Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Joan Sheenan, a constituent of mine who has selflessly given her time to the Veterans of my Fifth Congressional District for more than 8 years.

My district is home to thousands of our Nation's veterans and has the fourth-largest concentration of American heroes in the Nation. So it is only natural, that at our veterans' clinics and hospitals there's never a shortage of things to do and never a time when additional helping hands are not desperately needed.

It was once said that, aside from love, the most precious thing a person can give another person is labor. Joan has given over 2200 hours of her labor to help the veterans of Florida's Fifth Congressional District--and that is truly something to be honored.

Volunteering at both the Gainesville VA Medical Center and at the Inverness VA Clinic

for 8 years, she has given her time to veterans for longer than many people stay at a single job!

David Glimer, Administrative Officer for the VA's Inverness Community Based Outpatient Clinic has said of Joan, ``She not only provides valuable assistance to the veterans who receive care at the Inverness Clinic, but leadership to the other volunteers who help support the VA's mission here in Inverness.''

She's given to the veterans of the Fifth Congressional District as nobly and as altruistically as they've given to all of us. Her service is a testament to the value and virtue of helping others.

Mr. Speaker I ask that you join me in commending Joan for her efforts. I am honored to be her representative in Congress. She is one of the reasons that I am so very proud to represent the Fifth Congressional District of Florida in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor United States Marine Corps Lance Corporal Jeremy P. Hogan, Marine Reserve Lance Corporal James Dileo, United States Navy Petty Officer Nicholas Snipes and United States Army Infantryman Patrick Barker from my Fifth Congressional District of Florida for their military service in the Middle East. They and their families reside in Crystal River, Citrus County, Florida. In The wake of September 11, 2001, the need to respond to the dangers of terrorism remains vital to our survival. Now that we know of these dangers, we as a nation led by individuals such as these three brave men, continue to respond successfully. Undoubtedly, their, efforts overseas helped liberate an oppressed people from a terrorist regime and made the world a safer place for generations to come.

Please allow me to welcome these troops and troops from all over the world as they return home. The courage they displayed during their stints in the Middle East are exemplary of the America spirit. Their heroism and dedication is what makes our country the most gracious and noble nation on earth. Their bravery will not be forgotten as Americans and freedom loving people all over the world are indebted to their service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Kiwanis Clubs of America, which are outstanding organizations with strong memberships across this country and worldwide of active, service-minded individuals committed to their communities and their surroundings.

Kiwanis Clubs make their marks by responding to the needs of their communities, pooling their resources to address worldwide issues, and setting an example of service and stewardship that is to be honored and commended.

From humble beginnings in Detroit, Michigan in 1915, the Kiwanis organization has grown to include more than 500,000 members in 80 countries around the globe--making it one of the world's premier service organizations and giving it global notoriety. That, Mr. Speaker is a true testament to all the good work the organization does.

With a motto like, ``We build,'' one cannot help but view Kiwanis as an active group of individuals, solidly committed to positive goals. And the Kiwanis clubs live up to their motto--In one year Kiwanis clubs sponsored 147,000 service projects and raised and spent almost $70 million while contributing 6.2 million hours of volunteer time.

Kiwanis Clubs have a long tradition of excellence and an upstanding reputation as amazing organizations and for that, I commend them. They are truly individuals whose service to their communities is something we should all emulate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Korean War Veterans Citrus Chapter 192 and all the brave men and women who answered the call to duty during the Korean War.

Sunday, July 27, commemorates the 50th Anniversary of the Armistice signing that officially ended hostilities in the war torn nation.

This conflict enlisted the services of 6.8 million American men and women between 1950 and 1955. Despite the enormity of this effort, many who served regrettably feel that their sacrifice has been forgotten by a nation in the murky fog of time.

I commend the Veterans of Citrus Chapter 192 for their efforts to memorialize their comrades in arms who paid the ultimate sacrifice. On Saturday, July 26, the Korean War Memorial will be dedicated at the Citrus County Court House. This marker will serve as a reminder to our nation of the surviving Korean War Veterans, as well as the POW's and MIA's who never returned.

Mr. Chairman, certainly coming from Florida I have a very large veterans population. I have the second largest veterans population in this Congress.

When I went back home and told them about the amount of funding that was in the budget that we passed, I can tell Members they were delighted. It was not enough even then, but it sure made a big difference.

Today, the bill that we will be voting on will be cutting $1.8 billion from the veterans' health care appropriation. That is wrong. We are breaking a promise that we made when we went home and told them about the funding that was in the budget. I think veterans deserve better. They have defended our country.

Tomorrow, I am going to be presenting medals to Korean War veterans, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. Can we give them a medal and turn our backs on what they may have in health care needs?

We also have men and women coming home from Iraq. What kind of health care are they going to have?

I know how hard the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from New

York (Mr. Walsh), worked on this and how hard the members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the Committee on the Budget worked on this, because I serve on both. We took some tough votes because we were told there would be additional funding in the final appropriations bill that was passed.

I cannot vote for this bill, and I think that there are many in this Chamber who are really, as we used to say back in New York, having agita over this vote. This is not a vote that I can cast affirmatively.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor 17-year-old Nathan Ross, who resides in my fifth congressional district of Florida and was selected to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology this summer in San Jose, California.

Currently a senior at Hernando High School, Nathan has been building and Networking computers in the basement of his home since the fifth grade. He's known as a bright, talented, hardworking individual and his selection to attend this conference is a testament to his skill and ingenuity.

While attending the conference in San Jose, Nathan will be given the opportunity to expand his knowledge base and work with other technologically-inclined students to create projects and take part in workshops directed by industry leaders, including top executives from firms such as Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard and Oracle. Participating in the Forum on Technology will provide Nathan with an immeasurable opportunity to broaden his interest in the field and to meet others who share that same interest.

Since its inception in 1992, the National Youth Leadership Forum has given over 50,000 high school and university students the chance to explore the fields of anthropology, archaeology, business, defense, diplomacy, education, engineering, environmental studies, intelligence, law, medicine and technology.

I'm proud to have a talented student like Nathan in my district and am glad to see that an outlet exists for him to put his talent and creativity to use.

Mr. Speaker I ask you to join me in congratulating Nathan Ross for his achievement

and wishing him well, not only at the conference, but throughout all his future endeavors. His mind can take him anywhere he desires and this conference is only the first of many destinations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a special elementary school in my Fifth Congressional District of Florida that has gone to great lengths in pursuit of academic improvement. Eastside Elementary School in Hernando County, which just 2 years ago, received a ``D'' rating on Florida's statewide school accountability scale this year has earned an ``A'' grade for its impressive scholastic turnaround.

The hard work of the students, teachers, and administrators at Eastside is certainly to be commended as are the parents of children at Eastside, whose involvement in their students' educations is critically important.

Two years ago Eastside's students' test scores lagged behind others in the State, a large percentage of parents were unable to recall their children's teachers' names, and many students began elementary school not being able to recite the alphabet.

Eastside's teachers and administrators went ``back to basics'' and restructured their curricula to include an increased focus on the fundamentals of early education. They enlisted the help of the community and encouraged parents to become more involved. The staff at Eastside turned a negative into a positive, using their ``D'' grade as motivation to change for the better.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that you join me in congratulating Eastside Elementary School's faculty for their hard work and dedication to improving the quality of education for tomorrow's leaders. I also ask that you join me in honoring the students, whose arduous work resulted in positive change for Eastside, and for their own academic careers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Marion County Young Republicans, in my fifth congressional district of FLorida. The Group was just named the Young Republican Club of the Year at the National Federation of Young Republicans' Conference this past weekend in Boston, Massachusetts, and I could not be prouder.

The Marion County Young Republicans was founded just two years ago and has already ascended to great heights, receiving duly earned recognition on a national scale for its endeavors.

The group was instrumental in my election to Congress. Several other lawmakers here in Washington and in Tallahassee owe their positions to this group and to groups like them.

I am pleased to have such an outstanding group of hard-working, young Republicans in my district and am proud of all they have accomplished. In a letter to his members, Chapter President Tim Harding praised the group and reminded them that while this most recent accolade was most certainly an affirmation of success, the group must still rise to meet upcoming challenges and achieve the goals the group has set for itself. It is because of leadership like this that I am confident the Marion County Young Republicans will continue to succeed and do great things for the Republican Party in the state of Florida.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in congratulating the Marion County Young Republicans for all they have achieved. I honor their service and their commitment to the party.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Key Training Center, a vital, active part of the Citrus County community in my Fifth Congressional District of Florida.

This weekend, the Key Center will hold its 21st annual ``Run for the Money'' Dinner Auction to raise money for the Center, which operates as a not-for-profit organization and relies heavily on donations of support from the community.

The Key Center provides an immeasurable service to the community and makes an enormous difference in the lives of so many people.

The Center has helped thousands of mentally-disabled central Floridians and their families for more than 30 years, and has established a proud tradition of kindness, love, dignity, and respect while doing so.

The Key Center provides daily living and social training for its clients, job training, life sustaining care and residential services to mentally-disabled persons in need. A dedicated, trained, and skilled staff serves those at the Key Center offering a balanced blend of the right training, experiences and opportunities to its clients.

Mr. Speaker I ask you and my Colleagues in this body to join me in honoring the Key Center for all its contributions and in wishing the Center well this weekend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Howard Stockton of Clermont, Florida. The long time leader of the South Lake Chamber of Commerce in my Fifth Congressional District of Florida, Mr. Stockton passed away this weekend after a long battle with cancer.

Howard Stockton will be greatly missed by all who knew him and will be remembered as a kind, caring man with vigor and enthusiasm, and as a consensus builder with amazing ability and talent.

As many current Floridians, myself included, Mr. Stockton was not a native of Florida but made it his home. An Ohio native, a graduate of Kent State University, a former teacher and administrator, Mr. Stockton retired to Florida with his wife in 1989 to be closer to his two sons.

However, his penchant for activity and his well-known energy and zest would not allow him to simply live the tranquil life associated with retirement. He joined the local Loins Club and the South Lake Council for the Arts and then took his community activity to the next level by accepting the position of executive director of the Clermont Area Chamber of Commerce.

Under his leadership, the strength and membership of the chamber grew. He guided it from a small city group into a regional organization nearly three times its original size. The success of the South Lake Chamber of Commerce is a reflection of Mr. Stockton's charismatic personality and his remarkable ability to bring people together.

We in the State of Florida and in the South Lake Chamber are both very fortunate that Mr. Stockton was able to share his extraordinary abilities with us and at the same time very saddened by the loss of such a wonderful man.

It has been said that, ``When you met Howard, you felt like you had met a friend.'' we will all miss our friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Specialist Jeffrey Mattison Wershow. A member of the Florida National Guard, Specialist Wershow served admirably before his life was tragically ended by an assailant in Baghdad a little over a week ago.

Jeffrey was the son of Jonathon Wershow and Ann Marie Mattison. At 22 years old, this young man managed to create a long list of accomplishments. After graduating from High School, Jeffrey enlisted in the Army and served for three years in the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg. Upon fulfilling his obligation as an active duty soldier, Jeffrey received an honorable discharge from the Army and returned to Gainesville, Florida where he began pursuing his degree at Santa Fe Community College.

Everyone who knew Jeffrey recalls his vast knowledge of history and his lifelong desire to be a soldier. One of the most impressive things about this young man is that he had enough wisdom at such a young age to pursue both of his dreams. While continuing his education at Santa Fe and becoming actively and successfully involved in local politics, he also passionately served in the Florida National Guard.

Specialist Jeffrey Wershow was a soldier, a son, a brother, and a friend. He was also a proud American who we can all remember as an example of why this country is so great. I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Mr. Speaker, with great disappointment I was unable to be present on Tuesday, June 24 to speak and vote in favor of H.R. 2555, the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2004.

The terrorist attacks on and following September 11 highlighted our vulnerability to attack on our soil, and exposed a new enemy with a desire to harm the United States and the American people. Our swift efforts at bolstering our domestic security have resulted in the prevention of further domestic incidents. It is this absence of occurrences that confirms our success. We cannot, however, become complacent in this success and must remain committed to securing our homeland.

Our Nation continually faces new and previously unfamiliar domestic threats that are more severe than ever before. Local governments cannot be expected to bear the new financial burdens that accompany their extensive and important new detection, prevention, and emergency management responsibilities. Funding must come from the Federal Government in this matter of national security.

When I was a Florida State Senator I chaired the Senate Homeland Security Committee following September 11. Florida was the state that initiated the drive to secure federal funds for first responders. Because we had to deal with so many natural disasters, we know the many benefits of well-trained, well-equipped first responders. Local governments cannot be expected to bear the new financial burdens that accompany their extensive and important new responsibilities. Funding must come from the Federal Government in this matter of national security.

I applaud Chairman Rogers, Chairman Young, and the entire Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security for their excellent work in producing the first ever Homeland Security Appropriations bill. I am so pleased that my colleagues in Congress share my concern for the priority that is Homeland Security, and that consequently, the Appropriations Act passed 425-2.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great disappointment that I cannot be present today to speak and vote in favor of H.R. 1511, a bill to award Prime Minister Tony Blair the Congressional Gold Medal. I introduced this legislation on March 31 and have since been working with my colleagues to obtain the necessary 290 cosponsors for floor action. I would like to commend Chairman Oxley and the Financial Services Committee, as well as Rep. Richard Baker and Rep. Carolyn Maloney for their tireless efforts in getting this bill to the floor today.

As we emerge successfully from Operation Iraqi Freedom, it is important to remember that we did not fight this war alone. The brave men and women of the British military have fought and died, side by side, with our American soldiers. Just yesterday, 6 British soldiers were killed in an attack north of Basra. Great Britain, under the leadership of Tony Blair, has paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Prime Minister Blair has ignored political expediency and risked his own career to stand up for what he knows is right. Operation Iraqi Freedom has freed millions of Iraqis from the oppression of Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship. The Operation has ousted a regime bent on securing and then distributing weapons of mass destruction to those who would use them against the United States, our friends, and the people of Iraq. Despite attempts by many of our ``allies'' to thwart this noble effort, Prime Minister Blair and Great Britain have remained strong and active players in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

I am deeply honored to play a role in awarding Prime Minister Tony Blair the Congressional Gold Medal and I thank my colleagues in the House of Representatives for joining me.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to correct the previous speaker. I was the President pro tem of the Florida Senate, not the Assembly or the House. It was the Florida Senate. When I was a Florida Senator, we had an option that we pushed for and actually achieved. That was, we offered prescription assistance to low-income seniors. When we were developing the bill, of course we had to live within a budget. We lived within the budget. I can just tell you that it is almost like I can predict what will happen. We will hear from the other side that it is not enough. For those people who are benefiting, something is better than nothing. The plan started out relatively small and it grew and it expanded. But we were helping the very low-income seniors in the State of Florida.

I rise today to remind my colleagues of the extreme importance of providing a prescription drug benefit for our seniors on Medicare. I cannot emphasize enough what a difference having a prescription drug benefit will make in the lives of our seniors, especially those low- income seniors, many of whom reside in Florida. I have a large number of seniors who are retired who regularly call my office, who regularly stop me in the grocery store and after church to tell me of the problems that they are having paying for their prescription drugs that equate to a quality of life. Seniors who rely on Medicare have nothing to help defray the cost of their prescription drugs, the majority of them. Some do have prescription drug programs, but the majority of them have only Social Security in my congressional district and they truly do need the help that a good prescription drug bill will provide. Seniors covered by Medicare right now are probably the select few who are paying retail prices for their prescription drugs. You and I might go to the pharmacy and pay either a small copay or a very small fraction of the cost of our drugs. We would go ballistic if a pharmacist told us that the prescription that we needed, quote, wasn't covered. Well, guess what? Seniors face this every single day.

A constituent called just as I was leaving the office this morning and told me how she has to pay $7.50 per pill for just one of her prescriptions. For people on a fixed income or anyone, for that matter, that is an enormously expensive drug. Yet this is a prescription drug, costly as it is, that my constituent needs to stay alive.

Mr. Speaker, I am new to this body. I have not been around for years of debate on this issue in this House. I was not here for the two previous sessions where there was a successful vote to bring a prescription drug benefit to our seniors. Maybe that makes me idealistic, maybe less jaded, whatever you want to call it. But I just cannot envision going home and telling my constituents, justifying to them, or trying to justify to them why Congress cannot give them a prescription drug benefit. I hope that I never have to try to justify that.

The previous occupant of the congressional seat from Florida's Fifth District voted against the prescription drug bill that was there in 2002. I made a commitment early on that I would vote for a prescription drug bill. The prescription drug bill that has been worked through two committees, both Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce, is coming along very well. It is a bill that I have some reservations about, but the reservations are mainly about the cost. But we should begin a program and we should actually probably tie that program to the $400 billion that we have appropriated to make sure that we stay within the budget guidelines.

Mr. Speaker, I again ask the Members of this House to join me in voting for the prescription drug bill that will be before us later on this week. It is important, I think, not just for a State like Florida where there are many senior citizens, I have the fourth highest senior population in this whole Congress, but it is important to every senior who struggles to meet those prescription drug costs.

If the gentleman will yield, actually in my district it is more like 50 percent of the seniors have no retirement prescription drug plan. I have many low-income seniors who have a little bit above their Social Security income, or just their Social Security income. My mother-in-law is a perfect example. She only has Social Security. If it were not for her children helping her, she would be one of those seniors making those very dangerous decisions. But not every family can help and not every family is willing to help. And so for the sake of the seniors who truly need assistance, this is the right thing to do and it is the right time to do it. I am sure that when we go home over the Fourth of July break that we will be hearing from our constituents throughout the Nation, thanking us for taking this step and keeping our fingers crossed that we come out with a great bill, between the Senate proposal and the House proposal that we truly will have a bill that will help seniors desperately in need of assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Vietnam Veterans Gathering. They have developed rich friendships and camaraderie between themselves that years and distance cannot weaken.

On Saturday, June 14, I was honored to attend the 6th Annual Vietnam Veterans Gathering at South Levy Recreation Park. This park has a rich history. After fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, veterans gathered at this scenic location to share their stories, to heal old wounds, and to enjoy the company of others who knew what it meant to be a soldier.

As part of this commemorative event, The Moving Wall, a tribute to the more than 58,000 Americans that gave their lives during the war, was on display.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the Vietnam Veterans Gathering for the great service they have given to our Nation. I recognize the sacrifices that they have made. These men are truly great Americans, and I am proud to call them my constituents.