Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for their great leadership and their sensitivity in marshaling this piece of legislation to the floor.

I would like to also thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for managing this piece of legislation; and I would like to thank my colleague and friend from the area that we both represent, Long Beach, for joining in this morning in presenting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on my resolution, House Concurrent Resolution 83, a bill honoring the victims of the Cambodian genocide. Between April, 1975, and January, 1979, up to 3 million Cambodians were deliberately and systematically killed in what later became known as the Killing Fields. Many more were tortured, starved, and brainwashed but survived this horrific period in history.

In 1975, Pol Pot led the communist guerilla group, the Khmer Rouge, in a large-scale insurgency that resulted in the removal of millions of Cambodians from their homes and forced them into brutal labor camps. Traditional Khmer culture and society were systematically destroyed. Temples, schools, hospitals, and other buildings were shattered. Families were separated in an attempt by the Khmer Rouge to prevent family formation. Many were punished or killed for education, wealth or sophistication. Doctors, nurses, clergy, teachers, business owners, artisans, city dwellers and even those who wore glasses were singled out for execution since they were seen as bourgeois or contaminated with western influence.

The Khmer Rouge maintained control by mass public torture, executions, and dismantling the social order. Men, women and children were sent to labor camps and forced to do strenuous farm work. They were starved, with little food and contaminated drinking water. Famine and disease became epidemic, while medicine and medical care were nonexistent.

When the Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown in 1979, thousands of Cambodians fled on foot to refugee camps on the Thai border. While war continued to rage in their homeland, they waited for up to 12 years to be resettled in a third country such as the United States. From the refugee camps in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, approximately 145,000 Cambodians made their way to the United States between 1975 and 1999.

The majority of Cambodians arrived in the early 1980s. With the assistance of the Federal Government, State, local and voluntary agencies, Cambodians were resettled in communities across the country. Mutual assistance associations organized by previously resettled southeast Asian refugees helped these newcomers by providing essential social, physiological, cultural, educational and economic services.

I am grateful for the work that these organizations have done to help assimilate the many Cambodians that reside in my district and around this country. The United Cambodian Community, the Khmer Parent Association, the Family and Good Health Association, and the Cambodian Chamber of Congress all have played an important role in trying to help these refugees find their way and to help them overcome the horrendous experiences that they had in their homeland.

The Cambodian culture and contributions have enriched the American landscape. According to U.S. census figures, there are 176,148 Cambodians currently living in the United States, including almost 100,000 in the City of Long Beach. I am proud that the largest Cambodian population in the United States resides in my district.

Despite the tremendous loss of family members, homes, and even parts of their heritage, Cambodians have shown enormous resiliency. They continue in their struggle to fully assimilate themselves into the fabric of our society.

Unfortunately, some Cambodian refugees still suffer severe emotional trauma from the cruelties experienced under the Khmer Rouge. An article in The New York Times this past Sunday noted the difficulty and the adjustment that Cambodian refugees have had to make from forced labor to a free society. We must continue to help Cambodian refugees share in the American Dream. Passage of this measure is a start in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the Cambodian genocide.

Mr. Speaker, I urge swift passage of this resolution paying tribute to the victims of the Cambodian genocide; and I thank the chairman, the ranking member, and all who will partake in this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, let me first thank my chairman and ranking member, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for their constant sensitivity on issues that are critical to many members and all Members of this House. I am so happy and honored to serve on the committee with both of these giants who share so much of their leadership and reflect their leadership in the work that they do.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the former Congressman J.C. Watts for their initiation of this well-deserved project and for their great leadership and sensitivity in bringing this to the House.

Throughout United States history, African Americans have made significant contributions in terms of building up the cultural, business, academic, and civic institutions of this Nation. Without the input of African Americans into the moral, spiritual and political aspects of American life, this country would be a much different place.

In that spirit, I am here to offer my wholehearted support as a cosponsor of H.R. 3491, calling for the creation of a museum devoted to celebrating the history of African Americans in this Nation. The intent of this museum will be to feature the many highlights of African American life in this country from the time of slavery through the era of Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, to present-day events.

Our young people of all backgrounds, as well as those most recently arrived in the United States from other parts of the world, must be made aware of the rich traditions added by African Americans to all facets of American life. There are multitalented individuals of African American and other ancestries waiting for approval of this museum's construction to start so that they can begin to shape the content of the museum's offering for the public to enjoy.

There has been much discussion regarding the potential location of the museum. I have the utmost faith that we as a Congress can pass this long-overdue legislation and agree upon a site that will most ably honor the legacy of African Americans while providing the best possible option in terms of a location.

For 15 years, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) has continuously pushed for the construction of a museum recognizing the extraordinary history and achievements of African Americans. Let us reward his perseverance by passing this bill, H.R. 3491, so the business of building this museum can get underway.

I also want to commend the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton), the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Wicker), and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette), along with Senators Brownback and Dodd, as well as many others for the leadership and vision they have shown in working to make this African American museum a reality.

It is time now, Mr. Speaker, that we move forward with the approval of this legislation and allow the African American museum to be witness in the honor of all African Americans past, present, and those generations yet unborn.

Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of this Congress, legislation that I recently introduced.

The Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance is legislation that addresses some of our nation's most pressing transportation and economic needs.

this is the problem

How freight moves through our communities is an important issue with far reaching implications. Goods movement is the driving force of our nation's economy. This is a state issue, a Federal issue and it is an issue that directly affects the communities in which we live.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, $7.4 trillion in goods were moved on the nation's highway system in 1998, directly employing 10 million people.

In 2000, $706 billion in international merchandise trade flowed through U.S. Seaports and $646 billion was handled by our Railroads.

The volume of goods is projected to grow nationally by 67 percent over the next two decades.

This tremendous growth in international trade will continue to place an increasingly heavy burden on our nation's seaports, trade corridors, highways and rail lines.

Traffic congestion, delays, accidents, and freight transportation costs have increased as a result.

On a human level--our citizens are spending more and more time stuck in traffic instead of at home with their families.

this is the history

Over the past 30 years our population has grown, our international trade has increased and our congestion has worsened.

For example, in 1970, trade was 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Today, it is over 25 percent.

Since 1970 the population of the U.S. has grown by 40 percent. At the same time, the number of registered vehicles has increased by 100 percent while our road capacity has increased by only 6 percent.

By the year 2020, shipment of containerized cargo moving in and out of the United States will increase by more than 350 percent.

By the year 2020, total domestic tonnage of freight carried by all U.S. freight systems will increase by at least 67 percent and international trade will increase by nearly 100 percent.

The transportation reauthorization bill is the perfect opportunity for us to address these pressing transportation infrastructure needs.

TEA-21 began to address Goods Movement issues with the creation of the Borders and Corridors Program.

But we need to take it further during this reauthorization bill.

Back in 1998 when the Borders and Corridors program was created in TEA-21, the intent was to create a discretionary program that provided federal funding for transportation projects and initiatives that supported, enhanced and helped the movement of goods and economic development through the gateway and trade corridors in this country.

The program provided $140 million a year. During the first 3 years the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) received over $2 billion in grant requests per year.

After the third year, the entire Borders and Corridors program had been earmarked.

Aside from the fact that the authorized amount of $140 million per year was far too low to meet our Nation's infrastructure needs, the earmarking of this program has proved problematic.

It has prevented communities and regions from developing comprehensive programs and plans that addresses goods movement issues of our transportation infrastructure.

We must have a dedicated source of funding to ensure that goods movement and projects of economic significance can be built and that these projects contribute to the overall efficiency of the national transportation infrastructure.

As we continue the dialog of reauthorizing the transportation bill, the Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance needs to be a part of that conversation.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment that will join with the congresswoman from California, along with the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Hoekstra), and offering this amendment would direct the board of directors of Federal Prison Industries to increase its maximum rate of pay to inmates participating in its programs.

Specifically, our amendment would require the FPI board to increase the maximum wage that an inmate participating in its programs could receive, half the current Federal minimum wage by September 30, 2004. Our amendment also requires that the FPI board would increase the maximum wage rate for inmates in the program to a full Federal minimum wage by September 30, 2009.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment was offered for two very important reasons. First and foremost, individuals who are working in any type of environment deserve a fair and decent wage. Currently, inmates participating in the Federal Prison Industries program earn anywhere from 25 cents per hour to just over $1 per hour. So, Mr. Chairman, I believe it is unfair to ask any person, including those who are incarcerated, to work for wages that are abysmally low. Raising inmate wages, I believe, will give these individuals a desperately needed boost to their self-esteem and confidence as they seek to rehabilitate themselves while they finish their sentences and return to society as contributing members.

Raising the hourly wages of these inmates has additional benefits. As an inmate earns more, increased deductions from their wages can be used to pay applicable State, local and Federal taxes, fines and restitution pursuant to court costs, and contribute to a fund in the inmate's name to help them assimilate back into society once the inmate is released.

Secondly, the Committee on Small Business, Subcommittee on Tax, Finance and Exports and the Subcommittee on Workforce, Empowerment, and Government Programs held a joint hearing October 1, 2003, to hear firsthand how FPI maintains a competitive advantage in the Federal contracting market and how FPI and small businesses can compete on an even playing field.

I do feel that these amendments joined together will be a win-win for those who we are trying to help in rehabilitation and to go back into society ready for work and for assimilating into that society.

Mr. Chairman, I ask that all Members support the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of this Congress, legislation that I recently introduced. The Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance is legislation that addresses some of our Nation's most pressing transportation and economic needs.

This is the problem:

How freight moves through our communities is an important issue with far reaching implications. Goods movement is the driving force of our Nation's economy. This is a State issue, a Federal issue and it is an issue that directly affects the communities in which we live.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, $7.4 trillion in goods were moved on the Nation's highway system in 1998, directly employing 10 million people. In 2000, $706 billion in international merchandise trade flowed through U.S. seaports and $646 billion was handled by our railroads.

The volume of goods is projected to grow nationally by 67 percent over the next two decades. This tremendous growth in international trade will continue to place an increasingly heavy burden on our Nation's seaports, trade corridors, highways and rail lines. Traffic congestion, delays, accidents, and freight transportation costs have increased as a result. On a human level--our citizens are spending more and more time stuck in traffic instead of at home with their families.

This is the history:

Over the past 30 years our population has grown, our international trade has increased and our congestion has worsened. For example, in 1970, trade was 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). Today, it is over 25 percent. Since 1970 the population of the U.S. has grown by 40 percent. At the same time, the number of registered vehicles has increased by 100 percent while our road capacity has increased by only 6 percent!

By the year 2020, shipment of containerized cargo moving in and out of the U.S. will increase by more than 350 percent.

By the year 2020, total domestic tonnage of freight carried by all U.S. freight systems will increase by at least 67 percent and international trade will increase by nearly 100 percent.

The transportation reauthorization bill is the perfect opportunity for us to address these pressing transportation infrastructure needs. TEA-21 began to address Goods Movement issues with the creation of the Borders and Corridors Program. But we need to take this need further during this reauthorization bill.

Funding for the Borders and Corridors program was far from adequate. This new legislation encourages communities and regions to develop comprehensive programs and plans that address the goods movement issues of our transportation infrastructure.

This legislation recognizes that we must have a dedicated source of funding to ensure that goods movement and projects of economic significance can be built and that these projects contribute to the overall efficiency of the national transportation infrastructure. As we continue the dialog of reauthorizing the transportation bill, the Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance needs to be a part of that conversation.

This is what we must do:

Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance will do the following: It will provide $3 billion per year to a Goods Movement Program.

This legislation separates the Borders and Corridors Program and creates one strong Corridor and Gateway Program. Corridor projects represented 95 percent of the project requests for the Borders and Corridors program.

My legislation focuses our resources on projects and initiatives that promote the safe, secure and efficient mobility of goods and on the immediate and long-term needs of our transportation infrastructure.

This legislation combines and enhances elements of two highly successful transportation programs. This program uses the criteria from the Corridors program and combines it with the fiscal responsibility of the full funding grant agreement of the transit New Starts Program.

Specifically, this program provides $1.5 billion a year, $9 billion over the life of the reauthorization bill for local communities, States and the Federal Government to plan and build Goods Movement projects. These projects will ultimately enhance local, regional, and State economies, and of course, the national economy.

Finally, $1.5 billion a year or $9 billion over the life of the reauthorization bill will be dedicated to funding projects of National Economic Significance.

Throughout the country there are national bottlenecks that congest our communities and slow our national economy down. As we all know from experience, if there is a bottleneck on the highway, traffic several miles away can be affected.

If the type of gridlock that I just described happens and goes unchecked, it will affect an entire region and the entire country and ultimately our economy and the livability of our communities.

These are projects located throughout the country that are ``ready to go'' major investments in the national transportation infrastructure. By funding these projects we will be stimulating the national economy while investing in the long-term health of our national transportation infrastructure.

This legislation, like the entire transportation reauthorization bill, is an economic stimulus package. For every billion dollars invested in public transportation infrastructure, 47,000 jobs are created.

I ask my colleagues to strongly support this legislation as part of the transportation reauthorization bill. Join me and support The Goods Movement Projects of National Economic Significance.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. I would like to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis), and also the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), for bringing forth this resolution that is just so timely. To my colleague and friend who just spoke, the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), our best regards to him because we know that his district was extremely devastated, including the loss of his home; and we are with him on whatever he needs us to be with him on.

I rise today, Mr. Speaker, in support of H. Res. 425. As a Representative from Southern California and a resident of Los Angeles County, I want to thank those brave men and women who are firefighters and public servants who have worked so hard to put out those fires that have devastated Southern California. They are truly our heroes. We thank them so much.

As I stand here today, our firefighters continue to make excellent progress towards containing four major fires involving over 271,000 acres of State, Federal, and private lands. Three of these fires involve national forest lands. Six other fires totaling an additional 473,778 acres have been contained. Three more fires are expected to be fully contained by the end of the week.

The devastation of these wild fires in Southern California is unprecedented, Mr. Speaker. To date, the Forest Service wild fire cost is $45 million. The total cost of wild fires is $92 million, which represents all fires both contained and active.

I look forward to working with Congress and with the administration, and we thank the President for being out there this week to look at the devastation and to continue to provide more emergency relief to California in the near future. We will work together to get our State, our region, and our citizens back on their feet.

Madam Chairman, I rise to express my strong support for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act (H.R. 2443).

Specifically, I want to thank the chairman and Ranking Member Filner for including my amendment in the manager's amendment.

My amendment will provide the Department of Homeland Security the authority to issue port security grants, by amending the Maritime Transportation Security Act.

This is a simple act, but I believe it will go a long way in clarifying the responsibility of issuing port security grants in a timely, predictable and efficient manner.

In November 2002, when the Maritime Transportation Security Act passed this House, the Department of Homeland Security had not yet been created.

Since the beginning of the 108th Congress we have worked to iron out the kinks that go with creating a new federal agency such as the Department of Homeland Security. This is, yet, another wrinkle that I hope has been ironed out.

As a representative from Long Beach, the home of the largest port complex in the country and third largest port complex in the world, we in southern California, as well as other port cities around the country, want to know where the responsibility for issuing port security grants lies.

By clarifying the authority of issuing port security grants it is my hope that we can begin to define the federal role in port security.

Specifically, from this point on, we need to provide more funding for port security and we need to establish a dedicated stream of funding for port security.

Finally, I believe, for the large port security projects, we need to provide the authority for multi-year grants so that our ports and local governments can adequately plan to build their new projects.

In closing I want to reiterate my support for this bill and look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the committee on these very important issues.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of both the subcommittee and the full committee for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2115, this FAA reauthorization bill conference report.

To begin with, I am deeply concerned that the Democratic members were not included in this conference committee. Members from both sides of the aisle and in both Chambers of Congress have worked too hard on this aviation reauthorization bill to have had it stalled over disputes that can be rectified through consensus.

Secondly, the language that was struck from section 230 will actually make it easier for the privatization of air traffic control positions. Ultimately, when we address the future of our national air traffic controllers, I firmly believe that we need to view it through the scope of safety and security. No amount of cost-saving can

come close to substituting for the safety and security of our national aviation system and infrastructure.

This is not an administrative shell game, Mr. Speaker, nor should we treat it as such. At risk is the American flying public.

In 2002, 612 million people boarded U.S. carriers, serving both domestic and international flights. No event illustrates the importance and the grave necessity of ensuring that we have a skilled air traffic control network than the events of 9-11. On that horrific day, as Americans waited for the next tragic event to unfold, our Nation's air traffic controllers calmly landed almost 5,000 planes in 2 hours without any operational incidents or errors. This incredible feat was due to the skill and ultimate professionalism of our Nation's air traffic controllers.

As a senior member representing California on the Subcommittee on Aviation, I have local concerns as well. Specifically, Southern California is no ordinary region. We are the most populous region in the country. The congestion on the highways of Southern California is legendary.

Mr. Speaker, let us oppose this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Today I am offering an amendment that directs $50 million from the Operation and Maintenance Defense-Wide account to the Family Advocacy program that is administered by the Defense Department. This amendment addresses the fundamental needs that will be facing our returning military personnel and their families when they return home from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Family Advocacy program provides support services to families that are transitioning from the frontline to the home front. This additional $50 million in funding will enable military families to get personal and marriage counseling which will work to reduce the incidence of domestic violence and suicide among our military personnel.

As we are all aware, Mr. Chairman, domestic violence occurs within all groups and levels of society. However, the military presents families with particular challenges not normally found in civilian society.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman so much.

Mr. Chairman, I need not say anymore. I appreciate the other side accepting this.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas for yielding me this time, and I stand in accord with what the gentlewoman from Texas has said.

It is critical, Mr. Chairman, that we recognize the importance or the violation of human rights in Iraq and the women's rights in Afghanistan. For years, I have worked with a lot of Members of the House in working on women's rights in Afghanistan and ensuring that they have more of a governance, more education, and the same as in Iraq. So I urge everyone to support the gentlewoman's amendment.

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honor for me to speak in favor of H.R. 1821 to award Dr. Dorothy Height the Congressional Gold Medal. During the 107th session, I introduced H. Res. 55 declaring a day acknowledging all of Dr. Height's stellar achievements, and this legislation resulted in over one hundred mayors across this country submitting proclamations to Dr. Height. We cannot celebrate Dr. Height and her illustrious accomplishments enough. By awarding her the Congressional Gold Medal, we are noting a life well lived by a dynamic woman who at one time simultaneously held leadership positions with the YWCA, the National Council of Negro Women and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Dr. Height became known as the only woman among the ``big six'' group of civil rights leaders including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young and A. Phillip Randolph.

Always a pioneer on behalf of women's and civil rights overall, Dr. Height became as well known abroad as she is here in the United States for her efforts to build coalitions among women internationally. We revere Dr. Height for advancing the National Council of Negro Women's agenda in terms of developing model programs in the areas of teen parenting, eradicating hunger, and career education. Dr. Height has always advocated for the expansion of access and opportunities for poor and marginalized people everywhere.

In 1989, President Reagan recognized Dr. Height's contributions to society by awarding her the Citizens Medal award for distinguished service to the nation, and she has also earned more than 50 honors from local, state and national organizations. Her life is a living testimony to the quest for an equitable society for all.

Madam Speaker, tonight I am introducing a resolution to commemorate the life of the very talented Althea Gibson. Miss Althea Gibson represents an honorable and indelible mark on the history of America and the history of African Americans.

On this day, we seek to commemorate the life and achievements of Althea Gibson, a pioneer who left an unforgettable mark on sports as she broke the color barrier in tennis in America in the 1950s and helped pave the way for future generations of black athletes.

On Sunday, September 28, Miss Gibson died at the age of 76. Though the general public had largely forgotten her name in sports, Althea Gibson will always be a giant in sports history. The eldest of five children, Miss Gibson was raised in the Harlem section of New York City. She began studying tennis privately through the support of friends while furthering her education by attending Florida A&M University where she graduated in 1953.

Althea Gibson was the first black player on the Ladies Professional Golfers Association tour. She was a self-described born athlete who broke racial barriers not only in tennis but also in the Ladies Professional Golf Association. In a capstone to her career, she toured with the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team after retiring from tennis.

Miss Gibson won the American Tennis Association's Women's Singles Tournament 10 years in a row. However, tennis tournaments outside the ATA remained closed to her until 1950. In that year, white tennis player Alice Marble wrote an article in American Lawn Tennis magazine, noting that this excellent player was not able to participate in the better-known championships for no other reason that bigotry.

So later that year, Althea Gibson entered the Forest Hills, New York, national grass court championship, the first African American player of either sex to be allowed to enter. In 1950, Gibson became the first black player to compete in the U.S. tennis championships, and she played at Wimbledon in 1951. She captured the Wimbledon and U.S. championships in 1957 and 1958, and also won the French Open, and three Wimbledon doubles titles from 1956 through 1958. Her presence helped pave the way for later stars, such as Arthur Ashe, Venus and Serena Williams, and, of course, Tiger Woods.

On this day, let us all commemorate Miss Althea Gibson's fighting spirit and championship efforts. Miss Gibson came from the depths of racism and overcame much adversity. She proved as much as anyone that desire can beat the burdens of racism.

In closing, I would like to end with a quote from Miss Gibson: ``In sports, you simply aren't considered a real champion until you have defended your title successfully. Winning it once can be a fluke; winning it twice proves you are the best.'' Today, we would like to commemorate Althea Gibson, truly one of the best.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of the Bob Hope Post Office Building Designation Act (H.R. 3011). First I would like to thank my colleagues Adam Schiff and Howard Berman for introducing this bill.

On Sunday, July 27, 2003, the world lost one of its most beloved comic talents when Bob Hope died of pneumonia in Taluca Lake, CA. He was 100.

Though he was born in England and he grew up in Cleveland, OH, Bob Hope will always be a Californian. He expressed the California spirit that has captivated not only this country, but also the rest of the world in the century in which he lived.

Witty, self reliant, innovative and an entrepreneur wrapped together with impeccable timing, Bob Hope spoke to Americans on many levels. He made us laugh, he made us think and most importantly--he made us proud to be Americans.

Bob Hope's accomplishments in entertainment are well documented.

We will miss Bob Hope the entertainer, but during times like these, when every morning we are abruptly reminded of the conflict in Iraq and the sacrifices of American men and women in the Middle East, we desperately miss Bob Hope the American ambassador of good will, humanity and humor.

His contribution to our military will be irreplaceable. It was his gestures that have made the greatest impact to our troops, to our Nation and to all our citizens that applauded him as he entertained our troops overseas.

His decades of support to our troops, his presence oversees, made us all feel better

back home. We couldn't be there, but Bob Hope was. He knew the sacrifices our men and women made and he let our brave men and women know that we supported them back home.

Bob Hope is already missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the temporary extension of TEA-21 if it ultimately produces a robust and substantive six-year reauthorization bill.

However, there are some concerns regarding the 5-month extension of

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Water Resources Development Act of 2003. This legislation is a long time coming.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2003 authorizes $4 billion dollars worth of new water projects throughout the United States.

Our environmental infrastructure is a vital backdrop to our communities. Congress must continue to work to provide the guidance and resources to the communities across the country that are working to preserve and enhance their environmental infrastructure.

The Water Resources Development Act of 2003 will provide our communities and our Nation with an updated blueprint of the major environmental infrastructure projects that must be undertaken.

Members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, of which I am proud to serve on, and specifically the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee have worked diligently for the past 2 years to produce a bill that works toward addressing our Nation's mounting environmental infrastructure needs. I would like to applaud the work of Ranking Member Costello of the Water Resources and Environment subcommittee for his support and commitment to seeing this legislation through. This legislation is a product of bipartisanship in its purest form.

As all of us are aware, our communities and our Nation must work together to ensure a healthy, productive and efficient environmental infrastructure.

In southern California, where water is quickly becoming a precious commodity, our region is anxious to begin to repair our water infrastructure.

In addition, the Water Resources Development Act of 2003 includes provisions that will enhance dredging and local Federal matches for these projects. Specifically, this bill will provide the Port of Los Angeles the ability to apply in-kind credits to the local match, thereby stretching the impact of precious local funds. This language modifies the project for navigation, Los Angeles Harbor, to direct the Secretary to provide credit for the cost of planning and design work performed by the non-Federal interest.

Finally, this bill is a good first step in providing for our environmental infrastructure and reaffirming our commitment to the American people that the environmental infrastructure in which they live is healthy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an important issue for many working families in this country--access to affordable childcare.

As all parents know, quality childcare is very hard to find, and it is also very expensive. It is especially expensive for families with low and moderate incomes. According to the Children's Defense Fund, childcare for a four-year-old child averages between $4,000 and $6,000 per year in cities and states around the nation.

With so many families comprised of two parents who are working, the need for childcare has increased dramatically over the last few years, and we as a nation need to ensure that the children of these hardworking Americans have a safe, reliable, and moderately priced place to learn and grow.

Mr. Speaker, it is for these reasons that I am pleased to introduce today, with over twenty-five of my colleagues, the ``Child Care Lending Pilot Act of 2003.'' This legislation will create a three-year pilot program that allows small, non-profit childcare businesses to access financing through the Small Business Administration's Certified Development Company (CDC)/504 loan program.

As a Ranking Member of the House Committee on Small Business, I believe the SBA's 504 loan program is the perfect vehicle to expand the availability of affordable, quality childcare in this country.

Currently, only for-profit childcare businesses are eligible for 504 loans, yet in many states, the majority of childcare is delivered through nonprofit providers. In addition, non-profits are often the only daycare providers in low-income communities.

Mr. Speaker, The Child Care Lending Pilot Act will provide licensed nonprofit childcare providers access to desperately needed funding to start new centers with loan dollars that may not ordinarily be available without the incentive of a guarantee from the SBA.

The 504 program is an appropriate vehicle for this initiative because it was created to spur economic development and rebuild communities.

Financing through the 504 program will encourage the establishment and viability of childcare businesses because the program requires the borrower to only put down between 10-20 percent of the loan, with fixed interest rates for up to 20 years.

Furthermore, the borrowers and lenders who participate in the 504 program cover the costs through program fees, which means there is no appropriation required to cover these loans.

Mr. Speaker, our children, all of our, children, deserve the same quality of care no matter where they live, and I know that this legislation is a strong step in leveling the playing field for parents in low-income communities who simply wish the best for their children.

I hope that my colleagues would support this effort, and ensure that affordable childcare is available to all families.