Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it is with tremendous respect that I rise today to honor Father Jose Luis Ochoa, who is retiring from his post with the parish of St. Pius X in the City of Santa Fe Springs to return to Guadalajara, Mexico and work with the Guadalupe Missionaries. Throughout his career of service, Father Ochoa has spread faith and charity throughout many parts of the world.

Father Jose Luis Ochoa was born in Mexico on December 5, 1940, the third child of seven children. In 1953 he entered the ``Diocesano de Mexico'' seminar. In 1956, he continued his schooling at the ``Seminario de Misiones'' with the Jesuits. Even during his vacations from the seminary, he would dedicate his time to travel outside of Mexico wherever there was a need for priests.

On July 10, 1966, he was ordained at the chapel ``Seminario de Misiones'' and assigned as a missionary to Kenya, Africa. Upon his arrival in Nairobi, Kenya, Father Ochoa began to work as a vicar in the parish of Amakura. While there, he built a secondary school for girls to help instill in them the values of dignity and self-respect and help them reject exploitative and unhealthy practices.

In 1975, he was assigned back to Mexico to serve as a Director to the Department of Promotions and Development. This work was a necessity for the ``Instituto de Misioneros de Guadalupe,'' and he worked with Bishops from different Archdioceses and became responsible for getting financial and vocational opportunities for the missions.

After spending some time in Switzerland, Father Ochoa returned to Mexico once again in 1985 to help form a Seminary School in Guadalajara. While there, he also taught classes at a local school, helped construct a temple and a secondary school and started a food bank for the less fortunate.

In January 1991, he departed to Los Angeles to be an administrator in charge of a home for Guadalupe Missionaries and was in charge of all missionary work. While in Los Angeles, he promoted the Integral System of New Evangelization program. From 1996 to 2004, he served in several parishes of the Archdioceses, with the permission of the Guadalupe Missionaries. His last assignment for the past four years was at St. Pius X in the City of Santa Fe Springs, where he brought great joy to the parishioners.

I want to thank Father Ochoa for all he has done for my community and many communities throughout the world. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing him good health and best wishes in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Theresa Marcella (Palomares) Fuentes, affectionately known to all as Teddy. She was born on January 16, 1924 in Los Angeles to Robert F. & Bessie (Duarte) Palomares. A fifth generation native Californian, Theresa is a direct descendent of Don Ygnacio Palomares, original Spanish land grantee of the historic Rancho San Jose located furthest from San Gabriel Mission and encompassing the area that today includes Pomona, San Dimas, La Verne and adjacent areas.

Teddy was educated in Los Angeles Catholic parochial schools, including St. Mary's Grammar School at 4th & Chicago in Boyle Heights, and later graduated from Catholic Girls High School. Immediately following graduation Theresa enlisted in the United States Navy Women's Auxiliary (WAVE's) Corps during the height of World War II, and was stationed in Washington, DC performing clerical duties for the Navy Department.

Upon her Honorable Discharge from the Navy following the war, Theresa married her childhood sweetheart Robert H. ``Bob'' Fuentes, also a Los Angeles native. Together they had 10 children, Christina Marie, Roberta Theresa (married to James F. Buescher), Charles Patrick (married to Linda L. Unruh), Andrea Elizabeth (married to Robert C. Kunkel), Cecelia Catherine, Robert Henry III (married to Cynthia Vetter), Mary Carole (deceased), Christopher Francis, Joseph Aloysius (married to Amy D. Boothe), and Caroline Bernadette ``Buffy'' (deceased), and made their home in Norwalk and later Cerritos.

A devoted homemaker and helpmate, Teddy immersed herself in the education and development of her children, amply demonstrating her talents as an accomplished artist and painter, expert seamstress, first-rate cook, as well as noted hostess in furtherance of her husband Bob's political career. After the untimely death of Bob Fuentes at age 50, Teddy took up the mantle of family matriarch and entered the workforce as a Sales Representative for Coca-Cola Bottling Company, retiring in 1991 after 14 highly successful years.

Teddy Fuentes has made many outstanding contributions to church, civic and community endeavors, including service as Grand Regent of the Santa Teresita Court of the Catholic Daughters of America, and active memberships in the American Business Women's Association, Native Daughters of the Golden West, Past Grand Knights Association of the Knights of Columbus Council 3678, Gadabouts Senior Club, and Cerritos Senior Citizens.

A world traveler par excellence, Teddy has traveled throughout the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East including several trips to Israel where she was baptized in the Jordan River, and Egypt where she rode camels at the pyramids and Sphinx.

Theresa Marcella Palomares Fuentes celebrated her 80th birthday on January 16, 2004 together with her large family and numerous friends including her six grandchildren Jennifer Marie Hood, Holly Alana Hood, Ryan Anthony Kunkel, Lauren Elizabeth Kunkel, Laurel Frances Fuentes and Robert Henry Fuentes, IV. I take great pleasure in noting the wonderful life and achievements of Theresa Marcella Palomares Fuentes, extend sincere best wishes on the happy occasion of her 80th birthday and wish her continued happiness and good health.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to honor Richard A. Elbrecht on the occasion of his retirement from the California Department of Consumer Affairs, an agency with which Elbrecht has served the public since 1976. As the Supervising Attorney of the Legal Services Unit, he promoted and practiced the ideal that the law must be accessible to those whom it affects.

Mr. Elbrecht graduated from Yale University in 1955 with a degree in economics and a focus on money, banking and the antitrust law. He also attended the University of Michigan Law School and earned his J.D., 1960. Mr. Elbrecht worked for Legal Aid, the National Consumer Law Center and in private practice in San Jose and Santa Cruz.

But his greatest impact on the people of California was made during his years at the Department of Consumer Affairs where he constantly inspired his staff and co-workers through his intellect, enthusiasm and energy. He has created and maintained a work environment where excellence and innovation flourished. His unit provides a wide range of legal services, including legislative drafting, advocacy before administrative agencies, litigation and education. He has personally worked in a variety of areas of importance to consumers, including banking, electronic funds transfer, telecommunications, insurance, sales, warranties, credit and cable communications. He helped design and administer California's state quality awards program and has performed research on the application of computers and telecommunications to education.

Through this work, Elbrecht has achieved many extraordinary accomplishments on behalf of California's consumers. He drafted the 1991 and 1992 rewrites of the California Small Claims Act and supervised coordination of the Small Claims Court Experimental Project, which led to numerous significant improvements to the small claims court process. He fundamentally reformed practices for selling hearing aids through his representation in People and Director v. Beltone Electronics Corp. He assisted policy makers in developing regulations of interest rates in retail installment sales. He played a key role in the conceptualization and enactment of the California Lemon Law, the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act.

I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Richard A. Elbrecht for his many years of service to California's consumers. His advocacy and hard work will be greatly missed, and we wish him much happiness and contentment in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3209 would make a minor change by requiring the North Loup Division of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program to deliver water to ``approximately'' 53,000 acres. Existing law, as was explained by my colleague, requires the project to deliver to exactly 53,000 acres. Yet, the project does not annually deliver water to precisely 53,000 acres.

The bill is not controversial. I urge Members to support this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1732. This bill provides the Secretary of the Interior with authority to help finance a water recycling project to serve residents of Williamson County, Texas. As my colleagues know, these water recycling projects are becoming not only increasingly popular but necessary with communities who need reliable and cost-effective ways to firm up their community clean water supplies. It is unfortunate, however, that this administration refuses to understand and fund the potential of these projects. We will continue to press the administration to support these projects.

H.R. 1732 is not controversial. I urge support for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I am very happy to hear the remarks of my colleagues. Water reuse, water recycling has been a very, very critical project and favorite subject of mine. Having been born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, I understand a lot of the Texas issues with the drought along the border that is creating havoc with farming and the economy thereof. I hope that we can continue to address and include funding to be able to expand not only to those areas that are in critical need but also those areas that can be used.

We have no new water in this world. It is all the same water that Mother Earth is recycling for us and we are helping recycle. We just trust that we can convince the administration of its need and begin doing it before we face very critical needs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), the coauthor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, S. 1066 is a noncontroversial piece of legislation that is identical to companion legislation, H.R. 154, passed and reported by the Committee on Resources earlier this year as was just addressed by my colleague.

By all evidence this technical correction appears to be genuine and needed to fix a legitimate error in the maps depicting the Matagorda subdivision in Unit T-07. For this reason and because this legislation would not undermine the policies of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, Members should not oppose this legislation, and I recommend they vote for it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1648 simply authorizes the transfer of certain features of the Bureau of Reclamation's Cachuma Project near Santa Barbara, California, to the local water districts. Allowing the local districts to take over parts of the project will help simplify the operation and maintenance of the districts' water distribution systems. I would like very much to commend the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps), my Democratic colleague and sponsor of this bill, who is unable to be on the floor at this moment, for her efforts to get this very important bill passed.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1648 is not controversial, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is with tremendous pride that I rise today to honor Major General Paul D. Monroe, Jr., the Adjutant General of the California National Guard for his 46 years of military service. He is a credit to his country and the National Guard. General Monroe's leadership and vision have brought the Guard into the 21st century and made the 22,000 soldiers and airmen under his command better prepared than ever before.

Since September 11, General Monroe has mobilized nearly 10,000 soldiers and airmen to fight in the war on terrorism, both at home and abroad. He has deployed soldiers and airmen to serve in Operation Enduring Freedom as well as in missions to secure our borders, bridges and airports.

General Monroe has also helped the Guard reconnect with the communities in California. During his tenure, the Guard has partnered with numerous agencies and organizations to provide successful anti- drug programs and youth education initiatives. The General truly understands the need to give back to the community, and he, along with the extraordinary men and women who serve under him, have made invaluable contributions to cities and towns throughout California.

Recognizing the hard work and dedication of his soldiers and airmen, General Monroe had made ``member care'' a top priority, working tirelessly to provide high quality services for his troops. He has also established the California National Guard as an exemplary model for diversity and equal opportunity for guard members.

General Monroe began his military career as an enlisted soldier in the U.S. Army in 1957 and joined the California Army National Guard in 1961. He has served in Infantry, Signal, and Military Police Commands, and every level of command from platoon through brigade. He has been honored with over one dozen awards for his service with our Armed Forces.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a true American hero, Major General Paul D. Monroe, Jr. I extend my best wishes to the General, his wife Laura, their two children and their three grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, it is with tremendous pride that I rise today to honor one of my constituents from Santa Fe Springs, California, Laura Berg, who has recently been named to the U.S. Olympic Women's Softball Team. Laura has been a member of this team in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic games, winning gold medals both times. She is one of four two-time Olympic champions on the current team which will compete in the 2004 Olympic games in Athens, Greece. Berg started as a centerfielder in all 10 games in the 2000 Olympics and will play outfield for the team in 2004.

Berg has been a part of the USA Softball national system since 1994 when she was member of the USA Team that captured gold at the ISF Women's World Championship in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. In addition to her Olympic glory, Laura has won numerous accolades for her softball skills at the high school, college, national and international levels, including two gold medals at the Pan American Games and three World Championship gold medals. A graduate of Santa Fe High School and Fresno State University, she is of three players at Fresno State to ever boast 300 or more career hits and post a 160-game defensive errorless streak. She also spent 4 years as an assistant coach for the Fresno State Bulldogs team.

Laura firmly believes in setting challenging goals for herself and working hard to achieve them, whether she is practicing softball and studying in school. Her commitment to her sport, positive attitude, and strong work ethic have led to her extraordinary success and make her a role model for other young women.

Laura began playing softball as a child, tagging along to a program in which her parents had enrolled her twin sister, Randi. She continues to be inspired by the challenges of the game and has become a veteran leader for her teammates.

Laura is married to Rob Peterson, the Assistant Athletic Director at the University of South Dakota. The two met when Peterson was Director of Facilities at Fresno State.

For the next 11 months, Laura and her teammates will be working hard in preparation of defending their Olympic title. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in congratulating Laura and the other outstanding women who make up the team and in wishing them great success.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, any potential changes to the Vietnam Memorial or any of these magnificent memorials on our National Mall must be considered very carefully. The Wall is an incredibly powerful tool for reconciliation and healing as we have heard, and, as I have heard from many of my constituents, it is also a permanent record of sacrifice and loss.

Millions of Americans feel a deep and personal connection to The Wall, and we in Congress are its stewards.

In this instance a visitor center would allow the National Park Service and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to provide visitors to this wall a context that might further their understanding of the war.

For many visitors, the list of over 50,000 names inscribed on black granite is certainly moving, but their personal understanding of, and connection to, the events surrounding the conflict is very limited. A small underground visitor center would become an a powerful tool in expanding visitors' connection with the Memorial and its subject matter.

Certainly, there is more work to be done even after this legislation is enacted. How best to design and construct the center so that it will not intrude upon The Wall itself or any other memorial on the Mall, as well as how best to fund staff and maintain the center must all be explored.

However, development of this legislation has become a cooperative process, as we have heard, and the bill contains certain provisions that will provide guidance on each of these issues as the process of establishing the center moves forward.

Once completed, the Vietnam Memorial Visitor Center will be a welcome and informative addition to our National Mall. The gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), and all the cosponsors of H.R. 1442 are to be commended for their efforts on this important legislation.

In addition, the contributions of the administration and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund were vital during this process. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1442, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I just wanted to thank my speakers for coming in and supporting this important piece of legislation, and I am only sorry I did not get on the gentleman from California's (Mr. Pombo) bill early enough because it would have been something that would be tremendously important. My brother served in Vietnam.

I urge my colleagues to support and endorse this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1092 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to auction six Federal parcels in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada. Proceeds would be used for the general education fund in Nevada and other purposes, including the development and maintenance of parks and trails in Carson City and Douglas and Washoe Counties.

The majority has explained the bill, and we have no objection.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1598. Communities throughout the Nation are finding technologically advanced and innovative ways to solve their water supply and water quality problems. H.R. 1598 is an excellent example of how we can help those communities.

With only a small amount of financial assistance from the Federal Government, we can save water by building water recycling and desalting projects, and may I add, also recycling projects, that are important to southern California. Not too long ago, Congress would have rushed to support an expensive dam and reservoir project. We now have the option to help our cities who understand that the future to securing a reliable water supply is through the promotion of water recycling, conservation and desalination.

Mr. Speaker, I hope the administration can understand how important these projects are, especially water recycling, and how they can help communities solve their water problems that are so urgently needed, even now, especially in the area where there is tremendous drought.

I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 1598.

Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. NAPOLITANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1521, sponsored by our colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), would expand the boundaries of the Johnstown Flood National Memorial. There are several private property owners interested in selling their land for inclusion within the memorial, and this legislation is needed to facilitate these acquisitions.

On the afternoon of May 31, 1889, after several days of torrential rains, the South Fork Dam on Lake Conemaugh in southwest Pennsylvania failed, sending 20 million tons of water into Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The resulting flood killed more than 2,200 people, making it one of the worst natural disasters in American history. The Johnstown Flood Memorial is a powerful tribute to the lives lost during this tragedy, and the parcels which would be added under H.R. 1521 would be important additions to the memorial.

I expressly want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) for his diligence in moving this legislation through the House, and I urge all our House colleagues to support H.R. 1521. I also want to thank the chairman of the Committee on Resources, the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), for his assistance in this.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce my resolution regarding the report by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and adopt the goals and recommendations of the Commission's report. As we commemorate Mental Illness Awareness Week, we must take steps to implement these goals and ensure affordable, accessible, and high quality mental health care for all Americans.

I commend the Commission for their insightful and informative report. Almost one quarter of all Americans currently suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, but a only small fraction of them actually receive the treatment they need. This is unacceptable. The Commission's report provides us with six key goals and corresponding recommendations that will help ensure that all Americans who need mental health services receive them in an effective manner.

The goals of the Commission are as follows:

(1) To help all Americans understand that mental health is essential to overall health;

(2) To make mental health care consumer and family driven;

(3) To eliminate disparities in mental health services;

(4) To make early mental illness screening, assessment, and referral to services common practice;

(5) To ensure delivery of excellent mental health care and acceleration of mental illness research; and

(6) To use technology to access mental health care and information.

It would be a tragedy to ignore the Commission's report and its sensible recommendations. Every year we lose approximately 30,000 lives in the U.S. to suicide. Every year we lose millions of dollars in lost productivity due to mental illness. Many of these lives and dollars could be saved if high quality mental health services were accessible to all.

I call upon all of my colleagues in Congress and my friends in the Administration and in the mental health advocacy community to work together and take the necessary steps to implement the Commission's goals and dramatically improve mental health care in this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is with tremendous pride that I rise today to honor Sugar Shane Mosley, for his impressive win against Oscar de la Hoya on September 13, 2003 in Las Vegas. This hard-fought victory made Mosley the super welterweight world champion for the third time in his spectacular professional career. This was his second world championship win against Oscar de la Hoya; the first was in 2000. Mosley entered this year's contest as a 2-to-1 underdog, but his hard work and determination led to his 12-round victory by unanimous decision.

Mosley hails from Pomona, California, the largest city in my 38th Congressional District, and I am honored to count him among my constituents. He started boxing at the age of eight under the guidance of his father, who continues to coach him to this day. He had an outstanding amateur career with 250 wins out of 260 fights. He had an amateur win against Oscar De La Hoya in Pasadena when he was 12 years old. Mosley also traveled with De La Hoya as part of the U.S. national team.

Sugar Shane Mosley has been in 42 professional fights, winning an impressive 39. A three-time world champion and veteran of 16 world championship fights, he is a true boxing superstar and recognized as one of the best fighters in the world. Mosley's extraordinary offensive and defensive skills, quick reflexes, superb mobility, excellent physical conditioning and will to succeed contribute to his remarkable career and winning record.

Outside of the ring, Mosley is a devoted son, husband and father. He is married to Jin Mosley, a native New Yorker. Together, the couple has two sons--two-year-old Najee and one-year-old Taiseki. Sugar Shane Mosley also has a 13-year-old son, Shane Mosely, Jr., who is affectionately known as ``Little Shane''.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a role model, husband, father and super

welterweight world champion Sugar Shane Mosley. I wish him all the best for his future.