Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of assisting the millions of workers who have exhausted their Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits and are still struggling to find work in the wreckage of the Bush recession.

While cutting taxes for the very richest, the President has left workers to fend for themselves. Congress has a responsibility to mend our safety net and lessen the impact of unemployment. In my home State of California, over 180,000 workers have run out of UI benefits, with an additional 520,000 expected to join them over the next 10 months. Even our Republican Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has called on Congress to extend benefits.

This legislation is simple. It will provide 13 additional weeks of UI to workers who are still unable to find employment after exhausting benefits. In States with high unemployment, an additional 13 weeks would be made available. All benefits will be paid out of the UI Trust Fund, which has $35 billion in reserves. Extending UI benefits is also commonplace. During the last seven recessions--1958, 1961, 1972, 1975, 1982, 1991, and 2002--Congress has passed similar legislation. The circumstances for unemployed workers are actually more dire today than they were during the past two downturns. Long-term unemployment is twice as high (18.5 percent of those without jobs have been unemployed for six months or more) as it was when Congress extended benefits in 2002 and 1991.

The time to act is now. The economy has lost 324,000 jobs during the last 5 months. Gas and food prices are at or above record highs. Foreclosures continue to ravish communities across the country. Over 28 million Americans are receiving food stamps--an all-time high.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill will provide benefits to 3.8 million unemployed workers. I urge all of my colleagues to exercise common sense and compassion and provide much needed support to working families by voting ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. John Bernard on his retirement on June 30, 2008 from the Newark Unified School District. Dr. Bernard has served as Superintendent of Schools for the school district since July 2003.

A native of the Bay Area, Dr. Bernard is a product of the Oakland Public Schools, as are his three grown children. He and his wife have been married for 39 years and have five grandchildren.

Dr. Bernard has held a number of positions of leadership in various school districts throughout the state of California. He served for 4 years as Superintendent of Schools for the Novato Unified School district and for 4 years as Superintendent of Schools for the Bakersfield City School District. He also served as Director of K-12 Instruction, and later as Assistant Superintendent, in the Mt. Diablo Unified School district in Contra Costa County. Dr. Bernard began his career as an educator in the San Francisco Unified School District, where he spent 20 years as a classroom teacher, resource teacher, assistant principal, personnel administrator and principal.

Dr. Bernard earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from San Francisco State University in psychology and education administration, respectively. He earned his doctorate in multicultural education from the University of San Francisco. He continues to teach graduate courses at local universities and is often invited to speak, throughout the state, the nation and abroad, at conferences on instructional leadership, multicultural education, and education technology issues.

As Dr. Bernard retires, he leaves a legacy of outstanding experience and service to our children and the field of education. His commitment to education is noteworthy and I join the community in thanking him for his exemplary contributions.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Earlie Mays, who is retiring from his position as International Representative of the United Auto Workers, Region 5, after 31 years of exemplary service. Earlie has been based in Fremont, California, through much of his career in the labor movement. I have been privileged over the years to work with him on issues of importance to working men and women.

Upon his graduation from high school in 1963, Earlie enrolled in Laney Junior College in Oakland, California, and soon thereafter he was hired at Oakland's General Motors Plant (GM). He always had a great love for the Auto Workers' Union and was fiercely dedicated to workers' rights. He also had a great thirst for knowledge with a goal of promoting the welfare of others. In 1970, Earlie took a leave of absence from GM and attended the UC Berkeley Institute of Industrial Relations, where he earned a certificate in Labor Studies. Immediately upon receiving his certificate, he was recruited by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees' National Union to organize and service its Northern California local unions. During this period, Earlie honed his skills as a negotiator, grievance handler, organizer, and negotiator of collective bargaining agreements.

Earlie returned to GM, which relocated to Fremont, California, and worked himself up through the ranks of labor. He was elected to various positions, including Alternate Committeeman, Executive Board Member at Large, and Chairperson of the Civil Rights Committee. He continued his educational endeavors attending United Auto Worker Summer Schools and the Walter and May Reuther Educational Center in Black Lake, Michigan. He frequently conducted classes for rank and file members in various subjects.

In 1973, Earlie was elected Chairman of the Bargaining Committee of the General Motors Plant in Fremont. In doing so he became the youngest person, as well as the first African-American, to hold that office. His adept bargaining skills earned respect for the UAW.

Earlie served for sixteen years as a Commissioner on the California Prison Board as an appointee of California Governors Jerry Brown and George Deukmejian. He has served as President of the Western Region A. Philip Randolph Institute, as Director of the UAW Regional Civil Rights Program, and as a member of the NAACP and the American Red Cross.

I join the community in thanking Earlie Mays for his exemplary career in labor and his dedication to community service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Amit Zutshi, whose untimely death at age 30 on March 19, 2008 saddened the entire community.

Amit was a resident of Fremont, California and shall be remembered fondly for the difference he made in the lives of others. Amit comes from an active family committed to community service. He followed his family's dedication to activism and the promotion of unity.

Amit was born at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles and graduated from Mission San Jose High School in 1995. He attended graduate school and was working toward an MBA from University of Phoenix after receiving degrees in information technology and business. He was employed by Microsoft and also worked for an eCommerce company in Santa Clara, California.

On May 30, 2008, Amit's younger brother Rahul will introduce the Amit Zutshi Foundation. The Foundation's focus will be on children in need of social and community based services to help them thrive. May 30 also marks the 7th annual meeting of the Indo American Community Federation, a group Amit's father Jeevan founded to celebrate diversity.

It is fitting that Amit's memory be honored by the formation of the Amit Zutshi Foundation. Amit leaves a legacy of hard work and caring for others. The Foundation will honor his legacy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to a Farm Bill Conference Report (H.R. 2419) that will continue our wasteful agricultural policy for another five years. It is a rare day indeed that I agree with President Bush, but he is absolutely right to have issued a veto threat of this bill.

With farm income and food prices at or near record highs, now is the perfect time for reform. Unfortunately, this conference report, while masquerading as a reform package, simply tinkers around the edges of our bloated agri-business subsidies. Our current ``farm policy'' is little more than corporate welfare, with benefits flowing to large corporate operations at the expense of small farmers, both here and abroad, who actually need help. Under current policy the top 10 percent of recipients received 75 percent of all subsidies, while 67 percent of farms receive nothing. This is not good for rural communities, small farms, or taxpayers.

At best, this conference report represents ``half a loaf,'' as the group Bread for the World has said. The conferees got the nutrition title right and I commend them for it. There are important changes to the eligibility rules for the food stamps program as well as a raise in the minimum benefit. These changes, along with increases in funding for emergency food aid will have a real impact on the millions of families who are struggling to put food on their tables. If all this bill contained were the nutrition title, I would proudly support it. For all the conference accomplished on nutrition, they failed in greater measure on reforming farm subsidies.

Proponents of the conference report argue that it represents ``reform.'' They can't be serious. Under this so-called reform, farmers filing jointly could have an adjusted gross income, AGI, of $2.5 million, or $1 million if their only source of income is farm-related and they could still receive subsidies. This amounts to cutting off only 0.3 percent of farmers from the dole. The report does nothing to means test countercyclical payments. Furthermore, the report creates an entirely new $4 billion permanent disaster program that is not only wasteful and redundant, but will also encourage pushing marginal and environmentally sensitive land into production. This is not reform.

Real reform would mean eliminating all subsidizes for corn-based ethanol, which have driven up food costs around the world. Real reform would mean ending direct payments except for farmers who actually need assistance. By passing this bill, Congress is missing a golden opportunity to enact real reform. We should not wait another five years to make our farm policy equitable and responsible. By rejecting the conference report we can begin the important work of enacting a fair Farm Bill. I urge all of my colleagues to vote no.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support two important pieces of legislation that will both keep families in their homes, and increase the supply of affordable housing.

After years of lax regulatory oversight driven by the discredited ideology of the Bush administration and a rubber-stamp Republican Congress, our Nation is faced with a housing crisis. Sub-prime loans, once the darlings of Wall Street, are now adjusting upward and millions of families have lost their homes or are facing foreclosure. In just the first 3 months of 2008, over 113,000 foreclosure notices have gone out to families in California. President Bush has responded by providing a $30 billion bailout to Bear-Stearns, a major cause of the mess in the first place. Today, the Democratic-led Congress is proposing a real solution that will assist real families, and all the President has offered is a veto threat.

I support both the Neighborhood Stabilization Act (H.R. 5818) and the Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221). Together, they offer a comprehensive approach that will protect families, stabilize home prices, and expand affordable housing options around the Nation.

This legislation will allow homeowners trapped in untenable mortgages to refinance into FHA-backed mortgages. Lenders and borrowers must each take responsibility by lowering the outstanding principal, and demonstrating an ability to repay, respectively. Requiring borrowers to provide a portion of resale profits to the government further lessens taxpayer exposure. The legislation also provides loans and grants to states to acquire foreclosed properties and turn them into affordable units for both sale and rent. Finally, this bill includes tax provisions aimed at assisting first-time homebuyers, easing the burden of property tax bills, and expanding financing of low-income housing projects.

Just as important is what this legislation does not do. Unlike the bill passed by the Senate, these bills do not provide irresponsible and unnecessary tax breaks to homebuilders, nor do they include a tax incentive to purchase foreclosed properties that would likely increase the number of foreclosures.

I urge all my colleagues to support both bills before us today, and vote for policies that will stem the tide of foreclosures and provide real help to struggling families. If the Federal Government can provide a handout to Wall Street, we can certainly offer a hand up to families.

Madam Speaker, I would add my congratulations and praise to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter) and the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) for the work that they have done to bring this bill finally to the floor for passage. It is a bill that has languished for over a decade. It is good to see that times have changed. We moved expeditiously last year through three committees and on to the floor, and it will leave this chamber today and head to the White House for the President's signature. It is a small but long overdue step toward approving our health care system and preventing employment discrimination, and ensures that our laws governing patients' rights are as current as the latest medical technology.

Simply stated, the legislation provides peace of mind, and encourages people to take advantage of the miracles of modern medicine without fear of reprisal or consequences at work or in health care or in qualifying for insurance.

GINA, as it is known, prohibits insurers and employees from using the genetic information to discriminate. Thus, a woman who has decided to find out whether she carries the breast cancer gene need not worry about losing her job or health insurance merely because she sought the test. Enactment of this law is critical to protect patients and is needed to encourage people to use robust genetic research and to encourage more research. Additional research will help us determine when we men will get colon cancer or prostate cancer, and not be afraid to go and receive those tests for fear of being discriminated against.

This legislation enjoys broad bipartisan support of more than 500 groups representing patients, employees, physicians, providers, and others who value the protection that this legislation provides. I urge strong support for this bill.

I ask unanimous consent that I be able to yield the balance of our time for the Ways and Means Committee to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), and that he control the balance of our time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Douglas M. Treadway, who is retiring as president/superintendent of the Ohlone Community College District based in Fremont, California. Dr. Treadway assumed his duties at Ohlone on July 1, 2003. He is retiring on May 16, 2008, at which time his friends, admirers and colleagues will pay tribute to his exemplary leadership in education.

Dr. Treadway holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Northwestern University and pursued postdoctoral study at Harvard University. In addition to his chief executive officer career, he has served on the faculties of Northwestern University, the University of Hawaii and Oregon State University. He is the author of 20 research and scholarly publications in the fields of higher education, community and human development.

Prior to his tenure at Ohlone College, Dr. Treadway served 9 years as president/superintendent of Shasta College in Redding, California. He has held other higher education executive officer positions including: chancellor of the North Dakota University System, president of Southwest Minnesota State University and president of Western Montana State College.

During his time as president/superintendent of Ohlone College, enrollment has grown by 10 percent, with a total enrollment at the college exceeding 19,000 students annually.

Under his visionary leadership, the Ohlone College Newark campus was developed on vacant land to become a 135,000 square-foot Center for the Health Sciences and Technology, enrolling close to 3,000 students during its first semester.

As one of the founders of the American Association of Sustainability in Higher Education, Dr. Treadway lead Ohlone to adopt an environmental sustainability policy that has resulted in LEED platinum certification for the Ohlone College Newark Center from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Dr. Treadway's community and professional service is exemplary. He has devoted many hours providing leadership in education and making a difference through his involvement in community service organizations.

Maximizing human potential in teaching, learning and leadership has been the hallmark of Dr. Treadway's work during his tenure in education. He has achieved a level of excellence and commitment that is a model of success. I wish Dr. Treadway every success with his well- deserved retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the historic Art Deco Alameda Theater, in Alameda, California. The theater first opened in 1932 and boasted one of the largest screens in the Bay Area. Designed by the prominent San Francisco architect, Timothy L. Pflueger, the theater opened shortly after another one of Pflueger's historically significant theaters, the Paramount in Oakland, California.

The 2 theaters share many of the same finishes and details. The Alameda Theater building was under private ownership and in continuous operation as a cinema until 1979. It has undergone a number of adverse changes to its interior finishes since that time. The deteriorating theater sat vacant or underutilized until the City of Alameda acquired the property in July 2006 and commenced restoration efforts in November 2006.

The Alameda Theater restoration project is the signature component of a larger downtown revitalization project in the city's Park Street Historic District. A newly built movie Cineplex will be a part of the Alameda Theater complex and all patrons will enter through the historic Art Deco Alameda Theater lobby to access all the screens in the Cineplex.

The Alameda Theater restoration project is a public/private partnership that resulted in the blend of a new theater complex and the saving of a historic treasure in the City of Alameda.

The City will celebrate the reopening of the Alameda Theater at a gala on May 21st and a civic ceremony on May 24th. I am confident theater goers will appreciate the restored historic Art Deco Alameda Theater and will enjoy the entertainment benefits it will bring for years to come. Congratulations to the city of Alameda and all who had a hand in the development and completion of the historic Alameda Theater Restoration Project.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with Representatives George Miller, Lynn Woolsey, and Carolyn Maloney to introduce a bill that will bring our Nation up to date with the rest of the world. One hundred and sixty-nine countries guarantee some form of paid family leave. The U.S. is part of an illustrious four-member club of nations--including Liberia, Papua New Guinea, and Swaziland--that fail to provide security for new parents or those caring for a loved one. The ``Family Leave Insurance Act'' will guarantee that workers will no longer have to choose between their jobs and their families.

Since becoming law 15 years ago, the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA, has provided job protection and guaranteed leave for millions of workers. Unfortunately, the FMLA is limited to workers employed by large employers--only 45 percent of the private sector workforce--and, because the leave is unpaid, lower income workers can seldom afford to take it. Recent studies have found that 78 percent of FMLA eligible workers who wanted to take leave did not do so because they could not afford it. At a time of recession and tightening family budgets, this predicament is only getting worse.

A few years ago, my home State of California enacted the first paid family leave law in the country. The law has proven to be wildly popular. Despite the protests of business groups at the time the law was passed, most employers have come to embrace the law and realize that it facilitates continuity, productivity, and job satisfaction. Paid leave helps workers to strike a balance between work and family. Such a balance has real benefits for children. A Harvard School of Public Health study found that the education and health of children improves substantially when parents have work flexibility and paid leave. When parents are able to act as caregivers for a sick child, hospital stays are reduced by 31 percent. Parental involvement is also associated with higher achievement in language and math, improved behavior, and lower dropout rates.

The ``Family Leave Insurance Act'' takes the next logical and necessary step by implementing a comprehensive paid leave program that will cover all workers. The middle class is getting squeezed: hours are longer, job security is lower, and families have less time together. A report by the President's Council of Economic Advisers found that between 1969 and 1999 children lost 22 hours per week with their parents. Workers and their families need greater flexibility and support. Yet, according to the Department of Labor, only 8 percent of private employers provide paid leave. Clearly, there is room for improvement. This bill will:

Provide all workers with 12 weeks of paid leave over a 12-month period to care for a new child, provide for an ill family member, treat their own illness, or deal with an exigency caused by the deployment of a member of the military;

Provide these benefits through a new trust fund that is financed equally by employers and employees, who will each contribute 0.2 percent of the employee's pay;

Progressively tier the benefits so that a low-wage worker (earning less than $30,000) will receive full or near full salary replacement, middle-income workers ($30,000-$60,000) receive 55 percent wage replacement, and higher earners (over $60,000) receive 40-45 percent, with the benefit capped at approximately $800 per week;

Administer the program through the Department of Labor which will contract with states to administer the program (similar to how the Unemployment Insurance program is run);

Allow states and businesses with materially equivalent or better benefits to opt-out of the program.

The ``Family Leave Insurance Act'' is endorsed by the National Partnership for Women and Families, the AFL-CIO, the California Labor Federation, Voices for America's Children, First Focus, and the National Employment Law Project.

Members of Congress are constantly talking about family values. Let's go beyond talk and take action that families will actually value. I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the ``Family Leave Insurance Act.'' We can strengthen families, make business more competitive, and create a better future for our country. The time to act is now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for H.R. 5613, the ``Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008.'' This bill stops George Bush's draconian attempt to gut the Medicaid program, which provides medical care to millions of low-income children and families.

If we fail to enact this bill, more than $20 billion in vital Federal funding for States will disappear. This is $20 billion that helps schools provide transportation for physically disabled children, allows local governments to contribute to the State Medicaid share, and trains physicians.

This President has presided over the greatest transition from boom to bust since the 1920s. As families face foreclosure and rising food and gas costs, States see declining sales tax receipts and greater numbers in need of assistance. Our President would add insult to injury for working families by dismantling their safety net.

The seven regulations proposed by the Bush administration would undermine longstanding practices upon which States have built their Medicaid programs. The regulations are opposed by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers; all the Nation's Governors from both sides of the aisle; and a host of public health, physician, and patient advocates. The bill passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. In this day and age, that is a remarkable phenomenon. I am proud to join colleagues from both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of this moratorium and to protect the health care safety net for America's working families.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of legislation that will save thousands of lives around the world. By allowing poor countries to use scarce resources to provide for the health and well being of their citizens rather than to repay debt to wealthy nations, we are doing what is humane, right, and just.

Many nations struggling to escape the grip of poverty are imprisoned by debt that siphons off large portions of their budgets. In many cases, any type of debt relief is conditioned on adoption of policies that privatize large sections of the economy and primarily benefit international corporations. Such a ``Hobbesian choice'' undermines sovereignty and exacerbates poverty. There is another way that can lift up nations and allow them to invest in their own citizens rather than sending money to foreign capitols, while maintaining control of their

own economies. The ``Jubilee Act'' before us today provides such an alternative.

This legislation will expand our existing debt relief program to cancel the debts of the world's 24 poorest countries and provide greater relief to many more without imposing harsh economic conditions. Even under the current limited relief program, numerous countries have made great strides:

Mozambique was able to vaccinate 500,000 additional children;

Uganda doubled enrollment in public schools;

Zambia hired 4,500 new teachers and eliminated health care fees.

Imagine the progress that can be made if we pass this bill and bring debt relief within reach of virtually all of the world's most impoverished nations.

Debt cancellation under this legislation is not simply a handout that could be used by corrupt regimes to enrich their cronies or build their militaries. This legislation makes eligibility contingent on using the savings to reduce poverty. Countries are ineligible if their government lacks transparency, violates human rights, or spends excessively on defense.

We have a moral obligation to help alleviate suffering in our own country and around the world. At a time when much of the world has lost faith in America as a beacon of freedom and compassion, it is also in our self-interest to restore this lost faith and lift countries out of poverty. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in voting for this legislation.

Madam Speaker and my colleagues, as dean of the California delegation, it's my privilege, my honor, and my pleasure to introduce the newest Member of the California delegation, Jackie Speier.

Jackie was overwhelmingly elected by the residents of California's 12th Congressional District this week in a special election to succeed our late and esteemed colleague Tom Lantos. Prior to his passing, Tom endorsed Jackie for the seat, and I know he would share our pride in welcoming her today.

Jackie first came to Congress with me, with my class, as Chief of Staff for Congressman Leo Ryan, who held the same congressional seat that she has just won. She was in Guyana with Leo helping to investigate the Reverend Jim Jones when her boss was assassinated and Jackie was seriously wounded.

She survived and went on to serve as the youngest member ever elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and served 10 years in the State Assembly, another 8 years in the California Senate.

She comes to us with an outstanding record of legislative victories, which she will, no doubt, extend in the U.S. Congress.

I would like you to join me in welcoming Jackie; her husband, Barry; and her children, Jackson and Stephanie to our congressional family.

Welcome, Jackie.

Madam Speaker, I yield to my assistant dean, the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier).

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Moina Shaiq, the 2008 Woman of Achievement award recipient designated by California's Tenth Senate District. Moina is an exemplary community leader in the 13th Congressional District. She will receive her award on Saturday, April 5, 2008, from California State Senator Ellen Corbett.

Moina and her husband, Mohammed, have been residents of Fremont, CA, for the past 25 years and are the parents of four children. She has bachelor degrees in economics and psychology. Moina was a small business owner from 1991 to 1997. After the birth of her daughter, Samah, she chose to stay home and become more involved in community affairs. She has since been involved in a major way and has contributed tireless hours, making a positive difference in her community.

Numerous organizations continue to benefit from Moina's commitment, expertise and talents. She is a co-founder of the Muslim Support Network, established to improve the health and well-being of elders in the Muslim communities of Union City, Newark, and Fremont; serves as chair of the Fremont City Human Relations Commission; is a member of the Washington Hospital Foundation; and was a founder of the Muslim Spiritual Care Program for Kaiser Permanente.

Moina serves on the board of the Tri City Elder Coalition, coordinates the Community Ambassadors Program for Seniors and volunteers her service to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's Citizens Advisory Committee, the Tri-City Interfaith Council, the Fremont Alliance for a Hate Free Community and the American Cancer Society.

I join the family, friends and admirers of Moina Shaiq who will gather on April 5 to commend her for her tireless volunteer efforts. The honor she will receive as the 2008 Woman of Achievement award is well deserved. She continues to set the standard for community service and is a model to follow.

Madam Speaker, Dr. Cecil C. Cutting, the pioneering physician who served as the first Executive Director of The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG) died Sunday, March 2 at the age of 97. His death came one day after the physicians of TPMG came together to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the group, and to honor his contributions and the Medical Group's achievements.

Dr. Cutting was the first physician hired by Dr. Sidney R Garfield when Dr. Garfield joined forces with Henry J. Kaiser to provide prevention-oriented, prepaid care for the workers building the Grand Coulee Dam in 1938. When the U.S. entered World War II, and Henry Kaiser was awarded the contract to build Liberty ships in the shipyards in Oakland and Richmond, Drs. Garfield and Cutting moved the innovative health care program to Richmond, California. They provided medical care for Kaiser's 200,000 workers at wartime shipyards in Richmond, California; Vancouver, Washington; and Portland, Oregon, as well as at Kaiser's Steel Mill in Fontana, California. Based on the quality of care they were able to provide to the shipyard workers, Henry Kaiser's shipyards set records for the speed with which seaworthy Liberty ships were completed in support of the war effort. The program was so successful, and the care delivered of such high quality, that the unions representing the workers convinced Drs. Garfield and Cutting and Mr. Kaiser to open the program to the public when the war ended in 1945.

On February 21, 1948, Dr. Cutting, Dr. Garfield and five physician colleagues founded The Permanente Medical Group, and selected Dr. Cutting as the first Executive Director, a role he held for 20 years. Under his extraordinary leadership, and in the face of serious opposition from organized medicine at the county, state, and national levels, a firm foundation was laid that set TPMG on course to become the largest and most successful medical group in the country, and Kaiser Permanente the largest non-profit private health care program in America.

Dr. Cutting was born in 1910 in Campbell, California. He received his A.B. and MD degrees from Stanford University, and completed his residency at Stanford Lane Hospital and San Francisco County Hospital in surgery and orthopedics in 1938, just as Dr. Garfield began recruiting physicians to provide care for the workers at the Grand Coulee Dam site. Despite a warning from then Stanford Medical School Dean Loren Chandler, who felt that he ``could never permit Cecil to get mixed up in such an operation,'' and opposition from physician colleagues in the Bay Area who argued that prepaid group practice was ``unethical,'' Dr. Cutting was attracted by the idea of combining prepayment, prevention, and group practice, and envisioned an opportunity to redefine health care delivery based on those precepts. He joined Dr. Garfield at Grand Coulee, and formed a collegial and professional partnership that would span more than 40 years, and have a profound impact on care delivery in the United States. Together they built an ethical care delivery system founded on the precepts of integration, prepayment, prevention, and multispecialty group practice, and committed to quality care, stewardship of member resources, and community benefit.

Dr. Cutting ensured that the physicians of The Permanente Medical Group would be responsible for the organization of medical services, and would have the freedom and independence collectively to manage and take responsibility for both the quality and value of the care and service provided. He established robust investments in health education and health promotion, began a research program which led to the establishment of the Division of Research, and established the first medicine and surgery residency programs in Kaiser Permanente. Throughout his life, he was one of the country's leading advocates for the benefit to society, and to the profession, of prepaid group practice.

``We wanted to create a medical environment in which the doctors' work would be interesting and stimulating, where they would have reasonable income and security, and very importantly . . . fit into the accepted framework and code of ethics of American medicine, while at the same time develop an effective and efficient alternative to fee- for-service practice,'' he once said. Speaking at the White House Conference on Health in 1965 he challenged health care policy makers to shift the emphasis in public debate toward keeping people well: ``We ought to promote an enthusiasm for taking care of ourselves.''

That same year he addressed the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and forecast the arrival of the electronic medical record, encouraging his peers not to feel threatened by computers. In the dawn of the computer age, he predicted that ``All [medical] histories and findings would be recorded by computers and made available to the physician,'' Dr. Cutting told AAAS. ``This mechanization must not be construed as an impersonalization of the relationships between the physician and his patient. The challenge is to do quite the opposite. By increasing the physician's knowledge of the patient . . . his time with the patient should be much more constructively utilized to know the patient as a person and to guide him through sickness.''

Above all else, Dr. Cutting is remembered for his loyalty to The Permanente Medical Group, and his commitment to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program.

Dr. Robert Pearl, the Executive Director and CEO of TPMG, noted that ``the organizational DNA which Dr. Cutting helped to create 60 years ago can be seen today in our outstanding quality outcomes and our national leadership in disease prevention, cardiovascular care, genetic research, deployment of advanced IT systems and health care policy.'' In 2007 TPMG established the Cecil C. Cutting Leadership Award, to recognize outstanding physician leaders, and in recognition of Dr. Cutting's extraordinary contributions as Executive Director of The Permanente Medical Group, and the contributions he made to improving health care in the United States.