Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for the Motion to Instruct Conferees to the National Defense Authorization Act on hate crimes.

As a member of the Conference Committee and a cosponsor of the hate crimes legislation, I will urge my fellow conferees to retain the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act language.

According to the FBI, more than 7,400 hate crimes were reported in 2002. Hate crimes based on racial bias represented nearly half of all of those reported; sexual orientation-based hate crimes constituted nearly 17 percent; and nearly 15 percent were the result of bias against one's ethnicity or national origin.

In addition, many hate crimes go unreported. The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates that the actual number of hate crimes committed in the U.S. each year is closer to 50,000.

Hate crimes terrorize more than a single individual. Instead, they victimize an entire community.

Current Federal law on hate crimes is out of date. It does not cover hate crimes based on sexual orientation, gender, or disability. Also it severely limits the Justice Department's ability to respond to hate crimes against religious, racial and ethnic groups.

The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act will strengthen the ability of Federal, State and local governments to investigate and prosecute these vicious crimes. Cooperation between State, local, and Federal law enforcement officials offers the best chance of bringing perpetrators of hate crimes to justice.

The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act is supported by more than 175 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations.

I urge Members to support this Motion to Instruct.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of Senate Concurrent Resolution 137.

The human rights violations in Darfur are reaching a crisis point. Since the beginning of the conflict in early 2003, more than 30,000 innocent civilians have been murdered, more than 400 villages have been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes.

Tragically, the situation in Darfur has escalated from a rebellion by local militias into a full-scale ethnic cleansing campaign. The government in Khartoum has met this crisis with deliberate neglect at best, and direct support at worst. Congress rightly called this brutal and systematic slaughter a ``genocide'' in a resolution passed on July 22.

On July 30th, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling upon the Sudanese government to immediately fulfill its obligations to facilitate humanitarian relief, take steps to disarm the Janjaweed militias, and cooperate with an independent investigation of human rights violations in Darfur. However, it is time for the international community to make its authority felt through actions, not just words.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights binds member nations together in a pact to uphold universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Government of Sudan has broken this pledge and must be held accountable for its crime against humanity. I therefore urge Congress to call for the immediate suspension of Sudan from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and pass Senate Concurrent Resolution 137.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a brave Marine from my District, Corporal Matthew Boisvert of Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, for his patriotic service to our country. Matthew has twice been deployed to Iraq, where he performed courageously as a squad leader in Um-Qasar and the volatile town of Fallujah.

On August 17, tragedy struck when a roadside bomb tore through the humvee Matthew was patrolling in, leaving him critically wounded. But despite his injuries, Matthew's spirits have remained high and his faith strong. The first words out of his mouth to his mother were not those of anger or sadness, but rather concern for the well-being of his fellow Marines back in Iraq.

Matthew knew the risks of war when he enlisted in the Marine Corps the summer after high school. But he was willing to make the sacrifice necessary to defend his country and protect our democratic ideals. At the young age of 18, he left his friends and family behind to endure the harsh realities of a war-torn land. Our Nation, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, are humbled and grateful for his sacrifice.

Tonight, I plan to visit Matthew at Bethesda Naval Hospital to thank him for his honorable service. I am certain that all of our colleagues will join me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude for his courage and wishing him well as he begins to recover from his injuries. I will renew my commitment to him, and to all of our troops stationed overseas, to ensure that they have the equipment and the support they need to perform their duties. These brave Soldiers, Marines, and Airmen are on the front lines defending our national security. We owe it to them to provide the protection they deserve. And when these heroes return home, we must afford them the support, the respect, and the honor they have earned.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the so-called Marriage Protection Act, which has nothing to do with protecting marriage.

This bill is nothing more than the latest Republican attempt to divide Americans and distract us from issues that people care about. It is about singling out one group of Americans for unequal justice under law.

Constitutionally, this bill is a non-starter. The Constitution established an independent judiciary to protect every citizen's rights and to check the power of Congress and the executive. Courts exist to protect the rights of all Americans, even those who are often disenfranchised and marginalized.

Unable to amend the Constitution to their liking, the Republican majority is now waging an unprecedented assault on the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers in our government. If Congress strips the courts of jurisdiction over the Defense of Marriage Act, there is no telling what other issues will be subject to court stripping.

All of us in Congress took an oath to defend the Constitution. This bill is an attack on our most basic constitutional principles--and just as important, a mean-spirited attack on our country's values of fairness, tolerance, and equality.

Earlier this week, the Speaker asserted that Congress doesn't have time this year to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission--urgent measures to protect our security. So why are we here today using our time to divide people for political reasons? Let's reject this cynical political ploy and move on to the real business of the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. I would like to thank Representative Nita Lowey for her leadership on this issue, and I would also like to thank Abby Giarrosso of Methuen, Massachusetts for bringing this important bill to my attention.

Abby and her family request a meeting with my office because Abby wanted to share her experience as a child with celiac disease and to get legislation passed making it easier for her to eat safely. She shared letters that she had received from food companies in response to her requests for lists of products she could eat. The response letters were telling. Some gave her examples of gluten-free foods and others said that it was just too hard for them to break down their ingredients.

After Abby came in to my office, I immediately cosponsored the bill, and commissioned a certificate for Abby making her an honorary Legislative Assistant for her work to pass this bill into law.

Abby's story is so touching and compelling. At a birthday party she recently attended, they served pizza and cake and all of the children were given an assortment of goodies as party favors. She has a hard time in situations like that because while the other kids can eat the food, she has to just watch. Her parents do a fantastic job working around the problem. At the party they had her bring her own gluten-free pizza. It seemed reasonable to me that if manufacturers are going to sell products that have serious adverse health effects for a large number of consumers, the least they can do is disclose those ingredients.

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act will make it easier for people with food allergies to more easily identify a product's ingredients. By requiring food labels to list what, if any, of the eight major food allergens are contained in a product, the bill will protect people with food allergies from the risk of dangerous and even life-threatening reactions.

The bill will also help the estimated three million Americans who suffer from celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that's triggered by the consumption of gluten. The legislation instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to define what constitutes ``gluten-free'' food and how the term should be used on food labels. For those who suffer from celiac disease, like Abby Giarrosso, accurate and easy to read food ingredient labels are critical to their health and well- being.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Turkey's illegal and immoral invasion of Cyprus. On July 25, 1974, Turkish troops stormed the shores of Cyprus, killing 6,000 Cypriots and forcing more than 200,000 to flee from their homes. Within weeks of a ceasefire and the commencement of negotiations toward a settlement, Turkey defied a United Nations Security Council resolution and launched a second, more aggressive attack. The assault captured more than one third of the island and marked the beginning of three decades of illegal occupation by Turkish troops.

Today, the Green Line that divides Cyprus symbolizes the wounds of a war-torn people. Hundreds of thousands of Greek-Cypriots remain refugees in their own country, denied basic property entitlements and the right of return. The Turkish Cypriot government continues to deprive them of their basic human rights and the freedom to worship freely. Churches have been desecrated, archaeological sites plundered, and towns vacated.

Since the Turkish invasion, the Cypriot government has vigorously pursued efforts to reunify the island through an equitable and viable settlement. While the Turkish Cypriot government under the leadership of Rauf Denktash has repeatedly stonewalled negotiations, the commitment of Greek-Cypriots to a unified Cyprus has been unwavering.

I am disappointed that recent efforts to renew settlement talks have been stalled once more by Mr. Denktash's intransigence. The Annan plan, which was originally drafted by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in November of 2002, underwent five major revisions to accommodate the demands of Mr. Denktash before a vote could be taken. In the end, the proposal sacrificed too many of the Greek Cypriots' needs in return for Mr. Denktash's acquiescence. The plan would have authorized the indefinite occupation of Turkish troops and settlers in northern Cyprus, imposed tough restrictions on the right of displaced Greek-Cypriots to return to their homes, and failed to adequately compensate displaced Greek-Cypriots for the loss of their property. Greek-Cypriots wisely mobilized to vote it down.

I represent a large and active Greek-American community, and I have been proud to support U.S. participation in negotiations over Cyprus and the fight for freedom and human rights for all Cypriots. As we remember the anniversary of this tragic invasion, we must renew our commitment to achieving a fair and comprehensive settlement. I urge both sides to once again come back to the negotiating table. A settlement to the Cyprus problem is critical--not only to ensuring the basic rights of Greek and Turkish Cypriots alike--but to promoting stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and United States national security interests as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the brave men and women in our armed forces who are serving courageously in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world. Our Nation owes these brave troops a debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they have endured to make this world a safer place.

I particularly want to salute our reservists, who have transformed from a supporting role to become a critical part of the backbone of our military. More than 40% of our troops now deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan draw from the Reserve Component. Many of them have served multiple tours, been called up with less than five days' notice, and had their deployments extended well beyond the promised ``12 months boots on the ground.''

Now the Defense Department has announced that it will activate 5,600 members of the Individual Ready Reserve, a pool of former soldiers that have completed their active or reserve duty but still have time left on their contracts. And the next troop rotation for Iraq and Afghanistan will only increase the burden on the Reserve Component, who will soon make up 43% of our deployed troops beginning in February of 2005.

Tonight, I would like to highlight the harrowing story of the 94th Military Police Company, the longest activated reserve unit to date. Roughly one-third of the 94th's members live in Massachusetts, and I have had the opportunity to speak with many of their family members in recent months.

The 94th Military Police Company first deployed to Iraq in April of 2003 after fulfilling a mission in Bosnia. The unit has seen its deployment extended twice--first by six months, then by four more. On Easter weekend of this year, members of the 94th loaded onto a bus in Kuwait to finally come home. Just as they were about to depart, they were turned back by their commanders and told they would have to serve another 120 days because there simply wasn't enough trained MPs to replace them. Now, just a few weeks before they are expected to return home for good, they have been sent out on another convoy mission.

While we are indebted to their service, the story of the 94th MP Company shows that this country can't continue to place the burden of war squarely on the back of our Reserve Component. If we ask these men and women to put themselves in harm's way in Iraq for extended periods of time, we must ensure that they are given the same fair treatment as their active duty counterparts. If we do not, we will face a serious recruitment and retention crisis.

What we need is a committed strategy to restructure our weary and overstretched Army.

First and foremost, we must expand the active duty endstrength of our military. I applaud my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee on both sides of the aisle for recognizing this need. We have authorized an increase of 30,000 soldiers and 9,000 marines over three years as part of this year's defense authorization bill. I am disappointed that the Pentagon has chosen to overstretch our current forces instead of expanding our pool of manpower.

Second, I am concerned that the occupational specialties most in demand--such as military police, intelligence analysts and engineers-- are highly concentrated in the Reserve Component. Instead of calling up the Individual Ready Reserve, we need to ensure that we have an adequate pool of specialists within the active-duty force. This requires an aggressive recruitment and training program backed by incentives to attract people with the right skills.

Third, we need to lay out a transparent, equitable rotation schedule for our reservists that allows members and their families to predict when they will be activated. This administration has treated Guard and Reserve families with arrogance and a lack of respect. They have notified members of the Army Reserves and National Guard just days before deploying them to Iraq, broken promises that they would only serve for twelve months boots on the ground, and issued sweeping stop- loss orders to prevent members from retiring when they have fulfilled their service.

The Administration's policies aren't pro-family or pro-military. Our troops and their families deserve better. If we don't treat our Reserve Component with the respect they deserve, our military's readiness will suffer. That has consequences for all of us.

As our troops say, ``Mission first, people always.'' Our reservists are fighting on the front lines of the battlefield to protect our security, freedom, and democracy. We need to stand up for them and provide them with the respect they deserve.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Flake-Van Hollen amendment to prevent taxpayer funds from being used to give a sweetheart deal to Big Tobacco.

The $10 billion dollar buyout that was included in the FSC bill is paid for out of the pockets of taxpayers. It makes tobacco a legislative chit to be cashed in for an unrelated corporate tax bill rather than dealing with tobacco as it should be: as a public health issue.

If we don't act on this today, cigarette manufacturers could take the entire $10 billion windfall as profit, or use part of it to lower prices, addicting more children and killing more Americans.

It is no surprise that the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and other public health groups consider the no-strings-attached bailout a complete disaster. They join us in support of this amendment.

Senator Kennedy, Henry Waxman and I have sponsored a bill that would require the FDA to regulate tobacco.

Our bill will save lives and curb youth smoking.

Yet, the buyout would have the opposite effect by increasing tobacco use at the expense of taxpayers.

The tobacco industry is already spending $30.7 million per day to market and advertise its products, much of it aimed at kids. Should we really be in the business of providing Big Tobacco with an even cheaper product?

We need to pass this amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill, reject taxpayer-funded giveaways to Big Tobacco, and pass a strong FDA-Grower buyout bill that isn't funded by taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fallen hero, Petty Officer 1st Class Brian J. Ouellette of Maynard, Massachusetts. He gave his life in service to our country, and we will forever be grateful.

Brian was a U.S. Navy SEAL deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and serving with the elite Navy Special Warfare Group Two based out of Little Creek, Virginia. He died tragically on May 29th along with three of his comrades when their Humvee hit a landmine in the Zabul province of Afghanistan.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ouellette grew up in Waltham, Massachusetts and graduated from Waltham High School in 1985. His parents, Jack and Peg, now reside in the town of Maynard in my congressional district.

A fourteen-year veteran of the Navy, Brian joined the service in 1990 and became a member of the elite SEAL team in 1991. Friends remember him as a great teammate and tough opponent on the football field and a fierce competitor in Kempo-style karate.

Brian's parents are proud, not just for the supreme sacrifice he made on behalf of his country, but for the honor he brought to them as a Navy SEAL and loving son. Despite his tough exterior, Brian's family describes him as compassionate and nurturing brother of seven siblings and uncle to nine nieces and nephews. Brian's family deeply impacted his life, and he left an indelible imprint on them.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ouellette was a brave sailor who gave his life to restore freedom and democracy in the war-torn country of Afghanistan and support the global war on terrorism. It is lives like his, taken too soon, that remind us of the true price of freedom.

I have requested an American flag be flown over the United States Capitol in memory of Brian to honor his brave service to our country. This flag will be delivered to his family.

Brian died fighting for the country he loved, alongside the fellow sailors he respected and with the family he adored forever in his heart. Our Nation is humbled and grateful for his sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, we should all take a moment to recognize Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Ouellette of the United States Navy SEALS for his ultimate service to our Nation.

Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Chairman, this amendment provides an additional $30 million for the Department of Energy's Global Threat Reduction Initiative to secure, remove, and dispose of nuclear and radiological materials around the world.

In February, President Bush stated in a speech at the National Defense University that the greatest risk to the United States and the world is the possibility of a nuclear or radiological attack. And I could not agree more. And in today's world, the most urgent nuclear threat might not be from hostile states, it may be from a non-state terrorist group.

The technology to produce a nuclear bomb is easier to obtain than we might like to believe. Earlier this year, a Pakistani scientist named A.Q. Khan confessed to operating a global black market for nuclear technology. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed El Baradei called it a ``veritable nuclear Wal-Mart.''

The design for a simple nuclear weapon is not beyond the reach of many terrorist groups. The best way, perhaps the only way, to prevent terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons is to make sure they do not get the ingredients to make one. Alarmingly, fissile material is in abundant supply around the world today. Some 20 tons of highly enriched uranium exist at 345 civilian facilities in 58 countries, enough to make 1,000 nuclear weapons.

Many of these are academic or industrial facilities that have no more security than a night watchman or a chain link fence. The threat is real.

The CIA determined in 2002 that weapons grade or weapons-usable materials have been stolen from Russia. According to the IAEA, there have been 18 confirmed thefts involving plutonium or enriched uranium in the former Soviet Union. Highly enriched uranium is a dangerous tool in the hands of terrorist groups seeking to develop nuclear weapons. And we must do everything in our power to deter this threat.

The Energy Department already has several programs aimed at securing nuclear and radiological materials around the world, but they are seriously underfunded. I was encouraged to hear that Secretary of Energy Spence Abraham unveiled a new global threat reduction initiative last month which will consolidate and accelerate the four existing programs. This program has been endorsed by political leaders and nonproliferation experts across the political spectrum. In a recent speech, former Senator Sam Nunn calls it a significant global effort.

If we are serious about preventing nuclear terrorism we must cooperatively and effectively with international partners to secure quickly or remove the most at risk dangerous material first, wherever it may be.

We are in a race between cooperation and catastrophe. However, if the Global Threat Reduction Initiative is to succeed, we have to fund it. Nonproliferation experts at Harvard University and the nuclear threat initiative headed by Sam Nunn argue that we need an additional $30 million in fiscal 2005 to remove highly enriched uranium from 2 dozen vulnerable sites through the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return program.

This is one of the four existing programs that have been under the consolidation under the Global Threat Reduction Initiative. Some of my colleagues may argue that we should not be appropriating funds for this new initiative before the Energy Department has submitted a budget request. But I do not think al-Qaeda is waiting for the next fiscal year to seek nuclear materials. And we should not wait to act either.

Moreover, programs like the Russian Research Reactor Fuel Return program have a proven track record developed over many years. In 2001, the United States, Serbia, Russia, the IAEA and the Nuclear Threat Initiative worked together to remove 48 kilograms of potentially vulnerable unirradiated HEU from a research facility in Serbia. This was enough material for two and a half nuclear bombs.

And in December of 2003, the United States, Russia, Bulgaria, and the IAEA collaborated to air lift 16.9 kilograms of HEU from a shut-down research reactor to Bulgaria to a secure facility in Russia.

The urgency is clear, we need to be quicker and bolder in securing these dangerous nuclear and radiological materials. This amendment would boost funding for the global threat reduction initiative by rolling over $30 million in unobligated balances from the National Nuclear Science Agencies Weapons Activities Account.

Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance my time.

Madam Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), my friend and co-author of this amendment.

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

Just to close, I really think this is an important issue to the national security of the country, and the reason why we bring the amendment forward is nonproliferation experts at Harvard University and the Nuclear Threat Initiative headed by Sam Nunn have clearly stated that we need an additional $30 million in fiscal year 2005 to remove highly enriched uranium from two dozen vulnerable research reactor sites throughout the Russian reactor fuel program.

That is why we offered the amendment. This is an amendment that would take up obligated balances from the National Security Agency's weapons activities account. So I want to be clear. These are unexpended funds from fiscal year 2004, and shifting these funds will not come at any cost to the NNSA's weapons program or the American taxpayers. Instead, they will help safeguard us against dangerous nuclear and radiological weapons materials, that if they get in the hands of terrorists, as we know they could, could be used to kill thousands or tens of thousands of Americans.

I believe, as the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff) believes, that this amendment is vital to our national security and to our winning the war on terrorism. Therefore, I urge that my colleagues' support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Mr. Meehan

Amendment No. 8: Page 23, line 5, after the dollar amount,

insert ``(reduced By $30,000,000)''.

Page 23, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $30,000,000)''.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, for 10 years, a bipartisan group of legislators has been fighting to get tobacco regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA regulates products from Tylenol to bottled water to macaroni and cheese; yet it does not have the authority to regulate tobacco, the only product that will kill you if used specifically as directed.

This year we stand on the verge of a historic compromise to get tobacco regulated by the FDA, but the shameless $10 billion tobacco buyout in this bill threatens the progress that we have made. This sweetheart deal gives billions to Big Tobacco from the pockets of taxpayers with no strings attached. It requires nothing to improve public health in return. This buyout kills our hope for FDA regulation by taking it off the negotiating table.

I urge my colleagues to vote against this rule and against this bill. It is inexcusable and indefensible that this product, macaroni and cheese, is regulated by the FDA; but this product, one of the only products that will kill you if used specifically as directed, we cannot get FDA regulation.

Mr. Speaker, this week, America is united in mourning for President Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan will be remembered as a great optimist who helped convince America to believe in itself again.

He believed that the Cold War would end and the Berlin Wall would fall during his lifetime. And he was right. His words inspired people living behind the Iron Curtain to believe that freedom was attainable.

Ronald Reagan was a loyal Republican but an American first. With his profound personal decency and disarming sense of humor, he rose above the kind of bitter partisanship that infects American politics today.

Personal attacks were below him. He was a patriot and a man of integrity--and he never questioned the patriotism or integrity of others.

Our politics were polarized then as they are now. But President Reagan knew how to compromise and get things done for the American people.

The Speaker of the House during the first six years of his presidency was Tip O'Neill of Massachusetts. Speaker O'Neill was a staunch Democrat with a very different vision for government, and a great leader in his own right.

Working across party lines, President Reagan and Speaker O'Neill passed reforms to preserve and strengthen Social Security. They enacted sweeping tax reform to close tax loopholes and lower marginal rates.

As we mourn and honor President Reagan, this Congress should pledge to follow in his example.

Hold firm in your beliefs, but respect those who differ. Compete vigorously at election time, but then go to work for the American people. Stand united in times of sorrow and adversity.

Ronald Reagan's final accomplishment will endure as one of his most important--bringing attention to the tragedy of Alzheimer's with his eloquent letter to the American people.

One of the best ways to honor him is to rededicate our efforts to find a cure for this terrible disease.

I join my colleagues in honoring the memory of President Ronald Reagan.

Mr. Speaker, as we consider H.R. 4060, the Health, Safety, and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act of 2004, I want to bring to my colleagues' attention the tragic disappearance of a Peace Corps Volunteer from my Congressional District, Walter Poirier of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Walter Poirier served as a tourism advocate in the Zongo Valley of Bolivia from August of 2000 until May of 2001 when he was officially declared missing by the U.S. Embassy. He has never been seen since. Following Walter's disappearance, I requested a GAO investigation of this case, which concluded that the Peace Corps failed to adequately supervise Walter and eventually lost track of him. The GAO also found that the Peace Corps provided ``uneven'' implementation of its own safety and security procedures that could pose a risk for its volunteers. I am now writing a letter to Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez urging him to appoint an official to focus solely on the investigation of Walter's disappearance.

Unfortunately, the case of Walter Poirier is not unique. The GAO reports that the incident rate for major physical assaults nearly doubled from an average of 9 per 1,000 volunteer years from 1991-93 to an average of 17 per 1,000 volunteer years in 1998-2000. Despite concerns from Congress and the public that the Peace Corps has not provided the necessary safety and security for its participants, the organization continues to send volunteers alone to remote and isolated areas and fails to provide adequate housing, supervision, or jobs to keep volunteers busy. I remain very concerned about the ability of the Peace Corps to implement its own safety and security policies in the face of rising violence.

I applaud the House International Relations Committee for holding hearings on the safety and security of Peace Corps volunteers and swiftly reporting out the Health, Safety, and Security of Peace Corps Volunteers Act. I also thank the committee for inviting Walter Poirier's father to testify and share his personal story about the tragic loss of his son. I have urged the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to follow suit.

This legislation takes a number of critical steps to enhance safety and security procedures within the Peace Corps, including creating an ombudsman to receive complaints, questions and concerns from current or former volunteers regarding safety and security. The bill also establishes an Office of Safety and Security of the Peace Corps responsible for all safety and security activities at the agency and requires the Peace Corps to report to Congress on the effects of limits imposed on the duration of Peace Corps assignments and a study on medical screening procedures used by the agency.

For decades, Peace Corps volunteers have played a critical role in promoting stability and prosperity in developing countries. Today they are asked to play an even more important role in correcting the misperceptions that many have of America. It's a troubling fact that anti-Americanism is on the rise in many parts of the world. That makes the mission of the Peace Corps more important than ever. But it also makes the task of protecting volunteers more urgent than ever.

While the passage of this legislation is by no means a solution to all of the Peace Corps' security problems, it is certainly a positive step forward. If the Peace Corps wants to fulfill its goal of doubling the size of its agency over the next five years--a goal we all share-- it must provide its volunteers the safety and security they need.

I therefore strongly support the passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to Raymond Francis Rourke who passed away on Monday, May 24 at the age of 86. Ray was a loving father and husband, an outstanding public servant, and friend and mentor to many including myself.

I ask unanimous consent to enter into the Congressional Record the Lowell Sun's Editorial from May 26:

Ray Rourke. 1917-2004

If Lowell could build a pantheon to its all-time great

civic leaders, a statue of Ray Rourke would stand on a

pedestal alongside those of Paul Tsongas, Telemachus ``Mike''

DeMoulas and others.

Rourke, who died Monday at the age of 84, was a Mill City

icon and a throwback to an era of Irish gentlemen who

succeeded in combining a valued family life with an equally

strong commitment to public service.

In his essence, Rourke was a good listener and a specially

good adviser. He never told people how to think; instead he

kindly counseled them as to the importance of what they

should be thinking about. It was a philosophy that won him

hundreds, if not thousands, of lifelong friends.

Of all his many accomplishments, Rourke considered his

greatest legacy to Lowell and the state of Massachusetts to

be his seven children. ``I added to the economy seven

times,'' he would proudly say at Mr. Al's Barbershop on

Middlesex Street.

Rourke will go down in political annals for his long and

distinguished public service as a city councilor, mayor,

state representative and state Deputy Secretary of

Transportation in both the Dukakis and King administrations.

Yet if we could write a fitting epithet for his statue, in

our pantheon of Lowell greats, it would read:

``Ray Rourke [1917-2004], one of those humble yet great

working-class men from Lowell's `Flats' neighborhood who

decided to do something good for the community and

succeeded.''

Ray is survived by his wife, Rita; his two daughters,

Maureen A. Cohen and Nancy L. Vieira; his three sons, Raymond

R., Richard P., and John P.; and his sixteen grandchildren

and fifteen great-grandchildren.