Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote 6, H.R. 1385, to extend the provision of title 39, United States Code, under which the United States Postal Service is authorized to issue a special postage stamp to benefit breast cancer research and during rollcall vote 7, H.R. 3493, Medical Devices Technical Corrections Act, I was unavoidably detained due to inclement weather. If I had been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall vote 6 and 7.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to strongly support H.R. 1732 which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Williamson County, Texas, water recycling and reuse project. I am proud to represent Williamson County, or most of it, and I have been living there for over 30 years. During this time, I have witnessed Williamson County become one of the fastest growing communities in the entire Nation and it has been consistently the fastest growing county for over a decade. I have observed the needs of this county because it has a limited supply of water. Today some would say that water has replaced oil as the commodity most important to the future of Texas. Unfortunately, current water supplies will simply not meet the growing needs of Williamson County and that community.

To meet this need, I introduced H.R. 1732 to allow the Lower Colorado River Authority, the Brazos River Authority and local communities to work with the Bureau of Reclamation to design, build and construct permanent facilities to reclaim and reuse water in Williamson County. This partnership will be an essential part of the county's water planning efforts.

In short, this legislation will ensure current and future sources of drinking water are made available for the residents of Williamson County. I am excited about this partnership and believe it is a great example of Federal and local agencies working together to make a positive difference.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) and their staffs for their efforts in having this legislation brought to the floor in a timely manner. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), my neighbor to the north, for joining me in this effort. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall votes 509, 510, and 511, Representative Ryan (OH) Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 1308, Representative Stenholm Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 1, and Representative Rodriguez Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 1588, I was unavoidably detained. If I had been present, I would have voted ``no.''

During rollcall vote 512, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Land Exchange Act of 2003, H.R. 1409, I was unavoidably detained. If I had been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment and of this legislation. I just want everyone to know the experience that I had sitting on the committee when the parents and the children were in the audience watching what we did, and to experience the eyes of those children begging us to give them this chance, and those mothers and grandmothers who were crying tears when they saw that they were going to have the opportunity to send their children to schools that would be effective.

It is imperative that we give these people an opportunity. They should have an opportunity to send their kids to a good school.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2210 and in opposition to the Woolsey amendment.

The United States Supreme Court has ruled and has looked at this issue in the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop v. Amos and has upheld the title VII exemption as constitutional under our law. Finding that the exemption did not violate the establishment clause, the Supreme Court has made it clear that ``it is a permissible legislative purpose to alleviate significant governmental interference with the ability of religious organizations to define and carry out their religious missions.''

This is not a matter of discrimination or teaching children discrimination. This is a matter of abiding by the law. The Clinton administration passed numerous legislation that followed this same idea. These faith-based organizations provide good services. They should be able to hire the people that they feel are important to their cause, and this would in no way interfere with the rights of the students that come before the Head Start program. It is a good idea led by good people. I urge its support.

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, July 17, 2003 and Friday, July 18, 2003, I was unable to be present for rollcalls #382-#397. The following are the ways I would have voted, had I been present:

Rollcall 382--No; rollcall 383--No; rollcall 384--No; rollcall 385-- No; rollcall 386--No; rollcall 387--No; rollcall 388--Aye; rollcall 389--Aye; rollcall 390--No; rollcall 391--Aye; rollcall 392--No; rollcall 393--No; rollcall 394--No; rollcall 395--Aye; rollcall 396-- No; rollcall 397--Aye.

Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote 322, the resolution to provide consideration of H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act, I was unavoidably detained due to an urgent family matter. If I had been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 279) congratulating the San Antonio Spurs for winning the 2003 NBA championship, and ask for immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I rise today in support of House Resolution 279 introduced by the gentleman from my home State of Texas (Mr. Smith).

This resolution congratulates the San Antonio Spurs, again the champions of the National Basketball Association. On Sunday night, the Spurs defeated the New Jersey Nets 88 to 77 in game six of the NBA Finals to win their second championship in the last 5 years. The city of San Antonio and the entire State of Texas is celebrating the Spurs great victory on the high stage of basketball.

Mr. Speaker, this San Antonio Spurs team is truly one for the ages. Beyond being their second title in recent years, this is a team full of superstars, both on and off the court. The Spurs feature the greatest player in the NBA today, two-time reigning Most Valuable Player of the league, Tim Duncan.

Duncan capped off his final performance on Sunday night with a near- quadruple-double. He scored 21 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, handed out 10 assists, and blocked eight shots during one of his most outstanding performances of the season.

After the game on Sunday night, Duncan was deservedly awarded the finals' Most Valuable Player trophy. After being the number one pick in the NBA draft in 1997, Tim Duncan's first 6 years have been extraordinary, and I commend his efforts.

The accolades extend to the Spurs' outstanding head coach, Gregg Popovich, who earned this season's NBA Coach of the Year award. Coach Popovich won his second well-deserved NBA title on Sunday, and I congratulate him for this momentous accomplishment. I am concerned that Coach Popovich may be underappreciated across the country, but I can assure this House that the people of San Antonio and the fans of the Spurs know that Gregg Popovich is a great coach.

The Spurs also feature such outstanding standouts as Tony Parker, Stephen Jackson, Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili, veterans Kevin Willis and Steve Kerr, among many other players. But I want to particularly recognize another great Spurs player who has been one of the NBA's very best ambassadors over the last decade. David Robinson played his last game in the NBA on Sunday, finishing with 13 points and 17 rebounds. This very strong effort completed a 14-year career, over which Mr. Robinson averaged 21 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game.

Also a U.S. Naval officer and compassionate humanitarian, David Robinson was named one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players in 1996, as well as the 1995 MVP, the 1992 Defensive Player of the Year, and the 1990 rookie of the year. I think it is important to note that David Robinson earned his final honor after serving a 2-year Naval Academy commitment, prior to which he was the first selection in the 1987 NBA draft. I congratulate David Robinson for winning this year's NBA championship, for going out on top, and for his remarkable career.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the San Antonio Spurs for winning the 2003 NBA championship. I urge passage of House Resolution 279, and I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of H.R. 8 and totally opposed to the substitute. It is time we kill the death tax once and for all and forever. This is critical. Across the street from my church is a 400- acre farm. The second generation of farmers are farming that farm. But because of the growth in our county, the value of that farm, which these people intend to farm, is now over $2.50 a square foot because of development growth. Those people will be killed by this tax. We have got to eliminate it so that those people, their children, can continue to farm.

I ran into a good friend of mine in New Mexico. After years in college, I just assumed he would be continuing to ranch in Clayton, New Mexico. But, no, he is not in the ranching business. Why? Because the inheritance tax wiped out a ranch that they fought for and died for in Northern New Mexico. And now he is not there anymore. We have to protect those people and kill this tax.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2254) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1101 Colorado Street in Boulder City, Nevada, as the ``Bruce Woodbury Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill currently under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2254, introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from the State of Nevada (Mr. Porter), designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1101 Colorado Street in Boulder City, Nevada, as the ``Bruce Woodbury Post Office Building.''

Mr. Speaker, this legislation honors a public servant whose contributions may not garner national attention; but in southern Nevada, few citizens are more highly regarded than Bruce Woodbury.

To those who live in and around the Third Congressional District of Nevada, Bruce Woodbury is known as a civic official who has been among the most influential in promoting the remarkable economic development of this booming region. He has chaired the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada for the last 11 years. In that capacity, his crowning achievement was securing the construction of the Las Vegas Beltway, probably the most ambitious transportation project ever in Clark County.

Bruce Woodbury also has served on the Clark County Commission in southern Nevada for 21 years. Mr. Woodbury has led this commission on the most important issues Clark County has had to face: health care, air and water quality, public transit, gaming, sanitation, and many others. His fellow commissioners have selected him to be the Chair of the Big Ben Water District Board of Trustees, the vice-chair of the Kyle Canyon Water District Board of Trustees, among several other posts.

Mr. Woodbury is also a partner at his law firm of Jolley, Urga, Wirth and Woodbury that has offices in Boulder City and in Las Vegas.

In his time away from work, he is also a member of the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and Elks Lodge. Previously he has sat on the board of trustees at a bank, the Las Vegas chapter of the Red Cross, and the Nevada Special Olympics. Finally, he has been appointed to many state level councils, boards, and other panels, truly too numerous to name.

In whatever spare time that he can find, Mr. Woodbury loves to spend as much time as he can with his wife, Rose, and their seven children, Adam, Ashley, Benjamin, Melissa, Rebecca, Rodney and Wendy, and their seven grandchildren: Anna, Elias, Jess, Joseph, Samuel, and Silvie Jane.

I understand that the gentleman from Nevada, the sponsor of this legislation and former mayor of Boulder City, has worked together with Bruce Woodbury on countless efforts affecting the residents of southern Nevada. They have developed a close relationship, and I applaud my colleague from Nevada for his work on this meaningful measure. This post office in Boulder City, Nevada will hopefully soon be named after a truly wonderful, all-around American.

Therefore, I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 2254.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the honorable gentleman from the State of Nevada (Mr. Porter), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers at this time. Again, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Nevada, for introducing this important legislation; and I thank the gentleman from Illinois as well. I urge all Members to support the passage of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 220) commending Medgar Wiley Evers and his widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams, for their lives and accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the concurrent resolution currently being considered.

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

Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 220, introduced by my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from the State of Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), commends Medgar Wiley Evers and his widow, Myrlie Evers-Williams for their lives and accomplishments. I am proud that this House is considering this legislation, because it can serve as an important history lesson to all of those who witness these proceedings here today.

Mr. Speaker, as legislative business began this afternoon, we recited the Pledge of Allegiance on this floor as we do every day. But today it seems especially appropriate to revisit that vow just before this House honors a man and a woman who have lived their lives based on the belief that in this country, more than anywhere else in the world, there should surely be ``liberty and justice for all.''

Mr. Speaker, Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams are each remarkable civil rights leaders who have accomplished great deeds on behalf of countless Americans.

Medgar was born in Decatur, Mississippi, in 1925. He dropped out of high school at the age of 17 to join the Army during World War II. When he safely returned home, he completed high school and went on to attend and graduate from Alcorn A&M College. He landed a job with an insurance agency before becoming a field secretary to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Jackson, Mississippi.

Medgar soon met a young Mississippi woman named Myrlie who also worked for the NAACP, and they married in 1951. Tragically, 12 years later, Medgar Evers was dreadfully shot and killed outside his home.

Despite this unbelievable heartbreak, Myrlie Evers-Williams has carried on. She soon moved to Claremont, California, with her three children to begin a new life. Among her many subsequent accomplishments Ms. Evers-Williams became the first black woman to serve on the Los Angeles Board of Public Works where she oversaw nearly 6,000 public employees and a budget of $400 million. In addition, she was the first woman elected to chair the NAACP in 1995 and continues to be a valuable asset to the association as chairman emeritus.

Mr. Speaker, I want to remind this House that last Thursday was the 40th anniversary of the tragic assassination of Medgar Evers that occurred on June 12, 1963. Early this afternoon, a national day of remembrance was observed at Medgar Evers' grave site in Arlington National Cemetery. This sober and beautiful event marked the end of the Medgar Evers National Week of Remembrance organized by the Medgar Evers Institute founded last year by Myrlie Evers-Williams. The week featured events across the State of Mississippi, including celebration of his life in Newton, a prayer and candlelight vigil in Jackson, and a symposium on his works and achievements in Tougaloo.

Mr. Speaker, for all these reasons, I urge all Members to support the adoption of House Concurrent Resolution 220 that honors the lives of these two fine people, Medgar Wiley Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams. I sincerely thank my colleague from Mississippi for introducing this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Burns).

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), a cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), for the purposes of control.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his hard work on this bill and the committee for bringing this bill forward. I am encouraged that the improvements in this bill will help reduce litigation, restore trust and refocus the system on improving the education of children with disabilities.

In 1997, Congress required the States to set up and maintain mediation systems that would allow school districts and parents to handle their disputes in less hostile fashion. The change significantly reduced the amount of litigation and helped restore trust between parents and school personnel. This bill builds upon the 1997 improvements by requiring States to establish and maintain voluntary arbitration systems. Given the interest in resolving disputes through nonlitigation, it is expected this will reduce the litigation burden and restore the focus on educating children.

Importantly, this system is voluntary, and voluntary means the parents can choose, the school can choose. If both parties do not choose voluntary arbitration, then the complaint goes through the regular due process system.

This bill also clarifies that the parent is obligated to provide clear and specific notice to the LEA or SEA before a due process hearing can be held.

This change is important to ensure that a school district has a clear understanding of what the problem is. Without this clear and specific notice, the school district cannot attempt to resolve the issue.

The resolution session created by this bill allows parents and the school district officials to explore the problem and attempt to resolve the problem in a rapid time frame, so that the child can be better served. Instead of waiting to air concerns at the due process hearing, the parent and the school district will meet within 15 days of the filing of the complaint to see if they can resolve the problem. If they cannot, the parent can still go to a due process hearing. This does not delay the parent's right to a due process hearing in any way. The IDEA regulations require a due process hearing to commence within 45 days of a parent filing a complaint. The language in the bill does not modify or delay that timeline in any way. This resolution session gives parents and school districts a new opportunity to sit down and work out the issues and is a sensible change to ensure that everyone's efforts are focused on improving results for the child.

The improvements included in H.R. 1350 should clear some of the legal landmines and allow for more productive, less hostile relations between parents and schools that refocuses on the Act's primary role of educating children with disabilities. IDEA currently has no statute of limitations and leaves school districts open to litigation for all of the 12 years a child is in school, whether or not the child has been identified as a child with a disability. School districts are often surprised by claims from parents involving issues that occurred in an elementary school program when the child may currently be a high school student.

Such an unreasonably long threat of litigation hanging over a school district forces them to document every step they take with every child, even if the parent agrees with the action, because parents could later change their mind and sue. The fear of far-removed litigation raises the tension between the school and the parent. This improvement will align IDEA with other federal statutes that have explicit statutes of limitations (civil rights claims, federal tort claims, Social Security, ERISA) and allow for timely resolution of issues.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and these provisions as we continue to work to improve the education results for children with disabilities.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

The National Child Protection Act was enacted in 1993. It was followed by legislation to include this through the Volunteers for Children Act. These acts provided a process for background checks for volunteers to ensure that individuals who are allowed the privilege of working with our children have nothing but good intentions. But according to groups that depend on volunteers to work with children, this process is not working.

No one has been able to provide an explanation as to why the process has failed. There are a number of different factors which could be hampering the process, including the existing capacity or infrastructure of the FBI and the States to collect and process and share fingerprint background information and the cost to run such a program.

My amendment requests the Department of Justice to conduct a feasibility study to determine the extent of the

problem and requests the Department of Justice to propose a solution based on its findings.

The study will examine the current state of the fingerprint capture and processing at the State and local level, including the current available infrastructure, the State capacities, and time for each State to process a civil-volunteer print from the time of capture to submission to the FBI.

I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

In light of the support of the chairman of the committee, I would like to conclude by saying that over the last 20 years I have tried over 100 of these cases, and last year I had a lady come up to me in a grocery store and told me about her child who was going to Colorado to testify in a case against a child sex molester who had molested him in a case that I tried back in 1985; and he was going to testify in the case that was now pending in Colorado. If this system had been up and in effect at that time, we would have been able to find that predator and prevent him from doing this again.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the remaining time to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, over the course of our Presidents' Day work period, I held nine town hall meetings and listened to over 800 of my constituents express their opinions about issues important to them. Time and again they mentioned fair taxes. The American people want an economy that is sound and that can offer them jobs. We can give the people what they want by passing the President's growth plan.

The double taxation of dividends is not only unfair, it is obscene. Every year, nearly 2 million Texans and 35 million Americans are being cheated by their own government. By simply eliminating the second tax, investments will increase, resulting in 2.1 million jobs being created within the next 3 years and could potentially boost the national wealth by nearly $1 trillion.

Instead of giving the American people a $300 payoff, let us give them a real plan, a plan that will result in jobs, a steady economy, and dollars back in the hands of the taxpayers. For those who say we cannot afford the President's growth plan, I say we cannot afford to not pass his plan.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation was founded on the idea of freedom of religion, the freedom to believe, the freedom to pray, the freedom to worship any time, anywhere. Today more than ever the people of our Nation need to have faith, a religion, a belief.

James Madison stated in 1825 that ``The belief in God All Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities impressed with it.''

I believe Madison's statement is accurate, and we as a people should maintain this strong sense of values. We in Congress should do our part by protecting what our forefathers built this Nation on. We should do that today by passing H.R. 132.