Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren) for including the Security and Financial Empowerment Act in her comprehensive VAWA bill.

Domestic violence, in addition to being a personal tragedy, costs employers millions of dollars in sick leave, absenteeism and loss of productivity, and it causes thousands of victims to lose their job, forcing them to stay in an abusive relationship when unable to provide for themselves and their children.

The provisions of the SAFE Act protect the economic security of these victims by permitting up to 30 days of unpaid leave to see a doctor, go to court or find a safe place to live. Further, it prohibits insurers from dropping their coverage due to this violence, and it assures that women forced to leave their lives because of this abuse are eligible for unemployment compensation.

Finally, the bill creates a resource center for businesses seeking to help employees who suffer from domestic violence.

Mr. Speaker, the SAFE Act is an important bill that must be included in the reauthorization of VAWA. It helps employers to keep valuable employees, and it empowers victims of domestic violence to leave their abuser.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill. I say reluctant because as a member of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee I have worked closely with the other members of the subcommittee during our budget oversight hearings and especially with our chairman, Ralph Regula, to highlight programs of importance to my constituents. Chairman Regula and the staff of the subcommittee have been extremely patient with my many requests, and Chairman Regula has been extremely generous, within his tight budget allocation, in trying to make progress on several important priorities of mine.

The first of those priorities is the national media campaign to fight underage drinking, which is currently underway by the Ad Council. Although the subcommittee has provided project funds for this important effort in the past, for the first time, the chairman has included this funding as a programmatic priority in the office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Representative Frank Wolf and I were joined by 44 of our colleagues in requesting the funds to carry out a multimedia campaign directed at parents, and I am grateful to Chairman Regula, who understands the terrible impact of underage drinking on our youth and the importance of an effective national media campaign to address it.

In addition, Chairman Regula has provided increases in two areas to help infants and their families. First, CDC--the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--conducts a national program for education and prevention of birth defects by encouraging women of child-bearing age to take the recommended amount of folic acid daily. Based on this effort, as well as the fortification of U.S. grain products with folic acid, the rate of neural tube defects has decreased by 26 percent over 7 years, and the committee has continued to provide incremental increases to this important CDC program. Second, the committee has increased funds for the Health Resources and Services Administration's newborn screening program for early identification of infants affected by certain genetic, metabolic, hormonal and or functional conditions for which there are effective treatment or intervention. In the report, HRSA is encouraged to use these new funds for the development of parental and provider education material and programs to promote the importance of newborn screening.

I appreciate Chairman Regula's generosity in providing funds for these priorities. He truly understands that the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill is the people's bill. It makes it doubly difficult for me to cast a vote in opposition to the bill because I know he has worked hard to distribute the limited resources he has been given in a fair and conscientious way. My ``no'' vote on this bill should therefore in no way be seen as a lack of respect or lack of appreciation for Ralph Regula and his efforts on behalf of those who depend on the resources provided in this bill.

However, this bill, more than any other appropriations bill we act on, by providing the funds for health and education programs of importance to our constituents, I goes to the

heart of what we Democrats in the House stand for and for what I stand for as a Member of Congress representing the people and communities of the 34th District of California. These programs are just too important, and the cuts and terminations in this bill are just too severe, for me to vote for this bill at this time.

I will continue to work with Chairman Regula, Ranking Member David Obey, and the other members of our subcommittee as we conference the bill with the Senate, with the hope that we can identify additional funds and make the improvements to this bill that will make it one of which we can all be proud and which we can all support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding work of Little Tokyo's Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (JACCC) located in my congressional district. This year, the JACCC is celebrating its 25th anniversary of presenting, propagating, communicating and promoting Japanese American arts and culture.

The JACCC is the realization of a dream of visionary Issei and Nisei (first-generation and second-generation) Japanese American pioneers to create a permanent cultural center for all generations to enjoy. Its beginnings are rooted in the 1971 redevelopment of Little Tokyo, when a citizen's advisory committee made the cultural community center an essential component of a new Little Tokyo.

As one of the leading arts organization in Los Angeles and the nation, the JACCC has successfully introduced Japanese and Japanese American arts and culture to diverse audiences for 25 years.

The JACCC opened its doors in 1980 and was completed in 1983. The five-story Center building houses the George and Sakaye Aratani/Japan America Theatre; the JACCC plaza designed by Isamu Noguchi; the award- winning James Irvine Japanese Garden; the George J. Doizaki Gallery; meeting and conference rooms; and nonprofit community tenant offices.

One of the largest ethnic cultural centers of its kind in the United States, the JACCC has presented throughout the United States over 250 premiers of Japanese art, over 100 premiers of Asian American artists, and more exhibitions of Japanese performing arts than any facility outside Japan. It is the most active facility in the United States for the exhibition of Japanese contemporary design. It is also home to a variety of cultural, educational, and community organizations.

The JACCC also presents annual events celebrating the traditional holidays of New Year's and Children's Day. These celebrations preserve traditions inherited from Japan and define uniquely Japanese American traditions and values to younger generations. To ensure the continuation of the next generation of Japanese American artists and audiences, the JACCC has developed artist-in-residency and artist resource programs, which provide support services such as rehearsal and workshop space.

As part of the JACCC's 25th Anniversary celebration, the Shochiku Grand Kabuki Chikamatsuza troupe will provide four special performances of the Grand Kabuki of Japan. This troupe, based in Osaka, Japan, is led by Living National Treasure Nakamura Ganjiro III and features a cast of 45 actors and musicians. It will be the first full-scale company of the Grand Kabuki to tour the United States in nearly ten years.

I congratulate the JACCC on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, and I commend them for the outstanding work they do to ensure that Angelenos and all Americans benefit from the beautiful Japanese culture and Japanese American history.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 2360, the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2006. As a member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, it has been an honor to work with Chairman Hal Rogers and our Ranking Member, Martin Sabo, in drafting this bill. I would like to commend them both, for their efforts to address our Nation's security needs despite the severe budget constraints forced upon them.

Mr. Chairman, this bill provides $30.85 billion for operations and activities of the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, in fiscal year 2006, an increase of $1.37 billion above the fiscal year 2005 enacted levels. Although the bill does not fully fund many initiatives critical to securing the homeland, I am pleased that this legislation does provide adequate funding for several programs of importance to urban communities such as my own in Los Angeles.

For instance, State and local emergency managers will be happy to learn that although the President continues to zero out the funding in his budget request for the Emergency Management Performance Grants, the committee has appropriated $180 million for this grant program. Congress has rightly called this program ``the backbone of the Nation's emergency management system.'' In California, emergency managers use these grants to develop plans to help prepare our residents for disasters such as earthquakes, fires, floods, or terrorist attacks.

The bill also provides $750 million for State-wide formula grants which are distributed on a per capita basis to first responders. The current population-based formula is under review by the Homeland Security Authorization Committee which is determining whether or not funds should go to States based solely on population. In lieu of any changes by the authorizing committee to the formula, this bill directs DHS to maintain a minimum allocation of .75 percent per State and to allocate the rest based on threats and need versus population. I strongly agree that targeting funds based on the assessment of actual vulnerability is a much more effective use of limited resources than population alone. Furthermore, the committee recognizes that DHS must still establish a national preparedness goal which will help our States develop appropriate homeland security funding goals.

Our firefighters were among the first to respond to the tragic events of September 11th, and they will likely be the first to respond in the event of a future attack. The fire grant program helps local fire departments deal with these and other needs by allocating funds for equipment and staff. Unfortunately, the President proposed cutting funding for these programs by $215 million, or 30 percent. This bill restores most of the president's cuts by providing $600 million for fire grants and $50 million for firefighter staffing grants. This is critical funding because only 13 percent of fire departments are prepared to respond to a hazardous material incident and an estimated 57,000 firefighter's lack personal protective clothing for a chemical or biological attack. I would hope that by the time this bill goes to the President, these programs will be fully funded at last year's level of $715 million at a minimum.

In addition, the bill strengthens the committee's direction that port security grants, for the 55 ports of national significance, should be based on vulnerability assessments. This means that limited resources for port grants will be used where they are needed most. While we are dedicating $150 million to both the port and the transit security programs, the Administration had proposed no funding for these critical programs. This is inexcusable particularly when the Coast Guard and the transit industry have indicated $7 billion and $6 billion in security needs in their respective industries to improve security. I am also pleased that Congress dedicated $50 million for the security of chemical plants.

I thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Sabo for including in the Homeland Security report several items I requested to address serious issues raised during subcommittee hearings with representatives of the Department of Homeland Security.

For example, the report expresses deep concern about reports that children, even as young as nursing infants, apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are being separated from their parents and placed in shelters operated by the Department of Health and Human Services while parents are held in separate jail-like facilities. The Committee's report language directs DHS to release families or use alternatives to detention whenever possible, and when detention of family units is necessary, the Committee directs DHS to use appropriate detention space to house them together.

The report also addresses the need to expand the use of Legal Orientation Programs to additional ICE detention centers in the country. Legal Orientation Programs consist of legal presentations made by nongovernmental

agencies to all persons in immigration detention prior to their first hearing before an immigration judge. This program saves on the costs of immigration detention, makes Immigration Court more efficient, and facilitates access to justice for detained immigrants in removal proceedings. Immigrants are better prepared to accept their removal earlier in the immigration hearing process when they have learned from organizations not affiliated with the government that they have exhausted their immigration relief options.

I am also pleased that the report contains language I requested to improve the quality assurance standards at our ports of entry. The Committee urges Customs and Border Protection to consider expanding the use of videotape systems to record interactions between potential asylum seekers and border patrol agents at our ports of entry. These tapes should be reviewed and retained for a sufficient period of time to ensure that asylum seekers are treated equally and with fairness at any one of our ports of entry.

The bill once again includes language I drafted to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from moving forward with the unnecessary and potentially dangerous privatization of key immigration officers at the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. These officers are responsible for handling classified information used to prevent fraud and the exploitation of our immigration laws. I am thankful that this inherently governmental work will continue to remain the responsibility of trained and experienced federal employees directly accountable to the Department and not to the bottom line of a private company.

The report also includes language which I requested to address concerns about Customs and Border Protection employees who were required to participate in a six-day twelve week basic training, but who were not fully compensated for all of their days of work. The report directs the Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection to report on the number of employees who were not compensated and also on the steps the department is taking to resolve the problem.

Finally, the report directs the Transportation Security Administration to report on the status of their efforts to issue regulations for basic security training for flight attendants. I am pleased we are keeping TSA accountable to this task, and I look forward to the timely completion of this report.

However, Mr. Chairman, despite the fact that this Homeland Security Appropriations bill addresses several of the issues I raised in hearings and increases funding levels in certain accounts, I am concerned that this year's bill continues the practice of underfunding several homeland security recommendations as well as the initiatives and programs mandated by Congress to ensure our Nation's security.

As one of the largest cities and metropolitan areas in the country, Los Angeles is considered to be one of the most ``at risk'' areas for terrorist attacks. For this reason, I am disappointed that this bill provides only a slight increase of $15 million over last year's funding for Urban Area Security Initiative grants compared to the $405 million increase requested in the President's budget. Protecting our most vulnerable cities and towns is extremely costly and causes tremendous hardship on local governments. We must ensure that they receive the adequate funding to keep our most vulnerable cities secure.

I am further disappointed that the bill appropriates $5 million for a program which allows States and local jurisdictions to enter into a Memo of Understanding, MOU, with Homeland Security to train local police to enforce limited immigration functions. I believe our limited resources should instead be directed toward identifying and deporting terrorist elements in our country.

In addition, although both the Patriot Act of 2001 and the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 called for increases in specific areas such as border agents, customs and immigration inspectors, immigration investigators, as well as for additional detention beds, this bill fails to meet the established border enforcement benchmarks--by 500 border patrol agents (25 percent short), 600 immigration investigators (75 percent short), and 4,000 detention beds (50 percent short).

I am also concerned with the decrease in funding that the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services has continued to receive since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This bureau is charged with processing thousands of work authorization and citizenship applications for immigrants in our country and yet this bill includes only $120 million for this important agency. This decrease in resources simply does not make sense given that over the last 4 years, the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services continuously fails to meet its 6 month goal for processing citizenship applications. These backlogs send the wrong message to our Nation's immigrants who are eager to become full participants in our society, but must wait years before their citizenship applications can be reviewed and processed. Mr. Chairman, I hope that before we send this bill to the President we will appropriate the funds necessary to once and for all resolve the backlog problems which have plagued this agency for years.

I am disappointed that this bill's report expresses support for expedited removal and recommends its expansion. Expedited removal means that Customs and Border Protection officers can immediately deport individuals they do not believe have a true case for asylum. This year, a federally funded study issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on the impact of expedited removal on asylum seekers found that expedited removal procedures are not being applied evenly across the country. The report found that where an asylum seeker enters our country, the country they come from, and which officer conducts their brief interview, impacts the decision on whether an individual is allowed to see an asylum officer or is deported without further review. Before expedited removal is expanded, as the bill's report recommends, Congress should require the Department of Homeland Security to provide evidence that Customs and Border Protection is making progress in resolving the current and serious problems associated with expedited removal.

Lastly, I am concerned by the Administration's seeming indifference toward protecting critical infrastructure, such as ports, transit and railroad facilities, and chemical plants. Not only have critical assessments not been completed, but the Administration has consistently underfunded or unfunded important infrastructure security programs.

For example, although Congress continues to fund aviation security and provides $30 million for air cargo screening, the Administration has continued to leave the aviation system's vulnerabilities exposed. Despite Congress' direction to increase the percentage of screened air cargo on passenger aircraft, the Transportation Security Administration has not fully implemented the law.

Additionally, the Administration has proposed no new funding to install inline baggage screening machines beyond the currently approved eight airports, and Congress has again decided to only fund the existing programs at 75 percent, rather than the contractually agreed to amount of 90 percent. This creates an additional burden that our cash-strapped communities can ill-afford.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I will support this bill to provide critical resources to help make our country safer. However, fully addressing these and other critical national security concerns requires resources that the Administration simply did not propose and which the Republican majority did not provide in this bill. While this bill is an improvement over the Administration's request, critical homeland security needs will still go unmet.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant support of H.R. 1268, the War Supplemental Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2005, which will provide funding for military operations and reconstruction activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as important funds for tsunami relief and recovery.

I say ``reluctant support'' because the Republican leadership has made a very poor and political decision to include controversial legislative provisions in this emergency spending bill that otherwise enjoys almost universal support because it provides needed assistance for our servicemen and women overseas.

It goes without saying, Mr. Speaker, that our servicemen and women deserve to have the equipment and support they need to help keep them safe as they fulfill their missions abroad. Towards that end, the Appropriations Committee increased funding by 69 percent above the President's request for add-on vehicle armor kits, new trucks, and radio jammers to disrupt attempts by Iraqi insurgents to explode remote controlled bombs and mines.

The bill also includes important provisions to increase the military death gratuity and to provide subsidized life insurance benefits for families of soldiers who die or are killed on active duty. No amount can compensate for the tragic death of a loved one, but an increase in these benefits can help a family cope with the financial impact of a combat death.

I am also pleased that additional funds have been provided for humanitarian relief and disaster assistance, including $400 million for Sudan, $907 million for Indian Ocean tsunami relief, and $240 million in P.L. 480 grants for emergency food assistance.

But I am extremely upset and disappointed that the Republican leadership is using this critical bill as a vehicle to pass unrelated and controversial policies, that will allow the Department of Homeland Security to preempt state and federal laws to build border fences, require uniform national standards for issuing driver's licenses, and change the asylum standards for immigrants seeking to flee to the United States to avoid persecution. In particular, the bill includes an assault against the matricula consular cards issued by Mexican and other Latin American consulates, and consequently makes it an assault on our immigrant families who rely upon this form of identification in their daily lives for transactions involving banking, housing, education and even proving, when necessary, that they are the parents of their own children. These provisions were not openly debated or negotiated with the minority, but once again decided behind closed doors by the Republican leadership. I am outraged that this Republican leadership essentially has chosen to pit support for our troops against support for hard-working immigrants, many of whom have their own sons and daughters fighting to protect our country abroad.

Why does the Republican leadership continue to abuse its power and shut out the American public? Because the Republican leadership knows that if these controversial provisions were openly debated in the House and Senate they would not pass. Only by attaching these provisions to a must-pass bill like the emergency supplemental appropriations bill for our troops in Iraq could they hope to be successful.

Mr. Speaker, this is just one more example of abuse of power by a Republican leadership that continues to act irresponsibly on issues of importance to our American society.

Nevertheless, in spite of my concerns, given the choice before us, I believe it is my responsibility to provide our servicemen and women the resources necessary for them to fulfill their mission and come home safely. Protecting our troops, who are sacrificing so much on our behalf, and providing for their families, will always be one of my highest priorities, and that is why, once again, I will support this necessary and important conference report today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to S. 256, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. This bill would negatively affect millions of hard-working Americans, particularly veterans and victims of identity theft.

The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 is a bad bill because it favors credit card companies at the expense of hard-working Americans, veterans, and victims of identity theft. It creates a means test which would make it impossible for families to be protected even when they have suffered debt due to illness or unemployment, preventing them from being able to start over in life. While the bill makes it harder for these individuals to eliminate their debt, it unnecessarily strengthens the hands of creditors. For example, this bill does not guarantee that hard-working parents can make child support payments over credit card debt payments.

Another concern is that this bill would leave veterans and victims of identity theft vulnerable to credit card companies.

An example is our brave citizen soldiers of the National Guard and the Reserve who are serving our country in Iraq and Afghanistan. Having left their civilian jobs to serve and protect our great Nation for extended periods of time, many will return to face significant debt, because their military wages are less than their regular wages. Yet this bill does not spare them from the means test, leaving them vulnerable to credit card companies.

Furthermore, many brave men and women return from duty with injuries that alter their lives, often resulting in debt. Although there are some exemptions, this bill still leaves some of those disabled veterans subject to the means test, even when their debt resulted from a disability acquired from their service to our country.

I am disappointed that efforts made by my Democratic colleagues to better protect our veterans were rejected by the majority. The Republicans defeated an amendment that would have provided complimentary credit counseling to those veterans of our armed forces who found themselves with credit problems.

Finally Mr. Speaker, in its current form, this bill leaves our Nation's victims of identity theft

vulnerable to debt for which they had no responsibility.

According to a recent survey by the Better Business Bureau, in 2004, 9.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft. It is clear that every day the number of Americans at risk of suffering identity theft is increasing, as more and more companies disclose that criminals have gained access to their massive databases of sensitive consumer information. A perfect example is the recent reporting of identity theft by DWS of thousands of its customers.

Yet this bill does nothing to address the very real problem of identity theft. Under this legislation, victims of identity theft would, in many cases, be held accountable for the debt accrued by someone else.

In short, the bill favors credit card companies at the expense of hard-working Americans, veterans, and victims of identity theft. For all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, Social Security is one of the most successful programs ever enacted by Congress. Through its guaranteed benefits and reliability, it has saved tens of millions of seniors from a life of poverty during their most vulnerable years.

To appreciate fully the importance of Social Security, one need only to have our grandparents talk about the tragic lives of many of our seniors prior to the 1935 passage of the Social Security Act. Yet the President's current proposal fails in its protection of our Nation's seniors by sacrificing the reliability of Social Security benefits for the highly risky scheme of private accounts, subject to the unpredictable fluctuations of the stock market. For that reason, it is no accident that seniors across the country are opposed to the President's ill advised and extremely risky Social Security proposal.

Let us reject the President's ideas and instead draft a plan to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security and again give Americans the safety and confidence they have long enjoyed from the Social Security System.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to S. 256 because this bill does nothing to protect disabled veterans or to address the epidemic of identity theft.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

As the first non-Italian pope in 455 years, Karol Wojtyla would have drawn distinction no matter what his papacy held. However, his 26-year reign as the 264th pope has proven to be a remarkable and historic papacy.

Perhaps it was the very nature of the Holy Father's upbringing--the personal tragedies he underwent as a youth, as well as his first-hand experiences with the totalitarianism of Nazism, then Communism--that shaped his world view and enabled him to serve as pope with such zeal and commitment.

His was a lifespan that began in a world of biplanes and horse-drawn carriages, saw the advent of spaceflight and nuclear bombs, and ended in a ``global neighborhood'' made possible by personal computers and instant communications. Perhaps only someone with these experiences could have appropriately taken on the challenges of the 21st Century in such a dynamic and tireless manner.

His worldwide travel, where he gained the attention of people of many faiths and embraced Catholics on all continents, will constitute a lasting legacy. Many Americans witnessed, first hand, the strength of his conviction and dedication to his mission during the Holy Father's 7 historic visits to the United States. In 1987 he honored my home city of Los Angeles with a visit that Angelinos still talk about. Those arduous travels, even during his years of declining health, demonstrated the importance of perseverance and faithful struggle.

Pope John Paul II was an inspiration to all generations throughout his 26-year reign. He inspired in us a sense of hope and self worth that encouraged us to live better, fuller lives. He reached out to the world's youth and taught them the value of integrity, courage, honesty, and forgiveness.

And despite the many challenges the Church faced during his papacy, he was admired for his resoluteness, even as Catholics around the world reacted in numerous ways to his direction of the church.

John Paul II was not just the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, however, he was a world leader, and he actively shaped world affairs including negotiating peace treaties and helping ensure the end of European Communism. He reasserted the Church's role on the world stage and was a global champion on issues of conscience, social justice, and peace. The tremendous outpouring of genuine sorrow throughout the world since the Pontiff's death is a testament to the impact his ministry had on people of all continents and all faiths.

Mr. Speaker, the ``Shoes of the Fisherman'' are empty, and I extend my sincere sympathy to my constituents, including Roger Cardinal Mahoney, all Los Angeles-area Catholics and all people of good will who mourn the Pontiff's passing.

Pope John Paul II's life of service was a life well lived, and it will be remembered in the hearts and minds of the people he touched around the globe for many generations to come.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 1268, the War Supplemental Appropriations bill for FY 2005, which will provide funding for military operations and reconstruction activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as important funds for tsunami relief and recovery.

The bill before us includes important changes made by the Appropriations Committee to the President's original budget request. These changes are essential to providing our servicemen and women the equipment and support they need to help keep them safe as they fulfill their important mission. Committed to the fact that the well-being of our troops is our highest priority, the Appropriations Committee increased funding by 69 percent more than requested for add-on vehicle armor kits; $401 million more, or twice the amount requested, for new trucks; and $50 million in unrequested funds for radio jammers to disrupt attempts by Iraqi insurgents to explode remote controlled bombs and mines.

The bill also includes important provisions to increase the military death gratuity from $12,000 to $100,000 and to provide subsidized life insurance benefits from $250,000 to $400,000 for families of soldiers who die or are killed on active duty, and we make these important provisions retroactive to the beginning of military operations on October 7, 2001. No amount can compensate for the death of a loved one, but an increase in these benefits that can help a family cope with the financial impact of a combat death is long overdue.

When the Appropriations Committee met, I strongly supported the Jackson amendment to add $150 million in food aid for Sudan, and I am pleased we have acted again today to add $100 million in additional disaster assistance. The United States has an obligation and opportunity to assist this troubled country, and I believe this additional funding sets an important example for the United Nations and other countries that still need to respond to the crisis in Sudan.

I have been very concerned about the lack of accountability by the Defense Department and the Administration as we provide them with enormous, although necessary, sums of money. While there has been some improvement, I am troubled that the Department of Defense has not submitted the required biannual report on the military operations of the armed forces and on the reconstruction activities administered by DOD in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know that Chairman Jerry Lewis, Defense Appropriations Chairman Bill Young and ranking members David Obey and John Murtha, as well as my colleagues on the full committee, have expressed similar concerns about DOD's lack of responsiveness.

I'm also troubled that the Administration continues to request emergency supplemental funds for military operations. We have been engaged in Afghanistan for over three years, and nearly three years have gone by since we invaded Iraq. Therefore, it is no surprise that funds are needed to support our servicemen and women overseas. The Administration should be building these costs into their regular budget submissions.

I am also disappointed that the Republican leadership failed to make in order an important amendment by Representatives Hooley and DeLauro to expand veterans' health care and mental health care. Our returning troops deserve whatever help they need to successfully transition to civilian life.

Finally, I am particularly angry that the Republican leadership is using this bill as a vehicle to move an unrelated piece of legislation, the Sensenbrenner ``Real ID'' immigration bill. The important bill before us provides critical resources for our servicemen and women overseas and badly needed disaster relief. It should not be used by the Republican leadership to fulfill their political promises. I hope the Senate will oppose this legislative gambit and confine the bill to address the serious needs it is intended to address.

However, in spite of my concerns, I believe it is our responsibility to provide our servicemen and women the resources necessary for them to fulfill their mission and come home safely. Protecting our troops, who are sacrificing so much on our behalf, and providing for their families, will always be my first priority, and that is why I am supporting this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man whose 35 years of public service to the City of Los Angeles serves as an example to us all. I would like to acknowledge this outstanding gentleman whose reputation for hard work, enthusiasm, and diligence is well deserved.

Since beginning his career in 1970 Mr. Henry has worn many different ``hats'' within the Harbor Department. In each role he demonstrated an exceptional degree of competency and innovation.

In 1982, Mr. Henry established the Harbor Department's first word processing center. This groundbreaking project provided typing support to the entire department. Mr. Henry's visionary thinking and leadership is evident in his taking on the task of bringing the popular Red Cars back to the Los Angeles area. Years of research, regulations, and endless paperwork culminated in the 2003 successful launch of the Port of Los Angeles Waterfront Red Car Line, which carries hundreds of happy passengers each week.

Mr. Henry's commitment to the City of Los Angeles goes beyond his years of dedicated service in the Harbor Department. Throughout his career he also found the time for community work, donating hundreds of hours to make recordings for the blind and dyslexic. Mr. Henry set a high standard for stellar public service to the Harbor Department, the city, and his fellow citizens. His family, neighbors, and indeed the entire community of Los Angeles are all enriched by his years of dedication and service.

Therefore, Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I take this opportunity to express my thanks, and that of a grateful city, to Robert P. Henry for 35 years of dedication and public service.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 418 the REAL ID Act, because, contrary to its sponsors' claims, this bill will not improve our country's security. Instead, it will weaken law enforcement's ability to do its job, and make driving on our roads more dangerous. In addition, this bill eliminates critical provisions in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act passed by Congress in 2004. Finally, the REAL ID Act makes it much more difficult for immigrants who are fleeing persecution to gain refuge in the United States.

Mr. Chairman, while there are many good reasons to oppose this bill, as I previously outlined, I will focus on the driver's license provision and the asylum provision.

Barring undocumented immigrants from accessing driver's licenses is a dangerous proposal. Withholding driver's licenses from these individuals will not fix our broken immigration system. It will only make us less safe by having unlicensed and uninsured drivers on our roads. The American Automobile Association (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety report entitled, ``Unlicensed to Kill,'' found that unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in fatal car accidents than are validly licensed drivers. Clearly, our goal should be to have more, not fewer, licensed drivers.

Denying licenses to undocumented immigrants will also hurt our national security by depriving law enforcement officials of critical information on millions of adults who are in the United States. Licensed individuals are registered, photographed and in some states fingerprinted. This information is then entered into a database accessible to local and state law enforcement, FBI personnel and immigration officers, helping law enforcement to separate otherwise law abiding individuals from terrorist or criminals. In fact, because many of the 9/11 hijackers did have a driver's license, the records kept by state departments of motor vehicles were invaluable after 9/11 in tracking where the terrorist had been and with whom they had associated. This information was used to prosecute many individuals who would not have been discovered otherwise. Passage of the REAL ID Act will mean that law enforcement will be less able to find people who may be security threats, and will have less information with which to prevent and solve crimes.

Mr. Chairman, there is no doubt that we must be proactive in the defense of our nation by identifying weaknesses in our security systems and making appropriate changes that will protect us from a terrorist attack. For this reason, Congress and the President charged the 9/11 Commission to study our intelligence failures and make recommendations that would improve our systems. Those recommendations were, enacted into law with the passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 just three months ago. The intelligence reform bill required states to establish stringent standards for the issuance of driver's licenses and identification cards. Among the new standards are requirements that licenses contain digital photographs, employ machine readable technology and contain security features to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication. Currently, effective and workable federal standards that will strengthen driver's license security are in the process of being implemented. The REAL ID Act will dismantle the safeguards Congress just enacted. Congress and the President should instead be focused on implementing the provisions of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act such as, adding 10,000 new border patrol agents, 40,000 new detention beds, and 4,000 immigration and customs investigators.

Furthermore, the asylum provisions in the REAL ID Act do nothing to enhance our nation's security. Instead, the REAL ID Act serves only to deny people who are fleeing religious persecution, torture and other horrors the ability to escape into safety. Given the fact that an asylum seeker is immediately held in detention before his claim is processed, a terrorist would not risk claiming asylum to enter our country.

Mr. Chairman, REAL ID Act is a real bad idea for America. This bill will make our roads more dangerous, inhibit the work of law enforcement, and undermine the homeland security measures enacted in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill and instead focus on implementing the counter-terrorism provisions enacted into law just a few months ago.

Mr. Speaker, due to circumstances affecting the health of a family member, I was not present for rollcall vote Nos. 7 through 13 on January 6, 25 and 26. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' with reservations on rollcall vote No. 7, ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 8, ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 9, ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 10, ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 11, ``yea'' on rollcall vote No. 12, ``no'' on rollcall vote No. 13.

Mr. Speaker, this week our Nation has lost a great leader and statesman from my home State of California, Bob Matsui. And it is with a great deal of sadness that I join my colleagues to pay tribute to Bob's life and his distinguished record of service and accomplishments during his 26 years as a Member of the House of Representatives. A model of integrity and commitment to his district, his State and our Nation, Bob exemplified the best of this great institution.

By having the privilege of representing an area of Los Angeles with a rich and diverse Asian-American population that includes Little Tokyo, Koreatown, Filipinotown, and Chinatown, I am very aware of the positive impact Bob had on the Asian-Pacific Islander community and the Japanese-American community in particular. Like so many Japanese- Americans, Bob's early years were spent with his family in an internment camp during World War II. Anyone viewing the large photo of a youthful Bob Matsui with his little league baseball teammates which adorns his office wall was reminded of the difficult challenge an Asian-American faced growing up in 1950's California. As a young man in that volatile ethnic environment, Bob Matsui was a stand-out student who gained admittance to the University of California at Berkeley and distinguished himself academically both there and at the Hastings College of Law.

His early experience became the foundation of his academic success as a young man, and ultimately led him to a career of distinguished public service, first for his local Sacramento City Council, then to this great House. His respect for this institution and his personal and professional integrity were well-known and helped Bob become a persuasive advocate on the issues he cared deeply about.

As a member of the Energy and Water Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, I was honored to work with him on one of the most important issues to California--water. Bob's knowledge of water issues affecting our State, including southern California, and his

long record of support for adequate flood control protection for the Sacramento area were brought to bear each year during our committee deliberations as we set priorities for funding the water projects so crucial to Sacramento and to California.

Bob was also a strong advocate of trade and of protecting the rights of our senior citizens. In fact, as the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security, Bob was our Democratic expert and a leading advocate for the protection of this critical program. Bob was to be our Democratic point person for the upcoming and pivotal debate on Social Security. Understanding the importance of Social Security to our Nation's seniors and the need for the Democratic Party to effectively and successfully confront attacks on the system, his wife Doris told me that Bob continued to plan a Democratic strategy to the very end at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

It was this kind of commitment coupled with his integrity and sincerity that helped to make Bob one of the most respected Members of Congress. This respect also made him one of the most successful chairmen of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. We all know that the DCCC set many records during the 2003-2004 election cycle. I believe this success stemmed from the leadership model that Bob conveyed at the DCCC's helm, and it was also a result of the great esteem in which Bob was held by all segments of our party. I was proud to serve with him as vice-chair of the DCCC, and Bob made sure it was indeed a working position. Few Members could have motivated me in quite the same way as Bob Matsui.

In short, I will miss Bob as a friend and colleague. This House, the Democratic Party, and our Nation have lost a great statesman and a quiet and effective leader. His legacy of accomplishments as a trail- blazing Asian-American Californian is unlikely to be surpassed. His dedication, dignity, and bipartisan approach to addressing the Nation's problems will be the hallmark of his legacy for both Republicans and Democrats.

In this time of extreme partisanship and frequent legislative gridlock, it is my hope that we can all learn from the example of our friend and colleague, Bob Matsui.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Mr. Ralph R. Esparza who, in his 25 years of service to the City of Los Angeles, has demonstrated his unwavering commitment and dedication to improving the living conditions of the city's residents.

Throughout his career Mr. Esparza has successfully led many of the city's key housing departments and programs. After only 4 years as a Rehabilitation Project Coordinator in the Community Development Department, he was promoted in 1983, to be the Community Housing Program Manager where he oversaw the federal Section 8 New Construction program.

Mr. Esparza's skill and enthusiasm in managing complex housing and community development projects led to his appointment as Assistant Chief Grants Administrator for the Community Development Department. Later, he was instrumental in the creation of the Los Angeles Housing Department, where in 1990, took charge of planning, operation, and management of the city's housing programs.

From 1995 to 1996 and again from 1997 to 2000, Mr. Esparza served as Director of the Program Support Division. In the year between his two directorships, he administered multiple programs including the Davis- Bacon Compliance Monitoring Program and the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program.

In 2000, Mr. Esparza's exceptional management skills were once again called upon as the Assistant General Manager of the Housing Department. Under his guidance, the Housing Department ushered in a new century with creative solutions to help address the affordable housing crisis and to improve the quality of life for the residents of Los Angeles.

For his commitment and leadership and for improving the homes and lives of Los Angelenos, I thank Mr. Esparza and I wish him well in his future endeavors.