Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 125th Anniversary of the Laurel Grove Baptist Church and to celebrate the triumph of human spirit that this church symbolizes.

Before the Civil War, Mrs. Jane Carroll, who was a slave of Dennis Johnston, received 10 acres of land from the estate of her owner. From these humble beginnings, a small but vibrant African American community developed.

In the mid 1800's, George Carroll, one of Jane Carroll's children, along with Thornton Gray and William Jasper, settled in what is now known as Franconia. These three men had been enslaved or were the direct descendents of those who had been enslaved in the Franconia area since the 1700's. The community that they founded became known as Carrolltown.

Carrolltown grew. Freed slaves settled there, bringing the talents and skills that form a community. A general store sprung up. A school was founded, the Laurel Grove Colored School, on land donated by William and Georgeanna Jasper. But there was no house of worship in the town. The people of Carrolltown had to worship in their homes or walk 13 miles to the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria City.

In 1884, a group of freed slaves and neighbors named George Carroll, Middleton Braxton, Thornton Gray, Laurenda Huntger, Elizabeth Lomax and William and Georgeanna Jasper, joined together in the quest to build a local place of worship. On May 10, 1884, William and Georgeanna Jasper donated a one-half acre parcel of land for the express purpose of building a house of worship adjacent to the Laurel Grove Colored School. This church became the Laurel Grove Baptist Church and has been known by many as ``The Little Church by the Side of the Road''.

Since that time, over the course of 125 years, the Laurel Grove Baptist Church has ministered to neighbors, friends and descendents of the original founders and the community as a whole. Laurel Grove Baptist Church has stood witness to the history of African Americans in the United States. From the bondage of slavery, to the struggle for equal rights to the election of the first African American President, the spirit and faith of the African American community has been represented by the existence of the Laurel Grove Baptist Church. The determination of the congregants, past and present, has been symbolic of the fight for freedom, equality, fairness and respect.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Laurel Grove Baptist Church on the occasion of its 125th Anniversary and also in expressing our deepest respect and admiration for the triumph of spirit that is symbolized by this ``Little Church by the Side of the Road''.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology for being designated a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School. In 2009, 314 schools from 47 states were named National Blue Ribbon Schools. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology is one of only two high schools from Virginia so honored for 2009 and in fact, is the only public high school in the Commonwealth to receive this prestigious designation.

The National Blue Ribbon School Program began in 1982 as part of a larger Department of Education effort to identify and disseminate knowledge about best school leadership and teaching practices. Since the program's inception, over 6,150 American schools have received this coveted award. This award honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools that are either academically superior or have made dramatic gains in student achievement and helped close gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has a long history of academic excellence. It has fielded more National Merit Semifinalists than any other high school in America for most of the 1990s and 2000s. From 2000 to 2005, it fielded more United States of America Mathematical Olympiad qualifiers than any other high school in America and has a distinguished history of U.S. Physics Olympiad Team members and medal winners. In 2007 the school had more Intel Science Talent Search Semifinalists (14) than any other school and in 2009, this feat was repeated with 15 semifinalists.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was ranked as the top high school in the nation by PrepReview in 2004. In that same year, it had the highest average SAT score among all American high schools, both public and private.

It was also ranked number 1 among ``America's Best High Schools'' in a study by U.S. News and World Report in 2007 and again in 2008. For schools with more than 800 students in grades 10-12, TJHSST was cited as having the highest-performing AP Calculus BC, AP Chemistry, AP French Language, AP Government and Politics: U.S., and AP U.S. History courses among all schools worldwide.

It is fitting that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology can now add its designation as a National Blue Ribbon School to their extensive list of other extraordinary achievements.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology on receiving this honor. I also ask my colleagues to join me in thanking the principal, Dr. Evan Glazer along with the entire staff, student body and their families for their commitment to excellence in education.

Madam Speaker, I rise today because in the Sturm und Drang of the health care debate, the voices and stories of real Americans have been drowned out, drowned out by misinformation, fear mongering and just outright demagoguery.

If we listen to those stories, we would hear of families struggling to pay dramatically increasing health care costs. We would hear of individuals denied coverage due to a previous existing medical condition. And we would hear of employees left without a choice of health care insurance providers. It is time we heard their voices.

In my district, the wealthiest in the Nation as measured by median household income, families are struggling with the rapid increase in health care costs. Recently I met with a family of four from Fairfax County whose health insurance premiums rose from 2001 at $4,000 per year to 2009 at $18,000 per year. Let me repeat that. In the space of 7 years, their costs went from $4,000 a year for health insurance premiums to $18,000. That is a 450 percent increase, Madam Speaker. In the same time period, coincidentally, the profits of the 10 largest insurers in this country rose 428 percent.

In fact, over the past decade, the average health insurance premium has almost doubled, increasing nearly three times as much as wages. And they are still rising. Health insurance premiums are anticipated to increase 10.5 percent this year. This means a projected increase next year of almost $2,000 for the family I met.

So while the insurance companies reap the benefits of a failing system, millions of families across the Nation, just like this family in Fairfax with whom I met, are waking up every day worrying how much longer will they be able to afford to protect their families with health care insurance.

And what, Madam Speaker, of the millions of Americans with previous existing conditions? Gall stones. Rheumatoid arthritis. Diabetes. Asthma. High blood pressure. Even severe acne has been described as a previously existing by some health insurance companies. In fact, 45 percent of all of us who have health insurance have a previous existing medical condition, and, if we are lucky to live long enough, virtually all us will end up with a previous existing medical condition and at risk of not being covered by our health insurance providers.

If you have a previous existing condition, insurance companies will often either deny coverage for that specific ailment, or worse, drop you altogether. Millions of Americans face this every year. Millions find they are not insured. Who is listening to their voices?

Madam Speaker I know of a young paraplegic, the victim of a virus that attacked his spinal column and therefore frequently has medical complications. He went to five insurance companies looking for coverage. He knew he was a greater health care risk and he was prepared to pay a higher premium for that risk. What he wasn't prepared for was that all five insurers denied him coverage at all. No health care coverage whatsoever. Due to a previous existing condition, he had no chance for insurance. And he is not alone.

That is why we must ensure that insurance companies end the practice of cherry-picking only healthy individuals and denying coverage for previous existing conditions.

Those Americans that are currently covered by health insurance often lack true choice in providers. Health insurance operates through risk pools. The larger the pool of people paying insurance premiums, the greater the insurance company can balance the risk of having to pay out for the sake of the injured. Unfortunately, between 2007 and 2008, the number of uninsured among the 18-34 age bracket, traditionally the healthiest group in our society, increased by 630,000, or 3.5 percent.

In other words, younger people were less covered by health insurance in that time period. Those of us remaining in the health pool paid more as a result for our insurance premiums.

When taking on new customers, insurance companies often have been far more willing to provide affordable coverage to larger groups. But even a company with 1,000 employees represents only a small number of overall customers, which is why most workers who have employer-provided insurance have the option of just one or two insurance providers. That is not competition.

For those working for a small business, the options are even fewer. Now, only 43 percent of all small businesses in America offer health insurance to their employees because they can't afford it. As health care premiums continue to rise, more and more companies drop coverage and more and more Americans find themselves without health care coverage.

So what happens to those Americans, Madam Speaker, whose jobs no longer provide insurance? What happens to those Americans who are self- employed or working part-time? Their voices have been drowned out in this debate, and I think it is time we heard from them.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the week of September 6 through September 12 as National Suicide Prevention Week. Suicide is a public health problem and suicide prevention is a responsibility we all must share.

The reality of suicide is staggering. Did you know that in the United States more people die by suicide each year than homicide? Suicide is now the leading cause of death among people from the age 15 to 24. In fact, the suicide rate for those 15-24 years old has more than doubled since the mid-1950s.

It is estimated that 5 million people in the United States are survivors of a loved one's suicide. Many of us, myself included, have been touched by teenage suicide. For every completed suicide by a youth, it is estimated that 100 to 200 attempts are made. Each year, there are approximately 10 youth suicides for every 100,000 youth. Each day, there are nearly a dozen youth suicides, and every 2 hours and 5 minutes, a person under the age of 25 commits suicide.

Most suicidal individuals do not want to die, but they do not know how to end the pain they are experiencing nor do they comprehend the permanence of their act. They use their behavior as a means of coping with stress and calling out for help. We must assist these individuals. Not all adolescent attempters may admit their intent so we must look for the signs of at-risk behavior, such as the expression of hopelessness, sadness, or threats to hurt oneself. We must be aware of the abuse of drugs or alcohol, withdrawal from family and friends, or increased aggressive or impulsive behavior.

When suicidal behaviors are detected early, lives can be saved. As a community, we must promote awareness that suicide is a public health problem and develop strategies to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and suicide prevention services. There are services available in our communities to address the behaviors and underlying causes of suicide. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting National Suicide Prevention Week, because together we can reduce the number of lives shaken by a needless and tragic death.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to respond to some of what I've just heard on the floor of the House of Representatives. I think it's important to know--and certainly my constituents do--that the crushing debt left behind from the last 8 years of ruinous Republican control was a debt inherited by this Congress and this administration because of Republican policies, of the refusal to pay for the programs they undertook, of the willingness to allow PAYGO legislation to expire, to provide a medical care provision in the Medicare D prescription drug benefit that was not paid for, and to have two ruinous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that were off budget. I think it's important that our constituents understand who was responsible for the debt we now have to manage and the debt we have to get away from.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 179) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the bravery and fortitude of a very special and courageous constituent of mine, Brittany Leap; and her mother, Sandy, and father, Richard. In February 2006, Brittany was diagnosed with a debilitating and degenerative disorder--Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation,

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the lifelong commitment to public service of Matthew Glomb, a devoted father and husband, a loyal friend to his colleagues, and an admired member of greater Prince William, VA.

Mr. Glomb pursued a career in the U.S. Coast Guard's Corps of the Judge Advocate General, serving at one point as a Military Judge. Following his tenure with the Coast Guard, Mr. Glomb continued his service to our Nation in the Aviation-Admiralty Office of the U.S. Department of Justice, where he specialized in maritime law.

Tragically, Mr. Glomb was fatally struck by lightning on Monday, July 27, 2009, at the age of 49. He was jogging along the beach of Southern Shores, NC, in the Outer Banks while vacationing with his son at their family beach house. He died instantly, leaving behind his wife and two children.

Mr. Glomb is remembered by those closest to him as a man of deep faith who immediately cared about everyone he met, and he will forever be revered as having an unparalleled sense of humor, and an unwavering commitment to serving others.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the accomplishments of this dedicated public servant and in expressing our condolences to the entire Glomb family.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to include into the Record the Harvard Kennedy Graduate School Bulletin for Winter 2009, honoring the public service of Warren I. Cikins. Warren has spent 50 years as a dedicated public servant. He started out in this body, as a legislative assistant to former Congressman Brooks Hays of Arkansas. His public service spanned stints in the Kennedy White House, with the Commission on Civil Rights, with the U.S. Agency on International Development, with the Equal Opportunity Commission, and with Chief Justice Warren Burger. Warren also was one of my predecessors on the Fairfax County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors, ably serving his constituents.

The article I am including in the record provides an example of a truly exemplary public servant, and the value of one person's dedication. In it, Warren is quoted as saying, ``I was committed to making a difference.'' Madam Speaker, I have known him for many years and I can proudly attest that Warren Cikins has indeed made a positive difference in his community and in our nation.

Harvard Kennedy Gratuate School Bulletin Winter 2009

Warren Cikins MPA 1954 remembers how his decision to attend

the Kennedy School--then the Littauer School--was met with

skepticism by peers and mentors alike. His closest friends

from his undergraduate days at Harvard were going into

medicine, business, and law. His father had dreamed of his

becoming an engineer, and one of his government professors

wondered aloud; ``Why go here? Make a lot of money, then go

into public service.''

But he never doubted his career choice. His ambition, he

says, began as a boy, living in Dorchester, Massachusetts,

listening to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on the radio

talk to the American people.

``It was always my intent to serve the public; I was

committed to making a difference,'' says Cikins, 78, who grew

up in a devout Orthodox Jewish household. Nothing, it seemed

to him, could be more important than the work of the public

servant.

Looking back, Cikins says he has no regrets. His career,

spanning more than 50 years and including work with all three

branches of government, overlapped with many of the country's

pivotal events. In his first full-time job after the Kennedy

School, he served as legislative assistant to Arkansas

Congressman Brooks Hays when Hays intervened in Governor

Orval Faubus's attempt to block the integration of Little

Rock's Central High School--an effort that would later cost

Hays his seat.

Cikins served with Hays in the Kennedy White House after

first serving as Hays' assistant when he was appointed

Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations. At

the Commission on Civil Rights in 1964 Cikins helped bring

about the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He

followed with stints at the United States Agency for

International Development (USAID), where he sought to attract

highly qualified minorities, and at the Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

A self-described moderate liberal, Cikins fought throughout

his career for those who had no voice. And he did it, he

says, by looking for the similarities he shared with his

colleagues rather than the differences. In his 2005 memoir,

In Search of Middle Ground, Cikins writes, ``My style was

always one of outreach. I believed in bipartisanship, bridge-

building, compromise, and civility. Confrontational

approaches were an anathema to me.''

He put this advice to great use and success as a two-term

elected member of the Fairfax County (VA) Board of

Supervisors, on which he served from 1975 to 1980. Local

politician Gerry Hyland, who worked with Cikins, noted in a

profile in the local newspaper: ``Warren is viewed as a

person who cares and who works toward consensus. The will of

the group is going to prevail above his own point of view.''

It is in the compromises, he says, that the work gets done,

repeating often a truism he attributes to Hays, his former

boss and mentor: ``Half of something is better than all of

nothing.''

As a senior administrator at the Brookings Institution,

where he spent more than 15 years, Cikins continued to

promote outreach and conciliation by establishing, among many

programs he created there, a highly successful annual seminar

on the administration of justice, which sought to resolve

differences between the three branches of government, and the

Newly Elected Members of Congress seminar, an effort that

helped bring new members of Congress up to speed. Towards the

end of his career at Brookings, he devoted much of his energy

to bringing greater attention to improving criminal

rehabilitation.

In his 2001 class report marking the 50th anniversary of

his graduation from Harvard, Cikins wrote that he considered

his work in improving the criminal justice system, in

cooperation with Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger,

one of his greatest accomplishments. Quoting Dostoyevsky,

Cikins noted in his memoir, ``Civilization will be judged by

how it treats its wrongdoers.''

Cikins's personal life reflects these same values. He

remains close to his friends from high school at Boston

Latin, many of whom went on with him to Harvard. Recently

with his wife of 44 years, Sylvia, Cikins celebrated the 80th

birthday of his longtime Kennedy School friend, Mark Cannon

MPP 1953, a Mormon and political conservative. And Cikins

regarded Hays, whose Baptist faith ran as deep as Cikins's

did in Judaism, as one of the most influential and

inspirational people in his life. They remained close until

Hays's death in 1981.

Of the many accolades recognizing his contributions to

public service that he's received over the years, from

prominent figures that include Supreme Court Justices Burger

and William Rehnquist, a letter he recently received from

former New York Congressman and Harvard alumnus Amo Houghton,

a Republican, says it most succinctly:

``You were the role model; you're the person who constantly

tried to bring us back toward the center, and I thank you for

it . . . you're a great example.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Sally Crowe, the longtime House of Representatives Members Dining Room hostess. Sally passed away this July 12th at the age of 92. She began working as a cashier in the Longworth cafeteria in 1951, moving to the Members' Dining Room in the 1960s, where she remained ever since. In 2003, Sally received the John W. McCormack Annual Award of Excellence in recognition of her outstanding service to the House.

Sally was extraordinarily devoted to her job and to the institution of the House of Representatives. I first met Sally thirty years ago. She was a warm, engaging individual who infused this House with Irish wit and wisdom.

She was a wonderful example of the talented, professional and dedicated federal employees who serve their country with distinction and honor.

Madam Speaker, I would like to offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Sally Crowe, as well as my greatest appreciation for her many years of service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the bravery and fortitude of a very special and courageous constituent of mine, Brittany Leap; and her mother, Sandy, and father, Richard. In February 2006, Brittany was diagnosed with a debilitating and degenerative disorder--Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA).

NBIA is a very rare and devastating neurological disorder that only gets worse over time--resulting in constant muscle cramping, an inability to control one's body, difficulty with speech, a loss of peripheral vision, and even blindness. No cure or specific means of treatment currently exists for NBIA, and scientists are still baffled by the factors that influence the disease.

Imagine waking up one morning having lost the ability to walk, or talk, or even eat. In Brittany's case, however, this is no dream. This is a very real challenge that Brittany faces every day of her life. To make matters worse, one of the few laboratories dedicated to researching her disease is at risk of having to close its doors because of a lack of funding; doors that upon closing will forfeit the hope of Brittany, her family, and the thousands of other people suffering from NBIA, that a cure may one day be realized.

Brittany is determined to continue fighting this disease and the potentially devastating consequences of what will happen if the research to develop a cure is suspended. She is unwavering in her pursuit to raise the funds necessary to keep hope alive, not only for her, but for everyone else with NBIA. Brittany has taken it upon herself, with the help of her loving parents--and so many others across this great nation--to raise $250,000 by year's end to keep the search for a cure alive.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Brittany and her family and all others with NBIA our heartfelt regards for their efforts to bring an end to this devastating illness, and I ask they give their support in any way possible to help Brittany in her efforts. I am inspired by Brittany's determination and I am honored to bring her story to the floor of this Chamber.

Mr. Speaker, when our friends on the other side of the aisle decide in advance to oppose any health care reform bill, they're putting politics ahead of the needs of the American people.

Guaranteeing coverage for preexisting conditions, which affect 45 percent of insured Americans, they're against it. Closing the prescription drug doughnut hole for seniors, they're against it. Protecting families from the cost of catastrophic illness, they're against it. Half a trillion in Medicare and Medicaid savings, they're against it. A plan of their own, they're even against that, too.

Why, Mr. Speaker? Uniform opposition to all reform, all savings, all extended coverage? Why? The answer is simple, chilling, and deeply troubling. Senator DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, put it bluntly: If we're able to stop Obama on health care, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.

At least the distinguished Senator from South Carolina is honest about the Republican agenda. It's not about a substantive critique. It's about politics, a calculated cynical strategy to derail reform of a broken health care system, a reform that can benefit every American family and small business.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the dedication of Fairfax Village Neighborhood Center at Fort Belvoir. Fairfax Village Neighborhood Center is the fourth of five centers to be built and will be the ``greenest'' building on Fort Belvoir.

Under the U.S. Army's Residential Community Initiative, a 50-year public-private partnership was created to develop, rehabilitate and construct thousands of homes on 576 acres of land at Fort Belvoir. Environmental concerns have played a major role in this endeavor. Throughout the planning, design and construction, the goal has been to create environmentally friendly, vibrant neighborhoods while reducing the developmental footprint. This would be accomplished by incorporating the construction of neighborhood centers, improved streetscaping and walkable retail destinations within each village. Every new home that has been built is Energy STAR certified, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing utility costs for our military families. Over 1,000 trees have been preserved during construction and upon completion another 4,000 trees will have been added.

Fairfax Village Neighborhood Center has exceeded community and environmental goals and will serve as a new benchmark for sustainable construction on other military installations. The building utilizes a geothermal heat system, photovoltaic solar panels and efficient lighting controls to help minimize energy consumption. This facility is the very first military project to receive the LEED Platinum Ranking for New Construction.

Equally as important as the environmental accomplishments, Fairfax Village Neighborhood Center will provide significant educational and recreational benefits to the children and families who live at Fort Belvoir. The facility includes a butterfly garden, a sustainable playground and related amenities. The neighborhood center itself will serve as a town center and will foster a sense of community where residents can gather with their friends, families and neighbors.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the Fairfax Village Neighborhood Center and to support similar infrastructure investments that improve the quality of life for our military personnel and their families while promoting a healthy environment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2920, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go, or PAYGO, Act as a long overdue return to fiscal responsibility. We hear a lot from our colleagues and friends on the other side of the aisle talking about their newfound concern about deficits. But it was a Republican Congress that allowed PAYGO legislation to expire in 2002 even after, in fact, it worked to produce two consecutive surpluses in 1999 and 2000 under a Democratic President. Unfortunately the Republican-controlled Congress didn't renew PAYGO in 2002, leaving us, once again, with annual deficits that this year now reached $1 trillion, most of it on their watch.

Mr. Speaker, the cure for deficits is not floor speeches, catchphrases or expensively produced charts. The cure is fiscal responsibility. This House, if it's going to be serious about fiscal responsibility, must return to statutory PAYGO. I support the bill.