Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, due to the death of a family member, I was absent from the House for the week of November 30 and thus not recorded for any votes that week. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following way on bills considered by the House:

On rollcall vote No. 911, on H.R. 3029, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 912, on H.R. 727, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 913, on H.R. 3667, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 914, on H. Res. 494, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 915, on H. Con. Res. 129, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 916, on H. Res. 861, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 917, on H. Res. 897, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 918, on H.R. 3634, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 919, on H.R. 515, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 920, on H. Con. Res. 197, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 921, on H.R. 1242, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 922, on H.R. 3980, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 923, on the Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule for H.R. 4154, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 924, on H. Res. 941, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 925, on approving the Journal, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 926, on H. Res. 28, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 927, on the Motion to Table the Appeal of the Ruling of the Chair, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 928, on the Motion to Recommit H.R. 4154, I would have voted ``nay'';

On rollcall vote No. 929, on H.R. 4154, I would have voted ``yea'';

On rollcall vote No. 930, on H.R. 3570, I would have voted ``yea''.

I thank the chairman of the subcommittee for his leadership on this issue and for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1319, the Informed Peer- to-Peer User Act, which I introduced with Representatives Bono Mack and Barton.

We live in a world where digital technology connects people in ways that make all kinds of collaboration and innovation possible. There is no question about the benefits of this technology; what I am worried about is the cost. This technology has made us all more productive all right, but it has also made it easier for others to invade our personal records and reveal private information about us and our families that we would never choose to disclose. This bill will protect consumers by making Internet users more aware of the inherent privacy and security risks associated with peer-to-peer file-sharing programs.

All too often, folks who connect to these networks don't even realize that their most personal and private files are visible to everyone else on the network at any time. They are posting their tax returns, their financial records, and personal messages on the Internet and they don't even know it. Recent reports have shown that peer-to-peer software was implicated in a security breach involving Marine One--the helicopter used by President Obama--and another high profile case involved Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

There are all kinds of legitimate peer-to-peer software packages out there, and we are working real hard to make sure that none of those are impacted or limited by what is proposed by this legislation, and the committee members are going to continue to make sure that the scope of this bill doesn't interfere with the productive capacity of this technology. But this bipartisan bill is critical to protecting the privacy and Internet safety of American families. We have truth in lending and truth in labeling. I think it's time we had truth in networking.

I want to thank Congresswoman Bono Mack for her leadership and Congressman Barton for his sponsoring this bill and working with me on this important legislation. I urge my colleagues to vote in support of the Informed Peer-to-Peer User Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to my friend, Rev. Matthew Southall Brown, Sr., who delivered the invocation for the House this morning.

If history is biography, then the history of the civil rights movement in my home of Savannah, Georgia, is the biography of Matthew Southall Brown. He got involved in the movement before there was a movement helping to bring about the end of one era and the birth of another.

During World War II, Rev. Brown was serving as an Army non-com in Europe when the Battle of the Bulge broke out. In those days, blacks were confined to supporting units. But when men were needed to fight, General Eisenhower called for black soldiers to volunteer infantry duty. Rev. Brown was one of the 2,221 who answered that call, even though he had to give up his rank to do so.

Later, answering a different call, Rev. Brown was chosen to lead Savannah's historic St. John Baptist Church. For over 35 years, Pastor Brown not only led his church family; he was a leader in the movement to secure equal rights and equal opportunity for everyone in our community.

Rev. Brown, thank you for being there with my father in Europe and for your willingness to give your life to help us win that war, even when it was unfair. But more importantly, thank you for spending your life to help us win the peace. Sometimes it's an awful lot easier to fight for your country than it is to live for your country. You've done both, and for that we salute you.

Madam Chair, I rise today to express my gratitude to the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Chairman Miller, and Ranking Member Kline, for working with me to include an amendment I offered in the Manager's Amendment of this bill.

I believe The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act will make college education more affordable for more American students than ever before, transform early education opportunities, and ultimately help build a stronger, more competitive American economy for the future, while saving taxpayers money.

For the reforms in this bill to be effective, it's critical that our colleges and universities have the right tools to make these reforms as successful as possible. My amendment requires the Secretary of Education to provide funding and technical assistance to institutions of higher education in operating the Direct Loan program, including assisting institutions with the transition into the program.

Right now, college costs more than ever, while families are struggling more than ever. Allowing our students to graduate with a better education and less debt is the best way to make sure that American workers remain competitive long into the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 288 designating the month of July as ``National Park and Recreation Month''.

State and local parks and recreation facilities play a vital role in stimulating our nation's economy, improving community health and wellness, enhancing quality of life, and safeguarding our nation's natural resources. The value of state and local parks and recreation facilities and their employees is undeniable, and I have no doubt that we're all enriched by the wonderful experiences they offer.

Park and recreation facilities aid in combating obesity and chronic disease epidemics; connect children with nature; provide opportunities for increased physical activities; and enhance the quality of life for injured military servicemembers and those with physical disabilities through therapeutic recreation.

As American families enjoy our summer season, I offer H. Res. 288 as a tribute to our state and local parks and their employees and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Resuming our time, Madam Speaker, at the outset, I would like to ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks in the Record on this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

There are a lot of lives that you can live in the law. You can live the life of the fighter, the champion on the white horse, the litigator, the trial lawyer. You can live the life of the counselor, the deal maker, the advisor, the person who helps to plot his client's course through uncertain waters. There are a lot of lives you can live in the law.

If you are going to be a deal maker though, if you are going to be a counselor, I venture to say that there are very few callings in the world that can call upon as much in the services of the personal lawyer as serving as counsel to a legislative body. In this country, the greatest calling of that sort would be to serve as counsel to the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress. The biggest deals in the country are made in this Chamber. Certainly this Chamber possesses the body, unlike any court, to trample upon, to barge in upon, to stumble upon, to mess up, settled bodies of law that have slowly emerged and evolved over decades and in other institutions. And short of only the Constitution of the United States, there is nothing to stop a body such as this in messing up in all kinds of ways. And so it's essential that the advice that we have be the best, the best counsel, in order to make sure that the laws we make, that we plan for the future, are fully informed and have the best counsel behind them.

You know, if the Hollywood mogul said that an oral contract ain't worth the paper it's written on, or as a client of mine once said, if it can't be read, it hadn't been said, then it is essential that the deals, the understanding, the undertakings that are made by Members of this body that are oral, that are over a handshake, they have to be reduced to writing, and those writings have to be clear. They have to be understandable. They have to be able to be read and interpreted by all of the parties, as Mr. Lungren so ably said, who have to interpret and rely upon their counsel.

Over the last 50 years, I venture to say, if Carlisle is right, he is the one who said there is no such thing as history; there's just the great man theory of government. There is no history. It's just the biography of great men. If that's true, then if you subscribe to the lawyer theory of history, then there is no history of law beyond the biography of great lawyers.

In the last 50 years, I'd venture to say the legislative record of this government is probably in the personal biography of Mr. John Dingell. Over the last 40 years, the legislative record of this Congress has been the professional biography of Middleton Pope Barrow who, more than any other, has guided this House in the undertakings it has made by giving them the language to embody the deals and the understandings that are made here in this body.

A fellow named Charles Black once said, the prima materia of all tragedy is the failure to recognize kinship. If that is true in relations between country and relations between people, it's also true in the law. Not to understand what we do and its kinship to what the courts are doing, the regulatory agencies are doing, the States are doing, what this government has done in prior years, in prior Congresses, the failure to recognize that kinship can lead to all kinds of trouble.

I think it's a matter of personal regard, a great personal matter of personal pride for me that I recognize a different kind of kinship with the gentleman we honor today with this resolution, because we have a kinship of a much more basic and prosaic kind. His father's father's father and my father's father's father are one and the same man, the first of this name, Middleton Pope Barrow, and I am very proud to claim kinship with the gentleman we honor today. I am kind of reminded, though, of old Ambrose Bierce's definition of genealogy. Genealogy is the study of one's descent from ancestors who did not necessarily care to know their own.

Well, I do care to know my own. I care to know the descendants of a common ancestor, Mr. Pope Barrow. It's not for me to say how well our district is represented in this House of Representatives, but I think I speak for every member of my family in saying that we feel extremely well represented by the services that Middleton Pope Barrow has rendered this House over the last four decades. We wish you God speed, and God bless in all of your undertakings.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California, the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mr. Waxman.

Madam Speaker, I would like to note for the record that colleagues of ours who want very much to be here to express, in person, their congratulations and best wishes to Pope Barrow on this occasion cannot be here because of conflicts that make it impossible for them to come.

Chairman Markey of Massachusetts sends his regards. Chairman Rangel of New York sends his regards. Chairman Slaughter of New York also sends her regards. All planned on coming here to pay tribute in person to the life and work of Pope Barrow, but conflicts in their meeting schedules make it impossible for them to come, and so I merely wish to note for the record their support of this resolution.

Having no other speakers on our side, Madam Speaker, I will wrap up on a personal note.

The poet Robert Frost wrote a short poem that says an awful lot. It is entitled ``Devotion,'' and it goes something like this:

``The heart can think of no devotion greater than being shore to ocean--holding the curve of one position, counting an endless repetition.''

When I think of his 40 years of service to this House--20 Congresses, of the gun having to start on legislation that has been on the table for years, having to be started over and over again with new Members coming, all the folks coming and bringing the same ideas back to the table and new ideas emerging throughout all of that. I can't think of any greater devotion than being able to hold the point of serving as counsel to this body.

More to the point, it is not for lack of something better to do that someone like Pope Barrow serves in this body for 40 years. It is because of his devotion to the work of this House and the unique opportunity that he has as counsel to this House and that he has

had of serving as counselor to the folks who are making the biggest and most important deals in the country. It is that devotion that we recognize today and certainly not for a lack of anything better to do or that which is more productive in other spheres. So that is the spirit in which I hope we will all acknowledge his service as one of great devotion to our country. With that, it is with a great deal of pride of association--not accomplishment but of association--that I urge the support of this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, had I been present to vote on the Stearns (FL) Amendment to H.R. 3081 the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2010, I would have voted ``no.''

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2965, the Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act, because I believe this bill is vital to modernizing Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer programs.

I'm also pleased that this bill includes a proposal I sponsored last year that will establish a grant program for minority colleges and universities to partner with nonprofits. Working together, nonprofits and minority colleges and universities will develop relationships with industries and small businesses that will expand minority-owned small business opportunities.

Small businesses are the engine that drives the American economy, and this act will help grow small businesses where both the need--and the opportunity--are the greatest. I believe this bill is critical to sustain job growth, and exactly the kind of legislation that our Nation needs right now, and I urge my colleagues to support the rule and vote for it.

Mr. Speaker, back home in Augusta, Georgia, there's a little 9-year old boy by the name of Anthony DeJuan Boatwright, who's in a semi-comatose state and hooked up to a ventilator. He's been like this since September 9, 2001.

Now, Juan, as he's called, wasn't born that way. He was the victim of a tragic and a preventable accident. The worst of it is if his mom had been given the information that this bill requires, then this accident never would have happened.

Back in 2001, Juan's mother, Jacqueline Boatwright, was doing what millions of mothers and fathers all over the country do everyday. She dropped her child in daycare so that she could go to work to improve her family's life.

Ms. Boatwright had done her homework. She was a sophisticated consumer and she shopped around and found a daycare center that she felt comfortable leaving her baby boy with. It was licensed by the State of Georgia. It was clean. And most importantly, it complied with all sorts of Federal regulations under the Child Care Development Block Grant Act that are designed to prevent and control infectious diseases, ensure building safety, premises access, and mental health and safety training for staff.

But there was one thing that Jackie Boatwright did not know; that these folks could take her money, they could take her child, they could harm her child, and they would not be financially responsible for any of the harm that they do. That's because they had no liability insurance. There was no law that required them to have any liability insurance, and there wasn't even any law that required them to tell her that.

Mr. Speaker, sure enough, that's just what happened. They ignored Juan long enough for him to find a bucket of water. Like every child that age, he had just enough strength to pull himself up to look over inside and to fall inside head first, but not enough upper body strength to push himself back up. It was a death trap, and little Juan fell into it. Well, Juan survived, but his life and that of his family have been ruined and changed forever.

Now, this bill would have prevented all of this from happening. It wouldn't have prevented this from happening by adding a whole new bureaucracy of daycare inspectors to watch the watchers. It would have prevented this from happening in the least expensive and most efficient way possible, by simply requiring the daycare center to tell parents that they're willing to accept the moral responsibility of taking care of your children, but they won't accept any of the financial responsibility for failing to do so.

That would have prevented this from happening, because if Jackie had known that she would have done what any other parent would do. She would have taken her business someplace else, someplace where they accept some degree of financial responsibility for the consequences of their negligence and incorporate that cost in the cost of doing business, just like every other financially responsible business does.

Now, Jackie has tried to make something positive out of all this. She's determined to prevent this from happening to anybody else. Thanks to her efforts, financial responsibility disclosure laws are now on the books in four States: Georgia, California, Virginia and New Hampshire. This bill will close the gap by requiring financial responsibility disclosure for licensed daycare facilities in the rest of the country.

In 2005, there were literally millions of kids in this country receiving daycare in facilities that are governed by the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Only a fraction of these kids live in the four States that have now stepped forward to enact financial responsibility disclosure laws. That means that millions of kids still go to licensed daycare facilities all around the country, today, where parents have no idea that their daycare centers can harm their child and accept none of the financial consequences for doing so.

This bill will give the parents of these millions of children the same information that parents are entitled to as a matter of law in the States of Georgia, California, Virginia and New Hampshire. These parents have just as

much need to know about the financial responsibility of the folks they give their kids to, and this bill will give them the same right to that information.

Now, this bill does not require any daycare facilities to actually go out and get liability insurance. It merely requires licensed daycare centers to tell parents whether or not they have insurance and, if so, how much. That's all. It then leaves it up to the parents to do what Jackie Boatwright would have done if only she had had this information, and that is to decide for themselves whether or not to leave their child with somebody who wants to accept the responsibility for caring for your child, wants to take your money for doing so, but is unable and unwilling to accept any of the financial consequences for failing to fulfill this responsibility.

Indirectly, Mr. Speaker, this bill actually does more than that. By giving parents the information that they have a right to know, it places a powerful economic incentive on all daycare centers to do what all of the responsible daycare centers are already doing, and that is to assume the financial responsibility that goes along with the moral responsibility of taking care of children in their care and to incorporate the cost of that into the cost of doing business. Anyone who wants to do business without doing that will be at a competitive disadvantage compared to those who do.

This approach gives the invisible hand of self interest the opportunity to do some good in the marketplace. Parents who place their children in daycare centers will have the information that they need in order to make the right choice for their children, and daycare centers that don't want to do the right thing by the children in their care will compete at a disadvantage compared to those who do.

We have truth in labeling. We have truth in lending, and we have truth in advertising. This is truth in daycare. The States have led the way, and now it's time for the Federal Government to follow their lead. The families who end up being harmed because they are kept in the dark deserve to know the truth.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a special group of young men who are making a difference by drawing attention to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. DMD, which is usually detected in small children, is a debilitating and ultimately fatal affliction, usually taking its victims' lives in their early 20s.

Darius Weems was diagnosed with DMD as a small child, and he will be 19 years old later this year. His brother, Mario, died at that age from the same disease.

Because of his condition, Darius never left his hometown of Athens, Georgia, for the first 15 years of his life. But just before Darius' brother, Mario, died, Mario's friend, Logan Smalley, made a promise to Mario to look after Darius when Mario died. After Mario died, Logan did more than that; he made Darius a star.

Four years ago, Logan Smalley and 10 other college friends decided to take Darius on a road trip from Athens, Georgia, to Los Angeles, California. Along the way, they met people who shared Darius' illness, and they documented handicap accessibility throughout the country. Logan directed a documentary film of that trip, ``Darius Goes West,'' starring Darius and the rest of the crew.

Today that documentary is on track to sell 1 million copies, with the lion's share of profits going to fight DMD. I'm pleased to report that there is a copy of ``Darius Goes West'' in every middle school and high school in the United States.

DMD is not a contagious disease, but the sense of hope and purpose that Darius and his friends possess is infectious, and I'm proud to commend Darius and the rest of the ``Darius Goes West'' crew for their hard work, and for giving literally millions of people a reason to care.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Reverend A.D. King and to recognize his many contributions on behalf of social justice and peace around the world.

Alfred Daniel Williams King was born July 30, 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest of the three children of Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr., and Alberta Williams King. Reverend King shared his family's passion for the ministry and social justice. He graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1959. That same year, he also became pastor of the Mount Vernon First Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia.

The book of Proverbs says, ``Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.'' Reverend King lived his life according to this maxim. He believed that war was never the solution and that non-violent means will always overcome.

Whether it was participating in a lunch counter sit-in, strategizing the March on Selma, or organizing the demonstrations that would ultimately lead to the passage of the Civil Rights Act, Reverend King was there, active, engaged, and defending the rights of the afflicted and needy.

Like his brother Martin, Reverend A.D. King passed from this life at the much too young age of 39. His life wasn't full of years, but his years were full of life.

As we recognize the 40th anniversary of Reverend A.D. King's passing this July 21st, I hope that we can all learn from his example of righteousness and citizenship, and shape a better future for ourselves and our posterity, as he did for us.

Reverend King was survived by his wife, Naomi Barbara King, and his five children. Today I honor Reverend A.D. King, and the entire King family, for their contributions and service to America. Their example gives us all a lasting reminder of what can be achieved when we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the rising number of uninsured in America. Right now, nearly 50 million Americans have no health insurance. That is nearly one in six. One in six.

These aren't just numbers on a page. This has real effects on the rest of us, because when millions of Americans who have no health insurance get sick enough, they end up in the emergency room of the nearest hospital. But the care they get there costs six times as much as preventive care--and is far less effective.

Those of us who pay the full cost of our health care end up picking up the tab for the care we provide the uninsured in the emergency room. That's just one reason we as a Nation pay far more for health care than we get back in return. In fact, on average, every American spends about $900 each year to pay the cost of treating the uninsured badly. That is pure waste.

There are some good signs coming out of the current health care debate. Congress and this President have already extended health coverage to an additional 4 million children this year by enacting a bipartisan expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

We waited too long to address this problem. We've paid a huge price by not confronting it sooner. I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues on commonsense solutions that will extend coverage to all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in sadness to pay tribute to the life of a constituent of mine, Dr. Michael Guido. Rev. Guido, known to millions as ``the Sower,'' died at the age of 94 last Saturday.

Michael Guido came to Metter, Georgia in 1943 for a preaching trip. After he met the woman who would later become his wife, he decided to stay. Sixty-six years later, he leaves behind his bride, Audrey, and a ministry that is broadcast on over 100 television stations and 400 radio stations around the world. He also wrote a column, ``Seeds from the Sower,'' which was published in over 1,300 newspapers across our land.

Rev. Guido built an impressive ministry, but his goal was not fortune or fame; it was just to live his life like the sower in Christ's parable--sowing the word of God on sometimes stony ground and keeping faith in his God and with his fellow man. His brother, Larry, carries on Rev. Guido's work, and his memory will live on in the souls he helped lead to God during his long life.

The Bible says, ``A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor rather than silver or gold.'' Michael Guido made a good name for himself, which lives on in the loving favor of literally millions of souls, which is worth more than all the silver and gold in all the world.

I thank the gentleman, and I thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. Towns, and the ranking member, Mr. Issa, for advancing the consideration of this resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 663, a bill to designate the post office in Sparta, Georgia, as the ``Yvonne Ingram- Ephraim Post Office Building.''

Yvonne Ingram-Ephraim--or ``Von'' as she was known to all who knew and loved her--was one of Sparta's most respected citizens before her untimely death nearly 2 years ago. Von was the first African American to be elected to the Sparta city government when she was elected city councilwoman in 1992, and she was re-elected three more times before her passing.

As a former four-term city councilman myself, I can tell you that doing what it takes to keep folks in your hometown happy enough to keep you in office for that many terms is no easy task.

In 1997, she was appointed Mayor pro-tem of Sparta, a title she held until her death in 2007. During this time, she also served as secretary of the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials, one of our State's most respected and influential political organizations.

Von married Reverend Michael Ephraim in 2000 and found herself managing the demands of a preacher's wife, mother, fourth grade school teacher, and elected official. Any one of those jobs is big enough, but Von was able to perform each of these roles in such a way as to make all those around her feel loved and respected.

On a purely personal note, Von was a good friend to me, and showed by her example that the things we have in common are a whole lot more important than the things that tend to divide us.

And I can't think of a better way to commemorate her example than to

pass this legislation, which would give us all a lasting reminder of what Von accomplished during her too-short life on this earth.

Madam Speaker, this weekend marks the first anniversary of the combustible dust explosion at the Imperial Sugar Refinery in Savannah, Georgia.

What we learned in my community since this disaster hit is that the experts have known about this problem for decades. The private sector has developed standards that effectively deal with this problem, but the public sector hasn't responded. The trouble is not enough people know about the problem, much less the solutions, and those who do know about the solutions aren't required to adopt them.

The only standards that are mandatory really are not designed with this problem in the first place, and so they aren't working. The result is we have good standards that are not mandatory and inadequate standards that are mandatory. It ought to be the other way around.

Today I am reintroducing legislation we passed in the last Congress, legislation that will take such upside-down policy and flip it right side up.

On the anniversary of this latest disaster, our thoughts and prayers go out to the folks who are still suffering from their losses and injuries. But our work to fix what is broken with our regulatory system should continue until we have done everything that we reasonably can to prevent any such disasters from ever happening again.