Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to draw my colleagues' attention to recent attacks on synagogues and Jewish day schools in my district and the Chicagoland area. These acts of intimidation and destruction are hate crimes, and I strongly condemn them.

On Saturday, January 10th, vandals shattered windows, broke down doors, and scrawled slogans including ``Death to Israel'' on Jewish synagogues and schools in the Chicago area, including Lincolnwood Jewish Congregation, Lubavitch Mesivta, Young Israel Synagogue of West Rogers Park, Congregation Anshe Motele, and Hanna Sacks Girls High School.

These recent attacks came just over a week after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at Temple Sholom in Chicago, Illinois; and a bomb threat naming several area Jewish schools was mailed to the Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Local police are working with the FBI to determine if these attacks are linked.

Regardless of anyone's political views, attacks against religious groups, threats to schoolchildren, and the desecration of places of worship are contrary to the principles of religious tolerance upon which our country was founded and are serious crimes.

Similar crimes have been reported in other cities and communities across the country. In Knoxville, Tennessee, vandals threw rocks at two synagogues, smashing four stained glass windows. Signs supporting Hamas and comparing Israeli actions in Gaza to the Holocaust were reportedly posted at two synagogues in Irvine, California.

As a proud member of Chicago's Jewish community, I know that we are strong, vibrant, and resilient. The day after the vandalism, synagogue members put tarps over windows and returned to classes and other activities, while several hundred people gathered to denounce the attacks. Both the American Jewish Committee and the American-Arab Anti- Discrimination Committee have condemned the vandalism, and local and national groups, including the Jewish Federation of Chicago and the Anti-Defamation League, are working tirelessly in support of our community. I am proud that people of all religions in my district have come together to decry these hate crimes, just as they have come together in the past to condemn attacks on people of other religions.

Madam Speaker, what we have seen in Chicago in recent days goes beyond politically-motivated demonstrations. The intimidation and terrorization of the Jewish community is a hate crime, perpetrated against these institutions because of their religious identity. I hope that these prove isolated incidents and not a pattern of violence. I have every confidence that the police and FBI, working with the local community, will find and prosecute those responsible for these crimes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of two critical pieces of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

It is high time for the United States to end gender discrimination in the workplace and to start paying women equal pay for an equal day's work.

As the Democratic co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, I'm particularly concerned about how the downturn in the economy will impact women and their families. Today in the United States of America, women earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. African American women earn just 63 cents on the dollar, and Latinas earn only 53 cents for each dollar males earn, and single women earn just 56 cents for every dollar earned by a man.

These alarming statistics, coupled with the fact that women are losing their jobs at a frightening rate, makes passing the Equal Pay Act even more important, and I thank Rosa DeLauro for her leadership on that legislation.

But the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act provides adequate legal protections for wage discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter worked for 19 years at a Goodyear Tire plant and was routinely paid less than her male colleagues, including in her last paycheck. Unfortunately, the United States Supreme Court, in essence, said to employers, if you can just keep your underpaid women in the dark for 180 days, then you're free to deny her fair pay and leave her to attempt to meet her family's expenses on a salary that denies her rightful payment.

My colleagues, in this 21st century, it's time we made fairness the law of the land.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of two critical pieces of legislation, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. It is high time for the U.S. to end gender discrimination in the workplace and start paying women equal pay for an equal day's work.

As the Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues, I am particularly concerned about how the downturn in the economy will impact women and their families. Today, in the U.S.A. women earn just 78 cents for every dollar earned by a man. African American women earn just 63 cents on the dollar, Latinas earn only 53 cents for each dollar males earn and single women just 56 cents for every dollar earned by a man. These alarming statistics coupled with the fact that women are losing their jobs at a frightening rate makes passing pay equity legislation even more important.

I thank Rosa DeLauro for her leadership on this legislation. The Paycheck Fairness Act will help put women's wages on par with those of their male colleagues.

We must also pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to provide adequate legal protections from wage discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter worked for 19 years at a Goodyear Tire plant and was routinely paid less than her male colleagues including her last paycheck. Unfortunately the U.S. Supreme Court in essence compounded this problem when it overturned the lower court and denied her the right to seek relief from our legal system by telling her she waited too long to seek relief even through she had no way of knowing she was paid less. The Supreme Court's decision means that if an employer discriminates in paying a women but she isn't aware of it for six months, the employer can continue to discriminate for years or even decades under an immunity shield that gives that woman no legal recourse.

In other words, if employers can just keep under paid women in the dark for 180 days, they are free to deny her fair pay and leave her to attempt to meet her family's expenses on a salary that denies her rightful payment. Women should be allowed to seek legal remedies for employment discrimination and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act would remove existing barriers that prevent women from turning to the courts for help.

It is time that we help the many women this 21st century. Its time we make fairness the law of the land.

Finally, I would strongly recommend to all my colleagues if you want to do the right thing, if you want to be on the side of the women in your district, and if you do not want to be on the wrong side of history, cast a proud yes vote for the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise in reluctant support of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. On Monday, the House failed to pass a rescue package, and the stock market dropped 777 points--the biggest one day point drop in US. history. The impact of that drop wasn't just felt on Wall Street; it was also felt on Main Street. On Monday alone, Americans lost $1.2 trillion in the stock market. Almost 50 percent of Americans are invested in the stock market in some way, whether through retirement accounts or private investments, and they rely on credit and their investments to make ends meet.

This legislation is about protecting people's retirement accounts and pension plans. In the last year, investments have declined by nearly 24 percent, putting the retirement security of millions at risk; I am worried that without this package, they will continue to the downward spiral. This legislation is about making sure that there is enough credit in order for students and families to take out loans to afford to go to college. It is about letting businesses make their payroll. It is about helping people stay in their homes. That is why dozens of groups representing educators, colleges, the homeless, pension managers, and others support this legislation,

I want to make it very clear that I think this legislation is far from perfect--and, like many of my colleagues, I would have written a very different bill. However, I believe that Monday demonstrated that we had to act. Years of harmful Republican policies that pushed for deregulation and tolerated an almost total lack of enforcement, and a misguided philosophy that insisted that an unregulated market can heal all ills, have now led us to the brink of economic collapse. And I am deeply concerned--and hundreds of economists agree--that the failure to act could lead to a major economic depression.

Again, the rescue plan, while still imperfect, has come a long way from where we began. Instead of giving the President $700 billion with virtually no oversight or safeguards, we require Congressional review after the first $350 billion. And this legislation requires equity sharing, so taxpayers would benefit from future growth in the investments they have bought, and it requires Wall Street to pay back any losses to the Government. We are stopping forms of executive compensation that would encourage executives to take excessive risks, eliminating golden parachutes for executives who take part in the Government program, and cracking down on excessive compensation practices for the first time in history. And we include strong, independent oversight to protect the taxpayer, including two oversight boards to ensure that the Treasury Secretary is acting on good faith, as well as judicial review over the Secretary's actions.

While I would have liked to see the tax provisions paid for by rolling back some of the President's tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans and closing corporate loopholes, there are also important tax fixes that will benefit millions of Americans and small businesses across the country. The legislation provides property tax relief to up to 30 million homeowners--extending a new $1,000 property tax deduction for non-itemizing couples through the end of 2009. It extends the qualified tuition deduction for low- and middle-income Americans. It extends the child tax credit, which will benefit millions of Americans with children age 17 and younger. It extends the Research and Development tax credit, which spurs innovation and job growth in the technology sector. And it extends critical renewable energy and energy efficiency tax credits to help the green economy take shape.

This legislation also contains critical, comprehensive mental health parity legislation that will bring mental health insurance benefits in line with physical benefits. I have not held a health care meeting in my district without the issue of access to mental health care being brought up by my constituents who have faced discrimination or difficulty obtaining affordable care. I am proud that we are continuing Senator Paul Wellstone's legacy by passing a bill that guarantees equal access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. I also want to thank Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad for their persistence and passion in passing the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.

There is so much more we should do. I am strongly committed to enacting a second stimulus package that will truly benefit the American people. Today the House enacted 7 weeks of extended benefits for workers who have exhausted regular unemployment compensation, with workers in high unemployment states eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits. However, I believe we also need to make investments in our highways, bridges, transit systems, and schools; we need increases in food stamps benefits; and we need a crucial temporary increase in Medicaid payments to States. Studies have shown that those are some of the quickest forms of economic stimulus because those benefits and investments are spent quickly.

This bill represents unfinished business. I will fight my hardest to make sure that we rein in the excesses of corporate America in the next Congress, and to see to it that this crisis does not happen again.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6867, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008. Today we learned that for the ninth straight month the economy has lost jobs--159,000 jobs in the last month alone. That represents the largest 1-month loss of jobs in more than 5 years. Over the last 12 months, more than 2 million Americans have joined the ranks of the unemployed. The national unemployment rate is now at 6.1 percent, and in my home State of Illinois it is at 7.3 percent.

Today's news come at a time when millions of people in Illinois and across the country are already struggling to figure out how they can pay their bills, feed their families, and keep a roof over their head. H.R. 6867 will help ease some of that pain and fear by extending unemployment benefits to millions of Americans who have lost their job as more businesses are forced to cut shifts and lay people off because of rising prices, a decline in business, and the credit crisis.

H.R. 6867 would provide 7 weeks of extended benefits for workers who have exhausted regular unemployment compensation, with workers in high unemployment States like Illinois eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits. Nearly 800,000 workers are projected to exhaust their current extended unemployment benefits in October unless Congress acts.

On the day that we are directing billions of taxpayer dollars to stabilize the financial markets, it is incumbent on Congress to provide direct relief to those struggling to make ends meet. In addition to unemployment insurance, I believe we also need to make investments in our highways, bridges, transit systems, and schools; we need increases in food stamp benefits; and we need a crucial temporary increase in Medicaid payments to States. Studies have shown that those are some of the quickest forms of economic stimulus because those benefits and investments are spent quickly.

Again, I urge strong support of the legislation and look forward to working with all of my colleagues to support policies that create jobs and jump start our economy.

I thank the gentleman for yielding to me and for his support on this legislation.

I rise to proudly support S. 3197, the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act. This legislation is the Senate companion to H.R. 4044, legislation that I authored, along with my friend and colleague, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, which passed the House unanimously on June 23. S. 3197 was introduced by my very good friend and colleague from Illinois, Senator Dick Durbin.

Since 9/11, more than 460,000 Reservists and Guardsmen have been called to active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women have left their families and their jobs to selflessly serve their country, often with little or no notice to get their finances in order. Many servicemembers are small business owners who have to put their businesses on hold while they serve their country, and some are forced to sacrifice those businesses altogether. And, of course, some may face losing their homes when they return because of their financial distress.

Many servicemembers face unexpected extended tours of 15 months or longer, leaving them with almost no way to prepare financially.

S. 3197 would simply allow National Guard and Reservists to file for bankruptcy without the burden of the means test that assesses their eligibility for bankruptcy protection. H.R. 4044 allows members of the National Guard and Reservists to file for chapter

7 bankruptcy without the added paperwork burden and obstacles of the means test.

This is why: when veterans face the means test, it has a particularly adverse impact on them. That is because the combat pay of soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan is often higher than their salaries at home, and they have fewer expenses overseas, if any. The problem is when they return home, these individuals return to face lower incomes and higher expenses, and because the means test factors in a person's income and expenses for the 6-month period preceding the bankruptcy filing, a veteran's income is artificially inflated and their expenses seem disproportionately low. As a result, they risk failing the means test and facing chapter 11 or 13.

This bill is narrowly drafted to apply to servicemembers who have served in the Armed Forces for more than 90 days since 9/11 and would grant them an exemption from the test for up to a year and a half after they return home. The legislation also requires a GAO report that will help us quantify the hardships our veterans face when they return home by tracking how many apply for bankruptcy protection.

With unemployment at the highest levels in 7 years and the credit crisis and recession squeezing the budgets of families across the country, we must give these returning heroes any relief we can. Eighteen percent of veterans recently back from tours of duty are unemployed. Twenty-five percent of those who have been able to find work earn less than $22,000 a year. There are currently 1,500 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are homeless. And thousands of veterans return from the war with physical and mental injuries which make returning to work difficult or impossible. We should all be outraged at those statistics.

Simply put, the men and women who have risked their lives to protect us deserve protection from us in return. These selfless individuals should not face harsh bankruptcy procedure if they are in financial distress when they return home. When the changes to the bankruptcy law were made in 2005, Congress exempted disabled veterans from the means test. It is time to include the Guard and Reserves as well.

The legislation that we're considering once again today is virtually identical to the one we passed unanimously, with minor, five-word, technical, clarifying corrections added during consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee; and like H.R. 4044, the bill passed the Senate with unanimous support. I urge its support in the House once again today so we can send it to the President for his signature.

I'd like to thank Chairman Conyers, again, for working with me to pass this legislation, as well as Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sanchez for her commitment to this bill. And I want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle who helped, particularly my legislative director, Daniel Penchina. And, again, I thank my colleague, Congressman Rohrabacher, who has been a formidable and effective partner in moving this legislation through the House this year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 7110, the Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act. Millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet during these extremely difficult economic times. The budgets of American families are being squeezed as the price of gas, food, housing and healthcare continue to increase, while wages are down and unemployment is up. The number of unemployed Americans is the highest it has been since 1992. The economy has lost jobs for 8 straight months, with 605,000 American jobs lost this year. Last month alone, 84,000 Americans lost their jobs.

In February, I was pleased to vote in favor of the first economic stimulus package when it passed the House. However, I was disappointed that, because of Republican opposition and the need to move the bill quickly, it did not include increases in unemployment benefits, Food Stamps, Medicaid payments to States, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program benefits, or infrastructure investments, all of which would have a significant stimulative effect on our economy. As a result, a number of studies have concluded that the stimulus package only had a negligible effect on our economy.

Seven months later, the recession has only worsened. The crisis on Wall Street continues to expand, with the largest bank collapse in our Nation's history occurring on Thursday, and more and more banks coming to government, hat in hand, asking to be bailed out. The time has come to take care of the millions of working families across America who have been struggling for years under the Bush economy, before we swoop in to rescue Wall Street with billions of taxpayer dollars.

H.R. 7110 provides a critical additional 7 weeks of extended benefits for workers who have exhausted regular unemployment compensation, with workers in high unemployment States eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits. Studies have shown that extending unemployment insurance is one of the quickest forms of economic stimulus because workers who have lost their jobs spend those benefits quickly.

This package also provides a crucial temporary increase in Medicaid payments to States. These funds will help States offset the increased cost of Medicaid as more people apply for assistance while healthcare costs continue to skyrocket While Governor Blagojevich is struggling to maintain benefits in Illinois, we have already seen other States cutting eligibility and services, and more reductions will occur if we do not provide increased temporary assistance. As we know from past financial downturns when we took similar action, increased Federal payments are not only important to the children, senior citizens, persons with disabilities and others who rely on Medicaid but will stimulate the economy quickly and substantially as well.

Finally, this package also contains $12.8 billion for our Nation's deteriorating highways and bridges; $1 billion for repair and construction projects of public housing units; and $3 billion to repair crumbling schools, including technology upgrades and energy-efficiency improvements, which likewise will have an immediate stimulative effect on the economy. These projects provide short-term benefit by putting people to work immediately--with funding, work can begin on many of them tomorrow--and they provide long-term improvements that will benefit Americans for years to come.

This is an excellent package, and I urge all my colleagues to join me in creating good jobs and providing assistance to those struggling in today's economy.

Madam Speaker, I rise to say that I will support H.R. 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, not happily, and not because I think the titans of Wall Street are deserving of our help. I am casting my yes vote because I am concerned about hardworking families in my district, the homeowners, small businesses and those who rely on modest pensions and investments. These are the people who knew well before the President or Wall Street woke up to the fact that our economy was in serious trouble, because they have friends and loved ones who have lost their jobs or house; they saw the price of gas and milk hit $4 a gallon, and they are struggling to afford good health insurance.

Yes, we must do something and today is the day. But we must also recognize how we got here. This is, in fact, the predictable result of years of misguided policies of the Bush Administration, the misguided belief that regulation of the markets, any regulation, was bad. Couple this with a lack of enforcement of regulations that did exist, and now we have a financial crisis that requires government intervention.

As a freshman member of the House Financial Services Committee, I was one of only 57 Members of Congress to vote against the Gramm-Leach- Bliley Act in 1999. By deregulating the financial services industry and removing consumer protections, that legislation set in motion the crisis that we are facing today. My colleague and friend, Barney Frank, now the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, a true progressive and the chief negotiator for this bill, also voted against that reckless measure.

I have consulted with many of the Nation's top economists, including top progressive economists, and virtually all have agreed that a failure to act would have devastating effects on the global economy-- including your block and mine. Without quick action, employers might fail to make payroll, private student loans are already drying up, pensions would continue to lose value, and mortgages would become sparse. While I am not certain that this legislation will be able to fully stabilize the economic turmoil, I believe that we need to vote for the possibility of success over the certainty of failure.

The House Democratic leadership, and especially Chairman Frank, has worked to make the very bad bill presented by President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson better. The administration came to Congress with a breathtakingly arrogant plan--a mere three pages, 800 words, which basically said give us $700 billion for a plan that is ``non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.'' Today, we are offering our 110-page reply, and while it is certainly not perfect, I believe it is substantially improved.

Today we are saying ``no'' to a blank check! Congress cut in half the Administration's automatic $700 billion, requiring Congressional review for future payments. We are making sure

that none of the CEO's who have run their companies into the ground and created this mess will retire with a ``Golden Parachute.'' We make sure that taxpayers get a share of the profits of participating companies, and require the next President to submit a plan to ensure that taxpayers are repaid in full by Wall Street. We help prevent home foreclosures destroying our neighborhoods by allowing Government to work with loan servicers on new mortgage terms. Finally, we ensure tough, independent oversight and transparency, including judicial review of the Treasury Secretary's actions.

Unfortunately, because of the need to obtain bipartisan support to move a bill quickly, this bill is by no means perfect. I believe that this legislation should have included bankruptcy protections and mandatory mortgage restructuring for homeowners in or at risk of foreclosure. I believe that we need to crack down on the lobbying practices and stop campaign contributions from companies which are clearly too irresponsible to manage themselves.

I am extremely disappointed that, even as we address part of the economic crisis, we failed to enact a second economic stimulus that would immediately create jobs and put money in the pockets of middle class families and struggling State and local governments. Unfortunately, the plan to extend unemployment compensation, increase food stamp and health care funding, and create jobs by rebuilding our infrastructure failed in the Senate last week. This is clearly unfinished business.

Today's vote represents the first step in reforming Wall Street and restarting our economy. For the first time in history, this Congress is addressing the excesses in executive compensation. This legislation gives the Treasury Secretary authority that could be used, if he or the next Secretary so choose, to significantly help low-income and working families. Finally, we are setting in motion the process of a comprehensive reform of the financial services industry.

Wall Street better get the message that Congress will never be ready with a blank check to clean up the messes that they made in the first place. I look forward to working with the next Administration and my colleagues in Congress to enact sensible regulations to ensure that this will not happen again.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3402, the Calling Card Consumer Protection Act. After years of deceptive and abusive marketing practice by the calling card industry, I am pleased to be here today to offer protection to our constituents who rely on the cards to stay in touch with their loved ones. The victims of calling card fraud are often the most vulnerable among us--they are low-income, immigrants, military families--in short, the ones who can least afford it. I think this is sensible legislation, and I thank my colleague and friend Congressman Eliot Engel for all of his hard work to enact this bill.

I am proud to represent a diverse constituency and am proud to support the Calling Card Consumer Protection Act to crack down on those abuses. Too many people are lured in by promises of cheap overseas calls but end up getting less than half of what they paid

for. These cards use hidden fees so creative and outlandish that they would almost be funny if they weren't so awful, and the practice must stop.

The legislation before us today goes a long way toward solving this problem. It would require calling cards to clearly present what services they offer and any additional fees associated with the card. Most importantly, if someone buys a card that says it's good for 250 minutes, they will receive those 250 minutes. Consumers deserve to get what they paid for.

While I support H.R. 3402, I do want to express my concern with a couple of provisions in the bill, especially those that involve State standards and enforcement. Many States and the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, already have tools to address the many abuses related to the sale of prepaid calling cards. As we heard from the FTC Commissioner in our hearing, those States are at the forefront of cracking down on deceptive practices. Therefore, we need to be very careful about preempting States from setting or enforcing standards related to the cards.

I believe that the disclosure preemption provision in H.R. 3402 should set a floor, not a ceiling, and allow those States that want to enact stricter disclosure standards to do so. Illinois is on the forefront of policing calling cards, and our State law mandates strong disclosures that should not be preempted with weaker ones. I also hope that the FTC will solicit input from the States as they work to establish minimum standards.

Finally, I also believe that retailers should be held responsible for selling cards that do not meet the Federal and State standards. Illinois State law requires retailers to obtain a proof that the underlying carrier is certified, with the underlying carrier and all resellers responsible for ensuring that the required disclosures are made. This is not a burdensome step for retailers to ensure that the product they sell is in compliance with the law, and this is a commonsense provision that should be included in H.R. 3402 as well.

I look forward to working with Rep. Engel, my colleagues on Committee, and my friends on the Senate Commerce Committee to improve this bill and to see it enacted into law.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support S.J. Res. 45, the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact. This bill will help protect the Great Lakes by ensuring that water taken from the Great Lakes does not exceed the rate the lakes can be naturally replenished.

Lake Michigan is, without question, the most treasured resource to residents in States that border it and is our ``Grand Canyon,'' something in which we take enormous pride. In addition to its sentimental value, the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan, serve as an important resource, providing 20 percent of all the surface water in the world, Despite their size the Great Lakes are a fragile resource. Only 1 percent of the water in the Great Lakes gets replenished by snow and rainwater every year.

As a result, the Great Lakes have been put in jeopardy by efforts to divert large portions of water from the Great Lake basin to support business efforts throughout the midwest and Canada. The Compact will prohibit new or increased Great Lakes basin diversions to outside the region, except under special circumstances to provide public drinking water. It will also require all Great Lakes States to develop water resource inventories and efficiency programs, and give public notice of large proposed new water uses. Finally, it will establish uniform standards across the Great Lake States for evaluating new in-basin uses of Great Lakes water. These all are good practices of stewardship of the Great Lakes, and will allow us to preserve the Lakes, while at the same time exercising intelligent use of it as a natural resource.

The Great Lakes Compact has been approved by the Governors and State legislators of all eight Great Lake States, the U.S. Senate and the Bush administration. I believe that it is vital that the House joins them in supporting the Compact. Doing so will protect the people and environment of the Great Lakes by ensuring that the uses of its resources are done in a deliberate and consensual manner between the Great Lakes States.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge my friend and colleague Representative Ray LaHood, who is retiring from the House after 14 years of service to the 18th District of Illinois.

I have had the pleasure of working with Ray LaHood on many issues of importance to our State. We have not always agreed on every policy issue, but we have always been able to discuss our differences with respect and good will and we have always been able to work together to promote the interests of Illinois. His common sense and sense of fairness are recognized and valued not just within the Illinois delegation, but within the entire House of Representatives.

A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Ray LaHood has been a strong advocate of Illinois farmers and rural communities. When the Republicans were in the majority, he was often called on to chair the

House, not only because of his knowledge of procedures but because of his ability to maintain order in a calm and fair fashion.

Representative LaHood has a long and distinguished record of serving his district, from his leadership in establishing the Abraham Lincoln President Library and Museum in Springfield to his work to spur economic growth while protecting the environment. A teacher by training, he has worked to preserve and improve the Library of Congress--our Nation's preeminent library.

I will miss Ray LaHood and, like his constituents, I wish him all the best and thank him for his years of public service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of a number of bipartisan public health bills to come before this body. These bills are the products of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where my colleagues and I are working hard to improve the overall health and well being of all Americans.

I am especially pleased that we will finally pass H.R. 1014, the Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act, introduced by my friend Congresswoman Lois Capps. Close to 40,000 people in Illinois die annually of heart disease and it is the leading cause of death in my state. More people in Illinois die of heart disease than from cancer, unintentional injuries, lung disease, pneumonia, the flu and diabetes combined. It is imperative that we start making connections between diseases and drugs, devices, and biologicals. We also need to continue to raise awareness about this disease and identify concrete ways to prevent women from becoming victims. The HEART Act starts us down that path.

I also want to highlight and express my support for H.R. 1532, the Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act. We know that TB kills approximately 2 million people annually and is a common cause of death among the roughly 3 million people infected with the AIDS virus who die each year. Although the United States has been able to reduce the incidence of the disease, we still must take an active role in eradicating TB nationally and internationally through increased funding for research, public education and treatment programs.

Similarly, it is time that we passed H.R. 758, the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act. I have cosponsored this critical legislation since coming to Congress in 1999, and I am thrilled to finally see it considered on the floor. Although we've made great strides in the areas of breast cancer research, treatment and outcomes, there are still over 43,000 women who die each year from the disease.

Finally, after debating this critical issue for many years, we are on the verge of finally enacting comprehensive mental health parity legislation. I have not held a health care meeting in my district without the issue of access to mental health care being brought up by constituents who have faced discrimination or difficulty obtaining affordable care. This was a top priority of Paul Wellstone, and I want to pay tribute to him today. Paul Wellstone, Paul and Sheila, his wife, were friends of mine. They were both leaders in ending discrimination and in making sure that every person in our nation has access to affordable, comprehensive health care--including comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services. I'm proud that we are continuing Senator Wellstone's legacy by passing a bill that guarantees equal access to mental health and substance abuse treatment. I also want to thank Representatives Patrick Kennedy and Jim Ramstad for their persistence and passion in passing the Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act.

It is hard to overstate the importance of increasing public health resources for research, public education and treatment. Our public health workforce is being stretched to its breaking point--and multiple natural disasters have only exacerbated the problem. I hope that we will continue our efforts to improve public health and meet this growing demand in the next Congress.

I urge all of my colleagues to strongly support these bills.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the exemplary career of Denver architect Mr. Richard Leslie Combs, who will be retiring at the end of this year. Throughout his career, Mr. Combs has made significant contributions to the practice of architecture on the local and national levels.

Richard Leslie Combs was born in Glendale, California on July 17, 1945. The son of Leslie and Annabelle Combs, Dick grew up in Hereford, Texas with his brothers Greg and Brent. In 1970, Mr. Combs obtained a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Shortly after graduation, he relocated to Denver, Colorado where in January 1971 he was hired by the office of Charles S. Sink, Architect. Serving in the role of project architect and project manager, Mr. Combs' contribution to the office was immediate and he was named an associate that same year.

As a licensed architect with his certification from the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), he managed some of the firm's most influential projects, including the McNichols Sports Arena. Upon its completion in 1975, McNichols was hailed as one of the first major league event centers in the country and quickly became an iconic piece of architecture for the city of Denver.

In 1979, Mr. Combs became a principle of the firm, whose name was changed to Sink Combs and Associates. He served as Vice President and Secretary and acted as the firm's quality control officer, ensuring that the work executed by the firm was of the highest professional standard. During this time, Mr. Combs oversaw projects such as the Panorama Point Office Building, 183 Inverness Office Building, SOCO Place, and 1900 Grant Office Building.

In 1985, with the addition of Don Dethlefs as a principal, the firm-- now Sink Combs Dethlefs and Associates--began to expand its sports architecture expertise throughout the local and national markets and in Canada, completing projects such as the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, the San Jose Arena, which is now known as the HP Pavilion, the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University, and the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. The successful completion of those projects enabled Mr. Combs and the firm and to build

a national reputation for exceptional client service, cost-effective building design, and expertise in sports and recreation architecture.

With the retirement of Charles S. Sink, Mr. Combs naturally assumed the role of the firm's leader. He became responsible for managing the company and nurturing relationships with the community, clients, and firm employees. Under his leadership the depth of experience and breadth of knowledge of the firm has expanded. His has retained key employees and groomed the firm for growth by naming Andy Barnard a Principal in 1993 and Chris Kastelic a Principal in 2004.

Mr. Combs' accomplishments reach far beyond the projects he has managed. Through his warm and caring nature, he has attracted and trained a new generation of architects and fostered an atmosphere of camaraderie within the office. He has mentored numerous young architects through their career paths encouraging personal growth, accountability, and public duty. He has demonstrated that architecture is not just about designing buildings but about serving clients and the community. Under his leadership, the firm has won numerous design awards and has participated in countless charitable pursuits and community outreach programs.

Richard Combs is a leading architect and businessman in Denver. He is the current President for the Denver Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, where he is working to promote sustainable, energy efficient building design, including resource conservation. As Congress increases its efforts to promote green buildings, his guidance has been extremely valuable.

Richard Combs has contributed over thirty-seven years of service to the practice of architecture while maintaining a rich and fulfilling personal life. Dick is married to Sue Combs and has three children-- Leslie, Patrick and Daniel, and one granddaughter, Sadie.

He is retiring from a career that has left an outstanding legacy. I want to join his partners, employees, friends, and family in expressing my respect and appreciation and wishing him many well-deserved years of health, rest and relaxation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment that the provision I drafted, that would prohibit private security contractors from performing inherently governmental functions in combat areas, was stripped from this bill. The House unanimously adopted this provision, and the Senate bill contained a nearly identical provision.

I am extremely disappointed that the Bush administration threatened to veto this bill over this commonsense provision, forcing the Armed Services Committee to only include a sense of Congress on the use of private military contractors in this legislation.

The horrible incidents like that involving Blackwater Worldwide in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed, for which no one has yet been held accountable, have damaged our already tattered image in the eyes of the Iraqi people. Private contractors are being tasked with extremely sensitive jobs like gathering intelligence and providing armed security, and they severely damage the credibility of our military with their sometimes violent and almost always unaccountable behavior.

Inherently government functions should be performed by people in the U.S. military or who are U.S. Government personnel, people who proudly wear the badge of the U.S. and pledge their allegiance to it.

I thank the gentleman.

Despite the administration's senseless decision to protect Blackwater and companies like it, I will continue to fight to make sure this won't happen.

And I thank the gentleman for letting me say this remark.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 633, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the heroic efforts of all those in my district who have responded to the destruction that Hurricane Ike left in its path. After ravaging Texas and Louisiana, Hurricane Ike's rains made their way through the Midwest, devastating the area with record-level rainfall and causing massive flooding in northeastern Illinois, including parts of my district. Throughout the Chicagoland area, the amounts of rain broke records--almost 7 inches of rain fell in my district on just 1 day, the most in history. More than 90 billion gallons of rain were dumped on the area.

Governor Blagojevich declared seven counties in Illinois disaster areas. This will set in motion a process that will allow the Federal Government to make a major disaster declaration so that Illinois can be eligible for Federal assistance to help individuals, families, and businesses and help local governments; and hazard mitigation assistance so affected areas can implement projects to reduce future flood damage. In the meantime, I have encouraged my constituents to avoid flooded areas, to report instances of price gouging, and to be prepared with a solid inventory of the items they have lost when they contact their insurance companies to report damage.

Every single community in my district was affected, particularly the towns of Des Plaines and Park Ridge. I would like to thank and commend the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, local first-responders, the American Red Cross, and local elected officials like my friend Des Plaines Mayor Arredia--who has been a leader in the effort to prevent flooding in the region--for quickly mobilizing the response and providing relief for the flood victims. I also want to recognize the neighbors who helped their neighbors, and all of the people who came together in the face of hardship. Their response to Hurricane Ike was a great example of the heart of the people of my district.

Yesterday, I joined Governor Blagojevich and other State, county, and local elected officials at the Prairie Lake Community Center in Des Plaines, which is serving as a relief and relocation shelter, to visit with people displaced from their homes with nowhere to go and thank the Red Cross volunteers who are doing such great work. I promised those people taking shelter that I won't stop working with the Army Corps of Engineers to complete the Des Plaines River Project. Those parts of the project that have already been completed made a difference and saved homes from being flooded. I will also keep working to ensure that local municipal projects that address flood prevention get the funds they need.

Congress needs to appropriate funds to respond to the devastation that Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav left in their wake. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in making sure that we allocate sufficient resources to help FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and States and communities across the country rebuild in a coming spending package.