Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

President Kennedy once said, To govern is to choose. And we are now about to spend $23 billion on tax credits for the energy industry. With $1.8 billion we are spending on clean coal, we could raise the maximum Pell grant benefit to $4,500, making college affordable for an additional 200,000 families. In fact, with the $11.9 billion subsidy for oil and gas companies for production, we could even double our Nation's total investment in Pell grants. For the $2.2 billion we are spending to develop hydrogen technologies, we could extend the $4,000 tuition deduction for higher education for an additional year.

I oppose this bill because it is a giveaway to the energy industry.

Mr. Speaker, due to a previously scheduled commitment, I missed rollcall votes 620 through 623 on Monday, November 17. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on each measure.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate my generous and loving mother, Marsha Emanuel, back home in Wilmette, Illinois on her 70th birthday.

For the last 40 years, my mother has dedicated her life to her profession, her husband, her children, and her community.

The former Marsha Smulevitz began her career as a nurse in Chicago where she met my father, Benjamin, during his medical residency. They soon thereafter wed and settled in Chicago's North Andersonville neighborhood where they went on to have four children: me, my brothers Ezekiel and Ariel, and my sister, Shoshana.

As if raising four children was not challenging enough, my mother continued to dedicate herself to public service and the civil rights struggle of that time, working to build a just society for all Americans. In the early 1960's, my mother served four years on the Congress of Racial Equality, founded by students at the University of Chicago, through which she participated in the Freedom March in the South.

Following her activism in the civil rights movement, my mother traveled an entrepreneurial path. She went on to own the Daisy Patch Night Club on Chicago's north side where many local bands came to play their first performances.

As her children entered their teens, my mother returned to school. Never having graduated from high school, she earned her GED. She continued her academic pursuits by studying social work at Roosevelt University and earning an advanced degree in social work from Northeastern Illinois University. For over twenty years, my mother has maintained her commitment to public service by working as a social worker and counselor to local children and adults.

Mr. Speaker, on this, her 70th birthday, I am so very proud of and sincerely thank my mother, Marsha Emanuel, for always being a guiding light to her husband, her four children, and her eleven grandchildren. Happy Birthday, Mom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize and pay tribute to America's heroic veterans. I am proud to represent over 34,000 veterans who live in the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois. As we observe Veterans Day this year, perhaps there is no greater time in American history to reflect on what it means to be a veteran.

Our country's sense of security is being defended by the soldiers fighting the global war on terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through the example of the brave men and women in uniform who fought during World War Il, the Korean War, the Vietnam War or the Gulf War, today's troops know they can and will persevere even as they face extended tours of duty and grueling and frightening conditions on a daily basis.

There is no better way to honor those who sacrificed their lives for our country than by ensuring that today's veterans are treated with dignity and respect. We must do that with more than words and symbolic gestures of patriotism. We must honor the soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen of wars past and present by ensuring that the covenant they entered when they donned the uniform and served our country is maintained. Regardless of the economic climate, this nation must keep its promises to veterans to provide the health care, education, and financial benefits our veterans have earned.

Mr. Speaker, next week when I join veterans in the 5th District at the Franklin Park U.S. Military Armed Forces Veterans Memorial, the Northcenter Flag-Raising Ceremony, and the Mayfair Community Veterans Memorial, I will thank our veterans for their service, sacrifice and commitment to duty to protect the freedom that we enjoy. I will also thank the families of those brave men and women in uniform who will become our nation's newest veterans upon their return. We will always remember their valor and service to America.

I thank our veterans one and all for their service, sacrifice, and commitment to duty, which has been to stand vigilant and strong while protecting the freedom that we enjoy. I also thank the families of those brave men and women in uniform who will become our Nation's most recent veterans upon their return. We will always remember the valor and service to America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to complement the President for traveling to southern California to comfort the families and the communities of the San Diego area.

While Americans in southern California suffer great losses and begin the struggle to rebuild, it is essential that our President which he did demonstrate the commitment of his administration and the entire Nation to helping them legal.

An article in the Chicago Tribune discusses today, families across the country are working to rebuild their lives after burying a son or daughter who died in combat. The President rightly goes to California to comfort a family that has lost a home. Why is he not coming to Illinois to comfort a family who has lost a son?

The President in San Diego lifted the spirits of an entire community as they reassembled their lives. That same compassion needs to be shared with the parents who are burying their children. They deserve to know that the growing criticism of the situation in Iraq will not keep the President from acknowledging their individual losses.

This is all the more important on today when the President signs the $87 billion to help Iraq rebuild their nation. We cannot pass by the families who have lost and have personal pain. They are all part of America's family.

Mr. Chairman, today I rise in support of H.R. 1829.

Last weekend, my good friend and distinguished colleague from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) wrote a piece which appeared in the Chicago Tribune. In the article, he argued that the supporters of this bill would have criminals just break rocks rather than have a real job through Federal Prison Industries. I support this bill, not because I want criminals to break rocks, but because it is our job to ensure that hardworking, law-abiding citizens do have jobs.

I understand that prisoners need something to do. Idle hands will lead to trouble. The recidivism rate in this country is out of control, and the best way to attack the recidivism rate is in this legislation dealing with education and vocational training.

I support educational opportunities for prisoners. If we look at the history and we look at the record, it is the lack of education, whether it is high school or college or junior college education, that is one of the things that is most dominant and common throughout the prison population. This is what we need to prepare prisoners, not have them compete against law-abiding citizens who do work.

In fact, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), my friend and colleague, said we would outlaw this act in China. We do not support what goes on in China, that is, prison population slave wages labor. Now, this

product may be the best option, but we do not know because there is no real competition. Our job is to ensure that the taxpayers' money is being spent wisely.

I support H.R. 1829 because it will ensure that the Federal Government purchases the best product at the best price and that law- abiding citizens have the opportunity to compete for manufacturing jobs.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise as a strong supporter and cosponsor of H.R. 3214 the ``Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003.'' This bill would provide prosecutors with solid DNA evidence, and a stronger defense for the accused. Ultimately, it will strengthen and renew faith in our judicial system. Allow me to offer just one example of why this bill is so important.

In 1999, Shawn Armbrust, Tom McCann and other students at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University discovered that Illinois death row inmate Anthony Porter had been falsely convicted. Also through the hard work of other Medill students, the ``Ford City Four'' were also found to be wrongfully accused. The public exposure of the discoveries led to a review of all death row cases in Illinois and ultimately 156 inmates were given a blanket commutation. These remarkable events focused the global spotlight on Illinois and caused many to question the basic tenets of the judicial system. Disturbingly, Illinois, and indeed many other States, may have wrongfully executed innocent people. The Medill students combined their investigative reporting skills with new technology to free those wrongly accused. Similarly, this bill will go a long way towards ensuring that those wrongly accused. Similarly, this bill will go a long way towards ensuring that those accused of crimes have a better defense. It will also help prosecutors ensure that justice is served.

Mr. Speaker, the students at Medill opened the door by highlighting the flaws in Illinois' system. Now it is our job to guarantee a fair and impartial judicial system. H.R. 3214, the ``Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003'' takes us one step closer to righting the system.

Mr. Speaker, people from around the world come to America for their medical care. Yet Americans are forced to go and travel around the world to get their medications. Right now the Medicare conferees are trying to devise a drug benefit for seniors and for Medicare. Just yesterday, the Newark Star-Ledger reported a $400 billion benefit would barely make a dent in the $2 trillion that seniors are expected to pay for prescription drugs over the next decade. Last week, Boston University came out with a study showing that, as constructed, the pharmaceutical companies would make $139 billion in additional profit under this prescription drug bill.

I know some very smart people wonder why the public gets cynical. Why would you be cynical about the fact that you would barely get a dent in the drug benefit for senior citizens, yet the pharmaceutical companies would walk out with $140 billion more money? I do not think the public is cynical at all. I think they are quite sophisticated. They do not think we are doing our work around here, and they have a good reason to think we are not doing our work around here. They are suffering under staggering increases in drug costs that are going up for seniors on average about 30 to 40 percent a year for the most important drugs that they need for their blood pressure, their heart, rheumatism, arthritis; yet we have a benefit that would accrue a greater benefit to the pharmaceutical companies than to the seniors.

Some are now talking about capping, cutting the cost of Medicare growth, but refuse to take on the subject of making medications more affordable. Anybody who has been around there knows that the number one issue affecting our seniors is the affordability of prescription drugs. We are talking about cutting Medicare, we are talking about increasing the profits of pharmaceutical companies, we are talking about barely making a dent in the cost to seniors; yet we will not address the issue on the table that seniors are asking us to address, which is the issue of affordability where they one month to the next month see their drug prices go up 18, $19 for the same medication, and nothing different has happened.

Pharmaceutical companies do a good thing. They come up with lifesaving drugs. I took some of those medications when I was in the hospital for 8 weeks. They do good work. They get rewarded handsomely. They get a tax credit on the front end for research and development. They have control over the patent laws affecting the pharmaceutical products. They have the taxpayers' funding, the National Institutes of Health, $10 billion a year on drugs and medications. I think the taxpayers have been unbelievably generous to a good industry, and I want them to develop new medications; but I want it at competitive prices. If we are about to expand Medicare to the tune of $400 billion, we owe the taxpayers the decency and the common courtesy to get them the best prices we can. Not the most expensive prices, the best prices.

We have a proposal, 88 Republicans, 153 Democrats joined in a bipartisan fashion. Governors of both parties, mayors of both parties are looking at it, which is to open up the market, bring competition to the pricing of medications and bring that choice and availability to consumers. People today, 2 million Americans are going over the border, grandparents and grandfathers, to get the medications they need that are lifesaving medications. The system we have here where Americans now subsidize all the research and development of these lifesaving medications, we have the distinct honor to do what? To pay the most expensive prices in the world. As my great aunt used to say, Such a deal.

We ask our elderly to pay premium prices when the poor starving French and Germans and Italians and Canadians and Dutch and British are paying 30 to 40 to 50 percent cheaper for cancer drugs, blood thinning drugs, heart drugs, rheumatism, arthritis, diabetic drugs. We funded the research to give them these lifesaving medications, and their government stood up for them and got them decent prices.

What are we asking for? We are asking that our American consumers get the same competitive prices so you do not see the disparity when it comes to a pharmaceutical product for blood pressure. Americans are paying 50 percent more than the people in France or in Germany. And it is based on the free market. I have never seen so many protectionists on the Republican side in my life who refuse to accept the notion of the free market and the principle of the free market.

In Illinois, my Governor did a study showing that of the $340 million we spend in the State of Illinois for pharmaceutical products for employees and retirees, the State of Illinois could save the consumers and the taxpayers $91 million. The New York Times noted of the study, not only could you save

$91 million, they noted that the Canadian system is far safer than the system we have here to guarantee the safety of the products sold. The issue is safety. When somebody tells you that it is about safety, it is not about money, folks, when they tell you it ain't about money, it is usually about money. That is the case. That is what we are dealing with. We are dealing with a product about money.

The other day Eli Lilly, now that we have demystified the notion about safety, Eli Lilly's CEO said that the whole issue related to here is about having the research and development dollars. The taxpayers have been funding the research and development for the last 20 years. They have been quite generous.

I would ask my colleagues and those who are meeting now in the conference to give the taxpayers and our grandparents a break, give them the medications they can afford rather than going into hock to try to do it and become drug runners and coyotes going over the border to get the medications they need to save their lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce with Congressman Christopher Shays and 27 cosponsors the Juvenile Violent Gun Crime Reporting Act. This bipartisan bill would close a loophole in current law and help keep guns out of the hands of individuals with a history of violent crime.

Every year more than 10,000 people are murdered with guns in the United States. In 2001, guns were involved in one third of all violent crimes. Firearms have a particularly damaging effect on America's youth. Of the 1,400 juveniles murdered in 2001, 44 percent were killed with a firearm. During the 1999-2000 school years, 2,837 students were caught bringing a gun to school. In my home state of Illinois, 164 students were expelled for bringing a gun to school between 1999 and 2001. A regrettable but plain fact is that minors are not only the victims of gun crime but the perpetrators as well. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 93,000 gun crimes or 9 percent of the total gun crimes were committed by individuals under the age of 18 between 2000 and 2002.

In an effort to combat America's high rate of gun violence, Congress enacted the Brady Bill in 1994. I was proud to work on passing this landmark bill when I served in the White House. A portion of the Brady law requires any individual wishing to purchase a firearm to undergo a background search. This system, known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), prohibits any individual with a violent criminal history from purchasing a weapon. Through 2001, 38 million background checks were conducted and 840,000 purchases were denied. However, a loophole in the Brady Bill allows violent juvenile criminals to purchase firearms. The Juvenile Violent Gun Crime Reporting Act (JVGCRA) would close this loophole once and for all.

Under current law, nearly all juvenile records are expunged once an individual reaches the age of 18. Because the expunged records are not included in the NICS background check, someone who committed a violent crime before the age of 18 can legally purchase a weapon on his or her 18th birthday. In response to this glaring loophole, my legislation amends federal law and requires states to report violent juvenile crime so that it may be utilized by NICS. Further, the bill makes it illegal for anyone to transfer a weapon to someone who has a history of violent juvenile crime.

Mr. Speaker, the Juvenile Violent Gun Crime Reporting Act is a simple and straightforward bill and could go a long way toward making our streets, schools, and cities much safer for our children and our families. It is a good bill and we hope that my colleagues will join us.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 291, expressing gratitude to the members of the United States Armed Forces who demonstrated valor and dedication to the cause of freedom and humanitarian relief during Operation Restore Hope.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the battle of Mogadishu, and I am very pleased to join with my colleagues in recognizing the courageous actions of the Army's Special Forces, the soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division, and members of the Armed Forces who were deployed to capture the terrorist warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid. Today we remember and honor the sixteen special operations personnel assigned to Task Force Ranger who were killed, and the sacrifices of another eighty-three troops who were wounded during one of the most intense firefighters in modern history.

We cannot forget the sacrifices of these soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. Their service should be recognized as a significant contribution to the war against terrorism and oppression. This resolution is important not only because it commemorates their enduring contributions on behalf of the people of Somalia, but also because of its symbolism that continues today in the fight against oppression and terror on the streets of Baghdad, Kabul and other hostile areas where we try to make people's lives better.

Madam Speaker, my thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who lost a loved one or were wounded in the battle of Mogadishu. I urge my colleagues to join me in expressing our appreciation to all those who volunteer to defend our Nation's freedom and to remember the sacrifices of all those who served.

Madam Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor and in strong support of H. Res. 409, a resolution to repudiate the Malaysian Prime Minister for racist comments harmful not only to the global Jewish community but to the advancement of peace in the Middle East and global tolerance of racial and ethnic diversity.

The speech by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to a gathering of Muslim leaders earlier this month has been described by other world leaders of democratic and free nations--including President Bush during his recent trip to Asia--as offensive and anti-Semitic. Rhetoric of this nature, which embodies age-old stereotypes, can be neither excused nor rationalized. It only serves to incite further sectarian violence and should be condemned universally.

Even more disturbing is that none of 57 national representatives attending the Organization of the Islamic Conference, including some U.S. allies, have raised their voices in protest. In fact, many demonstrated complicity in spreading this message of hate and incitement against Jews by applauding the Prime Minister's remarks. The standing ovation he received and the subsequent defense of his remarks by almost all the participants at this meeting of Muslim leaders reminds us that anti-Semitic beliefs remain prevalent throughout the world, even in moderate states like Malaysia.

I was proud to be one of 80 Members of the House who signed a letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia condemning his remarks and calling upon him to clarify or retract his statements. I also commend the Senate for passing a resolution condemning the statement and requesting that President Bush condemn the remarks during his meeting with the Malaysian Prime Minister in Bangkok during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

Mr. Speaker, we must always take a stand against hatred and bigotry by world leaders whose rhetoric threatens to make peace in the Middle East and around the world more elusive. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this important resolution and urge my colleagues to support it today.

Mr. Speaker, in the last 3 years, 3 million Americans have lost their jobs; 42 million Americans are without health insurance of which 22 million Americans work full time; a trillion dollars worth of corporate assets have been foreclosed on; and 3 million more Americans have walked out of the middle class to poverty.

In that same period of time, we have added $3 trillion to the Nation's debt.

Mr. Speaker, $3 trillion added to the Nation's debt; 3 million Americans have lost their jobs. As my great aunt would say, ``Such a deal.''

We need to do better for the American people. Just last week we passed an economic program for Iraq's future. I voted for it. It included investments in jobs, health care, education, housing, and infrastructure. The promise we make to Iraq and the values we hold for Iraq must be the promise we hold for the American people. We must now invest in our economic growth so we can stimulate our job market with the same kind of attitude and investment that we have had in the stock market. We have a health care crisis and a job crisis in this country. We must invest in America's economic future with the same commitment we have done for Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 356, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that millions of Ukrainians, who were deliberately and systematically starved in the early 1930's, should be remembered and honored today. To properly commemorate Ukrainians who starved at the hand of Joseph Stalin, we must first acknowledge that this genocide was not only ignored but was also concealed and perpetuated under Stalin's regime.

In its darkest hour, Ukraine was viewed by Stalin as a source of dissent against the Soviet Union. Its rich tradition of open political discourse and cultural splendor were threats to his tyrannical and oppressive regime. To preempt Ukrainian opposition, Stalin wielded a heavy hand in enforcing an ironclad policy of collectivization, in which peasant farmers were forced to turn over the grain they produced. Any man, woman or child caught with even a handful of grain from a collectivized farm

would be swiftly executed or deported. Stalin's policy resulted in the one of the worst episodes of genocide in the history of the world as an estimated 7 to 10 millions Ukrainians perished in the course of just a single year.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 4,300 constituents of Ukrainian descent, I offer my solemn remembrance to the victims and people of Ukraine. In tribute to the millions who witnessed their family members perish before succumbing to their own starvation, we must always remember and honor the victims of genocide so that mankind never again turns an unseeing eye or an unfeeling heart. I join my colleagues in Congress in remembering this tragic chapter of human history.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 400 to honor the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II.

Karol Jozef Wojtyla, known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the papacy, is one of the most famous and beloved people on Earth. Inspiring hundreds of millions of people including those beyond the Catholic faith to strive for world peace and prosperity, John Paul II has counseled religious and world leaders during 38 official visits and 700 audiences held with Heads of State.

The hallmark of John Paul II's leadership has been his message of hope, reconciliation and redemption. His indelible mark on the world is an unshakable faith in human goodness and benevolence, and the advancement of peace, forgiveness and human rights for people of all faiths.

In his book ``Crossing the Threshold of Hope,'' John Paul II wrote that ``Man affirms himself most completely by giving of himself. This is the fulfillment of the commandment of love.'' His constant and selfless commitment to peace and dedication to all mankind during his extraordinary 25 year papacy is why we should honor him as a living example of ``the commandment of love.''

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my constituents, including 112,000 Polish Americans and 131,000 Catholics in the Fifth Congressional District of Illinois, I join my colleagues in paying tribute to Pope John Paul II.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the members of the other Chamber for introducing bipartisan legislation to shut down abusive accounting tax shelters costing U.S. taxpayers over $18 billion every year and leaving middle-class Americans to pick up the tab.

Fairness and economic growth should be synonymous with the tax code. That is why I will introduce companion legislation to eliminate the way firms market tax shelters to their audit clients. This bill will eliminate tax shelters created by the accounting firms selling ``tax advice'' directly to publicly-traded companies whose books they regularly audit. As today's hearing on tax shelters in the other body will show, this process makes a mockery of auditor independence and creates irreconcilable conflicts of interest for auditors.

Mr. Speaker, the economic principle of transparency and the American value of accountability are essential to economic growth. These abusive accounting schemes do neither, burdening the middle class and slowing down our economic recovery. I am proud to support this real reform to get real results.