Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I am pleased that Congress has recognized the important role that Catholic schools play in our community by bringing House Resolution 23 before the House floor.

As a proud Catholic, I know the impact that faith-based education can have in our society and have witnessed it first hand in my district. Schools such as the St. Thomas Aquinas High School in San Bernardino, California, are highly regarded for their academic and athletic excellence, as well as the life-changing opportunities they provide to their students.

Under the leadership of Bishop Gerald Barnes, the San Bernardino Diocese school system has invested in the future of our children by providing them the educational tools to succeed.

Catholic schools in our Nation's education have been paramount in teaching the values that we as parents seek to instill in our children.

They are sources of goodwill and arbiters of moral values, providing strong foundations for young people. Their curriculums are often full of programs in character development and community service.

Catholic school graduates exhibit a wide variety of qualities that will not only help them in their careers but also in their family and community lives.

It gives me no greater pleasure than to support this resolution today honoring the contributions of Catholic schools and I commend Congressman Kennedy for his sponsorship.

I also ask and pray for the quick recovery of Pope John Paul II, so that he may continue to lead the Catholic Church and help oversee the Catholic school system and their good works.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay my respects to a great civil rights pioneer; a man who provided vital social and political commentary on our nation at a time when it was unwelcome to do so. Above all Ossie Davis was an activist for social equality. He believed vigorously in the tenets on which our nation was founded: freedom, justice, and that all men are indeed created equal.

Ossie Davis passed away last year at the age of 87. With his passing our nation lost not only a leader of the civil rights movement but also one of the preeminent playwrights, authors and actors of the African American community.

Over his 50 years in the entertainment business, Ossie Davis wrote various plays, television shoves and movies, shedding necessary light on the challenges facing the African American community and race relations in the United States.

He was a champion for the disenfranchised, providing a voice for those who could not speak out and inspiration for those seeking a better life. Ossie's theatrical achievements and unabashed commentary on the civil rights movement led to him receiving the Silver Circle Award from the Academy of the Television Arts and Sciences in 1994, the National Medal of Arts in 1995, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actor's Guild in 2000. He was also honored by the Kennedy Center in 2004.

Through his proactive participation in the entertainment industry, Ossie Davis exhibited a deep resolve to highlighting the struggle for equality in the African American community and, in so doing, changed the direction of our nation.

I commend Congressman Conyers on awarding Ossie Davis this well- deserved medal. His contributions to the African American community and our entire nation should not go overlooked.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition of this bill.

It does nothing to make America safer. It is simply anti-immigrant legislation placed under the mask of homeland security.

The bill will prevent States from giving licenses to undocumented immigrants. It will not prevent terrorists from obtaining identification forms. All of the 9/11 hijackers were in this country legally.

In fact, allowing immigrants to have licenses actually improves homeland security by allowing our government to track who is in our borders.

This bill will also raise insurmountable hurdles for refugees seeking asylum and will deport victims of persecution into the hands of their persecutors.

Proponents of this provision claim that we need to tighten asylum laws, yet, they cannot pinpoint a single terrorist given asylum in the United States.

This bill will also require the completion of a fence on the Mexican border, waiving environmental laws in California. This fence is a complete waste of money and resources. People will go over it, under it and around it to enter our country.

Our immigration system is a broken system that needs to be fixed. We need reform that provides hardworking people of good character with a real path towards citizenship.

But this bill is simply a Band-Aid on the problem that will not provide lasting reform.

Mr. Speaker, while many manufacturers have been cutting costs by relocating overseas or contracting to foreign companies, one small flashlight manufacturer has decided to stay put in the U.S.A.

Right now that company is in danger and needs our help.

Mag Instrument, maker of the Maglite flashlight, filed for a reissue patent in 1990 but was not approved until 2003--13 years later. The delay in that 2-year extension led to countless foreign manufacturers copying the design, flooding foreign markets with their knock-offs ever since.

The Maglite patent expires this year. If we let that happen we can expect a flood of knock-offs here in the U.S.A., jeopardizing 900 American jobs and a great American product.

Today, I am proud to introduce legislation to extend the patent for the Maglite flashlight for an additional 2 years.

The Maglite flashlight is not some fancy medicine or artificial heart, but nonetheless represents American innovation and the ability of one man to turn a great idea into ``the American dream.''

The Maglite is a beloved tool of police officers, firefighters, and E.M.T.'s nationwide. Military units often replace their service issue flashlights with Maglites. Engineers at the USS Cole credited this flashlight with helping them to save lives and to keep the ship from sinking.

That is why I am proud to introduce this legislation today along with 10 of my colleagues, and the support of the National Association of Police Organizations, its 52 affiliates and my hometown police organization, the San Bernardino County Safety Employees' Association.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me by cosponsoring this bill. We need to make sure our police officers and first responders have this nearly indestructible American-made steel flashlight instead of a fragile foreign knock-off flashlight made of aluminum or plastic.

We need to keep the seal ``Made in the U.S.A.'' on this great all- American flashlight.

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request that the attached letter, requesting excuse from the floor on January 6, 2005, be published in the Congressional Record. I have also submitted the letter to Leader Pelosi's Office.

Congress of the United States,

House of Representatives,

January 6, 2005.

Hon. Nancy Pelosi,

Democratic Leader,

Washington, DC.

Dear Leader Pelosi: I respectfully request to be excused

from the floor, today, on legislative business.

Were I able to be present on the floor today, I would vote

to ensure that the electoral will of the people is respected

in every state. If there is any perceived electoral

irregularity, those who have been aggrieved must be afforded

the opportunity to have their concerns redressed, in the

appropriate manner and forum, as expeditiously as possible.

The hallmark of our Democracy--lasting and cherished for

over two centuries--is that we respect and abide by

Constitutional principles. The right of franchise, purchased

with the blood and toil of our civil rights leaders, must not

be idly relinquished. We must fight to make all voices heard

in that noble and great enterprise that is America.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

Joe Baca,

Congressman.

Mr. Speaker, today, I will be reintroducing the Southern California Groundwater Remediation Act. This legislation is a long-term solution to help cities in Southern California remove perchlorate from their drinking water.

Formerly H.R. 4606, this legislation passed the House of Representatives in September of 2004. Today, I pick up the fight to clean up perchlorate groundwater contamination and protect the health of Southern Californians. Perchlorate groundwater contamination remains a crisis in Southern California. This includes my hometown of Rialto, California.

Perchlorate is a main ingredient in rocket fuel. It has been found in drinking water supplies in 40 states, including California. It has been linked to thyroid damage, and may be especially harmful to infants and developing fetuses, and the 1.2 million women of childbearing age in San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties. It could also be harmful to those with weak immune systems, such as seniors and AIDS patients.

There is a legal and moral obligation to provide safe and healthy water. Today, these obligations are in jeopardy. The hardworking families in these areas are not at fault and should not have to pay for this problem. We must protect these consumers.

Southern California, and particularly the Inland Empire, has been greatly impacted by perchlorate. Perchlorate has been detected in 184 sources in the counties served by the Santa Ana River watershed. There is a perchlorate plume in the Inland Empire in California that is seven miles long and growing every day. It has affected 82 wells in San Bernardino County, and jeopardized the water supplies of 500,000 residents who rely on the Colorado River.

The economic burden on these communities is almost as much of a concern as the potential health effects. The bill authorizes $50 million in much-needed assistance. It is modeled after a successful program in the San Gabriel Basin in Southern California that has also suffered from perchlorate-polluted water. And it is similar to H.R. 4459, a bill introduced by Richard Pombo in the 108th Congress that deals with perchlorate in Northern California, and passed the House last September.

I urge my colleagues to support this urgent bill for Southern California, so we can tell these communities that help is on the way. I would like to thank Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, Congressman Ken Calvert and Congressman Gary Miller for their support of this crucial bill to the health of Southern Californians.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay my respects and give my deepest condolences to those who have suffered through one of the worst natural disasters in history.

As our nation celebrated the holiday season with our loved ones, a tragedy of epic proportions was occurring half a world away. An earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 off the coast of Indonesia triggered a massive tsunami that engulfed several countries throughout South and Southeast Asia. The total aftermath is not yet known as the number of lives lost continues to rise to immeasurable levels.

Though this tragic disaster destroyed lives, families, and entire economies, it did not destroy the strength of character and sense of purpose displayed by the victims who continue to fight daily for survival. The victims of this tsunami are not alone in their struggle. Across our great Nation, Americans, together with the world community, have exhibited their generosity of spirit as they pray for the suffering families and continue to give monetary assistance to those in need.

More than 150,000 people have been killed with millions more affected. These numbers are already impossible to comprehend yet countless others are missing.

We are now presented with a defining historical moment as a nation and as an international community. We must share the fiscal and emotional burden that will only get worse for our brothers and sisters in Southeast Asia. We cannot under-fund, undercut, or undermine our relief efforts by failing to follow through on our promises as a government or our compassion as Americans.

9/11 will always be remembered in our nation as a time of crisis and devastation, yet also a time of perseverance and unity. We survived this horrific event because of the resolve exhibited by our Nation's people and the support received from the international community. The tragedy that has struck Southeast Asia is no less of a crisis and no less devastating.

It is the responsibility of the United States and the world community to continue the aid and assistance of these countries during their time of need. During times of crises are when the integrity of a nation and its people are judged in history. I am encouraged by the overwhelming response and generosity shown by the people across this world. It is the human way to respond; it is the American way to respond.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise to express my deepest regrets over the loss of my friend and colleague, Bob Matsui.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Matsui family--especially Doris, Brian, Amy, and Anna.

Our country has lost a great leader. Bob Matsui personified integrity and passion. He served California and America with great conviction and dedication to his beliefs.

Bob Matsui was an inspiration to all Americans. Although he was taken to a Japanese American internment camp at only 6 months old, he never gave up his dedication to bettering our great country. He later became a leader of the movement for redress of Japanese-Americans interned during World War II. Even though much time had passed, he still sought justice for all Americans.

Bob Matsui also fought tirelessly for America's senior citizens. As ranking member of the Social Security Subcommittee, he worked diligently to protect seniors' retirement funds He strongly opposed risky schemes to privatize Social Security and worked to make seniors aware of the faults of these plans.

As chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Bob Matsui passionately believed in the message of the Democratic Party, and dedicated himself tirelessly to spreading that message.

Bob Matsui is an inspiration to all Americans. His strong desire to serve his community and his country led him to become one of the most beloved leaders of this Congress.

Bob Matsui will be missed by his country, his community, his family and his friends. He will long be remembered as a great American statesman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rules package that we have before us today.

It is outrageous that my Republican colleagues have placed before us a rules package that at best lacks integrity, and at worst is completely unethical.

As the highest body of elected officials in our country, we should be held to the highest ethical standards.

But instead, my Republican colleagues have opted to put before us a rules package that actually lowers our ethics standards, so that they may promote their own agenda, at whatever cost.

This rules package makes it far more difficult for ethics investigations to take place. By requiring a majority of the ethics committee before an investigation can even begin, we are in great danger of diminishing the integrity of our great institution.

With this new rule, the majority party can effectively block any ethics investigation of a member of their party. This is an abuse of power.

And it's not just Democrats who oppose this plan. Americans across the country have expressed their opposition to this plan.

My Democratic colleagues and I have a better plan that will strengthen the ethics rules to improve congressional accountability and to make sure that legislation is properly considered.

The Republican plan fails to close a loophole that allows legislation to be considered before members have read it. Last year this led to the passage of a provision that would have let the Federal Government deeply invade citizens' privacy by reading their tax returns. I am appalled that the Republicans have failed to include the Democratic provision to tighten this loophole.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the resolution, so that we do not allow this rules package to become law.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the American patriots who lost their lives on the fateful day of December 7, 1941.

In the greatest defining moment of the world's most defining war in our history, over 2,400 Americans were killed and more than 1,100 were wounded at Pearl Harbor, including hundreds of innocent civilians.

As costly as it was in the lives of our men and women in uniform, in military assets, and in esteem and pride, Pearl Harbor was a watershed moment for America.

December 7, 1941 marked the turning point for our Nation and determined the future of our foreign policy. America changed from a Nation turned inward to a strong and unified superpower, steadfast in our commitment to champion and defend the ideals of freedom and democracy.

Pearl Harbor caused our Nation to wholeheartedly commit to winning World War II, changing the course of our Nation's history and the world's future.

The catastrophic loss of American soldiers led to our country becoming the America we live in today. At home and abroad, we fight for the ideals of social and political equality. This policy was founded in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor and continues to be our Nation's moral compass.

This day should not be remembered with hatred or bitterness. It should be a day to honor the bravery of our men and women and remembered as the day our Nation was united and our sacrifices consecrated.

We learned in World War II that no single nation holds a monopoly on wisdom, morality or right to power, but that we must fight for the weak and promote democracy. These are the difficult lessons learned in 1941 and enshrined in Pearl Harbor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation.

It has been over 3 years since the September 11 attacks on America. The American people cannot wait any longer for intelligence reform.

I voted against the original version of this bill, because although it made strides to protect our Homeland, it failed to protect our civil liberties.

I am pleased that the version of the bill before us today has fixed these problems. We now have comprehensive intelligence reform that protects our homeland and our constitutional rights.

If House Republicans wish to discuss immigration reform, I welcome that debate. But that is not the task that was laid out for us by the 9/11 Commission.

I am also pleased to say that this bill includes language I introduced in the Financial Services Committee to encourage private sector anti-terrorism preparedness. The private sector controls 85 percent of the critical infrastructure in this country.

On 9/11 it became clear that the private sector is one of the first lines of defense in preventing and responding to terrorist attacks. There are steps businesses can take to protect office buildings against terrorist attacks, to ensure that escape procedures are in place and to speed up recovery and communications.

By encouraging private sector preparedness, we are taking a giant step towards making America safer.

Mr. Speaker, today we have a choice. We can either pass this bill, or we can choose to do nothing. If we do nothing, our country will be left with the same intelligence system that failed us on September 11. The same intelligence system that allowed terrorists to live in our country unnoticed for months, plotting an attack on Americans. This is unacceptable. We cannot allow another September 11 to occur.

We must pass this legislation today. We owe it to the families of the 9/11 victims, we owe it to America, and we owe it to ourselves.

My only regret about this legislation is that it has taken us 3 years to pass it.

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully request to be excused from the floor, on Monday, December 6, 2004, on legislative and personal business. I will be present on Tuesday, and the balance of the week, and I will be able to participate in the key votes that are expected during that time.

The reason for my absence on Monday is that I have been invited--as a proud parent, and Congressman from the Inland Empire--to attend the swearing in of my son, Joe Jr., as a member of the California State Assembly. This moment is very significant, because this is the same seat I held when I represented the Inland Empire in the state Assembly. I am sure you will join in my immense pride and joy I have as a father, on this historic occasion--one that reflects the continued ascendancy of Hispanics into leadership ranks, as well as the political coming of age of the next generation.

I understand that, at present, leadership has no plans to being up on Monday the 9/11 Implementation Act, and Democrats are not whipping attendance for the suspension items on Monday, but I remain in ongoing communication with, and at the disposal of, the Democratic leadership team, should the situation change.

I also have been informed that he repeal of the Taxpayer Persecution Act will be undertaken through the suspension process this

evening. Like you, I was disturbed that the Republicans gave their staff the power to scrutinize Americans' tax returns, without safeguard, and I was even more outraged that this provision ended up in a bill that no one had read, hastily brought to a vote under martial law rules. If I were present, I would vote to strip this provision out of the appropriations bill, by voting ``yes'' on H. Con. Res. 528.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 528 and to express my deep concern about this Congress undermining our democracy. The taxpayer persecution language in the appropriations omnibus was an abuse of Congressional power. This language would allow members of Congress and their staff to read the tax records of any American and disclose the information.

Unfortunately, this provision is just one more example of an abuse of power by the majority party of this Congress. The process that the Republican majority has resorted to is the reason that such outrageous provisions were approved. The Republican majority has used martial law to speed through legislation without giving members the change to read it over.

Democracy suffers when members of Congress are given only a few short hours to read thousands of pages of law and it is the American citizen who must bear the burden of our actions. Democracy suffers when the minority is denied a seat at the table and the chance to be a part of the process. It is not the Members of Congress who lose out. The American citizens they are here to represent are the ones who lose out.

The taxpayer persecution language is a frightening example of a Republican majority that is willing to oppress the minority, undermine democracy, and cast the shadows of Big Brother. Rule by the majority of the majority is not a democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I speak out in frustration of a Republican party run government that seems to have little regard for the elected representatives of half of this country, and even less regard for the American citizens they represent. When our founding fathers created the United States Congress this was not what they had in mind.

We need to bridge together the widening divisions in our country. We need to begin by bringing comity and bipartisanship back to this chamber, and in so--to the Nation. We must not allow our legislative process to fail us again.

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in support of S. 437, the Arizona Water Settlements Act.

I am a cosponsor of H.R. 885, the House version of this landmark bill that resolves critical water issues facing Arizona and Arizona tribes today.

Congress authorized the Central Arizona project 35 years ago.

Today, S. 347 offers resolution for water use in Arizona, providing additional water supplies to resolve tribal claims and accommodate rapid population growth.

Among other improvements, this bill designs a solid system and infrastructure to provide Arizona tribes with affordable water.

After many years, tribes in this region, such as the Gila River Indian Community, will be able to retain and maintain their water rights without continuous years of court battles.

Everyone has the right to clean, abundant and affordable water--and our first Americans are no exception.

The Arizona Water Settlements Act will be considered the largest Indian water settlement in U.S. history, and this was obviously no small task.

The bill is strongly supported by appropriate state agencies, the entire Arizona delegation, the Gila River Community, the Tohono O'odham tribe, and a number of diverse Arizona interests.

I commend the Arizona delegation and the Democratic and Republican staff for working through their differences for a polished bill.

I look forward to seeing this bill become law, and the positive changes it will make for Arizona's water supply in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in memory and tribute to the late William M. Burke, who passed away recently after a brief illness. Mr. Burke was Founder and President of the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, established in 1975 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nonsectarian educational organization that allows college students from all around the country and the world to have access to academic internships in Washington, D.C.

To those who knew him on and off the Hill, Mr. Burke was an indefatigable leader, brimming with vision and ideals--a mentor, a teacher, a friend, and, most importantly, the source of inspiration to countless young leaders. The institution that he built and nurtured has earned a lasting and enduring place in experiential education. Under Bill Burke's leadership, the Washington Center educated thousands of young people from the United States and abroad, and achieved great respect in the academic, business, nonprofit, and legislative communities in its 30 years of existence.

Bill Burke shaped the Washington Center into an institution to mentor, nurture, and develop leaders in politics, the nonprofit sector, media, business, and other fields. It was Bill's desire that our young people learn those values that are important in our future leaders: self-respect, selflessness, dedication, ethics, courage, teamwork, and the highest standards of work.

He believed that it is important for young people to discover that they are already leaders, and that they inherently possess qualities that they can take back to their communities and college campuses, whether they are from a village in Mexico, a small town in our heartland, or a big city. He saw that the world was full of possibility and promise, opportunity and optimism, and that we can change it, one person, and one neighborhood, at a time.

Mr. Burke passionately believed that an interchange between our young people is essential in furthering understanding, here and abroad, and in giving people the tools to develop their communities, block by block. He said that it was important for a kid from Kansas to meet a student from Kenya, and a student from Mexico to meet peers from Canada and California, and see that our differences are not that vast, and it is our great commonality of purpose that unites us. He grasped the importance of experiential education in international development, and at the time of his death, the Center was well on its way to establishing programs where students go back to their communities with the skills and contacts to better people's lives.

Mr. Burke was a master presenter and motivator. He used to look at a sea of young people, and proclaim that they should get to know the person sitting on their right and the person on their left, because, Washington is a small town, brimming with former interns, and you can never tell for whom you will be working, and who will make a difference in the world! He had an encyclopedic knowledge of all of the personalities of Washington, and he could inspire students with his vast knowledge of who, at one time, had served an internship. He was known to name some important leader, and finish the comment with: ``And they were an intern!''

Mr. Burke tirelessly championed the involvement of members of Congress and the executive branch, corporate CEOs, foreign dignitaries, media luminaries, leaders in philanthropy, nonprofit leaders, state legislators, and college and university presidents, and the Center's 33,000 alumni in various aspects of the Washington Center.

Bill Burke's innovation and singular belief in the importance of providing college students equal access to the Washington Center led to the development of such programs as Women as Leaders, Minority Leaders Fellowship Program, Diversity in Congress Program, NAFTA Internship Program, Internship Initiative for Students with Disabilities, Native American Program, Americas Program and the Washington Center's growing international programs. In addition, in order to assure accessibility of programs regardless of the students' economic background, Bill Burke perseveringly sought philanthropic partnerships for scholarship support for the students who participate in these programs.

A native of Norwood, Massachusetts, Mr. Burke earned a Master's in Education from the University of Massachusetts, his Bachelor of Science in Management from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and an Associate's degree in Accounting from Norwalk Community College, Norwalk, Connecticut. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Law from Richard Stockton State College. He once remarked that he loved every job he had ever held.

Mr. Burke is survived by his wife, Sheila McRevey Burke, and two children, Barry and Reavey. We offer our condolences to Sheila, Barry, and Reavey, and to his colleagues, friends, and the thousands of former students who were touched by this good man's life and example. And so, Mr. Speaker, we say: in the loving memory of Bill Burke, we salute him. May the Lord bless and keep him close, and may his family and numerous friends find comfort in the knowledge that his legacy and life's work go on.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2828, the Water Supply Reliability and Environmental Improvement Act, also known as CALFED.

I am a proud co-sponsor of this legislation.

After 10 years of hard work and endless negotiations, we present the final CALFED product to Congress.

The California delegation has proven our commitment to the people of California that they are ensured a reliable water supply.

I want to congratulate Senator Feinstein and Chairman Pombo for completing a top priority for California. Their hard work is much appreciated.

I would also like to thank Chairman Ken Calvert and Ranking Member Grace Napolitano of the Water & Power Subcommittee for their hard work on CALFED as well.

CALFED is the link needed to ensure the quantity and quality of water in California.

And it is crucial to the future of my home state of California.

Without out clean water, or enough water, there can be no development of jobs or housing.

And without clean water, my children and grandchildren, or any child, cannot enjoy normal, healthy lives.

I sincerely believe CALFED will become a blueprint for water plans in other areas of the country.

CALFED increases the amount of water conservation, recycling and desalination projects. This will help ease the burden that perchlorate has placed on our water supplies.

Perchlorate groundwater contamination, combined with drought or other conditions, highlights the need for these water conservation projects.

The combination of perchlorate and drought caused my hometown, Rialto, California, to declare 2 water emergencies in one year.

With 15 wells in 3 towns in my district being shut down because of perchlorate, serving clean water has become difficult.

CALFED also provides the means to respond to rapid population growth.

With a growing population, there is a growing need for more water delivery and storage.

California has a population of 36 million, and expects to increase to 50 million in the year 2020.

We know we cannot rely solely only on the Colorado River anymore for water use--we have no choice.

We know we cannot wait until California reaches a water crisis to pass CALFED legislation.

H.R. 2828 is a must for California.

I urge my colleagues to support CALFED and allow California the clean and reliable water sources it needs.