Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule and to speak on the Defense Authorization Conference Report because, Mr. Speaker, when it comes to nuclear weapons, President Bush and the House Republican leadership just do not get it. Instead of investing in programs that will truly secure America, like nonproliferation initiatives and vigorous inspection regimes whenever possible, these Republicans spend America's money on more and bigger weapons.

This Defense Authorization bill authorizes billions of dollars for nuclear weapons research and testing, and there has to be a better way of doing things. We have to do it differently.

Investing in new nuclear weapons does not prevent America from being attacked. In fact, it encourages nuclear proliferation, because such investments incite our enemies and encourage other nations like Iran to develop nuclear weapons of their very own.

Instead of engaging in a nuclear arms race for the 21st century, the United States must engage in a smart security strategy for the 21st century. Being smart about national security requires the United States to set an example for young democracies, and we can set that example by renouncing the first use of nuclear weapons and the development of new nuclear weapons. We can also set that example by engaging in aggressive diplomacy, a commitment to nuclear nonproliferation, strong regional security arrangements, and inspection regimes.

If we truly want to keep our country safe for years to come, then we must promote and pursue a smart security strategy for America's future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dorothy Hughes, who died on July 26 at the age of 80. An activist in Marin County, California, for 35 years, Dorothy was a leader who cared deeply about her community and the people who live in it.

Born in Woodland, California, in 1923 on her parents' sheep ranch, she married Dr. Robert Leake with whom she had eight children. She attended Hamlin School in San Francisco, Stanford University, and, after her divorce, California State University in Sacramento, where she earned a master's degree. She moved to Marin in 1969.

Best known for her work on behalf of mental health programs, Dorothy was director of the Marin Association for Mental Health for two decades and was instrumental in the development of a mental health community care system. She also had a passion for children and youth, peace, human rights, and a goal of creating a caring world. She was a founder of, or active in, Community Action Marin, Fairfax-San Anselmo Children's Center, Marin Suicide Prevention Center, Buckelew Houses, Marin Family Action, Isoji, the Marin Peace and Justice Coalition, and the Campaign for a Healthier Community for Children.

Dorothy advocated both behind the scenes through lobbying and through community organizing. She was tireless in promoting the causes that will make our world a better place for all people, inspiring others with her conviction and forcefulness as well as her warmth. Her goal was nothing less than ``a world that works for all of us.''

When inducted into the Marin Women's Hall of Fame in 1991, Dorothy stated that it was her dream that one day there would be a progressive national policy on children and families. That is the same dream that inspires me to introduce legislation addressing the well-being of our nation's family and children . . . knowing that our future depends on them.

Dorothy is survived by her eight children, 17 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren, as well as her sister and her niece. She was very devoted to her family and had moved to Sacramento last November to be near them.

Mr. Speaker, Dorothy Hughes liked to call herself ``an old radical,'' and I can think of no higher tribute. She was a radical in the best sense, one who fought for all those in society who can't fight for themselves and who believed that creating a better world through our children was both necessary and possible. I join the many people who will miss Dorothy Hughes' friendship and bright spirit.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Edward Ueber, a dedicated public servant and a passionate defender of our nation's marine resources. He is a man with a wide range of marine experiences, an inquiring mind, and a can-do attitude--all attributes that he has brought to bear in a 28-year career working first for the National Marine Fisheries Service and then the National Marine Sanctuary Program, where until recently he has served as the longtime manager of the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

Ed Ueber has sea salt in his veins. As a teenager in the fifties he was a fisherman and seafood merchant. In the next twenty-five years he navigated and piloted Navy submarines and Merchant Marine ships, worked at a shipyard, earned an advanced degree in fisheries resource economics and management, consulted for the government of Brazil on fisheries management and was a University of Connecticut researcher.

With all of this nautical background, the National Marine Fisheries Service was lucky to have him come aboard as a fisheries economist in 1976. During that period, Ed published a number of peer review papers on a wide range of fisheries and resource issues.

By the late '80s Ed Ueber had amassed a wealth of experiences that for most people would have been a career in itself. But in 1990, when Ed was appointed the Manager of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and a year later Manager of the brand new Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, he began to take on legendary status. Ed Ueber, the resources economist, rolled up his sleeves and once again became a sailor, making the rounds of the sometimes-rough waters of the two Sanctuaries, and navigating the political shoals onshore.

Ed successfully fought a plan to indirectly dump wastewater into the Gulf of the Farallones; dealt with several oil spills, and a forgotten radioactive dumpsite at sea. At the same time, he brought the Sanctuary program to the public by creating the first Marine Sanctuary Beach Watch program, the SEALS harbor seal protection and education program, the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association and opening three visitor centers.

Ed also upheld the Sanctuary program's scientific mission with an intertidal monitoring program, a new ecosystem oceanographic evaluating system, and deep-sea studies.

He was and is immensely knowledgeable, with a disarming and impish sense of humor. And with those who would threaten the Sanctuary's resource he is a skillfull negotiator and tough when he has to be. He is a communicator who can speak the language of researchers, fishermen, environmentalists, beach lovers--and even bureaucrats if he really tries.

Ed Ueber's love of the ocean and its creatures manifests itself in fierce protectiveness. He personifies the ideals of the National Marine Sanctuary Program.

This week as we honor the 15th Anniversary of the Cordell Bank National Marine

Sanctuary, one of the most biologically productive underwater areas on the planet, I also honor Ed Ueber, its first manager, a man to match the bounteous and awe-inspiring resource he has protected for so many years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss H.R. 5186, introduced by a number of Republican Members to address a billion dollar and growing windfall subsidy for student loan lenders. Like my Democratic colleagues, I will support H.R. 5186, because it is certainly better than current law. But on this issue, that is a pretty low bar.

I believe that families who are struggling to pay college tuition deserve to know exactly how low my Republican colleagues have set that bar. Lenders recently have taken increased advantage of a provision in the Higher Education Act that guarantees them 9.5 percent in returns on certain loans. That is almost triple the rate of return on most student loans.

In fiscal year 2004, that meant that $1 billion that could have helped hardworking Americans pay for college instead went into lenders' pockets. Democrats have been working to close this loophole for the last year, but Republicans did virtually nothing until public outrage reached the boiling point.

Even now, the Republican bill would leave 40 percent of the billion dollar loophole open. They would rather that $400 million go to the lender profits than to Pell Grants or low-income students or to the teacher loan forgiveness that they include in 5186, and we all support.

I do not agree. The Bush administration also has refused to close the loophole administratively, even though the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found the administration has the authority to absolutely do so.

Democrats have a better response: H.R. 5113. I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 5113, because it would fully and permanently close this loophole and put the savings into Pell Grants. That is the kind of help that hardworking men and women deserve to put themselves and their children through college so that they can better their lives.

That is the kind of help I wish we were offering here today. Unfortunately, we are not. But because a half loaf is better than none, I will support H.R. 5186.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 809, a bipartisan resolution introduced by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) to raise the awareness of ``Lights On Afterschool!'', a national celebration of after-school programs.

Children need after-school programs for many reasons. Most of us think of these programs, first, as offering children critical opportunities to develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural, and academic skills. And good programs do. But after-school programs are especially indispensable to the majority of families in which parents are in the workforce. For these families, after-school programs mean that they will not have to worry nearly as much about where their children are and what their children are doing between the school bell and the dinner bell. That is the time when most teenagers, by the way, are involved in crime or when pregnancy occurs because there is nothing for these children to do after school.

After-school programs build strong communities by involving a wide range of parents and teachers and business leaders, community organization volunteers in the lives of young people.

Mr. Speaker, of the more than 28 million children in the United States whose parents work outside the home, more than half have no place to go after school. That is why the ``Lights On Afterschool!'' effort is so important and deserves our commemoration. That is also why it is critical for Congress and the President to address the fact that, as noted in this resolution, many after-school programs across the Nation are being forced to shut down for lack of funding.

So I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting not only this resolution, but also in efforts to increase Federal funding for after- school programs so that our children receive the services that they need, the services that they deserve.

Finally, I would note that after-school programs are an essential, but not the only component to help working parents address the many challenges in providing for their families in the 21st century economy. That is why I have introduced H.R. 3780, the Balancing Act, as a comprehensive response to these challenges, and I encourage all of my colleagues to join me when I reintroduce the Balancing Act next Congress because the Balancing Act includes after-school programs.

I also encourage my colleagues to vote for H. Res. 809.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about Sudan, where the world's gravest humanitarian crisis is taking place. Nothing like this has happened since the tragedy that occurred in Rwanda in 1994. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding me time to speak.

Already, tens of thousands of Sudanese Africans have needlessly been killed and as many as 1.5 million more have been forced to seek refuge in neighboring countries. I am thankful that Members like the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) have worked so tirelessly to prevent the deaths of even more innocent lives and bring the picture to us here in the Congress so we can work with them also.

H.R. 5061 is vitally important legislation. This bill affirms that the atrocities occurring in Sudan are in fact genocide. It also imposes economic sanctions upon the government of Sudan until its leaders demonstrate that they are going to take every possible step to alleviate this situation.

Mr. Speaker, it is vitally important for the United States to lead the rest of the world in preventing the further loss of life in Sudan.

The true moral test of our government is not the strength of our economy or the size of our military; it is our compassion for those in the world who are less fortunate than we are. I urge passage of H.R. 5061 to help those who are less fortunate, and they certainly are in Sudan.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman) for yielding me time.

Mr. Chairman, I am tired of my Republican colleagues using the term ``activist judges'' to scare citizens into believing our Federal judiciary has lost all credibility and seeks only to promote an activist liberal agenda, and I am taking this time today to tell you why.

This is plainly not the truth. It is wrong, and it is illogical. In fact, was not it activist unelected judges who appointed the current President of the United States of America? The only threat these judges, most of whom were appointed by Republican Presidents, present is shutting down the Republicans ultra-conservative agenda and actually proving that many of the policies Republicans promote are unconstitutional or discriminating.

Let us take the controversial Ninth Circuit Court as an example. Twenty-six judges sit on this court. My Republican colleagues talk as if all of these judges are out to destroy the morals of this country, that these judges will destroy the fabric of our families and sensor religious practices perhaps because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle believe that these judges do not believe in fundamental Christian values. But at least half of these judges have conservative leanings. And I ask, is 50 percent not enough?

My Republican colleagues also like to insinuate the Democrats have appointed most of the active judges in our courts today. But they are mistaken. Since President Jimmy Carter was in office, Democrats have appointed 634 judges. Republicans have appointed 735 judges. It seems to me that Republicans know their policies are so radical that they will not stand up in court, and the only way to ensure their policies will stay on the books is to wipe out our jurisdiction system and erase our systems of checks and balances.

Republicans are destroying the courts, undermining judges' decisions, bullying those who stand by the Constitution. Do not let them tell you they are fighting activist judges. They are just carrying out their paranoid control. Mr. Chairman, if the judges in this country were so biased, so against conservative values, how did our current President get appointed in the year 2000? Those judges did not seem too activist to Republicans at that time, did they?

Mr. Speaker, I stand here because sudden oak death was first found in Marin County in my district in 1995. Since then, I have been working to control and contain this devastating disease, and I have been working with the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) as well because it is happening in our contiguous districts. It is good that we are here today to vote on this bipartisan bill, and it is something that I have been working on to get control over. But I am saddened that it has taken the spread of this disease to receive national interest.

Slowly but surely, as sudden oak death has spread through other communities, the Nation has come to understand the devastation that it causes and its need to be stopped. Sudden oak death is catching national attention as it has appeared for the first time in nurseries in southern California and nurseries in Oregon, and there is some serious concern that SOD has even spread to the southeastern part of the country. Nurseries in California are struggling with the quarantines that have been put in place on their plants in Canada and the State of Kentucky. In fact, quarantines of nurseries in Washington and Oregon are being considered at this very time.

But more tragic than that is what actually happens to the beautiful trees in an area that is affected by SOD and the resulting fire risks. It just brings tears to your eyes when you see these groups of trees disappearing.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in supporting this bill, H.R. 4569, to contain sudden oak death before it affects the entire country. Please do not wait until sudden oak death spreads to your community before you recognize the severity of this problem. I urge my colleagues to join all of us here today and vote for this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lynda Theil on her retirement from 33 years of public service as a staff member in the House of Representatives. A dedicated staffer, a tireless worker, a sharp mind, and a good friend, Lynda's dedication to working on behalf of our nation's children has been nothing short of inspiring.

Lynda began her career on the Hill working for Ohio Congressman John Seiberling in January of 1971, the beginning of the 92nd Congress. She worked for Rep. Seiberling through the birth of her two daughters, Corbin and Ashley, who she has raised into intelligent, sophisticated and beautiful young women. Upon Rep. Seiberling's retirement, Linda transitioned to the staff for his successor, Congressman Tom Sawyer at the beginning of the 100th

Congress where she worked until the spring of 1993.

It was at this time, when I was just starting my first term in Congress, that Lynda came to my staff. Her expertise and vast knowledge of education policy have been invaluable to me as a member of the House Education and Workforce Committee. She has worked on legislation including the Child Nutrition Act, the School Breakfast Pilot program, Headstart, The Balancing Act, and welfare programs to name a few. I would also like to honor her for helping to create the Democratic Caucus Task Force on Children and Families. She was instrumental in helping me make this important Caucus a reality and give a voice in Congress to those who need it most.

After so many years of dedicated service, it will certainly be difficult to see Lynda go. She has not only been a resource to myself and other Members of Congress, but also a mentor to a countless number of staff members. I wish her well as she moves on to a new phase of her life. With one grandchild, Brady, and another on the way, she will undoubtedly be as busy and hardworking in retirement as she was on the Hill. I can say without hesitation, that Members of Congress and staff alike will certainly miss her.

Mr. Speaker, Lynda Theil is the role model for what every staff member should be; dedicated, hardworking, caring, and devoted. Her presence will be missed, but not forgotten. Thank you, congratulations, and best wishes, Lynda.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 304, a resolution that condemns the harassment of Falun Gong practitioners in China and here in the United States. I first want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), with whom I coauthored and introduced this important resolution in October of last year. I also want to thank the House leadership for allowing this important legislation to come to the House floor, and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee) for yielding me this time.

Finally, I want to thank the loyal and dedicated Falun Gong practitioners who have diligently stopped by my offices over the last 2 years. It has been my pleasure to work with them on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, in April of 1999, 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the Communist Party headquarters near Tiananmen Square. They protested China's oppressive regime. Of course,

we are all familiar with the events that took place in Tiananmen Square in 1989, when thousands of individuals protesting the Chinese regime were brutally beaten and many killed, but China's abuses of Falun Gong practitioners both in China and here in the United States have not received the same attention.

China's rulers have condemned Falun Gong since the 1999 protest, calling this peaceful spiritual movement an evil cult, and embarking on an official campaign to eradicate the movement. China has imprisoned, tortured, and even murdered hundreds of people simply because they peacefully practice Falun Gong. Included among those who have been jailed and tortured are American citizens of Chinese descent.

Charles Lee, a California native, is one such victim. In the year 2003, he traveled to China to visit his extended family. Immediately upon stepping off the airplane, Charles Lee was arrested by Chinese officials. Despite the United States State Department appeals for his release, he has been jailed and tortured in a Chinese prison since his abduction.

Other American Falun Gong practitioners have been assaulted, robbed, and harassed right here in America. Miss Gail Rachlin, the Falun Gong spokeswoman in the United States, has had her New York apartment broken into not once, not twice, but five times over in the last 5 years; and it appears the break-ins have been by Chinese agents.

China's diplomats to the United States too have been actively involved in harassing and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners here in the United States. When San Francisco City Supervisor Chris Daly heard some of his constituents had been harassed by Chinese officials, he authored a resolution for the San Francisco Board condemning the persecution of Falun Gong members by the Chinese Government. In response, the Chinese Consul General in San Francisco sent Mr. Daly a harshly worded letter, claiming that Falun Gong undermines the normal social order in China and should be condemned.

The same experience has been repeated time and time again in dozens of cities across the country. A local official introduces a resolution in support of Falun Gong, and in response the Chinese consulate in the U.S. condemns that resolution as well as the local official who sponsored it.

Mr. Speaker, that is why H. Con. Res. 304 expresses the sense of Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China immediately stop interfering in the exercise of religious and political freedoms within the United States, including the right to practice Falun Gong. This resolution also states that China immediately cease its harassment, detention, and torture of any individual exercising his or her legitimate rights to freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of association, as affirmed by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.

The right to practice the religion or spiritual movement of one's choice is ingrained in the very fabric of the United States Constitution. That is why it is counter to what we stand for in our country that Chinese officials have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners and harassed local American officials right here in our country.

I urge all of my colleagues to support this important resolution. Send a strong message to China that we demand the proper treatment of both Americans and Chinese individuals who practice the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

Mr. Speaker, the Bush administration is shamefully neglecting the men and women who serve in the United States Military, even as they return home from a war in Iraq, having lost arms, legs, other parts of their bodies, to suffer forever from other physical or mental disabilities such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

In August of 2003, when I spent some time at Bethesda Naval Hospital where I was recuperating from back surgery, we were faced with and I met with the wounded soldiers because I visited them while I was in the hospital, the wounded, who had come home forever changed by the war in Iraq. Meeting with these soldiers and their families and seeing their injuries gave me a firsthand look at the true horrors of war. I became more committed than ever that our government should cover all the expenses of any injury that results from war. But that is just not happening.

The disability benefits and health care system that currently assists 5 million American servicemen and women has become so overburdened by the addition of over 26,000 wounded soldiers from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, is now woefully incapable of providing the benefits and services that were promised before those individuals went to war. Currently, there is a backlog of more than 300,000, and let me say it again, 300,000 service-related claims, and that number is increasing every single day. And since President Bush shamefully relied on thousands of National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers to fight in Iraq, these veterans now deserve veterans benefits, too. It is only appropriate.

Just as President Bush failed utterly in his planning of the Iraq War, he also failed utterly in planning how the Veterans' Administration system would address the hundreds of thousands of soldiers returning from that war. The cowboy mentality of the Bush administration is quite clear: Shoot first, ask questions later, even if asking those questions could have saved lives.

Worst of all, some of our soldiers still are not getting the necessary equipment that can save their lives; the advanced body armor that is capable of stopping bullets from assault rifles; armor for tanks to prevent the destruction of U.S. military convoys; and the water equipment to keep them hydrated in the scorching desert heat. Parents are sending that equipment to their kids, buying it here and sending it to them.

The failure to give this equipment to each and every soldier is particularly shameful considering that, last November, Congress passed legislation to fund the war effort to the tune of $87 billion. That is on top of the $78 billion in supplemental funds that was appropriated in March of 2003. Yet reports show that billions of those dollars are being misused, misappropriated and even stolen in Iraq.

And, now, the President plans to reprogram $3.4 billion of last year's $18.4 billion supplemental, using it for military purposes instead of for Iraq's reconstruction. So, now, we are forced to pilfer money that was supposed to pay for infrastructure needs for the Iraqi people.

How many more soldiers have to have their limbs shot off before this administration will wake up? How many more soldiers have to die for a President's mistake? There has to be a better way. There has to be a better way than this, and we must fully support the thousands of soldiers who sacrifice to serve and protect America.

That is why I have introduced H. Con. Res. 392, a SMART security platform for the 21st Century. SMART stands for Sensible, Multilateral, American Response to Terrorism. SMART security treats war as an absolute last resort. It fights terrorism with stronger intelligence and multilateral partnerships, and it controls the spread of weapons of mass destruction with aggressive diplomacy, strong regional security arrangements and vigorous inspection regimes. SMART security means equipping our troops with the tools that are essential to their survival and then helping them with proper health care once they get home. But the hawkish Bush administration, which quickly led this country

to war, is failing in helping men and women in uniform when they get out of war.

Mr. Speaker, here we go again. With all the important legislation we should be working on with just 1 week left in our session, we are writing discrimination into the Constitution for the first time in our country's history.

Whether one supports or opposes gay marriages, there is no reason to threaten the democratic values set forth in our Constitution. Not now, not ever.

Of course, Republicans are getting a lot of political mileage out of this debate today from their right-wing fundamental supporters. And they get a lot of mileage out of being on the side of what we they call ``family values.'' They have offered programs like their Marriage Initiative, where $1.5 billion has been funded to help the poor acquire interpersonal and conflict management skills to promote and strengthen marriage.

The people I talk with, however, do not want the government to be their family therapist. They do not want the government to be in their bedroom. They want a government that helps create good jobs with good benefits, flexible workplaces, universal health coverage, affordable child care, safe after-school programs and much more. They know what real family values are.

And let me read a letter I just received from a family that knows about family values. The woman writing, her name is Casey. She is from Santa Rosa, California. She writes: ``I was in a very long relationship with my partner until her death on April 17, 2000. Although I wanted very badly to, we could not legally marry, and my partner refused to marry me until our marriage would be legal. Hence, we were never able to marry even though we raised two children, who, by the way, are both heterosexual.

``Shortly after her terminal diagnosis after 18 months of a valiant fight against cancer, she asked me to marry her brother. This would accomplish three goals: I would be afforded health insurance through his work. As I have several debilitating chronic conditions, it is vital that I have health coverage.'' Second, ``if and when he becomes ill from his HIV or Hepatitis C, he will have someone to care for him.'' And, third, ``our youngest child would have two parents for the rest of her childhood, another 3 years.

``Three weeks to the day after her brother and I were married, the love of my life died in my arms at the age of 37. If we had been allowed to marry, we would have felt that we were full citizens in our State and in our country. As it was, she died a second-class citizen. Please do not let any more Americans die as second-class citizens. Sincerely Casey McChesney.''

Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding.

For those of my colleagues who are so worried about unelected judges making the decision of marriage, I want to remind them; it was unelected judges that picked their President.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Linda Theil on her retirement from 33 years of public service as a staff member in the House of Representatives.

When I was just starting my first term in Congress in 1993, Linda came to my staff. Her expertise and vast knowledge of education policy have been invaluable to me as a Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. She has worked on legislation, including the Child Nutrition Act, the School Breakfast Pilot Program, Head Start, the Balancing Act, and Welfare Reform, to name only a few.

Mr. Speaker, Linda Theil is the role model for what every single staff member should be, dedicated, hardworking, caring and devoted. Her presence will be missed but not forgotten.

Thank you, congratulations, and best wishes, Linda.

Madam Speaker, in the days and weeks after September 11, 2001, Americans pulled together to restore our country after the worst terrorist attack in United States history. For the rest of September that year, there were no Democrats, there were no Republicans, there were only Americans.

In those trying times in the fall of the year 2001, I believe that no American would have hesitated to make a substantial sacrifice for the good of the country, just as Americans have done

in other times of need, like during World War II and the 1979 energy crisis.

If President Bush had asked America in the days after September 11 to cut down on the use of fossil fuels in order to reduce our dependence on Middle East oil, America would have responded. Sadly, the President did not ask us to do any such thing.

Instead of asking Americans to sacrifice, President Bush irresponsibly gave the top 1 percent of Americans a huge tax cut, leaving our children and their children to pick up the tab for the unnecessary war in Iraq, a cost already over $200 billion. Because nothing endangers America's security more than our reliance on Mideast oil, instead of promoting these reckless tax cuts, the Bush administration should have advocated immediate development of sustainable and renewable energy alternatives.

I am not the only one who realizes this. Just ask the good people at Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and Women's Action For New Direction. These groups understand that our dependence on unsustainable energy sources, like Mideast oil, undermines America's security and our health.

And speaking about health, 50 years from now, our children will ask us how we allowed starvation, poverty, and diseases like HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis to flourish in other countries while the citizens of wealthy nations who have so much were not inflicted as greatly. That is why any attempt to fight terrorism must also include providing humanitarian aid to the poorest nations. Humanitarian aid in the form of food and medical supplies would restore hope to the world's poorest people. Nothing breeds terrorism like the hopelessness and despair brought about by starvation, disease and poverty.

For sure, the United States needs to lead the rest of the world when it comes to fighting terrorism, but the U.S., the strongest and richest country in the world, must lead by example rather than through invading other nations and killing thousands of innocent civilians in the process.

Throwing our weight around will not gain the support of other nations. Instead, we must meet our obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention, and the Chemical Weapons Convention. There has to be a better way to respond to the threats America faces. That is why I have introduced H. Con. Res. 392, a SMART security platform for the 21st century. SMART stands for Sensible Multilateral American Response to Terrorism.

SMART security treats war as an absolute last resort. It fights terrorism with stronger intelligence and multilateral partnerships, and it controls the spread of weapons of mass destruction with aggressive diplomacy, strong regional security arrangements and vigorous inspection regimes. SMART security defends America by relying on the very best of America, not our nuclear capabilities but our capacity for multinational leadership and our commitment to peace and freedom around the world.

Madam Speaker, the true moral test of our government is not how many wars we win, it is our compassion, our compassion for those in the world who are less fortunate than we are. It is how we treat these individuals that determines the true moral quality of America. Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Women's Action For New Direction, and many Americans understand this.

Mr. Speaker, imagine living in a world where you believe owning weapons is the only way to feel safe, so you decide semiautomatic weapons which are made easily available to you are the weapon of your choice. But then you decide to buy handguns so you can keep that gun concealed on your body when you go to the store, or on your pillow at night, because you believe that the enemy could be lurking anywhere. You figure while you are beefing up your home artillery, you should also pick up some cop-killer bullets because you never know when your enemy might have a bullet-proof vest on.

I do not know about you folks, but this is my idea of a nightmare: a world made less safe, not safer, by this legislation.

This bill not only ignores D.C. voters' choice to ban assault weapons, it also makes certain that the city council cannot enact any further gun-owning restrictions.