Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the late George Ramos, a longtime Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in Los Angeles, a Cal Poly professor, and a decorated Vietnam War veteran who devoted much of his life to honoring the Latino community that he knew so well and loved.

Mr. Ramos grew up in the area of East Los Angeles known as Belvedere Garden. As we learned through his own writings, Mr. Ramos escaped the trappings of poverty, drugs and gang life that plagued the area to attend college and embark on a distinguished career in journalism.

Among his many professional highlights, Mr. Ramos is heralded for his contributions to a Los Angeles Times groundbreaking series on Latinos in Southern California that earned the newspaper a 1984 Pulitzer Prize.

As part of this series, Mr. Ramos authored a July 27, 1983 article entitled ``Going Home: American Dream Lives in the Barrio,'' in which Mr. Ramos shares with readers the story of his boyhood life growing up in the ``hillside barrio.'' I would like to honor his memory today by submitting the full text of this article into the Congressional Record.

On a more personal note, I was also deeply impressed by another thorough, fact-filled, and beautifully written article about Los Angeles' Latino community that Mr. Ramos authored--my father's October 25, 2005 obituary. In the first sentence, he described my father, the late Congressman Edward Roybal, as a ``pioneer in Latino politics in Los Angeles and a godfather and mentor to scores of lawmakers.'' I find it truly fitting that many of the same words are being used over and over to describe his own life's contributions to journalism.

In addition to his reporting, I have also had the privilege, year after year, of joining Mr. Ramos and other Latino veterans on Memorial Day at Cinco Puntos in Boyle Heights near the Mexican-American All Wars Memorial. A Purple Heart recipient and proud Latino veteran, Mr. Ramos made it a priority to honor our fallen men and women in uniform and often served as the event's Master of Ceremony.

To more fulIy capture Mr. Ramos' life and accomplishments, I would also like to submit into the Congressional Record the following article that appeared in the online publication, CalCoastNews, where Mr. Ramos most recently volunteered as an editor. In the July 26 article, Los Angeles elected officials are quoted universally praising Mr. Ramos' talent for storytelling and his devotion to Los Angeles' Latino community.

Mr. Speaker, as his family, colleagues, fellow veterans, students and many friends prepare to gather for his memorial service August 6 at the Veterans' Memorial Building in Morro Bay, I ask my colleagues to please join me and the entire Los Angeles community in extending our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Ramos' loved ones and all of those whose lives he touched. By all accounts, this self-described ``kid from East L.A.'' served Los Angeles well and will be greatly missed.

Los Angeles City Council Adjourns in Memory of George Ramos

(July 26, 2011) CalCoastNews--The Los Angeles City Council

adjourned today's meeting in memory of George Ramos, a three-

time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, columnist and editor

for the Los Angeles Times, Cal Poly professor, and

CalCoastNews editor who was more comfortable referring to

himself as ``the kid from East L.A.''

Ramos, who suffered from increased complications from

diabetes, was found dead at his home in Morro Bay Saturday.

He was 63.

``George was a tenacious reporter and a brilliant story

teller who always wrote from the heart,'' said Mayor Antonio

Villaraigosa. ``A proud son of the Eastside, he intimately

captured the Latino experience in Los Angeles and never lost

sight of the human dimension in journalism. He will be

greatly missed but his legacy and enduring love for our City

will live on through the many young journalists he mentored

throughout the years.''

Ramos was born in Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 1947. He grew up

in Belvedere Garden, a neighborhood he described in a 1984

Pulitzer Prize series story as an East L.A. hillside barrio

inhabited by ``poor but proud people'' with ``hopes as

resilient as tall wheat in a summer breeze.'' Ramos graduated

from Garfield High School and attended Cal Poly San Luis

Obispo where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism in

1969. He joined the Vietnam War effort, serving in the U.S.

Army from March 1970 to September 1971 in West Germany and

South Vietnam. He was awarded the Purple Heart after

suffering a leg wound.

``I first met George over the phone when I was studying in

Oxford more than 15 years ago and recently saw him on

Memorial Day at Cinco Puntos. In the intervening years, I

came to appreciate his unique perspective on issues facing

our great city. His death is a loss for us all,'' said

Council President Eric Garcetti.

First District Councilmember Ed P. Reyes said: ``George

Ramos was a street reporter, passionate and fiery, who

constantly searched for the human side of the news. We will

miss his ability to seek truth. It's a perspective that's

needed now more than ever and we will miss him.''

Ramos joined the L.A. Times in 1978 after working for

Copley News Service and the San Diego Union. During his

career at the Times, he went on to win three Pulitzer Prizes,

an honor only a handful of Latino reporters has accomplished

in journalism history.

``As a teacher, journalist and veteran, George Ramos was a

friend and mentor to many,'' said Fourteenth District

Councilmember Jose Huizar. ``His influence crossed

generations. His keen intellect, sharp sense of humor and

deep sense of humanity will be dearly missed. I'm fortunate

to have had the opportunity to see all his gifts displayed at

our annual Veterans' Memorial commemoration at Cinco Puntos

in Boyle Heights, which George participated in numerous

times. My thoughts and prayers go out to all mourning the

loss of this great man.''

Tenth District Councilmember Herb Wesson said: ``George

Ramos had roots in many communities, and the fact that he

cared about those communities was reflected in his writing.

He was a fine journalist, and a great role model. The many

young journalists he trained, and who maintain his high

standards, are the important legacy he leaves us.''

``George Ramos had a monumental impact because he was

fearless in seeking out the truth and sharing it with the

public. I am among the many fans who greatly admired him for

his journalistic skills, personal and professional integrity

and incredible dedication. Most of all, I appreciate how much

he accomplished not just through the printed word but through

his own humanity, as he was a wonderful and caring person who

mentored countless others, giving them tools and wisdom with

which to build a better career, life and world,'' said Fifth

District Councilmember Paul Koretz.

Ramos and former Times editor Frank Sotomayor were co-

editors of a groundbreaking series on Latinos in Southern

California that won the paper the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal

for Meritorious Public Service in 1984. Seventeen Latino

journalists worked on the 27-part series. Ramos also was part

of the Times reporting teams that were awarded Pulitzer

Prizes for coverage of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and the

1994 Northridge earthquake.

Seventh District Councilmember Richard Alarcon said:

``Molded by the mentorship of Ruben Salazar and Frank del

Olmo, George Ramos had a very personal connection to his Los

Angeles roots and his writing reflected this. By embracing

his background, Ramos helped shape the conscience of Los

Angeles.''

In 2003, Ramos left the Times to return to San Luis Obispo

where he served as Cal Poly Journalism Department Chair.

Ramos, a mentor to young Latino reporters, also

served as president of the California Chicano News Media

Association and was inducted into the National Association of

Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame in 2007. Ramos returned to

the teaching ranks and continued to serve as the faculty

advisor to the Mustang Daily, the student newspaper. He also

volunteered as an editor for CalCoastNews, a San Luis Obispo-

based website. He admitted, however, that he missed Los

Angeles.

Ramos was quoted as saying: ``I can't just sit on my

laurels. I didn't get into journalism for the rewards. I

still consider myself as the kid from East L.A.''

George Ramos, the kid from East L.A., served Los Angeles

well, the city said in a press release.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to introduce the Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2011. My bill addresses the sobering fact that the United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of any developed nation.

With nearly 750,000 pregnancies a year, teen pregnancy is a critical public health issue that costs our country $10.9 billion annually. Contributing to the seriousness of this issue is that 82 percent of these pregnancies are unplanned.

While it is true our Nation has made progress in reducing the rate of teen pregnancy, the fact remains that many minority communities still have disproportionately high rates. For example, among all Latina and African American girls, over half will get pregnant at least once before age 20, compared to 19 percent of Caucasian non-Hispanic girls.

Giving birth during these teenage years increases the risk of infant mortality, premature birth, complications, and low birth weight. Also of great concern is the fact that teen pregnancies can lead to significant social, educational, and financial burdens to families and to our country.

Research tells us that girls who become pregnant during adolescence are less likely to finish school, have higher rates of unemployment, and a greater dependence on public assistance. In addition to these tragic consequences, many young girls in physically abusive relationships are three times more likely to become pregnant than nonabused girls.

While there is no simple solution to address teen sexual behavior, it is possible to reduce teen pregnancy with a strategy of sexual health education that takes into account cultural and linguistic differences.

My bill is designed to do just that.

The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act will help reduce the disturbing rates of teen pregnancy in minority communities by supporting new and existing teen pregnancy prevention program interventions with a focus on strengthening community-based organizations, by reinforcing our multimedia campaigns to provide public health education, by increasing awareness about teen pregnancy prevention and healthy relationships, by enhancing research in communities of color that examine factors contributing to disproportionate high rates of teenage and unintended pregnancy, and by examining the role violence and abuse play in the decisions young people make about relationships, sex, pregnancy and childbearing.

Mr. Speaker, our daughters deserve equal opportunities to build a bright future. By preventing teen pregnancies and promoting healthy relationships, we can pave the way for our teenage girls to blossom into women and mothers who have realized their full potential.

I strongly urge my colleagues to cosponsor and help pass the Communities of Color Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2011.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Professor Mel Baron of the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy upon his receipt of the Pinnacle Award for Individual Achievement by the American Pharmacists Association Foundation (APhA).

Dr. Baron, who is now celebrating his 52nd year in the pharmacy profession, ranks as a practice pioneer, an educational futurist and a regional force in meeting the pharmacy needs of our community. He has been a visionary in establishing pharmacy as part of the solution in meeting the health-care needs of Southern California's 2.7 million uninsured residents. Dr. Baron is a recognized leader in providing expanded pharmacy services in safety-net clinics that increase the number of patients served while also providing better and more cost- efficient care. His pioneering effort to secure USC's first funding grant for clinical pharmacy practice in safety-net clinics earned the School of Pharmacy the APhA Pinnacle Award for Group Practice, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) Best Practices Award and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy's (AACP) Transformative Community Service Award over the past few years.

Furthering his efforts to address the needs of underserved populations in Southern California, Dr. Baron has produced a series of Spanish and English fotonovelas (comic book-like pamphlets) on medication compliance, diabetes, folic acid, depression, dementia, pediatric asthma and childhood obesity. Recognizing the lack of culturally sensitive health information on these topics, Dr. Baron obtained grant funding to produce them. Through these materials, he has extended the reach of pharmacy expertise tremendously and offered vital information to the residents I represent in East Los Angeles. These fotonovelas have now been distributed across the country. In addition to the print versions, local actors have done theatrical readings of them at health fairs in Los Angeles. Currently, he is also leading an effort to produce a DVD series for prospective transplant patients and their families.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Baron worked in his own medical-building pharmacy. In the 1970s, he grew his business into a vibrant home-care pharmacy that met the pressing needs of patients struggling to live in a health-care environment with limited resources. At a time when home- care pharmacy services were in their infancy, Dr. Baron had the vision to use pharmacist expertise in the home-care setting to meet the needs of these patients.

Dr. Baron also approaches his teaching with excellence in mind. He originated externships for USC pharmacy students back in the 1980s-- long before most pharmacy students were doing any clinical work in the early years of their curriculum. Dr. Baron recognized the wisdom of exposing pharmacy students to clinical settings early and often in their educational careers. Dr. Baron also has made it a priority to teach an annual course on leadership to pharmacy students.

Clearly, Dr. Baron has been at the forefront of the most pressing issues of pharmacy today. Through hard work, Dr. Baron's long and vibrant career has been marked by pioneering foresight and vision. In addition, his work has inspired students and served those in our community who are most vulnerable and in need.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to please join me in congratulating Dr. Baron on his receipt of the Pinnacle Award and in thanking him for his half-century of exceptional service to our community. His tireless leadership, innovation and inspiration have made a tremendous contribution to our community and to the nation, and I extend to him my best wishes for many more successful years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and was not present for rollcall votes numbered 417 and 418 on Tuesday, June 14, 2011. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on both rollcalls.

Mr. Speaker, for 5 months this Congress has debated how best to address the looming crisis of our national deficit. While the debate has often been partisan and polarized, one thing we Democrats and Republicans agree on is that addressing our national health care expenditures is a critical part of the solution.

A major component of the escalating health care costs in this country is maternity care. The cost of maternity care for mother and child in the U.S. is more than double that of any country in the world. But despite the exorbitant amount of money we spend on maternity care, the U.S. ranks far behind nearly all developed countries in maternal and infant outcomes.

Sadly, childbirth continues to have significant risks for mothers and babies, especially in communities of color. Many factors contribute to these poor outcomes and high costs. The most disturbing by far is the fact that there is a vast body of knowledge regarding best evidence- based maternity care, yet current U.S. practice does not follow that research. This results in the widespread overuse of maternity procedures, including cesarean sections and scheduled inductions, which credible evidence tells us are beneficial only in limited situations.

Unfortunately, the overuse of these practices results in longer maternity hospital stays and multiple costly procedures that contribute to making combined mother and infant childbirth charges our most costly hospital and Medicaid expenditures.

To address these poor outcomes and high costs, today I am introducing the Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services for the 21st Century Act. The MOMS for the 21st Century Act will create a national focus on optimal maternity care by establishing an interagency coordinating committee to ensure Federal agencies are promoting the best evidence-based maternity practices in their programs.

The bill also authorizes an extensive media campaign to educate consumers on how to achieve the healthiest maternity outcomes, including the importance of maternity practices such as smoking cessation programs in pregnancy and group model prenatal care.

These and other noninvasive practices have been shown to produce considerable improvement in outcomes with no detrimental side effects but, regrettably, they are significantly underused in this country.

Furthermore, the bill will expand research on best maternity practices and will direct collection of data on maternity shortage areas. It will also facilitate the development of more interdisciplinary maternity care workforce by bringing together maternity care providers to develop core curricula across maternity professional disciplines, and it establishes a loan repayment program for maternity care providers who commit to work in underserved areas.

Finally, the MOMS for the 21st Century Act will support the education of a more culturally and linguistically diverse workforce by authorizing grant programs for maternity professional organizations to recruit and retain minority providers.

Mr. Speaker, we can and we must do better for mothers and newborns. As a country, we must reach beyond our self-imposed boundaries to embrace and prioritize an evidence-based model of maternity care that will save lives and save money.

I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort by cosponsoring and helping to pass the MOMS for the 21st Century Act.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this bill which irresponsibly slashes over $1 billion from programs that protect and support the ability of our local police, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel to quickly and adequately respond to a disaster or a terrorist attack.

The destructive flooding across the Mississippi Basin and the devastating tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri have demonstrated the need for a rapid and effective response to save lives. This is true of other parts of our country, like my home city of Los Angeles, which is vulnerable to fires and earthquakes and is one of the top 10 targets for a terrorist attack.

My police departments, firefighters, and first responders have said that the cuts in this bill will delay their implementation of a badly needed interoperable communications system, which is critical to their emergency coordination efforts.

It was the lack of this kind of technology during the 9/11 attacks that contributed to hundreds of deaths. The cuts in this bill also jeopardize the security of our Nation's ports--the Port of Los Angeles, Long Beach, for example, tells us that the cuts to port security grants would seriously threaten their ability to protect the port and to continue critical security training programs. An attack on this complex alone would have devastating consequences on our economy.

FEMA director Craig Fugate testified before our subcommittee that degrading the capabilities of State and local governments would likely magnify the impact of a disaster and ultimately increase the total costs to taxpayers.

This bill turns a blind eye to these realities. It is a dangerous bill that weakens our national security and undermines the ability of our first responders to safely meet the dangerous challenges they face every day.

America cannot cut its way to greater security. Today's realities require that our first responders and our Department of Homeland Security receive funding commensurate with the scale and the severity of the threats America faces.

I ask my colleagues to join me in opposing H.R. 2017.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles--the hub of Los Angeles' Jewish community--on the occasion of its 100 year anniversary.

Founded in 1911, the Federation is dedicated to ensuring the continuity of the Jewish people, supporting a secure state of Israel, caring for those in need, and mobilizing its members on political issues of concern to the Los Angeles community. In fulfilling its mission, the Federation spent more than $50 million last year alone to enhance the lives of families throughout Los Angeles County.

The Jewish Federation is committed to ensuring the quality and reducing the cost of Jewish educational experiences by supporting pre- schools, religious/synagogue schools and day schools. The Federation offers financial aid to families to assist them in paying for full-time Jewish education. In addition, the Federation sends thousands of young Jews on educational missions to Israel each year to enable them to fully experience Jewish history and culture.

The well-being of low-income Jews and seniors is also a core priority for the Federation, especially when a senior is a Holocaust survivor. The Federation supports an array of programs to help survivors and vulnerable seniors, including senior centers that offer meals and social activities, as well as in-home services, legal services and reparations advocacy. Through its Emergency Cash Grant Program, the Federation provides aid for those who need help paying for necessities such as rent, food and medical care.

Reaching out to the broader community, the Federation is dedicated to ending hunger in Los Angeles and improving literacy among local public elementary school children. The Federation partners with other faith communities, civic groups and elected officials to reduce hunger across the City by implementing and funding hunger prevention and awareness activities. The Federation also operates the City's largest volunteer children's literacy program in the Los Angeles Unified School District. For more than 12 years, the Federation has trained and placed over 10,500 volunteers as reading partners reaching over 22,000 LAUSD students in high risk elementary schools. Through its many partnerships across Los Angeles, the Jewish Federation helps to provide aid to Jews and others who need assistance in areas such as job training and career counseling, scholarships, school loans, and emergency aid.

Throughout the course of its history, the Federation has also engaged the Jewish community in political advocacy. The Federation's long-held commitment to social justice was especially evident during the Civil Rights Movement.

My father, the late Congressman Edward Roybal, always credited coalition building among Mexican Americans and Jews as having played a major role in his successful election to the Los Angeles City Council in 1949, when he became the first L.A. City Councilmember of Latino heritage in modern times.

This unprecedented political alliance was born in part out of the history of Boyle Heights in my congressional district, where my father lived and I grew up. From 1910-1950, Boyle Heights was the largest Jewish community west of the Mississippi, with approximately 75,000 Yiddish-speaking Eastern European Jewish immigrants living side-by-side with neighbors from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.

Today, 62 years after my father won that landmark city council election, I am proud to be part of an effort to preserve the community's Jewish history through the restoration of the Breed Street Shul. This Shul--built in 1915 and expanded in 1923--is the last remaining synagogue of the 30 that once dotted Boyle Height's landscape. It is my hope that this ongoing multi-million preservation effort, which includes exhibition space, will re-tell the area's history for current and future generations.

While the Jewish community boasts a proud history in the 34th Congressional District and throughout Los Angeles, the Jewish Federation's centennial anniversary celebration will kick-off a new focus on its future. With an eye toward reinventing itself to best serve the changing needs of its membership and the community at large, Jay Sanderson, the Federation's President, says, ``We must be innovative in our work, as well as incorporate new ways to reach and engage with our community so we can successfully ensure a strong Jewish future in Los Angeles, Israel and around the world for the next 100 years and beyond.''

To spur new ideas, the Federation launched its Next Big Jewish Idea campaign in January of this year. The effort calls on individuals, businesses, non-profits and organizations to submit their innovative ideas for programs that will strengthen and benefit the greater Los Angeles Jewish community. The winning idea will receive a grant of $100,000 and be assisted by the Jewish Federation to bring it to fruition. The Federation's centennial also includes a host of events throughout the year, including a community trip to Israel.

Mr. Speaker, as the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles prepares for its May 25th centennial gala, I ask my colleagues to please join me in congratulating this year's special honorees: Stanley P. Gold of the law firm Gang Tyre Ramer & Brown; Bram Goldsmith, Chairman of the Board of City National Corporation; and Nina Tassler, President of CBS Entertainment, for their unwavering support for the federation and the community. They are

among a distinguished group of Los Angeles residents who make the Federation the go-to non-profit dedicated to meeting the needs of our area's 500,000-strong Jewish community. I also congratulate Jay Sanderson and the Federation's entire staff. They are all to be commended for their work to keep the Federation the vibrant and strong organization that it remains today and I extend to all of them my best wishes for many more successful years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the late Joe Sanchez, a dedicated community activist, successful Los Angeles businessman and a dear friend of the Roybal family who passed away May 10 at the age of 77.

Born on June 2, 1933 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Joe's family moved to Los Angeles when he was eight years old following the outbreak of World War II.

As a teenager, he worked at Weber and Sons, a local discount grocery store in the Wall Street/Olympic area of Los Angeles. That job would be the start of his career in the wholesale grocery business. The discount retail grocery outlets he owned and operated included: La Quebradita grocery stores in East Los Angeles and Pico Rivera, which he co-owned with his sister and brother-in-law Dolores and Cal Soto; La Marketa in Stanton; and Civic Center Sales, originally located in Chinatown and later moved to Lincoln Heights. In addition, Joe served on numerous civic and industry boards. He founded the Mexican American Grocers Association in 1977 and was an active member of the Southern California Grocers Association.

But while Joe was an astute and successful businessman, his true passion was the pursuit of social justice for Mexican Americans, as well as other disenfranchised groups. For more than five decades, he used his businesses as a catalyst for social change and to help fund the social justice and political causes he cared most about. Joe advocated on behalf of the anti-war movement. He worked to end discrimination in hiring and job promotion, advance educational opportunities for Latinos, and increase the number of Mexican American elected officials and business owners.

During the United Farm Workers prolonged grape and lettuce boycotts, Joe collected truckloads of food for the striking farm workers.

Upon learning of Joe's passing, Arturo S. Rodriguez, president of the United Farm Workers of America, recalled, ``During the most challenging and turbulent times of the farm worker movement, beginning in the 1960s and '70s, no one in the Latino community did more and could be counted on with greater consistency than Joe Sanchez. He was often the first person in the Chicano community to whom Cesar would turn when the farm workers needed help.'' A close friend, Cesar Chavez and his family often stayed in the Sanchez home when he was in Los Angeles.

In 1973, Mayor Tom Bradley appointed him to serve as a member of the Board of Fire Commissioners--the first Latino to hold such a position. He was elected to serve as President Pro Tem of the commission from 1973-76, and as Vice President from 1977-78. During his tenure, Joe pushed the LA Fire Department to stop discriminatory hiring practices against Mexican Americans, African Americans and Asians.

Under his leadership, Joe brought about a dramatic increase in the hiring of Latino firefighters, paramedics and civilian employees in the fire department from 67 to 300. Bilingual positions at the department increased markedly from 12 to 119. The department implemented a bilingual Emergency Training Program to teach firefighters emergency phrases in Spanish. A citywide study was conducted to assure equal services to all areas of Los Angeles and, for the first time, the department published fire prevention brochures in Spanish.

Genethia Hudley-Hayes, president of the Los Angeles Board of Fire Commissioners, said of Joe's contribution to the commission, ``His was the first voice on the Fire Commission that spoke boldly, no matter the consequences, for access, equity and fair treatment for all of the men and women in the Los Angeles Fire Service.''

In August 2010, Councilman Ed Reyes paid tribute to Joe with a bronze plaque at Fire Station No.1 in Lincoln Heights.

The plaque states that as a commissioner, Joe distinguished himself through his commitment to the goals of the Consent Decree, a 1974 court-ordered mandate that required the department to hire minorities, ``thus reinforcing the principles of social and equal justice through the employment of all people regardless of race, color, creed or national origin.''

In the decade following his service on the commission, Joe continued his quest for justice in the workplace. During the 1980s, Joe was the first person to publicly and financially support a discrimination lawsuit brought by a group of FBI officers who claimed they had been denied promotions because they were Hispanic. He was able to gather support in a community long wary of the agency for the controversial lawsuit, which the agents eventually won.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to all of Joe's contributions to the Los Angeles community, he was also a devoted husband, father, grandfather and even great grandfather. I ask my colleagues to please join me in extending our condolences to his wife, Laura Balverde Sanchez, and his entire family. Joe was an inspiration to all who knew him, and he will be greatly missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the City of Bell Gardens and ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating its 42,000 residents on the city's 50th Anniversary. I am proud to represent this growing city--aptly characterized by its motto ``A City that Works''--as part of my 34th Congressional District of California.

While we honor the city's 50 years of official incorporation, its intriguing history dates back to the late 18th century when a Spanish soldier, Antonio Lugo, received a land grant that included the present- day Bell Gardens. Today's residents need only stroll down to 7000 Gage Avenue to admire one of Lugo's homes. Built about 1810, Casa de San Antonio, also known as the Gage Mansion, is California Historical Landmark number 984 and holds claim to being the oldest standing building in Los Angeles County.

The ``Gage'' Mansion is named after another notable Bell Gardens resident. A lawyer who married one of Lugo's great, great granddaughters, Henry T. Gage served as California's 29th Governor from 1898-1903. After Gage acquired and occupied the mansion, he worked extensively to restore the Los Angeles farmhouse and its magnificent early architectural designs.

Boasting some of the richest agricultural land in the country, Bell Gardens remained a farming community until the 1930s. During the Depression era, when farming became less profitable, the character of the community began to change as developers bought up the land to build affordable housing for struggling families.

During World War I and World War II, area defense plants spurred local growth and economic prosperity throughout the community. Attracted by the defense jobs, families moved to Bell Gardens, leading to the construction of new homes, more schools, and a prosperous business climate.

Today, Bell Gardens continues to be a dynamic and hardworking community. The city prides itself on its beautiful parks, emerald green soccer fields, childcare centers, a sparkling lake stocked with fish and waterfowl, and a community golf course.

The state-of-the-art renovation of John Anson Ford Park to include the Bell Gardens Sports Center is one of the city's crowning achievements. The multi-million-dollar facility is open to the community for soccer, baseball, tennis, golf and other sports. The city also entered into an agreement with the professional soccer organization Chivas Regal USA, which uses the complex as a practice facility.

The city's successful efforts to revitalize Downtown Bell Gardens is also a great source of pride for the community. Families now have many more retail and entertainment options. Completed in April 2004, Los Jardines Shopping Center replaced a blighted, underused commercial block with a vibrant, village-like, attractively landscaped shopping center that provides a pedestrian-friendly environment for the community. In addition, the shopping center houses nationally recognized merchants to serve the city's growing but largely underserved Latino community. Los Jardines is located within the city's bustling Central City Redevelopment Project Area, adjacent to the popular Bicycle Casino, one of the most successful card clubs in Los Angeles County, the Marketplace shopping center, and the Village Square Shopping Center.

Affordable housing for the city's residents is also a priority. Housing communities ushered in by the city such as Las Casas de Bell Gardens, Clara Vista Housing Development, and the City of Bell Gardens Senior Housing and Community Center offer families and seniors affordable, comfortable and attractive units to call home. Addressing the need for additional affordable housing for seniors, the city developed Park View Terrace which provides 75 affordable units to seniors. The city is currently undertaking another affordable housing development project, Terra Bella Senior Housing Center, which is planned to start construction in the fall of 2011. It will provide 65 affordable units for seniors. These developments clearly represent the city's strong commitment to providing quality programs and services to the residents of the Bell Gardens community.

Mr. Speaker, as the city commemorates its 50th Anniversary with a free weekend celebration April 22-24 that includes carnival rides, food vendors, business booths, live entertainment and the Miss Bell Gardens Pageant, I ask my colleagues to please join me in commending this ``city that works'' on its historic milestone, and in extending our best wishes for many more years of progress ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Los Angeles Conservation Corps, a non-profit organization based in the Greater Los Angeles area that is dedicated to providing at-risk young adults with opportunities through job skills training, education and work experience emphasizing conservation and service projects that benefit the community.

The organization was founded by former United States Secretary of Commerce and Trade Ambassador, Mickey Kantor in 1986. He charged a team of conservation professionals--including Bruce Saito, a founding staff member--with bringing the successful model of the California Conservation Corps (CCC) of the 1970s to an impoverished, crime- blighted South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. This team recruited 27 high-school dropouts who, before the Corps, had few career options besides gang life and drug dealing. Equipping these new ``corps members'' with the tools of conservation, the Corps gave them opportunities to recognize and focus their assets on building up their communities. In alignment with the CCC model, on alternating weeks, these young men and women attended school at the Corps.

Today, this tradition continues through the Young Adult Corps (YAC) program, which seeks to transform young adult high school dropouts with negative or nonexistent employment into responsible, skilled employees. Corps members work in teams led by crew supervisors who are adept at training young adults. They engage them in conservation work that is challenging, skill-building and prepares them for entry-level positions in fields such as green construction, renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, environmental remediation, forestry and firefighting.

Since its inception, the Corps' focus has been on improving job skills and education. More than 1,000 Corps members without a diploma have been assigned to the Young Adult Corps High School to complete the necessary credits for an accredited high school diploma. Supporting them throughout the process is a team of case managers and transition staff who assist them in focusing on their goals while helping to eliminate previous barriers to their success. Upon graduation, the Corps' Russell Kantor Memorial Fund continues to support these young adults by providing more than $1.3 million in scholarships for college or advanced training.

Mr. Speaker, in recognition of their 25th Anniversary, I ask my congressional colleagues to please join me and the residents of the 34th Congressional District in congratulating the Los Angeles Conservation Corps for providing an invaluable service to the City of Los Angeles and our young people. I congratulate Corps Executive Director, Bruce Saito, the members of the Corps' Board of Directors and all of the many supporters who make the Corps the treasure that it is today. I wish them and everyone involved in its growth and mission many more years of continued success.

Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to the Ryan budget. There are many reasons to oppose this budget.

Among them is the unconscionable provision that ends the Medicare guarantee of health care for our nation's seniors.

Since many of my colleagues have already spoken about the serious negative impact the Ryan Budget will have on Medicare, I will focus my comments on another egregious provision that unravels the Medicaid safety net.

The Republican budget before this House cuts support for seniors in nursing homes, disabled individuals and low-income children who depend on Medicaid.

This proposal to starve Medicaid of funds is nothing more than a heartless assault on America's poorest and most vulnerable--our children, seniors, the disabled and minority communities who rely on Medicaid for their health care.

Last year alone, 60 million Americans were served by Medicaid. Thirty million of those were children.

According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, if the Republican budget were to become law, states which are already buried in debt would face significant challenges in achieving enough cost savings to mitigate the loss of Federal funding.

As a result: states would likely begin to limit eligibility; Medicaid enrollees would have limited access to care and higher out-of-pocket costs and health care providers would lose money due to more uncompensated care and lost coverage.

In my district, where more than 250,000 residents are uninsured and tens of thousands more rely on Medicaid for their health care, this extreme Republican budget will be disastrous.

There are better and fairer ways to address our country's deficit that will protect the Medicaid safety net, create jobs, protect our seniors and invest in our children and the future of our country.

It is a mystery to me why Republicans are willing to fight to protect the tax cuts for big oil and the super wealthy and sacrifice millions of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans who will lose their medical and long-term care.

Democrats will fight to ensure this proposal is never enacted, and I encourage all my colleagues to oppose this cruel and shortsighted budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1473, a bill that will underfund critical health, education and public safety programs and undermine America's fragile economic recovery.

To those celebrating the depth and severity of the Republican budget cuts, allow me to highlight a few uncomfortable truths.

This legislation won't create jobs. It won't improve America's long- term fiscal outlook. And it certainly won't make life any easier for the working families who have borne the brunt of the worst recession since the 1930s.

My Republican colleagues should acknowledge what mainstream economists have maintained for years: that the anemic 18 percent of the budget we allocate to social programs isn't a threat to our national solvency.

We should reject the false choice between repairing our finances and preserving our social safety net. Shrinking the national debt doesn't require starving programs that provide for the poor, protect our planet and empower our young people.

While these savage cuts won't meaningfully reduce the deficit, they will imperil economic growth and endanger American competitiveness. Unfortunately, instead of making investments in our country's future, H.R. 1473 represents a return to the discredited theory that we can cut our way to prosperity.

However, reckless Republican demands reveal more than just a misunderstanding of basic economics--they expose the majority's misguided priorities and misplaced values.

H.R. 1473 condemns literacy programs and grants to improve teacher quality to the chopping block, exacerbating the impact of state and local education cuts.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will be forced to absorb reductions unprecedented in the agency's history, compromising our ability to vaccinate our children and stem the rising tide of chronic disease.

In addition, Community Health Centers, primary providers of health care to millions of low-income Americas, will be dealt a $600 million dollar blow.

Unfortunately, even critical funding for America's police, firefighters and EMTs isn't exempt from Republican irresponsibility: H.R. 1473 slashes grants to first responders by almost $800 million.

So the next time an epidemic emerges or a disaster strikes and our government's response is inadequate, we can thank H.R. 1473.

The next time graduation rates fall and the achievement gap grows, we can thank H.R. 1473.

The next time a mother loses her job and her health care coverage and finds the doors of the local community clinic closed to new patients, we can thank H.R. 1473.

Sadly, there are those who argue that we should simply accept the damage to vital programs and services and move on to the next political battle. ``To compromise,'' they say, ``is to govern.''

Yet comprising our principles isn't real leadership and cutting aid to the most vulnerable is no way to govern.

In these trying economic times, Congress should certainly take a hard look at every tax dollar our government spends, but as President Roosevelt once said, ``A nation doesn't have to be cruel to be tough.''

For all of these reasons, I call on my colleagues to join me in voting ``no'' on H.R. 1473.

Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of the millions of Americans, many of whom are in my Congressional district, who through the passage of President Obama's Affordable Care Act, have for the first time been given more freedom and control over their health care.

Before the passage of this law nearly 40 percent of my constituents were uninsured.

Now I hear from young adults who are grateful to be able to remain on their parent's insurance plans until age 26.

I hear relief from seniors who once lived in fear of not being able to afford their medication once they reached the donut hole.

I hear from struggling families who are thankful their child with a preexisting condition can be part of new high risk pool insurance.

And I hear from those facing serious illness how relieved and grateful they are their insurers can no longer drop them when they need coverage the most.

The Affordable Care Act is working--I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this concurrent resolution.

Planned Parenthood is a safety net that helps Americans stay healthy by providing primary care services such as breast cancer screenings, immunizations, and annual exams. Women also receive preventive care that helps lower cancer deaths, heart attacks, and cases of undiagnosed and untreated STDs.

As the largest provider of family planning, it helps women and men become parents when it makes the most sense for them. The attacks on Planned Parenthood are underhanded tactics using inaccurate statements and statistics. A perfect example is the recent claim that abortions make up 90 percent of their services. This gross misstatement has been refuted by hard numbers which show these services were less than 3 percent of the care provided in 2009. At the expense of critical health care for millions of Americans, these attacks are another irresponsible diversion from the fact that Republicans have failed to take one action to create jobs.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, this week, during Alcohol Awareness Month, I will introduce what I believe is the next logical step in Federal efforts to prevent underage drinking. My bill, the Reauthorization of the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act, builds on the successful public health efforts of the original bill, better known as the STOP Act.

Since the STOP Act became law in 2006, there have been increased community efforts to address underage drinking as a public health crisis, and we have seen localized improvement in teen drinking statistics.

While these positive results are encouraging, the fact remains alcohol still is the primary drug of choice of our youth. In 2009, about 10.4 million teens aged 12 to 20 reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Of these, approximately 6.9 million were binge drinkers, and 2.1 million were heavy drinkers. Alarmingly, according to the latest publication of the Monitoring the Future survey, 53.7 percent of 12th graders believe drinking five or more alcoholic beverages once or twice each weekend is not a significant risk. These facts leave little doubt about the need to continue Federal underage drinking prevention efforts to educate our society about the dangers of alcohol abuse among our youth.

The STOP Act reauthorization bill will continue the successful programs of the original STOP Act, including the anti-underage drinking national media campaign directed at parents, the coordination of Federal efforts through the interagency council, and the grant program to help communities address underage drinking.

As a result of the recent research, the bill also directs the Institute of Medicine to report on the impact of drinking alcohol on the development of the adolescent brain, and it establishes grants to train pediatric health care providers on how best to screen and treat children and teens who have had alcohol exposures.

Mr. Speaker, continuing the investment of the STOP Act is a cost- effective strategy to reduce the $53 billion annual cost of underage drinking to our Nation. Most importantly, it will reduce the suffering, violence, and death that far too often are caused by underage drinking.

I urge my colleagues to cosponsor the STOP Act reauthorization bill and keep our country moving forward in addressing this public health crisis facing our youth.