Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6307, the Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2008.

First, let me thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Weller) for their leadership and bipartisanship in crafting this effort to assist children and families in our Nation's child welfare system.

Madam Speaker, young people in the child welfare system have done nothing wrong. They are victims of abuse and neglect. H.R. 6307 will provide Federal support for kinship care, increase adoption incentives, and provide assistance for foster youth up to age 21. This bill opens the door by addressing many issues facing children in foster care and those who care for them.

I am particularly proud that our Subcommittee Chairman, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) shared the words of my constituent, Mr. Anthony Reeves, a former foster care youth about the importance of making these changes. I am honored to have another outstanding young woman and former foster care youth from Georgia,

Ms. Brittany Scott, interning in my congressional office this summer. When you see their passion and determination to commit, work, and act to change the lives of their friends, siblings, and the Nation's way of serving those most in need, you know we must take action.

This legislation is good; it is right. But we can do better, and we must do better. Across the country, case workers lack proper training and are overworked and underpaid. Foster children are expelled from the system at 18 with little to no support. Kinship care providers and adoptive parents lack support when caring for foster children. And when programs are in place they are often fragile because of lack of funding. We need to help those on the front lines.

One of the major components of Mr. McDermott's broader child welfare reform bill that I support is revising the so-called ``look back'' provision. Using an outdated 1996 Federal standard to determine poverty levels is a major reason that children are denied Title IV-E assistance in Georgia. Currently, only half of the abused and neglected children in foster care across the country are eligible for Title IV-E funding.

States continue to lack the funding needed to adequately improve services to youth in the child welfare system. States also face drastic cuts to the social services they provide as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act. These are just some of the many challenges that face our Nation's child welfare systems. We cannot afford to ignore them any longer.

We need to look across the board at new and diverse ways to make the process work better. We must come together and do what is right for America's foster care youth. Again, I applaud my Ways and Means colleagues for this strong bipartisan effort. I look forward to continuing to work with them on improving services, support, and assistance for those most in need.

I urge all of my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 6307.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, like any other great and necessary journey, the journey to improve Medicare must start with a first step. Although we can and must do more, this bill is that first step.

I want to just mention the pulmonary rehabilitation benefit and the

kidney provision, which I strongly support, and the increase in the community health center cap. Seniors deserve a Medicare program that delivers services, supports doctors, and prevents disease.

Take this first step. It is a good step, it is a necessary step. It is the right thing to do. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Conyers, the chairman of the full committee, for his leadership and for his dedication to the issue and the cause of civil rights, and for bringing this resolution to the floor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the courage and conviction of three young men, Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. On June 21, 1964, they gave their lives in a struggle for voting rights in America.

There was a time, just 44 years ago, when it was almost impossible in the American south for people of color to register and vote. Then, I was 24 years old and the chair of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, better known as SNCC. I traveled around the country encouraging young people to come to Mississippi to get involved with the Freedom Summer. It was the summer of 1964.

At that time, the State of Mississippi had a black population of voting age of more than 450,000, but only about 18,000 blacks were registered to vote. It was dangerous, very dangerous, for those of us who believed that everyone should have the right to vote. But in spite of the risks, there were people--young and old, black and white, rich and poor--people like Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner, who put aside the comfort of their own lives to make sure that every citizen had free and fair access to the ballot, not only in Mississippi, but throughout America.

Mickey Schwerner was a 24-year-old white man from Brooklyn, New York, who was already a participant in the movement. Andy Goodman was also white, a 21-year-old student at Queens College in New York. James Chaney was a 21-year-old African American man from Meridian, Mississippi, who decided to take a stand for justice in his own community, in his own State.

On the morning of June 21, 1964, these three young men drove to Longdale, Mississippi to investigate the burning of an African American church. On their way back, they were arrested, at least stopped and detained by the sheriff and taken to jail in Philadelphia, Mississippi. That same evening they were released from the jail by the sheriff and turned over to the Klan. They were beaten, shot and killed. Their burnt blue Ford station wagon was pulled from a creek just 2 days later. I joined in the search for them that night with a very heavy heart. Their bodies were found a few weeks later, about 6 weeks later, on August 4, 1964, buried under a mound of dirt.

Madam Speaker, I share this story today so that Members of Congress will realize that the struggle for civil rights has been a long, hard road littered by the battered and broken bodies of countless men and women who paid the ultimate price for a precious right, the right to vote, the right to participate in a democratic process.

Andy Goodman, James Chaney and Mickey Schwerner did not die in Europe; they did not die in Asia or in Africa; they did not die in Central America or in the Middle East. They died right here in America, in the American south. I knew these three young men.

So, Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this resolution to pay tribute to these three young men and so many others who died in the struggle for voting rights in America. We must never forget their sacrifices, their suffering, their pain, and their death.

As Members of the United States House of Representatives, it is our duty, our mission, our mandate to make sure that these three young men did not die in vain.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5781, the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important legislation.

People should not be punished for taking the time to care for new additions to their families. You must take time to take care of your child, your family, and yourself. It makes you a better person, a better parent, and in the long-term--a better employee. Pressure to jump back into work does nothing to ease mind, body, spirit, or financial pressures.

Simply said, the current policy is detrimental to many, many American families. The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act shows that the federal government actually cares about American families.

Women who require leave to care for a new child, new employees who have do not have saved days, and those who have used all their leave suffer under the existing policy. These hard-working Americans are forced to choose between spending more time with their children and maintaining an income to support their family. Providing four weeks for paid parental leave and allowing existing leave to be used to care for new babies eases the pressures on federal employees and their families.

H.R. 5781 is just good, common sense policy, and, Mr. Speaker, we must act now. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 5781.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of including the extension of unemployment benefits in the emergency supplemental bill that the House is considering today.

First, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Chairman McDermott, Ranking Member Weller, and the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee for all their hard work on this important piece of legislation. I am proud to be a Member of the Subcommittee and to have cosponsored the legislation that provided the framework for this compromise. I also thank Chairman Rangel and Ranking Member McCrery for their leadership and support in negotiating a compromise.

It is essential that congressional leaders were finally able to come together and find a way to help hard-working Americans. The need for this legislation is critical. It is a first step of hopefully many to jumpstart our economy. Today there are 200,000 more long-term, jobless Americans than the last emergency unemployment assistance extension in 2002.

My constituents call and email and write the same question over and over again. They want to know what Congress is doing to support them during the current recession. Almost every month, unemployment is on the rise while higher gas and food prices are making it even harder for Americans to make ends meet. Our duty is simple--we must show the American people that we hear them, that we understand them, and that we will act.

We are a great nation, but we cannot continue to be great unless we honor our commitment to everyone in need. In times like these, we must use every tool at our disposal to help those who want and need to work. Unemployed workers cannot wait. They rightfully expect Congress's full support in their fight to become gainfully reemployed.

I urge my colleagues to support extending unemployment benefits now. It's the right thing to do for Americans, and it's the right thing to do for our economy.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to congratulate Senator Johnny Isakson as he honors our elders for their inspiration in our lives by honoring and remembering his own parents, Ed and Julia Isakson, at the 6th Annual Thanks Mom & Dad Celebration on June 20, 2008.

A loving son, Senator Isakson credits his parents for instilling in him his strong work ethic, his love of family and his respect for others. A good father in his own right, Senator Isakson's children credit him for teaching them through his example, not just words.

Senator Isakson has long championed the rights of older adults and supports programs and services that promote healthy living, employment services and other programs vital to both active and homebound older adults.

The Thanks Mom & Dad Fund' honors parents, grandparents and mentors by supporting programs and services for older adults, and each year asks someone in the community each year to honor their parents, grandparents or mentors. Senator Isakson was selected to honor his parents and is also being honored because he has inspired the lives of his children and so many others in the community.

I know well the power of his work in Georgia and here on Capitol Hill where he has demonstrated the ability to inspire members and staff alike to respond to the needs of the elderly.

I rise to honor Senator Isakson's contributions and to express may gratitude that he continues on in service on behalf of his constitutents.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and my colleague, the chairperson of the Rules Committee, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I stand before you today with a very heavy heart. Today this Congress will vote to spend $165 billion more on war. War is bloody. War is messy. It tends not just to hide the truth, but to sacrifice the truth. It destroys the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of a people.

When the citizens of this Nation are begging for aid, struggling to make ends meet, it doesn't make sense to spend our precious resources on an unnecessary war. Sometime, somehow, some way, somebody must say enough is enough.

The rest of you may do what you may, but, as for me and my house, I will not vote for another dollar, another dime, another nickel, another penny, for this war. I will vote ``no'' on funding for war.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, Tim Russert personified the best of America. He rose to the top of American journalism. He worked for a Governor, a United States Senator, and received a very good education, but he never ever lost the common touch. He never strayed from his Buffalo roots. He loved to talk about Buffalo. He knew that I had many relatives living in Buffalo.

On the ``Today Show,'' his son, Luke, called his father ``the questioner for the American people.'' He had a high calling, a mission, a mandate, to ask politicians and public officials the questions most Americans could not.

When we mourn for Tim Russert, we mourn for his wife, his son, and his father, ``Big Russ.'' We mourn for his colleagues at NBC and the community of journalists, but we also mourn for ourselves at a turning point in the history of our Nation. We mourn for his words, his insight, and his commitment to the people's right to know.

God bless Tim Russert. He will be deeply missed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today for the weary Americans who are working harder than they ever have but still find themselves falling behind. I rise today for Americans all across this country and especially those in my home State of Georgia who are hurting. I rise for those whose wallets get thinner each time they go to the gas station.

I rise for those who must decide between $4 a gallon gasoline or food for their family, those who must decide between $4 a gallon gasoline or paying the mortgage. Americans will continue to make these choices until we decide enough is enough. Let's change our energy policy.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Mr. McDermott for yielding and for bringing this necessary piece of legislation to us today.

It is basic, it is common sense, it is the right thing to do. People are calling out. They're crying out for help.

They ask, where is the Federal Government? Where is Congress? Which side is the government on? What are you doing to help the unemployed, people who lost their jobs? It's not their fault. What are you doing to help those in need, those who need a helping hand? What are you doing and doing now?

Mr. Speaker, some of us may not remember this, or maybe we never had to do it, but just a few short years ago, many people in this country washed their clothes at night and hung them up to a heater or to the fireplace so they could dry and wear them to work the next morning. I wonder if we're headed back to that reality. People need help and they need it now.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. I rise today to ask my colleagues to support H. Res 1208.

This resolution is very simple. It recognizes the many problems that face young people who spend time in foster care, and it thanks the many others who work to ease their transition from foster care to adulthood and independence.

In Georgia, there are thousands of children in foster care. Living in foster care is not a choice. These young people--of all race, ages, and backgrounds--were victims of neglect and abuse. Child welfare services share a common goal of finding safe, stable, and loving homes for these young people. Unfortunately, this dream is not always realized.

I have the privilege to serve on the Ways and Means' Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee chaired by my friend and colleague, Mr. McDermott. Last year, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) invited two young people from my congressional district to testify about what it is like to transition from foster care to adulthood.

Anthony Reeves and Sherena Johnson both ``aged-out'' of Georgia's foster care system. They shared with us how difficult it is to find housing, health care, education, livable wage jobs, security, and stability. At a young age, when most are still relying on financial and emotional support from their parents and family, these young people had no one to fall back on. Mr. Speaker, these are the stories that break your heart.

Today, we honor those like Anthony, Sherena, and Kevin Brown--a recent Clark Atlanta University graduate--who are determined to find their way despite so many obstacles before them. We also pay tribute to the mentors, the volunteers, the parents, organizations, and many others who fill in the gaps in Federal and State coverage to help these young people during the most difficult times.

Most importantly, this resolution sends a message to the half a million young people currently in the foster care system. Congress tells them, ``You are not alone. We love you; we support you. You are not forgotten; there is hope. You will survive, and you will succeed.''

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I urge all of my colleagues to support this very simple resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Carl V. Patton, President of Georgia State University, who is retiring June 30 of this year.

For 16 years he has led Georgia State University in its transition from what was considered to be a commuter school into a vibrant research university which is home to more than 28,000 students representing every county in the State, every State in the Nation, and 160 countries.

President Patton not only wrote a bestselling book on public policy, he has practiced his beliefs, providing the leadership to create buildings, departments, knowledge, and solutions vital to our prosperity in the 21st century. As the University has grown physically, it has grown in stature as well. Among President Patton's many accomplishments:

He launched a university-wide planning effort that produced what is known as the ``Main Street Master Plan'', which increases the University's footprint in the downtown community and shapes the University's future growth.

He started the University's first comprehensive capital campaign, securing private funding sources to supplement state allocations for building projects.

Under Dr. Patton's leadership, Georgia State University has expanded its campus using a strategy of acquiring and rehabilitating buildings and, when necessary, constructing new buildings like the Student Center, the Recreation Center, the Aderhold Learning Center, the Rialto Theater, Haas-Howell and Standard Buildings, Robinson College of Business, Commerce Building, North Metro Center, student housing at the Village and the Lofts and now the University Commons. Students, faculty, and staff now occupy floor space from the old Fairlie-Popular district to Grady Hospital. Residence halls full of students with dreams to change the world have replaced dilapidated structures empty of any economic hope. Old banks, tired office buildings, and moribund shells of department stores now bristle with the energy of a new commerce based on knowledge and preparing our young students to take on today's problems with tomorrow's solutions. Downtown Atlanta now is a living, vibrant area 24 hours a day thanks to the presence of thousands of students learning, living, and playing while placing more than $7 million a day into the local economy.

Instead of designing walls to keep the city and its urban ways separate from the campus, President Patton has insisted that the University fully integrate its research, teaching and service mission into the fabric of the urban environment of its downtown Atlanta home.

His vision has included a state-of-the-art urban science park. And, thanks in no small part to the support of this Congress, this science park will support research on the treatment of autism, obesity, and post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to neuroscience research, Georgia State will employ the efforts of eminent scholars from biology, chemistry, computer science, physics, mathematics, and statistics to better understand the molecular basis of disease.

Finally, each of the six schools that are a part of Georgia State have grown and prospered during President Patton's tenure.

Georgia State has grown into one of this Nation's leading urban- serving research universities reflecting Dr. Patton's vision for a partnership between Atlanta and the University. That vision is best described by his words:

``It's not just us serving the city. It's not the city serving us. It's the idea of together building a city and a university that are second to none. Georgia State is a source of limitless potential that can be unleashed through a clear understanding of how we generate lasting value to our city, our State, and the Nation. Working with our community, we are able to determine our shared future.''

Dr. Patton has lived his life in the way he hopes his students live theirs, tirelessly volunteering for service in his community through organizations like Central Atlanta Progress, the Rotary, and the Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation. His example and his hard work will not stop at retirement, however, as he plans to continue to live downtown and assist Georgia State in its future endeavors to raise capital and to expand its student body to tackle the tough issues of our times.

Madam Speaker, I am sure I speak for you and my colleagues in the House of Representatives when I say that Dr. Carl V. Patton is the kind of leader we need to set the right example for the future of our country and our students. He has served Georgia State University, the city of Atlanta, the State of Georgia,

and the United States of America well. God Bless for a well-deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud cosponsor of H. Res. 1185, recognizing National Foster Care Awareness Month.

Today, more than half a million children nationwide are living in foster care. Like children everywhere, these vulnerable young people need the safety and security of a permanent family. For many children who cannot be reunited with their parents, that means joining a new family through adoption.

Across the country there are families who have adopted children and youth from the foster care system. One of those outstanding persons is my constituent Ms. Ann Carnegie in Atlanta who has dedicated her life to the service of others. She is one of many hard-working Americans determined to make a difference for the next generation.

Ms. Carnegie became a single mother when she adopted three children. She began as a foster parent for Bernard and Latrice. Both had already spent 5 years in foster care and had special needs; Ms. Carnegie knew that if the opportunity presented itself that she would want to adopt them.

Bernard is an intelligent, artistic young man who aspires to work with computer animation one day. Latrice is a French honors student who hopes to become a lawyer. Everyone in this loving family takes time to play cars and dinosaurs with their youngest brother Matty. I have faith that all the children in the Carnegie family will fulfill their dreams one day.

Every year, the Carnegie family celebrates the children's adoptions with a special celebration. There are many important pieces of legislation that we both support that will improve child welfare services and strengthen America's families.

I have the privilege to serve on the Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee under the leadership of my good friend, the Gentleman from Washington, Mr. McDermott. I know that all of us on the Subcommittee share a commitment to protect and improve the future of those in the child welfare system.

We must do all we can to help children living in foster care join loving families like the Carnegies, and I look forward to supporting reforms this year. Initiatives like the federal Adoption Incentive program encourages states like mine to finalize more adoptions of children from foster care, but there is more that can be done. Children in foster care have waited long enough.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution today, and to give strong consideration of the many legislative proposals to improve the lives of children in foster care.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1208) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that youth who age out of foster care should be given special care and attention.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 1208.

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

I rise today to ask my colleagues to support House Resolution 1208. This

resolution is very simple. It recognizes the many problems that face young people who spend time in foster care, and it thanks the many others who work to ease their transition from foster care to adulthood and independence.

In Georgia, there are thousands of children in foster care. Living in foster care is not a choice. These young people of all races, ages, and backgrounds were victims of neglect and abuse. Child welfare services share a common goal of finding safe, stable, and loving homes for these young people. Unfortunately, this dream is not always realized.

I have the privilege to serve on the Ways and Means Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee chaired by my good friend and colleague, Mr. McDermott of Washington.

Last year, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) invited two young people from our congressional district to testify about what it is like to transition from foster care to adulthood. Anthony Reeves and Shalita O'Neal both aged out of the Georgia foster care system. They shared with us how difficult it is to find housing, health care, education, liveable wages, jobs, security, and stability.

At a young age, when most are still relying on financial and emotional support from their parents and family, these young people have no one to fall back on. Mr. Speaker, these are the stories that break your heart.

Today, we honor those like Anthony and Shalita, and Kevin Brown, a recent graduate of Clark Atlanta University, who are determined to find their way despite so many problems before them.

We also pay tribute to the mentors, volunteers, parents, organizations, and many others who fill in the gaps in Federal and State coverage to help these young people during the most difficult times of their young lives.

Most important, this resolution sends a message to the half million young people currently in the foster care system. Congress tells them: You are not alone. We love you. We support you. You are not forgotten. There is hope. You will survive. And you will succeed.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I urge all of my colleagues to support this very simple resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I now recognize the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott), the chairman of the subcommittee, for such time as he may consume.

(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I urge all my colleagues to support this resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on Monday, the city of Atlanta lost one of its most

influential residents and a pillar of the community, Ronald Brown.

Ron Brown was the head of Atlanta Life Financial Group, a company that is a historic institution. The 103-year-old company was founded by a former slave by the name of Alonzo Herndon and is the oldest and largest black-owned, privately held insurance company in the country. Ron was a major factor in Atlanta Life's success.

Ron Brown expanded the company's scope from strictly an insurance business to diversifying into three divisions: Atlanta Life Insurance Co., Atlanta Life Investment Advisors and Jackson Securities. Atlanta Life Financial possesses $16 billion in policies and manages $1 billion in assets. While achieving great business success, Ron advocated that companies have not only a responsibility to make a profit but to also get involved within its community. Ron servw on corporate and civic boards. He was a big believer of providing opportunities to children, sharing business experiences with them and meeting with student groups at the company headquarters.

Ron Brown accomplished much in his life. Through the many fruits of his labors from a life that was cut too short, Ron's impact will live on. With his passing, Atlanta has lost a figure of good and of progress.