Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the effort to override this Presidential veto, of people's right to live a life where they can be free from the illness that they are suffering today, and of my colleague Jim Langevin's right to be able to get out of that wheelchair within his lifetime thanks to stem cell research.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his work on this issue.

On June 13, Rhode Island and Providence lost Mike Day due to a heart attack just after he had returned from a fire to the fire station. He is the son of a firefighter, and he is one of four brothers who all became Providence firefighters. He was passionate about helping save people's lives and helping to serve people.

Who has he left behind? He has left his wife of 22 years behind, Cynthia, as well as four children, Mike Jr., Amanda, Brianne and Stephanie.

The Hometown Heroes Act was signed by the President 3 years ago. Where is the support for these families who put their lives on the line to save our lives and our communities? The delay out there from the Department of Justice means that these benefit applications of people like Mike Day are waiting, collecting dust in the Department of Justice. This is inexcusable.

Mr. Chairman, I believe our public safety officers need to know that if they lay down their lives for us that we are going to be there to back their families up and make sure those families are supported. The hardship of these families shouldn't wait on the Department of Justice and neither should we

in Congress wait for the Department of Justice.

I urge passage of this amendment.

I thank the gentleman.

Right now, everybody has access to your medical records. Obviously, I would like to support more privacy. But, frankly, your insurance company has a right to your medical records, all the data processing companies have a right to your medical records, and all the financial institutions that are collocated with the insurance companies have your financial records.

The Health Care Information and Privacy Act in this country has no teeth. Some nurse or doctor can sell your medical records and not be liable civilly or criminally. Someone can sell your records to a tabloid, and you have no right to sue the tabloid. They can obtain it under illegal and false pretenses. No recourse whatsoever.

This notion of privacy is really bunk. We have no privacy in terms of medical records. And I would ask the American people, please call your representative and demand medical privacy from our HIPAA laws.

Announcement by the Chairman

Mr. Chairman, just one last point. We have no medical privacy in this country now. The health care and privacy act is nonexistent. It has no teeth in it. Your medical records can be found out from anybody anywhere.

They pass through a million different institutions as they get processed through transaction companies, insurance companies, financial companies. It is absolutely bogus.

We haven't even passed the genetic nondiscrimination act here in this place, which means, if you have genetic disposition to a particular illness, you are not protected. There is no privacy in our medical records. Let us just understand that from the get-go.

The American people are outraged by not having privacy, they have to get to their Members of Congress and request that we do more to strengthen the HIPAA law, the healthcare information and privacy act.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate the gentleman for his passion in advocating on behalf of Native Americans. I salute him entirely in his efforts to represent his district but also all of Native American country.

Growing up, I had a picture in my house of my Uncle Robert Kennedy out in Pine Ridge Reservation, and the pictures were of like a developing country

that we would never think was here in our own country. And your description today of the conditions are no different than the descriptions that occurred 40 years ago when people were thinking what a tragedy it is, the way we are treating our Native Americans. And what is even more of a tragedy is that, over all of these years, we have done nothing to improve the conditions of Native Americans in this country who have absolutely been decimated in so many ways because the United States has failed to fulfill its very basic trust responsibility to our first Americans.

I cannot thank the gentleman enough for his passion and his advocacy, and I think he has done an admirable job laying out the statistics for the American people. I think if the American people only knew how bad these situations were, their conscience would be raised and we would be about trying to solve the problems that the gentleman talked about in his speech.

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

Mr. Chairman, first let me commend the chairman and ranking member for their work on this bill. Today I rise to bring attention to a very critical issue, and that is how to provide evidence-based treatment for prisoners with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

Nearly 74 percent of those arrested test positive for drugs and alcohol at the time of arrest. The disease of alcoholism and addiction is obviously a very important one in our justice system, and hence if we are going to reduce recidivism rates and reduce the revolving door of people going in and out of prison, we must tackle this issue of both trying to reduce the stigma and the access to treatment of those with alcoholism and addiction.

A study by the National Institute on Drug Abuse has said that prison- based substance abuse treatment programs combined with aftercare reduces recidivism. Those who have not received these programs have recidivism rates up to 75 percent of the time. Those who have had treatment have recidivism rates under 27 percent of the time. Seventy- five percent recidivism without treatment, 27 percent recidivism with treatment.

So the fact of the matter is, we can make an enormous difference in helping to reduce not only the lives lost, but also the cost to our prison system. We are going to add $90 million in this bill for new prison construction. How many people out there as taxpayers want to pay for new prison construction, when over half the people in prison today are there for simple possession of drugs and alcohol.

I would like to ask the chairman of the committee to engage in a colloquy, and first commend him for increasing the amount for the drug courts over 300 percent in this budget, recognizing the importance of reducing recidivism and keeping people out of the prison system, and ask him whether he would work with me to make sure that we tie in the National Institute on Drug Abuse, obviously the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and, of course, HHS, to help us address this overall issue that does not just lie in the justice system, but rather lies around an interagency approach to this subject.

I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

I know the gentleman will. I thank him for all of his work in this area, and I thank him for his 6 years of service as chairman on the committee.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for all he has done in the area of providing more drug treatment, more work in terms of interdiction of drugs. This chairman has done more than anyone else in his position could ever do on the meth epidemic or anything else.

All of us care about the census because we are not going to get back in our districts the entitlements for veterans, for those who are children, for education, if we don't have an accurate census. It is the process by which all substance goes through.

If we don't have money for our districts that comes through a proper accounting, we are losing money in our districts. If you can't understand that the census is the key to making sure our districts' needs get met, then I don't think you have actually been looking at why we have a census. That is the reason we have it, so a portion in government, the money can go to where it ought to go to those who need it most.

And, again, the chairman has done more than anyone else to try to make sure this meth epidemic has been tackled, and I support him wholeheartedly in opposing this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) for his great leadership on this bill, and applaud Chairman McKeon for his leadership as well, and also Representative Miller from California. But I want to begin by paying special tribute to my colleague from Illinois (Mr. Davis) for his leadership on the issues of mental health in the committee and working to try to get more mental health provisions incorporated into this legislation.

I also want to add a special word about my Fellow in my office, Berre Burch. Our Fellows do enormous work for all of us. They don't get paid for it, but they are very committed and spend long hours. Berre Burch has been instrumental in working on many of these provisions on mental health in this bill, as well as many others.

Mr. Speaker, I know we are in a tight budget year, and often programs are not included in bills such as this because of the expense that they have. But, frankly, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that the mental health needs of our seniors are included in this bill, principally because they do help save us money. Not only do they help save us money in long-term care costs, but they also help save lives as well. Yes, lives.

According to the National Institutes of Health, senior citizens commit suicide at a higher rate than any other age group in our country. Now, understand this. Suicide is already twice the rate of homicide in this country. People don't recognize that. For every murder in this country, two people take their lives.

Now you can see that having senior citizens have the highest suicide rate of all is pretty startling. It runs in the face of our notion of what the golden years of a senior citizen's life should be all about.

We all have been guilty about understanding what it means to be a senior citizen. A lot of us confuse dementia. We say that is part of being old. It doesn't have to be part of what being old is all about. We have proven, effective treatments to intervene with seniors and make sure that the depression

that they may be suffering is something that is treated so that their golden years can actually be golden years, where they can live productive, happy lives.

But what does this country do to our seniors? They put them away. They put them in senior high-rises. They take them away from their families. They don't support them in their communities. They are detached from the social networks in their communities and from the community bonds that keep them uplifted.

Many of them lose their spouse. Many of them lose their independence. They have physical challenges. And all of this leads, very obviously, to anything that we would all acknowledge is depression. Who wouldn't be depressed under these circumstances?

The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, they don't have to remain depressed. They can get treatment. We can intervene and help them out of these very same challenges.

Mr. Speaker, this is an issue that has been looked at over and over and over again. Surgeon General Satcher acknowledges it, the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health by President Bush acknowledges it, the White House Commission on Aging, all of whom say that there are many impediments and obstacles to senior citizens getting the mental health care that they need, none the least of which is stigma and stereotype.

In my generation, mental health is no longer the stigma that it used to be. But for many senior citizens, when they hear mental health, they think that it is something wrong with them. They think it is something morally wrong with them.

We need to tell senior citizens this is part of your health care. The brain is part of your body. When the brain has chemical imbalances, we need to treat those.

But, Mr. Speaker, in our country today, even in this great time of prosperity and advancement in science, we still don't acknowledge the brain as part of the body. When it comes to insurance coverage, we don't have parity for mental health or for Medicare parity, which basically means if you have depression or any other mental illness, you are paying a higher copay for your insurance for mental health treatment, you are paying a higher deductible for your health insurance, you are paying a higher premium, because somehow mental health care is treated as if it is cosmetic surgery. It is treated like it is elective surgery. It is not treated as if it is the real physical health challenge that so many millions of Americans face and, tragically, so many senior citizens face on a daily basis.

But it doesn't have to be this way. I appreciate the fact that many portions of my bill called the Positive Aging Act were included in this legislation. But I will continue to fight for mental health parity so that we can give all Americans access to mental health services, and I will continue to fight for the Positive Aging Act so we get all of the necessary community support systems in place to help treat our seniors with the dignity and the respect that our senior citizens have earned and that we ought to give them.

Mr. Speaker, the last two days the House has debated for over 10 hours a politically motivated resolution on Iraq. Not one word in this resolution will do anything to bring us one step closer to success in Iraq, or one day closer to bringing our troops home.

This resolution is not about the troops.

If it were, this resolution would actually do something to hold accountable those responsible for the manipulation of pre-war intelligence, the poor planning, the incompetence, and the mismanagement that has brought us to this point in Iraq. This resolution does nothing to give our troops a real plan that charts a path toward victory and home.

Instead what we have is another attempt at re-writing history to buck up fading support for this administration's failed status quo policies.

As even Secretary Condoleezza Rice has acknowledged, the administration has made mistake after mistake when it comes to Iraq. It is the military that has saved them, even as civilian policymakers have scorned and marginalized senior combat generals who have criticized them.

Last week's elimination of al-Zarqawi was a reminder of the skill and determination of our men and women in uniform. It is our troops and their families who have borne the brunt of sacrifice in this war, and they continue to persevere despite the failures of this administration.

For the past 12 years, I have voted for every bill that supports our troops and honors the sacrifices they and their families make in defending our Nation. For every year of this war, I have voted for every appropriations bill funding our troops, fighting to provide them with the bulletproof vests and up-armored Humvees that they were sent into Iraq without.

But the administration needs to understand that more of the same P.R., rosier rhetoric, better stagecraft at another rally, or viciously attacking generals who served on the ground in Iraq will not achieve success in Iraq, nor bring us one step closer to bringing our troops home.

The administration needs to wake up and stop taking the American people for a spin.

Public confidence in this administration's handling of Iraq has plummeted because the American people have seen through the rhetoric to see the reality on the ground in Iraq.

No amount of publicity stunts and political posturing can change that.

More of the same from the administration will not make our country any safer from terrorists than we were on September 11, 2001. A poll conducted by Foreign Policy magazine of our Nation's top 100 foreign policy minds, liberal and conservative alike, found that 84 percent did not believe that the U.S. was winning the war on terror. Sharing that view was 71 percent of conservatives.

The status quo is not acceptable. We need a change. The administration needs to take the ideological blinders off and acknowledge the reality of the facts on the ground.

As GEN John Abizaid and Ambassador Khalilzad have stated, the reality is that civil war is now a greater threat than insurgency.

Because of the regional destabilization that could follow, I do not believe we can pull out of Iraq precipitously. But I cannot support letting Iraq become an open-ended commitment without limit or end.

So instead of occupying themselves with defending their mistakes of the past, the administration should focus instead on achieving real measurable progress on the ground in Iraq so our troops can begin to come home.

Miss McMORRIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to stress the importance of our country's role in the Global War on Terror and to observe the heroic, enduring efforts of our men and women in uniform who are working to secure freedom and democracy for the people of Iraq.

In January, I stood with the Eastern Washington families and colleagues of nearly 100 airmen from Fairchild Air Force Base and said goodbye as they were deployed to Iraq for 4 months. In April, I had the opportunity to travel to Iraq and visit with these members of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing and the 141st Air National Guard Medical Squadron. And in May, I was privileged to welcome them back to Eastern Washington with gratitude for their work on behalf of our Nation and in pursuit of freedom and democracy in Iraq.

Troops based at Eastern Washington have long played a central role in the Global War on Terror. In Iraq, they assisted in the rebuilding of airfields and other crucial infrastructure projects. In April 2004, a crew deployed from Fairchild delivered the one-billionth pound of jet fuel in the Iraqi theater from a KC-135 to

an F-16CJ Fighting Falcon from the 555th Fighter Squadron.

Much deserved attention is given to the combat efforts of our troops serving alongside Iraqi Defense Forces to protect the fragile but promising unity government and the Iraqi people whom it represents. Yet I would draw attention also to the remarkable accomplishments of service men and women who are rapidly restoring the infrastructure-- roads, airports, and utilities--that is critical to Iraq sustaining itself.

But even beyond the duty and mission charged to them, many of our troops are volunteering to help out at orphanages and day cares in Iraq. We should be encouraged by the commitment and compassion that these soldiers show to the comprehensive task of restoration in Iraq.

Congress must continue to support the unity government of Iraq as it rebuilds its country. Like the generations before them, fighting Nazis and Communists, United States warfighters are today doing a duty for which we can never repay them. I express my undying appreciation for their commitment and their sacrifice.

One of the priorities in assisting the Iraqi people is establishing an independent, self-sufficient Iraqi Security Force. Here our progress has been astounding. Today, there are over 264,600 trained and equipped members of the Iraqi Security Force. The ISF is conducting 84 percent of company-level operations independently or along side coalition forces. This will give Iraq the ability to defend itself and participate as allies in the Global War on Terror.

On the urgency of the Global War on Terror, there is no debate. And it would be irresponsible for this Congress to deny the fact that Iraq is a front in that war or to abandon our efforts there.

The fierceness of the foreign-led insurgency that was drawn to Iraq after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime is evidence that the presence of democracy in Iraq and the United States aggressive pursuit of the roots of terror abroad are deadly threats to al-Qaida and others across the globe. We are fighting this tyrannical and ruthless enemy precisely where we should be--thousands of miles away from American families and American soil. To think that terrorists would confine their attacks to Iraq's borders is to not recognize the reality of the threats we face.

We must not abandon the people of Iraq. We must not neglect an opportunity to strike lethal blows to the Islamic extremist network. We must assist the Iraqi people in establishing a free, stable and secure nation and not give up until then. The security of our country and our families depend on it.

Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise today to honor Raymond C. Church, a life-long resident of the great state of Rhode Island, in recognition of his 16 years of service to the accounting profession and the Rhode Island Society of CPAs (RISCPA).

Ray has very ably led the RISCPA and its nearly 1,500 CPAs and affiliated professionals throughout Rhode Island, and he is considered a leader among his peers. It is on this day that we thank him for his service to the accounting profession, to the community and to his country, and wish him well in his retirement.

Ray has also worked diligently for the citizens of Rhode Island and particularly the residents of Rhode Island House District 48. Ray was elected to the State of Rhode Island's House of Representatives in 2004 and has been serving on the House Committee on Corporations and the Permanent Joint Committee on Economic Development. He also served as the North Smithfield Town Administrator from 1987-1989 and is the former Chairman of the North Smithfield Town Budget Committee.

Ray served his country honorably in the U.S. Army, and is a Vietnam War veteran. He attended Bryant College and graduated with a major in Accounting in 1982. Ray is not only dedicated to his profession but to his family as well. He and his wife Carol have been married for 33 years and have one daughter, Jennifer.

It is with great pleasure that we honor Raymond C. Church today, and congratulate him and thank him for all he has done for his hometown, the state of Rhode Island, the association community, and the accounting profession.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to myself.

Mr. Chairman, Marley Prunty-Lara is here today in the gallery. She is an articulate young woman living with bipolar disorder, and she is a suicide attempt survivor.

She is in town because she was here to testify yesterday about her struggle with bipolar disorder, being forced to drop out of school and ultimately attempting to take her own life.

Marley's family attempted to find a psychiatrist in South Dakota to treat her, but they were told that they would have to wait over 4 months to get an initial appointment. Because her mother's insurance would not cover residential treatment and they were so desperate to find care, they took out a second mortgage on their house, and they drove over 350 miles to another State to get Marley the life-saving care that she needed.

Mr. Chairman, Marley's story is all too common. There are just not enough trained professionals to treat the mental health needs of our children. Surgeon General Carmona has said so. The President's New Freedom Commission has said so.

For the past three Congresses, my good friend from Florida Ms. Ros- Lehtinen and I have introduced legislation aimed at alleviating the shortage of child and adolescent mental health providers in this country.

While this amendment does not cover everything included in the previous three bills, it is a start.

Within the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2005, there is a section that provides student loan forgiveness for service in areas of national need. Mr. Speaker, this is an area of national need.

For many families in this Nation, as Marley can readily attest, there is no higher need than the need for urgent mental health care for our children.

Our amendment would simply add child and adolescent mental health professionals to the list of high need professionals eligible for loan forgiveness.

Millions of American families need hope. Millions of them need help. The number of suicides are twice the rate of homicides in this country; 36,000 people

take their lives every year successfully. Every day in this country, 1,385 people attempt suicide. It is the third leading cause of death for young people.

Mr. Speaker, this is a problem that needs addressing, and we need the number of providers out there to make sure it gets the attention it deserves.

This year alone, 1,400 college students will successfully take their lives. Mr. Speaker, we need to make sure that we have adequate personnel to make sure that the services are delivered, and the services will never be delivered unless there are enough people to deliver them.

That is why this legislation is in order. That is why I would ask my colleagues to support it, and I thank you for the time in consideration of this amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Reclaiming my time, I would just like to point out to the gentleman from California, there may be questions, what is this going to cost? The question is, what is it going to cost us not to do this?

Let me give you some statistics. Two-thirds of those in juvenile detention facilities are being held there simply because they cannot get a mental health appointment because there is no one to provide an assessment of them, two-thirds. Any of my colleagues that are interested, I encourage them to go out to Oak Hill here in the District of Columbia and see for yourself 11- and 12-year-olds behind bars because their parents cannot handle their mental illness. They have no other choice but to call the police and get their children held in detention because there is nothing else for them to do.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman, and I thank Marley for her courage and her witness here today.

Announcement by the Acting Chairman

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote to demonstrate this House's support for mental health services in this country.

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 61, I was in a meeting with the Minister of Northern Ireland and missed the 2 minute vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, today I rise to acknowledge Brain Awareness Week, which reminds us that neuroscience research is critical to the health of U.S. global competitiveness and much of this research is done by the National Institutes of Health.

As Members of Congress, many of us from both sides of the aisle make a commitment to doubling the NIH budget, and many of us now wonder what do we get for what we paid for.

Some are asking this and I have asked them to look at www.SFN.org, which stands for the Society of Neuroscience which has produced 24 separate brain research success stories. Behind me here you see some of the incredible technology that is giving rise to research in the brain by helping us through PET scans and FMRIs, looking into the brain as we have never been able to do before.

These discoveries have allowed us to develop treatments that reduce the severity of symptoms for those suffering from Parkinson's, those suffering from affective disorders. We have seen a whole new class of anti-depressants that produce fewer sides effects than their predecessors. We have also seen great breakthroughs in the identification of new stroke treatment and prevention methods, and we have seen the creation of ways to help prevent epileptic seizures, as well as expansion of treatments for psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia. Research brings hope and improves the lives of millions of Americans.

Madam Speaker, in this country mental illnesses comprise the second leading cause of lost work days in our country. Suicide in this country is twice the rate of homicide. We lose 34,000 people a year to suicide. The fact of the matter is we have 1,300 young people every single day who try to take their lives in this country. And yet we can reach into this brain science, find and discover ways to help reduce the severity of mental illness and address the needs that people have that cause them to suffer so greatly.

Madam Speaker, I would just point once again to the fact that we have had technology thanks to the National Institutes of Mental Health, the National Institute of Drug Addiction, the National Institute of Alcoholism that has demonstrated to us that we are going to see great promise. But we need the American people to call their Members of Congress and say to their Members of Congress, we want full funding for mental health research and neuroscience.

We have come too far to step back now. Anybody watching this program needs to call their Members of Congress, their Senator and their Representative, and say we do not want to take a step backward in brain research. We want us to go forward to help solve the many mysteries of the brain and the suffering that is going out around this country from those who are suffering from mental illness.

Madam Speaker, we also need them to ask for parity for mental health coverage, which means equal insurance coverage for mental illness as every other physical illness. You cannot look at these poster boards and not tell me that mental illness is physical illness.

It is not a sign of a character defect if they are depressed, if they are suffering from mental illness. It is a sign that they need the kind of attention to the organ, which is their brain, the organ which is their brain that too often has been associated with stigma and stereotype that has guided our policymaking too much of the time; and as a result we spend less than four of every 100 of your dollars at NIH studying brain diseases even though they comprise the second leading cause of lost days in this country.

Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing Brain Awareness Week and join me in helping to continue the research, the very promising work that is going on in our institutes of health that help us find the discoveries that we need in order to relieve the suffering of millions of Americans.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of today, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. Speaker, I am voting in favor of passing H.R. 4472, The Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2006. However, I want to make clear the serious concerns I have regarding some of the content of this legislation and the manner in which it is being considered by the House of Representatives.

I ultimately support this legislation, primarily because it incorporates the core content contained in H.R. 3132, The Children's Safety Act of 2005, which was previously passed by the House of Representatives on September 14, 2005. H.R. 3132--and by extension H.R. 4472--provides for vital improvements to strengthen the ability of our justice system to protect children from sex offenders. This legislation helps to develop a comprehensive national approach to prevent sex offenders from preying on our children, as it creates a national sex offender registry and increases penalties for sex crimes against children. Like everyone else, I have been horrified by the recent cases of abductions and murders of children by sex offenders, and am determined to do everything in my power as a public official to prevent such tragedies from ever occurring again.

I am also supportive of the main provisions of H.R. 1751, The Secure Access to Justice and Court Protection Action of 2005, which are included in H.R. 4472. These provisions would increase federal penalties for the assault, murder, or kidnapping of judges and court employees and make it a federal crime to kill or assault public safety officers or other court personnel.

However, H.R. 4472 also contains the core content of additional legislation, H.R. 1279, The Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2005, which I voted against last year on May 11, 2005. H.R. 1279--and by extension H.R. 4472--creates new federal criminal penalties and mandatory minimums for crimes committed by gang members, yet it loosely defines the definition of gang membership. Further, it redefines ``crimes of violence'' to include drug-trafficking crimes, and authorizes the Attorney General to charge a juvenile as an adult for certain crimes. I believe this aspect of the legislation has many flaws, one of which is the ability to penalize even non-violent drug dealing and some misdemeanors as ``crimes of violence.'' I am opposed to prosecuting youth as adults and imposing mandatory minimum sentences.

We already incarcerate two million people, about half for non-violent drug crimes, and I believe that we need to emphasize more prevention and early intervention programs geared towards at-risk youth. This legislation seriously errs in its lack of focus on prevention and early intervention, which time after time has proven to be the most effective way to prevent juvenile, and ultimately, adult crime.

I also think it is yet another abuse of the procedures of the House by the majority to bring up this bill on the suspension calendar. The suspension calendar, which does not permit amendments, is intended for non-controversial bills for which there is broad consensus. For the reasons described above and others, many Menibers of this body have reservations about H.R. 4472. Undoubtedly, a number of Members would have offered improving amendments if given the opportunity. Perhaps those amendments would have been rejected by a majority of the House, and would have failed. Perhaps they would have been approved unanimously. Bringing this legislation up on the suspension calendar subverts the democratic process. Particularly given that the House has already passed the entire contents of H.R. 4472, it is patently obvious that the sole purpose of bringing up H.R. 4472 without an ability to amend it is to play politics.

In conclusion, my vote in favor of passing H.R. 4472 comes despite my reservations regarding these controversial provisions, and is driven by my overriding concern for the safety of our nation's most valuable asset--our children. I continue to have major concerns about some elements of the legislation, and particularly the manner in which it has been brought up. Protecting our nation's children should be our overriding priority, and worth real debate and attention from the House.

Mr. Speaker, on February 25, 2006, the citizens of East Providence and the state of Rhode Island lost

one of the beloved leaders of all time. A father, husband, grandfather and dear friend, Norman Miranda was a lifelong resident of East Providence. He was the city's longest serving elected and appointed official; 13 years as a councilman and 18 years with the Zoning Board of Review. Thirty-one years as a public servant, Norman was always passionate about the issues facing his community.

He was the loving father of Loriann and Norman Jr. and a loving husband to Shirley for 46 years. If you were to meet the two, you could easily sense their marriage was one built on love and faith. They worked together as a team to raise a beautiful family that will now carry on his legacy.

Norman's years of dedicated service to his community, speak volumes about his compassion for those in need and his ability to connect with others. He loved Ward 2 like it was an extension of his family and those who lived there loved him back. They knew he could be trusted for he represented the things that mattered most, family and faith.

I had the honor of knowing Norman and his family. I remember when I first ran for Congress he offered me his support and that meant I could count on all of East Providence. I can still see him proudly marching along the many parade routes in the city, smiling and waving at the crowd--most he knew by name. It's an image we all can hold onto, a man who left his mark by symbolizing all that is good and decent. He will be forever missed.

Mr. Speaker, Coretta Scott King's passing is a tremendous loss for our country and for all who have worked to uphold America's promise of equal justice under the law. She led with great passion, integrity and with a spirit that should be a guiding light for all of us.

When Americans visit our Nation's Capital, they are overwhelmed with beautiful monuments honoring the great leaders of our country. From the Jefferson Memorial to the Washington Monument to the U.S. Capitol, every building and statue is in place to remind Americans of the legacy left by these leaders and their contributions to the framework of our Nation. There is no monument or building dedicated to the heroic actions that mark Mrs. King's life in the Nation's Capital, but I believe her legacy lives on in ways that cannot be adequately honored with a statue. Mrs. King's legacy is honored when African-American women join their neighbors at the local poll to vote on Election Day. And she is honored when children read for the first time a sign that says ``Whites Only,'' not in their community, but in a museum.

Mrs. King, who was faced with the tragic and early loss of her life partner, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., did not act bitterly towards the violence that interrupted her life, but continued to spread the message of peace and equality to all corners of the world. As founding President, Chair, and Chief Executive Officer of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Mrs. King spent her life furthering the Civil Rights Movement, and later, creating the largest archive of documents from this era. With this collection in place, future generations will have the ability to educate themselves beyond what is read in textbooks, and will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the sacrifices that were made to build the world we live in today.

Like all who have sacrificed for the most fundamental American value--that equality and justice are the birthright of everyone in our society--Mrs. King has left us a country that is better today than when she arrived. However, there is still much work that remains to ensure that every American has the opportunity to fulfill their potential and we must uphold her legacy by continuing her work.

I hope that all Americans will pause to remember the values for which she stood and to

consider how we can work together to make sure the promise of America is enjoyed equally by all.