Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1424, the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act. I want to congratulate Congressmen Kennedy and Ramstad for their excellent work on this bill. Their effort to secure parity for all Americans suffering from mental heath conditions has truly been an historic one, and I am proud to stand here today and support the House's comprehensive mental health parity bill.

Mental health conditions are the leading cause of disability for Americans aged 15-44, and are implicated in 90 percent of the more than 30,000 suicides that occur here annually. Productivity loss due to depression costs employers an additional $31 billion per year before disability claims are even taken into account. Every day, patients suffering from these debilitating conditions are denied treatment by insurers who do not provide mental health coverage--patients who could be treated safely and effectively thanks to new advances in medicine.

Mental illness is, according to nearly all medical experts, a biologically-based illness just like getting cancer, or diabetes, or the flu. But in addition to the horrendous costs that untreated and unchecked mental illness imposes on patients and society as a whole, failure to provide parity in coverage for mental illness stigmatizes patients suffering from mental health conditions and decreases the likelihood that they will seek treatment that could aid their suffering and enable them to be more productive members of society. This unjust stigmatization has no biological or medical basis, and yet it threatens promising American lives every day. We do not blame cancer patients for having cancer--why should we treat patients suffering from mental health conditions any differently?

H.R. 1424 is a comprehensive mental health parity bill that will ensure access to vitally needed treatment for countless Americans currently suffering from mental health conditions. Again, I applaud my good friends on their efforts on this bill, and I am proud to support this historic legislation here today.

Mr. Speaker, 5 years after the start of the war in Iraq, a new authoritative poll shows the growing concern of U.S. military officers about the impact of the war in Iraq on our Nation's security. The poll is based on the opinions of 3,400 present and former military officers. Eighty-eight percent of these officers believe that the demands of the Iraq war have ``stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin.'' Eighty percent of the military officers believe it is unreasonable to expect that the U.S. could respond to any new military threat in another part of the world. And nearly three-quarters of the officers believe civilian leaders set ``unreasonable goals for the military in post-Saddam Iraq.''

Clearly, the Bush administration is not listening to its own military officers. In fact, before the start of the Iraq war, not one single military officer believed that Iraq had anything to do with the war on terrorism. And yet President Bush is determined to continue this war irregardless of his military's own concerns.

Mr. Speaker, the war in Iraq has undermined our Nation's military strength and our readiness and, therefore, our national security.

Mr. Speaker, this week the House Democrats will

build upon our economic stimulus package by passing an energy bill that is designed to lower prices at the gas pump, which are currently over $3 a gallon. The price of oil is hovering around $100 a barrel and many predict that if we don't act now, it's going much higher.

The Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act extends and expands tax incentives for renewable energies including renewable electricity and fuel, hybrid cars and energy-efficient homes and appliances.

By investing in renewable energy, we can take another critical step in reducing our Nation's dependence on foreign oil. And at a time when our economy is struggling to produce new high-paying jobs, this legislation will help create hundreds of thousands of new green jobs in renewable energy that will help us provide a cleaner environment for the next generation.

Mr. Speaker, our legislation is also fully paid for by repealing $18 billion in tax subsidies that big oil companies continue to receive despite record earnings. It's time Congress modernizes our Nation's energy policy by passing this important bill regardless of President Bush's opposition.

Madam Speaker, today I join a bipartisan team of my colleagues to introduce a resolution to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

October 1957, the Soviet Union ushered in a new dimension to the Cold War with the United States when it successfully launched Sputnik I, the world's first artificial satellite, into space.

So, on this day, in 1958 the Department of Defense established the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to serve under the secretary of Defense as the specialized technical engine for the United States Military. The threat of Soviet technological superiority and space domination could not be tolerated amid the growing tensions and developing arms race between the two superpowers. DARPA was tasked to confront this threat.

As DARPA focused its technological strengths on the space mission, the agency achieved the unimaginable. The Saturn V rocket, which enabled the United States to launch the Apollo missions to the moon originated on a DARPA drawing board. Perhaps more important, DARPA developed the first surveillance satellites that gave our Nation accurate intelligence on Russian missile program activities throughout the world.

As the military mission evolved throughout the last half century, so too did the DARPA focus. Recognizing the changing nature of warfare well in advance of today's battles, DARPA revolutionized the way our Nation fights wars. Instead of sacrificing more troops by putting them in harm's way, our military now uses stealth technology in our aircrafts, advanced precision munitions that can be dropped into theater without dropping in troops, and now the Predator and Global Hawk unmanned air vehicles dominate the world's airspace.

DARPA's ongoing commitment to the military is not limited combat. The agency's programs are developing real-time accurate language translation, prosthetics that can be controlled by the brain, and alternative fuel sources for military vehicles that will help eliminate our Nation's dependency on foreign sources of oil.

Of course, DARPA's success has not been limited to military innovation. ARPANET, the world's first operational packet switching network, led to the development of today's Internet. Since DARPA engineers first started to connecting remote computers to each other to talk about their shared ideas and work, the Internet has revolutionized the world with the creation of endless possibilities.

The reason that DARPA's work engages the cutting edge of technology is a result of its unique business model. By limiting project managers to 4 to 6 year terms, DARPA optimizes the flow of new ideas by empowering industry experts to take risks, think outside the box and advance ground breaking research projects.

DARPA continues to meet the growing needs of the Nation as it develops significant cutting edge technology elevates the U.S. to the forefront of innovation and propels our military to be the most superior fighting force in the world.

I am proud to recognize DARPA's 50 years of innovation, and I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman and his staff for including the Moran-Shays amendment in the manager's package of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. For some time, Mr. Shays and I have been concerned with maintaining the strength of our Nation's public service. This amendment lays an early foundation for a greater Federal role in encouraging and facilitating public service.

The Moran-Shays amendment will bring together the experts in the field of public service to study how student loan debt affects the decisions of graduates of postsecondary and graduate education programs to enter into public service careers. Specifically, the study assesses the current challenges to recruiting and retaining well-qualified public servants, evaluates existing Federal programs and whether additional Federal programs could increase the number of graduates who enter careers in public service, and recommends pilot programs, including the establishment of a public service academy, to encourage careers in public service.

The new century has brought immense challenges that require strong and prepared public institutions. On the eve of the retirement of the baby-boom generation, our Nation presses for a new generation of teachers, firefighters, Federal employees, and other civil servants to fill the void they will leave.

Young Americans are answering the call. According to the Higher Education Research Institute, two-thirds of the 2005 freshman class at institutions of higher education expressed a desire to serve others, the highest rate in a generation.

Yet, an impediment to public service is the increase in college tuitions and debts, making it difficult for graduates to pursue careers in the public sector. These future public servants are potentially overburdened by the debts of college and university loans, forced to choose private sector jobs over public service opportunities.

By providing students with a federally funded education, the stress of debts would be eliminated, and their commitment to the public service sector for at least 5 years could lead to lifelong service.

I have joined with Representative Chris Shays and Senators Hillary Clinton and Arlen Specter to introduce the U.S. Public Service Academy Act. Modeled after the military service academies, this academy will provide a 4-year, federally subsidized college education for more than 5,000 students each year in exchange for a 5-year commitment to public service, including fields that will most need a new generation of leaders, such as public education, public health, and law enforcement. We are encouraged by the support the proposal has gained so far, as nearly 100 bipartisan cosponsors in the House of Representatives have joined in this effort.

Mr. Chairman, the Moran-Shays amendment will continue to make the case for Federal intervention into promoting public service, including possibly a public service academy. I thank the committee for including the study in the manager's amendment, and I urge passage of the College Opportunity and Affordability Act.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend and vice- Chair of our caucus for yielding me the time.

If his chairman, Mr. Rangel, and Mr. Frank had had their druthers, not to mention the Speaker, this would have been a far better bill than it is today. It would have included the extension of unemployment insurance and food stamp benefits; it would have helped out States with their Medicaid funding crisis.

It would also have included home mortgage foreclosure mitigation which has had a tremendous impact upon thousands of families throughout the country. We know that a one-time payment of $600 will do nothing to help a family facing foreclosure, as some 250,000 American families are expected to do every month this year.

The Bush White House insisted that this mortgage foreclosure counseling be taken out over the objections of Mr. Frank, and it is a darn shame when this could have had such a positive impact.

The impact of home foreclosures isn't limited to the lender and borrower, as we so well know. They have a negative impact on the entire community.

The reality is that across this country over the ensuing year there will be nearly 45 million homes that will be foreclosed on. This will shrink the local property tax base by $223 billion this year as a result of the foreclosure of home mortgages. And, yet, when we look around at what has worked, we find that one hotline, for example, is currently taking more than 1,000 calls a day preventing an estimated 200 foreclosures by empowering borrowers with the skills and education they need to work out terms with their lenders and to stay in their homes.

That's one of the things that this this bill needs to be about. It needs to be about extending unemployment insurance and the kind of helping hand to America's working class that this party stands for. We are going to pass the bill, but we could and should have done better.

Madam Speaker, America is sliding into a full- fledged recession. Meanwhile, the President continues to pour hundreds of billions of dollars more into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the first wars in America's history in which most Americans have never been asked to sacrifice anything.

The President has offered no means to pay for this war spending. It is being financed solely through increased borrowing. Apparently, the idea is to borrow money, particularly from China, while driving up oil prices that benefit Iran in order to fight the war on terrorism. I am not sure that is such a wise strategy.

We send an astounding $60 million a day to China. We now owe China $1.4 trillion. America has never been so deeply in debt to another country in our Nation's history. It is the equivalent of every American borrowing $4,000 from China.

Today, the Bush administration will announce that our trade deficit with China is $250 billion, a quarter of a trillion dollars, just this year. We have gotten ourselves into a financial vise, too dependent upon a totalitarian state. It can't continue and should not. We need better leadership, Madam Speaker.

I thank the very distinguished chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the very distinguished chairman of the Defense appropriations subcommittee. Because, over the last 2 years, six times this body has passed responsible limits on the conduct of this war. Six times we have tried to make sense and pass legislation.

What we are about to do now is to give the President a blank check to continue this war until the end of his term, to continue what has gone down in history as the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history. Nobody in their right mind can argue that this war was thoughtfully planned or responsibly executed, and yet we are going to give him a blank check. We will look back on this day and people will ask, why?

Well, I want to thank Mr. Obey, I want to thank Mr. Murtha, the Out of Iraq Caucus, and the majority of my colleagues. We did the right thing. History will record that. But this is a very sad day for us. When you think that 4,000 young men and women have given up their lives, tens of thousands seriously wounded. For what? For a nation that will wind up far more loyal to Iran than it will be to the United States, to a nation that in fact is allowing young people to roam the streets with guns and forcing school girls going to school having to wear their veils. A repressive society, what will become a Shiite theocracy.

Sure, there is less violence. But that is because we have ethically cleansed most of Baghdad. There is less violence because the Sunni warlords have taken time off from shooting American soldiers to ridding themselves of al Qaeda in Iraq because Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to take a 6-month hiatus from shooting us. But all of this is going to come back. We see no end in sight. This is a very bad day, and we ought to vote ``no.'' It is the responsible thing to do.

Mr. Speaker, I support the conference agreement on the Energy Independence and Security Act and I thank Speaker Pelosi for her personal involvement and leadership on this issue.

This legislation: (1) reduces our dependency on unstable foreign sources of oil; and, (2) moves us away from our unsustainable reliance on fossil fuels.

To do so is absolutely necessary for our economy, our future prosperity and our environment.

Americans are reminded how important this is every time they fill up their gas tanks at the pump.

While we should not try to manipulate the price at the pump, we can take concrete steps to reduce the amount of oil we consume, by making our vehicles travel further on each gallon they burn, and in doing so, reducing our dependency on too many unstable and unfriendly foreign sources of oil.

It's been more than 30 years since Congress last raised automobile fuel efficiency standards, and during the interim, the average fuel efficiency of our vehicles has actually declined. We've regressed in meeting our goals.

This legislation corrects this inexcusable abdication of responsibility and mandates tough, but achievable, fuel efficiency standards that will reduce our daily consumption of oil by 4 million barrels per day by 2030--more than twice the amount we import from the Persian Gulf today.

Consumers can look forward to savings hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year on their gas bills.

This legislation also looks toward the future and crafts responsible policies that, if implemented today, will reduce the threat of global warming and the impact of future oil price shocks by moving us toward cleaner, more environmentally responsible alternative sources of energy.

The mandate on commercial power companies to produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources will be the equivalent of retiring 300 coal-fired power plants, the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions.

With this legislation, we have the beginnings of a substantial commitment toward lower greenhouse gas emissions and greater energy independence.

By 2030, the policies implemented under this legislation will have achieved about 40 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions reductions most scientists have concluded are needed to avoid catastrophic global climate change.

Despite the claims of rising prices, economic disruption and disaster, this legislation will achieve its objectives in a way that will spur innovation, create thousands of new manufacturing and service jobs, increase savings for consumers, put fewer of our earnings into the pockets of unfriendly foreign interests and set up a safer, more secure future for our children.

I urge my colleagues to support this conference agreement.

Madam Speaker, after all the fabrications and all the incompetence associated with Iraq, not to mention the human rights abuses in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, you wouldn't think that America could lose any more credibility, but now we understand the President was warned well in advance that there was new information on Iran's nuclear program; yet he continued with his bellicose rhetoric, even raising the specter of World War III.

Well, now we know. There is absolutely no excuse for going to war with Iran. But the fact is that if the President is still concerned about Iran, which he very much should be, he should read the rest of the National Intelligence Estimate which makes it clear that Iran is going to acquire even more wealth and, thus, power because of our dependency on oil.

So the best thing that the President can do if he's concerned about Iran is to sign the energy bill that we are considering today. We cannot continue our dependence upon foreign oil, and the first way to start moving in a new and more secure direction, is to sign the Energy Independence bill that will go to his desk very shortly.

Well, what do you know, Mr. Speaker. After months of drum beat urging that we take a more aggressive posture toward Iran, mention by the President of a potential World War III, the assumptions, the assertions by the White House that Iran is aggressively pursuing a nuclear weapons program, we now find that as with Iraq, this was not true.

But, differently from what happened with Iraq, this time those professional, courageous civil servants in our national intelligence agencies stood up to intimidation from the White House and spoke the truth objectively and detailed it with facts. We're very proud of them.

All the more reason why we should not yield to the President's threats to furlough over 200,000 civilian employees and contractors just before Christmas unless the Congress approves another $50 billion in war spending.

Mr. Speaker, we need to stick to our guns. We've approved $459 billion in defense spending. That's enough.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, human trafficking is one of the greatest human rights tragedies of our time. The passage of this legislation will bring thousands of victims of slavery out of the shadows and prosecute those that would take advantage of voiceless souls for a marginal profit.

One of the key provisions in this legislation is the prevention and punishment of diplomats who abuse their servants. As many as 50,000 women and children, according to the Department of State, are trafficked into the United States annually and are trapped in slavery- like situations, including forced prostitution.

Currently, no government agency tracks instances of forced domestic labor at the hands of diplomats. Last year, the State Department issued about 2,000 domestic worker visas. In the plush residences of diplomats, servants' passports can be withheld. Many are paid as little $1 a day and suffer emotional and physical abuse. While the Department of State has indicated that some diplomats are asked to leave because of domestic abuse, it is unclear how many are prosecuted.

We are redefining our policies on human trafficking, and I would hope that with these new provisions we are able to crack down on this loophole that makes it too easy for diplomats to abuse their domestic servants.

Diplomats currently hide behind diplomatic immunity. This should not be the case when it comes to serious crimes such as human trafficking. They abuse domestic servants, and it is increasingly hard to prosecute them. This has to change. This legislation will help prevent future instances of domestic servant abuse in diplomatic residences.

So I look forward to these new provisions being implemented by the Department of State as they attempt to eliminate all forms of slavery, and I thank both committees for getting this legislation to the floor and urge everybody to vote for it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of Mr. William R. Molzahn for his service to the Department of the Navy as Deputy General Counsel to the Office of General Counsel. Mr. Molzahn will retire on January 3, 2008 upon having served 33 years of distinguished service. His tenure and record exemplifies the highest traditions of public service.

Born in Chicago, Mr. Molzahn attended California State University, Fullerton, and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Los Angeles. He began his career with the Department of the Navy's Office of General Counsel in 1974, and quickly distinguished himself as an outstanding young attorney. In 1986, he became a member of the Senior Executive Service, after which he

served as Counsel to the Naval Space and Warfare Command and Counsel to the Naval Sea Systems Command.

As the Deputy General Counsel and senior career civilian attorney for the Navy since 2000, Mr. Molzahn has expertly guided an organization of more than 600 attorneys. Among numerous other honors he has received throughout his career, he received a Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive Award in 1997 and 2005 and a Presidential Rank of Distinguished Executive Award in 2002.

Recently, Mr. Molzahn was integral in the creation of the Navy's Acquisition Integrity Office, the first consolidated program within the Department tasked with proactively investigating and protecting against procurement fraud and other unethical business practices. Also, his advisement on legal issues involving the interrogation and the treatment of foreign nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base resulted in the revision of interrogation guidelines to reflect national and international legal and ethical norms.

Serving a critical role in the revitalization of the Department of the Navy's intelligence oversight mechanisms, Mr. Molzahn was actively involved in transforming the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) from a law enforcement agency to a premier counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and force protection organization.

Throughout his career, Mr. Molzahn has been an agent for transformation. He has been adept at anticipating the need to realign legal offices and policies to support the Navy mission when needed. His peers trust his unparalleled legal acumen, personal integrity, and consummate professionalism; his supervisors view him as trusted and indispensable legal advisor.

Madam Speaker, I commend Mr. Molzalm for his leadership, and I am proud to have him live in Virginia's 8th Congressional District. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mr. William R. Molzahn for his many years of exemplary service to the Department of the Navy, and our Nation. We wish him all the best in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, this is about whether or not we continue to fund the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history.

This is not about al Qaeda. In fact, if we had gone after al Qaeda when we had the opportunity, they wouldn't have been able to strengthen themselves in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But we've been diverted over to Iraq, where al Qaeda didn't even exist until our invasion gave them a recruitment tool and rallying cry.

And sure there's less violence in Baghdad, but the reason is because the Shiia have ethnically cleansed much of Baghdad. When we started, 60 percent of Baghdad was Sunni. Now, almost 80 percent of Baghdad is Shiia.

And the reason there's less violence in al-Anbar province is because the Sunni warlords have taken it upon themselves to drive out the al Qaeda insurgents.

Our military generals have told us this war does not lend itself to a military victory. The most we can do is to step up our diplomatic efforts.

But the fact is that we are supporting a government that doesn't deserve our support. It is not representative of the people of Iraq. It is endemically corrupt. And the reality is that when we look back and ask ourselves what have we accomplished, we are going to look at a government which is far more loyal to Iran than it is to the United States. That's what we've done, to empower our enemies.

We've created chaos throughout the Middle East. And isn't it time now to have a plan to start withdrawing our troops, to tell our military families that they have sacrificed as much as we could possibly expect of them?

But the reality is that this policy has never been worthy of the sacrifice of our soldiers and their military families.

And if you really believed in what you're doing in this war, you would support Mr. Obey's attempt to pay for it. Not one dime of this war has been paid for. It's all been borrowed, borrowed from our children and our grandchildren. They deserve better and this bill is the best thing we can do for them right now.

I thank my good friend and distinguished colleague from Illinois for yielding me the time. I have the great honor to offer this resolution on behalf of all of my colleagues in the Washington metropolitan area.

The Council of Governments of the Washington Metropolitan Area began 50 years ago, in 1957. In the ensuing 50 years, it has become the premier group for collaboration on transportation, air and water quality, regional growth, emergency response, and any number of other domestic issues that are important to its individual jurisdictions. We will be honoring the Council of Governments Thursday night in their 50th anniversary gala, and all of our Washington area colleagues, including Ms. Norton, Congressman Van Hollen, Congressman Hoyer, Congressman Wynn, Congressman Davis and Congressman Wolf, will all participate, as they have been participating since they have been elected to office in the Council of Governments.

Since its first meeting during the Eisenhower administration where there were seven charter member governments, it has grown to include 21 local jurisdictions. As it has grown, it has become the place to discuss and address and solve so many of the region's problems.

Because of the Council of Governments, this is one of the finest regions in the country in which to live. But it wasn't always that way. Fifty years ago, it had half of its current population, it had no Metro system and no interstate highway system. Imagine, just 50 years ago. But the visionary leaders of this area got together, and in working with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, have made enormous strides in creating a region that is proud to be the capital of the free world, and those who live here reflect that pride. But it didn't happen by accident. COG has been an essential component of that growth.

In 1967, COG was responsible for the D.C. Air Pollution Act. It was a model that was created by the Council of Governments, signed by President Johnson. The fire chiefs of the area got together and put together a mutual aid agreement. That became the model for the 9/11 Commission's recommendation for all metropolitan areas in the country. The response of the Council of Governments on September 11, 2001, in pulling together all of the emergency responders, was tremendous and deserves great credit as well. The Regional Incident Communication Coordination System is a model in the country.

Now those 21 local governments have over 250 members. We have one of the highest quality of life achievements in the country and the Nation's strongest economy. And as we plan for an additional 1.6 million people and 1.2 million more jobs over the next 25 years, COG will continue to address those challenges. When we look forward to the next 50 years, COG predicts that by the year 2057 the average home in metropolitan Washington will cost more than $14 million. That means a lot of pay increases for all of the Federal workers, I guess including the Members themselves. But we are going to be part of a mega-region stretching from Baltimore to Richmond. The way in which we use energy is going to be a key determinant in terms of the region's prosperity.

There will be enormous changes that take place. But whatever changes take place, we know that the Council of Governments is going to be there as a meeting place, as a forum, as a facilitator, to address all of the challenges that confront us.

So, after 50 years of tremendous achievement, we do want to recognize this organization, and I very much appreciate the committee giving us the opportunity to do so. I think I have used my time, and I don't think there is much controversy, so I will conclude my remarks at this point.