Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, he who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Words from Proverbs.

Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget is unfair to the neediest and most vulnerable Americans. In addition to being unfair, the Republican budget is also immoral. Through its cuts to CDC, NIH and veterans health care programs, this budget ignores the health care crisis that our Nation faces today.

Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget is not only unfair and immoral, it is also unreasonable. Pell grants and public school programs get no new funding.

Assisting our neediest and most vulnerable Americans is not a choice, it is

a moral obligation. By reducing funding for public housing and food stamps, the Republican budgets falls short of this moral obligation.

The Republican budget is unfair, immoral and unreasonable. Both the Democratic and the CBC alternative budgets provide a better way, a more excellent way to help all of our people. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Democratic and CBC alternatives, to vote ``no'' on the Republican budget resolution.

Mr. Speaker, 38 years ago Martin Luther King, Jr., was taken by from us by an assassin's bullets. He had gone to Memphis, Tennessee to call for economic justice for working people in America and for the sanitation workers there.

Mr. Speaker, it is difficult for me to find the right words to express my feelings about Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a man, my friend. He was my inspiration, my leader, my colleague, and my brother.

Martin Luther King, Jr., more than any other American of the 20th century had the power to bring people together to do good, black and white, rich and poor, young and old, Protestant, Catholic and Jews.

He could inspire with his words, with his vision, and his leadership. He could fill ordinary people with the extraordinary vision that they had the power to build a new, more fair, more just America.

His message was love. His weapon was truth. His method was creative nonviolence. And his goal, Mr. Speaker, was the Beloved Community, a community of justice, a Nation at peace with itself. In a sense he spoke a strange language, a philosophy of passive resistance to evil and the use of nonviolence in the struggle for good.

He was far too advanced in his concepts of love and peace for the violent times in which he lived, perhaps too advanced for us to understand even today. But, Mr. Speaker, the assassins of Martin Luther King, Jr., did not kill the dream of peace. They did not kill the dream of an open society. They did not kill the dream of a Beloved Community.

The movement that Martin Luther King, Jr., led was too right. It was too necessary to be buried with his body. We know that his voice was stilled 38 years ago today, but his message of love, of peace, and of the good society continue to resonate all around the world.

Mr. Speaker, we here in the people's House, we know that Dr. King's dream has not been fulfilled. But that is why it must be our task to renew our commitment to the values of his vision, the values of peace, love and justice.

If Dr. King were here today he would say we must find a way to support courageous legislation, legislation that will redirect the priorities and the tremendous resources of this Nation, not to oppress but to uplift, not to divide but to bring together, not to enslave but to set free. He would say we must use the resources of this great Nation, our talents, our minds, and our votes to work for the good of all humankind.

Through the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., through his noble efforts, he injected new meaning and new dignity into the very veins of our society. We are a better people. We are a better Nation because he lived.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2006. This legislation misses a critical opportunity to provide students from moderate and low income families, access to the American dream. This legislation further depletes our already under-funded Federal student aid programs, placing post-secondary education even further out of reach for the students who need it the most. To be sure, I share the concerns of my colleagues and my constituents, about the rising costs of college and the difficulties of obtaining student aid. However, I am convinced that H.R. 609 fails to adequately address these issues.

Mr. Chairman, my concerns with H.R. 609 extend beyond the fact that it squanders an opportunity to enhance America's economic competitiveness, by providing a future generation of highly skilled workers. I have serious concerns about additional provisions contained within the bill. I am terribly concerned about the rising costs of college tuitions across the Nation, and I commend the House Education & Workforce Committee for attempting to address this issue. In fact, I believe that some of the provisions addressing the rising costs of college could aid in addressing this issue. However, I believe that we must tread carefully when setting price controls on college tuitions. It is imperative that we do not infringe upon the independence of our Nation's private and religious institutions.

Mr. Chairman, I also am concerned with provisions contained in H.R. 609 that would allow states to function as an accrediting body. If we are going to legislate a deviation from the existing quasi-independent programmatic and institutional accrediting bodies, we must remain cognizant of the potential for major conflicts of interest and the emergence of divisions among public and independent institutions. Politics, demographics, higher education strategies, and economic incentives are among the factors that could contribute to the unintended result of compromising the independence of our nation's private colleges and universities.

Mr. Chairman, last month the Republican majority of the House of Representatives voted to raid Federal student aid programs of $12 billion, in the budget reconciliation bill. As you may recall, all of my Democratic colleagues voted against that misguided legislation. Once again I encourage my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to stand up for the children of America's hard working families and support increased access to higher education for all students. I urge my colleagues to vote against final passage of H.R. 609, the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2006.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 4011.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution, H.R. 1259, to authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress, collectively, to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.

The Tuskegee Airmen, formed from 1,000 pilots, bombardiers and navigators, overcame segregation and racial discrimination to become national heroes and advanced our society by desegregating our armed forces. While in combat, the Tuskegee Airmen completed 15,000 missions and never lost an Allied bomber under their escort.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first people of color in U.S. military history to see air combat. This group of brave soldiers became one of the most respected Army Air Corp Fighter Groups of World War II.

In joining the fight to save Europe and the world from a cruel and heinous regime, the Tuskegee Airmen fought for freedom that they could not enjoy in their own country. In taking to the air during the launch of military aviation, these brave men were also fighting a war against bigotry and racism at home. Thus, they deserve the kind of recognition that the Gold Medal will give them.

The Tuskegee Airmen are now in their 80's, so we must pass this bill immediately to honor these WWII heroes so these medals will not be a posthumous honor.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 415.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in vehement opposition to the proposed elimination of National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) funding, contained in the President's Budget Request, for the second year in a row. I am concerned that some of my colleagues may not understand the severity of the situation that NYSP is facing. If Congress does not provide full FY07 funding for NYSP, the program will be forced to close its doors. This will result in 75,000 of our nation's most vulnerable youth, being left behind next summer.

NYSP uses sports instruction and competition, as a vehicle to enhance self-esteem and respect, among boys and girls from low-income households. Established in 1969, with a $3 million funding commitment from the White House, NYSP has provided over 2 million participants with instruction in career and educational opportunities, and exposure to the college environment for nearly four decades.

Because I have witnessed, firsthand, the difference that the NYSP program has made in the lives of under served youth in my Congressional District I cannot, in good conscience, sit idly by as this essential program is dismantled. In my Congressional District, Morehouse College has done an outstanding job of running the NYSP program for nearly four decades, serving over 10,000 children throughout Atlanta. The Morehouse College NYSP program is unique, because it has taken great pains to maintain a balance between athletics and academics. Similar to NYSP programs throughout the nation, Morehouse College offers instruction focusing on sports. However, it also includes additional instruction in areas such as: nutrition, drug awareness and prevention, creative writing, and leadership development.

The NYSP program has a tremendous impact on the youth that it serves in my Congressional District. By placing NYSP participants in academic settings, where they receive hundreds of hours of exposure to the benefits of higher education, the participants begin to believe that they, too, can succeed in college and beyond. Furthermore, the mentoring relationships established between the teaching/coaching staff, college student volunteers, and NYSP participants, have resulted in hundreds of former NYSP participants returning to work in the program at Morehouse College as student volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, NYSP is not asking for a handout from Congress. In fact, in 2005 NYSP secured two-thirds of its operating expenses from other public and private sources, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the 202 selected institutions of higher education with which it partners. The Administration knows that NYSP works. Congress knows that NYSP works. Institutions of higher learning in 47 states and the District of Columbia know that NYSP works. Most important, over 2 million NYSP participants, and their families, know that it works.

I strongly encourage all of my colleagues, especially those serving on the budget and appropriations committees, to reject the President's proposed elimination of the NYSP program, and provide full funding for

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution.

Iran must be condemned for following the path of nuclear proliferation. This past Tuesday, February 14, 2006, Iran announced that it has resumed uranium enrichment efforts, sending a signal to the world that it is taking steps to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Iran said it will no longer allow international inspectors to access its nuclear facilities. Therefore we must work to ensure that Iran is unsuccessful in the path that it has chosen.

Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous and most horrible weapons man has ever invented. These weapons pose a threat to human kind; and an even graver threat when in the hands of a nation that supports terrorism. We need to work to reduce the numbers of nuclear weapons in our world.

Iran must join the community of nations and lay down the instruments for the development of nuclear weapons. We must encourage all nations to lay down the burden and instruments of the most destructive weaponry known to human kind. There is enough madness on this little planet that we do not need to add more. There is not any room in our society for more nations to arm themselves with weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this resolution. We must unite the community of nations and use all diplomatic means to rid our world of rogue nuclear threats.

Mr. Speaker, Coretta Scott King was a radiant symbol of the best that the American South and this nation have to offer. She was beautiful, charming, graceful and dignified. She was a shining light who had the ability to brighten the dark places, to bring hope where there was hopelessness.

I first met her in 1957 when I was a 17-year-old student in Nashville. She was traveling around America, especially in the South, telling the story of the Civil Rights Movement through song. I will never forget it. She looked like an opera star standing on stage. She wore a lovely pearl-white dress with layers of cascading ruffles falling gently around her. She would sing a little and then talk a little, and through her singing and talks she inspired an entire generation.

She was more than the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. She was a leader in her own right. She was the glue that held the Civil Rights Movement together and the strength that sustained one of the most charismatic leaders of our time. Long before she married Dr. King, she was an activist for non-violence, traveling to a conference in Europe with Women Strike for Peace to discuss the dangers of atmospheric nuclear testing.

Though she tasted the bitter fruits of segregation and racial discrimination, Coretta Scott King was prepared for a privileged life. She was well-educated and married a gifted minister from a prominent family. Just like any other mother she wanted to raise her four children in peace. But when an opportunity came for her to actualize the philosophy of non-violent change, she did not ignore her convictions.

Along with her husband and the more than 50 thousand black people of Montgomery, she responded to the courage of Rosa Parks, who on December 1, 1955, refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Alabama. That simple act launched the modern-day Civil Rights Movement and changed Coretta King's life forever.

Her commitment to non-violence led her to trade her privilege to live under the constant threat of brutality. Her home was bombed, her husband was repeatedly jailed, people she knew were killed, her husband's life was always in jeopardy. And finally one day he was assassinated by a gunman's bullet.

She did not become bitter or hostile. She did not hide in some dark corner, but she drew on her faith in the transformative power of peace. And a few days after the assassination, she led striking workers through the streets of Memphis. All the days of her life, she would travel throughout the South, America, and the world urging respect for the dignity of humanity.

She went all out to create a living memorial to her husband called the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change, one of the most visited landmarks in Atlanta. She met with President Reagan, who was not inclined to sign the legislation, but in the end he could not deny her. She used her prominence to mobilize the American people and built a bi-partisan coalition in Congress to make her husband's birthday a national holiday. Because of her efforts, generations yet unborn will learn his message of peace, and they will hear about his struggle for equal justice in America.

I loved Coretta Scott King. She was so warm, so genuine, so caring. For 20 years, she always sent me a card or a book on my birthday. I will cherish those mementos always.

I will remember Coretta Scott King as a dear friend. But the historians will remember her as one of the founding mothers of the new America, for through her noble acts, she helped liberate us all. This nation is a better nation, and we are a better people because she passed this way. However, she was not only a citizen of America, she was a citizen of the world, a world still yearning to build the Beloved Community, a world still yearning to make peace with itself. Above all, Coretta Scott King personified the beautiful, peaceful soul of a non- violent movement that still has the power to transform America, that still has the power to change the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor the life and accomplishment of Mrs. Coretta Scott King. The passing of Coretta Scott King is a tragic loss for the movement of peace, justice and equality around the world. She was a leader in her own right. She was the glue that held the civil rights movement together. Long before she married Dr. King, she was an activist for peace and nonviolence.

Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult for me to speak about this beautiful, charming, graceful and dignified woman who became the personification of the best that America had to offer.

She grew up as I did in rural Alabama where segregation and racial discrimination were real. She tasted the bitter fruits of racism, but she did not give up. She did not give in. She did not give out. She received a very good education at Antioch College and the New England Conservatory School of Music.

She met Martin Luther King, Jr. while they were both studying in Boston. She fell in love. They got married and they returned to the South, the capital of the old confederacy, the City of Montgomery.

He became the pastor of a little old church, the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. This little red brick church stood in the shadow of the Capitol building of the State of Alabama.

Dr. King thought he would live the life of a Baptist minister, and Coretta thought, well, she would be a preacher's wife. But they decided to respond to the courage of Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her seat on a city bus in Montgomery. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a leader in the modern day civil rights movement and Coretta was by his side every step of the way.

I first met Mrs. King in 1957 when I was only 17. I was a student in Nashville, Tennessee. She was traveling around America, especially in cities of the South telling the story of the Montgomery movement through song. She was so beautiful, so inspiring, she would sing a little, and she would talk a little, and through her singing and talks she inspired an entire generation.

At times when Dr. King could not be present or had another commitment, Coretta was there to speak, to sing, or to encourage. She marched with us in 1963 at the march on Washington. In 1965 she marched with us from Selma to Montgomery.

She was not just a celebrity. She was a very, very warm person. She had the ability, she had the capacity to forget about her own circumstances and get involved in the circumstances of others.

For the past 20 years she has sent me a birthday card on every single birthday, or she might send me a book or note. I still have every single one of those cards and the books. I will cherish them always.

After the assassination of her husband she did not hide in some dark corner. She did not become bitter or hostile. A few days after the assassination she led more than 50,000 people through the streets of Memphis, and later she would travel with many of us through the South, through the heart of the deep South, through the Black Belt of Alabama, through the Delta of Mississippi, through southwest Georgia, through North Carolina and South Carolina, urging people to register and to vote.

She went all out to create a living memorial, a living monument to Dr. King called the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. She lobbied the Congress. She organized and mobilized the American people to make Dr. King's birthday a national holiday, and because of her effort generations yet unborn will learn of his message of peace, and they will hear about his struggle for equal justice in America.

Mr. Speaker, Coretta Scott King must be looked upon as one of the founding mothers of the new America, for through her action, through her deeds, she helped liberate us all. This Nation is a better place because she passed this way.

But Coretta Scott King, my friend, my big sister, and sometimes she acted like she was my mother, must be looked upon not just as a citizen of America, but as a citizen of the world. This world is a better place because of Mrs. King.

Mr. Speaker, she will be deeply missed. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong opposition to Section 3145 of the House reconciliation bill that will deny health care to our poorest Americans who desperately need and deserve it. This provision would require people who apply for Medicaid to prove that they are citizens, by producing a birth certificate or a passport. This may not sound like a difficult task to some, but the reality is much, much different.

Many older Americans do not have birth certificates because their parents did not have access to hospitals, and so, they were born at home. This was true in rural America, and is still true in some places today. Also, in the last century, all over the south, because of segregation and racial discrimination, many hospitals would not take minorities. Many minorities, including African Americans, were born at home and don't have a birth certificate.

These people were kept out of the health care system when they came into. the world. To keep these same people off of Medicaid

and further deny these men and women health care is yet another slap in the face. The health system failed these people once, and it should not fail them again.

This rule is arbitrary. It is dangerous. And it is wrong.

Even the Department of Health and Human Services agrees that it is unnecessary. There is no evidence that illegal immigrants are getting Medicaid illegally.

This is very dangerous. If this becomes law, state and county officials will decide how to enforce this rule. Therefore, anyone with dark skin, or an accent or who looks like an undocumented immigrant will be at great risk for discrimination.

American citizens, particularly the poor, minorities, and the very old, who are eligible for Medicaid, will be denied the health care that they need. All for a misguided attempt to keep undocumented immigrants from receiving health care. It is unjust and it is wrong. It is un- American and I ask my colleagues to join me in opposing this provision.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is fitting and so appropriate that Members of the U.S. House of Representatives pay tribute to the Honorable John Dingell on his 50 years of distinguished service in this body.

I want to take a little time to thank my friend John Dingell for all he has done to make America a better place.

When I was growing up in rural Alabama, and I would visit the little town of Troy, I saw those signs that said ``White Men, Colored Men, White Women, Colored Women, White Waiting, Colored Waiting.''

I used to ask my mother, my father, my grandparents, and great grandparents, ``Why segregation? Why racial discrimination?''

And they would tell me, ``Don't get in trouble. Don't get in the way.'' John Dingell got in trouble. He got in the way. And it was good trouble. It was necessary trouble.

For the past 50 years, John Dingell has said through his leadership and with his votes, that as Americans, we have a right to know what is in the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. He has said that all Americans have a right to expect and demand simple justice.

He came here to Washington at a time when there was a great deal of drama all over this Nation related to civil rights and social justice. But John Dingell wasn't afraid to take a stand for what is right.

Mr. Speaker, I believe it was no accident that 12 days before John Dingell was elected in 1955, a humble and dignified woman named Rosa Parks decided to stand up by sitting down on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

It was no accident that in 1955, the world learned a 14-year-old boy named Emmett Till was kidnapped and murdered in Money, Mississippi.

It was no accident that in 1955 the U.S. Supreme Court said the Brown v. Board of Education decision should be carried out with ``all deliberate speed.''

It was no accident that in that same year, Congressman John Dingell took the place of his father in the House of Representatives. And when he did, he took this oath: He said, ``. . . I will support and defend the constitution . . . against all enemies, foreign and domestic . . . and I will faithfully discharge the duties of this office . . . so help me God.''

He has used the power of his office to fight for the cause of justice, to protect what is good, what is honorable, what is great about America. He used all his power to defend the integrity of this great Nation.

I said this about the late Rosa Parks, and I think it also applies to John Dingell. There is a force that I like to call the spirit of history that can track you down and select you to help right the wrongs of this world.

John Dingell is one among a chosen few in the U.S. House of Representatives who helped chart a new ethical and legislative future for these United States.

I am among the many who call him the Dean of the House of Representatives. Mr. Speaker, John Dingell showed us all how it should be done. He is a champion of the people from the great state of Michigan who has brought honor and dignity to this chamber. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve with him.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, once again, I rise in disbelief about what the House is about to do today. It is my belief that we are moving down the wrong road.

Before we left for Thanksgiving, the Republican leadership twisted arms to pass a bill slashing funding for vital programs that benefit the neediest Americans. Some might say that the bill was callous. I say that the bill was immoral. Today, it is still immoral, uncaring, and without compassion.

But now, to add insult to injury, we have returned to Washington so that the Republican majority can line the pockets of those at the very top. That is right, they cut vital programs and services that benefit hardworking, low- and middle-income Americans, and with the money saved they are giving more tax cuts to the wealthiest of the wealthy. And in the process of robbing working families to give to the rich, we are ballooning the debt, saddling our children and grandchildren with the bill.

Everybody loses under this bill. Everybody. That is except the top one-fifth of 1 percent. Some might call them the super rich; apparently the majority calls them donors.

It is unbelievable. It is unbelievable that we are doing this during this season. The holy season. It is unreal. This season, of all seasons, you would think they would not have the audacity, the gall to pass such a disgraceful and shameful piece of legislation. Oh, but they do.

Where is our compassion? All of the great religions of the world speak to the issue of taking care of basic human needs. During this season, the question must be asked: What would the great teacher do? What would Jesus do?

We are saying we are people of faith, and yet during this most holy season we do this? Have we lost our way? How long, but oh, how long will we continue to take care of those at the very top and not those in the middle and those at the very bottom? How long, but oh, how long?

This bill is not fair. It is not right. It is not just. As a Nation and as a people, as a Congress, we can do better. Mr. Speaker, I appeal to my colleagues to reject this shameful bill.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to recognize Reverend Otis Sneed, Jr., Pastor of God's Church International Fellowship in Atlanta upon his recent consecration to the sacred office of Bishop according to the Apostolic Succession. I offer him my sincere congratulations and thanks for his continued commitment to transforming inner city communities.

Through his strong faith and Christian principles Bishop Sneed has bridged the racial, economic, social, educational and generational gaps in our community. He has served the metro Atlanta community with integrity and honesty. His service to my district has been invaluable and I wish him continued success in all his future endeavors. I ask that the Consecration documents be placed in the Congressional Record.

The International Fellowship of Reformed Episcopal Churches

mandate of consecration

Be it known to all that the Holy Synod of the International

Fellowship of Reformed Episcopal Churches has approved the

consecration of The Reverend Odis Sneed, Jr. of God's Church

International Fellowship with jurisdiction over the State of

Georgia and its environs.

Let it be recorded that the very Reverend Duane Ganther of

Los Angeles, California is the presenter of this candidate.

Said consecration is scheduled to take place at The Elim

International Fellowship, The Protestant Cathedral in

Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, October the fifteenth at

10:00 am in the year of our Lord, two thousand and five.

Given under our seals at the Archdiocesan office 20 Madison

Street, Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday, September twenty-

first, two thousand and five in the year of our Lord.

Wilbert Sterling McKinley,

Patriarch.

Trevor Dominic Bentley,

Exarch.

Certificate of Consecration

in the name of god, amen.

Be it known to all present that we by divine right

Patriarch of the International Fellowship of Reformed

Episcopal Churches did on this the fifteenth day of October

in the year of Our Lord two thousand and five ordain and

consecrate our well beloved in Christ,

The Reverend Odis Sneed, Jr.

to the office of Bishop

Of the one true Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and

appoint him Bishop of Georgia with his see in Atlanta.

Of whose spiritual advancement, love of the Lord Jesus

Christ, educational qualifications and knowledge of Holy

Scriptures we are well acquainted,

Given under our seal and signature

In this our thirty-third year of Episcopacy

Most Reverend Wilbert S. McKinley,

Consecrator.

Most Reverend Trevor D. Bentley,

Co-consecrator.

Most Reverend Michael Rene Lunsford.

Incardination

into

The International Fellowship of Reformed Episcopal Churches

of

God's Church International Fellowship

instrument of intercommunion

in the name of the most holy and indivisible trinity.

article I

The International Fellowship of Reformed Episcopal

Churches, recognize with gratitude that they are living in a

far reaching community of belief of the transmitted Catholic

faith as defined in the Holy Scripture and the ecumenical

creeds of Nicea and Constantinople. They rejoice in their

joint recognition of the divine Revelation and their

transmission in the Catholic evidence of Holy Scripture, and

in the Apostolic tradition of the Church of all ages of which

both are an integral part.

article II

The Reformed Episcopal Churches recognize the

ecclesiastical office as it is vested in and derived from the

Apostolic Succession and personified in the Bishops of the

Church as the legal successor of the Apostles.

article III

The Reformed Episcopal Churches recognize that the Grace of

God is received through prayer and the faithful keeping of

the ordinances of Holy Scripture.

article IV

The Reformed Episcopal Churches hold the conviction that

the Church in all her nuances cannot be subservient to God's

intention in the world if she is torn asunder and divided by

strife, discord and confusion to the detriment of herself or

her mentor, we not only form a part of a unique people, a

royal priesthood but the one body of Christ whose mission is

to be an anticipating and active sign of the final union of

all things, when God in Christ will be all in all.

article V

To be shown trustworthy that the Church receives all her

life from and through Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures.

The various Christian denominations must help and correct

each other in spite of all differences inherent to mankind

and cooperate in all matters which relate to the mission and

welfare of the Church, known as ``The One Holy Apostolic

Church'' (Una Sancta et Apostolica Ecclesia), the spiritual

home of all who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord, Redeemer

and Saviour.

article VI

Realizing that the above Churches live in and form a common

Catholic faith, The International Fellowship of Reformed

Episcopal Churches and God's Church International Church take

the view of declare publicly that nothing exists between the

above Churches which hinders a full communion in Sacris, so

that while continuing individually autonomous and

independent, a definite form of agreement of the above

Churches is possible. This means in fact:

a. Mutual recognition of the validity of their

administrations without any restrictions.

b. Mutual admission to Word and Ordinances.

c. Mutual aid to clergy and members of both Churches as

able, if need should arise.

d. Cooperation and consultation in the field of general

polity and ecclesiastical affairs.

e. Affiliated prelates must attend the Biannual Synodical

Convention at a time and place as indicated by the Secretary

General of the Synod.

f. Affiliated prelates must submit semi-annual reports to

the Archepiscopal offices at 20 Madison Street, Brooklyn, New

York.

article VII

The Churches acknowledge and bow to the infallibility of

Holy Sciptures and thereby are bound by its dictates. Be it

clearly stated that no one will be ordained or elevated to

the Office of Bishop according to the Apostolic Succession

without the consent of the Archbishops, Patriarch, Primate,

Metropolitan, and President, meeting in a duly constituted

consultative Synod.

Given under our hands and seals:

duly authorized by the Universal Canons as exist in Holy

Scripture

Wilbert S. McKinley,

Patriarch.

Trevor D. Bentley,

Exarch.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of a warrior for peace. Yitzhak Rabin, a former solider, the former chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Force, put down his gun and decided that sacrifice was necessary to achieve peace.

After fighting Israel's enemies his whole life, Yitzhak Rabin chose to talk to his enemies at the negotiating table. He chose to try and end a conflict that pre-dated the birth of the state of Israel by agreeing to exchange valuable land for the end of all bloodshed.

Yitzhak Rabin knew that war was not the answer. He knew that war does not bring along peace. In his 1994 Nobel Prize acceptance speech he said, ``There is only one radical means of sanctifying human lives. Not armored plating, or tanks, or planes, or concrete fortifications. The one radical solution is peace.''

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to mark the legacy of a leader who not only spoke about peace, but gave his life in the pursuit of peace. His life was taken away from him because he tried to end the bloodshed of his people. Yitzhak Rabin was a leader for peace and today we remember him for that legacy.