Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I strongly oppose this so-called tax compromise because it represents a windfall for the wealthy, a windfall that will result in one thing and one thing only: insufficient funds for all other social programs.

By holding assistance for the unemployed hostage and giving tax breaks to the billionaires, tax breaks actually that create absolutely no jobs, we will create a big hole, a big hole in all of the support that we need for our children, for women, for veterans, for our education and health programs, and that only names a few, Mr. Chairman. Rather than tax breaks for the wealthy, we need policies that create jobs, jobs that will help our working families.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose this flawed tax package because it will yield only one thing, and that is insufficient funds for any of the social programs we need in our country.

Madam Speaker, on December 8, 2010, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for rollcall No. 624. Had I been present I would have voted: Rollcall No. 624: ``yes''--To extend the Child Safety Pilot Program.

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago when we sat down to turkey dinner with our families, we certainly had plenty to be thankful for. Our thoughts, however, were thinking about the men and women of the Armed Forces, both active duty and retired, who have risked life and limb for all of us, and these folks, these troops, were in our prayers of thanks and in our hopes.

But, Mr. Speaker, it is critical that our gratitude to these courageous Americans be expressed not just with kind thoughts around the Thanksgiving table or speeches on Veterans Day. We need to show our thanks with deeds, not words, which is why it was important last week that the House passed the Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act, ensuring that seniors and military families continue to see their doctors.

But even as we were taking that important step, military health benefits continue to be endangered, because Defense Secretary Gates is considering a proposal to increase the amount that military retirees pay for their health insurance under the TRICARE program.

Let me be clear: I couldn't agree more with Mr. Gates's belief that the Pentagon is overextended. I share his concern about the ``gusher of defense spending,'' as he himself refers to it. If we are having a serious conversation about the bloated DOD budget, then I am all in. In fact, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has proposed $600 billion in cuts, much of it from obsolete, overpriced and untested weapons systems that are doing absolutely nothing to protect America or advance our national security interests.

But with so much waste, fraud and abuse, why in the world would we cut the Pentagon budget by taking it out of the hide of the military families who have already sacrificed so very much? Why should they take the hit, while DOD has historically shown little spending discipline or fiscal responsibility, throwing billions upon billions of dollars at inefficient programs? Instead of targeting affordable health care for the people who have worn the uniform, how about we start by pulling the plug on the V-22 Osprey, notoriously over budget and also responsible for 30 accidental deaths over the years?

Norbert Ryan, Jr., of the Military Officers Association of America, put it well to The New York Times. He wrote: ``Don't ask the folks who have done so much for this country, who have been called to act since 9/11, to be first in line to give some more.''

It is indeed true, Mr. Speaker, that military retirees and their families get a good benefits package. To those who say they should pay more, I say they have already worked for a higher premium in the form of their service and sacrifice than any of us can even imagine. The bottom line is that military retirees have earned the benefits they receive. They deserve them. We owe it to them. It is a promise we must keep to them.

But let me take this argument one step further, Mr. Speaker. I have got a broader solution that attacks the problem two different ways. First, ending the war in Afghanistan will cut military spending dramatically, and it will also mean fewer military retirees requiring fewer health care services, yet another urgent, compelling reason to bring our troops home.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Frank Howard Allen Realtors, which this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary of service in the San Francisco Bay Area. For a century now, Frank Howard Allen has remained a family-owned, locally operated brokerage characterized by a unique commitment to the people in our region. We have all been fortunate to benefit from its long history of economic and community development.

Frank Howard Allen Realtors, the namesake of its founder, was established in Marin County in 1910 as a small company focused on local service. By the 1960s, the company had expanded to four offices and over forty salespeople, and ownership was transferred to another family with strong local ties. It has remained in that family's care ever since and is now owned by CEO Larry Brackett and his wife Brennie Brackett. Under the Bracketts' leadership, Frank Howard Allen has continued its steady growth into Marin County's largest brokerage by market share, and it has expanded its strong presence in Sonoma and Napa Counties. From a small, independent company, Frank Howard Allen has become one of our major employers, with over 600 agents in more than 20 offices across the North Bay.

But even as it has grown into an important regional player, Frank Howard Allen has remained invested in our communities and deeply rooted in its origins. Because of the Bracketts' efforts, the company has been instrumental in developing the Marin Workforce Housing Trust, a unique public-private partnership that provides funding for critically necessary low-income and special-needs housing. Frank Howard Allen has also played an active and conscientious role in our public life, providing assistance to organizations serving our population in countless ways. By matching its agents' donations from closed escrows, Frank Howard Allen has been a consistent supporter of our North Bay schools, clinics, parks, museums, food banks, and other nonprofit organizations serving local people and our natural environment. Most recently, the brokerage sponsored its own giving programs aimed at providing food and clothing to those in need over the holiday season.

Frank Howard Allen has also been the recipient of a number of business awards, not only for its approach to clients and the community, but also for its treatment of workers. In 2010, Frank Howard Allen was honored by the North Bay Business Journal as one of the region's best places to work, and readers of the Pacific Sun voted it the region's best real estate brokerage. Frank Howard Allen also carried its category in NorthBay Biz, making this the eighth consecutive year it has won that magazine's highest accolades.

Madam Speaker, I ask you to join me in honoring Frank Howard Allen Realtors for its long standing work in our region, and in wishing it every success in its second century. The company's economic and philanthropic contributions to our communities are a model of the kind of business that makes the North Bay a vibrant and unique place to live.

I thank the gentleman for bringing this bill forward.

This is a proud day for me, as an original cosponsor of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act, because the health and safety of miners is finally receiving the attention that it deserves. With this legislation, we hope to prevent the appalling loss of life that continues to occur in the mining industry. The recent accident at Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia once again proved this issue is too important to ignore, too devastating to delay.

It is true that working conditions for miners have improved over the years, but too many mine workers are still dying or are becoming ill as a result of incidents that were or are preventible had everyone been following the law. The loss of life and health of a worker is unacceptable. There is much more we can do and must do to keep miners as healthy and safe as possible. These miners and their families deserve to know that when they leave for work in the morning, they will return home that evening to their families and that they will be safe and that they will be healthy. H.R. 6495 accomplishes much of that goal for underground coal mines and gassy mines.

The bill makes it easier to identify and improve conditions at mines with serious and repeated violations and increases maximum criminal penalties for underground coal mines and sanctions on those who knowingly tamper with safety equipment. H.R. 6495 also provides more effective enforcement tools for MSHA, while strengthening whistleblower protections for miners and their families. Bringing mine safety protection into the 21st century provides solutions for better protection of miners throughout this country.

I only regret today that the important provisions from the Protecting America's Workers Act, PAWA, legislation that I introduced to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the OSH Act, are not contained in H.R. 6495, because bringing OSHA into the 21st century would have made a long overdue change to the OSH Act, a law designed to protect the health and safety of millions of nonmining workers throughout the entire Nation.

So, Mr. Speaker, I will continue to support PAWA. But today we're supporting H.R. 6495, which is critical in protecting our miners, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today, with my colleague, Congressman Mike Thompson, to recognize Steven M. Woodside who is retiring after 11 years as Sonoma County Counsel.

The 43-person County Counsel office, provides legal services to county departments, more than 25 special districts, as well as to the Board of Supervisors, the Grand Jury, Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District (SMART), Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA), Sonoma County Retirement Association (SCERA), Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA).

County Counsel attorneys regularly appear in court on behalf of County departments on such matters as juvenile dependency cases, code enforcement actions, bail recovery, and mental health competency hearings.

During his tenure, Mr. Woodside reduced his department's operating costs and dependency on county general funds and organized the office into four practice teams, Land Use, Health and Human Services, Litigation and Justice, and Infrastructure. He encouraged his staff to become involved in state-wide issues and many of his team are now recognized leaders and experts in child dependency issues, land use and energy independence programs, endangered species and natural resource protection.

Mr. Woodside has served as a member and Chair of the Statewide County Litigation Coordination Committee from 1992 through the present and in this capacity, helped coordinate the participation of California's 58 counties in litigation of statewide significance. As Chair of the State Assessed Property Tax Committee of the California Association of Counties, he was the chief negotiator on a successful billion dollar property tax settlement action.

His other professional affiliations include serving as President and member of the Board of Directors of the County Counsels' Association of California and Adjunct Professor of Law and member of the Board of Visitors at Santa Clara University School of Law.

Mr. Woodside has a dual Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Davis and Santa Cruz and a Juris Doctor from University of California at Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall). Upon graduation from law school, he joined the Santa Clara County Counsel's office and eventually was named head of the department.

Madam Speaker, Steven Woodside has spent most of his career in public service to the people of the State of California. It is therefore appropriate that we recognize and honor him today and wish him well in his retirement. him well in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, 69 years ago today, the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor was attacked. In the epic 4-year war that followed, millions of Americans served with honor and courage, and more than 400,000 lost their lives. I can assure you, Mr. Speaker, that many of them were gay.

Nearly seven decades later, it appears we are finally prepared to acknowledge publicly what we have known for so long: That gay and lesbian Americans have been part of the military, making invaluable contributions to our Nation's security, for as long as there has been a Nation to secure. We appear to be finally on the cusp of repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy that has asked those who wear the uniform to lie about their very identities as a precondition of their service. As if we don't ask enough of them already.

Those who have continued to back this dreadful policy said earlier this year that they wanted to see the results of the Pentagon review before reconsidering their position. Well, that sober and empirical review was released last week, and it quite clearly concluded that repealing the policy would have minimal impact on military readiness or cohesion. But guess what, Mr. Speaker, that wasn't enough for the small minority of Don't Ask, Don't Tell supporters. Clinging to a fringe, reactionary, extremist position, they are unmoved by the Pentagon's findings. They say repeal would be premature, that to do anything but maintain the discriminatory status quo would be an irresponsible rush to judgment.

A rush to judgment? Gay soldiers have been forced into the closet for the entirety of American history. How much longer do we need to wait for fundamental fairness and equal treatment? How much longer must we endure a policy damaging our national security and hostile to American values?

Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is anything but premature. It's long overdue. Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell is also overwhelmingly popular. The President of the United States, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a bipartisan congressional majority, veterans groups, not to mention most of the American people all support repeal. And now we know from the Pentagon report that 92 percent of servicemembers say the presence of a gay person would not affect their unit's ability to work together. And that last fact really shouldn't be surprising. I don't imagine that every single member of our Armed Forces is unambiguously enthusiastic about changing the policy, but I don't think every single member of our armed services is unambiguously enthusiastic about the meal they were served last night or this morning.

My point is these men and women are dedicated professionals. They are sworn to protect the Nation. They follow orders and do their jobs as they did during the desegregation of the military. And they do this without regard to their personal values.

We can do this. We must do it. It will be far less daunting than President Truman's desegregation of the military. The Nation was far more racist in 1946 than it is homophobic in the year 2010.

It's time to repeal, Mr. Speaker, Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The Nation is ready for it. The military can handle it. Justice demands it.

Madam Speaker, on December 1, 2010, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for Rollcall No. 595. Had I been present I would have voted: Rollcall No. 595: ``yes''--Commending the City of Jacksonville, Arkansas, for its outstanding support in creating a unique and lasting partnership with Little Rock Air Force Base, members of the Armed Forces stationed there and their families, and the Air Force.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with my colleague, Representative Mike Thompson, to honor Dr. Carl Wong, an outstanding educator for 38 years who is retiring as the Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools. Dr. Wong is a distinguished director whose work in this elected position provides countywide leadership, support, and fiscal oversight for the K-12 public school system, which is comprised of 40 school districts and 71,000 students.

A dedicated educator committed to the philosophy of public school education and to the welfare of students, Dr. Wong is a first generation Chinese-American from humble origins. Living in the federal housing projects in Vallejo, California where his father was employed at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Dr. Wong graduated from Napa High School and first pursued a career as a machinist at the Shipyard. Enrolling in night school through Napa Community College, Dr. Wong earned his degree and teaching credential at Chico State University. He began his career in education as a math and industrial arts teacher at Helix High School in San Diego County, later returning to school to become a counselor and administrator. As a full-time faculty member and administrator, Dr. Wong earned his Ph.D. in education from Northern Arizona University.

In 1997, Dr. Wong returned to his home in Northern California, becoming superintendent of Petaluma City Schools, the second largest school district in Sonoma County. In this post, Dr. Wong successfully pioneered a framework to build collaboration and understanding between the district's major divisions to better serve youth. First elected Sonoma County Superintendent of Schools in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, Dr. Wong is credited with working with the County Board of Education, district and school administrators, and faculty to restructure and better serve local districts, helping them align themselves toward more continuity while building consensus for a shared, countywide vision.

The recipient of many awards and recognitions, Carl Wong is a compassionate mentor, both to students and to colleagues. His background gives him a unique understanding of students who don't excel in traditional academic settings. He is a tireless advocate whose goal is to prepare all students to become productive citizens engaged in the democratic process. An active community speaker, Dr. Wong gives generously of his time and energies, serving on numerous boards and councils, including the Board of Supervisors' appointee to the Sonoma County Workforce Investment Board, the United Way of Wine Country Board, and the Santa Rosa Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force.

Madam Speaker, Dr. Carl Wong is a very talented man, a man of remarkable commitment and it is therefore appropriate to honor him today and to wish him well in his next endeavor. Congratulations, Carl Wong--you will be missed!

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in defense of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), and I appeal to my colleagues and your sense of fairness as you deliberate on this matter.

Censure is a very serious sanction, one step short of expulsion. Only 22 times in the history of this body has the House censured a colleague, and not once in the last 27 years.

In the past, this punishment has been reserved for serious acts of corruption--taking bribes, lying under oath, gross sexual misconduct, profiting from one's office. Carelessness and minor rules violations have never been grounds for censure. Far more serious ethical lapses than Mr. Rangel's have not met with censure; for example, Newt Gingrich and Tom Delay. But they were not censured. In fact, Newt Gingrich continued to serve as Speaker of the House.

Mr. Rangel has cooperated fully with the Ethics investigation, acting with transparency and expressing regret and apologies for his actions. Quite simply, Mr. Rangel's transgressions and lapses in judgment do not rise to the level of censure. Fairness, my colleagues, demands that we vote ``no.''

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a fellow resident of the city of

Petaluma, Mike Kerns, who retires in December after serving 12 years on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.

Mike and I go back many years. When I was serving on the Petaluma City Council, Mike was the big, friendly cop who was involved in the city's tobacco and drug education programs. He served in many positions on the Petaluma Police Force beyond the usual enforcement programs. Mike was a Crisis Team Supervisor, a Peer Counseling Supervisor and a Youth Diversion Counselor and the department's liaison to the Stop Tobacco Access to Minors Program, which significantly reduced illegal tobacco sales to children and teens. He is best known, however, for his role as Press Information Officer in the Polly Klass kidnapping. He became a familiar face on television and his calm demeanor and his compassion for the victim and her family provided a sense of stability as the public witnessed the unfolding of a senseless tragedy.

Mike Kerns was born and raised in Napa, California. He was an athletic young man and in 1967 won a Golden Gloves championship. He began his public service career as a counselor for the Jobs Corps in Pleasanton. In 1973 he put on his first blue uniform as a police officer for the city of Tiburon in Marin County. In 1978 he transferred to the Petaluma Police Department, and was promoted to Sergeant in 1980. Sergeant Kerns married Carol Madsen the next year and they raised two children, Katie and Matt.

In 1998 following the retirement of popular, veteran Supervisor Jim Harberson, Mike was elected to represent the 2nd District for the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors. His ``southern Sonoma'' district includes the cities of Petaluma and Cotati and a portion of Rohnert Park, along with the unincorporated agricultural communities of Penngrove, Two Rock, Bloomfield and Valley Ford. Mike's humor, directness and listening skills have served him well in dealing with his diverse constituency.

Mike also represents a portion of Sonoma County's bay lands, an area public agencies, non-profits and citizen's groups have joined together to restore watersheds and wetlands. Mike counts among his biggest achievements in office the county's purchase of the 1769-acre Cardoza Ranch in 2005. Now known as the Tolay Lake Regional Park, it includes hills and grasslands, a seasonal lake, creeks, ponds and wetlands, and is a major wintering stopover for migrating waterfowl. The park is currently under development with plans calling for new hiking and biking trails, a natural and historic education center and restoration of Tolay Lake.

Supervisor Kerns should also be congratulated for his major role in the Supervisors' decision to place on the ballot two successful transportation measures which provided the financial foundation for the long-awaited widening of Highway 101 and the future construction of the SMART rail system. These transportation improvements will help ensure that Sonoma County continues to have corridor-centered growth while lowering its carbon emissions and more quickly move goods and people.

Madam Speaker, I thank Mike Kerns for his years of service as both a law enforcement officer and a lawmaker, and wish him a well-deserved happy, and healthy retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 3307 which passed, by the way, by unanimous consent out of the Senate. And I support it because it is our responsibility in this wealthy Nation, the United States of America, to make certain that all children, regardless of family income, have nutritious

food so that they will thrive in school and in life and because we know that a hungry child cannot learn and poor nutrition costs our Nation far more over time than investing in good nutrition now.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to be the author of two provisions of this bill. One will update, for the first time in 30 years, the nutritional standards for foods sold in vending machines, a la carte lines and school snack bars. The other creates a pilot program for schools to offer organic foods.

We know that child nutrition is at the heart of our social safety net and the safety of all of our children. And these programs have been overwhelmingly successful, and they have been cost effective. It's essential that we reauthorize them and that the administration work with us to fulfill their commitment to backfill any food stamp funding after 2013.

I urge all of my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to vote ``yes'' on S. 3307.

Madam Speaker, on November 30, 2010, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to record my vote for rollcall No. 583. Had I been present I would have voted: Rollcall No. 583: ``yes''--Providing for consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 4783) to accelerate the income tax benefits for charitable cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Chile, and to extend the period from which such contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake in Haiti may be accelerated.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1430) honoring and saluting golf legend Juan Antonio ``Chi Chi'' Rodriguez for his commitment to Latino youth programs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on House Resolution 1430 into the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1430, which honors and salutes golf legend Juan Antonio Rodriguez, widely known as Chi Chi Rodriguez, for his commitment to the Latino Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, or CHCI. Mr. Rodriguez is an extraordinarily accomplished golfer. With 38 professional wins, including eight PGA Tour and 22 Senior PGA Tour victories, it is no surprise that he was inducted in 1992 into the World Golf Hall of Fame, the first Puerto Rican ever to earn this honor.

Chi Chi Rodriguez worked hard for his success and has never forgotten his roots in Puerto Rico, where he worked for a dollar a day cutting sugar cane. Using his surroundings to teach himself the game of golf, he used a tree branch as a golf club and a metal can as a golf ball.

Chi Chi Rodriguez has worked as tirelessly off the course as well as on it through his dedicated support of youth and their educational aspirations. Over the past 3 years, he has raised over $824,000 for CHCI's Scholarship Awards Program to assist Latino youths in their pursuit of higher education. These efforts have resulted in financial support for more than 430 scholarships. Moreover, Mr. Rodriguez continues to contribute to his own Chi Chi Rodriguez Youth Foundation, which funds the Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy.

The Chi Chi Rodriguez Academy assists at-risk children by improving their self-esteem, character, work ethic, social adjustment, and academic performance, using the golf course as a living classroom. Mr. Rodriguez has raised more than $4 million for his academy, which every year brings 600 children from low-income families or broken homes to a golf course to learn responsibility and discipline through the game of golf.

Chi Chi Rodriguez's work for CHCI and his foundation have been recognized numerous times, including an induction into the World Humanitarian Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and receiving the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute renowned Service Award in the year 2010.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to honor and salute golf legend Juan Antonio ``Chi Chi'' Rodriguez for his commitment to Latino youth programs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield the gentleman from California, Congressman Baca, as much time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Baca).

I would like to know how much time we have on both sides, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, again, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution to honor and salute golf legend Juan Antonio ``Chi Chi'' Rodriguez for his commitment to Latino youth programs of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

Mr. Rodriguez uses his experience and his career success to expand opportunities for disadvantaged youth, and he helps them reach their full potential. I thank Representative Baca for his leadership in bringing this resolution forward.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1638) supporting the goals and ideals of National GEAR UP Day.

Mr. Speaker, I request 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on House Resolution 1638 into the Record.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 1638 which recognizes the goals and ideals of National GEAR UP Day, celebrated on September 29, 2010. GEAR UP, or Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, was created by Congress in 1998 to help increase the number of low-income and underserved students who are prepared to succeed in postsecondary education.

This year, the GEAR UP program provided college prep services to over 670,000 students in over 5,000 schools across 46 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Micronesia, and Puerto Rico.

National GEAR UP Day, sponsored by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships, is an opportunity for us to recognize the continued success of GEAR UP programs nationwide. It guarantees an entire cohort of students beginning no later than the seventh grade and follows that group through high school.

GEAR UP funds are also used to provide college scholarships to low- income students. Students participating in the GEAR UP program, Mr. Speaker, are encouraged in a variety of ways to enter and complete postsecondary education. They may visit local postsecondary institutions and survey classes that interest them, learn about financial aid and scholarship opportunities, or meet with a counselor for career planning.

I want to thank Representative Fattah for introducing this resolution and, once again, express my support for House Resolution 1638, which celebrates National GEAR UP Day.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), the author of this resolution and the author of GEAR UP.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).

I yield the gentleman an additional 1\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Fattah and Representative Hinojosa for their participation in introducing this resolution.

Once again, I want to express my support for House Resolution 1638, which celebrates National GEAR UP Day--a chance for all of us to recognize the GEAR UP program's accomplishments and its success in increasing the accessibility of college for those students who need it the most. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.