Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognition of the achievements of Dr. Wayne Giles, Chancellor Emeritus of the Metropolitan Community Colleges (MCC) in the Greater Kansas City area. Dr. Giles retired as Chancellor on June 30, 2005 after 22 years of distinguished service to MCC and our community. He served as Vice- Chancellor for Educational Services for the first ten years and the past twelve as Chancellor. He has been a tireless advocate for urban education and has implemented programs that have brought national recognition to the Community College system. For this reason and many more, I rise today to honor and celebrate his achievements.

Wayne Giles' tenure with the Metropolitan Community Colleges has been fruitful for the bi-state area, the State of Missouri, and our entire Nation. Dr. Giles has overseen the establishment of two new campuses during his tenure, bringing the total to five community colleges in a system that serves approximately 43,000 students each year. The Longview campus was the first community college in the United States to be recognized as a College of the Year by Time Magazine and the Princeton Review. The Business and Technology College is the first community college in the country to earn ISO 9002 certification, which places it within a select group of companies and organizations worldwide that have achieved this quality standard.

Dr. Giles has brought many innovative enhancements to MCC, most recently with the development of writing intensive and diversity courses as part of the general education learning requirements. To best serve MCC's increasingly diverse population, he initiated a faculty internship program, which will be featured at this year's American Association of Community Colleges national conference. This program has significantly increased the number of MCC faculty of color in the last two years.

Wayne Giles has served on numerous committees, including: Member of the Presidents Advisory Council, NCATC from 2000 to present--a national network of resources that advocates and promotes the use of technology that enhances economic and workforce development programs and services; Member from 1993 to present, and President in 1994 of RC-2000--a national organization of presidents and chancellors of urban community colleges; Member of the Missouri Training and Employment Council from 2001 to present; Member from 2001 to present of the Coordinating Board for Higher Education Resource Group for Postsecondary Technical Education; and as a Member of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education Advisory Committee from 1990 to present, serving as Chair in 1998.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Wayne Giles, not only for his unwavering effort to educate youth and adults in the Greater Kansas City area, but also for his courage in bringing about diversity in education and providing a vehicle for workforce training to our citizens. I urge my colleagues to please join me, in congratulating Wayne on his retirement as Chancellor of the Metropolitan Community Colleges, and in celebrating his invaluable contributions and sacrifices to provide educational and employment opportunities to constituents of the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri and throughout our region.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my friend for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, at no time in our Nation's history has the need for affordable housing been so great. As the price of owning a house has risen all over America, the poverty level has risen to almost 13 percent, and now Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left thousands more Americans, many of limited income, homeless.

The bill we will consider today takes a critical step toward addressing our Nation's affordable housing crisis. By establishing an affordable housing fund, we are increasing the supply of affordable homes to low- and very low-income families. As a member of the Committee on Financial Services, I was proud to see the inclusion of an affordable housing fund in the bill and proud to support the bill in committee.

Seeing this bipartisan support for this bill provided one of those moments when we can just say, oh, happy days. But this important provision will be for naught should one amendment made in order by the Rules Committee pass. The Oxley amendment would disqualify nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations, from participating in the fund if they engage in voter participation or get-out-the-vote activities. And it effectively prevents many nonprofits from participating.

As an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, I come to this discussion from a unique perspective. Mr. Speaker, it is the mission of the United Methodist Church and every denomination and every faith group in our world to serve the poor and vulnerable. For my church, the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, an important part of the mission is to shelter the poor, and that is why we started in 1985 a section 202 project not far from our church.

Mr. Speaker, I grew up one of those vulnerable citizens. I am not sure how many Members of the United States Congress lived in public housing, but I did. My family, including my three sisters and mother and father, lived in a shack, literally a two-room shack. My mother and father both worked all day every day, and I can tell you, growing up in public housing, not one time did we ever see a candidate canvassing our community, not one time do I remember any kind of effort to get the citizens to vote.

I do not ever even remember seeing a voting precinct until I was about 17 years old because the elected officials knew that the poor do not vote. They knew that if you were poor, you were preoccupied with survival, and so there was no civic or political involvement. It was, how can we make it one more day?

We have created a culture in low-income neighborhoods where people do not participate in the political process, and what we need is to democratize the low-income neighborhoods of our communities. And if you go around, I do not care whether you are Republican or Democrat or just a lazy person, if you go and look at the voting returns, you will find that people who live in low-income neighborhoods do not vote. And I do not care who you are, you ought to want to get people to vote.

This is the United States of America. We are strong only if we are able to get all of our citizens to participate in the political process.

Someone used the term ``liberal.'' If liberal means that I care, then color me liberal. And understand this: Caring may hurt, but not caring hurts more. We can do better than this. America can do better than this.

Mr. Speaker, at no time in our Nation's history has the need for affordable housing been so great. As the price of owning a home has risen all over America, the poverty level has risen to almost 13 percent. And now Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have left thousands more Americans, many of limited means, homeless.

The bill we will consider today takes a critical step forward toward addressing our Nation's affordable housing crisis. By establishing an affordable housing fund, we are increasing the supply of affordable homes to low- and very low-income families. As a member of the Financial Services Committee, I was proud to see the inclusion of affordable housing fund in the bill, and proud to support the bill in committee. Seeing the bipartisan support for this bill provides one of those moments when we can say, ``O Happy Day''. But this important provision will be for naught should one amendment made in order by the Rules Committee pass. The Oxley amendment would disqualify nonprofit organizations, including faith-based organizations, from participating in the fund if they engage in voter registration or get-out the vote activities, and it effectively prevents many nonprofits from participating.

As an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church, I come to this discussion from a unique perspective, Mr. Speaker. It is the mission of the United Methodist Church, and every denomination and faith group in our world, as it is of many religious orders and communities, to serve the poor and vulnerable. For my church, St. James United Methodist in Kansas City, an important part of that mission is to shelter the poor by providing affordable housing. But an equally important part of that mission is empowering the poor and vulnerable by supporting their full participation in the Democratic process.

I grew up one of those vulnerable citizens--my family, by any standard of measurement was financially poor. Until the age of 7, I lived in a shack--literally a two room shack--with my mother, my father, and my three sisters. We had no indoor plumbing and for a while, no electricity. My family moved into public housing when I was 7. I can tell you, growing up, no candidates canvassed our community and few, if any residents in our projects voted. My great-grandfather, who lived until age 103, never once voted in his life. I say this as a point of illustration. The poor and vulnerable are often those who need the most help to fully participate in our democracy. When you

live in public housing, you are preoccupied with economic survival.

Let me be perfectly clear, Mr. Speaker, by forcing faith-based organizations and other nonprofits to choose between participating in the Affordable Housing Fund or engaging in constitutionally protected voter registration and get out the vote activities with their own funds, the Oxley amendment limits the full participation of our Nation's most vulnerable citizens in our democracy.

I keep a photograph of the shack where I grew up hanging on the wall in my office to remind me that I have been given the opportunity to speak for those who cannot, and represent in this the interests of the most vulnerable and voiceless American citizens here in the Congress. Every day when I go to work for the people of my district and the citizens of our country, I walk out of the front door of that shack. But whose interests are being served by passing these restrictions? We're not serving the interests of the faith-based community or the poor. These restrictions serve only the political purposes of some study group that should not have the power to derail democracy in our land. It is an assault on the poor in this country, and it is obscene.

Vote ``no'' on the Rule and vote ``no'' on the Oxley amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognition of the achievements of Judge Fernando Gaitan, Jr., an important resident of the 5th Congressional District of Missouri, and current United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. Judge Gaitan was recently inducted into the Missouri Walk of Fame, during a reception as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference, an event held to honor the achievements of African- Americans who have made significant contributions to Missouri.

Judge Gaitan graduated from Pittsburg State University in 1970, and earned his law degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City-- where he was member of the Law Review. Judge Gaitan served first as a state trial judge for the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit in Kansas City, Missouri. He then went on to serve as an appellate judge on the Missouri Court of Appeals-Western District. He was elevated to the federal bench in 1991 by then-President George H. W. Bush. By the appointment of then Chief Justice William Rehnquist, he also served in the Federal-State Jurisdiction Committee of the Judicial Conference from 1997-2003.

With a great desire to share this incalculable knowledge and experience with others in the community, Judge Gaitan serves as adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. In addition, he is a member of many non-for-profit boards as well as local, state and national bar associations.

Throughout his career, Judge Gaitan has been noted for his steadfast judicial prudence. His rulings have been noted for their fairness and adherence to the letter and intent of the law. His scholarly approach to judicial decisions coupled with his fundamental commitment to equality and equity are well regarded across the federal judiciary.

For those reasons and more, it was indeed an honor and privilege to recognize Judge Gaitan at the Missouri Walk of Fame reception, hosted by myself and fellow colleague, Missouri Representative William Lacy Clay of St. Louis.

Mr. Speaker, please join with me in expressing our appreciation to Judge Gaitan and his endless commitment to serving the residents of the State of Missouri. He is a true role model not just to the African- American community in Missouri, but to the entire African American community at large. May his success serve as a stepping stone for many other African-Americans eager to be just as successful in their endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today in recognition of the achievements of Dr. Gayle Holliday, a constituent of the 5th District of Missouri which I am honored to represent. For over thirty years Gayle has dedicated her life to the Greater Kansas City, MO community, promoting and improving socio-economic conditions, political empowerment and civil rights of people of color.

I recently had the opportunity to pay tribute to Gayle for her extraordinary commitment to community service. During the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 35th Annual Legislative Conference, I had the privilege of nominating Gayle for the Congressional Black Caucus Spouses' Celebration of Leadership Unsung Hero Award. While this award carries no monetary prize, it is no less a testament to her devotion to bettering our area.

Helping her both personally and professionally is her tremendous educational background. Gayle holds a BA in Political Sciences, a Masters in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Management and Applied Technology. Professionally, she is the President and owner of G & H Consulting, LLC, which has been in business for over 10 years, helping clients in the public, private and non-profit sector with strategic planning and business plan development. Additionally, under President Clinton, Gayle was selected as one of a small group of individuals to represent the transportation industry on the President's transition team.

Civically, Gayle serves on twelve boards in the Greater Kansas City area, with diverse interests such as issues of healthcare, education and economic development. Gayle has been happily and eagerly ready to help our community amassing more than 70 hours of community service each month. She is also a member of the church I pastor, St. James Methodist Church, and finds time to serve as chair of the Pastor Parish Staff Relations Committee.

Dr. Holliday's work on behalf of others reaches from behind the scenes to the frontlines. In all of her activities, she demonstrates her dedication and commitment to the greater food of others. Her high energy pace translates directly to the results she is able to obtain for the benefit of all in our area. Regardless of whether she is in the trenches or the boardroom, her poise and thoughtfulness is ever present.

Throughout her life, Gayle Holliday has exercised a tireless belief in the principle of putting ``other'' before ``self.'' But what separates Gayle from those who simply profess to hold a belief but do nothing to promote it, is that she has put her principles to practice, and the effects of her efforts can be felt throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area. That is why it was indeed an honor for me to be able to recognize her during the CBCF's Annual Legislative Conference. It is also why I am doubly honored to be able to recognize her here along with my colleagues, in the U.S. House of Representatives. While it is but a small acknowledgement for all of the work she has done, it is a heart-felt gesture, taking strength from the myriad lives she has touched in our hometown.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our appreciation to Dr. Gayle Holliday and her commitment to helping others. She is a living testament to the unspoken principle that defines unsung heroes: to be a great leader you must be a great servant.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained from the Chamber today during rollcall vote 520. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to pay tribute to Thomas Healy and Alphapointe Association for the Blind, who will retire from the organization September 30, 2005. During his 25 year tenure as President and CEO, Thomas has been the guiding force behind Alphapointe's flourishing as a nonprofit organization in the Greater Kansas City community.

Mr. Healy has been a community leader at Alphapointe for his 34 years with the organization, and as President and CEO helped Alphapointe achieve heights worthy of praise by the organization's founder, Catherine Hale.

To understand how deeply Mr. Healy has touched the Greater Kansas City community, we must all understand what a unique company he has been leading. Founded in 1911 and originally incorporated as the Kansas City Association for the Blind in 1916, Alphapointe was first a group of blind men and women who gathered together for company and recreation. Originally a social organization, Alphapointe has expanded its sense of purpose to provide not only needed social services like rehabilitation and educational services, but also jobs.

Today, the company proudly manufactures over 30 million plastic bottles for pharmaceuticals and over 11 million writing instruments each year. It is not the volume or product of Alphapointe's production that makes it unique; it is the composition of the company's employee base. Over half of the employees, from management to custodial staff, are blind or disabled. Remaining true to its foundation, Alphapointe continues to provide a place of community for all. Under his leadership and guidance, Thomas has helped this vital organization grow from a company of 55 employees to more than 160 earning more than $20 million per year.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues in the House join me in saluting Mr. Thomas Healy and Alphapointe Association for the Blind for their years of dedicated service to the City of Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding metropolitan community. Thank you Thomas, we will miss seeing you at the helm, but know you will continue to be an advocate and guided voice in our area as a member of Alphapointe's Advisory Board of Directors.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and my goal here is to make a point, not to make an enemy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and in strong opposition to the Boustany amendment and to add my name to the chorus of religious individuals and organizations that oppose this ill- conceived and harmful amendment.

As an ordained minister of the United Methodist Church, I recognize the important role faith-based organizations play in providing educational, health, and social support services to low-income children and their parents. The faith-based community has long played an active role in operating Head Start programs and has done so while upholding the Constitution and civil rights standards. By the faith community, we have been able to provide all kinds of services. In fact, my first job after college was working in Catholic Charities, which received tens of millions of Federal dollars to run programs.

Mr. Speaker, this is not only bad policy; this is bad theology. In my religious tradition, we give great recognition to the Apostle Paul, who said: ``There is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free,'' and it goes on to say: ``Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering.'' That is not in this amendment.

Proponents of this amendment claim it is necessary to protect religious freedom. I will tell you now, as a pastor, that I take offense at that claim. How is religious freedom served when we force a teacher to choose between her faith and her job? How is it religious freedom when we tell children that they can lose their teacher because she or he is from the wrong faith? How is it religious freedom when we frustrate the laws of the land?

And make no mistake, should this amendment pass, the children served by Head Start, those most at risk, would be the ones who suffer. Tens of thousands of children currently in Head Start could lose their teachers to whom they have bonded.

And their parents could be denied the chance to climb out of poverty by moving from Head Start, discriminating against current and potential teachers because of religion, causing children to lose one of the most important adults in their lives, denying parents the chance to elevate themselves out of poverty.

There is no doubt in my mind that these things are not only harmful, they are immoral. This is not good for America. This body has no business undoing prohibitions against bigotry.

Churches have been seen historically as a citadel for justice, a place of peace, a place of racial harmony. This can be seen as a subterfuge for bigotry. When someone comes to the St. James United Methodist Church, which I pastor, they know that they are going to be considered for employment based on their qualifications and there is no subterfuge for bigotry.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in recognition of our guest Chaplain, Dr. Steve Houpe, founder and Pastor of the Harvest Church in Kansas City, Missouri.

Soon after his graduation and ordination from Rhema Bible Training Center in 1986, Dr. Houpe began his ministry and founded Harvest Church, one of the fastest-growing congregations in our community.

But this was just the beginning. Dr. Houpe had a strong calling to education; and, in 1990, he founded Harvest Christian Schools, now Faith Academy, to educate children in a Christian environment with a strong academic emphasis. And, in 1996, he founded Harvest Bible Institute to teach men and women to give of themselves for service in the ministry. Dr. Houpe has also been called to bring the word of God into the homes of people beyond his congregation through his authorship of four inspirational books.

Pastor Houpe further devotes himself to his wife Donna and their six beautiful children.

Pastor Houpe has touched countless lives in our community and across this Nation, and we are pleased to have him here today.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina is almost unfathomable. Hundreds of lives have been lost; families have been torn apart; people's homes, jobs, possessions and everything they have built up over their entire lives has been swept away; billions of dollars in damage has been inflicted; and the coast along the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida has been flattened and flooded. New Orleans, the Big Easy, the Crescent City, the culinary capital of the Nation, has simply become an extension of Lake Pontchartrain. It is now clear that Hurricane Katrina is one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit America.

My son Evan graduated in May from Dillard University in New Orleans and was still there when Katrina struck, and I thank God that he escaped with his life; but like so many others, he lost most of his possessions when Katrina pulled back the roof of the apartment building where he lived. Having now been separated from his friends, his work and his adopted city, his life will never be the same.

Although he lost almost everything, he was able to retrieve his video camera and was able to record what is now left of New Orleans. He shared that video with his mother and me this past week; and although I cannot fathom what it is like for those who have experienced Katrina's wrath firsthand, I can tell my colleagues that I was deeply, deeply saddened and affected by the images of utter devastation wrought by the storm.

Seeing that video reinforced my resolve to help Katrina's victims, help rebuild the Gulf Coast; and it reinforced in my mind that there is an incredible

need for prayer. That is why I decided to introduce this resolution for a national day of prayer and remembrance.

Many in our Nation believe, as do I, that prayer changes things and that it represents the highest level of human communication. As many of us now know, this Friday, September 16, has been designated as a day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina; and my resolution, the resolution we are currently considering, expresses the support of Congress for such a day and urges all Americans to join together this Friday to remember those that have lost their lives and to ask for strength and determination for those that are trying to rebuild their lives and their city.

In the wake of tragedy, the American people have always stepped up to support their fellow man and woman, and Hurricane Katrina is no different. The American people have opened their hearts, their checkbooks and even their homes in sheltering the storm's victims, providing food and medical assistance, and donating hundreds of millions of dollars to the relief effort.

In my home State of Missouri, for example, Children's Mercy Hospital of Kansas City, Missouri, has opened their doors to a number of young patients and families flown in from New Orleans by the Missouri Air National Guard, and the Red Cross has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in Kansas City.

The compassion and generosity of the American people is unparalleled; but as the devastation and full impact of Hurricane Katrina is further understood, its victims and their families will more than ever need us all to keep them in our thoughts and prayers as well.

As senior pastor of the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, I have called on my congregation to support the evacuees with their time, talent, treasure and prayer. I have asked them to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, their families and all those who are aiding in the recovery and relief effort.

I hope my colleagues will all join me in the support of this resolution and will join me in prayer, along with the President, at the National Cathedral this Friday and join the American people to remember all those affected by the devastating events of the past 2 weeks.

Mr. Speaker, my heart and my prayers go out to all those caught in the path of Hurricane Katrina and the conditions they are suffering in its wake. Katrina was a hurricane of biblical proportions that has left thousands of people without food, clean water, shelter and medicine, particularly those people stranded in New Orleans where conditions are absolutely unlivable and public safety is virtually nonexistent. They have waited for days hoping for at least some sort of information about when they might get to escape their ravaged city and where they will go next.

With the chaos and looting that has ensued in New Orleans, it is critical that our government get in there and provide the necessary relief--not tomorrow, not next week, but right now. People are dying on the streets; the President and the Federal Government cannot afford to waste another minute.

It is inexcusable that the President and his administration did not act more swiftly to provide the basic necessities of survival to the victims, nor did they act swiftly to ensure the City's public safety. As the richest nation in the world and the world's only superpower, we ought to be ashamed. With so many troops abroad in Iraq attempting to secure a whole nation, it is inexcusable that we cannot secure one city on our own shores.

That is why I am pleased that Congress acted quickly today to pass legislation providing $10.5 billion in emergency funds for the relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The Supplemental Appropriations Act will deliver $10 billion in emergency aid for FEMA and $500 million for the Department of Defense.

However, this is only a down payment. FEMA is currently spending $500 million a day and under this scenario, the $10 billion for FEMA will provide only another 20 days as they continue to assess the needs of the devastated communities.

It could take months for families to find homes and establish some sort of normalcy in their day-to-day life, and I call on the President and the Federal Government to remain committed to helping people rebuild their lives.

Each of us has in some way been personally touched by this horrific tragedy. For my wife Dianne and I, it was waiting for our youngest son, Evan, to make his way to our house after escaping the disaster of New Orleans. We were further touched as we learned that a family member of a parishioner at the Church I pastor, St. James United Methodist, was given refuge by a kind elderly couple after being stranded in a home surrounded by water. Fortunately, the Coast Guard rescued them all on Sunday morning. All of us have a duty to reach out to those in greatest need.

Americans will stand strong together to help our brothers and sisters in their time of dire need, and the Kansas City area is no exception. Children's Mercy Hospital has already opened their doors to twenty-four sick children and their families flown in from New Orleans by the Missouri Air National Guard, and the Red Cross has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from Kansas Citians. The outpouring of support from across the country has been phenomenal, and I am confident that our citizens will remain resolute until the job is done.

Mr Speaker, I proudly rise today to pay tribute to Mr. Lyle K. Querry, a political activist, humanitarian, and a man of faith, whose legacy continues to enrich the lives of all Kansas Citians. After 24 years of service, Keith, as he is known by all his friends, retired on June 30, 2005, as the Business Manager and Financial Secretary for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, IBEW, Local 53. His dedication and commitment spanned 48 years as a member of IBEW and his service to the Kansas City community is the reason for this recognition and celebration.

Keith's reputation as a leader within the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the community, and political organizations extends beyond the borders of the Fifth Congressional District of Missouri and even of our Nation. Among the many accolades Keith has received over the years was the prestigious Outstanding Leadership Award by the Heart of America United Way in 1988. In 1995, he received the distinguished Harry S. Truman Democratic Achievement Award, named in honor of a former Independence, Missouri, resident, and one of our country's most respected public servants, the 33rd President of the United States. Keith's steadfast commitment to and respect by the IBEW was rewarded when he was named to the Law Committee for their 33rd and 34th conventions held in 1986 and in 1988, respectively. As of July 1 of this year and despite ``retiring'', Keith was appointed as an International Representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Keith has not only been an active member of the IBEW and many political organizations, he has also contributed his time, energy, and expertise to numerous civic organizations in the metropolitan area. He has served as an executive board member of the Heart of America Central Labor Council, was a board member of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and a board member of the Jackson County United Way. He is currently serving on the boards of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the Labor Management Council of Greater Kansas City, as a member of the executive committee of the Missouri State Democratic Party, as a committeeman for the 8th Senatorial District, and as chairman of both the IBEW Outside Task Force and Local 53 Safety Committee. He also serves as chairman for both the Missouri Valley Line Constructors Apprenticeship and Training group as well as the Line Construction Benefit Fund.

Born in 1938, a graduate of Fort Osage High School and a member of St. Matthews Presbyterian Church, Keith and his lovely wife Sandy will celebrate their 45th anniversary in October of this year. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Ronda and Tricia, and grandparents to five grandchildren, Marissa, Robert, Allen, Shannon, and Tyler. Over the years, Keith and Sandy have been one of the most influential and respected couples within the Missouri Democratic Party and have regularly been delegates at Democratic National Conventions.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Lyle Keith Querry, for his relentless efforts in protecting and assisting the rights of others, while extending the labor movement, not only within the boundaries of the Fifth Congressional District, but within the United States and the entire global community. He represents the best in all of us. I urge my colleagues of the 109th Congress to please join me in congratulating Keith on his retirement from the 2,000 member Local 53 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Although we know that he has not completely retired, the desire of this body is that Keith Querry will enjoy the community he helped build.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the achievements of Dick Kurtenbach, the former Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Kansas and Western Missouri and tireless advocate for the constitutional rights of Americans. Mr. Kurtenbach retired on June 30th, 2005 after 20 years of distinguished service to

the ACLU and his community. For this reason, I rise today to honor and celebrate his life achievements.

Dick Kurtenbach's tenure with the American Civil Liberties Union has been prolific for the Western Missouri and Kansas region as well as fruitful for the entire Nation. He oversaw notable litigation, such as Cruzan v. Director of the Missouri Department of Health, which was herd by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1990. The ruling was a victory, by recognizing that patients are entitled to the fulfillment of their end- of-life care wishes. More importantly, the case raised much needed public awareness towards the importance of living wills, medical proxies, and other means of documenting those wishes and was lauded as a success by supporters. However, Dick's unwavering commitment to the values of liberty didn't always make him friends. In 1989, while I served on the City Council, his office filed suit on behalf of the Missouri Knights of the Ku Klux Klan arguing that the Kansas City, Missouri City Council had violated the Klan's First Amendment rights by denying them access to rant on a public cable TV channel. I remember being interviewed with Dick on ``The Today Show'' in New York City. As we walked out of the NBC studios, it was obvious that he was painfully uncomfortable having appeared to side with a group like the Klan. All I could do was put an arm on his shoulder and say, ``Hey, I understand what you're doing and why.'' It is a tough job but he has done it time and time again. Dick's steadfast refusal to compromise on something as precious as our civil liberties is representative of the purity and character of the American way.

Dick Kurtenbach had been the Executive Director of the Kansas and Western Missouri ACLU since 1985 and was responsible for their original merger. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director of the Nebraska Civil Liberties Union from 1979 through 1985. He has worked on several Senate and Congressional campaigns, as well as for the Nebraska Democratic Party. Dick is a veteran of the United States Army, having served on active duty from 1967 to 1970, including 15 months of service in Southeast Asia. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Kansas City Civil Rights Consortium, The Human Rights Project, and the Western Missouri Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Dick graduated from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Bachelors of Arts degree and is married to Joette Pelster.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Dick Kurtenbach, not only for his unwavering efforts to preserve the tenets of our Constitution, but also for his courage in defending the individual rights of citizens, no matter how unpopular or difficult. I urge my colleagues to please join me, in congratulating Dick on his retirement as Executive Director of the Kansas and Western Missouri American Civil Liberties Union, and in celebrating his invaluable contributions and sacrifices to the cause of freedom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor five firefighters from my district, Missouri's Fifth, who selflessly risked their lives in the line of duty. On February 23, 2004, Captain Patrick Martin, Firefighter Marvin Donaldson, Firefighter David Bradley, Firefighter Stephen Johnson, and Mr. Sean McKarnin responded to a fire at a residence in South Kansas City not far from where I live. Upon their arrival at the scene, they came under heavy and rapid gunfire from a nearby residence and were pinned down for nearly 30 minutes while the fire raged. In the midst of this chaos, a paramedic who also responded to the scene was shot. The team members successfully pulled her to safety and eventually extinguished the fire.

Today, these five heroes will be awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor by President Bush. He will recognize their extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. The medal is the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer and only 10 public safety officers will receive this award this year.

I commend those firefighters for their exceptional courage and decisiveness in an extraordinary situation and know my colleagues will join me in honoring them today.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Madam Speaker, I have introduced H. Res. 347, a resolution that condemns Mexico for printing and distributing blatantly racist postage stamps; and I am, along with many others, urging Mexican President Vicente Fox to immediately cease printing and distributing the postage stamps and recall from circulation those postage stamps currently on the market.

Madam Speaker, Mexican-Americans and African-Americans have fought for decades to eliminate and erase racial stereotypes and depictions that dominated all forms of media in the early 20th century. On June 29, 2005, the government of Mexico issued a series of five postage stamps commemorating and celebrating Memin Pinguin, a comic book character created in the 1940s who was depicted as a dark-skinned Jim Crow era cartoon. And while this character is depicted as a black child with dark skin and greatly exaggerated lips, similar Jim Crow memorabilia referred to when I was a boy as Pickaninny and his mother Mammy were all over this country. Due to a rise in sensitivity, those things have pretty much been removed from sight. But this particular comic book series is interesting because it is now current. Memin Pinguin is a character who is taunted by white colleagues for his appearance, his speech and mannerisms. The Mexican postal service has authorized the issuance of 750,000 of the stamps which may be used in the Mexican domestic market and the international market. Civil rights organizations such as the National Council of La Raza, I am proud to say; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, I am proud to say; the National Urban League; and the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition have denounced the racist postage stamp series.

I would also say, Madam Speaker, that the Hispanic Caucus of our Congress has also condemned these stamps. This insult comes on the heels of Mexican President Vicente Fox's quote last month as saying the Mexican citizens in this country will work on jobs that even blacks don't want. Ultimately, he apologized for making that statement, but, Madam Speaker, he is sticking by the stamps, even though the President of the United States of America, George Bush, has also condemned the stamps.

This resolution is aimed at getting the people of Mexico, if not the president, to demand that this kind of thing be stopped. Ancestors of Mexican blacks entered that country centuries ago through the Caribbean port city of

Veracruz, and they were slave laborers. They worked in the sugar fields of Mexico. Today, the population of blacks living in Mexico is about 1 million; that is 1 million out of 105 million people. And so they have a small population. But no person of color can appreciate what they have done. Madam Speaker, the stamps are insulting hopefully to all people of good will but certainly to people of color. Memin Pinguin is depicted as a part man, part monkey or chimpanzee. This character is presented as some stupid half-animal, half-human person out of the jungles, and it is very difficult for me to find this amusing in any way. It is this kind of cultural terrorism that has done damage to the psyche of little children of color for decades and decades. There is not a single parent who should feel good about their child growing up looking at this kind of image of themselves, because this damages their somebody-ness.

Madam Speaker, there are five stamps in this series, and each one, if you look at them as they have been released, becomes progressively more insulting, until the last stamp has Memin standing in front of his mother, Aunt Jemima, with a towel in her hand. And she too is looked at, at least projected as a half-woman, half-ape. With her towel in her hand, she is half bending, and this kind of insult to people of color seems to happen in Mexico with increased intensity. Mexican President Fox stated that the stamp is an image in a comic book, and he said that he has watched this character since infancy, he says, and I quote, It is cherished here in Mexico; the other minorities or the Afro-Americans or Latins, I would suggest to them first, read the magazine.

Madam Speaker, I do not need to read the magazine. In my city, in Kansas City, some of the Native Americans spoke to me during my term as mayor, saying that the tomahawk chop used at the Chiefs football games was insulting to them. I had done the tomahawk chop at the games when the Chiefs scored and did it without any regard to anybody or anything. But I did not realize that it was insulting to some of the Native Americans, and eventually, I said to them, if it is insulting to you, I will stop doing it. I will encourage others with whom I come in contact to stop doing it. The one thing I did not say to him is, you should not be upset. If I have a toothache, I do not want a dentist to tell me you should not hurt. If I hurt, I hurt. And if people respect me, if people have any sensitivity at all, they will say, he hurts, therefore, I will not contribute further to his pain.

This, Madam Speaker, is hurtful. It is damaging, and the more it continues, the more young kids are going to be hurt. My hope, even my prayer, is that the day will soon pass when this kind of thing will be something we talk about in the ugly and distant past, something that we do not have to worry about dealing with now. This is 2005. This is the kind of thing that many African-Americans experienced living in the South when they had lawn jockeys out on the greenery in front of large plantations. No one would have thought just a short while ago that, in 2005, this kind of thing would still be around, this kind of thing would still stare us in the face to insult us and to do further damage to our children. To date, 750,000 of these stamps have been purchased. That racial stereotype will now appear on letters going both inside Mexico and around the world. This is a total lack of respect for people of color.

I am also pleased that the Congressional Black Caucus has released a statement. The chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, U.S. Representative Melvin Watt from North Carolina, released the following statement: The members of the Congressional Black Caucus find the stamps insensitive, racist and an insult to people everywhere, and we call on President Vicente Fox to recall the stamps immediately and to issue an apology to all people of African descent. The stamps are offensive and perpetuate a negative stereotype of people of Africa. Again, we call on President Fox to repudiate the issuance of these stamps and to announce his commitment to address the problem of racism, yes, even in Mexico.

Madam Speaker, growing up, I had to deal with this on a daily basis. Bug-eyed, big-lipped, half-human, half-chimpanzee hybrids were portrayed all around us, and there was nothing we could do except to take it. It was an insult for me to grow up having a teacher read Little Black Sambo. The only book with people who looked like me when I was growing up was Little Black Sambo, and the only thing he did of substance was to eat a lot of pancakes. I hope people understand that they are hurting other human creatures. This should not take place in the 21st century.

As President Fox is justifying what has been done, I would like to remind him that, not long ago, in fact, it was in 1969, there was a Frito Bandito cartoon character that hit the airwaves here in the United States. And he was used to advertise some corn chips. But Frito Bandito was pulled off the air when Mexicans protested, when they came to the conclusion that this was an insult portraying all of them as some little shady Mexican character who was actually a thief, bandito. But the good news is that the Frito Lay corn chip company did pull the ad. And so there is at least a precedent for pulling back when people find out they are hurting other people.

Madam Speaker, my request again is for all the Members of this great body to join in being a sponsor of this resolution to help denounce something that is wrong, to show that all the people of this Nation, black, white and brown, are united in their attempt to eliminate stereotypes. It would be a powerful, powerful move by this Congress if all of us joined forces to condemn this.

I am also pleased to say, Madam Speaker, that there are a number of Republicans who have also come in along with a number of Democrats and, as I have said earlier, the President of the United States has condemned this, the minority leader and the minority whip are also condemning what they consider to be something that is degrading and demeaning, not just to people of color but to the people of the world.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne).

Madam Speaker, I would like to express appreciation to the gentleman from New Jersey for his very eloquent and passionate words concerning something that I am angry about.

Madam Speaker, I have grandsons who are growing up now in this country who I do not want to be negatively impressed by these kinds of stereotypes. I do not want my children or my children's children or anyone's children to be subjected to this kind of insult. This is outrageous.

Madam Speaker, this is not just a caricature. For many people around the world it is a belief, and those of us who are sensitive and those of us who are impacted would like to erase this as a belief.

Some day, caricatures like this will not matter. We will have dealt finally with this bogeyman race. But this is not that day.

Some day, Little Black Sambo will not matter. We will look back and laugh at it. But today is not that day.

A recent appointee to the D.C. Circuit has said that using the ``N'' word, even in a workplace when discrimination is also an issue, is protected speech. I think that is very dangerous. Now, some day, using the ``N'' word will not matter. But today is not that day.

Some day, the president of Mexico will be outraged that something like this ever took place. But this is not that day.

Some day, a call for racial sensitivity in this body will not be needed. But today is not that day.

Some day, the country of Mexico will have a President who respects the citizens of the entire world. But, sadly, Madam Speaker, today is not that day.

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

Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 10 o'clock and 25 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Tuesday, July 12, 2005, at 9 a.m., for morning hour debates.