Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate Jewish American History Month and the contributions made to our country by Jewish Americans. With a culture that strongly values education and community, they have enriched our culture and contributed to the economic and cultural vitality of our Nation. My community in Silicon Valley wouldn't be what it is today without the contributions of Jewish Americans.

Jewish immigrants came to our country, hoping to fulfill their dreams by participating in the American promise of socioeconomic mobility and cultural tolerance. The stories of their successes in our country are greatly inspiring.

Andy Grove, for instance, fled his home in Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution with his family under the cover of night, and immigrated to the United States. From these humble beginnings he eventually became the Chairman and CEO of one of the greatest

economic engines in the world, Intel. Sergey Brin, another innovative Jewish leader, came to America with his family to escape anti-Semitism. Through hard work and diligent studies, he founded one of the most innovative companies in the world: Google.

Examples abound of other Jewish Americans who lead our community in innovation and philanthropy, including Jeffrey Skoll, Ken Levy, Eli Reinhard and Eic Benhamou. America's ethnic diversity is a source of our country's strength, and the Jewish American community stands as a bedrock for our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank my colleagues for sending so many staff members to today's ``AIM for the B'' briefing designed to elevate awareness of chronic hepatitis B, a serious health issue in the United States. This briefing emphasized the importance of increasing diagnosis, screening, and treatment, particularly for Asian Pacific Islander Americans who are disproportionately affected with the disease.

I joined my colleague, Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, and representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), patient advocacy organizations, physicians, and patients to convey the potential consequences of chronic hepatitis B and to layout actions needed to increase awareness and address the continued progression of this infectious disease.

Rep. Dent and I have introduced H.R. 4550, the National Hepatitis B Act, which would authorize additional resources to more effectively research, track, diagnose, treat and manage chronic hepatitis B. I urge my colleagues to recognize chronic hepatitis B as a potentially life- threatening disease and to help us enact this bill in the 109th Congress. Together, we can make a difference in addressing this national and global public health Issue.

We are extremely fortunate to have vaccines and treatments available that were not available 25 years ago. With treatment, patients have a better chance at beating this disease and preventing its progression to liver disease. However, there is much work that remains to be done. We need to increase public education about chronic hepatitis B and its relation to liver disease, help infected patients and their physicians identify and manage this disease, and work to increase the length and quality of life for patients chronically infected with chronic hepatitis B. Unfortunately, vaccination rates remain low and the hepatitis B virus continues to be one of the most commonly reported vaccine preventable diseases in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, as Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I am especially concerned about the tremendous impact that chronic hepatitis B has on the Asian Pacific Islander American community. As many as 1 in 10 Asian Pacific Islander Americans have chronic hepatitis B.

Today's ``AIM for the B'' briefing and next week's National Hepatitis B Awareness Week events in California and New York are encouraging steps in the right direction. We have the ability to stop the spread and progression of this disease and it is the responsibility to help our constituents affected by chronic hepatitis B.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with my fellow Americans and my colleagues in Congress to celebrate one of the most honorable and significant professions. National Teacher Day is an opportunity for us to recognize the extraordinary effort of our Nation's educators and reflect on the profound impact of their work.

As a former teacher and school administrator, I am particularly aware of the challenges that educators face, such as over-crowded and under funded schools. Teachers are more highly educated than ever and bring a higher level of expertise to their work than their predecessors. The majority of American teachers have at least one advanced degree and 49 percent have at least 15 years of experience in the classroom. Teacher salaries, however, have not increased commensurate with greater teaching experience and higher levels of education.

Low salaries and general discontent with working conditions drive capable, experienced teachers out of the profession, and by 2014, schools nationwide will need another 3.9 million teachers. The numbers of male teachers and teachers of color does not reflect gender and racial trends in the general population. An increase in salaries for all teachers, as well as better recruitment and retention policies for minority and male teachers may help to rectify this problem.

I hope that National Teacher Day will serve as a reminder to Americans of the crucial role that teachers play in our society. It is imperative that we increase funding for education and make teacher's salaries commensurate with their experience, education, and hard work. Teachers help to shape future generations, and they deserve both our respect and our continuing support. Please join me in thanking them on this special day.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the gentleman from Texas, Congressman Al Green.

I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for his wonderful words, and we shall be there.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring up now the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald.

I thank my gracious colleague from California for your wonderful words.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to rise today to recognize the Asian and Pacific Islander community and to commemorate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus we call CAPAC, I feel privileged to be here tonight to speak of the Asian and Pacific Islander history and accomplishments. Additionally, I will be highlighting those issues affecting our communities and the priorities for CAPAC.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and remember extraordinary community leaders, long-time friends of the APIA community that we have lost this year, Judge Delbert Wong and journalist Sam Chu Lin.

Sam Chu Lin, who began reporting in the 1960s, worked as a correspondent for CBS and Fox. Sam Chu Lin was also a respected print journalist, writing columns and articles on Asian Pacific affairs for Asian Week, Rafu Shimpo and the San Francisco Examiner.

Judge Delbert Wong was the first Chinese American judge in the continental United States. Delbert Wong was a fourth generation American of Chinese heritage. After earning his undergraduate degree in business at U.C. Berkeley, Wong served in World War II as a B-17 navigator and was awarded numerous medals.

After the war, Judge Wong faced a choice between joining his family's grocery business or entering law school. This was not met with much support from his parents, who would say, Who would hire you, a Chinese, they would constantly say. Undeterred, Wong completed his law degree in 1948, becoming the first Chinese American graduate of Stanford Law School.

After graduation, he was appointed deputy legislative counsel, serving the California State legislature in Sacramento and later appointed deputy attorney general, becoming the first Asian American to hold those positions.

In 1992, Congress passed a law that officially designated May of each year as

Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

I want to thank the following people who have worked to designate May as Asian Pacific Heritage Month: the late Congressman Frank Horton from New York; my good friend, Secretary of Transportation, Norman Mineta; Senators Daniel Inouye and the late Senator Spark, or Sparky, Matsunaga.

Some important dates include the first 10 days of May, which coincide with two important anniversaries, the arrival of Japanese American immigrants on May 7, 1843 to California, settling in El Dorado County; and the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869, by the Chinese laborers.

The first APIA settlement in this country dates to 1763 when Filipinos escaped imprisonment aboard Spanish galleons and established a community near New Orleans.

Today, the APIA community is one of the fastest-growing populations in the country, with over 13 million APIAs living in the U.S. and representing 4.5 percent of the total U.S. population.

My home State of California has both the largest APIA population, approximately 4.6 million, and the largest numerical increase of APIAs since April of 2000.

Mr. Speaker, this year's theme for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Dreams and Challenges for Asian Pacific Americans, reflects hardships overcome by the APIA community while highlighting the hope we maintain as we contribute to the prosperity of this great Nation.

This year, I would like to particularly honor the centennial celebration of Filipinos in Hawaii and the 50th year since Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American Sikh to be elected to the U.S. Congress.

On December 20, 1906, a group of Filipino plantation workers arrived in Hawaii aboard the Doric, leading the first wave of Filipinos to migrate to Hawaii. The first group of Filipinos was followed by subsequent waves of Filipino immigrants who came to settle in Hawaii and, also, other parts of the United States, contributing to a migration pattern that continues up to this day.

Today, Filipinos with their rich culture and heritage have become a positive influence on mainstream life in Hawaii, with many of them succeeding prominently in their respected professions, in business, politics, government, the academe and the arts.

2006 also marks the 50th year since Dalip Singh Saund became the first Asian American to be elected to the U.S. Congress. While in office, Dalip Singh Saund forged a measure that allowed South Asians to become U.S. citizens.

As our community expands, we must also continue to educate our fellow citizens about the uniqueness of our experiences.

The APIA community is often misperceived as monolithic. Our community is extremely diverse in our languages, ethnicities and culture. Aggregating such a large and diverse group makes it difficult to understand the unique problems faced by the individual and subgroups, such as the Southeast Asian Americans, who are refugees that fled their home countries in the late 1970s and the early 1980s.

As a country, we need to better address the needs of the APIA community when we discuss disaster preparedness, comprehensive immigration reform, voting rights, education, health issues and veterans.

National disasters such as the September 11th terrorist attacks, Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Katrina, exposed serious gaps in the delivery of public services to limited-English-proficient communities, or LEP communities. In fact, the lack of linguistic and culturally competent services within FEMA and related Federal agencies prevented many LEP individuals from accessing critical disaster-relief services such as cash assistance, health care, mental health care, housing and small business loans.

As a result, at least 15,000 families from the gulf coast suffered unnecessary hardships. Many of the Asian Americans in the gulf coast region, hit by Katrina, were shrimpers and fishermen and were significant contributors to the local economy and fishing industry for years.

Plaquemines Parish in southern Louisiana is one of the locations of the main fishing and shrimp sites. Plaquemines Parish commercial landings average $441,181,891 in retail annually. Plaquemines Parish has an average annual landing of 28.8 million pounds of shrimp, valued at $238.3 million in retail value.

Extensive reports from FEMA community relations and local fishermen determined that all but 20 percent of the fishing boats were destroyed in the hurricanes. In order for these families to go back to their old way of life, approximately 430 boats must be repaired and in the water before shrimp season begins May 15.

Many of the fishermen, due to cultural and linguistic barriers, were not accustomed to the American way of accessing public assistance, navigating the intricacies and bureaucracies of public agencies and commercial transactions. The fishermen have been denied Small Business Administration loans, which would help them rebuild their boats, due to the fact that they need to buy insurance prior to getting a loan. But one cannot buy insurance for a boat until it is in a working order.

Fishermen must also prove that they can pay back the loan. But without income, SBA is reluctant to give loans. Due to the complications of the system and of the linguistic and cultural barriers that are posed to them, the Asian Pacific community faces an even bigger struggle.

This month, I will introduce legislation to improve disaster relief and preparedness services for individuals with limited English proficiency by requiring the Federal Emergency Management Agency to bolster Federal resources and outreach to community organizations that serve the limited-English population.

Mr. Speaker, our Nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty, who sought to be free from persecution, from a tyrant government. Families fled their home countries to seek refuge in this great Nation, because they too believed in liberty, justice and freedom for all.

APIA families who seek to be reunited with their family members overseas have not seen their dreams come true because of our broken immigration system. Over 1.5 million Asians are caught in the family immigration backlog, and immediate family members from overseas wait as long as 10 years to reunite with their families in the U.S.

Mothers and fathers wait to reunite with their children. But due to the long years of waiting, their children may have already reached the age of 18, and their families will have to start the process all over again.

As we honor the 41st anniversary of the Immigration Nationality Act of 1965 and the 31st anniversary of the Refugee Act of 1975, we need to remember that our country was founded and created to protect our freedom and civil liberties.

I believe we need comprehensive immigration reform to fix our broken immigration system.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a break in my presentation to offer the microphone and the floor to our Democratic leader, a great leader from the State of California, from the great City of San Francisco, someplace where you always leave your heart, our leader, Nancy Pelosi.

Thank you, madam leader.

Mr. Speaker, if I may just suspend my remarks and invite my colleague from American Samoa to share his comments with us, the great Congressman who has been here for quite a few years, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega.

(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from American Samoa for adding so much information to this presentation, because I think that when people listen and hear what it is that we are sharing with this country, there may be many, many people out there that say, I did not know that.

Although we talk about many firsts, accomplishments from members of our communities, I am sure also, that those who are first expect never to be last, that they would continue, that we would continue to contribute to this country. And in order to contribute to our country, we have to also defend the Constitution.

Defending the Constitution and defending the rights of our people also entails the voting rights. This past week, H.R. 9, the Voting Rights Act reauthorization was introduced.

The right to vote is keenly felt by the Asian and Pacific Islander American community. Chinese Americans could not vote until the Chinese Exclusion Acts of 1882 and 1892 were repealed in 1943. First-generation Japanese Americans could not vote until 1952 because of the racial restrictions contained in the 1790 naturalization law.

With the markup in Judiciary Committee tomorrow, we need to ensure that important provisions such as section 203, which has been very vital to the API community's ability to participate in the electoral process, gets reauthorized in this Congress.

Language-minority citizens were often denied needed assistance at the polls. In the 1975 amendments to the Voting Rights Act, such assistance became required in certain situations, and we need to ensure that these provisions continue to remain in current law.

Mr. Speaker, as Americans, we need to ensure that our children receive a quality education, but also provide adequate teacher training, funds for after-school and extracurricular activities and ensuring that college is affordable for every student that deserves to receive a higher education.

According to the U.S. Census, 50 percent of Asians age 25 and over have a Bachelor's degree or higher level of education. However, I would like to emphasize that when we disaggregate the data, when we tease apart the information for the API subgroups, we find that the model minority stereotype is in fact a myth.

Only 9.1 percent of Cambodian Americans, 7.4 percent Hmong Americans, 7.6 Lao Americans, 19.5 percent Vietnamese Americans and 16 percent of native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders who are 25 years and older have a Bachelor's degree.

These numbers show that we must do a better job of disaggregating data and information about our communities to assess the needs of those hard-working Americans who still falter behind. To address the disparities between subgroups of the larger APIA community, we need Congress to pass the Asian American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions bill, which my colleague from Oregon, Congressman David Wu, will be introducing later this month.

This legislation will provide Federal grants to colleges and universities that have an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10 percent APIA and at least 50 percent of its degree-seeking students receive financial assistance.

As a caucus, we will work to increase the availability of loan assistance, scholarships and programs to allow APIA students to attend a higher education institution; to ensure full funding for teachers and bilingual education programs under the No Child Left Behind law; to support English language learners; and to support full funding of minority outreach programs for access to higher education, such as the TRIO programs to expand services to serve APIA students.

Mr. Speaker, a common misperception of APIAs is that, as a group, we face fewer health problems than other racial and ethnic groups. In fact, APIAs as a group and specific populations within this group do experience disparities in health and health care.

For example, APIAs have the highest hepatitis B rates of any racial group in the United States. APIAs are also five times more likely to develop cervical and liver cancer than any other ethnic and racial group.

According to the Census Bureau, 18 percent of APIAs went without insurance for the entire year in 2000. This means that the uninsured are not only more likely to go without care for serious medical conditions, they are also more likely to go without routine care, less likely to have a regular source of care, less likely to use preventive services and have fewer visits per year.

At the same time, without appropriate language translation services or properly translated materials, limited-English-proficient immigrants cannot receive adequate care, as well as State and Federal benefits for which they may be eligible.

In the APIA community, 76 percent of Hmong Americans, 61 percent of Vietnamese Americans, 52 percent of Korean Americans and 39 percent of Tongans speak limited English. Therefore, eliminating health care disparities in the APIA community must include data collection, linguistically appropriate and culturally competent services, and access to health insurance.

CAPAC has been working with both the Congressional Hispanic and Black Caucuses on the Health Care Equality and Accountability Act to eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities for all of our communities.

I have introduced the Health Care Equality and Accountability Act, which will address expanding the health care safety net by diversifying the health care workforce, combating diseases that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities, emphasizing prevention and behavioral health and promoting the collection and dissemination of data and enhanced medical research.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to extend my gratitude to the patriotic men and women serving our country in the military, including the 60,813 APIAs serving on active duty in the U.S. armed services, as well as the 28,066 in the Reserves and the National Guard.

I also commend and thank the 351,000 APIA veterans who fought for this country. I would like to highlight and honor the Filipino veterans as my colleague had done who have not been compensated and recognized for their service, which I believe is a national disservice to these brave veterans.

As a country, it is our duty to ensure that these veterans have equal access to all the benefits and treatment that other veterans receive. We believe that our troops should be taken care of when we send them into battle and that they should be given the respect when they return home. Therefore, I stand with my colleagues, Congressman Issa and Congressman Filner, to support their bipartisan legislation, H.R. 4574, to restore full benefits to

these veterans who fought for our Nation during World War II. With Congressman Issa taking the lead and Congressman Filner in a leadership position in the Veterans' Affairs Committee, we have a great chance to get this bill to the floor in honor of the centennial celebration of Filipinos in Hawaii and to keep the word of Congress that we gave to these brave veterans of World War II.

I am proud of our community's accomplishment, Mr. Speaker, and I would like to recognize many of the APIA firsts in areas of art, film, sports, sciences, academia, and politics. In each effort, these folks, who were first, expect that they are not the last:

In 1847, Yung Wing, the first Chinese American graduated from Yale University and the first APIA to graduate from a U.S. college;

In 1863, William Ah Hang, who was Chinese American, became the first APIA to enlist in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War;

In 1944, An Wang, a Chinese American who invented the magnetic core memory revolutionized computing and served as a standard method for memory retrieval and storage;

In 1946, Wing F. Ong, a Chinese American from Arizona, became the first APIA to be elected to State office;

In 1948, Victoria Manalo Draves, a Filipino American diver, became the first woman to win Olympic gold medals in both the 10 meter platform and the 3 meter spring board events;

In 1956, Dalip Singh Saud, the first Indian American to be elected to Congress;

In 1965, Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first Japanese woman and woman of color elected to Congress who championed title IX;

In 1985, Haing Ngor, a Cambodian American, became the first APIA to win an Academy Award for his role in the movie ``Killing Fields'';

In 1985, Ellison Onizuka, a Japanese American, became the first APIA astronaut whose life was lost in a launching tragedy.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, the Asian American Pacific Islander American community continues to fight for our civil liberties and our civil rights as Americans.

Even after the internment of the Japanese Americans during World War II, we as a community did not grow embittered or cowed by discrimination; instead, we progressed and moved forward. I am proud to be a member of the APIA community because we continue to serve as positive contributors to our many communities by investing in education, business, and cultural opportunities for all Americans.

In closing, this Asian Pacific American Heritage Month we take pride in our history, accomplishments, and the promise of our future as we continue to pave the way for a better tomorrow in the name of dreams and challenges of Asian Pacific Americans.

Mr. Speaker, the 6 years I have served here I learned that Asian Americans have a unique contribution to make to this body and to this country, and that we because of our history in this country uniquely understand and recognize that our Constitution is never tested in times of tranquility. Our Constitution is always tested in times of trauma, terror, tension and tragedy. And to the point where we can internalize the principles of our Bill of Rights and our Constitution, and to the point where we understand that defending this Constitution and its people will we be able to face as Members of this body, face overwhelming public approval which could be wrong and stand up to them, say it is wrong because it does not follow the Constitution.

These are the kinds of heritage and contributions Asian Americans have made, will make and continue to make in this country so that we may fulfill the phrase in the preamble of our Constitution that says ``to form a more perfect union.''

In the words of Congressman Al Green, ``There will be a tomorrow.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of ``Cover the Uninsured Week,'' which runs from May 1-7, 2006. This annual nationwide campaign asks Americans from all walks of life to demand that health coverage for Americans be a top priority. I look forward to the day when we will no longer need such a week because all Americans would have the coverage they need.

Mr. Speaker, as it stands, nearly 46 million Americans--8 million of whom are children--have no health care coverage. The health insurance and health care crisis in this country is worsening each year. As health care costs continue to rise, every family's health care coverage is at risk. Job-based health insurance continues to decline, and for millions of low-income workers, health care coverage is not even an option.

I am particularly dismayed about the high rates of uninsurance for certain populations. Californians have among the highest rates of uninsurance in the Nation. More than one in five Californians--nearly 6.6 million children and adults under age 65--were uninsured for all or part of the year. Racial and ethnic minorities also have high rates of uninsurance. Racial and ethnic minorities comprise about one-third of the U.S. population but disproportionately comprise 52 percent of the uninsured. One in five African Americans are uninsured, one in three Latino Americans is uninsured, and nearly one in three Native Americans and Alaska Natives are uninsured.

As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), I want to highlight the fact that one out of every five Asian Pacific Islander Americans does not have health insurance. Overall, Asian Pacific Islander Americans are far more likely to be uninsured than non-Latino Whites (21 percent vs. 14 percent). Uninsurance rates vary significantly by subgroup. For example, 34 percent of Korean Americans, 27 percent of Southeast Asian Americans, and about 20 percent of Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, and South Asian Americans do not have health insurance.

The health of our Nation is dependent upon the health of our citizens. We need a healthy society if we are to remain globally competitive in education, technology, business, and other areas. Our top priority in Congress should be to find solutions to transform our healthcare system into one that is comprehensive, universal, and sustainable.

Our Federal investment must reflect this priority to provide coverage for the 46 million Americans across the country who deserve a guaranteed health insurance system. We must expand our Federal safety net, stop slashing Medicare and Medicaid, and work to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. We owe it to our parents, children, and future generations to solve this problem.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to Peter Luther, one

of the 15th district's most distinguished community and business leaders. Peter has dedicated the last six years of his life to creating a world without limits for people with diabetes both in California and all over the world.

Peter joined LifeScan Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company headquartered in Milpitas, CA, in 2000 to oversee U.S. sales and marketing. Peter's responsibilities soon expanded to global sales and marketing, eventually leading to his current position as president of LifeScan. Peter's commitment to people with diabetes and their families has positioned LifeScan as the leading global diabetes management company that partners with patients and healthcare professionals around the world to offer innovation that improves the quality of life. Over 21 million people in the U.S. alone have diabetes, and tens of millions more are at risk to develop this chronic condition in the near future. Peter has worked tirelessly to provide the most advanced, accurate, and clinically-based quality diabetes management products and services available today.

Peter's professional accomplishments have consistently reflected the Johnson & Johnson credo that guides all company employees to put patients first. Peter recently developed an industry-patient advocacy partnership called the Diabetes Care Coalition that created the ``Know Your A1C'' campaign. The media campaign carries the message of awareness about sound diabetes management and tight glycemic control to people with diabetes through public media outlets. The American Diabetes Association named Peter ``Father of the Year 2004'' and inducted him into their honorary Pinnacle Society.

However, of all the professional accolades Peter has received during his impressive career, I believe he is most proud of his devotion to his family as a committed husband and father. While Peter's wife Dina and their three children remain his nonnegotiable priority, he has been able to surpass business goals and at the same time strike a workfamily balance with humility, grace, and strength.

Mr. Speaker, I wish Peter well in his personal and professional endeavors as he departs LifeScan and California for a major corporate promotion that will relocate him and his family to New Jersey, and I thank him for his exceptional service to our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the persistent gender pay gap. More than four decades ago, President Kennedy attempted to address pay disparities between men and women. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it unlawful for employers to pay women lower wages than men for equivalent jobs. Unfortunately, this law has not eradicated pay inequality. On average, women still earn about 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Though women earn about 18 cents more compared to men than they did in 1963, they still face significant and intolerable wage discrimination.

Women of color face even greater discrimination on the payroll. In 2004, African American women earned 67 cents for each dollar earned by white men, and Hispanic women earned a little over half of what white men earned. These pay differences persist even in equivalent positions for employees with the same levels of education and expertise.

Worse yet, pay equality for some positions has actually lost ground in the past few years. Female managers earned less than their male counterparts in 2000 than they did in 1995. Studies have shown that even when women's career choices match those of men and they work the same number of hours in equivalent positions, they earn less than men.

Wage inequality is a major indicator of gender discrimination in our country. As an original cosponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 1687, I feel that it is the duty of Congress to address this unacceptable gender disparity. The Paycheck Fairness Act would strengthen provisions of the original Equal Pay Act and would make filing for class action status less onerous.

It is well past the time when women should be receiving fair wages for the work that they do. While the overall wage disparity between men and women has decreased since the 1960s, progress has been frustratingly slow. I believe that with appropriate congressional action we can finally reach wage equality for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the memory of those murdered during the Holocaust.

During that dark period, the nations of the world stood still as millions were massacred. Every year we come together and speak of how we shall ``Never Forget.'' We talk of how we may honor their memory by never allowing such unspeakable crimes of genocide to be committed once again.

I fear we may not be doing their memory justice. Even as the United States has officially declared that genocide is occurring in Sudan, we stand concerned, but need to do much more to stop the bloodshed. Have we not learned from the horrors committed by Nazi Germany? How can we observe the rampant campaign of rape and genocide in Darfur without acting?

My heart and prayers go out to those who survived the Holocaust as well as those who were coldly murdered. We must honor them not just with words, but also by our actions. Over the next few days, hundreds of thousands of Americans will converge on Washington to demand that the US act to stop the genocide in Darfur. Let us honor the memory of those who were murdered during the Holocaust by doing everything we can to protect the people of Darfur.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reiterate my grave concern about the situation in Darfur and to express my support for H.R. 3127, the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006. International efforts to end the genocide now occurring in Darfur have been lackluster. We should be doing more to intervene on behalf of the thousands of innocent men, women and children in that region. I am hopeful that this legislation will give added momentum to ending that genocide. Authorizing the President to provide assistance to the African Union Mission on the ground through NATO is just one of the ways that we can fight to bring an end to the violence.

In addition to supporting H.R. 3127, there are several other measures that send a message to the Sudanese that the United States cannot accept the current state situation such as supporting H. Res. 675, a resolution expressing disapproval of the Arab League's decision to hold its 2006 summit in Khartoum, Sudan. The resolution calls on the Arab League, the government of Sudan, the Sudanese rebels, and the world community to do all they can to end acts of genocide in the Darfur Region of Sudan.

One of the most effective tools in sending a message to the Sudanese government is divestment. I, along with many colleagues, have requested that the University of California Office of the President develop a plan of divestment from Sudan.

Mr. Speaker, the Sudanese government is in complete denial of their role in supporting genocide and we must act now to send a message that the U.S. will not tolerate this situation--we must pass H.R. 3127.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Public Health Week. I want to thank the American Public Health Association and its 200 plus partner organizers and sponsors, who have organized events around the Nation to raise awareness of the need to improve public health. Since 1995, National, State and local public health professionals highlight an important public health issue every April, to raise awareness about leading health problems affecting our nation. This year, the theme of National Public Health Week focuses on what is called the ``built environment,'' and building healthy communities to protect and enhance our children's life.

The built environment potentially creates enhancements or challenges for our kids. The built environment is any infrastructure with

which children come in contact on a daily basis including homes, schools, parks, roads, walkways and businesses. Enhancements to the built environment include access to primary health care services, regular physical activity, safe places to play and safe routes to walk or bike to school, smoke-free communities and homes, and toxin-free schools. Health challenges include decreased access to medical and preventive health services, quality of and access to schools and housing, economic opportunities, social capital, air and water quality and opportunities for physical activity.

As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, CAPAC, I am particularly concerned about how the built environment affects communities of color, native communities, and linguistically isolated communities. Members of these communities are more likely to live, work, and play in environments which have detrimental health effects, often vastly disproportionate to their percentage of the population. For example, asthma is one of the major causes of illness and disability in the U.S. Although asthma is only slightly more prevalent among minority children than among whites, it accounts for three times the number of deaths. Low socioeconomic status, exposure to urban environmental contaminants, and lack of access to medical care contribute to the increase of deaths in minority communities. African Americans living in low-income neighborhoods have particularly high rates of asthma, as do Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii.

America must invest more resources and be more creative in order to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. We need to provide access to health care for the 45 million uninsured, more than half of whom are racial and ethnic minorities; we need to provide linguistically and culturally competent services; we need to increase rather than decrease funding for Title VII health professions training programs, especially those that will train minority providers; and we need to stop gutting the health care safety net.

Neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. are segregated by race and socioeconomic status, which exacerbates the underlying social and economic inequities that perpetuate health inequities. Without significant investment in the built environment for minority children in underserved communities, these health inequities will continue.

I am pleased to see that the American Public Health Association--the leading public health organization in the U.S.--has been able to disseminate the message about the interconnectedness between health and the built environment, and hope that this reality is integrated into the public health debate. I look forward to working with all those involved with National Public Health Week to ensure policies to promote children's health.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Public Health Week. Since 1995, national, State and local public health professionals highlight an important public health issue every April to raise awareness about leading health problems affecting our Nation.

This year, the theme of National Public Health Week focuses on what is called the ``built environment,'' which refers to building healthy communities to protect and enhance our children's life.

The built environment is any infrastructure with which children come in contact on a daily basis including homes, schools, parks, roads, walkways and businesses.

Enhancements to the built environment include access to primary health services, regular physical activity, safe places to play, and safe routes to walk or bike to school, smoke-free communities and homes, and toxin-free schools.

Health challenges include the quality of and access to schools and housing, economic opportunities, social capital, air and water, and opportunities for physical activity.

As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I am particularly concerned about how the built environment affects communities of color, native communities, and linguistically isolated communities.

Members of these communities are more likely to live, work, and play in environments which have detrimental health effects, often vastly disproportionate to their percentage of the population.

For example, asthma is one of the major causes of illness and disability in the United States. Although asthma is only slightly more prevalent among minority children than among whites, it accounts for three times the number of deaths.

Low socioeconomic status, exposure to urban environmental contaminants, and lack of access to medical care contribute to the increase of deaths in minority communities.

African Americans living in low-income neighborhoods have particularly high rates of asthma, as do Native Hawaiians living in Hawaii.

America must invest more resources and be more creative in order to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.

We need to provide access to health care for the 45 million uninsured, more than half of whom are racial and ethnic populations.

We need to provide linguistically and culturally competent services, and we need to stop gutting the health care safety net.

Neighborhoods and communities across the United States are segregated by race and socioeconomic status, which exacerbates the underlying social and economic inequities that perpetuate health inequities. Without significant investment in the built environment for children and underserved communities, these health inequities will continue.

I am pleased to see that the American Public Health Association, the leading public health organization in the United States, has been able to disseminate the message about the interconnectedness between health and the built environment, and hope that this reality is integrated into the public health debate.

I look forward to working with all those involved with National Public Health Week to ensure policies to promote all children's health.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart. A heavy heart over the passing of one of the giants of Asian American Journalism, and my dear friend: Mr. Sam Chu Lin.

Sam was a pioneer; not just in the Asian American Community, but in the entire field of journalism.

A reporter par excellence--news anchor--radio announcer--media consultant--a conscience, of and for, American journalism for almost four decades.

As one of the first Asian American network reporters in New York City, he announced to the Nation on CBS News, the fall of Saigon.

He interviewed Presidents and world leaders. He covered earthquakes and major disasters.

He reported from China the government crackdown on the democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.

His childhood in Greenville, Mississippi, must have been a seminal experience for him; one that forged his commitment to both exposing and fighting discrimination wherever he found it. Undoubtedly, he certainly witnessed and experienced first-hand racial prejudice that pervaded the South in the 40's and 50's. More importantly he saw the devastation discrimination did to the dreams of young people of color.

As a result, his life was one of endless commitment to truth-seeking and justice for all Americans--but especially for his brothers and sisters in the Asian American Community.

He believed ``informing and helping others is what makes journalism exciting.'' He also believed his beloved career in journalism was an opportunity to use his roots for a positive purpose.

His relentless pursuit of excellence in journalism was legendary. He once convinced ABC's Nightline to do a program called ``Asian American--When Your Neighbor Looks Like the Enemy.'' After doing so, he helped book the guest, checked the script for accuracy, and found historical footage for the broadcast. He went on to spend the entire next year educating the executive producer about how Asian Americans have been unfairly stereotyped because of the campaign fundraising and spy scandals.

The program went on to be the highest rated show in its time slot beating out both Jay Leno and David Letterman in the national ratings.

Sam was a visionary--for that show would be as relevant today as it was when it first aired. I have no doubt if Sam were still with us, he would be haranguing the current producers to replay it today to show Americans just how little we've learned from our history.

His advocacy on behalf of civil rights and justice for Asian Americans continued to the day he died. It was Sam's interview with Senator John McCain that enlightened the Senator to the plight of citizenship denial for Asian American Civil War Veterans. And it was Sam Chu Lin's coverage at the critical junctures of Dr. Wen Ho Lee, Captain James Yee and Captain James Wang's careers that kept the Asian Pacific civil rights community rallying to their defense.

He continued to this day investigating, advocating, and agitating on behalf of Asian Americans as a media consultant and an independent reporter for several newspapers.

His humbleness belied his accomplishments. He was the recipient of awards across the entire spectrum of journalism--from the Associated Press and UPI, to the Golden

Mike, National Headliner Award for Best Documentary to name but a few. Just this past August he was honored with the Spirit of America Award by the Chinese American Citizens Alliance.

In spite of his accomplishments, he never lost the value of humility or the heartfelt treasure of friendship. He was my dear friend and mentor. My heart goes out to his wife, Judy, and his sons, Mark and Christopher. His absence in my life and in the Asian Community is irreplaceable.

But his body of work will live on and inspire generations of aspiring young Asian Americans to dream big dreams, and then go on to realize them.

It has been said that Asian American men are some of America's best kept secrets. Sam Chu Lin helped to change that. There is a story of a short man who was in the midst of some tall men. One of the taller men said to him, ``You must feel pretty small right now.'' The man replied, ``Yes, I feel like a dime in the midst of nickels.''

Sam Chu Lin was no dime amongst nickels. He was a silver dollar amongst dimes. For in fact, the lifetime body of accomplishments of Sam Chu Lin has forever changed the face of American journalism.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleague Congressman Dennis Cardoza, to share the obituary of Lena Cardoso Costa a loving mother to our dear friend and colleague, Congressman Jim Costa. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who meant a great deal to a great many people. Knowing of the important bond between Jim Costa and his mother Lena, we express our deepest sympathies for his loss.

Mr. Speaker, please join us in honoring and remembering the life of Lena Cardoso Costa.

Obituary to Lena Cardoso Costa

Surrounded by loved ones Lena Cardoso Costa completed her

long journey of 90 years during which she contributed

generously to the lives of her family and her community. As a

member of what has been described as ``America's Greatest

Generation'', she knew first hand the hard-scrabble days of

the Great Depression, the uncertainty of living in a nation

at war and the joy that comes from seeing the success of her

children and family.

Born in Corcoran, California on August 20, 1915 to Joseph

and Georgina Cardoso, Portuguese emigrants from the Azore

Islands, Lena Cardoso was raised in Stratford, California

along with her 5 brothers and 2 sisters. Her parents came to

America to establish for themselves and their children a

better life. During Lena's childhood her family endured very

difficult economic times, but they persevered to realize the

American Dream. The values of Lena's parents, hard work and

dedication to family, were passed on to their children.

On October 11, 1936, Lena Cardoso married Manuel Costa and

joined the large extended family of John C. Costa Sr. Along

with his brother and his wife, John and Mary Costa, Lena and

Manuel established a dairy and farming business that moved

permanently to the Kearney Park area in 1942.

During the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's Lena was deeply

involved in her community, cooking at the Kearney Elementary

School and serving on the school's district's Board of

Trustees. Because she had to quit school at the 9th grade to

help her family, she placed an extraordinary importance on

education for her children and grandchildren. As a matter of

fact, Lena decided for her own satisfaction in 1985, at age

70, to go back to school and earned her General Education

Degree.

In addition, Lena was appointed to the Fresno County Social

Services Commission upon which she served through the late

60's and early 70's. She was active in the Fresno County

Cabrillo Club for over 60 years in support of the club's

numerous civic and charitable events and for years

represented

the club at the Naturalization ceremonies for new

citizens. Lena served as a delegate to the state

Democratic convention and was a member of the Fresno

Democratic Women's Club. One of her proudest moments was

on January 4, 2005 when she saw her son, Jim, sworn in as

a Member of Congress in Washington, D.C. as the

Representative for the 20th Congressional District.

During her lifetime Lena was well read and enjoyed as

hobbies traveling, painting, ceramics and playing cards. For

over 50 years she and a group of friends played bridge

together at least once a month. Lena was also active within

the Portuguese lodges SPRSI and as a charter member of the

UPPEC of Kerman.

Lena Costa is survived by her children, Congressman Jim

Costa of Fresno and Bette O'Sullivan and her husband Denis of

Mountain Lakes, NJ; grandchildren Roberta Rasmussen

Vinkhuyzen and her husband Dr Erik Vinkhuyzen of Tokyo,

Japan; Eric Rasmussen of Los Gatos; Dr Christopher Rasmussen

of Pasadena; Kurt Rasmussen of Eureka; and Laura Rasmussen

Nichols and her husband Kallen, who is stationed at Lemoore

Naval Air Station; Kerin O'Sullivan Berghaier and her husband

Richard of Chalfont, PA; Cathlyn O'Sullivan Markel and her

husband Howard of Zephyrhills, FL; and Patricia O'Sullivan

Jacobson and her husband Michael of Randolph, NJ. Lena is

also survived by her great-grandchildren Saskia, Pascale, and

Lukas Vinkhuyzen; Shayla Nichols and Tucker Rasmussen;

Nikolas and Alexander Jacobson; and Emma Rose Markel.

She is also survived by her sister Elsie Martin of Hanford;

brothers Tony Cardoso of Kerman, Emidio Cardoso of Fresno,

Lee Cardoso of Hanford, Dimas Cardoso of Pismo Beach; and

brother-in-law Leonel Costa of Fallon Nevada. She leaves 26

nieces and nephews that she loved dearly.

Lena Costa was preceded in death by her husband Manuel and

sister Georgina Roza.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History Month. I would like to share with you some of the progress being made with regard to women's rights and some of the issues that I will continue to fight for. Women have come a long way since they were granted the right to vote, just 85 years ago. Women now enjoy rights to education, wages, and property ownership. It still remains, however, that not enough Americans are aware of the long struggle to obtain the rights that we take for granted today, and the rights that we have yet to guarantee and protect.

This month, I co-sponsored legislation that will help to ensure we learn more about the female heroes that fought tirelessly to secure the rights we all enjoy today. H.R. 3779, the National Women's Rights History Project Act would celebrate the accomplishments of women all year long. Specifically, H.R. 3779 would establish an auto route linking sites significant to the struggle for women's suffrage and civil rights. It also would expand the current National Register travel itinerary website, ``Places Where Women Made History,'' to include additional historic sites. Finally, this bill would require the Department of Interior to establish a partnership-based network to offer financial and technical assistance for interpretive and educational program development of national women's rights history.

As many of you know, I lost my beloved wife Jeanne to cancer two years ago. I am acutely aware of the need for increased funding of research, prevention and treatment programs for breast and gynecologic cancers. Below is a list of legislation that I have supported during the 109th Congress that is aimed at providing this funding support:

H.R. 1245 The Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005--This Act provides for programs to increase the awareness and knowledge of women and health care providers with respect to gynecologic cancers.

H.R. 1849 Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2005--This Act requires that health plans provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay for mastectomies, lumpectomies, and lymph node dissection for the treatment of breast cancer and coverage for secondary consultations.

H.R. 2231 Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005--This Act amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants for the development and operation of research centers regarding environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer.

H.R. 4540 Mammogram Availability Act of 2005 This act amends the Public Health Service Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to require that group and individual health insurance coverage and group health plans provide coverage for annual screening mammography for women 40 years of age or older if the coverage or plans include coverage for diagnostic mammography.

In addition to supporting this legislation, during fiscal year 2005, I was able to get funding for the Santa Clara Community Health Partnership's Community Mammography Access Project (CMAP). This will help the Community Health Partnership begin a program to offer low- income women across the county regular access to a potentially life- saving test. My office has joined the Community Health Partnership's CMAP task force as a member and will be updated regularly on the project's progress.

Access to proper healthcare is just one basic freedom women have traditionally fought for. There are several other civil rights issues that continue to limit women's participation and leadership in American culture and society:

The original Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1998. This legislation and its successors (including the 2005 reauthorization) are aimed at preventing and responding to violence against women and children. The legislation covers a broad range of services including transitional housing assistance, community awareness programs, law enforcement training, protections for immigrant victims of domestic violence, and funding for stalker and sex offender databases. I co- sponsored the reauthorization of the VAWA, significant elements of which were eventually incorporated into H.R. 3402 which passed into law on January 5, 2006.

Equity and fairness are key to our democracy. Equal pay is a critical issue, affecting all of us. Lack of equal pay makes it harder for working families to make ends meet. It also makes it harder for single mothers whose children depend on their wages for basic needs. However, more than simple economic reasons, equal pay shows women that their accomplishments and hard work are equally appreciated. Because women are equal partners in American society and deserve equity and fairness on the job and under the law, I cosponsor H.R. 1687 the Paycheck Fairness Act and H.J. Res. 37.

H.R. 1687 would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex and to expand training for EEOC employees and affected individuals about wage discrimination.

H.J. Res. 37 proposes an amendment to the Constitution that states that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

It is clear, that even though women enjoy the kind of freedom that didn't exist for them just decades ago, Americans continue to be threatened by Republican and far-right influences on our Administration and policy makers. The President's budget sheds light on some of the ways in which basic women's rights are undermined. The President cuts funding for health, education and housing programs that provide vital services for American families and promote equal opportunity for women. The President's budget will also adversely affect women in working families and elderly women by slashing Medicare, Medicaid, housing, food stamps and child care. Services that are vital to women and their families are cut to protect the interests of the wealthiest Americans.

My sincere hope is that each of us takes the time to commemorate Women's History Month so that we may be ever vigilant of protecting the freedoms all Americans enjoy today. The current state of women's rights demands that we honor those who brought us to this point, and inspire those who will broaden the spectrum of liberties that all Americans should have access to.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to applaud the efforts of Ethiopian Women for Peace, Democracy, and Humanitarian Aid in calling attention to the current political situation in Ethiopia, particularly to the status of women. Today, they will hold a candlelight vigil at the White House to show solidarity with all Ethiopian women who continue to fight for their basic human rights, and who seek freedom and peace for all Ethiopians in the broadest sense. I am truly inspired by their commitment, and hope that I can be helpful to their cause as Chair of the Congressional Ethiopia and Ethiopian American Caucus. I am proud to see Ethiopian American women take part in commemorating International Women's Day and Women's History Month to demand recognition of how far women have come, and how much more there is left to fight for. It is my hope that all Americans, and the international community as a whole, will join us.