.

The city of Dallas will recognize Earth Day on Friday with a celebration of live entertainment and educational exhibits. I would like also to pay tribute to Bonnie Bowman, a north Texan, who has championed a host of environmental causes from clean air and water to recycling and tree preservation. Those efforts have garnered her special recognition this Earth Day in the form of an environmental awareness award from the League of Women Voters, and Trammel Crow who back over the years planted many trees back along the highways.

In 1963 following President Kennedy's death, the Nation was reminded of his words he had spoken the year before: ``Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose, or so much to gain. Together we can save our planet, or together perish in its flames. Save it we can, and save it we must.'' We must ensure that diversity of life on Earth and enrich the quality of life now and for future generations.

Today, however, many of the environmental gains of the past 34 years are under attack or have been rolled back. The Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act have been weakened. EPA enforcement funds have been cut. The ``polluter pays'' principle for cleaning up toxic waste sites has been abandoned. Mining and logging on public lands have increased, protection from wilderness areas has been removed, and attempts are being made to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling and weaken protections for the California coast.

Mr. Speaker, Texas is already the Nation's mercury hot spot, and our children should not be suffering from the toxic exposure. Texas leads the Nation in mercury pollution from coal plants. Nineteen coal-burning plants spew out nearly 9,000 pounds of toxic mercury per year in Texas. Coal waste contains mercury that can leach into the waterways as well. Utilities, the largest source of mercury, 34 percent, are the only industry unregulated for this dangerous pollutant.

I consider environmental protection to be a national priority. I pledge to work with my colleagues to ensure the preservation of our natural resources and the protection of the public's health. Today, as we celebrate Earth Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to a cleaner and more peaceful world.