Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4232, to redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4025 Feather Lakes Way in Kingwood, Texas, as the ``Congressman Jack Fields Post Office.'' I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring Jack Field's accomplishments and life of dedicated public service.

In 1981, Jack was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives by the voters of Texas Eighth Congressional District. During his 16 years as a Member of the House, Jack distinguished himself as a statesman and a leader, earning an impressive legislative record.

As chairman of the House Committee on Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Jack led the effort in the House to enact the first comprehensive reform of the Communications Act of 1934, legislation that was designed to promote competition in all telecommunications- related industries

and create an environment in which new telecommunications technologies could flourish.

This act, known as the Telecommunications Act of 1996, was signed into law by President Clinton. It is widely acknowledged that this legislation encouraged the extraordinary innovation and growth in telecommunications and Internet service.

While serving as the ranking member on the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Jack was instrumental in overhauling our Nation's oil spill liability laws in the wake of the Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska. He also advocated for the protection of endangered species and wetlands; fisheries and wildlife refuges; promotion of American ports and Merchant Marine and the safety of the cruise ship industry.

Following his retirement from Congress in 1997, Jack opened two companies, Twenty-First Century Group, Inc., a Washington, D.C., based governmental affairs and strategic planning company, and Texana Global, Inc., an international trade corporation headquartered in his hometown of Humble, Texas. Jack also continues to serve as vice president of Rosewood Memorial Park and Funeral Home, which his family has owned and operated since the 1930s.

Mr. Speaker, once again I would like to congratulate Jack on the contributions he has made and strongly encourage my colleagues to support this legislation in recognition of his significant contributions to this country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5061, the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act, which seeks to provide humanitarian assistance for the current crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan and to facilitate a comprehensive peace in the region. This bill calls for a series of actions to be taken by our government as well as the international community to bring about a comprehensive peace in Sudan. The violent conflict between the Government of Sudan, including militia forces backed by the Government, and rebel forces (the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement) has resulted in horrific humanitarian abuses, and the passage and implementation of H.R. 5061 is a critical step in ending this crisis.

The Government of Sudan is in direct violation of the Humanitarian Ceasefire on the Conflict in Darfur, signed in N'Djamena, Chad, on April 8, 2004. This ceasefire agreement calls for the Government of Sudan and other signatories ``to give up the use of force as a means of settling the conflict in the Darfur region; to allow safe and immediate access of all humanitarian assistance throughout the Darfur region; to allow the deployment of and cooperate with international monitors and security forces; and to expedite the conclusion of a political agreement to end the conflict in the Darfur region.''

Secretary of State Colin Powell in his recent remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee officially labeled the atrocities in Darfur as genocide and urged the international community to respond to this crisis, saying, ``When we reviewed the evidence compiled by our team, along with other information available to the State Department, we concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility--and genocide may still be occurring.'' Since seizing power through a military coup in 1989, the Government of Sudan has repeatedly attacked and dislocated civilian populations in southern Sudan in a coordinated policy of ethnic cleansing that cost the lives of over 2,000,000 people and displaced more than 4,000,000 people. Hundreds of villages have been damaged or destroyed, resulting in massive refugee flows into Chad and internally displaced persons in western Sudan. Additionally, innocent civilians have reportedly been sold into slavery, used as forced labor, or drafted into the military. The Janjaweed and Sudanese military forces have also engaged in the abduction of children, rape of innocent civilians, and the destruction of food and water sources. Widespread hunger and malnutrition continue to endanger the lives of innocent civilians.

Such inhumane violence and manipulation must end, and the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act that the House considers today is a critical first step in this effort. This legislation explicitly reaffirms Secretary Powell's assertion that genocide has and is continuing to take place in Sudan, and it imposes U.S. sanctions. But this bill is not merely punitive; it authorizes $450 million in needed humanitarian assistance, including $150 million for Sudanese refugees in Darfur and eastern Chad.

The Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act seeks to rally international support for a strong response to the genocide in Sudan. The Sudanese government has already failed to comply with the April 8, 2004, ceasefire agreement. Because the Sudanese government has been given the opportunity to voluntarily end this violence but has continued to support the Janjaweed and orchestrate an extensive ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur, the international community not only has a right, but also an obligation to intervene in this conflict to prevent further destruction.

The Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act calls on the U.S. permanent representative to urge the Security Council and member states to pursue accountability for those complicit in the violence in Darfur. Specifically, this legislation recognizes the need for the creation of an international tribunal to try the offenders of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

The legislation also calls on the U.S. permanent representative to the UN to seek the imposition of targeted sanctions (including the freezing of assets) on senior members of the Government of Sudan, to cease to import Sudanese oil, and to impose an arms embargo on the Government of Sudan, Janjaweed and Popular Defense Forces (PDF). These sanctions must be accompanied by a renewed commitment to international humanitarian assistance. Basic necessities such as food, water, shelter, medicine and clothing need to be sent to the region and distributed effectively. The resolution of the crisis in Sudan depends on international cooperation in providing humanitarian aid to this region to help restore, promote, and protect regional stability and security.

The international community must recognize this genocide not only as a brutal attempt at ethnic cleansing and a deliberate disregard for human rights, but also as a threat to international stability and security. Let us not delay intervention as we did during the 1994 Rwanda Genocide, when the international community watched as over 800,000 Tutsi men, women, and children were slaughtered by Hutu extremists in one of the most gruesome and appalling chapters in our history. We must learn from this horrific experience and actively work to end the violence in Sudan before it escalates even further. I condemn the genocide in the Sudan and I call on my colleagues to support H.R. 5061.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, September 28, I was unavoidably detained for rollcall votes that day.

Had I been present I would have voted the following:

Rollcall 473, on the Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 4200-- Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2005, instructing conferees to adopt the bipartisan Senate-passed provisions on hate crimes, I would have voted ``yea'';

Rollcall 474, on the Motion to close portions of the Defense Authorization Act Conference from the public for national security reasons, I would have voted ``yea''; and on

Rollcall 475, on S. 2363, to revise and extend the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 106, the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment. This measure seeks to amend the United States Constitution and define marriage as the union between a man and a woman, denying gays and lesbians the right to marriage and the legal benefits that come with it.

In the 200-year history of this great Nation, our Constitution has been amended a mere 17 times since our Founders drafted the original 10 amendments.

This amendment would be the first ever to strip a specific group of constitutional rights, directly contravening our history of expanding civil rights and liberties to the previously disenfranchised.

This amendment appeals to many Americans' deeply held belief that marriage is a religious covenant only between a man and a woman.

But marriage is also a legal contract, and the fundamental principal of equal protection dictates that all citizens have access to the benefits of such contracts.

The legal right to marry--be it man-to-woman or same-sex--is and must remain separate from the religious one.

This amendment will exclude some Americans from the full range of human experience to which they are entitled under the full protection of the law. Therefore, I believe that this measure must be defeated.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on my behalf and on behalf of Mr. Lane Evans, Mr. Sam Farr, Mr. Raul M. Grijalva, Ms. Sheila Jackson- Lee, Mr. Gerald Kleczka, Ms. Barbara Lee, Mr. James P. McGovern, Mr. Gregory Meeks, and Mr. Pete Stark to honor the extraordinary contributions of Father Javier de Nicolo, a champion for the impoverished and forgotten children of Colombia. The methodology that he developed and instituted through the Bosconia Program, a child services program for children who live in the street without parents, serves as a model throughout the world.

Father Javier de Nicolo was born in Bari, Italy on April 29, 1928. At 18, shortly after the end of World War II, he decided to join the Salesian Community in Naples, which has a strong record for its work with the poor. In 1948, he emigrated to Agua de Dios in Colombia to treat patients with Hansen's disease. In the late 1960s, Father de Nicolo served as the chaplain of the Carcel de Menores, a prison in Bogota for minors.

There, Father de Nicolo learned that children entering Bogota's prisons were beaten, robbed, and raped. This experience hardened them, making it difficult to reintroduce them into society. Father de Nicolo recognized the need to provide structure and guidance in the lives of abandoned children who roamed the street--before they found themselves in prison. In 1970, with 20 children released from the Carcel de Menores on his personal recognizance, he organized Bosconia, a small, experimental learning community in the slums of Bogota. Over time, Javier witnessed the transformation of hundreds of irresolute boys into confident and independent young adults through participation in his program.

In Bogota, there are several thousand boys from ages 5 to 15 who live in anarchy. Death is a looming reality for Bogota's street children. For many years, Colombia has experienced the highest child murder rate in the world. Vigilante groups engage in driveby shootings or ``social cleansing'' as they label it, which lead to the massacre of hundreds of children each year. Nearly all street children carry knives, which they use for protection and to intimidate others. Inevitably, some children kill each other in a scuffle that turns deadly. Dozens of children kill themselves by smoking highly addictive cocaine which can lead to paralysis. Child prostitutes contract AIDS and spread the disease.

What began as an experiment in the early 1970s has grown into an organization whose branches reach thousands of children in Bogota, Cali, Medellin, and Buenaventura. The Bosconia Program is a mixture of vocational training and a boarding program designed to help the children ease themselves off the streets into a more traditional lifestyle. With only a handful of adult supervisors, it graduates a growing number of young adults into the workforce on a tight budget. Bosconia operates on the philosophy that the wit and spunk a child uses to survive in the street reflects an intelligence that the program's educators can redirect. In fact, the Bosconia Program has been replicated by many organizations in numerous countries. Nearly 20,000 youngsters from the street have been rescued by the Bosconia Program, saved from indifference and generalized violence, becoming elevated as individuals and members of society.

Programming at Bosconia strengthens the character of children who once lived in the streets of Colombia and provides them with the resources that they need to become active participants in society. Attracted to the promise of a better life, boys voluntarily enter the courtyard of Bosconia. The mark of those anarchic days of stealing, starving half-freezing, fear and bravado passes from their faces. They have learned to respect themselves because Father Javier de Nicolo, his associates, and the other boys had respected them.

Although graduates of Bosconia have the character and the will to engage in the Colombian workforce, the unemployment rate is steadily rising. Decades of violence that include murder, robbery, and kidnappings that has ravaged the countryside have brought millions of rural people into the country's cities. Those that graduate from Bosconia will need more than spiritual transformation if they hope to compete for jobs that will allow them to live with dignity. This cold reality has encouraged Javier de Nicolo to seek private funds to establish a program that will allow his pupils to receive on-the-job training, earn and save money, and gain experience in managing small enterprises.

Many social scientists believe that personalities rarely change after children reach their teenage years. To the contrary, Javier de Nicolo has taught us that the odds can be beaten and that we should never forfeit our children--our future--to the vices that plague our streets. We should nurture them, inspire them, and invigorate their minds with the dream of living healthy and fulfilling lives. The world can use more people with the compassion and motivation of Father Javier de Nicolo. The children of Colombia are truly blessed to have him as their guardian. We thank him for his work, his resolve to make a better life for destitute children, and we learn from the wisdom of his successful model, seeking opportunities to replicate this success globally.

By dedicating over three decades to rescuing and integrating lost children into society, Father de Nicolo inspires a call for global solidarity and responsibility--one that reaches beyond the geographic bounds of Colombia. He has developed a process to guide personal and social renovation, giving life to children who are waiting for an opportunity to rejoin their families and communities as well as exercise their citizenship without discrimination. We applaud this leader who is a tireless advocate for the human rights of all our world's children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 4469, the Angel Island Immigration Station Restoration and Preservation Act.

I would like to recognize my colleagues Representative Lynn Woosley from California for her steadfast leadership in ensuring Angel Island Immigration Station is preserved and restored.

As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, CAPAC, I support a Federal authorization of $15 million for the preservation and restoration of Angel Island, where people from China, Japan, Russia, India, Korea, Australia, and the Philippines entered the United States to start a new life.

Mr. Speaker, Angel Island Immigration Station is appropriately known as the ``Ellis Island of the West.'' Located in the San Francisco Bay, Angel Island served as a processing and detainment center for 1 million immigrants between 1910 and 1940. Of those 1 million people, 175,000 were Chinese immigrants and 150,000 were Japanese immigrants.

For the 30 years that Angel Island was in existence, detainees experienced overcrowded facilities, humiliating medical examinations, intense interrogations, and countless days--even years--waiting until approval of their applications of deportation. Although conditions could be deplorable, Angel Island was an entry point to a better future for so many immigrants.

Angel Island Immigration Station was closed in 1940 when a fire destroyed the administration building. In 1963, California State Parks assumed the role of stewardship of the site when Angel Island became a State park.

In the 1970s, the site was set for demolition until a park ranger discovered etched writings on the walls. Etched by detainees, the writings and drawings on the wall reflect their hardships and hopes of detainees during the uncertain period in which they awaited decisions on their immigration applications. The cultural and historical value of these etchings sparked efforts to save this site, and in 1997, Angel Island Immigration Station became a National Historic Landmark.

More than 50,000 people continue to visit Angel Island Immigration Station yearly, but sadly, the history of Angel Island is often left out of classroom lectures. With greater Federal support, however, we can restore the island's historic buildings, preserve irreplaceable immigration records, and keep alive the stories and memories of those who were detained on the island.

While preserving the Angel Island Immigration Station is important to Asian Americans, it should be a priority for all Americans. Just as Ellis Island is a critical part of our Nation's history, Angel Island offers American's a richer and more comprehensive understanding of our history and the diversity we celebrate in this Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support H.R. 4469 and its authorization of $15 million to restore and preserve historic buildings at Angel Island Immigration Station. I urge my colleagues to vote for this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday September 21, I was unavoidably detained for rollcall votes that day.

Had I been present I would have voted the following:

Rollcall 457, on the Van Hollen amendment prohibiting any funds in H.R. 5025--Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act for FY 2005, from being used to implement the administration's ``OMB Circular A-76'' contracting out/privatization initiative, I would have voted ``yea'', rollcall 458, on the Sanders- Miller amendment prohibiting funds in H.R. 5025 from being used to overturn a 2003 judicial ruling, which held that cash-balance pension conversions violate anti-

age discrimination statutes, I would have voted ``yea'', and on rollcall 459, on the Norton Amendment prohibiting Federal Employee Health Plans from offering high deductible plans that do not require at least a 3-year minimum enrollment, I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Chairman Pombo for introducing the Llagas Reclamation Groundwater Remediation Initiative.

On January 16, 2003, residents of San Martin, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy in south Santa Clara County were shocked to learn that perchlorate had been detected in more than 800 area wells. The approximately 90,000 residents of the Llagas Groundwater Subbasin rely solely on groundwater for their drinking water supply, but the perchlorate concentration in more than 200 wells exceeds the California Public Health Goal of 6 micrograms per liter.

From 1956 to 1996, the Olin Corporation owned and, along with Standard Fusee, operated a flare manufacturing facility on Tennant Avenue in Morgan Hill. During that time, waste water containing perchlorate was discharged to evaporation ponds on the site, which allowed perchlorate to enter the subsurface and contaminate groundwater. The perchlorate was first detected in a public water supply well across the street from the Olin facility in Spring 2002. Subsequent groundwater testing by Olin and the Santa Clara Valley Water District revealed a 10.5 mile long perchlorate plume contaminating the groundwater in the area.

As a result, bottled water is being provided to approximately 800 households, and thousands of other residents are receiving treated groundwater from the city of Morgan Hill, the West San Martin Water Works, or San Martin County Water District. The level of community interest in the situation and participation in efforts to solve it, has been unprecedented. The Santa Clara Valley Water District has held two public meetings to respond to community concerns, and approximately 800 people attended the first meeting, with 450 attending the second meeting. Water District staff continues to receive dozens of inquiries from the public every week.

The Water District has spent more than $2,000,000 addressing the perchlorate issue to date. In addition, the City of Morgan Hill has incurred costs for wellhead treatment and the city of Gilroy has incurred costs for contingency planning. The county of Santa Clara has incurred costs related to analyzing health data and communicating health risks to the community. Residents in the affected area have devoted their own time and resources toward finding solutions. The entire community has been affected land is working together to find solutions, and the Federal Government should help in any way it can.

While much work has been done on this contamination case, significant unknowns remain and many of the necessary remediation efforts, including containment of the 10.5 mile long perchlorate plume, have not yet been started. Residents still wonder when the contamination will reach their wells, whether it is safe to eat produce from their gardens or the store, and whether health problems of people they know are related to the perchlorate contamination. The community has the right to have its groundwater restored to the condition it was in before it was polluted. That cleanup should begin now, before the plume affects any more areas.

H.R. 4459 establishes a program that can address the community's perchlorate needs and interests. The $25 million specified in the bill provides a means of implementing overdue solutions for the community. The funding in the bill provides a means for local agencies to implement timely, necessary solutions to protect the community, for which they can be reimbursed by the responsible party at a later date. It is not meant to excuse responsible parties from their duties to remediate contamination.

In the past, Chairman Pombo, Representative Lofgren, and I have been fortunate to secure appropriations for perchlorate groundwater remediation and cleanup in this area where our Congressional districts come together, but the implementing regulations have prevented the use of this funding to move many projects of interest to the community forward. The broad parameters of H.R. 4459, which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the funding and implementation of a balanced, long-term remediation program for California, will provide for solutions the community is asking for.

Once again, I thank chairman Pombo for his hard work on this bill and for bringing it to the House floor quickly. I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future to solve the perchlorate problem in south Santa Clara County.

Mr. Speaker, Title IX established the principle of equal opportunity for all students and athletes, breaking down the institutional barriers to education that had beset women for decades. Its affirmed goal was to eliminate ``discrimination based on sex.'' It quickly became clear that this milestone could not be achieved by decree alone, and 2 years after the passage of the Title IX, late Congresswoman Patsy Mink of Hawaii introduced the Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA) as one of the means to implement and establish those principles embodied in the language of Title IX.

The Women's Educational Equity Act addresses the social and cultural structures surrounding gender inequality. For 20 years, WEEA has provided Federal dollars for projects that promote educational equity for young women through competitive grants to public agencies, private non-profit organizations, and individuals. Most of the funds are directed to local implementation of gender equity policies in the academic curriculum and research and development projects.

In its 20 year history, WEEA has funded a variety of projects from the Women in Science and Environment (WISE) program in Boston which provides hands-on experiences in science and environmental industries for more than 300 students each year to the Stepping Stones Across the Digital Divide, a project in my state of California, which targets Hispanic females in grades 3 to 6. The goal of this project is to increase academic performance through developing computer and emerging information technologies. Collectively, these programs have made great strides in providing equity in education opportunity for women.

Republicans in Congress have steadily eroded the money appropriated to this program from its peak of $10 million in 1980 to less than $3 million last year. This year, for inexplicable reasons, Republicans have stripped this successful program of all of its funding, effectively eliminating it.

It is clear that WEEA has succeeded in creating unprecedented educational opportunities for women in all areas of academia. Since WEEA was enacted, 63 percent of female high school graduates enroll in college, up from 43 percent in 1973. Furthermore, the number of women earning a bachelor's degree from college jumped from 18 percent to over 30 percent. These dramatic academic accomplishments, pale in comparison to the strides made at the graduate level. In the ten years since WEEA was adopted, the number of women receiving medical, law, and doctoral degrees has spiked from 9 percent to 38 percent, 7 percent to 43 percent, and 25 percent to 44 percent respectively.

The Women's Educational Equity Act embodies the ideals of equal opportunity embraced by all Americans. It provides an environment where women are given the opportunity to overcome the institutional barriers to education that have existed for many years. WEEA's principles and programs talented young women's skills and interests in whatever discipline they choose. Most importantly, it is a program whose proof lies in the achievements of the women who have thrived in the years since its inception. Patsy Mink had the foresight to introduce this program and positively affect the lives of thousands of young women. In honor of the late Congresswoman Patsy Mink, let us carry out her vision of the implementation of Title IX and support this amendment and the thousands of women who can benefit from such programs in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the achievements and the life of Dr. Clifford I. Uyeda, M.D., a dedicated human rights activist, pediatrician and a loving family man. Dr. Uyeda passed away of cancer on July 30, 2004 in San Francisco. He will be fondly remembered for his contributions to human rights and social justice issues, and for his service to the Japanese American community. Dr. Uyeda is survived by his wife, Betty Uyeda.

Clifford Iwao Uyeda was born in Olympia, Washington on January 14, 1917 to Matsutaro and Kimiyo Uyeda. He attended the University of Wisconsin and Tulane University medical school. During the Korean War, Dr. Uyeda served as an Army doctor and as a captain in the United States Air Force.

In 1953, Dr. Uveda moved to San Francisco. where be worked as a pediatrician at Kaiser Permanente for more than twenty years. In addition to touching the lives of countless children and their families, Dr. Uyeda was committed to human rights, social justice and service. He was active in many medical and community organizations and served as editor of Nikkei Heritage, a quarterly journal.

After retiring from medicine in 1975, Dr. Uyeda turned to full-time activism. In an era when the United States government did not recognize the grievances of its Japanese American population, who had been disenfranchised during the Second World War, Dr. Uyeda was instrumental in fighting for their rights.

During his tenure as president of the national Japanese American Citizen's League, Dr. Uyeda helped push for a federal Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Citizens, which eventually led to a formal apology and monetary compensation for surviving internees. He was also part of the successful ``Tokyo Rose'' campaign to clear the name and reinstate the citizenship of Iva Toguri, an American who had been falsely accused of treason during World War II.

Dr. Uyeda was a proud advocate of Japanese American rights but, foremost, he was dedicated to social and historical justice. In 1998, he helped establish the Rape of Nanking Redress Committee to raise awareness about Japanese military atrocities committed during World War II. As president and member of the National Japanese American Historical Society, he was determined to seek and disseminate the truth, even if it was painful or incriminating.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of Dr. Clifford Uyeda. His commitment to human rights and social justice has left an indelible mark on the countless individuals he helped over his distinguished lifetime. He will be fondly remembered by his family, friends and members of the local and national communities he worked so passionately and unselfishly to serve.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in favor of the amendment, but it sounds like there is a work afoot to be able to support the desire for the gentlewoman from Guam (Mr. Bordallo) to work further in the next session. Is that what I am hearing?

I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, that would be great. As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific Islander Caucus, I support that effort and would work with both the chairman and the gentlewoman from Guam in the furtherance of this amendment. I thank the gentleman for his cooperation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition of the measure before us, H.R. 3313.

Many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle are lawyers by training and they have given us an excellent analysis of the legal problems with this bill.

They have pointed out that by denying the Supreme Court its role as the final authority on the constitutionality of federal laws, the bill unnecessarily and unconstitutionally usurps the Supreme Court's power.

Mr. Speaker, I am not a lawyer. I am a teacher by training and even without the benefit of legal training, I can see the unfairness of this court stripping bill.

What this bill is trying to do is change the rules of the game, only in this case the rules we are talking about are fundamental principles imbedded in our Constitution.

If I were to ask a class of elementary school kids whether they thought it was fair to change the rules so that a federal law, passed by Congress and signed by the President did not have to face the scrutiny of our federal courts--they would all be scratching their heads. They would ask me, ``what about the idea of checks and balances?''

If I mentioned this scenario to some Junior High students they would simply say, ``we see what you are doing, you're rigging the system.'' Teens can be a lot more cynical.

Mr. Speaker, this is not a matter of protecting marriage, it's about protecting the sanctity of separation of powers--and you don't have to be a lawyer to see that.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and contributions of Mr. Robert Masahiro Yoshikawa who recently passed away. He was a pillar of the community and a personal friend of mine. Mr. Yoshikawa made an immeasurable impact on all those around him through his career, his volunteer work, and his devotion to family. His tireless efforts improved the lives of countless people in his community.

I met Robert Yoshikawa many years ago when we were both students at San Jose State University. From that moment on, he continually amazed me with his unwavering selflessness and his extraordinary dedication to the community. Throughout his life, he consistently put others before himself through volunteering and his active involvement with his church, his family activities, and his neighborhood.

For those who are unfamiliar with Mr. Yoshikawa's life, I would like to take a moment to highlight some of his extraordinary contributions. In addition to serving as President of the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin, Bob served on the board of directors of both the SJBC and Fuji Towers and played an integral part on many committees. Mr. Yoshikawa served as past chairman of the San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin Ministerial Affairs and Obon Committees, as well as being a charter member and current president of the Young Japanese Adults. In 2002, Robert was presented with the Volunteer Recognition Award by the Junior League of San Jose.

In addition to his extensive volunteer work, Mr. Yoshikawa was a wonderful husband to his wife Phyllis and father to his sons, Mark and Scott. He served as an ideal role model for his sons, teaching them right from wrong, imparting to them a spirit of service, and making time to involve himself in their lives and activities. He could often be seen videotaping his sons' football games or driving them to various Boy Scouts, sporting or church activities in his Chevy Suburban. He would constantly guide his sons with sage advice from his experience and the experiences of his own father. He was a man of strong conviction, who stood behind his decisions without wavering.

Robert Yoshikawa, a second generation American, was born in Newcastle, California in 1940. Upon graduating from high school, he attended Sierra Junior College before matriculating on to San Jose State where he received a degree in mechanical engineering and met his future wife, Phyllis Osaki. The couple first lived in an apartment in Sunnyvale, but spent the past 37 years in the house in San Jose that they watched being built. It was there they raised their two boys. Robert worked at Lockheed Martin until his retirement in 2003. At Lockheed, Robert's robust engineering skills and attention to detail were instrumental in the success of several important projects. He was praised for being accurate and efficient, and his remarkable patience and experience made him a valuable mentor to the younger engineers at Lockheed.

Upon retiring from his job at Lockheed Martin after 40 years, Mr. Yoshikawa embarked on yet another chapter in his full life. Though he and Phyllis had already traveled the globe, he had even more trips planned and was enjoying his return to improving his golf game with other retired friends. Always wanting to be useful, he also agreed to volunteer at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose as just one more in his myriad of community services. It was on March 24, while volunteering at the museum, that Mr. Yoshikawa died of a heart attack. Since he was in apparent excellent health, his passing came as quite a shock to all who knew him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mourn the loss of a friend and a role model. I knew Robert for 40 years and he was as inspirational to me the last time I saw him, as he was when we first met. I know that the people of the Bay Area appreciate everything that this wonderful man has done for them and I feel privileged for having known him.

Mr. Chairman, as a Member of the Silicon Valley Congressional Delegation, I fully support H.R. 3574, the Stock Option Accounting Reform Act.

This sensible and balanced legislation promotes corporate transparency while protecting broad-based employee stock option plans. Such plans are good for workers, good for business and good for our Nation!

I would caution my colleagues against believing that stock options are bestowed upon a privileged few. A 2002 study concluded that 13 percent of American workers held stock options. That equals 14.6 million Americans, 85 percent of whom are in non-management positions.

It is no wonder then that workers are some of the most vocal opponents to expensing of stock options.

Just consider the comments submitted to FASB by one San Jose employee, ``I have never felt the same ownership as I do now because of stock options. I am not an executive in the company but a supervisor- level engineer. This sense of ownership is true even for the entry- level technicians who also receive options.''

Another high tech employee rightly concludes, ``Making stock options less available only hurts the little guys--your constituents.''

I ask my colleagues to act in the best interests of their constituents. Rather than allow FASB's rules to take effect, Congress should encourage more companies to offer stock options, so that thousands more can enjoy the financial security realized by 13 percent of American workers that have taken advantage of stock option purchase plans.

Employee stock option plans set our country apart from others; they reward hard work, ingenuity and dedication--the very qualities that have helped make our Nation the success story that it is. This bill is critical to preserving this important tradition.

I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3574.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Chairman, the House should be ashamed today.

Two years after Jeff Skilling of Enron testified before the Congress about how stock option accounting can be abused to overstate earnings, and two years after we passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to clean up corporate and accounting fraud, the House has come to this Floor to pass legislation sanctifying phony accounting. We told the Financial Accounting Standards board (FASB) to fix this problem--now we're telling them, and investors, that the political fix is in.

H.R. 3574 is a bad bill. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan warned in Congress that ``it would be a bad mistake for the Congress to impede FASB'' because the proposed FASB changes to accounting for stock options ``strike me as correct.''

Famed investor Warren Buffett says the legislation is ``nonsensical'' based on ``fuzzy math'' and ``Alice-in-Wonderland assumptions.''

Why does he say that? Well the bill mandates that, when a company is calculating the expense of the options given to the five highest paid executives--the only ones allowed to be expensed--it must assume that the stock price has zero volatility, i.e., it never goes up or down. As Buffett notes, the only reason for making such an assumption is to ``significantly understate'' the value of the few options the bill allows to be accounted ``to enable chief executives to lie about what they are truly being paid and to overstate the earnings of the companies they run.''

The Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also opposes this legislation: it runs counter to the SEC's mandate to protect investors and to make sure that companies provide honest and transparent information.

The bill gets worse. Not content to sprinkle holy water on bad numbers, it goes on to prohibit the voluntary expensing of stock options by companies that want to present honest accounts. There are currently over 575 companies, including Ford, General Motors, Microsoft, and Citigroup, voluntarily expensing their options at fair value. If this bill were enacted in the form reported by the Committee on Financial Services, they would have to cease doing so and restate their financials at substantial cost and disruption to the market. Only after a hearing on the subject before the Committee on Energy and Commerce did the manager of the bill produce a Floor amendment to fix this flaw.

Finally, H.R. 3574 is opposed by FACTS (the Financial Accounting Coalition for Truthful Statements), a broad coalition of 30 pension funds, consumer groups, labor unions, and investors. Their July 19, 2004, statement to the House warns that ``the proposed legislation is worse than current accounting practice.''

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the Kanjorski substitute, which affirms the independence of FASB and the importance of honest and credible accounting standards. If it fails, vote ``no'' on H.R. 3574.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the many contributions and accomplishments of Colonel Daniel E. Furtado on his retirement from the U.S. Army Reserve, after 38 years of devoted service including the prestigious command of the 5th Brigade, 104th Division. Colonel Furtado has dedicated over 30 years to his community and our nation.

Colonel Furtado is a native of Campbell, California and has been very active in civic and community affairs, having served both as mayor and city councilmember of Campbell. Through his many contributions to education, health, and national security, Colonel Furtado has impacted the lives of many and recently was selected as Citizen of the Year for the City of Campbell for the year 2000.

Colonel Daniel Furtado enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1963, while enrolled in ROTC. After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree from San Jose State University in Applied Arts and Sciences, Colonel Furtado received a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of California and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of San Francisco. From 1969 to 1971, he worked in Houston, Texas as Chief of the Pharmacology Section at the Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam. Later he worked in Palo Alto, CA as clinical coordinator for the Veterans Administration Medical Center. Colonel Furtado was Co-Director of the Pharmacy at O'Connor Hospital at Campbell, CA from 1979 to 1980, when he was appointed Associated Director of the Primary Care Associate Program at Stanford University School of Medicine. He still teaches pharmacology and is currently Senior Lecturer in Medicine at Stanford and Associate Clinical Professor of Pharmacy at the University of California.

Colonel Furtado has been a volunteer for the American Heart Association for over 25 years, and has served as President and on the Board of Directors of the Santa Clara County Chapter. His significant public service record is exemplified through the multitude of service awards that he has received, including the Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with Gold Hourglass Device, and the Army Service Ribbon. Colonel Furtado is a member of the Emergency Preparedness Council of Santa Clara County and the Immediate Past Chairs of both the West Valley Sanitation District Board of Directors and the County Library Joint Powers Authority. Miraculously, Colonel Furtado also finds time to serve on the Homeland Security Task Force, the Public Safety Committee of the National League of Cities, and the Public Safety Committee of the League of California Cities.

Colonel Furtado's engaged assistance to the community and his many contributions to society have made him a distinguished member of Santa Clara County. His hard work and dedication toward the protection of our nation through military service make him a role model for our youth.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Colonel Daniel E. Furtado for his ongoing efforts on behalf of his community and for his numerous accomplishments in the fields of education, health, community and military service.