Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 209, I was unavoidably detained on H.R. 4359, Child Credit Preservation and Expansion Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I respectfully rise during this moment of silence to honor and acknowledge members of the armed forces from my district, Missouri's Fifth, and commend those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to our grateful nation for their valor, strength and commitment. I also commend those six Missouri soldiers injured while serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan who are being treated at the VA Hospital in Kansas City. These courageous men have performed admirably and served unconditionally on behalf of our country. I extend to them my deepest respect and gratitude.

I was honored to visit Private Phillip Ramsey of Kansas City on several occasions at Walter Reed Hospital. Private Ramsey suffered injuries this past September to his left arm and right leg when an explosive device hit

his convoy en route between Tikrit and Baghdad, Iraq. He has exemplified courage and strength in his service to our nation and was awarded the Purple Heart and promoted to Specialist for his bravery. He is now back in Kansas City after spending eight months in recovery at Walter Reed Hospital and continues his service in the military. He has made his family and our country proud.

Army Spc. Joel L. Bertoldie of Independence, Mo. was killed on July 18, 2003 when his vehicle ran over an explosive in Fallujah, Iraq. I was privileged to present his family with a flag flown over the Capitol in his honor, and to join them at his memorial service to pay tribute to a fine son, father and citizen. A former Truman high school student, Specialist Bertoldie served honorably in Operation Iraqi Freedom and was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, National Defense Service Ribbon and Good Conduct Medal for his valor. His spirit will live on in his son, and his memory will inspire all those whose lives he touched.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with my colleagues to praise these heroic soldiers and the sacrifices they have made. God bless them and God bless our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a champion of the arts, Jacqueline Z. Davis, who will receive the insignia of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from Jean- Rene Gehan, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy, in a ceremony this evening at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, where she has served with distinction as Executive Director for the past four years. Ms. Davis' vision for the performing arts has made a global impact. The Chevalier recognizes her outstanding career and her contribution to the culture of our two great nations.

The Chevalier is a distinguished honor reserved for a select few deemed by the French Minister of Culture and Communication to have made groundbreaking contributions to the arts in France and throughout the world. For nearly 25 years, Ms. Davis has been a devoted advocate of the performing arts and a leader in her field. As Executive Director of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, she has launched compelling exhibitions and performances representing cultures around the world and has been instrumental in the renovation of the Library's new building at Lincoln Center, a project that included the creation of a grand, light filled reading room, several loft exhibition galleries and state of the art audiovisual stations that have revolutionized the educational experience.

Ms. Davis has a profound understanding of the history, art and culture of France influenced by her numerous visits and her time spent there as a student at L' Institut Catholique in Paris, where she received a Certificats Des Etudes De La Langue Francaise. Her passion for the arts is visible in the many performances and exhibits produced under her leadership, earning her the respect of her colleagues by her unwavering dedication to preservation of the performing arts. Upon Ms. Davis' appointment to the position of Executive Director of the Performing Arts Library, Library President Paul LeClerc noted ``After an exhaustive national search, I am delighted that . . . Jacqueline Davis will head one of the New York Public Library's greatest collections. She has had a brilliant career to date in performing arts administration, and she will be a superb addition to the Library's leadership.'' Tonight the world of arts and letters will acknowledge her contributions to the arts and to the Library as she is awarded The Chevalier.

Prior to her appointment at the Library of the Performing Arts, Jacqueline served as Executive Director of the Lied Center at the University of Kansas, one of the leading university arts presenters in the nation. In 1994, she received the Governor's Arts Award for ``outstanding contribution to the excellence, growth, support and availability of the arts in Kansas.'' Ms. Davis has served on the boards of Chamber Music America, Dance USA and the American Arts Alliance, as President of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters and been a frequent panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and Arts International. She was named one of 11 Outstanding Presenters in the United States through a study commissioned by Pew Charitable Trusts. She currently serves on the American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards Nominating Committee.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in paying tribute to Jacqueline Davis, recipient of the 2004 Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Her lifelong passion for the arts (des arts) and letters (et des lettres) has made an impact on her family, her friends, and all those whose lives she has touched and those whose future will be enhanced by her lifelong commitment to furthering artistic excellence recognized by the Chevalier. Merci beaucoup, Jacqueline.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Walter Cronkite, recipient of the 2004 Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award. In 1953, longtime friends arranged an annual birthday luncheon for the then retired 33rd President of the United States, Harry S Truman. After his death in 1972, the birthday celebration was continued in his honor through a local foundation established to continue to pay tribute to his virtues of courage and leadership. Each year, the Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation recognizes the national and international ideals of President Truman and preserves his memory by honoring such local individuals and encouraging young people to pursue international study.

This year, the foundation has selected Walter Cronkite to receive the prestigious Good Neighbor Award in recognition of his outstanding career in broadcasting. For more than 60 years Americans nightly received unbiased and factual national and international wisdom from the golden voice of Walter Cronkite. This Northwest Missourian brought us reports from the European theater in World War II and reported on the Nuremburg trials. His insights to the turbulent 60's awakened us to civil rights and human rights issues. He comforted us through the grief of three assassinations in that same decade, reporting the dreadful news to a shocked nation with his characteristic insight and somber vision. When President John F. Kennedy was struck down in November of 1963, followed by the murder of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. just before Palm Sunday in 1968, and then Sen. Robert Kennedy's killing on the eve of his California primary victory in June of the same year, the loss of these great leaders was all but unbearable, were it not for the constant and reassuring presence of Walter Cronkite, reaching out to us with straightforward and thoughtful news reporting.

Walter Cronkite became a war correspondent again in the late 60's when he reported to a divided country on Vietnam. Following the Tet offensive in January of 1968, often considered a turning point in the war, Cronkite visited the war torn country and called for diplomatic negotiations to end the stalemate. By then, the tide of public opinion had begun to turn against the war and President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection in March of that year. The decade ended on a high note, however, when the first manned spacecraft was sent to the moon and Walter Cronkite reported the launch with his infamous, ``Go Baby, Go.'' On July 20, 1969, he shared the moon landing with an awestruck nation in what some called ``Walter to Walter'' coverage on CBS news. He provided continuous coverage for the almost 30 hours it took Apollo XI to complete its mission.

The 70's brought political scandal and Walter Cronkite reported to the nation with accuracy and balance from June 17, 1972, the morning after the Watergate break-in, through August 8, 1974, when Richard M. Nixon became the first President of the United States to resign from office because of scandal. Walter Cronkite's incredible career included interviews with international heads of state, while keeping the nation informed of world-wide events, as well as audiences with every U.S. president since Harry Truman. He officially retired in 1981, but we are grateful that he continues to work on documentaries and programs for broadcast on PBS and the Discovery and Learning Channels.

The news has become the information tool that informs, stimulates interest, evokes debate, and ultimately protects our democracy. Walter Cronkite's dedication to his professional career is exemplary for its objective reporting, credibility and his trademark delivery that has made an American icon.

President Truman's high regard of Walter Cronkite is reflected best in a letter to Mr. Raymond E. Dix, President of the Ohio Newspaper Association on January 1, 1966.

Dear Mr. Dix: I was glad to have your letter informing me

of the contemplated presentation of the Distinguished Service

to Journalism Award to Walter Cronkite. I know of no one more

worthy of being so honored by a jury of his peers. For one

who has had some slight exposure to the press--the spoken and

the written--with some misadventures and collisions along the

way, I continue to have a healthy respect for that all

important free institution.

Here and there, over a span of time, some of the

practitioners in that estate manage to rise to a special

place of their own and become a force in their own right.

Walter Cronkite looms large in that category and I always

associate him with the quality of never failing credibility.

Please give Walter my warm personal greetings.

Sincerely yours,

Harry S Truman.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in warm congratulations to our native son, Walter Cronkite, for receiving the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award for his outstanding contribution to journalism and his ``never failing credibility.'' As a role model, he has inspired individuals like me to fight the good fight for a just cause, secure in the knowledge that armed with the facts and the passion for what is right and just, one can make a difference in the lives of others. Thank you, Walter Cronkite. And that's the way it is, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Walter Cronkite, recipient of the 2004 Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award. In 1953, longtime friends arranged an annual birthday luncheon for the then-retired 33rd President of the United States, Harry S Truman. After his death in 1972, the birthday celebration was continued in his honor through a local foundation established to continue to pay tribute to his virtues of courage and leadership. Each year, the Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation recognizes the national and international ideals of President Truman and preserves his memory by honoring such local individuals and encouraging young people to pursue international study.

This year, the foundation has selected Walter Cronkite to the prestigious Good Neighbor Award in recognition of his outstanding career in broadcasting. For more than 60 years Americans nightly received unbiased and factual national and international wisdom from the golden voice of Walter Cronkite. This Northwest Missourian brought us reports from the European theater in World War II and reported on the Nuremburg trials. His insights to the turbulent 60's awakened us to civil rights and human rights issues. He comforted us through the grief of three assassinations in that same decade, reporting the dreadful news to a shocked nation with his characteristic insight and somber vision. When President John F. Kennedy was struck down in November of 1963, followed by the murder of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. just before Palm Sunday in 1968, and then-Senator Robert Kennedy's killing on the eve of his California primary victory in June of the same year, the loss of these great leaders was all but unbearable, were it not for the constant and reassuring presence of Walter Cronkite, reaching out to us with straightforward and thoughtful news reporting.

Walter Cronkite became a war correspondent again in the late 60's when he reported to a divided country on Vietnam. Following the Tet offensive in January 1968, often considered a turning point in the war, Cronkite visited the war torn country and called for diplomatic negotiations to end the stalemate. By then, the tide of public opinion had begun to turn against the war and President Lyndon B. Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection in March of that year. The decade ended on a high note, however, when the first manned spacecraft was sent to the moon and Walter Cronkite reported the launch with his infamous, ``Go Baby, Go.'' On July 20, 1969, he shared the moon landing with an awestruck nation in what some called ``Walter to Walter'' coverage on CBS news. He provided continuous coverage for the almost 30 hours it took Apollo XI to complete its mission.

The 70's brought political scandal and Walter Cronkite reported to the nation with accuracy and balance from June 17, 1972, the morning after the Watergate breakin, through August 8, 1974, when Richard M. Nixon became the first President of the United States to resign from office because of scandal. Walter Cronkite's incredible career included interviews with international heads of state, while keeping the nation informed of worldwide events, as well as audiences with every U.S. President since Harry Truman. He officially retired in 1981, but we are grateful that he continues to work on documentaries and programs for broadcast on PBS and the Discovery and Learning Channels.

The news has become the information tool that informs, stimulates interest, evokes debate, and ultimately protects our democracy. Walter Cronkite's dedication to his professional career is exemplary for its objective reporting, credibility, and his trademark delivery that has made an American icon.

President Truman's high regard of Walter Cronkite is reflected best in a letter to Mr. Raymond E. Dix, President of the Ohio Newspaper Association on January 1, 1966.

Dear Mr. Dix: I was glad to have your letter informing me

of the contemplated presentation of the Distinguished Service

to Journalism Award to Walter Cronkite. I know of no one more

worthy of being so honored by a jury of his peers. For one

who has had some slight exposure to the press--the spoken and

the written--with some misadventures and collisions along the

way, I continue to have a healthy respect for that all

important free institution.

Here and there, over a span of time, some of the

practitioners in that estate manage to rise to a special

place of their own and become a force in their own right.

Walter Cronkite looms large in that category and I always

associate him with the quality of never failing credibility.

Please give Walter my warm personal greetings.

Sincerely yours,

Harry S Truman.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in warm congratulations to our native son, Walter Cronkite, for receiving the Harry S Truman Good Neighbor Award for his outstanding contribution to journalism and his ``neverfailing credibility.'' As a role model, he has inspired individuals like me to fight the good fight for a just cause, secure in the knowledge that armed with the facts and the passion for what is right and just, one can make a difference in the lives of others. Thank you, Walter Cronkite.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of Michael R. Beschloss, who is receiving the 2004 Harry S Truman Award for Public Service from the City of Independence at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library on May 7, 2004. After President Truman's death on December 26, 1972, the City of Independence established this award to honor an outstanding individual who possesses the qualities of Harry S Truman. Since 1974, the annual award has honored individuals who have demonstrated ``dedication, industry, ability, honesty and integrity'' in their significant contributions to our country.

This year's recipient is the award winning historian and highly acclaimed author, Michael Beschloss. Last year, Beschloss generously agreed to be the keynote speaker for the Truman Presidential Library and Museum ``Wild About Harry'' fundraiser. Mr. Beschloss received rave reviews, as he captivated the audience with his humor and knowledge of presidential history. In his presentation, Mr. Beschloss said, ``There is library so much on the cutting edge of what a library should do than the Truman Library.'' Mr. Beschloss's participation was the laudable attraction that generated the funds to ensure the expansion of educational programs and exhibits at the Truman Library. With seven books to his credit, Newsweek has called him ``the nation's leading Presidential historian,'' and he has found a number of venues to pursue his career. As a respected author, essayist, editor, and television commentator, he continually lends an insightful eye to his informative and authoritative commentary and analysis of current and historic events in American culture. Beschloss has taken us behind the scenes in his research of many of the presidents since Roosevelt.

Like President Harry S Truman, Michael Beschloss found common ground in the belief that men are driven by history. President Truman stated, ``It takes men to make history, or there would be no history. History does not make the man.'' Michael Beschloss has traditionally examined the inner workings of the presidency and political events throughout his publications and media appearances. His research has led him to explore presidential decision making and pinpoint administrative paradigm shifts in his analysis of new directions and he has explained their impact on domestic and foreign affairs.

President Truman said, ``My debt to history is one which cannot be calculated. I know of no other motivation which so accounts for my awakening interest as a young lad in the principles of leadership and government.'' Michael Beschloss has examined the principles and actions of our nation's leaders and his writing is distinguished with analysis and illumination of the political process. For the past twenty years, he has articulated the deeper layers of thought and action that color the American political process, and he has earned the status as one of the most trusted experts on Presidents and the election process.

It was Mr. Beschloss's senior honors thesis at Williams College that launched his writing career. The writing project evolved into his first book, Kennedy and Roosevelt: The Uneasy Alliance, published in 1980. May Day: Eisenhower, Khrushchev and the U-2 Affair followed in 1986. The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev, 1960-1963, published in 1991, won the Ambassador Book Prize. In 1993, Mr. Beschloss co-wrote At the Highest Levels: The Inside Story of the End of the Cold War. He has written two volumes of a trilogy on the Lyndon B. Johnson presidency, published in 1997 and 2001: Taking Charge and Reaching for Glory. Both are based on President Johnson's secret White House tapes and have been received with high praise. Research at the Truman Presidential Museum and Library provided material for his seventh book, a best seller, The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler's Germany, 1941-1945. His insights into the influences on presidential staff debates throughout the war, including what to do with Germany at war's end, have received critical acclaim.

In addition to his best selling book career, Michael Beschloss is a trustee of the White House Historical Association, the National Archives Foundation, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Urban Institute, and the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs. He has cultivated his talent and expertise through his experiences at Williams College and Harvard University, his service on the staff of the Smithsonian from 1982-1986, as a Senior Associate at Oxford University, 1986-87, and as a Senior Fellow at the Annenberg Foundation, 1988-96. Mr. Beschloss can be seen on PBS's The News Hour and is a consultant to ABC News.

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate Michael Beschloss on his distinguished career and his many contributions to greater understanding of American culture through his research and analysis. I am proud that the City of Independence has selected him for recognition this year. He is most deserving of this honor. He shares President Truman's belief that an understanding of history is essential to leadership in world affairs. Mr. Speaker, please join me in warm congratulations to Michael R. Beschloss, this year's recipient of the 2004 Harry S Truman Award for Public Service, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the evaluation and preservation of history. I applaud his contribution to the Truman Library and Museum and to our world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 627, a resolution condemning the abuse of Iraqi prisoners, however I do so with great concern. The mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners by members of the Armed Forces and civilian U.S. contractors is shameful and inexcusable. I am outraged that these actions committed by a few reflect negatively upon our Nation and the many men and women who continue to serve our Nation with strength, honor and courage. We must investigate these allegations and take immediate and decisive action to reestablish our Nation's credibility and regain the trust of the Iraqi people and the world community.

I support provisions of this resolution that deplore and condemn these events and urge the Department of Defense to investigate every report of mistreatment of all prisoners in the custody of the U.S. military at all levels and locations including Guantanamo and Afghanistan. We have a breakdown in the chain of command at the highest level.

We must require heightened accountability of the senior leadership at the Department of Defense and determine why there was an intelligence breakdown. We need to know when Secretary Rumsfeld learned of these events, why he did not take immediate action and why he did not make this information available to Congress in a timely way. Above all, we must ensure that events like these never occur again.

Throughout our history, the United States has been a leader throughout the world and a strong voice for the principles of democracy, freedom, human rights and justice. The tragic events we are addressing today have jeopardized our credibility and our relationships with the people of Iraq and the international community. In his thoughtful column in Today's New York Times, Thomas Friedman writes, ``I have never known a time in my life when America and its President were more hated around the world than today.'' It is our responsibility to restore our Nation's credibility, and I urge my colleagues to investigate these shocking allegations. I conclude by joining with other thoughtful individuals in calling upon the Secretary of Defense to take full responsibility for these human rights atrocities and fundamental breakdown in command and to act honorably and resign.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate the 34th anniversary of Earth Day, I rise to recognize the ongoing struggle to preserve and protect our environment for future generations. We have made significant progress since the first Earth Day in 1970, but recent funding cuts and policy changes are now jeopardizing vital environmental programs such as the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. The Natural Resources Defense Council, a national organization that advocates environmental action, recently released a report, ``Rewriting the Rules,'' which documents more than 150 assaults on our environmental safeguards between January 2003 and March 2004. Of particular concern is the rollback of environmental regulations that keep sewage out of our waterways and drinking water, protect our public lands, and limit mercury pollution in our air. As the principal sponsor of Missouri's Clean Air and Air Emissions Standards Acts during my tenure in the state legislature and as Chairwoman of the Missouri Commission on Global Climate Change and Ozone Depletion, I am alarmed and concerned by these weakened standards. Earth Day was created in 1970 as a call to action after drastic environmental events such as the chemical emergency at Love Canal and the ``death'' of Lake Erie. This massive environmental protest drew attention to environmental problems plaguing communities across our country. Today, we must continue that commitment to preserve our planet not only on our continent, but around the world. As we honor the 34th anniversary of Earth Day, we acknowledge the achievements of some of our most conscientious global environmental leaders. On April 19, the Sierra Club awarded the 15th annual Goldman Environmental Prize to several grassroots activists who have worked to make our world a better place to live.

These seven leaders, Rudolf Amenga-Etego of Ghana, Rashida Bee and Chama Devi Shukla of India, Manana Kochladze of Georgia, Demetrio Do Amaral de Carvalho of East Timor, Margie Eugene-Richard of the U.S., and Libia Grueson of Colombia, have made significant contributions to their communities: providing safe drinking water for the people, seeking justice for world disaster survivors, blocking the construction of environmentally damaging oil pipelines, leading reforestation and watershed management programs, fighting pollution and protecting rainforests. Yet as these global activists serve their communities and work to better their environment, here in the United States we are rolling back much of the progress our own leaders have made. We must reverse this direction and restore our commitment to the environment, to breathable air and drinkable water, and to preservation of wildlife and our quality of life.

On the first Earth Day in 1970, I joined more than 20 million Americans in demonstrating for a healthy, sustainable environment. I have worked at the state and federal levels for landmark legislation such as the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, Global Climate Change and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, among other legislative initiatives.

This Saturday, I join members of my community in celebrating our local progress at the Eighth Annual Bridging the Gap Earth Day Walk. Kansas City has developed a plan to restore and maintain our natural resources for current and future generations. I worked with the city to assure biodiesel as an alternative source of energy for our buses in order to maintain our air quality for the health of our citizens.

There is much more we must do to ensure the protection of our environment. We must strengthen, not weaken, regulations that protect our natural resources. We must provide necessary funding for programs that ensure the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink. On this 34th anniversary of Earth Day, we must pledge to continue our commitment to protecting and preserving our environment.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing this important anniversary of Earth Day and saluting organizations like the Sierra Club that act globally to honor those who work for sustaining our planet.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, April 23, Salem Shapiro, a retired city planner now living in Redding, Connecticut, will celebrate his 95th birthday. Normally on an occasion like this, I would hail his service in the Pacific Theater during WWI and salute the idealism with which he battled suburban sprawl and exclusionary zoning. But such a standard tribute to his 60-year career misses the larger message of his life: his joyful refusal to bow to the cliches of old age.

Like many senior citizens today, Salem Shapiro took up writing in his late eighties. But instead of dwelling on autobiography and family genealogy, he composed satirical essays that channeled the spirit of Jonathan Swift. Claiming to be a master of ``Non-Euclidean, Non-Linear Logic,'' he puckishly suggested that the elderly were fast becoming an endangered species because of their ``unusually low birth rate when compared with other sectors of the population.'' His remedy was to champion the mythical organization called ``Save the Elderly from Themselves.'' Then there was his mocking proposal to deal with the high cost of campaigning by suggesting that the presidency be let out for auction, thereby enriching the Federal Treasury rather than individual TV stations.

But nothing better captures Salem Shapiro's indomitable spirit as well as a poem he wrote a few years ago entitled ``An Attitude.'' The last two stanzas deftly summarize his philosophy of aging:

I too have lived a lifetime

Enjoying myself and serving society

But I will not allow me

To be cast off like the leaf

In the Fall of my life.

I shall continue my activity

In interacting with friends

And people and groups such as this

That constitutes my tree

And resist turning dry and crumble.

Longevity encompasses far more than luck and genes. It is, in many ways, the ultimate art form.

Mr. Speaker, please join me as I hail Salem Shapiro on his 95th birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to announce a celebration to honor Cesar Chavez on April 24, 2004, in Kansas City, Missouri. This celebration commemorates his legacy and the eleventh anniversary of his death, April 23, 1993.

Cesar has become a champion of working people everywhere. Born into Depression-era poverty in Arizona in 1927, he served in the United States Navy in the Second World War, and rose to become one of our greatest advocates of nonviolent change.

The farm workers who labored in the fields and yearned for respect and self-sufficiency pinned their hopes on this remarkable man, who, with faith and discipline, with soft-spoken humility and amazing inner strength, led a very courageous life. And in so doing, he brought dignity to the lives of so many others and provided inspiration for the rest of our Nation's history.

After achieving only an eighth-grade education, Cesar left school to work in the fields full-time to support his family. It was there that he noticed the labor contractors and the land owners exploited the workers. He tried reasoning with the farm owners about higher pay and better working conditions. But most of his fellow workers would not support him for fear of losing their jobs. Cesar's dream was to create an organization to protect and serve farm workers, whose struggles he shared. At the age of 35, he left his own well paid job to devote all his time to organizing the farm workers into a union. Cesar traveled from camp to camp recruiting workers, and the National Farm Workers Union was born.

With a strong leader to represent them, the workers began to demand their rights for fair pay and better working conditions. Without these rights, no one would work in the fields. In 1965, the grape growers didn't listen to the union's demands, and the farmhands wanted a strike. The workers left the fields, and the unharvested grapes began to rot on the vines. Union members, Cesar included, were jailed repeatedly. But public officials, religious leaders, and ordinary citizens from all across the United States flocked to California to march in support of the farm workers. In 1970, some grape growers signed agreements with the union. The union lifted the grape boycott, and its members began to pick grapes again. That same year, Cesar thought that even people who could not travel to California could show their support for his cause. Thus he appealed for a nationwide boycott of lettuce. People from all parts of the United States who sympathized with the cause of the farm workers refused to buy lettuce. Some even picketed in front of supermarkets.

By 1973, when Cesar inspired the people of Kansas City with his message of equality, justice and social change in an address at Penn

Valley Community College, the union had changed its name to the United Farm Workers of America. Relations with the grape growers had once again deteriorated, so a grape boycott was added to the boycott of lettuce. On several occasions, Cesar fasted to protest the violence that arose. Finally, by 1978, some of the workers' conditions were met, and the United Farm Workers lifted the boycotts on lettuce and grapes. This is just one example of how dedicated Cesar was to the union and the people who counted on him.

Up until the day he died, he was concerned as ever about dignity, justice, and fairness. He said, ``Fighting for social justice, it seems to me, is one of the profoundest ways in which man can say yes to man's dignity, and that really means sacrifice. There is no way on this earth in which you can say yes to man's dignity and know that you're going to be spared some sacrifice.''

Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring a small man with a big dream, Cesar Chavez. Cesar Chavez is a dedicated and true American hero: A civil rights, Latino and labor leader, a community servant and a crusader for nonviolent social change.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an agency that has supported Kansas City area children, families and communities for 110 years. The Mattie Rhodes Center provides social services, mental health counseling and provides emerging artists a venue for their work.

The center is named for Mattie Rhodes, a young woman who worked for the less fortunate with a group of Sunday school friends call the Little Gleaners. In 1890, at the age of 19 she died of typhoid fever. Mattie left $500 to be used for the benefit of children. The Little Gleaners honored her wish and founded the Mattie Rhodes Memorial Society in 1894 with this pledge: ``I promise to do all I can to help the needy and suffering by working for them, learning about them, giving for them, and trying to interest others in them.''

That pledge made 110 years ago remains a reality today. The mission of the Mattie Rhodes Center is to ``strengthen children, families and community by providing social services, mental health counseling and art experiences in a bilingual, culturally sensitive environment.'' Mattie Rhodes offers services such as individual and family counseling, Hispanic mental health programs, job readiness and placement and educational experiences for children. More than 650 individuals and families access family services each year through the Mattie Rhodes Center. The majority are of Mexican descent and are recent immigrants who speak little or no English. Each year more than 1,700 children benefit from mentoring programs, youth support groups and arts education geared to youth from the suburbs and Kansas City's urban core. The Mattie Rhodes Art Center continues to be a place where children can have fun, learn about, appreciate and create art. In 1999, the Mattie Rhodes Center reached out to Hispanic artists and art patrons by establishing the Mattie Rhodes Art Gallery. It provides a unique experience for Latino artists to display their work, and for the community to view and appreciate. The exhibits educate children and the public about the importance of Latino arts in the West Side community and the greater metropolitan area.

Area daycare centers, elementary and high schools, community organizations and individuals constitute the broad based sector reached by Mattie Rhodes Center programs. These groups include Garcia School, McCoy School, Northeast High School, Rose Brooks Domestic Violence Shelter, Hand-In-Hand and the Missouri Division of Family Services, Hispanic artists and patrons.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring the Mattie Rhodes Center in Kansas City, Missouri for its 110 years of outstanding service. I congratulate this excellent organization in conjunction with The Mattie Rhodes Art of the Mask Auction on April 3, 2004. The auction has grown from a children's art center project into a community celebration. This year's auction will be the twelfth in Mattie Rhodes Center's history. I am proud to have contributed by creating a clay mask for the event.

Ms. Mattie Rhodes would have been proud of these accomplishments. Eleven decades after her wish, the Mattie Rhodes Center continues to care for those less fortunate by providing programs that help children and families become more self reliant, confident, creative and productive members of their communities. From the humble beginnings of a committed young girl's dying wish to her name sake agency that now serves thousands of Kansas Citians, the Mattie Rhodes Center is keeping her promise alive and making a dramatic difference in the lives of the less fortunate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor National Women's History Month. The National Women's History Project was founded in 1980 and is a non-profit educational organization committed to recognizing and celebrating the diverse and significant historical accomplishments of women. The legacy of others who shaped society inspires one's own longings to contribute. For young women, role models can inspire their sense of what is possible. Knowledge of women's strengths and contributions builds respect and nourishes self esteem.

During Women's History Month, our nation celebrates the many accomplishments of women. Women are leaders in business, government, law, science, medicine, the arts, education, and many other fields. As bosses, mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and friends, they bring compassion and integrity to our work spaces and community settings and teach our children the values that make our country great.

Thousands of outstanding Kansas City women have left their mark on our community by blazing new trails; by being the first woman to make a significant contribution in the greater metropolitan area. A beloved woman in Kansas City, known as the matriarch, is the late Lucille Bluford. Always a voice of conscience and reason, a woman of influence and great moral character, she began her career in 1930 as a reporter for The Kansas City Call. After owner Chester A. Franklin died in 1955, Ms. Bluford became managing editor, publisher and the first woman owner of a newspaper in the community. Her leadership, guidance and direction raised the consciousness of the African American community to the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s and 70s and rallied the readers to call for political action. In 1990, the University of Kansas awarded her it's Distinguished Service Citation, the highest honor to be bestowed upon a KU graduate for service to humanity. She was the second African American student to major in journalism at KU. Among her many countless awards, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Missouri, which years earlier denied her admission. In 1939, she bravely sued MU, but lost the case.

While she may have lost that battle, her action prompted a series of legal challenges that ultimately led to the abolishment of the ``separate but equal'' doctrine in education.

Ms. Bluford's career accomplishments opened doors for another female entrepreneur in journalism, Clara Reyes, who started Kansas City's first bilingual newspaper, Dos Mundos, in 1981 in her basement. She had sold real estate to people from different countries who often asked where to find bilingual professionals. Reyes took it upon herself to fill the void. She did not know much about the publishing world, but thought that if she could sell real estate, she could surely sell advertising.

For more than 20 years, Clara Reyes has been a strong voice in the Hispanic community who wrote about issues important to Latinos in the Greater Kansas City area. Clara Reyes has helped ``Dos Mundos'' grow to become one of the leading bilingual newspapers in the Midwest dedicated to serving the community through daily news and information.

Martha W. Gilliland, Ph.D., Chancellor of the University of Missouri- Kansas City holds a doctorate in environmental engineering/systems ecology from the University of Florida. On August 30, 2002, she received a prestigious national honor from the Policy Studies Organization: ``Top Public Policy Practitioner.''

Under her leadership, UMKC, has established a progressive and ambitious agenda for the urban campus of 14,000 students. Chancellor Gilliland and her leadership team are poised to transform UMKC into a 21st century institution and a national model in scholarships and creative activity by attracting and nurturing responsive community leaders while providing the resources to achieve the University's vision of creating a vibrant environment of learning and campus life experience.

Today, the vision of these Kansas City women: Lucille Bluford, Clara Reyes and Martha Gilliland, inspire women in our community to blaze new trails and seek their dreams.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring National Women's History Month, as we celebrate the many ways women strengthen and enrich America. Their lives and work provide guideposts of hope for our future and for our children, and remind us all of what the human spirit can achieve when our collective eyes are fixed upon helping reach our greatest potential. I salute them one and all in honor of National Women's History Month.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and support Arts Advocacy Day. I would like to thank the artists who have come to Capitol Hill to visit with members of Congress regarding support for arts education as essential to the creative ingenuity of the cultural fabric of our society. We appreciate their extraordinary talent and we welcome them to Washington.

The Congress must provide sufficient funding for arts education in our schools and the National Endowment for the Arts. These programs are vital to supporting the creation, preservation and presentation of the arts and humanities in America. In my district, numerous schools have taken essential steps toward

integrating arts education in their student's daily routines. Unfortunately, budget cuts threaten the longevity of these programs. Studies have demonstrated that reading and math scores improve with participation in arts education classes. A U.S. Department of Justice study found that arts education reduced student delinquency in San Antonio by 13% and increased the communications skills of students in Atlanta by 57%. Test Results from the College Board have shown that college bound students involved in the arts and humanities have higher overall SAT scores that other students. I'm proud to have been part of the legislative effort to empower the Secretary of Education to fund arts education programs in our schools through the No Child Left Behind Education Act of 2003.

Beyond our borders, the WTO must stand firm against the piracy of our artists' intellectual property. We in Congress must strengthen our commitment and effort with our trading partners to end piracy. Theft of intellectual property has a significant economic affect on the United States. The recording industry, for example, reports a loss of $286 million in sales with our trading partner, China. In addition, market access and investment barriers prevent the entertainment industry from serving markets overseas thus and increases demand for pirated U.S. entertainment products. The Congress and the United States Trade Representative need to work together to apply pressure to the governments of countries where piracy is rampant.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in paying tribute to Arts Advocacy Day.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise in strong support of the Democratic Leadership Substitute and in opposition to the Republican Budget, H. Con. Res. 393, which fails to meet the fiscal and societal challenges Americans face today. While the Republican budget focuses on a tax cut for only a few, slashes important funding for health care, veterans, education and environmental programs, and does little to revive the economy, the Democratic plan is a fiscally responsible solution to balance the budget, reign in the deficit, fund priorities, and promote job creation and economic growth.

The Democratic Leadership Substitute achieves a balanced federal budget within eight years and invests in meaningful job creation, education, veterans benefits, environmental protection, infrastructure and economic development.

Since 2001, the economy has lost more than 3 million private sector jobs. In the Kansas City Metropolitan Area in the past three years, 21,300 jobs have been lost. The Republican proposal we are considering today continues the Administration's same failed economic policies, which the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has concluded will have, at best, a small impact on the economy over the next five years. Alternatively, the Democratic substitute promotes job creation by restoring funding to small business loan programs, job training and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. Additionally, it extends temporary federal unemployment benefits for workers looking for jobs and extended tax cuts, such as the child tax credit and marriage penalty relief.

The Republican budget does not adequately fund our nation's top priority: homeland security. Of particular concern is its failure to fully fund our first responders including police, firefighters, and emergency medical service technicians. Federal funds for first responders is a top concern in my district and across the country, and the Democratic substitute ensures these needs by providing $5 billion in additional funding over the next five years. As a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, I support adequate funding for state and local governments to prevent and prepare for any type of terrorist threat.

The Democratic budget also restores funding to important veterans programs that the Republican resolution cuts. It provides the full funding level, $32.3 billion, requested for 2005 by the Committee on Veterans Affairs. Additionally, it includes $6.6 billion more than the Republican budget over the next five years for critical health needs.

The Republican budget resolution shortchanges authorized education programs by approximately $9 billion just as many costly federal mandates, such as annual testing and highly qualified teacher requirements, will take effect. It is unacceptable to impose federal mandates on the states without the funding necessary to fulfill them. As a formal teacher, I understand how important education is to the future of our children. The Republican budget also proposes the smallest overall increase for education programs in nine years. Additionally, it falls further behind on fully funding special education by proposing only a 0.5 percent increase in funding. Finally, it freezes Pell Grant funding, making college unaffordable for millions of low income students. Alternatively, the Democratic substitute provides $9.8 billion more for education and training programs over the next five years. It also restores $3.7 billion for Pell grants and additional funding to make college loans more affordable.

The federal budget resolution must fulfill the priorities of the American people. It must be fiscally responsible in ensuring our security, providing adequate funding for domestic programs, putting Americans back to work and balancing the budget. With passage of the Democratic Leadership Substitute, we can work together to put the priorities of the American people first.

Mr. Chairman, the Republican budget resolution fails to meet the fiscal challenges Americans face today and slashes programs that are their lifeline. I urge my colleagues to support the Democratic substitute as a more realistic budgetary solution that funds programs essential to those who seek the American dream.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 93, on H.R. 3095, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''