Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Ms. Nicole Bordallo Nelson for completing her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of San Francisco, for which commencement ceremonies will take place on May 24, 2003.

The Psychology Department at the University of San Francisco is a rigorous and highly regarded program. I am proud of Nicole for her tremendous achievement and for her hard work in order to earn this prestigious degree. However, it is her compassion for other people that is most commendable. Besides her many long hours of study and her hard work as a research assistant with the University of San Francisco Psychology Department, Nicole spent much of her free time volunteering for Bay Area homeless rescue missions. It is no surprise that she has excelled at the college level, and I have no doubt that she will continue to serve the community as she pursues a career in the Psychology.

Before college, Nicole attended the Academy of Our Lady of Guam, a Catholic school for young women on Guam, and later graduated from St. Paul's School. In addition to her coursework and hours of community service, she excelled as an athlete in soccer and basketball.

Today I join Nicole's parents, Deborah Josephine Bordallo and James Earl Nelson in congratulating Nicole on her accomplishment. They were always supportive and responsible parents to Nicole, their only daughter, and they have every reason to be proud of her achievement. But most of all, I want to thank Nicole for making me one very proud grandmother. I know that her grandfather, the late Governor Ricky Bordallo, must be smiling down on her today. God bless you, Nicole, we love you.

Mr. Chairman, as a member of the Committee on Armed Services, I rise in support of the bill before us.

Let me briefly highlight three provisions of which I am very proud.

First, the legislation increases the number of nominations to a military academy that a Delegate may have.

Second, the act authorizes a new 5-year pilot program for invasive species eradication on military installations in Guam.

Third, the legislation includes two military construction projects for Guam in fiscal year 2004. It authorizes $1.7 million for the construction of the Victor Wharf Fender System for our nuclear submarines, and it authorizes $25 million for the construction of a new medical and dental clinic at Anderson Air Force Base.

Much could be said, Mr. Chairman, as to the procedures by which contentious aspects of this legislation have appeared, such as the civil service provisions, but, nonetheless I am pleased that we have taken action to strengthen the defense of our Nation through this piece of legislation.

I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) and the ranking member, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), for managing this challenging process.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues this evening to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and I want to thank the Chairmen of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Mr. Honda and Mr. Wu, for their leadership of the caucus. I would especially like to thank Mr. Honda for organizing this special order which seeks, not only to recognize the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to our Nation, but also to educate our citizens on the uniqueness of our people.

Asian Pacific Americans are a rapidly growing group made up of 49 different ethnicities speaking over 100 different languages and dialects representing 4.5 percent of our population today.

Asian Pacific Americans have much to be proud of. In every aspect of American life--business, education, government, the military, in media, sports, entertainment and the arts--you will find prominent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Here in Congress, more than 30 members past and present have been of Asian and Pacific Island descent representing backgrounds such as Chamorros, Samoans, Native Hawaiians, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Indian and Chinese.

As we celebrate the contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in this ``Salute to Liberty'' and with the approach of Memorial Day, it is fitting that we reflect of the thousands of Asian Pacific Islanders who have served in our armed services. In World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf and, most recently, the

war in Iraq, Asian Pacific Islanders have served with honor and distinction.

I am honored by Guam's record of service to the Nation. Men and women from Guam have served in all wars, and they have served in disproportion to their small numbers.

Today, let us again acknowledge the sacrifice of Asian Pacific Americans in defense of our country.

Common to the Asian and Pacific Island heritage is the sense of family and community. Our concern for our immediate as well as extended family is what encourages us to work harder and strive for a better life for everyone in our community. It is our sense of family that strengthens our commitment to fight against racism, discrimination and injustice, not just of our people, but of all people.

Historically, Asians and Pacific Islanders have known much war and strife. They have survived and they have thrived to the benefit of America. So today, as we celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, let us honor all they have done to enrich our lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for House Congressional Resolution 172 introduced last week by our colleagues, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), the cochairs of the Travel and Tourism Caucus. I commend them for their leadership on this issue.

The tourism industry is vital to the economy of the United States. It is the

bedrock of the economy of Guam, my district, and instrumental to the continued economic growth of our islands.

Last year nearly 1 million visitors alone came to Guam. In 1997, visitor arrivals peaked at 1\1/2\ million. Guam is 4 flying hours away from major markets in Asia such as Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Manila. Guam is served by several major airlines including Continental, Micronesia, Northwest, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and All Nippon Airways.

Guam has been struggling to rebound in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Supertyphoon Pongsona, the war in Iraq, and recently the SARS epidemic.

In February, in the omnibus appropriations bill, Congress included $50 million for a promotional campaign to encourage travel to the United States, including territories. We need to continue our efforts here in Congress to promote tourism. Let us support the visitor industry. Support the American economy, support National Tourism Week.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Mr. Shawn Michael Blas for completing his undergraduate degree in Criminology, with a minor in Psychology, at the University of New Mexico.

The Criminology major at the University of New Mexico is one of the most highly regarded programs of its kind in the nation. I am proud of Shawn for his tremendous achievement and his many long hours of study in order to earn this prestigious degree. Shawn was always a diligent student and outstanding member of the community while growing up on Guam. In fact, he was valedictorian of his graduating class at Evangelical Christian Academy in Chalan Pago, Guam in 1999. It is no surprise that he has excelled at the college level, and I have no doubt that he will continue to serve the community as he pursues his career in law enforcement

I also want to take the time to commend Shawn's parents, Frances and Danny Blas of Dededo, Guam, whom I have known for many years. They have been mentoring and supportive parents to Shawn, their youngest son, and they have every reason to be proud of his achievement.

Today I join with Shawn's family and friends in congratulating him on his accomplishment and in wishing him the very best in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues this evening on this most important issue and I thank my colleague, Mrs. Napolitano, for bringing attention to National Suicide Awareness Week. This is a very personal issue for me as I have experienced first hand the impact of suicide on family and friends.

Tonight I want to bring special attention to the issue of suicide in youth and young adults.

In the year 2000, persons under age 25 accounted for 15 percent of all suicides. In 1999, more teenagers and young adults died from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, and chronic lung disease combined.

Nationally, suicide is the 9th leading cause of death. Among 10-24 year-olds, suicide ranks 3rd and in Guam, where the suicide rate is six times higher than the national average, it ranks 2nd as the leading cause of death in youth and young adults.

Mr. Speaker, we cannot stand by and allow this tragedy to continue. We must focus our efforts on what causes the youth in our communities to choose to end their lives.

The report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: Developing a National Action Agenda indicates that children with mental health needs are usually identified by the schools only after their emotional or behavioral problems cannot be managed by their regular classroom teacher.

We must educate and train parents, teachers and others who work with our children to recognize the warning signs of suicidal young adults.

We must provide funding for the programs and services that will treat our children and provide guidance and support to their family and friends, including expanding Medicaid eligibility to allow lower income and poor families to access programs and services.

We must also recognize the racial, cultural and ethnic influence on behaviors and its effect on properly identifying at-risk youth and address its impact on intervention and access to the programs and services.

Most importantly, we must help our children understand that suicide is never the answer to their problems.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enlighten my colleagues on how the tax cuts legislation will affect my district, the Territory of Guam. Because Guam follows the mirror tax code, tax changes enacted by Congress are mirrored by the Guam tax code, and the tax cuts being contemplated by Congress this week would have a substantial effect on our island's tax revenues.

On Guam we face great challenges due to a recession that continues and a slowdown in visitors to our island. Allow me, Mr. Speaker, to present the Members with the picture of the current fiscal troubles encountered by the government of Guam. The governor and the legislature are poised to enact a bill that will authorize the borrowing of in excess of $200 million from the bond market to deal with our deficit. We learned just today that Standard and Poor's recently downgraded its

general credit rating for the government of Guam from BB to B, considering Guam's $416 million of current outstanding debts. This places Guam's creditworthiness into a moderate to high-risk category. Thus, in addition to lacking revenues to meet the basic needs of our community, future generations will have to shoulder the burden of excessive bond deficits and high interest repayment rates.

The House Committee on Government Reform, Democratic staff, recently prepared a special report which estimates the effect of the proposed tax cuts on Guam's Treasury. The committee estimates that the proposed tax cuts would cost $38 million for fiscal year 2003. While these funds theoretically provide Guam taxpayers with tax relief, the report demonstrates that the average tax cut for the bottom 56 percent of Guam taxpayers would be $199. The average tax cut for the top 2 percent of taxpayers on Guam would be $13,935. In fact, the top 2 percent in the household income category would receive a disproportionate 21 percent of the total tax cut. While there may indeed be positive benefits to these tax cuts, Mr. Speaker, the loss of $38 million in general fund revenues, almost 10 percent of the fiscal year 2004 budget projection, is a serious issue that should concern us.

While the bill that the House will consider on Friday has scaled back some of the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains, I strongly urge the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Ways and Means to consider the effects of their proposals on the Territories that implement the mirror tax code such as Guam.

We on Guam would like to see offsets for tax cuts that Congress imposes. This may not be possible, but there are other ways that the Federal Government can help us to mitigate the effects of tax cuts. For example, we would like to see an increase in Compact-impact reimbursement to Guam to cover the actual costs of Compact immigration. We would like to have the Medicaid costs fully reimbursed, not capped by statute. Finally, we would like to see Supplemental Security Income extended to the Territory of Guam.

Any or all of these measures would help us to mitigate the effects of whichever tax cut Congress decides on. So my message today, Mr. Speaker, is that the Territories present unique situations that should be examined whenever Federal policy is considered and most importantly Federal tax policy.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. Chairman, I am in support of the wartime supplemental, H.R. 1559, and I rise today to thank the House Committee on Appropriations for recognizing the damage caused by Supertyphoon Pongsona to our military installations in the territories of Guam. As this bill before us states, Typhoon Pongsona struck Andersen Air Force Base on December 8, 2002 for 9 long hours, with sustained winds of 180 miles per hour. Much damage was done to the family housing units at our base where our brave servicemen and women work around the clock to ensure our safety and security, and especially during this time of war when our bases should be in top order.

On behalf of those servicemen and women and their families, I would like to thank the House Committee on Appropriations chairman, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey). Because of their hard work, this bill provides $1.8 million to repair family housing and air-conditioning units damaged by Supertyphoon Pongsona.

It also identifies the need for new aircraft hangers to bed down bombers, tankers, surveillance and fighter aircraft. Currently only one of three hangars at Andersen Air Force base is fully operational. The new reinforced concrete high-bay aircraft hangars will be typhoon proof. The state-of-the-art climate control within the hangars will ensure that the bombers will be able to use the hangars for repairs and maintenance.

I hope that in conference on this bill, funds will be identified to begin the hangars' construction. And once again, I want to thank the leadership for recognizing the emergency damage caused by Supertyphoon Pongsona to our military assets on Guam and for taking action to fund the repair of these damages which is now so important, Mr. Chairman, because of increased military activity, the Iraq war, and the impending dangers in North Korea.

Mr. Chairman, I support this legislation.

Amendment Offered by Mr. Cunningham

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor this morning to pay tribute to our Nation's veterans and to talk about what the budget resolution of this House would mean for their quality of life and their health care over the course of the next 10 years.

I am sad to say that 2 weeks ago this House barely passed a budget resolution that would severely cut veterans' benefits, including cuts to health care, disability compensation, pensions and other important benefits.

I would not be here today, Mr. Speaker, if not for those brave veterans that liberated Guam in 1944. Therefore, I must speak out when I see our government being derelict in its duty to veterans. It is unthinkable that this House would even take such drastic action against our veterans during a time of war. This is the wrong time and the wrong message to be sending to our country.

This budget cuts $14.6 billion in funding from mandatory veterans programs over 10 years to help pay for the $1.35 of trillion of tax cuts in the budget. Over a 10-year period, the budget resolution that this House passed would cut almost $9 billion alone in veterans' health care, an average of more than $900 million less than the President has proposed per year.

Make no mistake about it, Mr. Speaker: Should these cuts prevail in conference, and we should not let that happen, this budget would mean serious problems for veterans' health care. New copayments and enrollment fees would no doubt be on the table and under consideration to keep the entire system afloat in the next fiscal year.

This House has a chance to correct that, to reverse course, to honor our Nation's veterans and to recognize their service, their sacrifice, and their patriotism. We can correct the harmful reconciliation instruction to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and we can restore these cuts by supporting the motion to instruct conferees that will be offered later today by our colleague, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt).

Quite frankly, we should be increasing, rather than cutting, health and other benefits to our veterans. Let us not turn our back on our veterans. We should instead salute them.

Vote for the Spratt motion to instruct conferees today when it comes to the floor. Vote to honor our veterans, and vote for a better budget.

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

(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 622, the Tonto and Coconino National Forest Land Exchange Act, would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to complete two separate land exchanges, Diamond Point and Montezuma Castle in Arizona. The Secretary already has the authority to consummate the land exchanges, but the amendment would expedite the transactions and make them a priority for the Secretary. I support the bill and urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, investigations conducted by the Department of the Interior's Inspector General and the General Accounting Office have provided ample evidence that the right-of-way fees currently being charged by the Federal land management agencies are far below fair market values. States, local governments, and private individuals all charge significantly more than the Federal Government for rights-of-way across lands that they own. This undercharging for the use of Federal public lands means that large corporations, who stand to make vast profits from the use of those lands, are not being required to pay the American people a fair rate of return for that privilege.

As a result, we share, the gentlewoman from Wyoming's desire to correct this problem. This legislation will require the agencies to review their existing fee schedules and the land valuations which underlie them to ensure that they represent current values. In addition, Mr. Speaker, this measure will ensure that once these new fees have been promulgated, they will be adjusted annually for inflation. This approach is a significant improvement over the status quo and should move us closer to a system that adequately compensates the taxpayers for the use of their lands.

We would like to thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) for her willingness to work together on this legislation, and we do support

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

(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, as noted by the previous speaker, the overall purpose of this legislation is to authorize the expansion of the existing Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge complex in Ohio and to extend the southern boundary of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Michigan. The overarching goal is to protect and, where possible, to enhance the remaining wetlands and other aquatic habitats within the western basin of Lake Erie. This region provides critical migratory waterfowl habitat and supports the most significant recreational fishery in the entire Great Lakes.

I commend the bill's sponsors, the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), for their ingenuity in developing a long-term conservation strategy to protect this regional treasure. They have worked tirelessly to adjust the acquisition boundaries set forth by this legislation so that they meet the priorities of the other body, the States of Ohio and Michigan, and the interests of local stakeholders. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has expressed some concern regarding the scope of the proposed boundaries and about possible impingement on existing management activities. However, considering that the service has proposed its own 5,000-acre expansion of the Ottawa Refuge and also, Mr. Speaker, recognizing that any future acquisition at either refuge will be done on a voluntary basis, H.R. 289 will ensure that future expansion is undertaken to enhance existing refuge resources, to complement operations, and to protect critical habitat areas.

In closing, Mr. Speaker, the fish and wildlife resources found in the western basin of Lake Erie are cherished by millions of sportsmen and women. H.R. 289 is innovative legislation necessary to protect this heritage, and it deserves our support.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ranking member on the agriculture appropriations subcommittee who has worked so diligently on this legislation on behalf of her district and the entire Lake Erie region.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1166, a bill to authorize the administration of grants to local small business development centers in States with significant populations of Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians. The gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) has carefully crafted this important legislation to address poverty and unemployment amongst those disadvantaged populations. I commend the gentleman and the House Committee on Small Business for focusing on the sizable socioeconomic problems faced by Native Americans.

H.R. 1166 will enable small business development centers to assist Native Americans with job creation and economic growth. This measure will help foster self-determination among groups that have been historically marginalized by the Federal Government. This bill helps individuals to utilize their own valuable business skills so that their small business, and in turn their community, may prosper.

I am in such strong support of the aims of H.R. 1166 that I believe the bill can be strengthened by expanding the eligible grant recipients to include small business development centers that work with the indigenous populations of Guam and American Samoa. Chamorros and Samoans from U.S. territories endure economic adversity similar to that experienced by Native Americans, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians. I look forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that either in conference on this legislation, or on a similar proposal, that we take action to address the small business development needs of the indigenous populations of the United States territories.

This bill gives real assistance to Native Americans, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage and to support economic development for all indigenous populations throughout the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for his very kind words and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for their leadership on human rights around the world and in particular for introducing this resolution for which I rise in strong support.

The Korean people are great friends of the United States and have a proud history and a vibrant culture. I, therefore, follow with great sadness the daily oppression suffered by the people of North Korea. Through meeting the many Koreans that come to Guam and by having personally traveled to Korea on many, many occasions, I have come to appreciate how difficult life is under Kim Jong Il's dictatorship.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has described the North Koreans as being amongst the least-free people on this Earth with no personal freedoms or protections for their rights. In their most recent report on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the commission said that North Koreans are barely surviving under a regime that denies basic human dignity and lets them starve while pursuing military might and weapons of mass destruction.

Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights opened its 59th session in Geneva. Human rights are perhaps the most important issue the international community can address. Human rights is the most important guiding principle underlying the work of the United Nations. The commission must and should address the human rights abuses in North Korea. It is my fervent hope that one day Koreans from both North and South will come to visit my island of Guam in unity and peace.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of House Resolution 109. I strongly support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express condolences for the late Bernard Dowiyogo, President of Nauru, who passed away on March 9, 2003, in Washington, DC. The people of Nauru first elected President Dowiyogo to their parliament in 1973, only five years after achieving independence from Australia in 1968. Since then he was repeatedly elected to serve a number of successful terms as President of Nauru. The island nation of Nauru is a proud friend of the United States and a well respected neighbor of Guam in the Asia-Pacific community. I urge the Parliament of Nauru to put partisan differences aside and come together to commemorate the legacy of President Dowiyogo. I ask of this Congress that, in our prayers, we remember the family of President Dowiyogo, who is survived by his wife and four children.