Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, recently a Sikh named Dr. Ranbir Singh Sandhu was stopped at the San Francisco airport as he tried to board a flight and forced by agents of the Transportation Security Administration to take off his turban. Dr. Sandhu, who is around 80, was on his way to a funeral in Vancouver. He refused to take off his turban and was barred from the flight, forcing him to make a 20-hour drive to get to the funeral.

This is unacceptable. I certainly understand and support wanding the turban for security reasons in this day and age, but forcing a Sikh to remove his turban is an insult to his religious identity. TSA does not make Jewish passengers take off their yarmulkes and that is right. They shouldn't. But they require Sikhs to take off their turbans. That is unfair, discriminatory, and wrong.

Airport security is important. We were just reminded of that again by the passing of another anniversary of the September 11 attacks. But we must not let that be used as an excuse to violate the religious liberties or the civil rights of anyone. We should stop asking Sikhs to remove their turbans.

The Council of Khalistan recently wrote to President Bush, Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff, and the TSA Administrator, Kip Hawley, asking that this policy be changed.

September 12, 2007.

Hon. Michael Chertoff,

Secretary of Homeland Security,

Washington, DC.

Dear Secretary Chertoff: I am writing to you today about

the Transportation Safety Administration's practice of making

Sikhs remove their turbans in order to travel. Recently, Dr.

Ranbir Singh Sandhu of California, a retired engineering

professor who is around 80 years old, was stopped at San

Francisco International Airport on his way to Vancouver for a

funeral. He was ordered by TSA security workers to remove his

turban. When he refused he was not allowed to board his

flight and he wound up having to drive 20 hours to Vancouver

to get to the funeral.

Asking a Sikh to remove his turban in public is worse than

asking someone to remove his pants in public. No one would

even think of making such a request, yet the TSA thinks

nothing of asking Sikhs to remove their turbans in public.

I salute TSA for not asking Jewish people to remove their

yarmulkes in public. This is because they are religious

symbols. Jewish people are required to wear them in public.

By the same principle, Sikhs are required to wear their

turbans. Wanding the turban should be enough and would be

understandable in light of security concerns, but forcing a

Sikh to remove his turban is unacceptable. It is a strike

against his Sikh religion and his Sikh identity.

I respectfully but strongly urge you to take action to

prevent what happened to Dr. Sandhu from happening to any

other Sikh traveller. Please order the TSA workers to respect

the religion and identity of Sikhs and not to force them to

remove their turbans. Thank you for your attention to this

matter.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh,

President, Council of Khalistan.

Madam Speaker, I was distressed to learn that the United Nations invited Sonia Gandhi to speak on nonviolence next month. She is the leader of the Congress Party, which has presided over massive atrocities against Christians, Sikhs, Muslims, and other minorities.

Mrs. Gandhi is Catholic. How can she speak on nonviolence when her party presides over a country in which nuns have been raped and forced to drink their own urine, priests have been murdered, Christian schools have been burned to the ground, and prayer halls have been vandalized?

It was Mrs. Gandhi's party that carried out the Golden Temple massacre that killed so many thousands of innocent Sikhs, including young boys ages 8 to 13. Her party presided

over the Delhi massacres in which over 20,000 Sikhs were murdered while the Sikh police were locked in their barracks.

It was Beant Singh, a Congress Party Chief Minister, who presided over the murders of over 50,000 Sikhs while he was in office. No one from that party has the moral authority to speak on nonviolence, especially when there are so many better spokespersons, such as the Dalai Lama, who will be in America to receive an award right after Mrs. Gandhi's speech.

Madam Speaker, the Council of Khalistan wrote an excellent letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, which follows.

Council of Khalistan,

September 12, 2007.

Hon. Ban Ki-moon,

Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dag Hammerskjold

Plaza, New York, NY.

Dear Secretary General Ban: It has come to my attention

that you are having Sonia Gandhi speak to the United Nations

on nonviolence on October 2. Mrs. Gandhi has no moral

standing to be discussing this subject. I urge you to find

someone else. Perhaps the Dalai Lama, who will be in the

United States the following weekend to receive an award,

would be a good choice. There are other people more qualified

than Mrs. Gandhi, as well.

How could you pick the head of India's Congress Party for

this talk? India is one of the most violent countries in the

world. According to the Punjab State Magistracy, over 250,000

Sikhs have been murdered at the hands of the Indian

government. Between 1993 and 1995, according to the United

States Department of State, the Indian government paid out

over 41,000 cash bounties to police officers for killing

Sikhs. A report by the Movement Against State Repression

(MASR) reveals that over 52,000 Sikhs are being held as

political prisoners without charge or trial. Some have been

in illegal custody since 1984!

Amnesty International reports that tens of thousands of

other minorities are being held as political prisoners as

well. In addition, the regime has kil1ed 300,000 Christians

in Nagaland, more than 90,000 Kashmiri Muslims and tens of

thousands of Muslims and Christians in the rest of the

country, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Bodos, Dalits

(the dark-skinned aboriginal people of South Asia, referred

to as ``Untouchables''), Manipuris, Tamils, and others.

The Gandhi family were perhaps the most cruel of Indian

rulers; it was Mrs. Gandhi's mother-in-law, Indira Gandhi,

who suspended democracy and imposed martial law

(dictatorship) on the country. It was the Congress Party

under Indira Gandhi, then under Mrs. Gandhi's husband, Rajiv

Gandhi, who succeeded Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister, that

the government carried out the brutal attack on the Golden

Temple in Amritsar, the center and seat of the Sikh religion,

in June 1984, as well as 224 other Gurdwaras (Sikh places of

worship) throughout Punjab. Sikh leaders Sant Jarnail Singh

Bhindranwale, General Shabeg Singh, and others, as well as

over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in these attacks. The Sikh holy

scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, written in the time of the

Sikh Gurus, was shot full of bullet holes by the Indian Army.

Over 100 young Sikh boys ages 8 to 13 were taken out into the

courtyard and asked if they supported Khalistan, the

independent Sikh state. When they answered with the Sikh

religious incantation ``Bole So Nihal'' they were summarily

shot to death.

After Indira Gandhi was killed, Rajiv Gandhi said, ``When a

tree falls, the Earth shakes.'' Then he locked the Sikh

Police in their barracks while the government murdered

another 20,000 Sikhs in Delhi and the surrounding areas in

the massacres of November 1984. Sikhs were burned alive, Sikh

businesses were burned, Sikhs were chained to trucks. The

driver for Baba Charam Singh, a Sikh religious leader, was

killed by tying his legs to jeeps which then drove off in

different directions.

Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra looked at the records of the

cremation grounds at Patti, Tarn Taran, and Durgiana Mandar

and documented at least 6,018 secret cremations of young Sikh

men ages 20-30. These young Sikhs were arrested by the

police, tortured, murdered, then declared unidentified and

secretly cremated. Their bodies were not even returned to

their families. They have never officially been accounted

for. The Punjab Human Right Commission estimates that about

50,000 such secret cremations have occurred.

For exposing this horrendous atrocity, Sardar Khalra was

abducted by the police on September 6, 1995 whi1e he was

washing his car, then murdered in police custody. The only

witness to his kidnapping, Rajiv Singh Randhawa, has been

repeatedly harassed by the police. Once he was arrested for

trying to hand a petition to the then-British Home Minister,

Jack Straw. in front of the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Police SSP Swaran Singh Ghotna tortured and murdered Akal

Takhl Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke and has never been

punished for doing so. K.P.S. Gill, who was responsible for

the murders of over 150,000 Sikhs in his time as Director

General of Police, is still walking around scot-free. He was

even involved in leading the Indian Olympic field hockey

team. His trip to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 was protested

by the Sikh community in the United States, which is over

half a million strong, but he was allowed to come to the

Olympics on an Olympic Committee visa. Immediately after the

Olympic hockey game, he was shipped back to Punjab as a

threat to peace and an affront to the Sikh community. 50

members of the U.S. Congress from both parties wrote to the

President protesting his appearance in the United States.

Unfortunately, other minorities have also suffered greatly

under the boot of Indian repression. In March 2002, 5,000

Muslims were killed in Gujarat while police were ordered to

stand by and let the carnage happen, in an eerie parallel to

the Delhi massacre of Sikhs in November 1984 in which Sikh

police officers were locked in their barracks while the

state-run television and radio called for more Sikh blood.

Christians have suffered under a wave of repression since

Christmas 1998. An Australian missionary, Graham Staines, and

his two young sons, ages 8 and 10, were burned to death while

they slept in their jeep by a mob of Hindu militants

connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), an

organization formed in support of the Fascists. The mob

surrounded the burning jeep and chanted ``Victory to

Hannuman,'' a Hindu god. None of the mob has ever been

brought to justice; instead the crime has been blamed on one

scapegoat. Mr. Staines's widow was thrown out of the country

after the incident. An American missionary, Joseph Cooper of

Pennsylvania, was expelled from India after being beaten so

severely that he had to spend a week in the hospital. None of

the persons responsible for beating Mr. Cooper has been

prosecuted. Churches have been burned. Christian schools and

prayer halls have been attacked and vandalized, priests have

been murdered, nuns have been raped, all with impunity.

Police broke up a Christian religious festival with gunfire.

Amnesty International has not been allowed into Punjab

since 1978. Even Castro's Cuba has allowed Amnesty into the

country more recently. What is India hiding?

My organization, the Council of Khalistan, is leading the

Sikh struggle for freedom and sovereignty. Working with the

Congress of the United States, we have internationalized the

struggle for freedom for Sikhs and all the people of South

Asia since the Council of Khalistan's inception on October 7,

1987, the day that the Sikh Nation declared its independence

from India. We have worked to preserve the accurate history

of the Sikhs and the repression of minorities by India by

preserving the information in the Congressional Record. We

continue to work for freedom for the Sikh Nation. Self-

determination is the essence of democracy.

We cannot accept the leader of the Congress Party, the

party that carried out the bulk of these atrocities, speaking

to an organization like the United Nations on a subject like

non-violence, especially when there are much better

spokespersons available. I cannot urge you strongly enough to

cancel this appearance.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this situation

and helping the people of South Asia.

Sincerely,

Dr. Gurmit, Singh Aulakh,

President, Council of Khalistan.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Ninth Tabernacle Church on its 100th anniversary. The Ninth Tabernacle was established September 1, 1907 in Jamaica, New York by Prophet Williams S. Crowdy. During that time, members met at the home of Deacon Henry and St. Rachel Blount. Deacon Henry Blount presided over the services in the Borough of Queens until the Tabernacle was officially established by Elder Richard Briggs. Elder Briggs became the first local Pastor of the Ninth Tabernacle during the years 1907 to 1927.

In 1927, the Ninth Tabernacle was led by Evangelist-at-Large Nathaniel B. Nelson who established it as an icon of community service and fellowship in the Borough of Brooklyn. Previous local pastors have included: Elder James Nelson; Elder Judah N. Roberts; Evangelist Moses Farrar; and Rabbi Jesse E. Brown, Jr. The current Pastor, Evangelist Joseph R. Turner is also the Executive Leader of the international religious organization Temple Beth-el.

Since 1907, the congregation of the Ninth Tabernacle has worshiped at various locations throughout the Borough of Brooklyn. One of the most memorable locations was 590 Gates Avenue which the congregants of the Ninth Tabernacle were forced to leave due to construction of new housing. In 1974, the Ninth Tabernacle Trustees purchased a former synagogue at 85 Fountain Avenue where members began a 30-year tenure of spiritual revitalization and growth.

The Ninth Tabernacle has been a beacon of community service in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York areas. They have established food and clothing donation programs; emergency services for the neighborhoods; and the Fountain Avenue Community Development Corporation, which is a non-profit social service agency that provides parental effectiveness training, computer literacy training, and workforce development initiatives to Brooklyn residents. The Ninth Tabernacle also provided emergency counseling services immediately after the events of September 11,

2001 and continues to work with homeless shelters and substance abuse programs in New York.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the Ninth Tabernacle's 100 years of service and their selfless contributions to the residents of Brooklyn.

Madam Speaker. I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Ninth Tabernacle on its 100th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Therman E. Evans. Internationally recognized as ``Mr. Inspiration'', Dr. Evans is a rare combination of accomplished physician, ordained pastor, radio personality, academician, and business innovator. His management consultancy firm, Whole Life Associates Inc., has revolutionized health awareness in boardrooms and workplaces across America.

Dr. Evans began his medical studies at Howard University, earning his B.S. in 1966 and his M.D. credentials in 1971. From there he joined the staff of the Health Manpower Development Corporation as a physician, designing programs to expand healthcare access to disadvantaged minorities in the Washington, DC region. Throughout his career, Dr. Evans has always promoted health education and wellbeing through bold, pedagogical methods and initiatives, including a $1 million, 15,000- square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness facility managed by CIGNA.

Today, Dr. Evans serves as the Chairman and CEO of Whole Life Associates Inc., a fount of creative solutions to promote America's health. The center directs a wide variety of educational programs ranging from public lectures to training seminars to consultancy services.

Perhaps Dr. Evans is most well-known for his riveting and inspirational lectures. He is the pastor of the Morning Star Community Christian Center, Inc. of Linden, NJ, a non-denominational parish where more than 800 active members are inspired weekly by sermons promoting physical and spiritual health, protecting the environment, and building enduring human relationships. He also hosts ``Lifeline'', a weekly radio show on WHAT in Philadelphia.

Dr. Evans is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including three honorary doctorate degrees from Rust College in Mississippi, Bethune Cookman College in Florida, and Meharry Medical College in Tennessee. He also received the Distinguished Service Award as the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in 2003 from Howard University's College of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Evans has graced countless publications with articles on a whole range of medical issues.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Dr. Therman E. Evans as a paradigm of community service and dedication.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to a man who raises the level of health awareness and healthy living for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2007. Before I go any further, I want to take this time to personally thank my colleague, Randy Forbes of Virginia, for his longtime support and hard work on this bill.

This bipartisan bill seeks to improve technology instruction and enhance the communication network systems of minority serving institutions, many of which are located in poor, rural and isolated areas. Further, this important legislation seeks to deal with systemic disenfranchisement within minority communities by providing a means for partnership between MSIs and K-12 schools through teacher education, including the provision of preservice teacher training and in-service professional development. Under this legislation, MSIs are given an opportunity to further focus on disparities in access to quality higher education opportunities and the communities they serve.

Mr. Speaker, as public schools scramble to open for the fall term, principals and superintendents are frustrated by the stress of not having qualified math and science teachers. Just last week, the New York Times published an article entitled: Schools Scramble for Teachers Because of Spreading Turnover, and reported how tough it is to find good qualified teachers to teach science and math in low income neighborhoods. My bill, H.R. 694, will help to produce a new generation of world-class teachers of science and, mathematics and engineers.

Minority Serving Institutions play a unique role in the education of our diverse American workforce. According to a July 2005 House Committee on Science report, 21 percent of all college degrees and certificates awarded to African American, American Indian and Hispanic students are conferred by Minority Serving Institutions. Minority Serving Institutions also help underrepresented students succeed in all disciplines, science, mathematics, and engineering in particular. For example, of African-Americans earning bachelor's degrees in science, math, engineering or the technology field in 1996, 31 percent received them at an HBCU. Similarly, Hispanic-Serving Institutions produced 20 percent of science, math, engineering or technology bachelor's degrees awarded to Hispanics in 1996.

Minority Serving Institutions have special skills in serving their communities, which include large numbers of low-income or first generation college students. In fact, I am a graduate of North Carolina A&T, as are many of my colleagues here today in support of this bill are graduates of HBCUs and MSIs. Unlike other, larger institutions of higher education, MSIs typically have small or nonexistent endowments and few wealthy alumni. As a result, the ability to purchase and pay for the upkeep of the technology that will prepare these students for the workforce is especially challenging for many MSI.

Developing an educated and technologically literate workforce is an important part of our efforts to compete in an increasingly technology and information-based, global economy. Whether technology should be used in schools is no longer the issue. Rather, the current emphasis is on ensuring that technology is available and used effectively to create new opportunities.

For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 694, the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act.

In closing, I want to especially thank the higher education community who over the past 8 years have tirelessly worked to make this bill become a reality. Specifically, I want to thank Dr. Michael L. Lomax of the United Negro College Fund, Lezli Baskerville of the National Association of Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, Antonio Flores of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Gerald E. Gipp of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, the Telecommunications Industry Association, Alcatel Lucent, and the many other advocates who have worked on this issue.

Madam Speaker, I would like to call attention to a letter that I and my colleagues received this week from the professional and collegiate sports associations. It alerts us to the fact that, at this time when the reputation and integrity of American athletics are keenly threatened by gambling-related scandals, proposals to legalize and sanction

sports gambling are being advanced here in the House of Representatives.

I have long been concerned about protecting American athletics from the taint of gambling. I cosponsored the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, when arrested the growth of state- sponsored sports betting. As Congress said then, ``Sports gambling threatens to change the nature of sporting events from wholesome entertainment for all ages to devices for gambling. It undermines public confidence in the character of professional and amateur sports.''

Now H.R. 2046 threatens to let offshore online gambling operators do through the backdoor what PASPA shut off to states through the front door. And the proponents of sports gambling are making the same arguments that they did in the early 1990s: legal sportsbooks have the technology and incentive to identify suspicious activity and prevent actual corruption of the game; people are going to gamble on sports anyway, so the government might as well capture tax revenue on the activity.

Congress rejected those arguments then, and they should reject them now. The fundamental issue has never been whether the technology existed to prevent abusive sports gambling. The fundamental issue is this: regardless of what happens between friends or on the black market, Congress should not be in the business of encouraging people to gamble on sports. And sports gambling should be off limits from further exploitation as a ``revenue enhancer.''

This is an essential principle, that gambling and sports do not mix. Even though H.R. 2046 says sports leagues can ``opt out'' of allowing gambling on their sport, Congress would still be sending the wrong message about sports gambling. Moreover, the sports associations have very serious concerns that the ``opt-outs'' could be struck down by U.S. courts or international tribunals, leaving their sports completely unprotected.

As their letter says, ``the harms caused by government endorsement of sports betting far exceed the alleged benefits.'' Therefore, I will not support any movement on H.R. 2046 so long as it poses any threat to the integrity of American athletics.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place in the Record the letter signed by the General Counsels of the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, and National Collegiate Athletic Association.

July 30, 2007.

Dear Member of Congress: Sports betting is incompatible

with preserving the integrity of American athletics. For many

decades, we have actively enforced strong policies against

sports betting. And the law on this point is consistent.

Federal statutes bar sports betting, especially the 1961 Wire

Act and the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection

Act. Enforcement of these laws against sports betting was

also a significant motive for enacting the Unlawful Internet

Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA).

Accordingly, we urge you to reject current proposals to

legalize Internet gambling, such as H.R. 2046 sponsored by

Rep. Barney Frank. This legislation reverses federal policy

on sports betting and would for the first time give such

gambling Congressional consent. The bill sends exactly the

wrong message to the public about sports gambling and

threatens to undermine the integrity of American sports.

On a related point, we believe the Congress should not

consider any liberalization of Internet gambling until the

U.S. Trade Representative successfully resolves our trade

disputes in this area. A rush to judgment on this subject

could result in irreversible damage to U.S. sovereignty in

the area of gambling regulation, including the capacity to

prohibit sports bets.

Though Internet gambling on sports has never been legal,

easy access to offshore Internet gambling websites has

created the opposite impression among the general public,

particularly before Congress enacted UIGEA last fall. UIGEA

emerged from more than a decade of Congressional

consideration, in which stand-alone legislation aimed at

restricting Internet gambling passed either the Senate or the

House in each of five successive Congresses, each time by

overwhelming bi-partisan votes. UIGEA also enjoyed a broad

array of supporters, including 49 state Attorneys General and

other law enforcement associations, several major financial

institutions and technology companies, dozens of religious

and family organizations, and of course our sports

organizations.

Enactment of UIGEA was grounded on concerns about

addictive, compulsive, and underage Internet gambling,

unlawful sports betting, potential criminal activity, and the

wholesale evasion of federal and state laws. When it passed

the House a year ago, the vote was 317-93, including

majorities of both caucuses and with the affirmative votes of

both party leaders.

The final product was a law that did not change the

legality of any gambling activity--it simply gave law

enforcement new, effective tools for enforcing existing state

and federal gambling laws. UIGEA and its predecessor bills

could attract such consensus because they adhered to this

principle: whether you think gambling liberalization is a bad

idea or a good one, the policy judgments of State

legislatures and Congress must be respected, not de facto

repealed by deliberate evasion of the law by offshore

entities via the Internet.

By contrast, H.R. 2046 would put the Treasury Department in

charge of issuing licenses to Internet gambling operators,

who would then be immunized from prosecution or liability

under any Federal or State law that prohibits what the Frank

bill permits. The bill would tear apart the fabric of

American gambling regulation. By overriding in one stroke

dozens of Federal and State gambling laws. this would amount

to the greatest expansion of legalized gambling ever enacted.

This legislation contains an ``opt-out'' that appears to

permit individual leagues to prohibit gambling on their

sports. But regardless of the ``opt-out,'' the bill breaks

terrible new ground, because Congress would for the first

time sanction sports betting. That is reason enough to oppose

it. In addition, the bill's safeguard opt-out for sports

leagues as well as the one for states may well prove

illusory and ineffectual. They will be subject to legal

challenge before U.S. courts and the World Trade

Organization.

In addition, this legislation would dramatically complicate

current trade negotiations concerning gambling. In 1994, the

United States signed the General Agreement on Trade in

Services, which included a commitment to free trade in

``other recreational services.'' In subsequent WTO

proceedings, the United States has claimed this commitment

never included gambling services. The United States has noted

that any such ``commitment'' would contradict a host of

federal and state laws that regulate and restrict gambling.

The WTO has not accepted this argument.

Accordingly, the U.S. Trade Representative has initiated

negotiations to withdraw gambling from U.S. GATS commitments.

Before withdrawal can be finalized, agreement must be reached

on trade concessions with interested trading partners. Few

concessions should be required because there was never a

legal market in Internet gambling in the U.S. If Congress

creates a legal market before withdrawal is complete, the

withdrawal will become much more complicated and costly.

Therefore, we oppose any legislation that would imperil the

withdrawal process.

Finally, we have heard the argument that Internet gambling

can actually protect the integrity of sports because of the

alleged capacity to monitor gambling patterns more closely in

a legalized environment. This argument is generally asserted

by those who would profit from legalized gambling and the

same point was raised in 1992 when PASPA was enacted.

Congress dismissed it then and should dismiss it now. The

harms caused by government endorsement of sports betting far

exceed the alleged benefits.

H.R. 2046 sets aside decades of federal precedent to

legalize sports betting and exposes American gambling laws to

continuing jeopardy in the WTO. We strongly urge that you

oppose it. Thank you for considering our views on this

matter.

Sincerely,

Rick Buchanan, Executive,

VP and General Counsel, National Basketball Association.

Elsa Kircher Cole,

General Counsel, National Collegiate Athletic Association.

William Daly,

Deputy Commissioner, National Hockey League.

Tom Ostertag,

Senior VP and General Counsel, Major League Baseball.

Jeffrey Pash,

Executive VP and General Counsel, National FootbaIl League.

Madam Speaker, as I have discussed recently, the Punjab Government has issued an arrest warrant against Dr. Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke for the crime of writing about Sikh freedom and criticizing the chief minister. Mr. Mann's crime was placing a picture at the statue of the brutal late chief minister, Beant Singh.

The Council of Khalistan has recently written to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to demand the withdrawal of the warrant against Dr. Udhoke and the release of Mr. Mann. We should join in that demand, Madam Speaker. We should stop aid and trade with India to support rights for everyone and we should demand a free and fair vote on freedom for Khalistan, the Sikh homeland, for Nagalim, for Kashmir, and for the other nations seeking their freedom.

I would like to add that letter to the Record, Madam Speaker.

Council of Khalistan,

Washington, DC, June 28, 2007.

Hon. Parkash Singh Badal,

Chief Minister of Punjab,

Chandigarh, Punjab, India.

Dear Chief Minister Badal: I am writing to you regarding

the recent arrest warrant for Dr. Sukhpreet Singh Udhoke and

the arrests of Sardar Simranjit Singh Mann and his

associates. As you know, both were involved in peaceful

political action, which is protected under the Indian

constitution, at the time the warrants for their arrests were

issued by your government. Dr. Udhoke's offense was

publishing articles critical of you. Sardar Mann's was

protesting and placing a picture of a Sikh martyr at the

statue of the brutal, genocidal Beant Singh, who presided

over the murders of over 50,000 Sikhs. Mann had previously

been arrested for the dangerous crimes of making a speech and

raising a flag.

You have been in opposition. You have engaged in political

activities while in opposition. What would you think if you

were arrested for those activities? That is exactly what your

government is doing to S.S. Mann and proposes to do to Dr.

Udhoke as soon as you can find him.

When did the right to protest peacefully disappear in

Punjab, Khalistan? Are you determined to prove the late

General Narinder Singh right that ``Punjab is a police

state''?

On behalf of the 25 million strong Sikh Nation in Punjab,

in India, and around the world, I am writing to demand the

withdrawal of the arrest order against Dr. Udhoke and his

associates and the immediate release of Simranjit Singh Mann

and his associates. I do not do this for political reasons;

Mann has been a vocal critic of this office and has

cooperated with the Indian government. But if you truly

believe in democracy--the system that put you back in power

earlier this year--then you cannot in good conscience arrest

people for dissent.

Indeed, Mann's arrest shows what can happen to a Sikh even

if he cooperates with the Indian government, as you have done

throughout your political career to the detriment of the Sikh

Nation. One day, your utility to them will be exhausted and

they may then have you thrown in jail for a peaceful

political activity--simply because you are a Sikh. Who will

you turn to defend you then? To this office?

Yet while you seem intent on prosecuting peaceful dissent,

you are unwilling to take action against those who commit

murder and other serious crimes. Is that because of your

alliance with the BJP, which is the political arm of the pro-

Fascist, militant Hindu nationalist, anti-Sikh RSS?

When you were elected in 1997, you promised the Sikhs of

Punjab that you would appoint a commission to inquire into

the atrocities in Punjab and prosecute the police officers

who murdered Sikhs. Instead, you protected SSP Swaran Singh

Ghotna, who murdered Akal Takht Jathedar Gurdev Singh Kaunke.

Just recently, Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh was fraudulently

dressing as Guru Gobind Singh, performing baptisms that are

reserved for the Panj Piaras, and advertising it in the

newspaper. This was a desecration of the Sikh religion and a

fraud. Yet you met with Ram Rahim to ask for his political

support. But you couldn't even succeed in persuading this

corrupt baba to support you! Yet when he perpetrated this

fraud, you protected him until the political pressure to

prosecute him got too intense. He still has not been

arrested, nor has an arrest warrant been issued. I guess

the jails are too crowded from holding the likes of Dr.

Sukhbir Singh Udhoke and Simranjil Singh Mann.

In 1978, during your Chief Ministership, the Nirankari cult

had a meeting and desecrated the Guru Granlh Sahib. Sant

Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his supporters peacefully

protested outside. Your police fired on the protestors,

killing 13 of them, then your police escorted the Nirankari

leader, Gurbachan Singh, safely out of Punjab.

Apparently, you were not through trying to destroy Sant

Bhindranwale. According to letters reprinted in the book

Chakravyuh: Web of Indian Secularism, you, along with

Harcharan Singh Longowal and the late Gurcharan Singh Tohra,

invited the Indian government to attack the Golden Temple in

June 1984 to kill Sant Bhindranwale. 37 other Gurdwaras were

attacked simultaneously. Over 20,000 Sikhs were killed in

those attacks. Their blood is on your hands, Mr. Chief

Minister.

Furthermore, your government in your previous term was the

most corrupt in Punjab's history. You creatively invented a

new term for bribery; ``fee for service.'' No fee, no

service. The sale of government offices was standard

operating procedure. Your wife even developed the handy skill

of being able to tell how much money was in a bag just

picking it up.

Furthermore, your operatives are calling this office

repeatedly and harassing me about my website because it

exposes you. You may be able to suppress the freedom of Sikhs

in Punjab, but you cannot stop the Sikh diaspora from

exposing your brutal and corrupt acts. Remember that Sikhs

have a long memory of those who are traitors and murderers

and who cooperate with the oppressors of the Sikh Nation.

K.P.S. Gill's turban is still preserved in Belgium. When

Khalsitan is free, it will be on display so that the Sikh

Nation will never forget those who committed atrocities

against us.

Punjab's water is being taken away by non-riparian states

without compensation. At least your predecessor, who is from

the Congress Party, the enemy of all Sikhs, tried to do

something about it. He cancelled the water agreements. The

bill passed by the Legislative Assembly expressly affirmed

the sovereignty of Punjab.

Under your rule, the economy of Punjab is deteriorating.

Sikh farmers are committing suicide because they cannot make

a living, due to the fact that your friends in Delhi force

them to pay exorbitant prices for fertilizer and seeds, but

forces them to sell their crop at substandard prices. And

you, who as Chief Minister and head of the Akali Dal are

supposed to protect the interests of the Sikhs, sit there and

kowtow to these criminals.

Even though the government of Pakistan said it would build

a road to Kartapur, where Guru Nanak went to his heavenly

abode, with no visas, your government has refused to build

the Punjab side of the road so that Sikhs can go freely to

this sacred site.

From these actions, it is clear where your loyalties lie,

and they are not with the Sikh Nation or with the Sikh

religion or with the people of Punjab, but with the violent,

pro-Fascist, murderous Hinducrat thugs from Delhi who sponsor

you and your career. But remember the warning I gave you

earlier; when they are through with you, when you no longer

have any usefulness to them, they will dispense with you as

they have dispensed with so many other Sikhs who have served

them.

That is why it is incumbent on every Sikh to engage in the

``long struggle'' to free Khalistan. Only then will Sikhs

such as Dr. Udhoke, Sardar Mann, and even the likes of you be

protected from the violent and brutal whims of the oppressive

Hindustani regime. It is crucial to protect the Sikh religion

and the Sikh Nation from this oppression by liberating

Khalistan today, in accord with our declaration of October 7,

1987. For your good, Mr. Badal, I urge you to get on the

right side of history today. Or would you rather be

remembered as an enemy of the Sikh Nation?

Sincerely,

Gurmit Singh Aulakh,

President, Council of Khalistan.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that we have a good bill that will help provide needed health insurance for 5 million more low-income children, that helps us reduce health disparities, equalizes payments under Medicare to allied health professions, acknowleges the role of schools in health care service delivery and protects senior citizens from deceptive and aggressive marketing tactics by private Medicare sales people. I applaud the inclusion of health information technology in this bill. I have a draft bill in this area related to connecting medically underserved communities to reduce health disparities and I believe this bill could further that process.

I applaud this bill for making a number of efforts to collect racial and ethnic health data. Numerous groups including the Rand Corporation, the Congressional Black Caucus, and the Kaiser Family Foundation and others have stressed that efforts to reduce and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities cannot proceed without comprehensive data collection.

I am pleased that this bill creates payment fixes under Medicare for a number of allied health professions, including midwives and marriage and family therapists. I had hoped a similar provision for physicians' assistants could have been included. However, this bill can address the ability of physicians to delegate hospice care to physicians' assistants without any further cost considerations.

I am particularly pleased that the overall tone of the bill is to help children improve their lives and their health by offering a guaranteed dental benefit and helping States enroll and retain more eligible children, including the children of legal immigrants. I am fully supportive of the idea of allowing ``qualifying States'' to use their CHIP allotments for Medicaid if that will cover more kids.

I believe that the attempt to categorize this bill as cutting Medicare is nothing more than a sham. Thousands of seniors who need part ``D'' assistance will benefit from easier enrollement procedures. Almost 550,000 seniors in my State will be protected on limitations to out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs. Companies have for 3 years overcharged Medicare from 19 to 70 percent and have told seniors that cutting these over payments will cut their benefits. That is simply not true. It is not necessary to choose between funding health care for children and health care for seniors. This legislation does both.

Urban and rural districts will benefit from the proactive approach in this bill to reach out to ``hard-to-reach'' communities to spread the word about enrolling in SCHIP. That makes good sense and is supported by a wide range of groups in our community, including the National Medical Association.

My city, State and many stakeholder groups are also fully supportive of simplifying the applications process and speeding up and streamlining eligibility determinations. In addition, States like New York that fund SCHIP beyond 200 percent of Federal poverty levels are appreciative of the ability to earn bonus payments available to States that have implemented 5 of 7 practices that would increase outreach, enrollment, and retention efforts.

In addition, I am supportive of the option to enroll children who would otherwise age out of Medicaid or CHIP.

The majority tried very hard to include all medically necessary services, but cost factors did not make that fully possible. Indeed, I am appreciative that you were able to include dental and mental health services in this bill as a State mandate because these services are predictors of good health status. In fact when these services are not readily available it can be tragic. We witnessed the unfortunate demise of young Deamonte Driver in Maryland from a tooth abscess this past winter, preventable by extracting a tooth at the cost of about $80. Instead, he suffered a brain infection that cost the system $250,000 in surgery bills and Deamonte his life because he could not receive treatment in time. This bill will help avoid these types of tragedies.

I am very supportive of the creation of the Children's Access Payment and Equity Commission because I believe that with a good balance of commissioners, including those from medically underserved communities, we can more closely monitor access to care from these communities.

Other features of this bill that I fully support include: coverage of pregnant women; the increase for allowable resources for asset testing; continuous enrollment and the encouragement of culturally appropriate enrollment and retention practices.

I do, however, have a number of concerns. I am very concerned that New York's public hospital system stands to lose up to $350 million if the moratorium on intergovernment tax transfers is not extended. In addition, our State and city will lose even more than that if we eliminate graduate medical education payments. I hope that we can work together to prevent this tragedy, not rust for my own State and city, but for others as well.

I am still concerned that we need to give a date certain to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to begin an additional compendia to support coverage of off-label uses of cancer drugs.

I am concerned that the freeze on payments to the home health industry will continue to have negative effects in my State and city.

I am also concerned that Medicare beneficiaries will not receive all of the necessary treatments available to them. Further, I would prefer they have the broadest formulary coverage so that seniors are not forced to switch to other medications which are not rated as therapeutic equivalents.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook. Rev. Cook is the pastor at the Believers' Christian Fellowship Church, which she founded in 1996 after serving as pastor of the Mariners' Temple Baptist Church in downtown Manhattan for 13 years. In 2002, Rev. Cook became the first woman elected president of the 10,000-member Hampton, Virginia, University Ministers Conference, which represents all the historically African American denominations. Her list of other ``firsts'' includes: first woman appointed Chaplain of the New York Police Department and the first female baptist minister from the Bronx to receive a White House fellowship.

A woman of promise, passion, diligence, and determination, Rev. Cook is the author of eight successful books. In 1997 Rev. Cook was featured by Ebony Magazine as one of the Nation's top 15 women in ministry.

Rev. Cook has toured nationally with Bishop T.D. Jakes and the ``God's Leading Ladies Conference.'' Her motto is ``If I can help somebody, then my living is not in vain.''

A faculty member and graduate of Harvard University, she also received a doctorate of ministry degree from Union Theological Seminary, a master of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, and a master of arts degree from Columbia University.

Rev. Cook is married to Ronald Cook, and they reside in New York City with their two sons.

Dr. Cook is a powerful orator and was recently described in the New York Times as ``Billy Graham and Oprah rolled into one.'' Her mentoring and leadership skills have now charged her to form The Woman in Ministry International Summit, which supports and advocates for women church leaders.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize this magnificent minister, scholar, and dynamic leader, and urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to this outstanding member of the clergy.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 404) to require the establishment of customer service standards for Federal agencies, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, the Federal Customer Service Enhancement Act will require Federal agencies to set higher performance standards in delivering customer service. Sometimes we complain about how we are treated, but do not take any action. This legislation is a step in the right direction, and we are doing something about the attitude of government employees.

We have worked with the GAO, OMB, and the minority, and in particular the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) to improve this bill. We have also incorporated the language from H.R. 2324, a bill sponsored by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan), who shares the same birthday with me.

This bill is important to highlight the importance that the Congress puts on better customer service. I support its passage and urge my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), who has worked very hard on this legislation. And let me also add, it has been a delight to work with him and his staff to bring this legislation to the floor.

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

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

Let me point out when complaints are not promptly resolved, frustrated customers seek redress in different agencies or at different parts or level of the same agency, resulting in duplicate effort and compounding costs and a waste of time.

Just as costs rise when citizens do not receive reliable information in a timely manner, trust also erodes as citizens become frustrated with a nonresponsive bureaucracy. Indeed, there has been a cumulative erosion of public confidence in government.

Please, let's work together to create a more responsive and more accountable government. So I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I would also like to thank some folks. I would like to thank Congressman Waxman, who is the Chair of the full committee, in terms of his support and what he has done to help move this legislation forward. I would like to thank the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Davis from Virginia, in terms of all of his support and help in moving it. I also, I think, indicated earlier on my colleague, Mr. Duncan, who has worked very hard to make this a reality. And, of course, I would like to thank Congressman Bilbray, who is the ranking member on the subcommittee, for all of his support as well, and all the staff members who worked so hard, along with Congressman Cuellar from Texas, along with Congresswoman Foxx. There have been a lot of people that really put a lot of time and energy into this to try to strengthen this bill. It might not be perfect, but I think it is a giant step in the right direction.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Brooklyn resident Ms. Joan Caccamo. Joan received her bachelor of science degree in Management from St. Francis College in Brooklyn in 1983; she later earned a master's degree with a specialty in Administration and Supervision from Fordham University.

Joan taught Business Education and Computer Science for 12 years and worked as a high school director of development and is currently employed as the assistant director of recreation, intramurals and athletics as well as a senior woman administrator at Brooklyn College.

Joan continues to give back to her community. She is currently the department president of the American Legion Auxiliary who has chosen for her special project the Special Olympics of New York. Under her leadership, members of the American Legion have donated more than $40,000 to the project. Joan has traveled throughout New York State visiting 62 counties promoting Special Olympics, veterans', children's, and community issues.

Joan's accomplishments are many and include; the Empire Girl's Program service as housemother, vice-chair and chair of the Veterans' Affairs and Rehabilitation, certified leadership instructor, and the winner of the Public Relations Chair National Award.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Ms. Joan Caccamo who has given more than 40 years of volunteer service. I'd also like to honor her for her accomplishments as a teacher and caring member of the American Legion Auxiliary.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Ms. Joan Caccamo.

Madam Speaker, on Friday, June 29th, 2007, the United States and the Republic of Panama signed the Trade Promotion Agreement, which is the result of the tireless negotiations between both the United States and Panama. After the agreement is signed, Congress will have an opportunity to comprehensively review it, an opportunity that I wholeheartedly welcome.

This agreement will increase much needed access to medicines for developing countries, strengthen provisions in labor, environment and national security. This agreement also sees to it that significant cuts are made to trade barrier tariffs. Additionally, this bill seeks to improve on the growing commercial relationship between both countries on the growing Panamanian market which has a strong affinity for American goods, demonstrated by the 67 percent trade deficit Panama currently holds with the U.S.

Small businesses stand to benefit from this agreement as well. The elimination of Panamanian tariffs on our goods will lower the transaction costs. This would create a mutually beneficial relationship between small business sellers in the United States and buyers in Panama.

This agreement is about more than the commercial exchange of goods and services. I would like to note that our relationship with Panama is a long standing one since its independence from Colombia in 1903. We have an uncompromising commitment to providing opportunities for the people of Panama to work towards a better future while providing American businesses the opportunity to expand their market access in another country.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the $5.25 billion expansion of the Panama Canal which will create additional unique opportunities. Three of the four contracts for this project have already been awarded to U.S businesses.

Madam Speaker, I submit for your further consideration the text of the proposed U.S. Panama Trade Promotion Agreement. I look forward to a productive and informative discussion about it in the weeks and months to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Anthony F. Martin who was born in the Bronx, NY. to parents Joseph and Sylvia in 1945. He is a product of the New York City Public School System, graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1963.

Anthony Martin's family purchased a home in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn making them the first African-American family on their block. It was at the local recreation center where ``Tony'' learned to swim and play basketball.

Anthony Martin played basketball with many of the all-time greats including the Jackson brothers, Vaughn Harper and a host of other New York athletic powerhouses. After playing basketball in college he began playing in the summer leagues with the Brooklyn 76ers, Rucker and the WBLS Sure Shots.

Anthony Martin's athletic talents were recognized by the New York Institute of Technology where he was offered a full scholarship. As a member of the institute's first graduating class, he received a bachelor of science degree in accounting in 1967. His accomplishments at NYIT were many: captain of the basketball team; treasurer and vice president of the Varsity Club; vice president of the Finance Accounting Management Association and class representative of the Association of Computing Machinery. He also served as a member of the New York All Metropolitan College Team.

Anthony Martin joined the New York City Board of Education as an elementary school teacher after graduating from NYIT. He was also employed with the New York City Parks' Department as a recreation director. While working both jobs he managed to earn two master's degrees from Long Island University and City College. His career also included his current job as a guidance counselor at Erasmus Hall and Paul Roberson High School until his retirement in February of 2007.

Anthony Martin met the love of his life in 1973 on the campus of Medgar Evers College. He and Deborah Young formed a long lasting relationship which blossomed into love and holy matrimony.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of Anthony F. Martin and his selfless and unwavering dedication to the children of New York City.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Anthony F. Martin who has continuously demonstrated a level of altruistic dedication that makes him most worthy of our recognition today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work of Dr. Elias Blake, Jr., former president of Clark College in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Blake was an impassioned advocate for education, social justice and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. His passing is a profound loss to the struggle for higher education in the African-American community.

Dr. Blake led Clark College from 1977 until 1987. During that decade, he developed and implemented a plan that resulted in placing the college on a sound financial path, major improvements in faculty training and curriculum, securing national accreditations for many academic programs, seeking out and retaining the best and brightest minds to enhance their academic and life skills, and enhancing science, mathematics and musical scholarships while making jazz music a signature experience at Clark College.

Madam Speaker, I cannot in this short time do justice to the life and achievements of Dr. Elias Blake, Jr.; however, it is fitting that as his final accomplishment he was working on a study of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that overturned segregation in our Nation's public schools.

A lifelong advocate for jazz music, Dr. Blake worked with such notables as Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Billy Taylor, and many others to encourage younger musicians in their musical pursuits. My heart goes out to the family of Elias Blake, Jr. and I want them to know that I appreciate the life and work of Dr. Blake and that he will be greatly missed.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Dr. Elias Blake, Jr. for his continuing dedication to the world's children as well as those children in our community.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Dr. Elias Blake, Jr., former president of Clark College.

Madam Speaker, on Saturday, June 30, the United States and the Republic of Korea are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement, the result of months of negotiations between our two countries. After the agreement is signed, Congress will have an opportunity to comprehensively review it, an opportunity that I wholeheartedly welcome.

The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement holds both substantive and symbolic importance. for nearly a million Korean Americans, a large number of whom are my constituents, New York is home to many businesses, large and small, which focus on trade between the United States and the Republic of Korea.

The governments of our two countries did not pursue this agreement without the encouragement and input of several important organizations. Among these were the U.S.-Korea FTA Business Coalition, the U.S.-Korea and Korea-U.S. Business Councils, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the Federation of Korean Industries. I would also like to recognize the efforts of my good friends at the Korea International Trade Association with whom I had the pleasure of meeting its Chairman and representatives on several occasions.

Madam Speaker, barely a half century ago, the Republic of Korea was an impoverished casualty of imperialism and war; it has now grown to be the 11th-largest trading nation in the world. The Republic of Korea is also the seventh largest trading partner of the United States, with nearly $80 billion in trade volume between our counties each year.

Credit for such remarkable development belongs in large part to the efforts of private businesses that saw potential in what cynics initially saw as a war-torn ``basket economy.'' These businesses today, and the many others that followed, create jobs, produce desirable goods and services, offer investment opportunities, and provide mutual benefits in both of our countries.

Let me emphasize that, for all the obvious benefits that a free trade agreement between the United States and the Republic of Korea will provide, however, the language of any agreement must be scrutinized carefully to assure that American and Korean labor standards are upheld, that our environment is safeguarded, and that consumers are fully protected. I am a strong proponent of these important considerations.

Madam Speaker, I look forward to examining the text of the proposed U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement and to a productive and informative discussion about it in the weeks and months to come. I welcome the anticipated signing of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement this Saturday and encourage my colleagues to offer their own expressions of welcome and support for this historic event.