Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2478-- the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009. This legislation calls for the end of the reign of terror perpetrated by Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and beginning the work of reconstruction and reconciliation efforts across northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Central African Republic.

This predatory rebel group has been allowed to roam unchecked across Central Africa for nearly a quarter century, leaving behind a wake of communities ravaged by their senseless violence and barbaric means of recruitment. Since 1986, the LRA has abducted tens of thousands of children to be used as soldiers or sex slaves in one of the worst and most neglected humanitarian crises on the planet.

On December 14, 2009, the LRA initiated a series of attacks in the Makombo region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where over the course of 4 days, the LRA massacred at least 10 villages, killing over 321 civilians and abducting over 250 civilians--80 of whom were children. In a continuation of the LRA's 24-year history of brutal, unchecked violence, the terrorist rebel group forced children to kill other children, raped girls as young as 11 years old, and gave a warning of silence to the local population by cutting off a number of villagers' ears and lips. Out of the over 321 civilians whose lives were lost, only two died from gunshot wounds, as LRA combatants are known to conserve ammunition by killing with clubs and machetes. Despite the horrific nature of the attack and the sheer number of causalities, the outside world did not receive word of the massacre before Human Rights Watch released their report almost three months later.

But ultimately there is hope in seeing an end to this crisis. For more than a year, American youth across the country have called for U.S. leadership in ending the conflict; Congress has listened, and in turn, taken concrete action in seeing an end to this war. The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act stands today as the most cosponsored piece of legislation on an Africa-related policy issue in modern congressional history; 65 Senators and 197 of my colleagues in the House of Representatives have put their names on this crucial human rights legislation.

This legislation requires that the administration deliver a strategy to Congress within 180 days of the enactment of this legislation that outlines a multilateral, interagency plan for the apprehension of top LRA commanders and protection of civilians in LRA affected areas. This budget neutral bill also sets a priority within existing State Department funding for transitional justice mechanisms in northern Uganda, disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former child soldiers, and immediate emergency humanitarian relief to communities devastated by the LRA in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and Southern Sudan.

Most importantly, this bill gives a mandate to the President from Congress and the American people in taking proactive steps to bring an end to the violence of the LRA and restoring peace and stability to Central Africa. By the end of the year, I and my colleagues will look forward to seeing a robust strategy submitted from President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and we will continue tirelessly fighting for its successful implementation. I ask of my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Jan Verhage for her outstanding service as Executive Director of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital for the past 25 years. For a quarter century, Jan has dedicated her life to building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. Many of our daughters and granddaughters who live here in the Washington area benefit directly from the amazing, innovative and outstanding programs organized under Jan's purview.

Under her guidance and leadership, the Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital has experienced unprecedented growth, including a membership that has tripled in size. Today, the council serves 90,000 members in the District of Columbia and 25 surrounding counties in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. During Ms. Verhage's tenure as Executive Director, more than 2,700 girls earned the Gold Award, the Girl Scouts' highest honor, earned for developing a sustainable community service project.

Jan has also been instrumental in reaching out to underserved communities, by targeting girls of different racial, ethnic, or language backgrounds and by providing financial assistance to girls from low-income families, in order to deliver Girl Scouting to all girls. Her innovative initiatives include training college students to lead troops in at-risk communities; a road safety program for teen girls; and programs that address critical issues such as self-esteem, healthy living, financial literacy and peer pressure.

I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Jan Verhage for 25 years of dedicated service to girls in the Greater Washington Region. I wish her the best in her future as Chief Operating Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA.

Madam Speaker, I am on the floor today acknowledging the upcoming 100th year anniversary of the passage of the Weeks Act, a significant conservation achievement in the history of the United States. John W. Weeks, a Republican Congressman from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, was relentless in his efforts to pass this legislation, which authorized the federal purchase of cutover and denuded forestlands in the headwaters of navigable streams for the purpose of conserving the flow of streams and rivers and to restore lands for future timber production. Despite a fierce two year battle, Rep. Weeks was successful and the Weeks Act cleared Congress on March 1, 1911.

At the turn of the 19th century, vast amounts of private forested land in the eastern United States had been ravaged by clear cut logging. In the absence of trees, vast areas of the East were prone to flooding and soil erosion, as well as destructive forest fires. No longer productive, these lands were often abandoned and came into state and local ownership for nonpayment of taxes. To bring these lands back from the ecological brink, Rep. John Weeks introduced legislation directing the federal government to relieve state and local governments from managing these lands and restore them to their former condition.

Today 26 eastern states are home to 52 National Forests encompassing almost 25 million acres. These forests provide significant economic benefits. Not only are the forests recreational sanctuaries, they are also a major contributor in keeping America's drinking water clean. Many eastern municipal water supplies depend on National Forest watersheds and currently $450 billion in food and fiber, manufactured goods, and tourism depends on clean water and healthy watersheds. In addition, the timber supply managed by the Forest Service provides a significant monetary benefit. The timber resource was almost nonexistent when the federal government purchased the land, but today these lands host an estimated 42 billion cubic feet of growing stock and about 210 billion board feet of saw timber.

With this resolution we recognize and commemorate the vision of John W. Weeks and his contribution to the conservation effort. Both Republicans and Democrats recognized the importance of federal government in conserving the forests and the water supply for long term environmental goals. Today I encourage both Congress and the Forest Service to begin preparing a centennial celebration commemorating this major bipartisan accomplishment. Our 52 National Forests in 26 eastern states may never have existed if the Weeks Act of 1911 had not been passed.

I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the gentleman from New York, the chairman of the committee, and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. McCotter). Thank you very much for bringing this resolution to the floor.

The purpose is to help prevent attacks against Federal employees while they are engaged in or on account of the performance of their official duties.

Last month, we commemorated the 15th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. This act of violence claimed 168 lives and injured more than 680 people. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on United States soil until the September 11, 2001, attacks. The Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh, made Federal employees his target because he was angry at the United States Government.

In the 15 years since that horrific bombing, Federal employees have been the target of a great number of attacks. Internal Revenue Service employees have borne the brunt, as those who are frustrated with tax problems have taken their frustrations out on IRS workers just doing their jobs, in fact, carrying out the laws that the Congress makes. The IRS has recorded some 1,200 attacks on its employees since September 2001. Attacking a Federal employee engaged in or because of his or her work is a Federal crime. The Justice Department investigates some 300 cases per year.

We are a free society. Strong rhetoric is acceptable, even fashionable. But rhetoric should not inspire violence. Federal agencies devote significant resources and develop procedures to protect their employees. But two recent attacks on Federal employees highlight what I see as a worrying trend. In February, a plane was flown into the IRS building in Austin in an act of murder-suicide that claimed the life of a veteran of two tours in Vietnam.

In March, another deranged individual walked up to the Pentagon entrance and opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, injuring two Pentagon guards. These acts were more than sensational attempts at mass murder. They were acts of domestic terrorism with Federal employees as the target.

We have the finest, most professional civil service in the world, and we take for granted that our Federal workers provide many forms of dedicated and important service to our Nation. Civilian employees serve in war zones providing essential support to our military. Federal workers maintain our national parks, our wildlife refuges and forests, secure our borders, and respond in times of natural disaster, as we can see in the gulf oil spill.

Our diplomats advance our country's interests around the world, very often in dangerous environments. The more than 2 million civilian employees in the Federal workforce deserve a reasonable degree of personal safety and security while carrying out their duties implementing the laws we make. It is incumbent upon the Congress and the administration to ensure their safety.

We have a responsibility and that's why I have introduced this bill, a responsibility to protect our Nation's Federal employees. House Resolution 1187 calls for a renewed commitment to our civil servants, and I urge my colleagues to unanimously support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Christian Relief Services Charities for their 25 years of making a difference in the world to assist in the alleviation of human suffering, misery, disability, and pain by advancing and improving the welfare of all persons and the international community while preserving native cultures, heritages, customs and beliefs.

Christian Relief Services, celebrating their 25th anniversary, oversees and guides a family of nonprofits. It is considered to be among the top charities in the country and is one of the original accredited charities allowed to display the Better Business Bureau Charity Seal on all of its publications.

Americans Helping Americans builds and strengthens American Communities. It provides vital transitional housing to the homeless and victims of domestic violence in Virginia, and supports programs assisting the needy in a number of states, primarily in Appalachia, with emergency assistance, food, new shoes, blankets, winter coats, home repair, school supplies and efforts of self-sufficiency, assisting approximately 100,000 individuals. It provides affordable housing assistance to low and very low income working families located in Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Ohio and Virginia, and permanent housing for the homeless and chronically mentally ill adults in three group homes that the organization owns, located in Fairfax County.

Running Strong for American Indian Youth and the Cheyenne River Youth Project, provide financial, technical and administrative support to their many programs assisting American Indian families across the nation on and off reservations. They help fund water development, food pantries, youth enrichment programs, shelter, utilities assistance, emergency assistance, food, new shoes, winter coats, home repair, school supplies and supports efforts at self-sufficiency, promoting positive change to 200,000 individuals.

Bread and Water for Africa works with community-based grassroots organizations in Africa to provide basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, medical care, education and vocational training, lifting the despairing, wiping away sparse tears of the children, feeding the malnourished, changing sorrow into hope and benefiting hundreds of communities and many hundreds of thousands of people throughout Africa.

Christian Relief Services Charities has always been there with emergency assistance when the need is the greatest. Recently, they met the huge challenge of the earthquake in Haiti by quickly donating life- saving relief supplies. At a time of economic instability, it is comforting to know that their services serve the 8th Congressional District and beyond.

I am proud to salute the efforts of the staff, volunteers and the board of directors of Christian Relief Services Charities for their outstanding charitable work for a quarter of a century.

Madam Speaker, the United States and Japan have a strong and critical alliance that is vitally important to both of our countries, to the Asia-Pacific region, and to the world. It is based on shared interests and values and our common support for political and economic freedoms, human rights, and international law. Japan now participates in our Pacific Partnership Initiative bringing humanitarian civic assistance to countries in Southeast Asia. Japan is second to none in supporting President Barack Obama's vision of a ``world without nuclear weapons'' and advocating for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Japan also supports our mission in Afghanistan and has recently doubled its civilian aid to the country providing much needed funds for job training, agriculture support, infrastructure and security training.

But as a friend of Japan and the Japanese people, I am compelled to bring to their attention by resolution a concern involving 269 American children who have been abducted to and/or wrongfully retained in Japan since 1994. These American children are in Japan as a result of kidnapping by a parent with Japanese citizenship following the dissolution of their relationship to the American citizen parent. Research shows that abducted children are at risk of serious emotional and psychological problems and have been found to experience anxiety, eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep disturbances, aggressive behavior, resentment, guilt and fearfulness, and as adults may struggle with identity issues, their own personal relationships and parenting.

Despite a shared concern within the international community, the Japanese government has yet to accede to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction or create any other mechanism to resolve international child abductions. Japan's existing family law system neither recognizes joint custody nor actively enforces parental access agreements for either its own citizens or foreigners. Most troubling, the existing legal system relies exclusively on the voluntary cooperation of the parent or guardian who has abducted the child. American parents must beg to see their abducted children and have no legal recourse if the taking parent denies them access.

Consequently, American parents are calling on the U.S. Government to urgently intervene and quickly find a diplomatic solution.

I ask for my colleague's support on a bipartisan resolution supported by Rep. Christopher Smith, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, Rep. Gary Miller, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn, calling on the Japanese government to address the growing problem of abduction and retention of American children in Japan. The resolution calls for Japanese officials to work closely with the United States to return these children to their custodial parent or to the original jurisdiction for a custody determination in the United States, and to provide left-behind parents immediate access to their children. Finally, the resolution calls for Japan to adopt without delay the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The well-being of these children should be an issue where agreement can be reached and distraught parents are reunited with their children. I call on the Government of Japan to work closely with the U.S. Government to resolve current cases and establish an efficient mechanism to resolve future potential cases of abduction.

Cosponsors of this legislation introduced by the Rep. James P. Moran:

The Honorable Christopher H. Smith.

The Honorable Maurice D. Hinchey.

The Honorable Gary G. Miller.

The Honorable Marsha Blackburn.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work of Mr. Jerald F. terHorst, longtime reporter, columnist, and White House Press Secretary, who passed away on March 31, 2010 at his home in Asheville, North Carolina. He was surrounded and supported by his four children in his final hours.

Born in Grand Rapids in 1922, Mr. terHorst discovered his passion for journalism while at Michigan State University. While working at the State News, the MSU college newspaper, he met Louise, his companion, confidante and best friend through 64 years of marriage. Mr. terHorst was a proud veteran having served as a Marine in World War II. Following the war, Jerry jumped head-first into his passion, reporting, while working for the Grand Rapids Press. During his time there, he covered future-President Gerald Ford's early political career during his successful bid for Congress. A few years later, after a stint in the Marine Corps, Mr. terHorst took a job as a political writer for the Detroit News. He moved to their Washington bureau and shortly thereafter became bureau chief in 1961.

In 1974, when then-Vice President Ford inherited the presidency after Nixon's resignation, Mr. terHorst signed on as Press Secretary for the man he had been closely covering for close to 20 years. It was to be a short-lived tenure, however, lasting one month. His resignation of the prestigious role was due to his strong disagreement with President Nixon's pardoning. In his resignation letter and personal statements in the years following, terHorst stated that his decision was ultimately because he believed Ford had displayed a double standard of justice in choosing to pardon Nixon, yet refusing to pardon conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War. Jerry's resignation, risking his entire career, was a testament to his strong ethical values that had brought him so far in his career. Mr. terHorst received the first Conscience- in-Media Award for his decision. Following his tenure at the White House, Mr. terHorst reentered the profession he loved, signing on as a syndicated columnist for the Detroit News, finally retiring in 1981 after a long and distinguished career.

Mr. terHorst was a friend, strong advocate for truth and justice, and inspiration to those who knew him and read his work. He forever left a mark on reporting and the role of the White House Press Secretary. Jerry will be deeply missed but his legacy lives on, serving as an example for future generations of journalists to model themselves after.

Madam Speaker, as we mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, I ask my colleagues to consider cosponsoring a resolution I am introducing today to reduce the use of plastic and paper bags.

Single-use retail plastic and paper bags are bad for the environment. Both paper and plastic bags consume valuable natural resources when produced, generate waste, and pollute the environment. They keep us dependent on nonrenewable resources and impose external costs that we bear in the form of higher waste disposal costs, visual blight, the destruction of wildlife and the deaths of tens of thousands of animal and marine life by entangling them in the plastic or poisoning them through toxins that leach into the ground and waterways. We use more than 100 billion plastic bags every year and because they don't biodegrade, each bag represents a persistent threat to the environment.

While paper bags are less harmful to the environment, they require four times as much energy to produce and generate 70 percent more air pollution and 50 times more water pollution than plastic bags. And while recycling efforts should be applauded, recycling rates are dismally low. Between one and three percent of all plastic bags are recycled and between ten and 15 percent of all paper bags are recycled.

The resolution encourages states to establish targets for businesses to reduce distribution of plastic and paper bag use by 40 percent over the next five years; educate the public about using reusable bags through public-private initiatives, public awareness campaigns, and other methods whenever possible; and facilitate the dissemination of best practices among businesses for reducing single-use retail bag consumption. It would also encourage businesses to adopt consumer credit programs to promote reusable bag use.

One need look no further than the District of Columbia to measure success. Late last year the District imposed a 5 cent tax on plastic bags which led to a dramatic impact on bag use. The number of plastic bags used by supermarkets and other establishments dropped from the 2009 monthly average of 22.5 million to just 3 million in January 2010.

I could conclude here, but that would be only half the story. This resolution was brought to my attention by two enterprising Georgetown University students, Mariel Reed and Brian Lin. Together with their fellow classmates they drafted the resolution in response to a bill I introduced last year to tax plastic and paper bag use. They used my bill as a case study on environmental legislation. Both students are very bright and realized that there is little prospect my bag tax bill would be enacted. My bill does point toward a worthwhile objective, and it builds on the actions of several local and foreign initiatives that have met with success. But, there is no group or organization that has backed it and few Members today prefer to be on record supporting a tax increase.

And here is the second lesson these Georgetown students came to realize and what remains a valuable lesson that the environmental community needs to appreciate as a movement. The public and many elected officials are not always in sync with what we need to do to restore the environment and preserve it for future generations. Progress on the environmental front has never been a clear and straight line but erratic path with peaks and troughs. But, if we look back over the past 40 years, we have seen considerable progress. If you were to average out all the peaks and troughs, an upward progress would begin to appear. We can be proud of our achievements and the fact that such landmark laws like the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, and many others that we have passed since the 1970s, have gone a long way toward restoring the environment. Our land, air and water are cleaner than they were on the first Earth Day.

While the science of today has led us to a better understanding of our relationship with nature, we must also appreciate that a democracy requires time for the public to accept and support the necessary changes.

Just as the time may not be ripe to ban the use of plastic bags, we can encourage broader public participation in recycling and promoting alternatives that over time will achieve the same goal. There are a number of proven approaches that work to reduce plastic and paper bag use. All have merit and the states are the appropriate forum through which these approaches can be developed and implemented.

Again I applaud the efforts of the two Georgetown students and their class for providing us a valuable political lesson on this 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

I thank the chairman for his leadership on this issue.

As the chairman knows, I have some reservations about the effectiveness of a sanctions regime, but there is no question in my mind but that the worst thing that could happen is military confrontation because that would in fact unite the Iranian people against America and on the wrong side of history.

Now, it is too easy to think of Iran as a monolithic people. The reality is that Iran is the successor to the great Persian civilization, and it is a very diverse civilization. I share the chairman's concern about the current Government of Iran, which I don't think is consistent with Persia's history; and in fact their actions have been inexplicable and inexcusable. And the chairman is right, obviously, to respond. But the reality is that a very substantial portion of the Iranian population, perhaps a majority, in fact embraces American values of democracy and human rights and individual freedoms of expression, collective gathering, and freedom of worship; but they are not able to do that today.

I appreciate the fact that the chairman is determined to allow the technology that would enable the population to communicate their ideas, in fact to mobilize for the best interests of their nation and their future. We ought also to limit the availability of technology that the regime is using for precisely the opposite purposes: to censor and to perform surveillance against those people who would like to empower the Iranian people to take control of their own future.

This bill will be supported, it should be supported, and, again, I appreciate the chairman's leadership.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Alma Powell as recipient of the Commonwealth Academy's 10th Annual CARE Award. The Commonwealth Academy is a college preparatory day school in Alexandria, Virginia. As a recipient of the CARE Award, Mrs. Powell has demonstrated outstanding leadership in efforts to empower young people, including those who struggle with learning differences and AD/HD, to discover and reach achievement levels commensurate with their abilities.

Alma Powell sits on the boards of several educational, cultural, charitable and civic organizations. She is the chairman of the board of America's Promise Alliance, whose mission is to mobilize people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of youth. Mrs. Powell also chairs the advisory board for the Pew Center for Civic Change. From 1989 to 2000, she has served as the chairman of the National Council of the Best Friends Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of young girls.

Mrs. Powell is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters from Emerson College, an Honorary Doctor of Humanities from Shenandoah University and the Civic Change Award from the Pew Partnership for Civic Change. She has also been honored by Washingtonian magazine as Washingtonian of the Year and is the recipient of the Leadership Award from the Women's Center in Virginia. In addition to her many service- minded activities, Mrs. Powell has added ``author'' to her list of credits. In 2003, her two children's books, My Little Wagon, and America's Promise were launched with great success.

Mrs. Powell was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and went on to study speech pathology and audiology at Emerson College in Boston. She worked as the staff audiologist for the Boston Guild for the Hard of Hearing.

Alma married Colin Powell in 1962. Mrs. Powell spent the next 33 years raising a family and accompanying her husband on his various military assignments in the United States and overseas. While her husband was stationed at the Pentagon, she served as the Army liaison to the National Red Cross as part of a team of volunteer consultants from the military services. During General Powell's tenure as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, she was the Advisor to the Red Cross of the Military District of Washington. Most recently, during her husband's tenure as the 65th Secretary of State, Mrs. Powell served as the honorary president of the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide. She also sat on the advisory board of the Hospitality and Information Service and was an honorary member of the Department of State Fine Arts Committee.

It is my pleasure to congratulate Mrs. Powell on this prestigious award. I wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.

Madam Speaker, I am on the floor today to acknowledge the 200th anniversary of the creation of Columbia Pike and commend the Columbia Pike community for its achievements as a vibrant and visionary community.

``The Pike,'' as it is known more commonly to the citizens of Arlington, dates back to April 20, 1810, when Congress chartered a company to begin construction on the toll road. This legislation, which was signed into law by President James Madison, allowed the incorporation of a company for making certain turnpike roads in the District of Columbia.

Columbia Pike began as a privately owned toll road providing westward access from Long Bridge, situated near the current 14th Street Bridge, into Northern Virginia. The road was not paved, however, until 1928.

Columbia Pike has seen significant change in its two centuries of existence. In fact, the road became essential for military purposes during the Civil War. Several forts were built in Arlington to protect the federal city from attacks, and the Pike served as a means of transportation between the forts and district. It is likely that President Lincoln travelled on the Pike to Bailey's Crossroads in 1861 to attend the historic review of federal troops. I feel the road has had great historical significance not only for transportation, but also for communication and housing. The first cross-Atlantic radio broadcast was sent in 1915 from towers in the Penrose neighborhood, in the eastern Columbia Pike community, to the Eiffel Tower in France. In addition, during periods of rapid growth, such as the New Deal era and after World War II, the Pike became home to thousands of Federal employees. To accommodate the influx, garden and low-rise apartment buildings were constructed along Columbia Pike.

Today, the road continues to be of great importance and several organizations, including the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization, have dedicated themselves to improving and revitalizing the Pike area. Currently, Arlington County is working to establish a new transit system along Columbia Pike to improve the area surrounding the Pike through advancing redevelopment and increasing and improving local land use.

Columbia Pike has a long and rich history. I wish Columbia Pike and its residents a heartfelt 200th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Mary Hatwood Futrell on her remarkable career as the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University. Many in this body will remember Dr. Futrell from her decades of involvement and leadership at the National Education Association, where she was president from 1983 to 1989.

Throughout her entire distinguished career, Dr. Futrell has been a trailblazer in Virginia and the national education debate. Born and raised in Altavista, Virginia, she graduated from Dunbar High School in Lynchburg and received a Business Education Degree from Virginia State University. In 1965, she helped integrate the teaching staff at George Washington High School in Alexandria, where she would continue to teach until 1980--becoming chair of her department and an active participant in the Alexandria and Virginia Education Associations.

In 1968, Dr. Futrell became the first African American president of the Virginia Education Association. She fought hard for teachers' rights, and in that same year she led a march of 7,000 teachers and public school employees on Richmond to protest a Virginia Supreme Court ruling striking down collective bargaining rights for public employees. At the time, it was one of the largest marches ever to take place in the history of Virginia.

Dr. Futrell became president of the National Education Association in 1983. There she served an unprecedented three terms. She worked tirelessly to strengthen and grow the association, move it to take forceful positions on collective bargaining rights, and to bring a higher profile to important issues like drop-out rates and changing school curriculum needs.

After stepping down as president of the NEA, Dr. Futrell joined The George Washington University as a fellow, earned her PhD, and quickly became a faculty member and the Dean of the Graduate School of Education and Human Development. In her role as Dean she contributed greatly to education both nationally and locally. Under her leadership the School's prominence has grown dramatically; its enrollments have increased 45 percent and it is now more selective than ever before. The Graduate School has raised more than $200 million in funding for research and educational efforts during her tenure and has started 10 centers of excellence that help guide education policy on the national stage and in local school districts across the country.

Throughout that time, Dr. Futrell has always kept her close ties to the Commonwealth. She makes sure that her faculty teaches in all of GW's Virginia locations--Arlington, Alexandria, Ashburn and Hampton Roads. Indeed, Dr. Futrell herself drives to the university's Hampton Roads Center to teach classes each semester. She has built a strong following and has personally educated many of the great principals, superintendents and education leaders in Virginia today.

As she relinquishes her deanship, I want to wish Dr. Futrell many more successful years of teaching and thank her for her lifetime of dedication to her profession and to the students and teachers of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor former Congressman Stan Parris, who passed away on March 27. Mr. Parris represented the Eighth District in Virginia in the House from 1973 to 1974, and then again throughout the 1980s, from 1981 to 1990.

He was a very hardworking advocate for Northern Virginia and his constituents. He was a fighter pilot, a veteran of the Korean War. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Purple Heart, and an Air Medal for his service.

He was known for giving out his home phone number, for listening to people regardless of their views; I'm not sure his successor has given out his home phone as often. Mr. Parris had a major impact on Northern Virginia by supporting flood control projects and bridges. He laid the groundwork for the Four Mile Run project. He put carpool lanes on Interstate 395. He transferred control of the airports from the Federal Aviation Administration to a regional airport authority. He led an effort to move the D.C. prison from Lorton. When the National Football League blacked out broadcasts of games that were sold out, he got the league to change its policy.

As a member of the Banking and Finance Committee, he proved prescient in cautioning about the looming savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. He graduated from George Washington University Law School. He owned several car dealerships. He was a State Delegate and was on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. He is survived by his wife of 28 years, Martha Harper Parris of Mathews, Virginia, his three children, and his two grandchildren.

I would now like to yield to my colleague, the dean of the Virginia delegation, Congressman Frank Wolf.

I thank the gentleman. Perhaps now we could have a few moments of silence for both departed colleagues.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill to require indexation of deferred annuities for departing federal employees.

Federal employees who leave the U.S. Government before age 62 must either defer their retirement annuity until they turn 62, or immediately withdraw the amount they have contributed to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (CSRDF) for retirement. The amount of their annuity is not indexed for inflation, so younger employees have little incentive to opt for a deferred annuity that will lose real value over time.

Paradoxically, changing the law to index deferred annuities would reduce the federal budget deficit for the first several years following enactment, as many more federal employees opt for a deferred annuity and outlays from the Treasury to pay departing employees an immediate lump sum decrease significantly.

The long-term effect on the budget is likely to be neutral. Outlays for annuities to retirees several years in the future will increase, but because employees' contributions to the CSRDF must, by law, be invested in U.S. Treasury bonds, the interest will offset future increased outlays.

At a time when the Federal Government is facing the challenge of an aging workforce and federal employees are paid 26 percent less than their counterparts in the private sector, the excellent benefits package the Federal Government offers is a key recruiting tool. Indexing federal employees' deferred annuities will improve that package, and at the same time reduce the deficit in the short term.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today we will define who we are-- as Americans, and as Democrats or Republicans.

No Republican will vote for this bill because they say they want a smaller government, lower taxes, and less spending.

Democrats, on the other hand, believe that America's government can be fiscally responsible and also play an essential role in helping America achieve its true greatness.

We know that America is a lesser Nation when we have to pay twice what other countries citizens' pay for health care, while we live shorter and less healthy lives; We are a lesser nation when millions of America's families lose their homes and life savings because a loved one gets seriously sick.

We know that we can reduce the suffering of our people, while lengthening and bettering their lives. And because we know this, we have a responsibility to change it.

As with Social Security and Medicare and Civil Rights legislation, it is now time for another step in our historic progress toward greatness. That's why we chose public service and why we, as Democrats, will pass this bill today.