Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it has been one year since the brave men and women serving in the U.S. Armed Forces were ordered into Iraq. On a daily basis, these brave servicemembers are displaying tremendous patriotism and courage. They and their families have made enormous sacrifices, many even the ultimate sacrifice, to serve our Nation.

I continue to strongly support our troops serving us in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. My own district has seen the loss of four fallen heroes who gave their lives in defense of our Nation: Jorge Casanova, Atanacio Haro Marin, Francisco Martinez Flores, and Kelly Bolor. Many more from my district have been injured. One of my constituents, Eugene Serrano, was part of the unit that captured Saddam Hussein.

Last month, I hosted a ceremony in my district to honor these fallen heroes and all of our Nation's veterans--those who have lost their lives, those who have put their lives on the line, and those who continue to risk their lives in order to defend our Nation.

We should honor our troops and our veterans. However, I cannot support the particular resolution before us today.

I oppose this resolution not because of what it says, but because of what it does not say. It fails to express sorrow and condolences to the families of the more than 550 servicemembers that have died in Iraq, over 415 of whom were killed after President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq. It also lacks mention of the more than 3,500 who have been wounded in Iraq.

Honoring our troops should go beyond mere words commending their service. We should also eliminate disparities in pay between our active duty military and the National Guard and reservists. Some reservist families in my district are struggling to make ends meet while their loved ones are serving our Nation abroad.

We should also provide the health care and benefits our wounded service men and women earned when they come home. I've had the privilege of visiting Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC, where many of the wounded troops are receiving care upon returning from Iraq. Some of these soldiers, many of who have little financial resources, are facing substantial medical bills for injuries sustained during war.

We should also take steps to ensure that the families of fallen soldiers have access to resources to cope with the loss of their loved one. This includes adequate funds for bereavement costs and translators for military personnel who visit families of fallen heroes whose first language is not English. When military personnel arrived at the home of one of the fallen service members from my district, his parents, like all parents in the same situation, feared the worst. Unfortunately, the parents were unable to fully understand why the uniformed military members were visiting them because they did not speak English. They feared for their son's condition. Language and cultural differences should be acknowledged and addressed, especially when families are hearing news that they have lost a loved one.

Finally, this resolution ignores the important steps that must be taken to lay the foundation for a stable and secure Iraq. We should immediately remedy the deficiencies in the intelligence on which our troops rely and assemble a true international coalition so that the United States does not have to consume all of the costs and nearly all of the casualties. Doing so will help secure the region and bring our troops safely home.

Today, we had an opportunity to truly honor our troops with words and action. Unfortunately, this resolution accomplishes nothing more than dividing us at a time when we should be united.

I continue to support our troops. I want to extend sincere gratitude to them and their families for their extraordinary sacrifices.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the League of United Latin American Citizens as it celebrates its 75th year of advancing the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of Hispanics in the United States.

LULAC's founding 75 years ago signaled the end of one era and the beginning of another. For decades, the Hispanic community had been engulfed in an environment of inequality, discrimination and injustice. The creation of an institution like LULAC initiated a positive change in the future direction of the Hispanic community as it embodied the will of a people to overcome these barriers to social inclusion and civic participation and claim their rights as U.S. citizens, to access the American dream.

Today, LULAC represents Hispanics in most parts of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and Guam. It also serves as a cornerstone for some of the most successful Hispanic national organizations. For example, LULAC formed the American GI Forum to address the rights of Hispanic veterans. LULAC also helped to create the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund to function as the legal arm of the Hispanic community.

LULAC's record of activism, whether fighting for voting rights and full access to the political process, equal educational opportunities for Hispanic children, or the rights of women and full inclusion in American society, is a testimony that it is an organization that will forever address those issues that impact the lives and future of all Hispanic Americans. I commend LULAC on its 75 years of service and the innumerable contributions it has made to our Hispanic community and our country as a whole.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Heather Taylor- Miesle, a dedicated and passionate young woman who has worked in my office as a Legislative Assistant handling environmental and transportation issues for nearly three years.

Heather was instrumental in shepherding into law a bill that is important to my community and close to my heart--the San Gabriel Valley Watershed Act (Public Law 108-65). Signed into law on July 1, 2003, the bill implements a study that will investigate how to preserve green, open and recreational space in the San Gabriel Valley Watershed in Los Angeles County. This law will go a long way towards ensuring environmental justice for the community I represent--one that is often the victim of environmental blight, rather than the beneficiary of environmental good fortune.

Heather is a proud environmental advocate who constantly pushes to ensure that the health and well-being of people remains at the top of the environmental agenda. She has worked with the local cities I represent to focus on cleaning up polluted Superfund sites and assessing the health risks of dust emitted by local gravel mining pits.

As Heather leaves the office to pursue a new professional opportunity, I wish her, her husband Don, and son Isaiah the best of luck. Her warm personality and friendly demeanor will be greatly missed.

Mr. Speaker, good morning. I rise this morning to talk about the economy. President Bush keeps telling us the economy is turning the corner and that jobs are coming. Well, Mr. President, where are the jobs you keep promising?

Last Friday brought more disappointing news to our country. Twenty- one thousand new jobs were created last month. That is 285,000 fewer jobs than President Bush promised his tax cut would provide. The unemployment rate among Latinos rose by 7.4 percent last month, 28 percent higher than when President Bush took office.

Twenty thousand plus people in my District alone, 8 million nationwide, are out of work. These people are looking for jobs.

This coming weekend we are helping to sponsor a job fair at the Los Angeles Dodgers stadium. Hundreds of out-of-work southern Californians are eager to return to work. They, too, want to know where the jobs are.

The Bush policies have failed. It is time to take a different approach. Let us provide tax incentives for companies to keep jobs in the U.S. and pass the highway bill and create well-paid and meaningful jobs here in the U.S.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the following on behalf of myself, Ms. Lucille Roybal-Allard, Mr. Dennis Cardoza, Ms. Grace Napolitano, and Ms. Linda Sanchez. We stand to recognize the life of Mr. Frank del Olmo, a hero in the Latino community who recently passed away. He was not only a leader for Latinos in the State of California, but also an exceptional human being who exemplified the best in American journalism.

Mr. Del Olmo was an Associate Editor and columnist for the Los Angeles Times. An award-winning and nationally recognized writer, he wrote passionately about Latino issues in California for almost 34 years. More than an Editor and columnist, he was a politically driven activist whose powerful penmanship made him an innovative voice for Latinos, immigrants, and the less fortunate. He paved the way for other journalists and was highly revered by his colleagues for his pioneering work on the Latino community and the City of Los Angeles.

Representing a city with a large but much ignored Latino population, Mr. Del Olmo gained recognition for educating readers throughout the nation about issues affecting Latinos. He was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service in 1984 for the L.A. Times series ``Southern California's Latino Community.'' He was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University in 1987 and was inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1972, he was a founding member of the California Chicano News Media Association. And in 1975, he won an Emmy Award for writing The Unwanted, a documentary on illegal immigration.

Del Olmo was a bitter opponent of Proposition 187, a controversial California initiative in 1994, which denied basic government benefits to undocumented immigrants. Introduced by then Governor Pete Wilson and widely regarded as a discriminatory initiative, Mr. Del Olmo wrote a strong editorial piece, denouncing Governor Wilson and calling Proposition 187 ``the mean-spirited and unconstitutional ballot initiative that would deprive `apparent illegal aliens' of public health services and immigrant children of public education.'' He also helped correct injustices in Los Angeles County by uncovering corruption in municipal governments and touched the lives of countless families through his heart-felt columns on his son's battle with autism.

Born in Los Angeles in 1948 and a graduate of California State University, Northridge, Mr. Del Olmo suffered a heart attack and died on February 19, 2004. His wife, Magdalena, a daughter, Valentina, and his son Frankie survive him.

He will always be remembered for both his powerful voice and creative ability in depicting the best and, at times, the worst in today's society. Frank del Olmo will forever live in the hearts of L.A. Times readers, will forever be a hero in the Latino community, and will forever be a role model for future Latino leaders. We will miss Frank dearly and may he rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to talk about the current state of our economy here in the U.S. Three years and three massive tax cuts later, President Bush keeps telling American working families that our economy is turning the corner and that jobs are going to be coming soon. Well, Mr. President, where are the jobs? Where are those promises you made?

Last Friday brought more disappointing news about our jobless recovery. In fact, only 21,000 new jobs were created last month. Many economists had expected 125,000 new jobs, and the President promised 300,000 new jobs. The disastrous job creation levels are further evidence that the Bush economic policies are not working. However, the President continues to insist that his plan is the right approach.

President Bush was in my home State of California last Friday when the dismal employment numbers were released. He was in Bakersfield, a town with an unemployment rate of 12.8 percent, painting an uplifting and positive picture of our troubled economy. When he learned that a local business there would be creating two new jobs, the President called it really good news. We need far more than two and three new jobs, Mr. President, to put our State back on track.

The Bush economic policies have been a disaster for our State. Rather than create jobs, we have lost 3 million private sector jobs under this administration. If the rest of the year mirrors last month's numbers, it would take 9 years, 9 years, to recover all the jobs lost under this President.

Much of the job loss has been in the manufacturing sector, where job loss is at a 53-year high. Another 3,000 manufacturing jobs disappeared last month because of outsourcing, a policy that the Bush administration says is healthy for our economy. Long-term unemployment also continues to be a very, very serious problem. The average out-of- work American is now unemployed for 5 months, the highest in 20 years.

A report recently released by the Economic Policy Institute and the National Employment Law Project found that college graduates, older workers, and workers in the manufacturing industry disproportionately are likely to experience long-term chronic unemployment in our current economy. To make matters worse, President Bush wants to make it even more difficult for those to find work.

Under his budget proposals this year, worker training and assistance programs for millions of Americans would be cut significantly. He wants to reduce access to worker training, child care support, housing assistance and college tuition relief and public health insurance at a time when most working families need help the most. I think that is wrong.

Those of us that live in my district know how hard it has been. The reality is that in my district we have very high unemployment rates. In the cities that I represent, particularly East Los Angeles where about 70 to 80 percent of the population are Latino families, they are experiencing up to 10 percent and above unemployment rates. It has been that way for the last 3 years.

Where is the relief for the districts that I represent, for the hardworking Americans that contribute to our taxing system here and get nothing in return when they really need it?

I would ask for us to take a strong look at the policies that this administration is advocating and postpone the tax cuts for the wealthy and restore integrity in the health care services and in our education and in our environment.

Our environment is suffering. Latino children in my district suffer higher rates of chronic illnesses, asthma, obesity, and diabetes. If these issues are

not contained now, we are going to have to be paying for those tomorrow.

We need to invest in America. We need to stop outsourcing. We need to make sure that our children and our families are taken care of.

I would ask for all Americans to take a second look at this recovery that the President is proposing. I would ask for all of us to join together and make our resources felt here at home.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Cristina Villarreal, a staff member who will be leaving my Washington, DC, office this week.

Cristina came to our office after graduating from American University to work as a staff assistant. She worked her way up to serve as a scheduler and as a legislative aide working on foreign affairs issues. Cristina has worked with me as we developed legislation (H. Res. 466) to call attention to the disturbing abduction and murder of hundreds of women taking place in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. H. Res. 466 conveys the sympathy of the U.S. House of Representatives to the families of the young women murdered in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, and encourages increased United States involvement in bringing an end to these crimes. Cristina also helped me organize a Congressional delegation to travel to Mexico to bring light to the over 300 young women who have been killed in Ciudad Juarez over the last decade. Cristina shares my commitment to bringing light to this human rights issue.

Cristina is beloved by her colleagues and will be missed by them. As Cristina moves on to pursue graduate education, I wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Nikki Yamashiro, a dedicated, thoughtful, and intelligent young woman who I have been fortunate to have working on my staff for over two years.

Nikki first began working in my Washington office as an intern in the winter of 2001. We were pleased to have a resident of Monterey Park, a community I represent, and a graduate of the University of California at San Diego, in our office. Nikki quickly showed us the qualities that would make her a valuable contribution to our team--her intelligence, willingness to work hard, and commitment to the residents of California's 32nd Congressional District.

Nikki gradually worked her way up from an intern to her current position of Legislative Assistant. Along the way, she spearheaded my office's participation in the Congressional Arts--Competition and improved the efficiency of our constituent mail system. Last year, she played a key role in strengthening two bills I introduced--the Domestic Violence Courts Assistance Act and the Domestic Violence Prevention, Education, and Awareness Act. Nikki is a true champion for women's rights and has helped me build nationwide support for these bipartisan bills.

I am very proud of her work, but I am most proud of the work Nikki did to shepherd into law a bill important to our community--the Francisco A. Martinez Flores Post Office Act (Public Law 108-116). Lance Corporal Martinez Flores was a courageous Marine from

Duarte, CA, who lost his life while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nikki and I worked together to get all 53 Members of the California delegation on board as cosponsors of a bill to rename a local post office after Francisco. Nikki would not rest until we achieved our goal--and I am proud to say the post office will be officially renamed on February 28, 2004.

Although I am proud that Nikki is choosing to pursue graduate education, I know that our office will not be the same without her. Nikki is very much loved and respected by everyone she works with. I wish Nikki the best of luck in all her future endeavors. I have no doubt she can achieve anything she sets her mind to.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise also in strong opposition to the so-called Unborn Victims of Violence Act. I am extremely disappointed that the issue of violence against women is being manipulated into a political tug of war.

The bill recognizes for the first time a fetus as a person with rights separate and equal to that of a woman. Nearly one in every three adult women experience at least one physical assault by someone that she knows, a partner in many cases.

There is no doubt that acts of violence against women, especially pregnant women, are tragic and should be punished to the full extent of the law. However, we must institute legislation that does not erode the legal foundation of a woman's right to choose as a condition of protection against violence. We must support legislation that truly addresses harm to pregnant women and domestic violence.

The Democratic substitute being offered today by Lofgren, the Motherhood Protection Act, would create a separate Federal criminal offense for harm to a pregnant woman, instead of recognizing the fetus as a separate legal person. Recognizing the real issue at hand, harm to a pregnant woman, must not be exploited to further a long-standing political agenda.

I urge my colleagues to vote against H.R. 1997, and support the Lofgren substitute.

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to recognize the numerous contributions of Mr. Raul Vargas of the University of Southern California (USC). For more than three decades, Mr. Vargas has pioneered higher education accessibility for minority students in southern California and throughout America.

A graduate of prestigious universities, including the University of Southern California, former Army veteran and life-long educator, Mr. Vargas is one of the nine founding members of the Mexican American Alumni Association (MAAA) at USC. Under his leadership, the MAAA and its supporters have provided unprecedented financial assistance to Latino students entering USC since 1974. Totaling over $10 million, the MAAA has awarded nearly 6,000 scholarships to outstanding Latino undergraduate and graduate students. For this reason, the MAAA is currently the largest and most prestigious Hispanic alumni association in the nation.

Since its inception in 1974, the MAAA has raised a major portion of its scholarship money from its Annual Scholarship Dinner in February and its Scholarship Golf Classic Tournament in June. The Scholarship Dinner, the elder of the two events, draws hundreds of USC alumni, donors, and supporters and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Within the last 10 years, the success of the two annual events has helped the USC MAAA's Endowment Fund to now proudly exceed $2 million.

Mr. Vargas has been recognized by prominent institutions and organizations. He was named Hispanic of the Year by the National

Hispanic Scholarship Fund; won the Spirit of Education Award by the American Diabetes Association; and earned the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Mr. Raul Vargas currently ranks among the top leaders in higher education. Above all, he exemplifies the excellence in American leadership today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the rich history of African Americans as we celebrate African American History Month.

Throughout our Nation's history, African Americans have made vast contributions to all aspects of American society--music, literature, sports, education, science, business, and politics. This month and throughout the year we honor these contributions and the wonderful African American men and women whose stellar achievements have left a positive imprint on our society.

We remember in a very special way this month the thousands of African Americans serving in the United States Armed Forces. From the Revolutionary War to the war in Iraq, African Americans have served our Nation in high numbers and with great distinction and honor. We honor this proud history and all African Americans currently defending our Nation and its freedoms.

I encourage those living in my district in Los Angeles County, California, and around the country to take time this month to learn more about vast cultural and historical contributions made by African Americans to our great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about the jobless recovery. What an oxymoron that is.

Families in my district and around the Nation want to know, where are the jobs? Only 296,000 jobs have been created since this President took office, well below the 2 million that he promised. These jobs, by the way, are being created and going overseas. That is what is really happening here in the U.S.

My district is hurting. I represent East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley. Our unemployment is well over 10 percent. Hundreds of people continue to look for work.

When we talk about homeland security, we should also be talking about job security. It is time to enact policies that will truly stimulate the economy and create jobs at home. We should provide tax cuts for middle class families, tax incentives to keep jobs here in the U.S., and implement fair-trade agreements that respect and level the playing field.

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 23 on H.R. 743, the Social Security Protection Act, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 24 on H.R. 3783, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I stand today to recognize State Senator John L. Burton of California.

A bellwether in American politics, Senator Burton authored policy at the state and federal levels for 30 years. Prior to being elected to the California State Senate in 1996, Senator Burton served as a Member of Congress from 1974 to 1983. Elected President Pro Tempore of the California State Senate in 1998, he proudly represents the 3rd Senatorial District, encompassing the City of San Francisco and other Bay Area counties. He also serves as Chair of the Rules Committee and is a member of other powerful panels such as the Appropriations, Constitutional Amendments, Public Safety, and Revenue and Taxation Committees.

Under his leadership, Senator Burton has improved the lives of millions of Californians by authoring legislation that ranges from education to health care. He has made college accessible for thousands of low-income students, by guaranteeing Cal Grant scholarships of $9,700 for students who meet the GPA requirements. In the first state budget enacted during his time as President Pro Tempore, he revived cost of living adjustments and increased benefits for the elderly, disabled, and welfare-dependent mothers. In the latest budget, he ensured that mental health services and juvenile crime prevention programs receive high levels of financial support. In addition, Senator Burton has spearheaded legislation that allows the use of DNA testing to improve criminal investigations, strengthen child support collection and reform the campaign monetary system.

During his illustrious political career, Senator Burton has received numerous honors by eminent organizations and institutions. Some of his past recognitions include: Legislator of the Year by the California Association of Mental Health Patients' Rights Advocates, the California State University Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Sean McBride Award for Human Rights Work.

Well into his seventies, Senator John L. Burton continues to work hard for the people of California. He is a tireless and relentless leader, who I believe exemplifies the excellence in leadership today.