Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to commend the American Cancer Society and recognize today, November 15th, as the 31st anniversary of the Great American Smokeout. Across the country, smokers will mark this annual event by cutting back, forsaking cigarettes for the day, or perhaps quitting altogether.

Tragically, more than 440,000 people in America die each year from tobacco related diseases. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women--accounting for one in five deaths in the United States. Despite these statistics, however, there is promising news about the significant health effects of quitting. In 1990 the U.S. Surgeon General reported that people who quit smoking, regardless of age, live longer than people who continue to smoke. Quitting smoking substantially decreases the risk of 15 types of cancer and other major diseases, including lung, laryngeal, esophageal, oral, pancreatic, bladder, and cervical cancers. Smokers who quit before age 50 cut their risk of dying in the next 15 years in half, compared with those who continue to smoke.

In addition to encouraging smokers to make a plan to quit, the Great American Smokeout is a day for Americans to join the American Cancer Society and its sister advocacy organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in their efforts to advocate for smoke-free laws in communities nationwide. The combination of smoke-free communities and smoking cessation support is critical to helping smokers quit and stay tobacco-free.

The American Cancer Society Great American Smokeout grew out of a 1971 event in Randolph, MA, during which Arthur P. Mullaney asked people to give up cigarettes for a day and donate the money they would have spent on cigarettes to a high school scholarship fund. In 1974, Lynn R. Smith, editor of the Monticello Times in Minnesota, spearheaded the state's first D-Day, or Don't Smoke Day. The idea caught on, and on November 18, 1976, the California Division of the American Cancer Society succeeded in getting nearly 1 million smokers to quit for the day. That California event marked the first Great American Smokeout, which went nationwide the next year.

The Great American Smokeout is part of the American Cancer Society Great American Health Challenge, a year-round initiative that encourages Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles to reduce their risk of cancer.

Madam Speaker, as a nurse, I know firsthand the significant health dangers inflicted by smoking. I am honored to acknowledge the American Cancer Society and their annual Great American Smokeout today. I wish them great success in pursuing their goal to assist those who wish to improve their health by quitting smoking.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Corinne Whitlatch on the occasion of her retirement as Executive Director of Churches for Middle East Peace. During her twenty-one years of service, Corinne made a significant contribution to helping policymakers understand the churches' positions and roles in Middle East peacemaking. I appreciate and admire her advocacy in support of a resolution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict that allows two states--Israel and Palestine--to live in peace and security as neighbors.

Corinne Whitlatch's dedication to achieving peace in the Holy Land and commitment to ensuring a positive future for both the Israelis and Palestinians is admirable. I greatly value the efforts she has made to help both Members of Congress and church congregants approach these issues with compassion and empathy.

As I have worked in support of Israel, of the Palestinian people, and of achieving a two- state solution, I have been proud to stand side by side with Corinne and Churches for Middle East Peace's members, as well as Jewish-Americans and Arab-Americans. My Lutheran upbringing has given me the firm conviction of the important role faith communities have in communicating a message of peace. Under Corinne's leadership, Churches for Middle East Peace has been an important voice on Capitol Hill to communicate this same message.

Madam Speaker, I would like to sincerely thank Corinne for her service on behalf of peace. She will certainly be missed, but I am confident that the fine work of Churches for Middle East Peace will continue and will help see us through a time when the vision of two states is a reality.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act.

This bill continues the Democratic-led Congress' efforts to protect and promote the American Dream of homeownership.

We can now see clearly that questionable and even discriminatory lending practices were a part of the real estate ``boom'' in our country.

In my district, these unscrupulous practices will result in about a half billion dollar loss in home equity for my constituents.

This translates into over 80,000 homes devalued and the certainty of foreclosure for many.

That is 80,000 families that entered into their mortgage contracts in good faith.

They did not anticipate that all of their hard work would be wiped out with one interest rate hike.

Many nonprofits and other economic development groups in my district, like the Cabrillo Economic Development Center, have stepped up to help these families restructure their loans and keep their homes.

And I am happy to say that today the House will do its part to stop harmful predatory lending practices.

This bill will create minimum standards for mortgage loan originators, and require the determination that a consumer has a reasonable ability to repay their loan.

Importantly, it also discourages ``steering'' a consumer toward a higher-cost loan when they in fact qualify for a lower interest rate.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this important bill and put our families back on track to achieving the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 335) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should declare lung cancer a public health priority and should implement a comprehensive interagency program to reduce the lung cancer mortality rate by at least 50 percent by 2015, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 335, and I would like to thank the lead cosponsors of the resolution, Ed Whitfield and Donna Christensen. I also wish to strongly commend the Lung Cancer Alliance and other organizations that have supported this resolution. I am so pleased

we could pass this resolution during Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

House Resolution 335 calls on the President to declare lung cancer a public health priority and encourages a greater investment in lung cancer research. This could not come at a more important time.

We have just seen newly released statistics that show, while overall cancer mortality rates are dropping quicker than ever, lung cancer mortality rates in women are actually increasing. As our Nation is committed to working towards the goal of eliminating all cancer deaths by 2015, the statistics for lung cancer are extremely disappointing.

Mr. Speaker, lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of both men and women, yet we are perhaps making the least amount of progress in effectively treating it. We must put greater investment into prevention and early diagnosis of lung cancer. This is the only way to improve outcomes.

One of the most effective ways to reduce lung cancer incidence is, of course, smoking cessation. I am proud of the remarkable achievements our Nation has made to encourage smokers to quit, and better yet, to teach people never to begin at all.

Disappointingly, some of America's leading women's magazines don't share that goal. As many of you have heard and seen, they continue running ads for cigarettes like Camel No. 9 which are clearly targeted at young women.

After years of steady decline, smoking rates have remained stagnant from 2004 to 2006. Launching an aggressive marketing campaign targeting young people is a terrible step backwards in our national efforts to reduce smoking. I hope this resolution today will reinforce our commitment to smoking cessation.

But one of the lesser known facts of lung cancer is that 8 percent of men and an astonishing 20 percent of women with lung cancer have never smoked. I am very aware of this fact through my own personal experience as my daughter became one of these statistics. I think the Nation as a whole became more aware with more visible cases, such as Dana Reeve. It often takes a high-profile case to propel us into action, and I hope that the growing awareness and action over the past 2 years will continue to improve our understanding of and our ability to confront lung cancer.

With a greater investment into integrated, multidisciplinary research organized around lung cancer, we do have a chance of reducing death. Let us use the opportunity of passing this resolution to reaffirm our shared commitment to combating lung cancer deaths, truly making it a public health priority for our Nation. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 335.

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

In closing, I just want to urge our colleagues to pass this resolution and to press forward with the research on lung cancer. I do this in the name of my daughter and of Dana Reeve and other people whose lives have not been saved but who could be promoting others to be encouraged to eradicate this most deadly of cancer scourges.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 760) supporting the goals and ideals of Children's Health Month, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution now under consideration.

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

I rise in support of House Resolution 760 which supports the goals and ideals of Children's Health Month. I commend my colleagues, Kathy Castor of Florida and Dave Reichert of Washington, for introducing this important resolution. A school nurse myself for 20 or more years, I can't emphasize enough the importance of reaffirming a stronger commitment to provide better access to health care for children.

We absolutely must take greater steps in providing preventive care, promoting healthy habits, and finding cures to chronic conditions that are becoming more prevalent in our Nation's children.

Perhaps one of the greatest steps we can take is to finally reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Programs. As this resolution notes, one of the greatest contributors to unhealthy outcomes in our children is a lack of access to care. Our Children's Health Insurance Program would provide health care access to an additional 4 million children who are eligible but not now covered. This bill was supported by 265 House Members and 64 Senators. I hope we will soon see this bill signed into law. Though we know there are other steps we must also take, this is the primary one.

There are steps in addition to this legislation that we can take. When one in five children in the United States are overweight, 5 million children are affected by asthma, and 50 million children suffer from allergies, we know we must take steps to improve healthy environments as well as healthy habits. With this resolution, we applaud the efforts of the many families, communities, health care professionals, and others in our communities, and officials as well, who are taking these steps already; and we encourage in this resolution that States be proactive in promoting healthy living habits to children so that they can lead healthy lives as adults.

Most importantly, perhaps, this resolution reminds us of what our priorities in this Congress should be. Undoubtedly, our children should be number one. I commend this resolution for reaffirming that.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to urge adoption of this resolution which goes to the heart of a major priority that we have in this Congress, which is to support our children's health. This is for the sake of our children, of course, but it is also on behalf of their families, the most important people in their lives, on behalf of our communities. And really, in truth, it is about our future, because, after all, our children are our future, and a healthy future is that much better for all of us.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge swift action on a measure to improve women's access to health care.

As many of my colleagues are aware, there is a provision in the Deficit Reduction Act which has unfortunately created a situation whereby student health centers and clinics that serve low-income women can no longer access contraceptives at a deeply discounted rate.

Just this week, I was proud to cosponsor a bill introduced by my colleagues Joe Crowley and Jim Ramstad to correct this inadvertent oversight.

The effects of this Deficit Reduction Act provision are already being felt by women across the country, including college students who are now forced to pay up to 10 times more for birth control pills than they did before.

Unfortunately, there are those who refuse to agree to our proposed correction. So I am standing here today to urge my colleagues to fix this discrepancy that was never intended to exist.

Let's stop the attacks on women's health. Let's guarantee women access to needed health services.

Madam Speaker, as we approach the Veterans Day holiday, I want to express my support for all men and women who have ever served our country. I congratulate the new Democratic Congress for making remarkable improvements to veterans benefits.

During this past year, we have already appropriated the largest increase in veterans health spending ever. We have also taken steps to increase awareness about posttraumatic stress disorder and other mental health needs among veterans.

In addition, we seek to improve our ability to prevent, to diagnose and treat these conditions. I especially would like to note a new awareness about the needs of our women veterans, and commend my colleagues in the Women's Caucus for making the needs of women veterans a priority of ours during this Congress.

As we commemorate Veterans Day this weekend, let us all make a commitment to continuing and renewing our efforts to improve benefits for all veterans.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H. Res. 573, a resolution that recognizes the tremendous efforts put forth by public advocacy groups to raise awareness and help end the worsening crisis in Darfur.

My district is home to many of these advocates, who work tirelessly to inform their neighbors and bring greater attention to this humanitarian emergency. Their work to end the genocide in Darfur is a critical part of our combined effort to stop the violence and the bloodshed that has claimed entire families.

In this time of international conflict, it is so important for us to educate and inform our neighbors about what we can do to help those in need. I am thankful for all of the people in my district who are working toward a peaceful resolution in Darfur. Their dedication to this cause is singular in its commitment, and I am deeply grateful for their contributions.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution.

I thank my colleague from Missouri for yielding.

As a representative of areas affected by the recent wildfires and a cosponsor of H. Res. 778, I rise in its strong support. Over the last 10 days, wildfires have devastated much of Southern California. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been burned. Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed.

While this tragedy has faded from the Nation's headlines, thousands of our first responders, military personnel, volunteers continue to battle the fires and to aid in the recovery effort. Today we commend these amazing individuals. Thousands of firefighters from throughout California and across the Nation put their lives on the line to protect our communities. They battled out-of-control flames fanned by restless hurricane-force winds, and they fought tirelessly for 12, 24, even 36 hours straight.

In addition, countless police officers and military personnel and other first responders successfully executed the largest evacuation in California's history. Tens of thousands of evacuees were sheltered with ample food, supplies, and facilities. Thousands of generous individuals have given their time, their money, their resources to help victims of this tragedy to get back on their feet.

Mr. Speaker, California is sadly all too familiar with wildfires. My district includes parts of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, each of which experience wildfires almost annually. The most recent was Zaca fire which burned more than 240,000 acres of these three counties and lasted almost 3 months.

I am proud to say from firsthand experience that California's emergency preparedness systems and procedures are among the best in the Nation, I would say in the world. As the wildfires grew in size and numbers, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services was able to coordinate and allocate resources to the areas that needed them most, regardless of jurisdiction. Local firefighters from San Diego battled flames along with colleagues from Nevada, while planes from Wyoming and Colorado filled their tanks at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station just outside my district.

If it were not for this organized and swift effort, many more acres, homes, and lives would have been lost. Mr. Speaker, as we move forward, I hope we can learn from this experience to help prevent such a tragedy from repeating itself in the future. And to the countless men and women who helped in this tragedy, we commend you and we thank you for your heroic efforts.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Professor Luis Leal on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Professor Leal is a distinguished member of the Santa Barbara community. He is a man who has devoted his life to scholarship and education, a man dedicated to expressing and revealing the richness of Mexican, Latin American and Chicano literature and culture.

Luis Leal was born in 1907 and grew up in Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution. He came to the United States seeking a college education and earned a bachelor's degree at Northwestern University. After a hiatus to serve in World War II, Leal earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago.

After a career teaching at the University of Mississippi, Emory University, and the University of Illinois, Leal ``retired'' to the Santa Barbara area at the age of 69, only to be invited to join the faculty at UC Santa Barbara as a scholar and teacher, first in the Spanish and Portuguese Department and then in the newly established Center for Chicano Studies.

Leal has enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the most highly regarded scholars of Mexican and Latin American literature, and was one of the first to draw attention to this relatively new field of study. He is the author of over 30 books and 300 articles. In 1988, he received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies in recognition of his lifetime achievement. In 1995, UCSB created the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in Chicano Studies in recognition of his accomplishments.

Leal has also received renowned cultural honors from the Mexican and American governments. In 1992, Mexican President Salinas awarded Leal the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award granted to foreign citizens. It was President Bill Clinton who presented Leal with the National Humanities Medal in 1997.

As a man who has devoted his life to education and to advancing the study of Mexican, Latin American and Chicano Literature, I today recognize Luis Leal as a distinguished scholar and professor, and as a man dedicated to making our community and this Nation a richer, more vibrant place.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor Professor Luis Leal on the occasion of his 100th birthday. Professor Leal is a distinguished member of the Santa Barbara community. He is a man who has devoted his life to scholarship and education, a man dedicated to expressing and revealing the richness of Mexican, Latin American, and Chicano literature and culture.

Luis Leal was born in 1907 and grew up in Mexico City during the Mexican Revolution. He came to the United States seeking a college education and earned a bachelor's degree at Northwestern University. After a hiatus to serve in World War II, Leal earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago.

After a career teaching at the University of Mississippi, Emory University, and the University of Illinois, Leal ``retired'' to the Santa Barbara area at the age of 69, only to be invited to join the faculty at UC Santa Barbara as a scholar and teacher, first in the Spanish and Portuguese Department and then in the newly established Center for Chicano Studies.

Leal has enjoyed a distinguished career as one of the most highly regarded scholars of Mexican and Latin American literature, and was one of the first to draw attention to this relatively new field of study. He is the author of over 30 books and 300 articles. In 1988, he received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies in recognition of his lifetime achievement. In 1995, UCSB created the Luis Leal Endowed Chair in Chicano Studies in recognition of his accomplishments.

Leal has also received renowned cultural honors from the Mexican and American governments. In 1992, Mexican President Salinas awarded Leal the Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest award granted to foreign citizens. It was President Bill Clinton who presented Leal with the National Humanities Medal in 1997.

As a man who has devoted his life to education and to advancing the study of Mexican, Latin American, and Chicano literature, I today recognize Luis Leal as a distinguished scholar and professor, and as a man dedicated to making our community and this Nation a richer, more vibrant place.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to Willie Galvan for his role as a dedicated advocate of Hispanic and Veterans' family rights. As National Hispanic Heritage month comes to a close, I am honored to recognize a truly invaluable member and voice of our Hispanic community.

For the last 25 years, Willie has been an active member of the American GI Forum of California, an organization that works with returning Hispanic veterans and citizens to find avenues that can improve community conditions. In addition to his long-term commitment as a member, Willie also currently serves as the organization's state commander.

Originally from Victoria, TX, Willie Galvan's community organizing amongst Hispanic veterans and families began in his hometown after his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army. His work to address inequity continued when Willie and his family moved to California in the early 1970s. In the central coast communities, Willie has maintained his support for veterans while also dedicating himself to the needs of low- income families. Willie has worked tirelessly on a range of initiatives, from organizing youth development programs to starting a non-profit health care clinic, later to become Marian Community Clinic.

As a man who has spent his life committed to alleviating the struggles within the Hispanic community, Willie deserves this and many more honors. Today I stand before you expressing thanks and respect for Willie Galvan, a man whose compassion and service to those community members most in need is an example to all.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of myself and Representative Chip Pickering to call attention to one of our Nation's leading causes of death--sudden cardiac arrest. Unfortunately, far too little is known and even less is being done to address the prevalence of this serious condition. Sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of more than 250,000 Americans every year.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs abruptly and without warning, when the heart suddenly stops beating and cannot pump blood to the rest of the body. Contrary to widespread belief, sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack. As the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Coalition has noted, if your heart were a house, cardiac arrest would be a problem with the electricity, while a heart attack is a problem with the plumbing.

Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at anytime without warning. Unfortunately, even when there may be warning signs, we may not recognize their presence due to a lack of knowledge about what actually occurs during cardiac arrest.

Such was the case for a young man from Southern California named Sebastian Hitzig. At age 24, Sebastian stepped on a toothpick, resulting in a staph infection that led to an inflammation of his heart. Several months after doctors believed he had recovered, Sebastian went to the gym for his regular workout, during which he suffered sudden cardiac arrest and nearly died. Thanks to a quick acting response team that shocked his heart back to its normal rhythm, Sebastian was literally brought back to life.

Sebastian is one of the few lucky ones to live through a deadly sudden cardiac arrest event. We in Washington have made great strides fighting some of our Nation's deadliest killers. Our next step should be to commit to more research into the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest, including increased awareness efforts to improve public knowledge of at-risk populations. We also must take steps to improve access to Automated External Defibrillators, AEDs, and implantable cardioverter defibrillators, ICD, to strengthen the ``chain of survival.''

I ask all Members today to join us in calling for a focused effort to fight sudden cardiac arrest and to do so in honor of the countless individuals who survived sudden cardiac arrest and in memory of the more than 250,000 families each year whose loved ones are not as lucky as young Sebastian.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize October 7 through October 13 as Emergency Nurses Week.

As a nurse for over 40 years and the cochair of the House Nursing Caucus, I have a longstanding commitment to the work nurses do and to highlight the impact they have on other important issues, such as homeland security preparedness efforts.

There are approximately 100,000 emergency nurses in the United States. Emergency nurses make a difference each day in peoples' lives, both within and beyond the traditional boundaries of the hospital emergency department. Working in areas such as critical care, research, technology, flight and ground transport and injury prevention, emergency nurses combine state-of-the-art skills with heartfelt compassion for those they serve.

Since 1989, the Emergency Nurses Association has celebrated the second Wednesday in October as Emergency Nurses Day, a day set aside to honor emergency nurses for their commitment to patient care. Starting in 2001, because 1 day is simply not enough to recognize all contributions made by emergency nurses, the Emergency Nurses Association expanded the celebration to devote an entire week to honoring emergency nursing.

This week is particularly important as evidenced by a survey conducted by the Emergency Nurses Association last year showing that 86 percent of emergency nurses had been victims of assault on the job at least once in the past 3 years. Nonetheless, a vast majority say they will continue to be emergency nurses in the years to come. This is a noble profession practiced by noble women and men and they deserve our recognition and thanks.

Emergency Nurses Day is Wednesday, October 10, and this year's theme, ``Stepping into their lives when they need you the most'' reflects the dedication of emergency nurses in the United States and around the world.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Emergency Nurses Association for its work to define the future of emergency nursing and emergency care. Founded in 1970, the Emergency Nurses Association serves as the voice of nearly 33,000 members and their patients.

Finally, Madam Speaker, I encourage all of our colleagues to help spread the word about the critical importance of nursing to our Nation's health care system. Also, I ask that my fellow colleagues join me and my cochair, Congressman Steve LaTourette, in the work of the House Nursing Caucus.

I thank my colleagues for their attention to this important public health issue and again am pleased to recognize October 10 as Emergency Nurses Day and this week, October 7 through October 13, as Emergency Nurses Week.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I, with great sadness, rise to pay tribute as well to our dear colleague, Jo Ann Davis.

As other women in the Congress know, there is a sisterhood among many women Members. This weekend, we lost one of our sisters to a disease that has fostered another kind of sisterhood throughout the Nation, breast cancer. And while Jo Ann would have chosen to confront her disease in private, she bravely and valiantly decided

to take her experience to improve the experiences of other women in that sisterhood. She did so by advocating for the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act and other legislation that would improve the lives of those who suffer from this disease.

I was also proud to work with Jo Ann on the Federal Firefighters Fairness Act. Together we worked, one from the west coast and one from the east, to extend to Federal firefighters the same presumptive disability rights offered to most city and State firefighters. I enjoyed working with Jo Ann on this issue, especially as she showed so much her dedication to firefighters and their families.

I will, however, most fondly remember the many mornings I and several others spent with Jo Ann at prayer breakfast on Wednesday mornings at the C Street House, as we will gather in sadness and sorrow tomorrow.

We were bound together, several of us, through personal experiences with cancer. And when amongst our fellowship Jo Ann was first diagnosed, we supported her with prayer; and then as she regained her strength, we rejoiced. But as so often and tragically happens with this dreaded disease and others, there was a relapse. And we have been much in prayer, as all of us have, for her recovery, but it was not to be.

You know, she and I had our differences in the direction of policy, but we certainly shared in our desire to let our faith serve as a guide for our work in Congress. And she was a very strong, principled person whose convictions and certainty of her faith shown through everything that she did.

I know we're going to honor our dear departed colleague by following in her strong example, by calling on our faith to serve as the motivation for our work here in Congress the way that she did. We may not measure up to her strength, but we have a role model in her. And I also hope that we, as a Congress, will serve to honor her memory by redoubling our efforts to remove the scourge of cancer through support for prevention, for following her example of reaching out, through education outreach and awareness, and for increasing research dollars so that we can more effectively prevent and treat this disease.

I join my colleagues in paying tribute to Jo Ann Davis today and offering our condolences to her family, her staff and her constituents in this time of their sorrow. We will miss Jo Ann Davis dearly.