Floor Statements

Madam Chairman, I rise today in support of a long overdue measure, the Employee Free Choice Act. This necessary bill gives America's hard workers basic rights that they have been denied for over 70 years.

My father was an ironworker, and a member of his local union. I saw firsthand the struggles employees went through in order to organize their workplace. I also saw how easy it was and how easy it still is to fire union organizers with impunity. This unlawful practice happens all the time, and the worst that can possibly happen to the employer is a slap on the wrist.

I was also a proud member of a union. I was a teacher and a guidance counselor in New York City, where I became a member of the American Federation of Teachers. I learned the personal benefits to collective bargaining, and I discovered the security of having thousands of other brothers and sisters of the union behind me if I ever needed them.

Unions were an integral part in making this Nation the economic superpower it is. And while this bill will not put laborers on an even footing with employers, it will help to bridge the chasm between workers' rights and corporate rights.

Madam Chairman, we owe unions and their members a massive debt of gratitude for everything they have done for this country. We can start paying back that debt by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. I strongly support this measure, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues' strong support of the resolution that I have introduced which supports the goals and ideals of Anti-Slavery Day. I would also like to thank Representative Burton for his assistance with this resolution. Anti- Slavery Day is dedicated to focusing attention on the many forms of slavery that exists today as well as to highlight and commend the many efforts made by the United States Congress, along with, Free the Slaves, labor organizations, and United States Industry to eradicate slavery from the product supply chains of goods entering the United States.

This resolution is most important this year as 2007 is the bicentennial of the abolition of the British slave trade. In 1865, the United States outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude with the 13th amendment. Yet today more than 27 million people are enslaved around the world and over the last 50 years slavery has actually increased and is flourishing in situations of conflict, social disruption, political chaos, and economic crisis. Slavery is present in nearly every country and affects those--especially women and children--who are most vulnerable. Slavery is a global crime and requires a global approach to its eradication with the most powerful preventive measures being education and economic development. Slavery and involuntary servitude are inherently evil institutions and must be abolished.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of unanimous consent, I recognize the gentleman from Arizona.

(Mr. PASTOR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I now yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, a member of the Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform Committees, and chair of the House Task Force on Anti-Terrorism Funding, Mr. Lynch.

Madam Speaker, I now yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), a classmate of mine and distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I now yield 5 minutes to my sister's Congressman, a gentleman who worked hard to become a member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to my dear friend in the adjoining district, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the Chair of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 5\1/2\ minutes.

Madam Speaker, I am going to come here and speak from the heart. I do not want to read a speech because I think it is important to speak from the heart. I am not here to point fingers. I am not here to chastise anyone. I am not here to talk about what might have been.

I support our soldiers. I support the war against terror, but I rise in support of this resolution which is Congress' responsibility. We have to look, Madam Speaker, at the current situation in Iraq as it is, not as we might wish it to be, but as it is.

Several years ago, I voted to give the President the authority to go to war in Iraq based on what we were told then. I must say that I regret that vote.

I regret it not only because no weapons of mass destruction were found or that there was no connection between al Qaeda and Iraq at that time, even though we were told there was. There was obviously faulty intelligence. We will never quite know if we were misled or if our intelligence was bad. But one thing is very, very clear to me, that this war has been mishandled from the beginning.

The President is now talking about a surge of sending 21,500 more troops to Iraq. When we first went into Iraq, I am a big believer if you are going to do something, you do it right or you do not do it at all. We were told by General Shinseki that there were not enough troops in Iraq, not enough troops at that time several years ago to be able to protect the borders, to protect insurgents from coming in, to protect people that would do us ill from coming in.

And his statements were dismissed. Not only were his statements dismissed, but then he was dismissed; and now here it is 3 or 4 years later, we are being told that the solution is to send more troops again. It is obvious to me that this is too little too late.

The war in Iraq has morphed into a civil war. It is obvious to anybody who looks at the situation that the Shia and the Sunni are fighting each other, and our brave men and women are caught right in the middle of it. Eighty percent of the people of Iraq on both sides do not want us there, and more and more our people are becoming sitting ducks.

I grieve for the more than 3,200 brave Americans who have died and the countless thousands more who have been injured; but it is one thing, Madam Speaker, to die in fighting for the freedom of your country, defending your country. It is quite another to die in a senseless civil war that more and more we see we cannot control nor probably should we attempt to anymore.

From the minute we came into Iraq, unfortunately, not only did we have no troops, there was mistake after mistake. We fired the Ba'ath Party people. So we had people who were angry at us to begin with. We have not been able to give the Iraqis what we said we would give them. They find that their way of life is worse now than ever before. We were not greeted as liberators, but we were greeted as occupiers.

And when we look at what we supposedly are there to protect, we look at the leader of Iraq, Mr. Maliki. He is propped up by the al-Sadr brigade, viciously anti-American, viciously killing Iraqis. He cannot go after them. They are the base of his support, and we are to believe that somehow he is a great patriot and is fighting for democracy in Iraq.

We talk about al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is certainly a threat. I am a New Yorker.

I will never ever forget September 11, 2001. And we have to go after al Qaeda and we have to fight terrorism, but I believe that the war in Iraq has now become a distraction against the war on terror.

So by staying in Iraq, are we fighting the war on terror, or are we making it more difficult? A troop surge will not work. There are other priorities that we have. Our young people are sitting ducks. This is more and more like Vietnam. You cannot leave and you cannot stay.

We support our troops. This surge will not work. Congress needs to send this message to the President and to Iraq and to the world.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5\1/2\ minutes to my fellow New Yorker (Mr. Bishop).

(Mr. BISHOP of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Madam Speaker, I now yield 5 minutes to one of our freshmen, Representative Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania, surely a rising star.

Madam Speaker, before I yield to my next speaker, I am told we are rapidly running out of time, and I will not be able to yield additional time to anyone beyond the 5 minutes.

I now have the pleasure of calling on another new star in this Congress, Representative Bruce Braley of Iowa, for 5 minutes.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure now to call on another one of our great new freshmen I have gotten to know, the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack) for 5 minutes.

Madam Speaker, I now yield to another one of our rising freshman stars, the gentleman from Maryland, Representative John Sarbanes, 5 minutes.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to again introduce one of our freshman rising stars, Steve Kagen of Wisconsin. I yield 5 minutes to him.

Madam Speaker, I now yield 5 minutes to Representative Mike Arcuri of New York, another rising star from my home State.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to a great new member of our Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. Albio Sires of New Jersey.

Mr. Speaker, it is now my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to another great new freshman, Representative Zack Space of Ohio.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to a great new Member, the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Hodes).

Mr. Speaker, I can't tell you how much pleasure it gives me to introduce our next speaker, who represents a district adjacent to mine. I am so delighted to have him in Congress, and I know his constituents are as well.

I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hall).

Madam Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues' strong support of legislation that I have introduced to designate the third floor library of the Ellis Island Immigration Museum as the ``Bob Hope Memorial Library.'' I would also like to thank Representative Gallegly for his assistance with this bill. I believe that it is important to honor Bob Hope, an American Citizen, who immigrated through Ellis Island and who contributed so greatly to the American people and culture.

Most Americans remember Bob Hope for his work in the entertainment business as a comedian, actor, dancer, and singer as well as his work with American troops abroad. But, what few know is that Bob Hope was an immigrant from England. He is sometimes even referred to as America's most famous immigrant, whose life epitomizes the ``American Dream.'' After a long period of restoration, Ellis Island was turned into a museum in 1990 with the purpose for people to come and remember the 16 million immigrants who passed through Ellis Island from 1892-1954 to pursue the American Dream. Bob Hope embodies that American Dream which so many immigrants sought and I believe that naming the library after this great American is a fitting tribute.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Wallace Broecker, a geochemist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory for recently being awarded the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Mr. Broecker was honored with this prize for his stellar work in studying the role oceans play in the carbon cycle. As we debate how to control global warming in this Congress, Mr. Broecker's work will better inform us on the best policy approach to this global threat.

Dr. Broecker did his groundbreaking work at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which resides in my district. This incredible facility is one of the world's leading research centers on how our biosphere operates. More than 300 research scientists at the observatory research every aspect of our planet including volcanoes, earthquakes and global warming.

To get the data necessary for their work, the observatory has led expeditions around the world to collect data. Using their 239-foot research vessel, the Maurice Ewing, the observatory has collected samples from the ocean floor, studied seismic activity and collected ocean soil core samples. Through this work the observatory has amassed the world's largest collection of deep-sea and ocean-sediment cores from every sea and ocean on the planet.

The observatory has taken the massive amounts of data they have accumulated and created some of the world's most comprehensive databases of ocean activity critical to the work of marine geoscientists such as Dr. Broecker.

Madam Speaker, my hat is off to Wallace Broecker for earning this fantastic honor. His work and the work of the entire Lamont-Doherty Earth observatory is an invaluable resource for other scientists and for policymakers as we struggle to balance our economic well being with our requirement to be stewards of the environment.

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure, my friend, the chairman, to call him the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I thank him for yielding to me.

Before I start my remarks, I just want to pay tribute to Mr. Smith, the gentleman from New Jersey, who has been an outstanding supporter of human rights, not only for the Irish peace process, although he has been a leader in that, but throughout the world. And I commend him for this resolution, and I am pleased to be a sponsor of it, I believe the lead Democrat on the resolution; and it is something that has been a long time coming.

As the chairman said, the struggle for peace and justice in Ireland, particularly the north of Ireland, continues. We are all very hopeful because there has been great progress made, and we think that progress will continue to be made. And the chairman explained Sinn Fein's acceptance of policing and everything else. So we have to continue.

One of the things that is so important is the fact that the Finucane family, and I have met with them a number of times, they are convinced that until there is an independent inquiry, any other inquiry will be tainted. And that is why this resolution calls for an independent inquiry. We want to get to the bottom of what really happened to Pat Finucane. We all know, we all suspect, but we need an impartial commission. We need an impartial investigation because of collusion with loyalist forces and the police for many, many years. Nothing short of that will do, and that is what this resolution calls for. Before you can put the past behind you, you have got to have it all come out and know exactly what happened.

There has been great progress. The Irish Government, the British Government have all worked together for progress. And they are both to be commended. Both governments are to be commended because progress is being made. But there is still a long way to go. So I support this. And we still have other things that need to be put in place here in the United States, the case of Malachi McCallister, and I want to mention it, who is struggling to stay in this country, and many of us are behind him and fighting to keep him in this country.

There are still many injustices that have been perpetrated in the past that still have to be resolved. But starting here with inquiry into Pat Finucane's murder is something that is very, very important and very important for this Congress to go on record as supporting. And this is bipartisan. It is something, I think, that can make progress. And, again, only when we put the past behind us and let the truth hang out can we really put the past behind us. And that is what this resolution attempts to do. Again, only an independent commission will suffice.

Madam Speaker, last night the President made some bold statements about energy security. He pledged to reduce U.S. gas consumption 20 percent from projected 2017 levels. That amounts to 2 million barrels of oil saved a day. Well if he is serious about his words and he wants to reduce oil consumption just a little more he should take a look at the DRIVE Act Representative Kingston and I are introducing today.

The challenge we face is clear. In order to protect our Nation and our environment it is essential we use oil more efficiently and develop a domestic economy revolving around clean alternative fuels.

Madam Speaker, our country has become increasingly dependent on oil imports from countries who deny their citizens basic democratic freedoms and, in some cases, sponsor terrorism. In the 1970s, the U.S. imported one-third of its oil and we now import 56 percent. If the trend continues, we will be importing nearly 70 percent of our oil by 2025. It is simply unacceptable for us to sit idly by while OPEC gains a stranglehold over our economy and our security. In addition, there is now an irrefutable scientific consensus that global warming is real, it is dangerous and it is caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

For these reasons, Madam Speaker, we must act now to provide funding, incentives and leadership to wean our economy off oil and transform it into one empowered by the use of domestic energy.

In the last Congress, Representative Kingston and I introduced legislation to do just that the bipartisan Fuel Choices for American Security Act. Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle and in both chambers sponsored the bill and it emerged as the consensus plan to develop a broad array of reliable and clean domestic fuels. The bill has now been improved and will be reintroduced today as the DRIVE Act, the Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy Act with over 60 cosponsors from both parties.

The bill has four main parts:

First, the bill will require the U.S. to use less oil--starting with oil savings of 2.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2015 and 5 million barrels per day by 2025. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will design and monitor the plan and other Federal agencies will have the power to issue regulations to make the plan a reality.

Second, the legislation will renew Detroit by helping U.S. auto makers manufacture more efficient vehicles that provide the same performance consumers expect. It will do this by providing funds for automakers to retool factories and help them commercialize new efficiency technologies such as plug-in hybrids and light-weight materials. In addition, the bill will help bring fuel-efficient tires into the marketplace and give authority to set efficiency standards for new heavytrucks.

Third, the bill will help develop a domestic alternative fuel economy by mandating incentives for cellulosic biofuels, creating an alternative fueling infrastructure fund for installation of alternative fuel pumps, and providing further incentives to purchase fuel efficient vehicles.

Finally, the bill provides for a nationwide oil security public education campaign to be administered by the Secretary of Energy.

If we implement these policies today we can make America a safer, healthier, and cleaner place. But Madam Speaker, we cannot delay action any longer. The longer we wait, the longer we are at risk for an energy security crisis or irreversible global warming.

Madam Speaker, I urge you to pass the DRIVE Act as soon as possible.

I thank my distinguished friend, the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, for giving me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6, the CLEAN Energy Act. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important legislation. When we passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Congress put the interests of Big Oil ahead of enacting a comprehensive energy bill for the American people.

Today we begin to right that wrong by repealing $14 billion in giveaways in tax loopholes to Big Oil. We are also repealing a provision which suspended the royalty fees from oil and gas companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico. We simply cannot let these companies off the hook for reaping record profits without paying their fair share.

We will then invest these funds in clean, renewable energy and energy efficiency and create a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve which will also promote new energy technologies and improve energy conservation. The 110th Congress presents us with a new opportunity to advance forward-thinking 21st century energy policy. As a matter of national security we must wean ourselves off of foreign oil.

I will be reintroducing the bipartisan Engel/Kingston DRIVE Act, also known as the Fuel Choices for American Security Act. I hope we pass that bill as well.

I thank the Chairman for yielding to me.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5. This legislation will help ease the burden of student loans that so many of today's young people face by cutting loan interest rates in half over the next 5 years.

As the father of three, I am all too familiar with the challenges of financing a college education. I have one child in law school, one in undergraduate school. It is very, very difficult. I can imagine the vast majority of the American families that don't make what Members of Congress make, how even more difficult it is for them. So a college education becomes out of reach for many families. It is very, very important.

We are going to cut student loan interest rates in half by the next 5 years. The vast majority of student loan borrowers are low to middle income students who are burdened with huge amounts of debt upon graduating. In my home State of New York, the average subsidized Stafford loan debt for a 4-year graduate is over $14,000, and a student starting school in 2007 will save $2,360 over the life of his loan; a student who starts school in 2011 will save over $4,500 over the life of this loan.

These are real savings put directly into the pockets of people who need it most, and I am proud that Democrats have made it a priority to make college more affordable in this 110th Congress. This is the right first step. I commend the Chairman and I commend the leadership of the Democrats here in the 110th Congress.

I thank my friend, the chairman; and I rise today in strong support of this bill.

We have an opportunity today to right one of the most troublesome provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act, the provision which prohibits the Secretary of HHS from using the bargaining power of 40 million American senior citizens and disabled Americans who are enrolled in the Medicare to negotiate more affordable drug prices.

It is simply common sense. We know that our senior citizens continue to struggle on fixed incomes to be able to purchase their prescription drugs in addition to essential basic living necessities, like food, electricity and rent. We know costs in the Medicare program continue to skyrocket. By negotiating prices, we may be able to achieve record drug savings for seniors while also shoring up the fiscal health of the Medicare program, thereby protecting U.S. taxpayer dollars.

I am troubled by the repeated false assertions on the other side of the aisle that this legislation would mandate price controls and limit seniors' access to drugs. Nothing can be further from the truth.

H.R. 4 continues to prohibit the Secretary of HHS from requiring a particular formulary, and it simply says we should give the government the best shot at trying to negotiate lower drug prices. No price controls. Even Tommy Thompson, who said he considers this bill one of his finest accomplishments, stated that he regretted the clause in the bill prohibiting HHS from negotiating drug prices. As Secretary Thompson notes firsthand, he was able to use HHS to negotiate key savings for Cipro during the anthrax attacks of 2003. So there is room for improvement.

I respect the research and development that the pharmaceutical companies conduct. Frankly, we should not bash the pharmaceutical companies. They do good work. I have a plant in my district that has created and manufactured terrific prescription drugs. I would never support a bill that I believe would stifle innovation at the expense of the American people. But I believe that we can and should promote policies which put more good options on the table. This bill does that, and I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I thank her for her leadership on this very important issue, as well as Mr. Castle.

I am proud to stand here today as an original cosponsor of H.R. 3, the Stem Cell Research Enactment Act.

We all remember that dark day last July when President Bush cast the first veto of his Presidency on legislation approved overwhelmingly by the House and Senate, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. To veto a bill that has the support of 72 percent of the American people and will do such good is simply unconscionable and indefensible as far as my concerned.

Despite what the critics may say, H.R. 3 doesn't end life. It honors life. As anyone who suffers from diabetes, Parkinson's disease, ALS, or a host of other debilitating health conditions knows, scientists believe that embryonic stem cells provide a real opportunity for devising unique treatments for these serious diseases.

Now, let me be absolutely clear. This is not about abortion. This is not about cloning. This is about the use of embryonic stem cells which would be discarded anyway, as the gentlewoman has pointed out. It has been estimated that there are currently 400,000 frozen embryos created during fertility treatments which would be destroyed if they are not donated for research. I would never condone the donation of embryos to science without the informed written consent of donors and strict regulations prohibiting financial compensation for potential donors. Our Nation's scientific research must adhere to the highest ethical standards, and H.R. 3 protects this.

The National Institutes of Health have admitted that U.S. science has fallen behind Europe and Asia in stem cell research because of President Bush's policy. While the number of States have committed significant funding towards embryonic stem cell research, NIH Director Zerhouni has noted that a patchwork collection of different stem cell policies in States could inhibit critical collaborations. We need a national commitment and a national directive on stem cell research.

Over 200 patient groups, universities and scientific societies have urged President Bush to expand the Federal policy on embryonic stem cell research. We must not allow those standing in the way of health and science to compromise the future well-being of our families and loved ones. Simply put, that would not be ethical. We must honor life by passing H.R. 3 today.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for allowing me to speak.

My colleagues, I cannot believe some of the rhetoric I am hearing from the Republican side of the aisle. The Republican ploy of combining tax cuts for the rich with the minimum wage increase is just simply mean-spirited and wrong. This bill should be passed cleanly and on its own. It has been close to 9 years since the last increase in the minimum wage, the second longest period without a pay raise since the Federal minimum wage law was first enacted in 1938.

While wages have remained stagnant, basic costs of living have skyrocketed. America's current minimum wage is simply not a liveable wage, and families are struggling to make ends meet as their living standards decline. An increase in the minimum wage is desperately needed if we are to lift those who are falling further and further behind. Raising the minimum wage is an issue of fairness, and it is time that we treat all working Americans with the fairness and equality they deserve.

I commend the Democratic leadership for including this in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress. Some 7.3 million people will benefit from a raise in the minimum wage, and we need to do this forthwith. Please vote for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the great President Gerald R. Ford, who has recently passed away. Gerald Ford was not only America's 38th president but he was also a dedicated husband, father, athlete and WWII veteran.

Born in Nebraska, Ford was an athletic young man. He was the star of his high school football team and continued to play football as a college student at the University of Michigan. He then went on to receive his law degree from Yale University. Shortly after graduating from Yale, Ford received a commission as ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and received numerous awards for his bravery and service during WWII. After returning from the war, Ford became more involved in politics, serving as member of the House of Representatives for 25 years, including 8 years as the Minority leader, and later becoming Vice President before taking the oath as President.

President Ford took power following one of the most difficult times in our Nation's history and brought America back together. Gerald Ford was a noble, honorable man who emerged as a leader at a time when Americans were questioning their government.

President Ford showed us that strength and integrity are indisputably important traits to have in order to successfully lead our great Nation.

As power has just changed hands in Congress, it is my hope that we will heed the legacy of Gerald Ford and always seek to stand together to face the challenges of the future. Gerald Ford will be sorely missed by all of the Americans that he touched. My heart goes out to all of his family members.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a co-sponsor of the bill, H.R. 6136.

Mr. Speaker, as home to 17 percent of the Nation's AIDS population, there are few pieces of legislation we will pass this year that are as profoundly important to New York as the Ryan White CARE Act. New York remains the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS crisis, leading the Nation in both the number of persons living with HIV/AIDS and the number of new cases of HIV/AIDS each year.

This vital program which provides lifesaving services for individuals with HIV/AIDS has unfortunately been relegated to a vicious formula fight over the past year pitting States against each other, with a lot of false statements being lodged along the way. I want to be clear that despite what some may say, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has not ``shifted,'' it has expanded. One-half of all people living with AIDS reside in five States: New York, California, Florida, Texas and New Jersey. Three of these States: NY, NJ, and FL, will continue to face losses under this reauthorization. There is no question that other States have mounting epidemics and they are absolutely entitled and deserving of more funding.

An ideal Ryan White bill would have ensured that every State had enough money to meet their full needs. I offered an amendment in committee to increase funding for the bill with Mr. Towns, Ms. Eshoo and Mrs. Capps. It failed on an essentially party line vote, which is a shame as this will minimize our ability to alleviate the growing unmet need for HIV/AIDS treatment services in our communities nationwide.

However, there is no question that through hard work and real compromise the bill that we will vote on today is dramatically better than the Ryan White bill we voted on September 28. I am proud to have been able to help negotiate changes with my House and Senate colleagues that will contain essential protections for New York and other States. While, NY will still endure losses that I believe are unjust for the State that remains the epicenter of the AIDS Crisis, the most draconian cuts have largely been mitigated and no longer threaten to decimate our State's system of care. For this we can all be proud.

I am also pleased that the troubling Severity of Need Index (SONI) provision, which would have taken State and local resources into account when determining Federal funding has been improved. We have always viewed caring for our HIV/AIDS patients as a partnership between the local, State and Federal governments and strongly believe the Severity of Need Index is a powerful disincentive for States and local areas to take action. In this bill, HRSA will be allowed to work towards developing a SONI but will be prohibited from

using it to determine Federal funding in this reauthorization. Another victory for responsible public policy.

Finally, it was an astute decision to intentionally shorten this reauthorization from 5 to 3 years to incentivize the stakeholders and authorizing committees to work swiftly and astutely on crafting a new Ryan White bill that will be more just for all HIV/AIDS patients nationwide.

Is this the bill I wanted? Of course not. I remain concerned that States' differing HIV surveillance systems will prevent funding from truly following the epidemic during the 3 years of the reauthorization. However, I am grateful that this bill strongly limits formula losses to counter potential undeserved funding shifts.

So, in the end, our mutual compromise has resulted in a new bill that we can accept if not embrace. I wish to thank all the people who worked so hard on this bill, including John Ford and William Garner of Mr. Dingell's staff who strove to accommodate so many varying regional concerns about HIV/AIDS. I am grateful for the tireless efforts of the NY delegation, the New York Department of Health and NYC Mayor's office who worked many long nights and weekends with us to help advocate for the best possible bill we could negotiate. This was certainly a team effort, and I know that the knowledge gained from the countless hours of discussions we have had over the past year will strengthen our ability to craft an even better Ryan White reauthorization in 3 years.