Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 658, the Accountant, Compliance and Enforcement Staffing Act of 2003. This very critical legislation will allow the Securities and Exchange Commission to hire much-needed accountants, compliance examiners and economists outside of the bureaucratic and burdensome civil service hiring guidelines.

In fiscal year 2003, we increased the Securities and Exchange Commission's budget by 63 percent, largely to allow for an additional 800 professional staff members. On top of that, last year's supplemental appropriation bill provided $25 million to the SEC for the purpose of hiring 125 new accountants, examiners and economists. This increased funding was provided because the SEC desperately needs these professionals to enforce the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability reforms, corporate accountability standards that were established by this body and standards that are very vital importance for investor protection. Yet, because of the bureaucratic civil service hiring guidelines, these positions have not yet been filled.

H.R. 658 does not set new precedent. Indeed, all FBI employees, as well as health care professionals at the Department of Defense, are exempt from civil service hiring standards. This is good, common sense legislation that will significantly help the Securities and Exchange Commission protect investors.

I commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker) for crafting this important and very timely bipartisan bill, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support.

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 262 I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye''.

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Pitts

Mr. Speaker, most Americans believe that the first duty of the Federal Government is to protect the security of the United States and its citizens. By any objective assessment, when the threat to our security takes a form of foreign armies, navies or intercontinental missiles, we have done an exemplary job. When it comes to threats confronting us, new threats, the sort that resulted in the attacks like that on September 11, we continue to ignore gaping holes in our national defense. As it becomes more evident that we need better information about who is in our country, we are about to surrender that identification process to foreign governments. We must adhere to a policy of closed borders with open, guarded doors. We cannot rely on foreign nations, even allies, to be thorough enough to issue identification that meets our rigorous standards. Do we really want to rely on the government of Mexico and the dozens of other countries that will be lining up to issue consular IDs to tell us who is living illegally in our country? I think not. The majority of Americans believe that we should not either.

Given the very real and deadly threats that we face, how wise is it to have millions of Americans, people living illegally in this country using dozens of identity documents issued by governments all around the globe to do everything from opening a bank account to boarding planes. I have recently been informed that our customs office in New York is actually allowing customs forms as people enter into this country to be turned in and they are simultaneously not checking the names of the people turning in the customs forms to compare it to a list of known terrorists. Customs forms pile up and are entered several days later. This is later when these people are already in our country. It is kind of the ``come on in and we will check you later'' process, that ``we will check you later if we can find you.'' Is this what we really had in mind when we promised the American people that we would do everything within reason to prevent another catastrophe like 9-11 and we spent billions of tax dollars to create a Department of Homeland Security? I do not think so, Mr. Speaker; and I do not think our American citizens do either.

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Veterans Health Care Access Standards Act of 2003. This bill would establish standards of access to care for veterans who utilize the VA health care system. If enacted the bill would codify the Department's current standard of access to care and would actually require the VA to use alternative community health care resources if the VA is unable to meet their own standard.

In my home State of Florida, there is a backlog of more than 24,000 veterans seeking VA medical care. In my District alone, there are 2,727 veterans waiting for an appointment and another 2,000 who have an appointment but the schedule time is more than 6 months away.

The Department's established access standard for outpatient care is to provide veterans seeking primary care with appointments within 30 days of making the request for such an appointment. However, it is clear to any Member of Congress that has toured

VA outpatient clinics recently in their District that these goals have not been met.

My bill will actually codify the veterans self-imposed standard. I think that it is important because if a VA medical center is unable to see a patient then that patient should be able to seek care elsewhere in the community.

I urge my fellow Members to join me with this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to honor Charles ``Bo'' Harrison, who this weekend became the first Pasco County Deputy to be killed in the line of

duty since 1922. On behalf of the Pasco County Police Force, I extend my deepest condolences to his friends and family, and want to take a moment before this body to honor his service and his life.

Deputy Harrison was a 31-year veteran of the Pasco County Police Force and was the highest ranking African American on the force. He was a Vietnam veteran and a former Army Ranger, and was slated to retire later this month.

Sometime around 2 a.m. Sunday morning while doing surveillance work outside a night club, Deputy Harrison was shot. His colleagues heard the shots fired and found Deputy Harrison in his squad car. Thinking that he had a heart attack, they tried to offer CPR, but realized upon removing his shirt that he had been shot in the back. Then he was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

The people of Pasco County will remember Deputy Harrison as a loving father, a family man, a softball coach, an active community member, and an upstanding citizen and friend. He will be sorely missed by all those who loved him, and his honor will forever remain with the Pasco County Police Force.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor an outstanding constituent of mine from the Fifth Congressional District of Florida who has, because of his extraordinary achievement, been named by the Florida Professional Engineers in Government as the 2003 Government Engineer of the Year.

Charles Mixson is the County Engineer and Public Works Director in my home town of Brooksville. He is a published author, his work having appeared in American Public Works Magazine in 2002. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1977 with a civil engineering degree and has since completed several continuing education courses.

He is a member of the Florida and National Engineering Societies, the Florida and National Association of County Engineers, the American Public Works Association, and the Florida Department of Transportation Greenbook Advisory Committee. He has served in leadership roles in several of these organizations.

In addition to his professional achievements, Mr. Mixson is an upstanding community leader, as he is an active supporter of the Boy Scouts and is the immediate past president of the Kiwanis Club of Brooksville.

Mr. Speaker, it is easy to see why the Florida Professional Engineers in Government chose Mr. Mixson as their Government Engineer of the Year. Mr. Mixson has certainly worked hard to earn this honor and he is deserving of every accolade I or his peers could bestow on him.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in congratulating and honoring a fine American and a man whom I am proud to represent in this chamber.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the nurses at the Woodland Terrace Nursing Home in my home District of Florida.

As you all know, this is national nurses week and I am privileged to speak on behalf of the many talented nurses at Woodland Terrace. The Fifth District of Florida, and in fact the entire State of Florida, has a large and growing population of senior citizens. I firmly believe that seniors are one of our nation's most valuable assets. We will be judged on how well we care for our seniors.

The nurses at Woodland Terrace have not shied away from this important responsibility. I continue to be impressed with the quality of care at Woodland Terrace; a standard which is largely attributable to the nurses who work there.

At a time when many analysts are predicting a nursing shortage in the near future, it is critical that the nursing workforce be given proper commendation for continual hard work and dedication to what can seem like a thank-less profession. With that, I offer my most sincere thank you to the nurses at Woodland Terrace for a job well done!

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the accomplishments and character of a great American, a great friend and a constituent of mine, Judge Burrell Merritt. Burrell celebrated his 61st birthday this weekend and I was pleased to be a part of the celebration honoring him.

A lifelong resident of Brooksville, a graduate of Hernando High School, and a lawyer educated at the University of Florida, Burrell is a true Floridian and an outstanding lawyer and community leader.

In 1968 he joined the Richard E. McGee law firm as an associate and later that year he became a municipal judge for the City of Brooksville. In 1970 he became a partner in his own law firm, McGee and Merritt. In 1985, he was named a partner of a new firm, Merritt, High, Underwood & Eppley and in 1985 he was made senior partner in the Merritt and Mason firm.

In 1998 after thirty years practicing law, Burrell became a Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit serving Hernando County. He currently works with civil, family law, probate and child support enforcement cases.

He is a member of the Hernando County Bar Association, the Florida Bar Association and the American Bar Association and numerous other civic and social organizations, serving a leadership role in many of them. His skills and talent as a law professional have been recognized by numerous groups and associations. He has received a plethora of awards and accolades for his diligent work both as an attorney, judge and community member.

Aside from his accomplishments in his legal profession, Judge Merritt is also a Cattle Rancher. He operated the very successful Merritt Farm and Livestock Company in Brooksville.

Mr. Speaker it is easy to see why I am so proud of his accomplishments and why they are worthy of recognition on the floor of this body.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to commend the Wall-Rives American Legion Post 58. They are celebrating 75 years of dedicated service to the honorable veterans residing in Dunnellon, Florida.

On March 3, 1927, the American Legion Post 58 was issued a temporary charter from Department Headquarters in Palatka, Florida. They started out in 1927 with 15 members. Since then they have grown to . . . members through the hard work and dedication of their committed members.

American Legion Post 58 was christened ``Wall-Rives Post 58'' on May 26, 1947 in honor of Winchester Wall and Hugh Rives, two brave soldiers and residents of the area, who lost their lives during WWII, in the Bataan Death March.

The memory of these dedicated servicemen has been honored throughout the years by the members of the Legion as they continue the legacy of service to their community.

Mr. speaker, I am proud of the service that members of Wall-Rives Post 58 have rendered to our great nation in their 75 year history and I ask you to join with me in thanking them for their service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Green Isle Children's Ranch in my Fifth Congressional District of Florida. At this center, a group of dedicated, hard-working, caring individuals has been working for more than 15 years to better the lives of at-risk children.

The Green Isle Children's Ranch was founded in 1987 by men and women who had worked within the prison system and had seen the great need to prevent children from entering the vicious cycle of detention home, jail, and prison.

The Ranch is an interfaith outreach center that helps at-risk children and troubled families. It houses, counsels, educates and spiritually nurtures troubled and at-risk children from ages 6-15. Most are emotionally handicapped; some suffer from such conditions as attention deficit disorder, and fetal alcohol syndrome. Most have been verbally abused and some physically or sexually abused. All have considerable inner emotional turmoil and anger and almost all are the products of broken homes.

The Mission of the Green Isle Children's Ranch is a noble one. It seeks to provide a residential program for at-risk children; to counsel, educate, and spiritually nurture them, and to provide parenting classes and guidance for each child's family. The ranch serves as a resource for troubled families, providing advice, counseling and a sympathetic ear. In addition, the Green Isle Children's Ranch networks with community organizations, such as local churches, Big Brothers, YMCA, other children's facilities, civic clubs, and community organizations, to expand upon the resources available to them as they strive to better the lives of children.

Green Isle uses a caring approach to help at-risk children, which was developed by Dr. Jack Lynd at the Edgewood Children's Ranch in Orlando. Counselors at the center work with each child's family, without regard to race, creed, national origin, or ability to pay-and they do it all without accepting tax money.

Mr. Speaker I am proud of the work done by the Green Isle Foundation. I'm proud to have such a facility in my district and I'm proud to say that because of this organization, so many children in my Fifth District of Florida have been positively affected. Their work is to be commended and their cause is so very honorable. I salute, the dedication and care with which Florida's at-risk children are being treated and I salute the Green Isle Children's Ranch.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the work of a few historians in my Fifth Congressional District of Florida. The hard work and detailed research of these individuals resulted in a gravesite in the Brooksville City Cemetery in my district being designated as a Historical Landmark in the State of Florida.

The oldest gravesite in the Brooksville City Cemetery belongs to a woman named Charlotte Wynn Pyles Crum who was a member of an early Florida pioneering family and was killed shortly after the close of the Second Seminole Indian War.

Ms. Crum was traveling in the Brooksville area in 1842 along with her daughter and granddaughter when their group was fired upon by a band of Seminole Indians who were unaware of the war's end. All survived the attack except for Ms. Crum, whose death received sensationalized attention.

After much research about Ms. Crum's unusual death, the Division of Historical Resources within the Florida Department of State declared Ms. Crum's gravesite a Historical Landmark. At a ceremony this weekend, the cemetery will unveil a plaque in honor of the gravesite's distinction.

The Brooksville City Cemetery is in its own right a historical site because it is the final resting place for soldiers killed in the Civil War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and other national conflicts.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring the cemetery, the work of the Florida Historical Resources Division and all those who made this weekend's dedication possible and brought Ms. Crum's gravesite the distinction it deserves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Karl Siegfried, a constituent of mine from New Port Richey, FL, who received a VITA Wireless Samaritan Award last month.

VITA, which is Latin for ``life'', is the name of the award given by the national Wireless Foundation to people who use wireless communication to contact authorities and ask for help in emergency situations.

While driving to work, Mr. Siegfried heard reports, on the radio, of a kidnapping that took place the night before. Mr. Siegfried identified the vehicle while sitting at the stoplight and then used wireless technology to identify the location of the kidnapper for emergency personnel.

His heroic efforts, which quite possibly saved the life of another individual, are certainly something to be admired and I am proud to have a person like him as a constituent of mine.

In recent years, cellular phones and wireless communication devices have become common fixtures in our society but the good-natured concern for your neighbor has waned. I am glad to see an organization like VITA honoring those who put their communication devices to work for the good of others.

I thank Mr. Siegfried for what he did, I thank VITA for honoring him, and I thank them both on behalf of the city of New Port Richey and communities all over the country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the life of a great American who died last month after 113 years of life.

At the time of his death John McMorran of Lakeland, FL, which lies partially in my Fifth Congressional District, was the oldest living American man and the fourth-oldest person in the world.

Born June 19, 1889, in a Michigan log cabin, John McMorran considered coffee his elixir and quit cigars at the tender age of 97. He retired at 84 after working in a munitions factory, delivering milk, and delivering mail and moved to Florida to enjoy his retirement.

More than 30 years later he was still enjoying life, friends, and his family, who all said he was a happy man who lived a great life.

Mr. McMorran had a 59-year-old grandson and a 35-year-old great- granddaughter and one great-great-grandson!

He was born the year that the Oklahoma Land Rush took place, 14 when the Wright Brothers made their historic first flight at Kitty Hawk, and too old for the draft in World War I.

Mr. McMorran was there for all the advancements and innovations of the Twentieth Century. He knew life before and after cars, before and after electricity in homes, before and after computers, cell phones, the Internet. After 113 years of life there's not much he missed out on.

I am proud to speak before the House today about John McMoffan and commemorate his long, successful life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Heart of Florida Girl Scout Troop 378 in Citrus County, FL for their service to the community and to the people of my district.

The troop recently learned about the importance of voting and about the functions of American government as part of the ``I-Count'' Voter Education program and each Troop Member participating in the program received a patch upon completion.

Mr. Speaker, as you may know, those in the Girl Scout program measure their accomplishments and award merit based on the number of patches they accumulate. As part of earning this patch, the girls studied intently and listened to a speech I gave about the importance of voting--and how one vote can be the deciding factor in some instances.

It was when I spoke to the girls and had the chance to meet them and hear about all they had done in the community that I realized the tremendous amount of work they had done and their intense dedication to the Girl Scout program.

Mr. Speaker, let me briefly mention just a few of the things this group of girls has done throughout their years of involvement with this program.

As Daisies the girls learned to do crafts and learned the Girl Scout promise. They went on campouts, marched in parades and sang at Surry Place Nursing home.

As Brownies, the troop went to nursing homes to sing, volunteered at various events and continued to appear in local parades.

As Juniors, they collected old, unused cell phones to benefit battered women, helped at the local ``Relay for Life,'' which benefits the American Cancer Society, and presented the local volunteer firefighters with cookies to thank them for their work in the community.

Now that the girls are Cadets they are still collecting cell phones and will be continuing their involvement in the ``Relay for Life'' program. This past Holiday Season they ``Gift Adopted'' a local under- privileged girl, and donated money and new gifts to make her Christmas brighter.

Currently they are saving the proceeds from the sale of their Girl Scout cookies for a trip to Savanna, GA to see where Juliette Gordon Low, the Girl Scout founder, was born.

Amber Auth, Nicole Bruno, Melissa Fonczak, Emily Stanton, Rebecca Rose, Kimberly Carbonari, Rebecca Morse, along with troop leader Mimi Rose and assistant troop leader Nora Auth, deserve to be commended for their service and dedication. I am proud to have them as my constituents and am honored to be their representation in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Chris Kellerman, a veteran of the Vietnam War who has been awarded the Bronze Star in recognition of his bravery and notorious achievement during ground operations against hostile forces in the Republic of Vietnam.

The Bronze Star Medal was established by Executive Order in 1944 and is awarded to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, distinguishes himself or herself by heroic or meritorious achievement or service.

Staff Sergeant Kellerman earned his medal by venturing into unknown territory and taking a risk that he did not have to take, possibly saving the lives of several of his fellow soldiers.

A testament to his dedication to our Armed Forces and his drive to always succeed, Staff Sergeant Kellerman achieved his rank in the Army in record time, rising to his position of leadership in two years time.

During his service in Vietnam from January 1968 through March 1969, his heroism was undeniable, as his acts of bravery during battle earned him not only the respect of his comrades and military honors.

Staff Sergeant Keller proved his dedication to his country and was honored only recently by the Defense Department with the medal he earned. I am proud to be able to honor him today on the floor of this body and am proud to call Staff Sergeant Kellerman a constituent and, Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in thanking him for his service to this country.