Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment by Representative Jackson-Lee. We need to ensure that conferees discuss the issue of Homeland Security funding for minority institutions of higher learning.

Hispanic Serving Institutions and Community Colleges are crucial partners in our country's struggle to protect the homeland.

Mr. Chairman, there are 242 Hispanic Serving Institutions in this country, 79 in California alone.

We cannot ignore the HBCUs, HSIs and the 1,166 nationwide Community College systems in this country.

They have a unique and important role in serving our communities, especially in the area of research and development of homeland security-related programs and services.

Statistically, HSI's and Community Colleges receive significantly less government RFP awards than larger educational institutions.

This amendment would encourage the Appropriations conferees to consider adding language to the bill to ensure that HSI's and Community Colleges receive a fair share of government grants.

Mr. Chairman, this is an important issue to all minority-serving institutions in this country. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4471, the Homeownership Opportunities for Native Americans Act.

Under Title VI of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self- Determination Act, HUD guarantees tribal obligations to help finance affordable housing activities. The Title VI loan assists Indian Housing Block Grant borrowers who wish to finance eligible affordable housing activities, but are unable to secure financing without the assistance of a Federal guarantee.

Native Americans deserve decent housing, a suitable living environment, and economic opportunities. Title VI helps make this happen.

During the previous administration, Title VI guaranteed up to 95 percent of a loan. In fact, several loans are currently pending based on the 95 percent loan guarantee level.

Unfortunately, the Office of Management and Budget is now saying that loan guarantees cannot be greater than 80 percent of a loan.

This bill would allow Title VI to continue to guarantee loans up to 95 percent.

I want to thank Congressman Renzi and Congressman Matheson, the authors of this bill. They understand that all Americans are entitled to the American dream.

For too long our Native American brothers and sisters have been treated like second-class citizens. This bill is a strong step towards putting Native Americans on a fair playing field.

Mr. Speaker, Hispanic families in America are being left out of the American Dream, thanks to the Bush administration's failure to create jobs and fund the programs essential to health and education. Thanks to the Bush tax cuts that favor the rich and the privileged, middle-class families in America are struggling to get by.

Over 1.4 million Hispanic workers are still looking for a job. Over $1 trillion will be spent over the next 10 years on additional tax cuts for the rich, instead of creating jobs here at home. The unemployment rate for Hispanics is now 25 percent higher than when President Bush took office. This money should be used to create jobs for hardworking and dedicated individuals, instead of being used to give a break to the wealthy.

If things do not change, not only will there be no jobs for our students when they enter the real world, but they will graduate unprepared for today's job market. Over 27 percent of Hispanic students drop out of high school, yet the President's budget will eliminate funding for dropout prevention programs. The Bush budget will essentially freeze funding for bilingual education, even though the number of students with limited English proficiency is growing rapidly. These children need English skills to help them achieve the American Dream and we cannot neglect to teach them this basic tool.

The squeeze on Hispanic families does not stop there. The Bush budget cuts funding for the Office of Minority Health by 15 percent and neglects to make health care affordable for the over 12 million Hispanic Americans without health insurance. In the richest nation in the world, every American should be able to have access to health care.

We must not leave our families behind. We need a budget that will make sure that average Americans have jobs, an education and health care. We do not want one that rewards the rich and the privileged.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 231, because I was in California to attend my daughter's graduation, I was unable to be in the chamber when the time elapsed on the vote. Had I been able to vote, I would have voted ``yea'' for the vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Oberstar Motion to Instruct Conferees on the Safe Routes to Schools program.

The Safe Routes to Schools is a good program designed to save the lives of children and the many commuters that drive near schools. This program helps create infrastructure so that children can safely walk or bike to school.

Our children will also be safer while walking to school because the Safe Routes to Schools program also encourages greater enforcement of traffic laws, educates the public, and explores ways to create safer streets.

As a nutrition advocate, I am also concerned about the growing obesity epidemic that is affecting our children. Sedentary lifestyles, too much television, and far too many non-athletic activities are causing our children's waistlines to grow out of control. That is why I support this program. We need to promote walking and biking to school as alternatives.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to please support this Motion to Instruct the Conferees so that our children can live safer, healthier, and happier lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 444. H.R. 444 authorizes a pilot program to allow unemployed workers to receive job- training vouchers.

Unfortunately, the bill does not even fund the voucher program. The funding must come from existing job-training programs. These vouchers could be as small as $500 and as large as $3000. Voucher recipients could purchase job-training and child-care services, or use the funds to cover some transportation expenses. However, job-training services would no longer be free, but would have to be purchased for a one-year period.

We are stealing Peter's training money to give Paul a voucher. Tell me how this improves job training in our country? This is not the solution for the millions of Americans that don't have a job and can't put food on the table. The White House and Republican Congress have failed to create jobs. They have failed to respond in thoughtful way to the needs of the American workers or the basic needs of our sluggish economy. Where is the compassion in the White House's conservatism for the 1.5 million Americans that have exhausted their unemployment benefits?

H.R. 444 is a misguided response to the great needs of our country. We need more jobs, not to privatize the job training. Millions need to put food on the table with their unemployment checks, not a tax cut that rewards corporations that move jobs overseas. I have had enough of nonsense legislation from this White House and Republican Congress. I will not vote for a bill that will result in cuts to the very job- training that will help people get a job.

In sum, this bill siphons money away from job training programs, limits people's access to that training, and does not even fund the pilot project. The motivation for this bill must have been, ``why help people, when you can just pretend.''

I urge my colleagues to reject this ineffective and purely cosmetic bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States. I am proud to be a cosponsor of Congressman Lewis' resolution. Today, Republicans and Democrats alike honor in unity the life of a man who left a permanent mark on the history of our nation and the world.

Today we praise the life and accomplishments of the Great Communicator, and we give our condolences to Nancy, and the entire Reagan family. President Ronald Reagan was a man who meant much to all free peoples in the world through his many noble accomplishments. President Reagan's policies, many of which I disagreed with, were nevertheless motivated by a commitment to preserve and enhance our nation's greatness. I remain firm in my admiration of this great leader whose intellectual integrity was always unquestioned.

As the oldest serving president in American history, President Reagan was an inspiration for seniors. He showed us that youthfulness can be found in people of all ages, and that life does not expire at 65. When President Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, he brought awareness and understanding to an illness that is too often ignored.

President Reagan will be remembered for his dedication to the American dream. Although many Americans may have disagreed with his policies, they were still inspired by his enthusiasm and optimism.

President Reagan should be remembered not just for his role in Washington, but for his hard work in the State of California as well. As Governor of California for eight years, he led the state with dedication and commitment to his convictions. As an actor, he provided us with entertainment in over 50 motion pictures.

On behalf of myself, the residents of the 43rd Congressional District in California, and a grateful world that is safer and freer, I pay homage to President Ronald Reagan--leader, statesman, actor, father, husband and American hero.

And now, let's make this resolution ``one for the Gipper.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4409 and H.R. 4411, despite my concerns that they do not do enough to address the problems facing colleges and K through 12 schools in this country.

In the past year, college tuition has increased an average of 14 percent a year at public institutions and by 6 percent at private colleges.

Under President Bush, students are taxed more on college loans. College students in this country will be taxed an additional $3.8 billion over the next 10 years.

While campaigning in 2000, President Bush promised to raise the Pell grant to $5,100--which would help make college more affordable for the students who need scholarships the most. But the Pell grant has been frozen at $4,050 for the 3rd year in a row. It freezes funding for Pell Grants and cut funding for Perkins loans by nearly $100 million.

Since No Child Left Behind was enacted in 2002, it has been underfunded by $27 billion. This year, President Bush's budget under- funds No Child Left Behind by $9.4 billion. It provides only half of the funding promised to after school programs. And it cuts $316 million from vocational education and community colleges--again.

What do those numbers mean to the young boy or girl in San Bernardino? What do they mean to our children across the country?

It means that 2.4 million children will not get the help with reading and math they were promised. It means that over 1 million children who were promised after school programs will not get them. It means that many of them will not be able to afford the cost of college.

There should be more Title III funding, which provides for bilingual programs for LEP (Limited English Proficient) students. California will receive over $138 million in Title III funding, but this is not enough to reach these students' needs.

Last school year, 25.3 percent of students in California were English learners. And this number is likely to grow significantly.

I am grateful that this House passed my amendment to H.R. 2211, the Ready to Teach Act, last summer which will allow the use of funds for teacher training on technology for bilingual students. I am also looking at legislation to address teacher retention and an increase in incentives for teaching in minority serving institutions.

There is a long list of problems not addressed by H.R. 4409 or H.R. 4411 and more must be done. Our students and teachers deserve more than merely lip service. They need the funds and support from this Congress to provide equal educational opportunities for all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Robert and Sherri Vines, who are to receive this year's the Rabbi Norman F. Feldheym Award for service to our community on June 12, 2004, also marking the 113th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation Emanu El. As members of the Congregation for the past 30 years, they have embodied the characteristics of integrity, humility, and love. I join today with family and friends in honoring their remarkable achievements and expressing pride in this recognition that has been afforded to them.

Robert and Sherri have served the Congregation in numerous capacities over the years. As a teacher at the School of Jewish Living, chair of the Community Seder, and member of the Executive Committee, Sherri has continued to provide invaluable insight and unyielding effort in improving her community.

Robert has equally shared in the leadership responsibilities while serving on the United Jewish Welfare Fund of San Bernardino County as President, the Dues Adjustment Commission, and the Board of Managers for the Home of Eternity Cemetery.

In addition to these contributions, Robert is a celebrated attorney, receiving many accolades in his profession for integrity and performance. He was previously recognized in the Inland Empire Magazine as one of the top-ten attorneys in the Inland Empire.

Through their pro-active approach to leadership, Robert and Sherri have generously contributed their time, knowledge, and resources not only to their Congregation but also the entire Inland Empire community. The Rabbi Norman F. Feldheym Award is a way we can recognize these good works and pay tribute to their immense dedication over the last three decades.

I join today with their children, Jennifer, Jill, and Michael, to express our pride and admiration that they have received this well- deserved award. They are symbols of the qualities that Rabbi Feldheym exhibited and a continuing inspiration to their community.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I pay tribute today to Anthony Acevedo. He is a man who has exuded integrity and great character throughout his life, and it gives me no greater pleasure than joining today with family and friends in honoring this great patriot.

Anthony was born in San Bernardino, before moving to Mexico at the age of 13 where he was schooled. His overwhelming feelings of patriotism, however, brought him back to the United States where he registered for the draft and was inducted in August of 1943. As a member of the 70th Division, 275th Regiment, Company B, he was sent to Marseilles, France in December 1944 to fight on the front lines of

Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I pay tribute today to a close, personal friend of mine, Floyd Stewart. He is a man of great integrity and character, and I join today with family and friends in honoring his remarkable achievements throughout his life.

Floyd served admirably in the armed forces during WWII and fought on the front lines of our military for 11 months. He was stationed in Normandy and Luxembourg during this time and was a member of the Combat Engineers, Unit 148. He was also a soldier in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle of World War II featuring over 500,000 Americans and over 80,000 casualties.

Throughout his time serving our nation, Floyd exhibited tremendous passion, pride, and a deep resolve to fight for the freedoms that we, as Americans, have been fortunate to experience. He continues to be respected member of his community and beloved member of his family. His kind and passionate spirit are an incredible resource and blessing to those who know him.

I have had the distinct privilege of enjoying Floyd Stewart's friendship for several years now. I have played golf with him at El Rancho Verde Golf Club, where he is a member, and seen firsthand his generosity of spirit and love for his fellow man.

It gives me no greater pleasure than joining today with family and friends in paying tribute to this great man. His unselfish duty to our country should not be overlooked. He is a symbol of all that we, as Americans, strive to be and I present to him today my steadfast thanks for his service.

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

I rise in opposition to the Republican Budget Resolution conference report. For the first time since the Congressional Budget Act was enacted, the Republicans are bringing only a 1-year budget resolution to the floor. This 1-year conference agreement provides no plan to reduce the deficit and no commitment to provide critical resources for defense, homeland security, education, veterans, and other priorities in future years.

The budget agreement cuts funding for key priorities to help fund another round of Republican tax cuts totaling $55.2 billion. After 3 years of the Bush administration's fiscal policies, we are facing a $363 billion deficit in 2005, and that is before any new tax cuts or other policies the President is proposing. Republicans have managed to turn a project $5.6 trillion surplus into a projected $3 trillion deficit.

This budget also fails to protect Social Security. The conference agreement not only fails to attempt to restore the budget surpluses to begin to protect the Social Security trust fund, but it also spends every penny of the $1 trillion Social Security surplus over the next 5 years.

If that's not enough, the Republican budget shortchanges education and health programs. It provides $81 billion for education and training programs, which is $2.9 billion less than the Senate budget. The conference agreement provides $8.8 billion less for education than was promised in the No Child Left Behind Act. It represents the smallest increase in education spending in 9 years, cutting $1.4 billion in critical education programs, including those that improve family literacy, and provide school counselors to elementary school children.

It fails to provide any new money to help the 43 million Americans who are without health insurance. There are over 12 million Hispanic Americans without health insurance and millions more who can barely pay their premiums, yet Republicans do nothing to hold costs down.

The budget cuts spending for mandatory health programs by $905 million over 5 years. Medicaid constitutes over 90 percent of the dollars for these programs, so it is likely that disabled Americans, children and the elderly would bear the brunt of these spending cuts, if enacted. The budget also does nothing to hold down prescription drug costs. This administration and the Republican Party are failing the 2 million Hispanic seniors and all seniors on Medicare.

The budget cuts and underfunds critical housing programs. At this funding level, approximately 250,000 low-income families with children, senior citizens, and people with disabilities could lose their Section 8 vouchers.

The Republican budget leaves our veterans behind. The conference agreement provides only $31 billion for appropriated veterans programs for 2005, which is $1.3 billion less than the Veterans Affairs Committee, on a bipartisan basis, stated is needed for these vital veterans' health care programs. It shortchanges veterans' health care, raising health care costs for 1 million veterans. It makes it harder for veterans to get their disability, education, pension, housing, and employment benefits by eliminating critically needed staff that process claims for veterans' benefits. The Republicans talk about patriotism, yet how quickly they forget about the men and women who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, and the over 1 million Hispanic veterans.

The conference report before us is a failure of our fiscal and moral responsibility. We should reject this conference report and ask the conferees to go back to the drawing board.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, while I do have concerns with this bill, I rise to voice my support for H.R. 4200, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005. We need to do everything we can to make our armed forces as effective as possible. That's why I support the 2-year delay for the next BRAC round.

California has seen 29 bases close. In the Inland Empire, George and Norton Air Force Bases have been closed. And March Air Force Base was reduced to a reserve base. This cost an estimated 37,000 jobs and $3.9 billion in economic activity. That is 39 times the size of the San Bernardino city budget. That's real money that could have helped our citizens.

The 22,000 citizens of Barstow are worried that the Nebo Marine Corp Logistics Base and Yermo Annex will close. It is the city's second largest employer. What will happen when it closes?

When Norton Air Force Base closed in a previous BRAC round, it devastated my district. We lost 10,000 military and civilian personnel. And thousands more lost their job off the base. We have never been able to replace those jobs. It's not only communities that will be affected. Base closings will affect our troops and their families. It will set the military on a course of instability. All in order to save a few bucks.

Our troops in Iraq should not have to worry whether their families will be moved to another city or another state. They have better things to worry about. Because of these reasons I support the suspension of

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition of all four of the OSHA bills under consideration today. Republicans are trying to say that our country's laws are the cause for the off-shoring of American jobs. This is not only untrue, but it's shameless to accuse the few protections that exist for our nation's workers as the cause for their jobs being shipped overseas.

While the Republican Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee is busy writing an FSC/ETI tax cut bill that will give tax breaks to companies that move to China or India, his Republican colleagues try to confuse people on the reasons why jobs are leaving main street and being sent to mainland China. The face is that we are losing jobs because of the failed policies of this administration. The compassionate conservatism of this administration has cost us 3 million jobs. Please end the compassion!

President Bush's top economic advisor has even proudly said that sending American jobs overseas is a good thing. Well, I for one will not let them confuse the issue. We cannot let Republicans say that the way to ease the competitive disadvantage to third world countries like China or Brazil is to adopt their labor standards. That type of thinking would take boys and girls out of the classroom and into the coal mine.

These four anti-worker safety bills would substantially weaken worker health and safety laws and hurt our workers. H.R. 2728 weakens enforcement of workplace health and safety regulations by dragging out the date for imposing penalties. It also drags out the date by which corrective action must be taken to mitigate the health or safety hazard.

H.R. 2729 weakens worker protections by expanding the membership of the commission and flooding it with partisan appointees that agree with the President's anti-worker agenda. This commission has had three members since it was established in 1970. There is no reason to expand it or to allow a minority of the commission to make decisions. Both these changes make no sense whatsoever.

H.R. 2730 would undermine the OSHA enforcement functions by encouraging challenges to Labor Department rules and interpretations.

H.R. 2731 would put the health and safety of thousands of workers at risk by encouraging lawbreakers to fight any worker safety violations in court. OSHA settles or wins the vast majority of its enforcement cases; there is no reason to assume employers need to be protected from an overzealous agency. The bill is one-sided. If OSHA wins, the employer does not have to pay OSHA's expenses. The real loser under this legislation is the taxpayer and American workers.

As you can see, all four bills are anti-worker laws. The only way they can justify them is to trump up charges that it is these worker protection laws that are costing us jobs. This is false and worse yet, it is a lie.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose all four of the anti-OSHA bills.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Dr. Michael Lemay, who is retiring from the California State University San Bernardino after 12 dedicated years of service to the university. Dr. Lemay is an individual of great distinction, and we join with family and friends in honoring his remarkable achievements and expressing pride in his work throughout the last dozen years.

Dr. Lemay has devoted his life to helping students through his chosen profession in education. His kindness and passionate spirit make him an incredible resource to the university and beloved community member.

For the past 12 years, Dr. Lemay has dedicated himself to Cal State San Bernardino, serving as Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, Department Chair, Academic Advisor, and Professor. In these capacities, he has been an integral contributor to the management and administration of the school, as well as a participant in developing the young minds of the future.

Through his participation in countless activities and committees, Dr. Lemay has exhibited kindness, love, humility, and a deep resolve to ameliorate all aspects of university life, so it is only appropriate that we thank him today. He has received the highest evaluation of his profession for integrity and performance, and has taken a proactive approach to leadership at Cal State San Bernardino.

I join today with family in friends in congratulating him for his 12 years of service. He is a symbol of all that is good in his profession and an inspiration to all that know him.

And so, Mr. Speaker, we salute Dr. Michael Lemay. We express admiration in his career and hope that others may recognize his good works in the community.