Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I rise with my fellow Co-Chair of the Women's Caucus, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers, to join with the members of the Kennedy School Women's Leadership Board in their salute to our friend, Adrienne Hall As we applaud the heights to which women have ascended, whether that is Speaker of the House or President of Harvard, we would like to highlight the many advocates who labored for our benefit. As our generation tallies its contribution to the advancement of women and girls in America and around the world, we proudly recognize the role played by Adrienne Hall. Adrienne has been tireless in her devotion to advancing the status of women.

Adrienne is also a trailblazer of entrepreneurship. Not only in her professional career, but also in her service to the community has she been a fountain of creativity. She currently chairs the board of the Women Presidents' Organization, but her fingerprints are found on many of the most respected and effective women's organizations in the world, including the role she played as a founding member of the Committee of 200 and her involvement and leadership in the International Women's Forum and the Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World.

Adrienne has also been a seminal part of the Women's Leadership Board at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Govemment. This organization supports Harvard's efforts to attract, train and nurture women to become effective leaders around the world. It is fitting that Harvard has established the Adrienne Hall Women's Mentorship Fund to honor Adrienne in perpetuity and to continue the mentorship and leadership she has embodied. The Mentorship Fund will ensure that her tenacity in pursuit of equal opportunity and justice continues for women in generations to come.

Madam Speaker, I thank my California colleague for yielding me time.

Madam Speaker, I also rise in strong support of H.R. 493, and I commend my colleagues, the Congresswomen who have been acknowledged, Slaughter, Eshoo, Biggert and others who persisted over the years to bring this legislation to the floor, and acknowledge that the Caucus for Women's Studies of the 110th Congress has made the passage of this its highest priority.

I am also struck by the importance of the partnership that is highlighted with this legislation, a partnership between this legislative body and our colleagues in the National Institutes of Health and work that we should be doing together on behalf of the American people.

As Dr. Francis Collins and his wonderful staff of the Genome Project have taught us, the identification of genetic markers for disease is one of the most remarkable accomplishments scientists have ever made. Being able to identify risks for certain conditions holds such great promise for our ability to identify and practice greater preventive health care in this country. The importance of preventive care to our well-being and our optimum health can never be overemphasized.

However, as with almost all great scientific advancements, we have also opened the door to a whole slew of unintended consequences. Preventive health care can be put at risk if patients decline genetic testing for fear of insurance or employment discrimination. We need to work together, and we will, on ways to promote ethical genetic testing, coupled with appropriate privacy protections and with measures such as we are doing today to prevent discrimination.

This bill accomplishes these goals, and I am extremely proud to support it. I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on its passage

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the conference report on the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act.

For more than 3 years, when the President came to Congress to ask for funding for Iraq, the Republican leadership's only question was, ``How much?''

When the President wanted to extend the tours of duty for troops already deployed and imposed stop-loss orders, the Republican leadership's only question was, ``How soon?''

And when the President decided to send more troops to Iraq in one of the failed surges, the Republicans only asked, ``How many?''

Madam Speaker, today we end the era of Congressional fealty to the President's failed policies in Iraq.

Today we stop writing blank checks for this war.

We vote today for a new direction in Iraq.

My constituents know that we can't win this war militarily. They know that it's time to start bringing our troops home.

It's time for the President to stop the rhetoric and work with us to end this war.

Support the troops. Bring them home.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague Diane Watson for her leadership in gathering us together, and I rise with my colleagues to extend my condolences, heartfelt, from this body to the family, to the friends, to the constituents of Congresswoman Juanita Millender- McDonald.

This is a somber hour because we are, as my colleague, the dean of our California delegation, mentioned, we are heartsick over this loss, and maybe it is because Juanita was such a striking presence, so dynamic, so poised and articulate. When she entered a room, you knew she was there; and now, today, as we gather so soon after we heard of her death, just yesterday, walking through the doors of the Capitol, I thought it is not the same place now because she is not going to be there, wearing something striking, something beautiful, and with her elegance and grace.

We will miss her. We will always miss her. She served in this place, as she served her community and her family and her city council and the State legislature, with such distinction, with passion and with dedication for the benefit of her community and with enormous patriotism.

This talented public servant was a champion for several years, including fighting HIV/AIDS, improving women's health, encouraging women in business, protecting voting rights, stopping the genocide in Darfur. As I mention these issues, I think to myself her charge to us this evening would be to stop the sweet talk about her and get busy and solve these problems. That is the best thing we can do in her memory, in her name.

She knew where the challenges lay in our country, in the way we go to the polls and the fairness of our elections, the availability of the opportunity to vote for every single American. She was not content. It is not solved yet and we have to do this in her honor.

The genocide in Darfur, until that is a thing of the past, we cannot rest. We have got to do this now for Juanita.

HIV and AIDS and all of the other things she cared about, now we have an increased motivation, and that is how we can turn our sorrow into something positive, the way she did with her life.

We have heard from our colleagues this evening, and we will hear many things, but in particular, I want to speak today as I follow in her footsteps as cochair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. During the 107th Congress, she was cochair of the Caucus for Women's Issues, serving ably with Congresswoman Judy Biggert.

Under their leadership, the women's caucus initiated the first annual Memorial Day tribute to women in the military at the Women's Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. Now this event, thanks to Juanita, has become an annual tradition and highlights the caucus' strong commitment to supporting our brave women in uniform. I know Juanita will be proud of us as we continue in this tradition.

As cochair of that caucus, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald also convened the first meeting between women Members of Congress and the Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Gingsberg in order to discuss issues of national importance to women, especially in the judicial area.

On a personal moment, I will never forget the first time I met with my colleague, Congresswoman Millender-McDonald. It was during a very difficult moment in my life after the passing of my husband Walter. The first thing I knew she was there in my district with every single one of her staff members to help me to succeed him in office. It was a very rainy time, and there they all were, walking precincts in my district, and that was how I met Juanita Millender-McDonald.

She made a special effort to reach out to me and to my family in ways that were very meaningful to me. She shared with me that her father was a preacher like mine was, so we had that kind of bond as well. And I know it has been mentioned how ferociously she worked on issues like the C-17 and the Alameda Corridor, but if you ever flew with her in her service on the Transportation Committee, you knew very well that she wanted that airline to work for, not her, but for all of us Members and all of the passengers, and she made sure whatever flight we were on was going to be on time to the best of her ability.

These are stories that I am not going to ever forget and I want to be grateful for her kindness to me, and pledge during this very challenging time in my life, she was there for me, and now we reach out to her family members. All of us are going to miss our colleague and our thoughts and prayers are with her during this difficult time.

It was just pictured, such a wonderful picture of Juanita Millender- McDonald in her local paper, the Los Angeles Sentinel, and ironically, it is dated Thursday, April 22, and that was when she took leave. And who would have known on the paper in her community

that just a few days later she would be gone. But I think it would be befitting her to have this entered in the Congressional Record in memory of Juanita.

[From the Los Angeles Sentinel, April 19, 2007]

Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald Will Take Four to Six Weeks

Off To Seek Treatment for Cancer

(By Yussuf J. Simmonds)

Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald is taking a leave

of absence until May 25 in order to seek proper care and

spend quality time with her family after being diagnosed with

cancer.

It had been rumored for some time that her health was

troubling especially since she had been placed on the

``prayer list'' at her local church, Second Baptist Church in

Los Angeles. However, she has always been a fighter for the

community and now the community stands ready to return her

hard work and efforts on its behalf with prayer and best

wishes.

McDonald is currently serving her seventh term in Congress

representing the 37th Congressional District, which includes

parts of Carson, Compton, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Signal

Hill. Presently, she is the chairwoman of the House

Administration Committee, the first Black woman to hold that

position. As chairwoman, she has investigated the voting

irregularities and disenfranchisement in Ohio, which was the

first election reform field hearing in Congressional history.

Glamour Magazine recently dubbed her as ``one of the eleven

women who will change the world'' and a recent news report

cited her as one of the five most effective members of

Congress because of her ability to reach across party lines

to effectively move bipartisan legislation.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, the vice chair of the

Congressional Black Caucus and the representative of the 9th

Congressional District of California, extended warm greetings

to her colleague and offered these words of comfort.

``Our prayers are with Congresswoman McDonald and her

family. We wish her a speedy recovery and hope that her

leadership and courage will soon be back with us in the

nation's capital,'' Lee said.

Councilman Isadore Hall of Compton's Fourth District was

touched when he received word of her health concerns.

``Right now we are holding her up in deep prayer and hoping

for a speedy recovery,'' said Hall. ``Certainly her presence

will be missed, but we know she has competent staff who will

be able to move swiftly with the agenda she has set for the

community.''

This is not the first time that McDonald has faced health

issues. In 2005, she underwent major surgery for an unknown

illness. Last year, her son, R. Keith McDonald, requested a

furlough from his 41-month prison sentence for political

corruption charges in order to see to her condition at the

time.

The judge granted him a six-month release but again, there

was no official comment from McDonald on her condition then

and there is no comment now if either incident is related to

her current situation.

Dr. William Epps, pastor of Second Baptist Church where

McDonald is a parishioner, relayed his thoughtfulness by

saying that he stays ``in touch with her weekly'' and that

``I'm keeping her in prayer for strength as she faces her

health.''

She reportedly will maintain a limited schedule

particularly in her district and this apparently will be to

expedite her recovery process. She has requested respect for

her privacy at present and all of her constituents have

offered their prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the sentiments expressed in the following article by M.J. Rosenberg, the Director of Israel Policy Forum's Washington Policy Center, and a tireless advocate for peace in the Middle East. In the column, entitled ``Blessed are the Peacemakers,'' he skillfully highlights the need to engage in aggressive diplomacy if we are to achieve peaceful results in the region. I applaud Mr. Rosenberg for his bold stance for peace and would encourage my colleagues to inform themselves of his valuable insights.

Blessed Are the Peacemakers

You know what they say: no good deed goes unpunished.

That is certainly the case with Speaker of the House Nancy

Pelosi and her visit to Syria.

At a time (the Easter-Passover recess) when dozens of House

members and Senators are visiting foreign capitals and

discussing policy with foreign leaders, Pelosi is being

skewered for, in the words of the Washington Post's editors,

``substituting her own foreign policy for that of a sitting

Republican President.''

The Post accuses Pelosi of ``try[ing] to introduce a new

U.S. diplomatic initiative in the Middle East.''

Heaven forefend! Things are going so swimmingly in the

Middle East that the last thing anyone needs is for the 3rd

highest official in the United States trying to resuscitate

diplomacy.

The specific objection is to her meeting with the Syrian

leader, Bashar Assad. Of course, few could object to what she

told Assad--that he should stop trouble making in Iraq and

Lebanon, that the Israeli government is ready for

negotiations, that Israel has no bellicose intentions toward

Syria and that Syria should use its influence to free Israeli

prisoners.

In fact, David Hobson, a Republican from Ohio who

accompanied Pelosi, said that the Speaker did not stray very

far from Bush administration policy. Hobson said Pelosi ``did

not engage in any Bush bashing she did not . . . bash [Bush]

policies as they relate to Syria.''

Instead, Hobson said, Pelosi urged Assad to curb the number

of suicide bombers who cross the Syrian border into Iraq to

``murder our troops and the Iraqi people.''

Republican House leader, John Boehner, admitted that there

was nothing wrong with legislators in general visiting Syria.

``It's one thing for other members to go,'' Boehner said,

``but you have to ask yourself, `Why is Pelosi going?''

The answer isn't that hard. She went for the same reasons

as Tom Lantos (D-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on

Foreign Affairs, as Henry Waxman (D-CA), the most senior

Jewish Member of the House, as Keith Ellison (D-MN), the

first Muslim-American in Congress, as Louise M. Slaughter (D-

NY), Rules Committee Chair, as Nick J. Rahall II (D-WV), the

senior Arab-American in Congress, and Senior Defense

Appropriator David Hobson (R-OH). She went to advance US

interests in the Middle East, believing that we can perhaps

get more out of Syria by engaging it than by shunning it.

The critics are feigning outrage because they don't like

Pelosi (CNN, in particular, seems to have a problem with a

female Speaker) and because, by visiting Syria, Pelosi has

revived one of the Baker-Hamilton Report's prescriptions for

ending the Iraq war: engaging Iran and Syria.

Baker-Hamilton recognizes that Syria and Iran can do more

to impede the extrication of our soldiers and marines from

Iraq than any other countries on the planet (with the

exception of Iraq itself).

On the other hand, if they choose to, they can ease our way

out of Iraq and help prevent that country's further descent

into chaos and civil war.

The Israeli government added to the Pelosi controversy by

saying that Pelosi did not carry any private messages from

Jerusalem to Damascus. But the Israelis have been using

intermediaries to convey information to the Syrians for a

long time. It is inconceivable that the highest ranking

American in memory to visit Damascus would visit Israel, en

route to Syria, and not be asked to convey a message to

President Assad from Prime Minister Olmert.

One can only hope that she was carrying messages from

Israel. Why wouldn't the Israelis seize that opportunity?

Pelosi's visit strengthened America's position in the

region, and likely helped Israel on prisoners, on Hezbollah,

and in its effort to avoid another war like last summer's. It

was a gutsy move by the new Speaker and one that deserves

commendation, not criticism from those who are committed to

the whole litany of failed policies of recent years. One

would think that some of these pundits would look at the

sheer carnage they delivered in Iraq--the 3200 American dead

and the hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqi civilians--and be

shamed into shutting up. But no such luck.

In this context, and on this Good Friday, it is worth

recalling Jesus' words in Matthew 5:9, ``Blessed are the

peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.''

That is not exactly what the critics are calling Pelosi.

But, the New Testament notwithstanding, peacemakers are

rarely praised in their own time while the cheerleaders for

unnecessary wars are never, held accountable for them.

Pelosi is too smart to expect plaudits for trying to deter

war rather than simply standing firm behind a status quo that

will inevitably produce the next one.

Readers of this column know that I like to hearken back to

the great missed opportunity of 1971. That was when Prime

Minister Golda Meir rebuffed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat's

call on Israel to pull back from the Suez Canal. Sadat said

that in exchange for a pullback of just a few miles--which

would enable Egypt to re-open the canal--he would begin

negotiating a peace agreement with Israel.

This week Yediot Achronot revealed new information about

the missed opportunity. Zeev Tzahor reports that then-

American Secretary of State, William Rogers, was so disturbed

by Golda's rejection that he enlisted Israel's first Prime

Minister, David Ben Gurion, to try to persuade her to, at

least, seriously consider the offer.

Let the Yediot columnist, Zeev Tzahor, tell the rest of the

story:

``The 85-year-old Ben-Gurion was retired . . . His

relations with Golda were poor, and he was not particularly

eager to speak with her. Rogers implored him. The Egyptian

initiative is a one-time opportunity, he said, but Golda has

taken a dismissive, supercilious view of it. She admires you,

maybe she'll heed your advice. Ben-Gurion acquiesced, and

asked his aides to put him in touch with Golda in Jerusalem.

``The brief conversation between them was acerbic. The

people present in the room heard Ben-Gurion repeat why she

ought to begin negotiations with Egypt . . . While the people

present in the room could not hear what Golda was saying on

the other side of the line, it was clear to them that she was

not interested in promoting the Egyptian initiative.

``Ben-Gurion lost his patience, lambasted Golda and said

she was leading Israel to catastrophe, and terminated the

conversation. For some reason, he placed the receiver down on

the table and not in its cradle. The people present in the

room heard Golda calling, ``Ben-Gurion, Ben-Gurion,'' but he

refused to pick up the telephone again. He just kept

repeating, ``war is going to break out soon, war is coming.''

It did. Israel lost nearly 3,000 men. Ben Gurion died a few

weeks later. Israel ended up relinquishing not just the west

bank of the Suez Canal, as Sadat had demanded but every last

inch of the Sinai peninsula.

Until this week, I had never heard that Secretary of State

William Rogers tried so hard to help Israel avert

catastrophe. All I recalled about him was that the pro-Israel

community despised him because he was thought to have applied

pressure on Israel.

Little did I know that the pressure was in the form of the

wise counsel of David Ben-Gurion, the founder of the Jewish

state.

I hope Pelosi is not daunted by the criticism emanating

from all the usual suspects. Her delegation's visit to the

Middle East advanced America's interests and Israel's too. As

they like to say in that region: the dogs bark but the

caravan moves on.

I thank the chairman of the Budget Committee for recognizing me.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this fiscally responsible and morally sound budget resolution. I am especially proud that it prioritizes health care for our neediest children over tax breaks for our wealthiest few.

For the first time in my tenure in Congress, I feel we have a blueprint that invests in our future. I want to commend Chairman Spratt and my colleagues on the Budget Committee for including the necessary funds to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program to every child who qualifies. These are children of hardworking families. Low- income children and their families should have access to the same quality health care as everyone else, but the reality is that they don't. Under the President's budget, even more of them would have been cut off from SCHIP and Medicaid.

As a former school nurse, I can tell you that children without health care translates into children who do not receive primary care, who do not receive dental care, who are sent to school sick, who suffer from preventable illnesses.

I applaud the $50 billion investment into SCHIP because it is sure to bring us great returns, returns in the form of healthy, productive children. After all, that is what we have been sent here to do. I urge my colleagues to support this budget and support this bill.

I thank my colleague from New Jersey for yielding and for your leadership on this and the other health bills that we have been dealing with lately.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act, known as the STOP Stroke bill. I have been very proud to work on this legislation over several years with my colleague, Chip Pickering; and I am thrilled that it has come before the House today. I thank our staffs for all of us and those who have supported this legislation in the past, particularly calling to mind the groups that Mr. Chairman mentioned in support of the legislation, groups across the country made up of survivors of stroke and those who are very interested in what we do here today.

It has been mentioned that stroke is the Nation's number three killer, a leading cause of long-term disability, and it's also known but not widely understood that stroke affects all age groups, not just the very elderly. It cuts through every socioeconomic and ethnic group. It really is a very significant destroyer of lives and homes and families, as it has such devastating results as it affects people.

Across this country, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds.

In my State of California, stroke accounts for approximately 7 percent of deaths. In 2004, that amounted to nearly 17,000 individuals. So many of these deaths due to stroke are preventable. Others are treatable.

The staggering numbers of death and long-term disability due to stroke means that it is now time that we pass into law a comprehensive plan for preventing, for diagnosing, and for treating stroke. H.R. 477 would accomplish this goal by authorizing the resources needed to implement coordinated stroke systems.

The bill's first initiative would create a national awareness campaign that would educate both patients and providers. Not enough people know the symptoms of stroke when it impacts them.

We must standardize prevention and early treatment in order to achieve real results in our fight against stroke. In order to further improve education about stroke prevention, diagnosis and treatment, this bill will authorize grants for qualified health professional programs so that providers are equipped with the most up-to-date information and technologies.

H.R. 477 would also maintain the Paul Coverdell Registry, which serves as a clearinghouse of information about stroke care and best practices.

And, finally, it would make up to seven grants available to conduct pilot projects on how we may be able to improve stroke outcomes through telehealth networks.

I am very proud of this bill's comprehensive approach to improve our ability to manage stroke in the United States.

Only when we tackle this disease from all angles, from prevention, from treatment, from coordination of care, can we really make progress. So I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 477. And I look forward to seeing it finally signed into law.

Thank you, Mr. Obey.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act.

For the past 4 years, the previous leadership in this Congress has given the President a blank check for his misguided and mismanaged war in Iraq. That war has taken the lives of more than 3,200 of our brave troops, wounded tens of thousands more; countless Iraqis have died.

Congress refused to fulfill its constitutional obligation for oversight and its moral obligation to end the war. So today, we take the first step toward meeting those duties.

Mr. Speaker, I have opposed the Iraq war from the beginning; I voted against it in 2002. And as a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus, I want to bring our troops home sooner than the fall of 2008. But tomorrow, with this bill, we all will make a decision. Either we will continue to give this President a blank check in Iraq on a never-ending war, or we will have established a responsible timetable for withdrawing our troops. Bring this war to an end. The choice is clear for me, I will vote to bring this war to an end.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding, and it is such a pleasure to rise in strong support of H. Res. 149 and to commend my colleague from Illinois, Jan Schakowsky, for bringing attention through this resolution to International Women's Day, and to thank my colleagues here in the House for their support of this resolution.

As my friend from Illinois has pointed out, with today's passage of this resolution, the Congressional Caucus for

Women's Issues is passing the first item on its must-pass agenda list for the 110th Congress. What a fitting way that we begin this session and acknowledge the importance of International Women's Day and the significance of it in our country and around the world.

As we look around this world and we look here at home, we see that women are reaching the highest levels of power in many parts of the world and with our own country as well. They are being elected and appointed into positions previously reserved only for men.

We see this in our communities, in business positions and education and in civic life and we see it here in Congress. As has been noted, we have for the first time in our 200-year history as a democracy we have a woman Speaker of the House. We have in this 110th Congress the most women who have every served in this House. The Senate can say the same this year.

At the same time, today, women remain around the world and here in this country more likely to live in poverty, lack education, be victimized by violence than ever before.

It is my pleasure and privilege to serve on the House Democracy Assistance Commission. In that capacity, I have visited several emerging democracies and have met with parliamentarians of other countries where these democracies are emerging. In each case, it is the women Members who reach out to me on behalf of their sisters throughout their country, and note with dismay that they have so many challenges to meet the needs of the women that they serve.

I was especially touched when I visited the women of Afghanistan in their 1-year-old democracy who have struggled over the years and are still struggling and are so determined, despite the extreme oppression by the Taliban, determined to take their role in the parliament. Both threats on their lives and harassment and violence have marred that passage. Determined to make a better life for themselves and their children.

Let me call out a similar kind of situation, a grassroots networking that I have seen and we have all experienced around this world today, networking to provide microloans from woman to woman, as is one of the nonprofit organizations called, giving women the opportunity to become self-sufficient for themselves and their families. They look to us as role models and as leaders, and yet we have our own challenges here.

So as we become that role model for so many democracies around the world in so many emerging democracies, as we see that we have challenges facing our women in this country, let us celebrate then International Women's Day this Thursday making a firmer commitment to improving the lives of women here in the United States and throughout this world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 276, the Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station Outstanding Natural Area Act.

First, I want to thank the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Mr. Rahall, and chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Mr. Grijalva, as well as the ranking members of the full Committee and Subcommittee for expediting the consideration of this legislation and for bringing H.R. 276 before us today. This bill was passed by the House of Representatives last year but was never acted on by the Senate.

H.R. 276 would designate the Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station-- located in my congressional district--as an Outstanding Natural Area within the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.

The Piedras Blancas Light Station is located on an 18-acre parcel of BLM administered land along the Pacific Coast in San Luis Obispo County. The property is adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway and the Hearst Castle State Historic Monument, and it looks over a pristine coastal area that includes the southern portion of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and California Coastal National Monument. It is also nationally recognized as an important monitoring point for migrating whales, and is used by the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Marine Fisheries Service and a number of universities and colleges for marine wildlife and plant research.

The Light Station and the surrounding area are also important for tourism. For example, the national historic Light House--built in 1879--is a main destination focal point on the central coast, and the peninsula is very popular for viewing sea otters, elephant seals, and sea lions from shore. The elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas attracts an estimated 400,000 visitors annually.

In 2001, BLM assumed ownership and management of the Light Station from the U.S. Coast Guard. Since then, BLM, State and local agencies, community stakeholders and conservation groups have developed a very successful partnership to preserve the Light Station.

Some of these partners include: the Piedras Blancas Light Station Association; California State Parks; San Luis Obispo County; the cities of Cambria and San Simeon; the California Coastal Conservancy and Coastal Commission; NOAA; and the Hearst Corporation.

As a result of their hard work, the site was re-opened to public tours in 2003--for the first time in 128 years. These partners continue to work together on a series of environmental education, historical restoration and resource protection programs; and, I'm confidant they will each support and showcase this national designation if enacted.

My legislation tracks the successful model of designating the Oregon Coast's Yaquina Head as an Outstanding Natural Area, which was signed into law in 1980. Yaquina Head was later included in the National Landscape Conservation System.

Like Yaquina Head, the addition of the Piedras Blancas Light Station to the NLCS would be an important step in protecting and preserving this valuable natural and historic resource. It will also focus attention on the restoration of the Light Station and surrounding area, specifically the three on-site National Register properties; and, it will serve as a means to increase public awareness of the Light Station's scientific, cultural and educational values.

Specifically, H.R. 276 stresses long-term conservation of the Light Station by requiring timely completion of a management plan. The management plan would be developed through a public process and include guidelines for restoration of the National Register of Historic Places buildings, including the Light House; public access; ecological and cultural resource management; and, fostering scientific study and research opportunities.

Mr. Speaker, the Piedras Blancas Light Station is a wonderful resource. It has the potential to serve as a model for future resource management, and therefore would be an appropriate addition to the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System.

Again, I would like to thank the Committee on Natural Resources for supporting this bill to designate Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station as an Outstanding Natural Area, and urge its immediate passage.

Madam Chairman, an original cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, I rise in strong support of the bill.

Last November, Americans responded to our commitment to change, and voted in the

new Democratic majority. Last month we affirmed that commitment by voting to increase the minimum wage--the first increase in over a decade. Today, we further that commitment by helping to increase access to health care, better pay, and better retirement benefits for millions of American workers by passing the Employee Free Choice Act.

America's workforce desperately needs our help. During this period of so-called economic growth, American workers have seen their incomes flat-line while the salaries of the wealthiest one percent have skyrocketed. They have seen the costs of basic necessities such as health care, education, transportation, food and housing rise while the number of quality jobs falls.

The Employee Free Choice Act will help narrow this growing income disparity by making it easier for American workers to unionize if they so choose. Statistics show that unionized workers earn higher wages, have greater access to health care, and receive better retirement benefits. This bill will level the playing field and help narrow the growing income gap that is plaguing our Nation.

The ability of workers to unionize is a fundamental right that must be protected. While many employers treat their workers fairly, and respect their right to unionize, many more do not. For far too long, some employers have routinely restricted the rights of workers by threatening, coercing and even firing employees who attempt to form a union.

Opponents of the bill claim that current law adequately protects the rights of workers who want to form a union. However, any American worker will tell you that it does no such thing.

Under current law, employers can force employees to attend mandatory, closed-door meetings to listen to anti-union propaganda, while employees I are denied the right to rebut.

Under current law, employers can block the formation of a union by dragging out negotiations indefinitely, while employees are denied the collective representation they voted for.

And, under current law, employers routinely fire workers for merely discussing union activities, and employees are denied their pay while the NLRB takes months to take action.

The truth is that the system is badly broken, and must be repaired. This bill would begin to fix the system by making it easier for employees to form unions and giving workers a fair seat at the bargaining table by establishing a system of mediation and arbitration.

Too many employees have been denied their rights for far too long. It is time that we stand up and protect America's workers from the abuse, coercion, and intimidation they have endured for generations. While much work still must be done to protect these workers, the Employee Free Choice Act is a strong step in the right direction.

I urge my colleagues to help America's workers, and vote ``yes'' on

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of my California district staff. They would like to honor Jeremy Rabinovitz as he prepares to go to the ``dark side.''

For the past 10 years Jeremy has led a variety of personalities with a variety of interests. He was able to take a group of passionate, idealistic former volunteers from a Congressional campaign, who in 1996 did what seemed like the impossible, won a Democratic seat in a district that had been held by a Republican for almost 50 years, and turned them into a functioning Congressional district staff.

Not all of the district staff has had the pleasure to be entertained by his top ``10 things that a chief of staff doesn't want to hear from his Member of Congress.'' Not all of the district staff has had the opportunity to experience one of his occasional visits to the district. Nor has the district staff had the opportunity, during the Special Election, to be serenaded at 5 a.m. on Election Day by his rendition of ``Sunrise, Sunset.'' Neither have very many staff experienced the sight of Jeremy walking a predominately Spanish speaking precinct with a 3 x 5 card that said, ``A votado hoy?''

Not only did JR lead a variety of personalities, he was quite adept at impersonating a lot of leaders--religious leaders. He had an uncanny ability to invoke the Lutheran minister, the African American preacher and the Jewish rabbi. Had he stayed around a few more years, he no doubt would have mastered the Muslim imam, or become an enlightened Buddhist. Jeremy has indeed enlightened us in many ways.

There are far too many comments that staff wanted to include in this honorable document. The one sentiment, not to be confused with sediment, both of which this district has much of, was that every district staff member appreciated the confidence he had in them.

Madam Speaker, the time has come for all of us, the Capps Family of the past and present, to send our good wishes and our indescribable affection, for this remarkable man who was our ``Chief of Staff.'' Shalom and mazel tov!

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all of the fine colleagues that we have who are from Georgia for giving each and every one of us a chance to speak. I am not from Georgia, and I know he was your favorite son, but I do want to give this as my chance to honor this very distinguished Member of Congress, Charlie Norwood.

I rise, Mr. Speaker, today with a heavy heart but also real admiration for the life of this dear colleague of ours, Charlie Norwood. And my heart as well as all of our hearts go out to his family members, to his community, and to all of the people whose life he has touched.

I had the privilege of serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee with Charlie for several years and had the opportunity to work with him on initiatives in the Health Subcommittee. And though he and I come from vastly different places on the ideological spectrum, we were often able to see eye to eye on health policy as two health professionals serving in Congress.

I was proud to work with him in co-chairing the School Health and Safety Caucus, where we used the opportunity to spotlight ways in which we could improve the health of children through school-based initiatives. I was also honored to work with him on legislation to promote children's dental health.

I think we can all agree that Charlie will be remembered as reliably conservative, but also as an independent thinker. His leadership on establishing a Patients' Bill of Rights was exemplary of his willingness to go out on a limb for something in which he truly believed. He introduced that bill shortly before I came to Congress, and the momentum for passage of the Patients' Bill of Rights was one of the main reasons that I was eager to serve on this Health Subcommittee, which he belonged to.

I admired his characteristic patient-centered approach to health care policy. It wasn't popular with some of our colleagues, and the President flat-out warned that his bill would be vetoed. But Charlie continued forward and was looking forward to an opportunity to finally pass the Patients' Bill of Rights in its original form in this, the 110th Congress.

So I want to take this opportunity to express again my condolences to the Norwood family and to thank them all for the tremendous years, 12 years, of service that they allowed their Charlie to serve with us all in Congress. And I thank my colleagues again.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution supporting our troops and disapproving the President's plan to escalate the war in Iraq.

More than 4 years ago, the resolution to support a war in Iraq came before this House. After careful consideration of the evidence and arguments put forth for a unilateral preemptive attack on Iraq, I decided I could not in good conscience vote for that resolution.

My ``no'' vote against the President's plan for war in Iraq is one of my proudest moments in Congress. I didn't believe the case where war had been made. There was no real evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The administration's arguments about al Qaeda connections with Iraq were specious, and its attempt to link Iraq with the tragedy of 9/11 was shameful.

I was deeply concerned about the effects of preemptive war on America's standing in the world, and equally worried about the ramifications for the greater Middle East, a region of great importance and even greater fragility. And I had strong concerns about the administration's preparation for the aftermath of a war in Iraq. The administration was completely focused on waging war and not on winning the peace.

Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, all of those concerns have been borne out. There were no WMDs, no al Qaeda connections, no 9/11 link. It was all trumped up evidence by an administration consumed with toppling the dictator in Iraq. Today, Iraq is in civil war, the Middle East is even more unsettled, and our standing in the world is at a low point. The international support given to America after 9/11 was squandered and will take years to repair the damage. And, as a Nation, we are even less secure today than we were the day we invaded Iraq. I point this out only because it is critically important to know where we have been if we want to know where we should be going.

This resolution gives voice to the deep, deep opposition here in the Congress and throughout the country to the President's plan for escalating the war in Iraq.

I speak for the vast majority of my constituents on the central coast of California when I state my unequivocal opposition to this escalation. The administration's plan looks like more of the same failed policies that got us here in the first place. It is a plan based more on hope than on fact, buttressed by hysterical rhetoric. It is a plan opposed by numerous military leaders and experts. It is, quite frankly, simply not believable.

The recent National Intelligence Estimate makes it perfectly clear that the President's grand plan is just never going to work. The resolution here before us puts Congress on record against the proposition that success will come only after more troops are thrown into battle.

The other objective of this resolution is to remind everyone that opposing the war in Iraq, and especially opposing the President's escalation, is consistent with supporting our troops. Our men and women in uniform have done everything we have asked them to do and so much more. Over 3,000 have made the ultimate sacrifice. More than 20,000 others have been injured, so very many of them seriously.

Let no one doubt the bravery of our troops and the support that I and my colleagues who are opposed to this war have for them. I am eternally grateful for the sacrifices our men and women in uniform and their families are willing to make every single day. They continue the long distinguished line of soldiers, sailors and airmen that have kept our country and so many others free from tyranny and oppression, but their service is due more than heartfelt appreciation and flowery words from politicians.

Their sacrifice, their service, is owed responsible leadership from those civilian leaders with whom power ultimately rests, and that is where our soldiers have been let down. This administration has taken arrogance, stubbornness and incompetence to new heights. It ignored the advice of military experts leading up to and throughout this war.

It stocked reconstruction teams with political hacks, and it brushed off the indisputable reality of Iraq in a meltdown. It dismissed the considered opinion of the Iraq Study Group, the Congress, most importantly, the American people.

Make no mistake, the failure of the war in Iraq lies at the highest levels of the White House and at the desks of the Pentagon's civilian leadership, and the cost of that failure is borne by our troops, their families and the Iraqi people. It is time for the administration to stop obfuscating the conditions on the ground in Iraq, stop the charade about so-called new plans that will finally bring success in Iraq.

Madam Speaker, it is time to stop the war in Iraq. Support the troops. Indeed, bring them home.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge American Heart Month, which is observed each year throughout February. I anticipate that many of my colleagues will attend events in their districts commemorating Heart Month, as I will.

As we do, I urge all of us to pay special attention to the effects of heart disease on women. The good news is that heart disease deaths are beginning to decline among women.

The bad news remains, however, that heart disease is still the number one killer of women in this country. Although awareness among women about their risks for heart disease is increasing, awareness remains particularly low among minority women.

Let's take the opportunity during American Heart Month to talk with the women in our lives and in our community about their risks for heart disease and the preventive steps they can take to decrease these risks.