Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor Ron Gettelfinger, who retired last week from being president of the United Auto Workers. Mr. Gettelfinger first joined the UAW as a line repairman in 1964 and has now spent a lifetime fighting for the best interests of working Americans.

Mr. Gettelfinger was elected to the Presidency of the UAW in 2002 and provided excellent leadership through a difficult time in the history of the auto industry in the United States. The auto industry faced great hardships during his tenure and as a whole needed to make a lot of changes. Mr. Gettelfinger recognized the great changes that needed to be made and ably defended his members while working hard to address the long term needs of the industry. He understood that the automakers and the unions needed to work together to insure that they both could go forward stronger than before.

During his time as President he worked hard not only for his own members, but for the rights of all American workers and of all workers around the world. In addition to his efforts working for workers, he understood the importance of universal health care to having a healthy and competitive workforce and he spoke out in favor of health care for all Americans. While I think that he and I would both have liked to see even more extensive reaching reform, we have taken an important step and I applaud his efforts on behalf of health-care reform.

Mr. Gettelfinger has spent a lifetime of serving working Americans and making sure that they are given a fair chance at a fair wage and fair work. I wish him the best of luck in whatever he does next, which I am sure will include continuing efforts to defend the rights of workers and all Americans.

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to pay tribute to the Fifty-Third National Puerto Rican Day

Parade, which will be held on June 13, 2010, in New York City. A radiant and star-studded event, this parade proudly recognizes the heritage of Puerto Rican people here in the United States, and year upon year has proven to be one of our nation's largest outdoor festivities.

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the successor to the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade, which held its inaugural celebration on Sunday, April 12th, 1958, in ``El Barrio,'' Manhattan. The impact of the first Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York was immediate and resounding. Thousands of New York Puerto Ricans flooded the streets in a very public, very proud demonstration of their emergence in the city as an important and growing ethnic group. For the next 38 years, the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade became a staple of New York's cultural life. In 1995, the overwhelming success of the parade prompted organizers to increase its size and transform it into the national and international affair that it is today.

On June 13 delegates representing over thirty states, including Alaska and Hawaii, will join the roughly 3 million parade goers every year who turn New York's Fifth Avenue into a sea of traditional red, white, and blue flags. It's a picture unlike anything you will see anywhere else in the country. Not only because New York is the most international city in the world, but also because of the relationship that exists between New York and the Puerto Rican community. It's an historic relationship essentially born of mutual benefit and respect. Puerto Ricans have helped transform New York into a dynamic, bilingual city that continues to welcome newcomers from all over the globe, and the city of New York, believed by many to be a place of opportunity, has enabled Puerto Ricans to flourish economically, culturally and politically.

The success that the parade enjoys each year is brought about in large measure by the continued efforts of a choice few individuals-- women and men of able leadership who believe, as I do, in the unbound potential of people of Puerto Rican descent. The Parade's march up Fifth Avenue, while certainly the most visible aspect of the celebration, is hardly the only event associated with the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc.'s activities. Each year more than 10,000 people attend a variety of award ceremonies, banquets and cultural events that strengthen the special relationship shared by Puerto Ricans and the city of New York.

Madam Speaker, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is an experience unlike any other. It signals to all who witness it that the Puerto Rican community, both in New York and nationally, represents an exquisite tapestry of individuals. Its power can be seen on the faces and heard in the streets, as millions come together to joyously proclaim their heritage. And so, Madam Speaker, as a Puerto Rican and a New Yorker, and as someone who participates in this parade annually, I stand before you and my colleagues in Congress with a full and proud heart to pay tribute to the sights and sounds and wonder that is the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer tribute to Mr. Waldestrudis ``Walter'' Torres, a Puerto Rican Vietnam War hero from my district who recently passed away at the age of 62. Walter was a brave and committed man. He honored himself and his country on the battlefields of Vietnam before returning home to lead a quiet life of civil service. He spent nearly four decades in service to others, as both soldier and civilian.

Walter was born in Coamo, Puerto Rico, on April 10, 1947. In 1967, at the age of 20, Walter joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was soon sent to Vietnam. Like so many of the more than 48,000 Puerto Ricans who served during Vietnam, Walter distinguished himself in combat. For courage and bravery, Walter received the Battle Star Medal, the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Services Medal with Three Stars.

After leaving the service, Walter was gainfully employed and hardworking his entire life.

He held positions with the U.S. Federal Government Printing Office as a pressman, the U.S. Post Office as a letter carrier, and later joined the private sector in the board sales business. In 2003, Walter joined the American Association of Retired Persons' Senior Community Services Employment Program, AARP/SCSEP, as a job developer. Walter flourished in this environment, directly impacting the lives of over 1,000 seniors who participate in the program for employment placement services. In 2010, Walter was promoted to be assistant director of the program. In 6 years, he missed only one day of work.

Madam Speaker, Waldestrudis Torres was an outstanding individual and an extraordinary example of American strength and character. Hardworking and large-hearted, he placed service to community and country above all else and should be remembered for his deep sense of commitment to others. I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring the life of Waldestrudis ``Walter'' Torres.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the time.

My colleagues, I come to you today in a unique situation because, you see, I was born in the territory of Puerto Rico; and by being a resident of New York and having been raised in New York, I am able to be a Member of Congress. Not a Resident Commissioner, with all due respect to my brother, but a full voting Member of Congress.

And so I come fully understanding how it is to be able to look at yourself and to wonder what, if ever, will be resolved when it comes to the status of Puerto Rico.

This is a very significant moment and a very significant bill. For the first time in 112 years, the Congress of the United States will ask the 4 million American citizens in Puerto Rico what they wish their relationship to the United States to be. And it is done, I believe, in a fair way.

Now many will argue today that it is not binding on the Congress. That is a good thing because Congress can then take the results and analyze them and determine how it wants to apply the results, yes or no, whether it wants a higher vote for independence, if that is what they choose, or a higher vote for statehood. Congress can make that determination.

But I believe the process is fair. It says in the initial vote: Do you wish to remain as you are or do you wish to change your relationship to the U.S.? And then in the second vote if they choose for change, it says: Do you wish to become the 51st State, do you wish to become an independent nation, or do you wish to go and become an associated republic? Well, we have that. Some people say they don't know what that means. We have that. Micronesia is an associated republic of the United States. Palau is an associated republic of the United States. The Marshall Islands is an associated republic of the United States. So we know what that means.

I would argue for those who support commonwealth, that the next natural step of the commonwealth is free association unless they have a notice and it is statehood or unless they have been misled and it is independence. I think the next step is free association.

Why are those the three options available? Because all three options will remove Puerto Rico from the territorial clause of the Constitution of the United States, meaning it will no longer be a territory and then we can decide what to do.

It has been said here that Puerto Ricans have served our Armed Forces. That means a lot to us. And it means a lot to be able to say to those veterans who are now in Puerto Rico that they will have a chance to express themselves.

Many have asked me, Joe, if it doesn't do all of the things that some people claim it does, why do you support this bill? Because it begins a process, because it allows people to speak, because we would have heard for the first time that we know that they have something that they want to change.

Now, the opponents claim that this bill pushes Puerto Rico to statehood. Now I grew up in New York, but I can tell you one thing as a fact that I know about the Puerto Rican community and Puerto Rico: they know the status issue through and through. I think from the time you are 10 years old, all you debate in Puerto Rico is the status and baseball. And the status is bigger than baseball. So no one in Puerto Rico will be forced to vote for statehood unless they want it. Nobody will be forced to vote for independence unless they want it. No one will be forced to vote for anything unless they want it. They are very adamant. You think I'm excited now, you should see the way they speak about those issues in Puerto Rico. Nobody will force them into anything.

At the same time, the opponents tell you there is no majority support for statehood in Puerto Rico, but they'll be forced to vote for statehood. I don't understand that; if there is no support, then they won't vote for statehood. That's a fact.

Now, briefly, some of the commonwealth people, with all due respect to them, have proposed a new commonwealth, but they have never presented it in legislative form. They've had years. In the 20 years I've been here, they've never presented the commonwealth in a legislative form. We have presented many bills that speak to self- determination.

What they propose, and are you ready for this, Puerto Rico would remain American citizens. Puerto Rico would get more Federal dollars. Puerto Rico would be able to choose and pick any Federal law it wishes to follow and not follow. And Puerto Rico would be able to exchange ambassadors with other countries. That's the commonwealth that has been proposed.

I want that for the Bronx. That's a great deal. And I am sure that the gentleman wants it for Florida. And the Texans would jump at it immediately. But that is not what it is. Give the people of Puerto Rico the opportunity to express themselves.

I thank the gentleman.

So much has been said today about what this bill does. Yet so little is understood, perhaps, about what this bill really does. The bill continues to be a bill I support strongly because, if nothing else, the strength of it is that it begins a process.

When I have told many Members of what the bill doesn't do, they ask me, Then why do you support it?

I support it because it begins a process. I support it because, for the first time in 112 years, the people of Puerto Rico will have an opportunity to express themselves, to say what they wish. Then we don't have to act on it. I suspect that we will, but we won't be imposing anything on anyone.

Another argument is that this bill forces statehood on Puerto Rico, but that argument is made by people who say there is no majority in support of statehood in Puerto Rico. Therefore, people would be voting out of--what?--ignorance. Well, I'll repeat what I have been saying all week.

I grew up in New York. I don't live in Puerto Rico, but I know one thing for a fact, not an opinion, which is that Puerto Ricans, from the age of about 10 or 12, know the status issue, discuss the status issue, and debate the status issue on a daily basis. It is the number one concern on the island. Therefore, no one will vote for statehood who does not believe in statehood. No one will vote for independence who is forced to vote for independence. No one will vote for free association who is forced to vote. They will do it because they believe in it and because they believe it is the right thing to do.

Some in Congress have asked, Why don't they do it on their own? Because, when they have done it on their own, we have ignored it.

Then there is another reason, one that may offend people if you don't present it properly: Puerto Rico did not invade the United States. The United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and it has held it. According to the Constitution, it is up to the United States Congress to dispose of, if you will, the territory or to adjust the territorial status. If we tell them to do whatever they please, we will ignore what they do. If we tell them to do something, then it will be part of a process--again, that word ``process.'' So it is our responsibility to tell them to hold this vote.

Now, if they hold the vote and determine that they wish to become an independent nation, we will then be able to say, Well, you asked for that with 45 percent of the vote. Can you go back and take another vote and come back with 80 percent? Similarly, if they vote for statehood, we could say, No, you didn't come here, asking us for a certain amount. You have to go back.

So my point is that this bill does not end the process. With all due respect to my colleagues on both sides who oppose the bill, do you honestly believe that Congress would give anybody statehood just based on the first simple vote? I can assure you that, if statehood is ever to come to Puerto Rico, there will be a vote to accept the results of Puerto Rico's vote. There will be a vote to grant statehood to Puerto Rico. Then there will be a vote asking the Puerto Ricans ``yes'' or ``no'' if they accept statehood. It is just not going to happen. The process will take years. We are not doing what people think we are doing.

What we are doing is being honest to the comments we make on a daily basis, which are that we go overseas to fight for freedom and independence, for the ability to be free people and to make free choices. Yet we're going to say today that we won't allow 4 million American citizens to simply advise us on this choice? That is a mistake. That truly is un-American. What do we have to fear--that the territory may ask for a change in its status? It might choose not to do so.

One very important point: People say that the Commonwealth is defeated. No. In the first vote, you can choose to remain a Commonwealth. In the second vote, you stop being a colony.

Vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4938) to permit the use of previously appropriated funds to extend the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4938.

I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us provides for a 1-month extension of the Recovery Act small business lending program and provides an additional $40 million for this program. Through March 12 of this year, the small business lending program has supported nearly $23 billion in small business lending which helped create or retain over 560,000 jobs. The program eliminated the fees that borrowers and certain lenders are normally charged for loans through the Small Business Administration's 7(a) and 504 loan programs. The Recovery Act also increased the government's guarantees on the 7(a) loans from 75 percent to 90 percent.

Mr. Speaker, 7(a) is the SBA's primary program for helping startup and existing small businesses with financing guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes. SBA does not make loans itself but rather guarantees loans made by participating private lending institutions. Like most commercial loans, these loans are typically variable rate.

The 504 program provides growing businesses with long-term, fixed- rate financing for major fixed assets, such as land and buildings, through Certified Development Companies. A Certified Development Company, CDC, is a private, nonprofit corporation set up to contribute to the economic development of the community it serves.

When credit markets froze in late 2008, credit markets that service small businesses froze as well and have continued to be hard hit. These provisions have been working to loosen up the credit market for small businesses so they can stay in business, keep people employed, and make new hires.

As we know, in a very bipartisan way, we have all felt that there is nothing more important we could do right now but to allow for small businesses to thrive as we move to create jobs in our economy. And so I would hope that everybody in a unanimous fashion, Mr. Speaker, can support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank my ranking member, Mrs. Jo Ann Emerson, who is a true partner in the work we do in our committee. We are an example of how to work together. I want to also thank her, Mr. Speaker, for the fact that she noted that I'm not spending one extra dollar here. This is not raising the deficit at all.

I will yield.

Well, I am very happy that you're proud of me. Mr. Speaker, I am very happy that she's proud of me.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to clarify something, and the question that Mrs. Emerson asked is a very legitimate question: Why are we doing this the way we're doing it? Simply because we have not been able to get the other body, if I'm allowed to refer to them, to accept anything other than these kinds of bills at this point. And in answer to her second question, Which bill will we give the Senate, the one that we passed, or the one hopefully we'll pass today, the answer is, whichever one they'll take to deal with the issue. So that is really the problem here. Hopefully it will be resolved very soon.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am in total agreement with my ranking member. It is our desire to make this permanent. We will continue to work on this. In the meantime, this provides the assistance that small businesses need in this country.

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to raise an important issue that is affecting millions of people on the island of Puerto Rico. This issue deserves attention; the four million residents of the Island are U.S. citizens that pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.

However, despite this fact, senior citizens living in Puerto Rico are not treated fairly and do not have the same benefits that a senior living in New York, Florida, California, or any of the other States enjoy. Under Medicare in Puerto Rico, senior citizens are not automatically enrolled in Medicare Part B. As a result, it is more beneficial for seniors to enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan to receive all of their Medicare services. Compared to the 50 States where the Medicare Advantage participation plan is 25 percent, in Puerto Rico approximately 83 percent of eligible senior citizens opt for Medicare Advantage.

However, the fee-for-service, FFS, cost calculation for Puerto Rico is troubling. In fact, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, MedPAC, reported to Congress that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ``should expeditiously use its authority to employ an alternative calculation method . . .''

I couldn't agree more with that statement or the report language included in the House Report for H.R. 4872, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The language clearly stated:

The county FFS expenditures calculated by the Secretary are

artificially low and unstable from year-to-year. Therefore,

the Committee expects that when calculating county FFS rates

for Puerto Rico, the Secretary will use utilization and

expenditure data from MA plans under current authority and

adjust these rates and risk scores appropriately.

Mr. Speaker, I support the House Report language because the senior citizens of Puerto Rico deserve nothing less than fair and equitable treatment in Medicare.

Madam Speaker, everybody on that side is throwing numbers around. The numbers I would like to think about for a second are more dates than numbers. It seems that everything that could be going wrong in this country, according to that side, started on January 20 of last year when we had a new administration. The prior 8 years were wonderful years. We were not in a war, we had surpluses, everything was going great. At least that is their presentation. But everything starting January 20 of last year, Oh, my God, that is pushing the country down the road to socialism. We are going into a big, deep hole, and it is the end of America as we know it.

Well, the fact of the matter is this bill is a good bill. It is a very good bill for our country. I would like to share with you some good numbers, numbers that affect my congressional district in New York, in the Bronx, New York. But I must tell you that these numbers are reflected throughout the country.

Listen to this: 86,500 uninsured residents of my congressional district will now have coverage extended to them; Medicare will be improved for 65,000 beneficiaries, including closing gaps that existed in coverage before; 201,000 families will be given tax credits and other assistance, as will 7,300 small businesses to help them afford coverage.

We are talking about the United States of America, the greatest country on the face of the Earth; still, we are close to 40 million people without health insurance. What are we talking about here? Trying to fill that gap and take care of these folks.

Now, what was the biggest accusation that we heard for the last year, year and a half: You are moving too fast. Too fast? President Roosevelt, Teddy Roosevelt was the first President to bring this issue up. That is over 100 years ago. Too fast? They have had all these years to do something about it, but still they wasted time looking for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

I will tell you, I found a weapon of mass destruction, and it is close to 40 million people uninsured. That's the real threat to our country. The cost, the cost of health care in this country, that is a weapon of mass destruction. That can destroy us.

Who is unhappy? Not seniors, with this bill. Not children. Not the working class. Not AARP, which is not known to be a great liberal organization. They endorsed it today. Not so many people we have mentioned.

Who are unhappy? The insurance companies. Well, that's too bad.

As we say in the south Bronx, the gig is up and it is about time they began to behave properly. We are catching them, and we are catching them strongly. I support this bill, and I support the efforts of my side to be able to bring it through.

It is time for us, as a Congress, to have this long overdue discussion on our involvement in Afghanistan. According to the War Powers Resolution, we have a role to play; and it is time that we, as a Congress, exercised our authority. Whether you agree or disagree with the escalation in Afghanistan, we need to debate it. We need to vote on it, and we need to make a decision. We must not give up the powers that we were given in the Constitution.

In the wake of 9/11, I did support a military response to the direct threat that Afghanistan posed to our Nation. I believed then that it was the correct response, and I believe now that it was in concert with our NATO allies. Nine years later, I believe that Congress has the duty to reevaluate America's involvement in a war that seems to have gotten bogged down, with very few signs of success. I believe that had we not taken our focus off Afghanistan in order to invade and occupy Iraq, we would not be in the situation we're in today. But pressing ahead without regard to our Nation's best interests and ignoring Congress' war powers prerogative is the wrong course.

Let us be clear: We cannot tolerate the presence of terrorists seeking to harm our Nation anywhere in the world, but we must ask ourselves if long-term occupations are the correct answer to this threat. We must also be clear in our analysis of our situation in that country. We have a partnership with a government that seems to be increasingly unstable, corrupt and almost completely incapable of maintaining control over vast stretches of the country.

We seem unable to eradicate the Taliban enemy. They scatter before our troops into lawless regions and then return once our troops leave. Without an effective government in Afghanistan, it's hard to see this pattern changing, as the local population cannot count on the Taliban ever being gone for good.

This is a costly war without an end in sight. It's a costly war to our brave soldiers and to their families. It is costly because resources desperately needed to feed the hungry, to find a way forward on health care reform, and to fix our failing schools are being redirected to an effort whose success is questionable.

Here at home, we have had precious little debate over this war. We have seen our troops' numbers rise to above those in Iraq, and yet we have no real benchmarks or goals after which we can leave. We continue to spend massive amounts of money to maintain the occupation of both countries; and worst of all, we ask our brave men and women in uniform to continue to sacrifice their lives and bodies for this war without our Nation sacrificing similarly. The least we can do to honor their service is to debate and vote properly on this floor and to ensure that our Nation is not sending them into battle without careful thought and reflection.

Let me conclude by saying that I am from New York City, the place where 9/11 took place; and so I know firsthand the devastation that this caused to my own community. Although I supported the effort to confront bin Laden and the perpetrators of that act, I cannot now, 9 years later, agree to an effort which has moved in a different direction with different goals.

To the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich), I commend you for raising this painful subject and allowing our Chamber to engage in an honest and an open debate. Your courage is beyond anything that other Members can ever think of. Our troops and our Nation deserve no less, and you've given us the chance to debate this, and I thank you.

I thank the gentleman for his time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule, and I am pleased to be able to comment on the Financial Services and General Government section of this bill, which provides for a total of $24.1 billion in discretionary appropriations. The agencies that this bill funds touch all of our lives, and the spending

has been carefully allocated to those programs where the American people will benefit the most.

In an effort to rebuild the regulatory agencies that protect investors, consumers, and taxpayers, the Securities and Exchange Commission is given a 16 percent increase over fiscal year 2009 to $1.1 billion. In addition, because we are committed to implementing important consumer protection legislation which was enacted in 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Commission receives $118 million, which is the full amount authorized, and a $13 million increase over last year.

In this conference report, we also want to make sure that capital and other assistance gets to small businesses and disadvantaged communities, not just to large businesses and the wealthy. The Small Business Administration and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund both received significant increases above fiscal year 2009.

The IRS is sufficiently funded to allow for the fair and effective collection of taxes, including resources to pursue wealthy individuals and businesses who avoid U.S. taxes by parking money in overseas tax havens. There is also more than the budget request for taxpayer services.

The Federal Judiciary receives the funding that it needs to keep up with increased costs and responsibilities. We also provide a 2 percent pay adjustment in 2010 to our hardworking Federal workers.

In this bill, we meet our obligations to the District of Columbia. I feel very strongly that Congress should not be overly involved in local affairs of the District of Columbia. Like any other citizens, D.C. residents should have the right to manage their local affairs on their own.

In this year's bill, with respect to both abortion funding and medical marijuana, we allowed the District of Columbia to make its own decisions, just like each of the 50 States. We also dropped some other outdated and unwarranted restrictions.

I would like to thank Chairman Obey for his leadership, and my ranking member, Jo Ann Emerson, for her many contributions. I would also like to recognize our staff who have worked long hours to put together this conference report. In particular, I would like to mention David Reich, Bob Bonner, Lee Price, Ed O'Kane, Ariana Sarar and Alex Jabal from our majority staff, and Alice Hogans, Dena Baron and John Martens from our minority staff. On my personal staff I would like to thank Philip Schmidt, George Sullivan, Matt Alpert and Nadine Berg.

I hope that you would support this bill. Very briefly, on the size of the bill, it's great theater to show that bill, but that's composed of bills that passed this House, some as far back as 6 months ago.

Those bills went through the committee process, the subcommittee process, the full committee process, the amendment process in committee, the amendment process on the floor. If anyone says that they haven't read that bill, it's because they didn't take time to read those five or six or seven bills that are included there which were passed about 6 months ago.

I thank the gentleman for the time, and I thank both him and the ranking member for the support.

Too often we take for granted those places where we live in terms of the landmarks that are around us, and this is a celebration of a roadway that--it was stated before--it was set up or thought of originally to link the borough of Manhattan to the Bronx, but it became much more than that. It became a cultural icon. It became part of a community. And as the city grew and up to today, in its 100th anniversary, it has become grander year by year.

We are now celebrating 100 years of the Grand Concourse, and this, as said, was designed by a French immigrant in 1894, and when it opened in 1909, it was something spectacular that had not been seen before. Those of you who have come on many occasions, I'm sure--and hopefully in the future--to visit the Bronx and to visit Yankee Stadium will know that the Grand Concourse, that 4-mile thoroughfare that stretches from 138th Street to Van Cortland in my borough, the Bronx, is really majestic in form and so full of history.

The Grand Concourse has the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the United States, and those Art Deco buildings are those that you walk into and the lobbies are so special with the artwork and the murals that were painted, especially during World War II and in the late 1930s. Those buildings are now part of the National Registry.

In accordance, the Grand Concourse itself has been designated and registered as a National Historic Place and has also been designated as a special preservation district by the city of New York.

And as was mentioned before, if you go to the Grand Concourse you will see the cottage known as Poe Cottage where Edgar Allan Poe wrote the poem ``Annabel Lee,'' and that is still standing there.

Many folks, as we mentioned today, have lived on the Grand Concourse. Of course I live on the Grand Concourse, and I certainly did not have the kind of year that Babe Ruth had in 1927, but I've had a pretty good year in this past year.

This Congress saw fit a couple years ago to designate $18 million that was used to renovate parts of the Grand Concourse and its infrastructure. That was in January of 2006. And now as part of that celebration, the Bronx Museum of the Arts is celebrating the roadway in its exhibition ``Intersections: The Grand Concourse at 100.''

What's interesting about the Grand Concourse, I believe, is that it mirrors so much of what New York City is and what this country is. Because as you travel the Concourse not only physically but through its history, you see the different groups of people who came to New York, who came to the Bronx, who settled on the Concourse, as we called it, and became part of America.

And so as we see people enjoying the park and enjoying and socializing on the Concourse, we see the different groups that have arrived from throughout the world and from my birthplace of Puerto Rico.

The Grand Concourse has, for them, fulfilled and exceeded its planners' intentions over a series of generations--occupying a central place in the hearts and minds of Bronxites past and present.

So I have come here today in support of this resolution. I would hope everyone votes for it. I thank the committee, the chairman, and the ranking member for their support.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner III. I recently sponsored a resolution congratulating the Yankees on their 27th World Series win. Since the World Series victory was dedicated to Mr. Steinbrenner, I wanted to honor his dedication to the city of New York and the Yankees. He has owned the franchise for 36 years, the longest serving owner in Yankee history.

Mr. Steinbrenner always has had a longstanding interest in coaching and sports management. He began as an athletic director and baseball/ football coach at an Ohio high school. In 1955, he became an assistant football coach for Northwestern University. The following year in 1956, he was an assistant coach for the Purdue University football team.

By 1961, he led a team of investors in the purchase of the Cleveland Pipers of the National Industrial Basketball League, which soon joined the American Basketball League, ABL. In May of 1962, Steinbrenner got the coveted young rookie, Jerry Lucas, to play for the Pipers. That same year the Pipers won the ABL Championship. Under his ownership, Steinbrenner made history by having the first African-American coach in professional basketball, John McClendon.

It was not until 1973 that Mr. Steinbrenner became part of a now historic deal when he bought the Yankees for $10 million from Columbia Broadcasting Company, CBS. When Mr. Steinbrenner took ownership of the Yankees, they were a team in decline. After the 1962 season, the glory days were winding down for the Yankees. In 1966, they finished last in the American League, which had not

happened since 1912. As owner, Mr. Steinbrenner took over a Yankees franchise that needed rebuilding from the bottom up. He accepted nothing less than victory and made sure everyone in the Yankees organization worked together towards that goal. Within 4 years, Steinbrenner had directed the team back to its winning ways by helping guide the Yankees to World Series championships in 1977 and 1978.

This winning tradition has continued over the years. Overall, under his management, the Yankees have brought home 7 world championships, 11 American League pennants, and 16 division titles. Many Yankee legends have played for the team during Steinbrenner's tenure as owner. Derek Jeter was quoted in the Associated Press after the recent World Series win as saying that, ``He's the reason we're here. First of all, we wouldn't be in this stadium if it wasn't for him. We wouldn't have this group together if it wasn't for him. This is a special moment. We all tried to win it for him. He deserves it.''

There is no question that George Steinbrenner has changed and modernized major league baseball and professional sports. A Yankees franchise that sold for $10 million in 1973 has grown to a current value of $1.5 billion under Steinbrenner's leadership.

Mr. Steinbrenner is also a dedicated and generous philanthropist. He established the Gold Shield Foundation in Tampa Bay and the Silver Shield Foundation in New York City, both of which financially support families of fallen police officers. Among many other endeavors, he has donated funds to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ohio State, the University of Florida, and most notably, given $1 million to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund at Virginia Tech University. These are just a few of his many efforts to assist other organizations.

Although Mr. Steinbrenner was not in attendance at the 27th Yankee World Championship, his legacy was an important part of the franchise's victory. The message displayed over the field on that November night says it all: ``Boss this is for you!''

Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Mr. Steinbrenner for his long dedication towards the City of New York, my borough of the Bronx, and the great success that he has brought to the New York Yankees organization.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 110th anniversary of the Bronx Zoo, a milestone in the cultural history of New York City. The Bronx Zoo opened its doors on November 8, 1899, and is the largest metropolitan zoo in the country with approximately 4 million visitors annually and featuring 6,000 animals and 600 species.

The Bronx Zoo continues to win awards for its world class exhibits and is well known for creating naturalistic habitats. Chief among them is the Congo Gorilla Forest which is one of the zoo's most popular exhibits. Spanning more than 6\1/2\ acres, the exhibit's main attraction is the western lowland gorillas, making up the species largest breeding group in all of the Americas. The Gorilla Forest is the largest man made rainforest in the world. The rain forest simulation gives visitors the chance to experience the Congo as if they were there. Along with the lowland gorillas, the exhibit is home to white bearded debrazza monkeys, okapis and red river hogs. Since the opening of the exhibit, it has had 7 million visitors. The exhibit fees go to help conservation efforts in Africa which have helped 18 National Parks in such countries as Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Gabon.

From the zoo grounds, hundreds of conservationists work every day hand-in-hand with more than 3,000 employees located in 65 developing countries around the world. The zoo's first conservation achievement was here in the United States of America, where, by 1905, uncontrolled hunting had reduced the great herds of bison to fewer than 1,000 animals. Theodore Roosevelt, along with William Hornaday, the Bronx Zoo's first director, were founding members of the American Bison Society, ABS, an organization formed at the Bronx Zoo to preserve this icon of the American prairies. In 1907, the Bronx Zoo sent a group of zoo-born bison to Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Montana to help reestablish the species throughout the plains. Along with its broad conservation efforts, the Bronx Zoo's award winning exhibits and pioneering research has garnered world recognition.

In the Bronx, the zoo's impact is felt in yet another way. In addition to being a cultural staple and headquarters for an international conservation organization, it is an economic cornerstone in the Bronx. On average, the Bronx Zoo employs more than 750 full-time staff per year and is the largest employer of youth in the borough, providing employment opportunities, job skills training, and scholarship opportunities for more than 700 teenagers each year. Two years ago, the Bronx Zoo opened the first New York City public school focused on wildlife conservation. At the school, children can learn math, sciences, history, and arts by interacting with the zoo's animals and experts.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to recognize the Bronx Zoo on its 110th anniversary and to applaud the institution for its efforts in leading the world in wildlife conservation as well as bringing joy to the millions of visitors who have walked through its gates.

I thank the gentleman. I thank the ranking member for his kindness.

I hope, Madam Speaker, that the rules can be slightly bent to allow this wonderful hat to sit by me as I speak, but we do bring other charts and other things to the House floor.

I have to tell you, I am one of those Yankee fans who doesn't take anything for granted, so I was nervous during these games and the playoffs.

I have proudly worn that hat on my head for many years, and I promise not to wear it during the debate, of course, out of respect for the House, which I am proud to be a Member of.

Having said that, I am not one of those Yankee fans, if there are any, who thinks we are going to win all the time. I am very nervous. I was nervous with the Minnesota Twins; I was nervous with the Angels. I was very nervous with the talented Phillies.

But that does not compare to the nervousness I felt yesterday when I introduced the resolution and wondered if we could get it on the House floor before we left this weekend and before we did health care. But thanks to the chairman and the ranking member and the leadership, here it is.

I rise to pay tribute to the Yankees on their 27th World Series championship. As the chairman has said, they are the most successful franchise in sports history. Congratulations especially should go to the Phillies, the Philadelphia Phillies, a fine team, world champions prior to this year, who repeated their championship in the National League and gave the Yankees a very tough time. They're a successful team, and I suspect they will be back next year when I'm sure they will play the Yankees again in the World Series.

I am very proud to be the Congressman who represents the Yankee Stadium area. In fact, I can tell when the Yankees are doing well by just opening my window and hearing the sound of a crowd. Whenever you hear the crowd--I live that close to the stadium--you know the Yankees have scored a run or gotten a big hit.

The Yankees have been a tradition in the neighborhood and have been a tradition in sports history. What's interesting about it is that, as you know, this year they opened up a new stadium and they won the World Series in that stadium. My understanding also is that they won the first World Series they played in the old stadium in 1923, The House That Ruth Built. So they move, but they still keep their winning tradition.

They are, indeed, the Bronx Bombers, and they've become a sign of perfection, of teamwork. And much has been said throughout the years about how the Yankees played and how they got along or at times didn't get along, and everyone says that this team came together and played as a true organization and a true institution.

They have been in the World Series an astonishing, an amazing 40 times and they have won 27 of those 40 times. Professional baseball is a few years over 100 years old, and 40 percent of the time one team was in that appearance. In 2009, they won 103 games. Then they went on to defeat the Twins and defeat the Angels, and then finally the very talented Phillies. They put it all together.

And they put it all together as they continue to build on that tradition. We hear about Ruth and Gehrig; we hear about DiMaggio and Mantle and Berra, and the other players of the 1950s. Then we know that there was that period with Reggie Jackson, and the wonderful years with Bernie Williams and the rest of the team. And now we have Jeter and we have Posada and we have Pettitte and we have Mariano. And of course the Yankees in many ways also do great things beyond New York.

The MVP, Hideki Matsui, my understanding was, practically shut down the great country of Japan as they watched the game on TV. Little did they know that their son would become the MVP by having a fabulous last game with three hits and six RBIs.

It was, indeed, a wonderful World Series. I understand from my relatives in Puerto Rico that everybody was glued to the TV set to see the Yankees, not only to see the Yankees, but then to see how Jorge Posada would do. In the Dominican Republic, in the Dominican neighborhoods in New York, people were out in the street watching just to see what Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera and others were doing.

So you see, it goes beyond baseball. It is a tradition, and now it has expanded globally. And it is only fitting that the most successful team in baseball would be part of this expansion of baseball throughout the world.

So my congratulations go to the Yankees. We will be here today doing the work we have to do. At 11 a.m., in Mr. Towns' great city and mine, the Yankees will have a ticker tape parade along the Canyon of Heroes. After that, they will go to city hall at 1 o'clock where every other elected official except Members of Congress will be there taking pictures with the Yankees.

So that is one of the reasons why we are here today, to do our part in celebrating this great team; to do our part in celebrating their home in the Bronx, New York; to do our part in saying that, yes, we have problems in this country; yes, we have serious debate; yes, we have difficulties, but we can take some time to celebrate something that is beautiful, something that we can come together on.

Even Boston Red Sox fans, I'm sure, are celebrating the Yankee victory--well, I try to always tell the truth, but every so often I bend it a little bit.

Ladies and gentlemen, and to the leadership, thank you very much for putting this resolution on the floor. Thank you for this opportunity to honor our beloved Yankees. Congratulations to the Yankee management, to the Steinbrenner family; to my friend, Randy Levine; to Joe Girardi; and to all the Yankees that made this the winning season it has been. Congratulations. Viva los Yankees. Thank you.

I thank the gentleman.

I understand what the other side is trying to do. I don't think the American people have a problem with the fact that we pause momentarily in our very serious work to celebrate something positive that is happening in our country; just the way we pause when something terrible happens, a tragedy, we pause to take time out.

I make no excuses about the fact that this is a resolution I brought to the floor and that I sponsored this resolution. But I really think it's a shame that we would take this moment to use it to attack on a partisan issue other issues.

The New York Yankees won the World Series. Americans love sports. Americans celebrate success, and I am positive that there is not a single American in this country, except for some in this House, who would think that what we are doing today is wrong.

This weekend we will deal with the biggest issue of our time. For this moment, for these 20 minutes of this whole week, we take to celebrate the American pastime, baseball and its global implications in bringing so many people together.

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