Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 359. This important legislation would require the Secretary of the Interior to study the potential creation of a historic landmark in honor of Cesar Estrada Chavez.

I want to thank my friend, Congresswoman Hilda Solis, for sponsoring this bill and championing this cause which is of great significance to so many Americans, myself included.

Cesar Chavez provided hope for thousands of people. Perhaps best known for founding and leading the United Farm Workers of America, Chavez used non-violent tactics that included boycotts, fasts, and strikes to bring attention to the dangerous working conditions in the field. His efforts helped to produce the first industry-wide labor contracts in the history of American agriculture.

Cesar Chavez' legacy has empowered, encouraged and motivated countless individuals. He is a continuing example that with hard work, dedication and love, change can happen and oppression can be conquered. His famous words, ``Si se puede'' (Yes you can), still inspire us today.

I cannot think of anything more American than standing up for one's right to justice, fairness, and equality.

I urge my colleagues to cast a vote in recognition of Cesar Estrada Chavez, and to support H.R. 359.

Madam Speaker, I stand here today to commemorate a significant milestone and to commend the leadership of the Laborers International Union of North America, LIUNA, Local 777 and its International Union, for their unyielding dedication to fight for the rights of working Americans.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the county workers in Riverside County joining LIUNA Local 777.

Thanks to the profound efforts and devotion of the original organizing committee and subsequent rank and file leaders, Local 777 has become a powerful, dynamic, and active organization committed to improving the quality of life for workers.

Local 777 continues to grow today. From its humble roots of 57 founding members working for the City of Indio in 1993, Local 777 boasts a current membership of nearly 9,000.

LIUNA's membership, which includes workers in the health sector, construction, mail handlers, school employees, higher education employees, and more, have had a positive impact on the community in Riverside, and throughout the whole state of California.

The organization has remained dedicated to their mission of ensuring hard-working Americans are given fair wages, good benefits, a safe work environment, and a chance to fulfill the American dream.

Besides protecting worker's rights, LIUNA also is very active in communities throughout California. The organization sponsors informative training, education, and safety programs that benefit all citizens.

It is with great pride that I recognize the Laborers International Union Local 777 of Riverside County. On this important anniversary, we rise to thank them for all they do to protect working American families.

Mr. Speaker, I will vote against H.R. 65, the Lumbee Recognition Act.

This was a very difficult decision. I have only had to vote on a few issues that have caused me so much difficulty. One being my vote against the war in Iraq. The same difficulty is here today.

Today's votes will decide the future for the Lumbee tribe.

However, H.R. 65 determines the future of many more individuals, such as the entire Native American Community and our Nation as a whole.

There is too much information arguing both for and against giving Federal recognition through the legislative process to this tribe.

As a Hispanic, I understand what it is like to have to fight for equality.

As an American, I treasure and understand the importance of sovereignty, of liberty, independence, autonomy and freedom.

I believe that the best method to decide whether to develop a new sovereign relationship is to have the Lumbee directly apply to the BIA. The Lumbee tribe should apply for recognition via the administrative process and I support allowing this to occur.

My vote today will follow that decision because of the many questions regarding their name, the criteria to be Lumbee, and their bloodline.

I want the Lumbee tribe to know that I respect the individuals whose strength, courage and determination have allowed them to fight for their people and to continue the struggle.

Thank you, Mr. Inslee, for allowing me this time to speak on the comprehensive immigration legislation that is pending on the Senate side.

I appeal to the Members of the Senate on a bipartisan basis to vote on allowing for the cloture of the legislation to move forward on behalf of the 12 million and some undocumented here in the United States. Undocumented means there are people, not only Hispanics, Irish, Italians, Asians, African American. It impacts a variety of different individuals.

Without allowing cloture, we will not be allowed an opportunity to fix the immigration legislation as it stands right now and will allow the continued abuse that exists. We need to protect American families and working families. We need to make sure that we allow this legislation to move forward.

On behalf of democracy, I appeal to all of the Members on a bipartisan basis to allow this legislation, to allow the debate to continue. It is important that all of the Senators tonight, those individuals that can, and I would like to commend Senator Reid, Senator Salazar, Senator Menendez, Senator Kennedy, Senator Feinstein, Senator Graham and some of the other individuals who have taken a stand in support of a comprehensive legislation. We need you to allow this process to continue.

If this process does not continue, America will lose. The taxpayers will lose. It is our responsibility.

When we talk about national security, we need this legislation to allow the process to continue. When we talk about protecting, and I know some of us don't like the legislation. There are individuals that say I don't like provisions of the guest worker program or the border aspects or the enforcements. I think we will be able to fine-tune it and work on it to allow the process to where we can fix the legislation.

On behalf of working families and on behalf of protecting the American people, we need this process. We need this legislation on behalf of humanitarian issues. We should not have people living in fear, not knowing whether they are going to be here for the next couple of years or what is going to happen to the 12 million and some. It is important.

Senators on your side of the aisle, please allow this process to continue to happen. Vote for the cloture. Then you can vote on provisions, whether you like or dislike other portions of the bill. But allow us to continue to have the debate in order to make sure that we continue to protect the American people and we continue to protect working families and we end illegal immigration as it is right now and fix it. It is important.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to support H.R. 1427 and thank my friend, Chairman Frank, for leading the bipartisan effort in the Financial Services Committee on this important legislation.

This bill restores accountability by creating a modern, world-class regulator of the GSEs. It will also help us meet the critical shortage of affordable housing across the country through the creation of an Affordable Housing Fund.

In addition, Representatives Bean, Neugebauer, Moore and Miller have offered an amendment which I support. It clarifies that the new GSE regulator does not have the power to reduce the portfolios of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac based on artificial, so-called ``systemic risk.''

This bill already gives the new regulator the FULL authority to supervise the GSE portfolios for safety, soundness and mission. I am not convinced that we should give it powers that bank regulators don't already have. I'm also not convinced that this amendment would in any way weaken the regulator's ability to make sure these companies operate safely and soundly.

It is critical that we do not limit the GSE's ability to provide homeownership for low, middle income, and minority families.

With their help, the GSEs have been able to increase homeownership rates across this country to a record level of 68 percent. That's impressive, but there is still much work to be done.

Homeownership rates in our minority communities are still far below the national average and nearly 2.2 million American families across the country are facing foreclosures.

This issue has a great deal of personal meaning for me. I grew up in a family of 15 children without a lot of money. I have been lucky enough to have worked hard and been able to achieve the American dream of owning a home.

Yet the dream of homeownership remains unattainable for millions of families. And many other families stand to lose their homes this year.

The new affordable housing fund created by H.R. 1427 will go far to help these families. And the new regulator created by this bill will ensure the safety and soundness of the GSEs so that they can continue their important mission in underserved communities for many years to come.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, on May 18, 2007, the Latino and immigrant communities of the Greater Washington Region will gather to celebrate with Ms. Sonia Gutierrez her 35 years of selfless dedication to the larger community and to the Carlos Rosario International School.

Sonia Gutierrez was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She received a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and a Masters Degree in Adult Education specializing in Supervision and Administration of Adult Education Programs.

Ms. Gutierrez, is the CEO & Founder of the Carlos Rosario International Career Center and Public Charter School, and has spent 35 years as a principal, counselor, advocate, and organizer to more than 60,000 adult immigrant students.

Ms. Gutierrez began her career in the District of Columbia Public Schools in May 1972 as a counselor in the Program for English Instruction to Latin Americans (PElLA). There she began her mission: to provide holistic education to adult immigrants with little formal education in their native countries, enabling them to succeed by addressing their social and academic needs.

In October 1972, Ms. Gutierrez became the Director of PElLA and transformed the small, under-funded English as a Second Language (ESL) program into a comprehensive adult education program. In 1974, the Office of Right to Read of the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare designated it as one of the best literacy programs in the Nation. As PElLA outgrew its facility, Ms. Gutierrez began a 2-year effort to secure a school building for the program. In 1978 she was successful in relocating the program to the old Gordon Junior High School in Georgetown; PElLA then merged with the old Americanization School with an initial enrollment of 800.

Sonia Gutierrez has made a tremendous impact on the Washington, DC region and on the field of adult education. She has had a direct impact on the lives of over 60,000 people in the last 35 years. Many thousands more have benefited as the adult education model she developed has proliferated across the globe. The students served by the Carlos Rosario International School have been given the chance to achieve their dreams because of her belief in them and their potential, and her passionate leadership of the school.

Ms. Gutierrez has triumphed over great adversity in leading the school to be the thriving model it is today. Today, it is arguably the most recognized school in the District of Columbia Public School System. Under her leadership it was recognized as a national model for adult education by the United States Department of Education. She has helped other schools replicate the model across the Nation as well as in Korea and Germany. When many adult schools were closed by the District of Columbia in 1996, she pushed on, ignored suggestions to retire, and reestablished the Carlos Rosario International School.

Sonia Gutierrez is a civil rights activist, a leader and visionary. She is a fierce defender and advocate for urban school systems and the families who attend them. Sonia has been a model of leadership. Her commitment to fairness, excellence, and compassion has inspired many to make a difference in this world.

It is for this perseverance, passion, visionary leadership, and the immeasurable impact on the lives touched by her work that we recognize Ms. Sonia Gutierrez' 35 years of service to the community.

Thank you very much, Mr. Gonzalez, for carrying this issue this afternoon, and thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.

I rise to honor the more than 69,300 legal permanent residents who are currently serving in the United States Armed Services, which represents 43 percent noncitizens and 5 percent of the armed services who are serving now.

Their courage, their honor and their sacrifices prove what we've always known, that you don't have to be born in America to love America. Each and every person who serves in the Armed Forces generally loves his country and is willing to give their ultimate sacrifice. And these individuals gave their ultimate sacrifice for this country, for a dream of coming here.

Each individual was prepared to lay down his or her life to protect what is sacred to all of us, hope, freedom and opportunity, not only for them, but for all of us who believe in this country, because we know ultimately every person who has served in our military has been willing to lay down their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms, the freedoms that we have today. And the 69,300, 43 percent noncitizens, or 5 percent of the United States, believed in the same sacrifice as other individuals who have served us. They know that our freedom comes from men and women who are willing to serve this great Nation.

When I look at the names of immigrant soldiers who've died in Iraq and Afghanistan, it makes me realize why America is the greatest country in the world. And when we look at those individuals who served in World War II, the 500-some thousand, how many of those were noncitizens and immigrants?

And when we look at my district, or the State of California, 26 foreign-born soldiers from my State have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. And they come from all over the world. But whether they come from El Salvador, Korea, Mexico, Jamaica or Honduras, when they put on that United States military uniform, they do it as Americans and with pride.

Douglas Jose Marencoreyes, a young man from my district, was an immigrant to this country from Nicaragua. Corporal Marencoreyes came to this country with his family in search of opportunity and hope. Yet he was willing to serve in the Armed Forces when many others were not even willing to serve. And yet he found that by serving in the military that it was an honor.

The same goes for Sergeant Jorge Alberto Molinabautista, an immigrant from Mexico who lived in my hometown of Rialto, California. Both of these young men died while serving in the global war on terror. And they did so proudly, with honor, with honor for what they believed and what this country stands for, for the freedoms, so they know that their children and others can enjoy the freedoms that we have, because this is the greatest Nation, the greatest country; and they knew it and they served for this country.

Both men were posthumously awarded citizenship for their service to this Nation. Why? Because nothing would have honored the sacrifices more than to be recognized and acknowledge their love for this country.

Mr. Speaker, our country is currently engaged in a great debate regarding immigration. And there are many who want to diminish or even deny the great contributions of immigrants to our Nation's history, economy, and culture. And many of these have contributed and continue to contribute to our country because they believe in this country. They come here for hope, for freedom and opportunity and are willing to serve and die for this country.

But as we move forward in this debate, let us not forget the 69,300 immigrants soldiers out there in the battlefields, those who are willing to risk their lives every day to protect the same people who are criticizing them, the same people who are criticizing, they're willing to stand up and defend those individuals because they believe in the principles and the freedoms and opportunities of this country.

I urge the American people to support all troops, all individuals and the sacrifices of every one of our soldiers, regardless of where they were born, because at the end of the day they are willing to give their lives for this country and to sacrifice for this country. Each one of them are patriots and are true American heroes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H. Con. Res. 105, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of a National Suffragists Day. This resolution promotes awareness of the women's suffragist movement and the brave individuals who fought to make the right to vote a reality for all women.

I want to thank my colleague, Representative Berkley, for sponsoring this important legislation.

The women's suffragist movement has a long history in America. Today it may seem hard to believe, but less than one hundred years ago, women did not have the right to vote in federal elections in this country.

National Suffragists Day would honor women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who together founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869.

These two leaders, along with other courageous women such as Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis, and countless other brave Americans, fought tirelessly to achieve their God-given rights to freedom and opportunity.

I have introduced legislation of my own to posthumously honor Alice Paul and raise awareness of her powerful contributions to the suffragist movement and American society.

Finally, due to the sacrifice, hard work, and diligence of women like Alice Paul, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in the summer of 1920, giving women the right to vote on a national level.

While today's resolution honors some great Americans of the past, it also provides us with an opportunity to look at the current state of women in our country.

We have come a long way as a nation since the summer of 1920. My home state of California is represented by two female Senators. We have a woman serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and a very strong female presidential candidate.

Still, there is much more that needs to be done. Inequalities in pay, health care discrepancies, and a lack of good and affordable childcare still haunt many women in the United States today.

We must remain vigilant. We must ensure that all Americans have an equal opportunity for success and happiness. With that in mind, I urge my colleagues to cast a vote for honoring and increasing awareness of suffragists in America, and support H. Con. Res. 105.

Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.

The people of this great Nation share a common spirit and heritage. Whether born on the soil of this land or having chosen to come here in search of a better life--one free of political, social, and economic oppression, we are a Nation of pioneers. We believe in the American dream, and the promise that through our labors we can achieve educational and economic success. No barrier is too imposing, no obstacle to tall that it should stand in the way of pursuing this dream.

Two of my congressional predecessors, Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Jacob Javits, advanced legislation in the 1960s that promoted this dream by laying the foundation for an organization called TELACU. Since its founding in 1968, TELACU has become the largest community and economic development corporation in the United States. TELACU is a pioneered institution committed to service, empowerment, advancement and the creation of self-sufficiency within the Latino community.

Brought to life through a small investment appropriated by Congress, TELACU has grown to become an organization with nearly $500 million in assets, creating thousands of jobs, affordable homes, loans to small business people, and most importantly, numerous educational opportunities for our Latino youth and veterans.

TELACU established the LINC TELACU Education Foundation, LTEF. For more than 2 decades, the Education Foundation has been working towards removing the formidable barriers that prevent Latino youth from achieving academic success. Latino youth not only struggle against the effects of low-income households, inadequate support and counseling, but a lack of professional and academic role models, all of which contribute to why only 39 percent of Latino high school graduates in Los Angeles County go on to higher education.

TELACU Education Foundation realized that there is no more vital asset in any community than its human capital, which is why they began their efforts to reverse these trends. For more than 2 decades, the LINC TELACU Education Foundation has contributed to the development of our future Latino leaders through a variety of programs designed to maximize the potential of our youth.

The LINC TELACU Scholarship Program, established in 1983, is one program that helps students realize their dream of a college education by providing scholarships, supplemented by other essential support.

In conceiving the foundation, TELACU discovered that while financial assistance is vital for college students to achieve academic success, other factors are also important. Students who are the first in their families ever to attend college often lack the support system necessary to achieve their dream. Socioeconomic factors, family responsibilities, cultural identity and financial stress create very real conflicting challenges to academic life.

The LINC TELACU Scholarship Program provides its youth not only with monetary assistance, but also counseling, leadership training, classes in time management and other subjects that will help them succeed in college.

TELACU has partnered with corporate donors, private individuals, and a vast network of colleges and universities, providing the driving force behind one of the most effective national institutions ever to impact the educational needs of the Latino community.

The LINC TELACU Education Foundation has accepted this challenge head on, combining important financial assistance with highly effective programs that ensure college completion. The foundation supports 600 college students and serves 2,000 elementary, middle and high school students and veterans each year. The success of this extraordinary foundation is best summarized by the numbers: Its scholar retention and college graduation rates are an astounding 100 percent.

Madam Speaker, I join today with community leaders throughout my State to express our Nation's gratitude to TELACU, the LINC TELACU Education Foundation and for scholarship programs like this one, for believing in the dream of higher education for all of America's next generation of leaders.

Madam Speaker, I stand here today to honor and remember a loving husband and father, successful businessman, and dedicated community activist, Mr. Bing Sum Wong.

Bing passed away on April 24, 2007, in San Bernardino, California. He was 95 years old.

Bing spent his early childhood years in Kwangtung, China, and at the age of 13, moved with his father to San Bernardino.

From this humble beginning, Bing went on to become one of the most successful businessmen in San Bernardino, as well as a great friend to the community.

Bing opened his first restaurant in 1933, in Calexico. In 1956, after more than 20 years in the restaurant business, Bing and his wife Ting opened Bing's famous Cathay Inn, located on Highland Avenue. The restaurant was a huge success, and gave Bing the opportunity to focus on one of his true passions, education.

In 1963, the Bing Wong scholarship foundation was formed. Since then, more than $600,000 has been distributed to students pursuing education. Today, the scholarships are

given annually to three separate age groups: kindergarten students, seventh-grade students, and high school students.

Bing was a longtime member of the Rotary Club of San Bernardino- North, and a founding board member of both the American Security Bank and the Gom-Benn Village Society.

He has received numerous awards for his contributions to the San Bernardino community, including an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Cal State San Bernardino. The Norman F. Feldheym Library board of directors named a lecture hall after Bing in 1985, and an elementary school under construction in San Bernardino was named after him this year.

Bing is survived by his wife of 76 years, Ting Wong; his three daughters Nanci Wong, Janice Lee, and Josephine Wong; nine grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

Let us take the time to pay tribute to this wonderful man. Let us celebrate the life he lived and the example he led.

The thoughts and prayers of my wife Barbara, my family and I are with his family at this time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleagues and my friend Albio Sires for yielding me the time. I would also like to thank Chairman Lantos and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen and then, of course, my friend Dan Burton and the leadership for their support and their effort in bringing this bipartisan resolution to the floor.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 347, a resolution honoring the significance and impact of Cinco de Mayo. This Resolution 347 recognizes the Cinco de Mayo holiday, which commemorates May 5, 1862, the date in which the Battle of Puebla was fought by Mexicans who were struggling for their independence and freedom.

While Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican Army's victory over

France in this key battle, it was also but one of many battles for the courageous Mexican people who won their long and brave struggle for independence and freedom.

Today the Cinco de Mayo holiday is not only the commemoration of the defeat of the French foreign army, it is also a celebration of virtues of individual courage and patriotism of all Mexicans and Mexican Americans who have fought for freedom and independence against foreign aggressors.

Cinco de Mayo is also a day to celebrate the rich cultural heritage that Latinos have brought to the United States. Latinos are the fastest growing minority population in the country, representing 45 million people, 17 percent of the total population. The Latino community has made many important contributions in all aspects of life: the arts, sports, the business world, sciences. Latinos have also fought in all American wars beginning with the Revolutionary War, earning 41 Medals of Honor overall. In World War II, 500,000 Hispanics fought, 65 Puerto Ricans fought. Thirteen Medals of Honor, 11 Mexican Americans, one Puerto Rican. Today there are over 30 Latino Members in the United States Congress. This statistic points to what a driving force the Latino community has become in our country economically, socially, and politically.

Cinco de Mayo also provides us with a great opportunity to look back at our own heritage as Americans. We must remember that our country was built by people from different homelands with different diverse cultures held together by common bond with a willingness to fight and die for freedom.

Unfortunately for Latinos, there are many inequities that have put our communities at a social and economic disadvantage. My colleagues and I in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus are working together in a bipartisan basis to end these barriers to increase opportunities for Latinos, particularly in areas of education, health care, homeownership, and equal representation in corporate America. As Americans, we must unite to achieve these common goals.

In a large sense, Cinco de Mayo symbolizes the right of a free people to self-determination, just as Benito Juarez once said: ``The respect of other people's rights is peace.''

I ask my colleagues to support H. Res. 347.

Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. As the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and as a member of the House Financial Services Committee, I consider helping ensure equal access to homeownership for all Americans a high priority of mine.

Therefore, I've grown increasingly concerned over the past several years about the disproportionate amount of higher priced subprime lending that is concentrated in the minority population and in minority neighborhoods. According to the 2005 HMDA data, 52% of African Americans and 40% Latino are in high-cost, subprime loans as compared to 19% of white families. I wonder whether some or most of these families could have qualified for a better, more affordable loan but were instead steered into a subprime loan by a lender or broker eager to make a profit.

To be fair, not all brokers and lenders are bad and even subprime lending has value for some borrowers. The House Financial Services Committee has held two hearings this year on the issue of predatory lending and we are currently assessing legislative solutions.

The research shows that while hybrid adjustable rate mortgages and other subprime loans may be appropriate for some families, they are not suitable for others. We're concerned that the lending abuse in the market has become a very serious problem.

The subprime market has seen significantly higher levels of foreclosure and default than the prime market, and the rates of foreclosure and default are rising. For Hispanics, almost 20 percent who received high-interest, subprime loans are likely to go into foreclosure. Specifically, 73,000 out of 375,000 subprime loans made to Hispanics in 2005 are likely to foreclose. And the Center for Responsible Lending predicts subprime mortgages originated from 1998 through third quarter of 2006 will wipe out $164 billion in homeownership wealth for 2.2 million American families.

In my district in California, the Neighborhood Housing Services of the Inland Empire reports that the foreclosure rate is now 3 times higher than it was just 1 year ago. Now 1 of every 315 homes in the Inland Empire is currently in default and has started the foreclosure process.

By no means am I advocating that we get rid of subprime lending. Subprime lending has empowered a number of borrowers to get into their first home, including roughly 85% of Latino families. So we can't let perfection be the enemy of the good.

But we need better safeguards to protect subprime borrowers so they are not taken advantage of and receive loans they can afford, even after the teaser rates go up. We also need to put an end to abusive practices and overly relaxed lending standards. Lenders and brokers must price borrowers into homes according to the final, fully indexed rate and fully amortized repayment schedule; not just the teaser rate. And they need to explain the terms of these loans in plain English so that borrowers understand how much they are paying each month even after the rates adjust. Lenders should also explain the risks involved with payment shock and prepayment penalties. It's time we put unscrupulous lenders who are steering minority families into unsuitable loans out of business.

Over the past 10 years, minority homeownership rates have improved, and in some cases for Hispanics, the homeownership has grown at a rate three times higher than that of other nonHispanic groups. The growth of the supbrime lending has contributed greatly to this achievement.

But no one gains when people are thrown out of their homes. The housing market falls and entire neighborhoods are affected. This in turn impacts local economies and will ultimately impact our national housing market.

We all know that homeownership is the key to the American dream and the means to household wealth and savings. Let's work to protect these hard-working families who are facing foreclosures and keep them in their homes.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to voice my strong support for H.R. 1676, the Native American Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2007. This important legislation reauthorizes the Section 184 Indian Loan Program, which offers home ownership, property rehabilitation, new construction, and refinance opportunities for Native Americans.

I want to thank my friend, Mr. Boren, for sponsoring this bill and championing this cause which is of great significance to so many Native families in this country.

Section 184 advances the opportunity for Native Americans seeking homeownership and addresses the issue of lack of mortgage lending for homes in Indian Country.

The Section 184 program guarantees single-family residential loans for Native American borrowers, thereby increasing the homeownership for Native Americans.

While many Native Americans struggle to own a home and provide for their families, H.R. 1676 eases that burden. The program provides a 100 percent guarantee of the outstanding principal and interest and payment of other necessary and allowable expenses.

Section 184 allows for many Native Americans to become first-time homeowners. According to HUD, since the start of the program roughly 4,200 loans have been guaranteed.

Almost 200 tribes participate in the Section 184 program nationwide, 31 of which are from my home State of California.

In the Inland Empire alone, the Saboba Band of Luiseno Indians, the Cabazon Band of Cahulla Mission Indians and the Morongo Band of Mission Indians have been able to provide homeownership for many families through this program.

H.R. 1676 will help close the homeownership gap and increase for Native Americans in my area and all across the country. Let's help all Americans achieve the dream of owning a home.

I urge my colleagues to support this important bill.

Madam Speaker, the Rabbi Norman F. Feldheym Award was established to pay tribute to those members of Congregation Emanu El, located in my home district of San Bernardino, California, who have conspicuously and exceptionally reflected Rabbi Feldheym's qualities of love for and loyalty to the synagogue, and service to the community. I stand here today to honor Margie Orland for receiving this distinguished award.

Margie has been an extraordinarily devoted leader of Congregation Emanu El. She began her service as a member of the Congregation's Board of Directors in 1986, and since then she has served as Secretary, 2nd Vice-president, Vice-president, and from 2002-2004, as the President of the Congregation. She has been an inspirational leader of the Congregation, giving evidence of her deep love for Judaism, a strong participation in worship and education, and an exemplary commitment to Jewish values and their application in contemporary society.

For over twenty years Margie has rendered extraordinary volunteer service to the congregation in a variety of ways including serving as chairperson of the first Mitzvah Day, her work on numerous raffles and commemorative journals, her work on the Purim Shalach Manot project, and co-chairing the Centennial Torah project.

In addition to her dedicated involvement with Congregation Emanu EI, Margie has served give terms as president of the Redlands Jewish Club. She also has chaired the Redlands Home Discussion Series for over fifteen years and currently serves as president of Jewish Family Services of the Inland Communities.

Margie has also been very active in the wider community of Southern California. She has been a long time supporter and volunteer at both the Girls and Boys Club of Redlands and the Loma Linda Children's Hospital. She also currently serves as president of Start Out Smart, a local literacy program aimed at parents-to-be.

Margie and her husband, Burt, are proud parents of two sons, David and Michael, and grandparents of Tanner, Kaley, Jacob and Jared. She is known as a loving and dedicated friend to those throughout the Congregation.

Madam Speaker, this year marks the 116th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation Emanu El. It is fitting, on such a momentous occasion, that we stand here today to honor Margie Orland, for outstanding service to her Congregation, her family, and her community.

Madam Speaker, yesterday the House of Representatives, the State of California, and the Nation, lost a leader and a good friend of ours, Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. We certainly will miss her. My wife, Barbara, and I extend a heartfelt condolence to her family, friends, staff, children, her five grandchildren and to Jim.

Today we pay tribute to a real trailblazer, a pioneer, the first African American woman to chair a committee, a positive role model, a person who created hope for many individuals, a person who was a well liked and well respected individual.

In a role as a public servant, she touched the lives of many individuals.

Here in the House, I have heard many individuals talk about how she was a nice person and how she was well liked.

As Chair of House Administration she worked closely with the Congressional TriCaucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus in trying to obtain the fairness and equality for all of us. She was pleasant to work with. I have had the opportunity to work with Juanita and served with her in the California State Assembly prior to coming to Washington, DC.

She has always been a strong advocate for the poor, the disadvantaged and those that were underrepresented. I know that she spent much time going into my district and speaking to a lot of the poor and disadvantaged in San Bernardino, in the Inland Empire, because she cared about the poor, not only in that area, but she cared about equal representation. She wanted to ensure that we had the numbers or bodies of people who represent us here in Congress. She worked for me in my campaign when I first ran out there.

She worked with me also in a variety of areas, but one of those that has been mentioned tonight has been the Alameda Corridor. She really took it to heart because she knew the Alameda Corridor and what it meant was a lifeline to California, to Southern California, in the area of transportation, not only to the L.A. International Airport, but Ontario International Airport that is also affiliated with that area.

Juanita really believed, because she knew the infrastructure and the growth and the population in the area, and she put a high priority on transportation. She was a friend and a loyal supporter, and I am grateful.

As a friend, she will be deeply missed, but she will not be forgotten. She fought for justice, she fought for equality so that all individuals will not experience the prejudice and racism that most of us have experienced throughout our life, that she wanted life to be better for others. She is a strong voice for many. Juanita Millender- McDonald will be remembered for her dedication to public service, tireless work on behalf of her constituents, and standing for the rights of women and minorities, and, overall, her desire to make our country a better place.

We love you, Juanita Millender-McDonald.