Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, specifically division J on State and Foreign Operations. Division J reflects a bipartisan, bicameral effort by Ranking Member Wolf, myself, Senator Leahy and Senator Gregg to address our strategic priorities, national security interests and invest in development, poverty reduction and global health. I also wanted to thank Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Obey for their knowledge and their commitment to the priorities in this bill.

Just a few highlights. For those of us who did read the bill, what do we have, 20 hours, 3,500 pages. I am sure if you all divided it up, you would have a good understanding of what is in that bill.

Some highlights: $6.5 billion, $796 million above the President's request, for HIV/AIDS and other global health programs; $1.5 billion to address humanitarian emergencies, including Iraqi refugees; $550 million for the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Darfur, funding for Liberian security sector assistance and increased assistance for Africa; an expansion of basic education, safe water, environmental programs; $1.544 billion, 344 million above the Senate-passed level, for the Millennium Challenge Account. This funding will allow them to undertake all planned compacts and threshold programs this year. It maintains Israel's qualitative military edge. It maintains our development and security assistance to the people of Pakistan, assistance central to helping them fight al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated terrorist groups.

And I want to especially thank our staff for their tireless work in crafting the bipartisan bill, the division J of this Consolidated Appropriations Act. This bill will help make America be more secure and improve the lives of millions around the world, and I encourage my colleagues to vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1413) to direct the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration) to address vulnerabilities in aviation security by carrying out a pilot program to screen airport workers with access to secure and sterile areas of airports, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this bill and include therein any extraneous material.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1413 creates a pilot program screening airport workers at seven airports. Screening passengers but giving workers open access is like installing a home security system but leaving the back door open. We know criminal activity has resulted from this loophole and we cannot take a chance that terrorists will exploit it. H.R. 1413 is a bipartisan approach to ensure security at our airports, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his wisdom and for his willingness to work with us. I have no more speakers, and I urge the Members to support this critical legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I regrettably missed rollcall vote No. 1093 on November 14, 2007. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: rollcall No. 1093: ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I regrettably missed Rollcall vote No. 1085 (H.R. 3461) and Rollcall vote No. 1084 (H.R. 3403). Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: Rollcall No. 1085: ``yes,'' Rollcall No. 1084: ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of Ms. Linda Sanchez's legislation, which would make grants available for Internet safety education programs.

Advances in technology have resulted in new conveniences, greater access to information, and the ability to correspond easily and quickly with individuals around the world. However, the recent explosion of social networking sites and internet chat-rooms has also created opportunities for predators to target children easily and anonymously.

Eighty-seven percent of teens use the internet on a regular basis, and according to the Justice Department, one in five children between the ages of ten and seventeen has received a sexual solicitation or has been approached online in the last year. The internet provides students with a world of information and has become a necessity in many of our everyday lives, yet it unfortunately can expose our kids to a world of potential dangers without adequate protections.

For example, early this year a teenage girl in Florida was found one day after she snuck out of her house to meet who she thought was a 24- year-old man she met on MySpace, but turned out to be a 46-year-old high-risk sex offender. Several social networking sites have implemented some security measures, but sex offenders have found ways to get around them. That is why I applaud efforts such as those by Attorney General Cuomo to ensure that social networking sites meet the safety standards they advertise.

It is imperative that we do everything we can to make the internet as safe as possible for our children. At the local level, many of our law enforcement agencies and schools are doing wonderful work using internet safety curriculum to educate students on how to avoid dangerous, inappropriate, or unlawful online behavior.

As a mother and grandmother, I am fighting at the federal level to reduce the risk that our children face online from child predators. That is why I am so pleased that today the House is considering five different pieces of legislation, several of which I have cosponsored, that promote internet safety and crack down on child pornography.

Ms. Sanchez's bill would create a grant program for organizations that promote internet safety. These grants will help crime safety groups such as the National Crime Prevention Council develop programs to better educate children, parents, teachers, libraries, and others on the dangers of potential online criminal activity and cyberbullying.

The SAFER Net Act, sponsored by Ms. Bean, authorizes $5 million for a national public awareness campaign to promote internet safety. Several internet safety programs exist, but the federal government must do a better job ensuring that parents and schools are able to utilize those programs.

Mr. Pomeroy's KIDS Act would close a dangerous loophole by requiring sexual offenders to include e-mail addresses and instant messaging screen names when complying with registration and notification laws. Notification laws have enabled parents to know when a sexual predator has moved into their neighborhood, but not their inbox.

As a member of the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children Caucus, I know that the passage of this series of bills is a significant step in our efforts to protect children as they use the internet.

Madam Speaker, I regrettably missed rollcall votes Nos. 1034, 1035, and 1036 on November 5, 2007. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: rollcall No. 1034: ``yes''; rollcall No. 1035: ``yes''; rollcall No. 1036: ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, thank you to Chairman Obey and Ranking Member Walsh and their staffs for their hard work in crafting this bill.

This conference report goes a long way towards addressing the current and future needs of millions of Americans and their families.

It provides relief for families that desperately need child care and afterschool programs; for teachers anxious to receive classroom training or professional development; for students who won't be able to attend college without an increase in the maximum Pell Grant; and for the elderly who depend on LIHEAP to help pay for the rising cost of home heating oil.

What some of my friends on the other side of the aisle who intend to vote against this conference report don't seem to understand is that the programs funded in this bill literally make a life-or-death difference in the lives of millions of American families who are struggling to make ends meet.

We find a way to pay $12 billion every month for the war in Iraq, yet some of you will fight tooth and nail against the additional $9.8 billion in this bill that will help 436,000 more disadvantaged children receive math and reading assistance; or 130,000 more children receive afterschool care; or support 600 additional research grants at NIH; or provide 1.2 million uninsured Americans access to healthcare at community health centers.

It is outrageous, and it is unconscionable.

Chairman Obey should be commended for what he accomplished in this bill, and I urge every member in this body to support the conference report.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments of Dr. Ruth L. Gottesman and to congratulate her on becoming the first woman and the first faculty member to be elected Chairperson of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Board of Overseers.

As a premiere institution for medical education, basic research and clinical investigation, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has produced more than 7,000 of our Nation's foremost clinicians, biomedical scientists, and medical educators. Among its pioneering educational initiatives, Einstein was among the first of the major medical schools to integrate bedside experience with learning, bringing first-year students into contact with patients and linking classroom study to case experience.

Dr. Ruth Gottesman has served as a distinguished faculty member of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine for over 30 years. In addition, Dr. Gottesman was a founding director of the Fisher Landau Center for the Treatment of Learning Disabilities, a division of Einstein's Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center established to provide interdisciplinary services to individuals of all ages. Her exemplary effort on behalf of those with learning disabilities has earned her the respect and admiration of colleagues and friends alike. In her career, she serves the most vulnerable in our society with the highest level of compassion and commitment.

Dr. Gottesman has balanced this distinguished career with an equally impressive family life. Married to David for 57 years, she has also been a loving mother to three children--Bob, Alice, and Bill--and grandmother to seven grandchildren--Ben, Sarah, Alan, Clara, Zachary, Eleanor, and Jessica. While she and her family share a passion for traveling and learning about other people and places, Dr. Gottesman remains committed to a variety of causes in her own community including various charitable organizations, schools, and museums.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to recognize my good friend Dr. Ruth Gottesman for an unparalleled career fighting for those who are unable to fight for themselves, and I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring her tremendous accomplishments.

Madam Speaker, I regrettably missed rollcall vote 961 (H. Res. 738). Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: rollcall 961: ``yes.''

It is my pleasure to thank our distinguished chairman, Mr. Oberstar, for your expertise on these very important issues.

On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 flew directly over New York's Indian Point Nuclear Facility on its way to the World Trade Center.

One year later, a taped interview on al-Jazeera indicated that al Qaeda initially planned to include a nuclear plant as one of its targets. The Indian Point nuclear power plant is less than 50 miles from New York City.

The FAA's post-September 11 no fly zone around the plant was lifted in November 2001. Since that time, I've worked with my Hudson Valley colleagues to protect Indian Point from any potential terrorist threat, including calling for a no fly zone around the facility.

Will the chairman commit to working with me to ensure that both the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration are protecting the airspace around this facility and protecting the more than 20 million people who live near Indian Point from all aviation threats?

It is a pleasure for me to yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hall).

Reclaiming my time, I yield to the chairman of the committee, the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, which would rename the Wykagyl Post Office in New Rochelle, New York after Robert Merrill.

I want to thank Chairman Waxman for his support of this bill and for placing it on the suspension calendar today.

Born on June 4, 1919, Robert Merrill spent his life performing from the grand stages of the world's opera houses to Broadway and music and television. He set the standard for theatrical and musical excellence.

Robert Merrill was a favorite of U.S. Presidents, performing at the invitation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Ronald Reagan. He was the only singer to perform before Congress, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, and Mrs. Roosevelt at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial service held in the U.S. Capitol.

In 1968, President Johnson appointed him to the National Council on the Arts, and President Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Arts in 1993.

Throughout his career, Merrill performed as a soloist with every major orchestra in the United States and many of the world's great conductors, including Arturo Toscanini, Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan. His annual coast-to-coast recitals included performances at such venues as Wolf Trap, the Hollywood Bowl, Philadelphia's Mann Music Center.

Often referred to as ``America's Star Spangled Baritone,'' he was well known for singing the ``Star Spangled Banner'' at Yankee Stadium. In 1969, Merrill began singing the national anthem on opening day for the New York Yankees, a tradition that continued for over 25 years.

In addition to his dedicated singing career, Robert Merrill also lent his talent and presence to community and local charities, including volunteer work at the New Rochelle Hospital and New Rochelle Public Library.

For over 50 years, Robert and his wife, Marion, made New Rochelle, New York their home and were active supporters of West Chester Community College, the West Chester Arts Council and the New Rochelle Arts Council.

Mr. Speaker, Robert Merrill spread his talents and love for the arts all over the country, enriching all who experienced his performances. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring this great American by passing this legislation.

I thank the chairman.

Six years after the worst tragedy in our Nation's history, the pain that we all feel is still fresh. We remember the victims of this senseless attack, the parents, the siblings, spouses, children, friends, neighbors and coworkers, who lost their lives on September 11 for no reason other than an ideology of hatred directed at our country, at our values and our way of life.

We hold a special place in our hearts for the men, women and children that died that day. The victims' friends and families are in our thoughts and prayers that they may find comfort by focusing on the blessings of the lives of the victims rather than on the tragedy of their deaths.

In Congress and in the administration, it is our solemn duty to honor those who died on September 11 by implementing the policies, both at home and abroad, that will protect our citizens and our country and help others to avoid the devastation that results from losing a loved one.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to call attention to the important and essential role that oncology nurses play in providing quality cancer care. Oncology nurses provide clinical, psychosocial and supportive care to patients and their families and are integral to our Nation's cancer care delivery system.

I would like to specifically acknowledge Laura Benson from New Rochelle, New York, for her service on the Oncology Nursing Society Board of Directors, as treasurer, and her role as senior director of medical communications and medical information at OSI Pharmaceuticals. Laura, who received her bachelors, masters, and nurse practitioner degrees from Adelphi University, has served on the ONS Board of Directors for the past 3 years. Laura also served as the patient care consultant for Schering Oncology Biotech. In this capacity, she serviced all of Long Island, New York City, and Westchester County.

The Oncology Nursing Society has 13 chapters in my home State of New York. These chapters serve the oncology nurses in the State and support them in their efforts to provide high-quality cancer care to patients and their families throughout New York. Laura has served as president of her chapter and was awarded ONS' AOCN of the Year award in 1999.

I would like to once again acknowledge and thank Laura Benson for her hard work and leadership on the Oncology Nursing Society Board of Directors. As a nurse and leader in the field, Laura has made it her life's mission to help others, and she should be applauded for her accomplishments.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chairman for your important leadership on this committee and to the ranking member. It's been a pleasure for me to work cooperatively in a bipartisan way.

I rise in strong support of the conference report which will make us safer by increasing the amount of risk-based homeland security grants, screening 100 percent of maritime and aviation cargo and improving intelligence collection and information-sharing capabilities.

I would also like to highlight the title on interoperability grants which completes the three-pronged interoperability proposal I put forward following September 11.

The dedicated grant program will significantly enhance the ability of public safety agencies to plan, build, and maintain communications networks as they will no longer have to make impossible decisions such as whether to purchase personal protective equipment or radios. It will ensure that first responders will have more advance resources than those used by Paul Revere.

This bill is a great victory for first responders.

I rise in strong support of the conference report, which implements many of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, actions that should have been taken years ago.

As a member of the Homeland Security Committee and the conference committee that resolved differences with the Senate, I know that many of us put a great deal of work into creating this legislation. I would like to thank Chairman Thompson and Ranking Member King for their tireless work. I would also like to thank our leadership for making this the House's top priority.

I would like to briefly outline a few of the many reasons why this bill makes our country safer. First, it mandates 100 percent scanning of all maritime cargo before it enters the U.S. The current system of scanning only some cargo when it has already entered the U.S. is inadequate. AI Qaeda and other terrorist organizations must be prevented from using a maritime cargo container to conceal a nuclear weapon.

Many have stringently opposed this provision and have stated that they will not support the conference report because of the perceived impact on business. I would respond to this argument by stating the job of Congress is to protect the American people, not stand in the way of commonsense security measures to make it easier for the business community to ship containers. The cost to scan each container is minimal compared to the cost of value of goods shipped in each container. And the cost is nothing compared to the consequence of what would happen if terrorists were able to detonate a nuclear weapon in the U.S.

Second, the bill greatly enhances aviation security efforts. Today, a great deal of cargo is placed on commercial aircraft without being screened. The bill closes this security loophole. It also authorizes $450 million per year for in-line explosive detection systems and provides a process for passengers who have been misidentified and placed on the ``no-fly'' or ``selectee'' lists to clear their names.

Third, it augments intelligence collection and information sharing. The bill properly organizes intelligence gathering agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, DHS, to enable them to better communicate potential threats with local first responders. One of the best ways to prevent an attack is to increase our intelligence gathering capabilities. This bill will help to provide assistance to State and local fusion centers and counter-terrorism officials. The excellent work of the New York Police Department's counter-terrorism division to detect and prevent potential terrorist plots exemplifies what can be accomplished by local law enforcement agencies.

Fourth, the bill advances our efforts to identify and protect critical infrastructure, one of the fundamental purposes of the Department of Homeland Security. The conference report includes provisions I proposed to review and update the National Asset Database and the subset National At-Risk Database. It also requires the Department to conduct annual critical infrastructure vulnerability assessments.

These are only four of the many examples of how the bill makes our country more secure. I would like to detail two particular provisions which have been two of my highest priorities since the September 11 attacks--interoperability grants and the first responder funding formula for homeland security grants.

Title III of the conference report completes the three-pronged interoperability proposal I first put forward following September 11. The Department of Homeland Security now has an office that coordinates first responder emergency communications efforts. It is in the process of implementing a national communications strategy, and this bill creates an interoperability grant program.

Communications problems have plagued first responders in every major emergency in the last 15 years. We witnessed this 12 years ago in Oklahoma City. It resurfaced at Columbine in 1999. It slowed our response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. On September 11, it proved to be a deadly problem.

Of the 58 firefighters who escaped the North Tower of the World Trade Center and gave oral histories to the Fire Department of New York, only three heard radio warnings that the North Tower was in danger of collapse. We will never know how many of the 343 firefighters who died that day while heroically rescuing thousands of workers were in the North Tower. Nor will we know how many of these lives would have been spared if they had had effective, interoperable communications equipment to receive the evacuation order.

The provisions in the emergency communications grant title are long overdue. More than 10 years ago, the Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee stated that, ``unless immediate measures are taken to promote interoperability, public safety agencies will not be able to adequately discharge their obligation to protect life and property in a safe, efficient, and cost effective manner.''

The 9/11 Commission included interoperability as one of its recommendations and the Public Discourse Project found that the Federal Government had made minimal progress on this priority. This legislation finally responds to the widely acknowledged vulnerabilities posed by poor communications capabilities.

A dedicated grant program, which I first proposed following September 11, will significantly enhance the ability of public safety agencies to plan, build, and maintain communications networks as they will no longer have to make impossible decisions such as whether to purchase personal protective equipment or radios.

This bill will not solve all of our interoperability problems. However, it will help to ensure that in the next emergency, our first responders are not left to the same strategies used by Paul Revere in 1775, which was sadly the case during Katrina just 2 years ago. This is a great victory for first responders.

A second item which I have been fighting for years to improve is the first responder funding formula. Title I of the conference report increases the percentage of DHS grants that are allocated on the basis of risk. For far too long the Department has awarded 40 percent of formula grants to State governments without any consideration of risk. The conference report will eventually lower this amount to 18.52 percent in 5 years.

On four occasions, the House passed legislation to increase the amount of risk-based

funding, including an amendment that I added to the USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization bill. The compromise we are considering today, while far from perfect, is the product of several years of negotiations between the two chambers. Even with the conference report, I will continue my efforts to improve the manner in which grants are awarded.

As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. After September 11, we experienced the cost of not being adequately prepared--the loss of almost 3,000 lives and tremendous economic impact. We must distribute homeland security funding on the basis of risk now so that areas most at risk have the resources to prevent and effectively respond to any potential attacks.

Attacks against New York, Madrid, London, and Mumbai illustrate that terrorists target the areas in which they can inflict the most damage. The Federal Government's efforts to prepare and respond to terrorism should reflect this reality. In addition, Hurricane Katrina highlighted the need to allocate resources to the areas most vulnerable to any type of emergency situation. We cannot afford to use homeland security funding as a type of revenue sharing.

This was one of the most prevalent recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. In 2005, the Commission gave the Federal Government an ``F'' for failing to allocate funding where it is needed. Had the provisions in the conference report been implemented prior to the date the report card was issued, this grade would have been better.

Regardless of the amount of the percentage of risk-based funds, the Department must do a better job calculating risk. In the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Grant Program allocation process, the Department made many decisions that resulted in awarding what were supposed to be risk-based funds to areas that do not face a high threat of being attacked. I plan on introducing legislation that would improve the manner in which DHS calculates risk and awards funds, strengthening the first responder funding formula provisions in this conference report.

In addition, I am disappointed that the conference report dropped the provisions that would have provided collective bargaining and other worker protections for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs). These provisions were included in both the House and Senate versions of the bill but were dropped from the conference report due to the President's misguided veto threat.

Transportation Security Officers are on the front lines protecting our airports and airplanes. They should be given the basic worker protections enjoyed by other DHS personnel. They perform a crucial and often grueling job that requires training, experience, and patience. We need workers who have mastered the job and will make a career of helping to protect the flying public and our skies.

That is why I am introducing stand-alone legislation today to provide the 42,000 screeners with basic worker protections. This would replace the increasing turnover and dissatisfaction with professionalism and a career path our screeners will pursue long-term. Highly trained and seasoned TSOs are part of our smart, comprehensive, and cost-effective efforts to prevent terrorist attacks and protect America's transportation system.

In its July 2004 report, the 9/11 Commission concluded that we are safer than we were prior to September 11, 2001, but we are not safe. The same is true today. While we will never be able to eliminate all threats or vulnerabilities, the implementation of this conference report is a substantial step forward.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to put a statement in the Record expressing outrage at the continued violence and genocide in Darfur.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today burdened by many emotions--sadness, disappointment, frustration and most of all, anger. Anger because it has been three years since Congress declared the atrocities occurring in Darfur to be genocide--and yet the violence continues. Anger because 2.5 million people are still displaced--living in camps, unable to return to their homes. Anger because humanitarian workers are even more endangered today--unable to deliver vital services to large swathes of the population. And anger because not a single individual has been brought to justice for these crimes.

The crisis in Darfur requires sustained diplomatic action--including international pressure on those nations that support the Sudanese regime and allow President Bashir to equivocate on his promises.

It is unacceptable that 3 years have passed and there is still insufficient protection for civilians on the ground.

The AU/UN force must be deployed immediately. There is no time to waste. The people of Darfur have waited long enough.