Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, this legislation, ``The Smallpox Emergency Personnel Protection Act,'' is another positive step towards preparing our citizens for a bioterrorist attack.

For more than 2 years, I have been working on legislation to strengthen and build our nation's public health system. The first bill was signed into law in 2000 and established grant programs to address core public health capacity needs. The second bill was last year's bioterrorism legislation. In part, that legislation built on the grant structure created in 2000 and sent a significant amount of money to our public health infrastructure. That money is currently funding basic needs such as computers and Internet access for public health departments and more specific needs such as decontamination chambers. Needs that are essential for providing public health care services and critical for bioterrorism preparedness.

On January 24 of this year, Secretary Tommy Thompson asked hospital workers, police officers, firefighters, and other public officials, to volunteer to receive the smallpox vaccination. Understandably, the reception was lukewarm. Nurses and physicians were concerned about the side effects of the vaccine and wanted to be compensated for any medical care or lost employment they incurred as a result of their vaccination. Hospitals were worried about liability. And public health departments were worried about the cost.

In response, we have H.R. 1413. This legislation addresses the concerns of all of those individuals. We will now compensate vaccinated individuals for lost wages and medical expenses. Additionally, if they suffer a permanent disability, or, in the very unfortunate and unlikely case, death, we will give them the same amount of money that police officers and firefighters receive if killed in the line of duty. The legislation clarifies that if a vaccinated individual infects other individuals--they too are eligible for those benefits. Finally, the legislation amends the Homeland Security Act to ensure that hospitals, pharmacists, public health departments and any other involved individuals will not be liable for properly vaccinating people who then suffer adverse reactions.

One very important point about this legislation is that it continues to give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, State and local health departments, and hospitals the flexibility they need to correctly vaccinate thousands of people. In light of the unfortunate situation in Maryland, concerns have been raised about vaccinating individuals with heart conditions. The CDC Director promptly responded by recommending that those individuals be screened out of the vaccination pool. We all want this program to be successful, and success depends on flexibility and Federal Government support when individuals suffer adverse reactions.

Let me end by saying that I am extremely proud of North Carolina and its response to Secretary Thompson's request. Thus far 26 hospitals have vaccination plans, 875 individuals have been vaccinated, and many more have volunteered. I believe that this legislation will reassure all of the current and future vaccination recipients in North Carolina and around this country that the Federal Government wants this program to work and backs up our request through compensation benefits.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure that I rise today in recognition of our guest chaplain, the Reverend Ed Sears of Winston- Salem, North Carolina. He is a blessing to our community, and it is an honor to have him in Washington and in this House today.

Reverend Sears is the senior pastor at Grace Baptist Temple in Winston-Salem. He has been faithfully serving this congregation of over 1,000 members for the past 22 years. His faithfulness to the ministry and gift of leadership extends into his work as a teacher at the Piedmont Baptist College and Calvary Baptist College. His service on various leadership boards, such as the General Council of Baptist Mid- Missions and his chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Baptist World Missionary Outreach Ministries, is only a partial list of his extensive community service.

Reverend Sears has been happily married for 36 years. He is joined today by his wife, Linda, and also by their daughter, Heather.

I want to thank Reverend Sears for his commitment to his ministry and to our community and take this opportunity to welcome him to the United States Capitol.

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to have Reverend Sears open the House of Representatives with prayer this morning.

Mr. Speaker, the Constitution of the United States gives the other body the responsibility for confirming, in a fair and just manner, judicial nominees chosen by the President. Unfortunately in the current political climate, qualified nominees are being held captive, causing a vacancy crisis in the federal judiciary.

Injecting ideology into the confirmation process is misguided at best and downright irresponsible at worst. The American people expect better out of their elected officials. There is a drastic shortage of judges in the federal court system, Mr. Speaker. With every passing day that these nominations are allowed to stagnate in the other body, the crisis worsens. These vacancies are denying swift and balanced justice for the American people.

This problem must be addressed in a non-partisan way by placing well- qualified and experienced judges on the bench in an expedient manner. The President has thus far fulfilled his duty by nominating well- qualified men and women to the federal bench. It is long past time for my colleagues in the other body to act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a ban on the partial-birth abortion procedure. I firmly believe in the sanctity of human life, and am pleased that my colleagues in the other body have taken this necessary step to protect an unborn child's right to life.

I am pleased to be a supporter and cosponsor of the House version of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, H.R. 760. I urge my colleagues to consider the lives of thousands of unborn children each year that are terminated by this callous procedure, children who would be spared by the swift passage of this measure. Beyond H.R. 760, I urge my colleagues to support legislation that further protects the rights of unborn children.

I am encouraged that there is great momentum in banning partial-birth abortions, and I am hopeful that the House of Representatives will be able to quickly pass this bill. With passage of legislation outlawing this barbaric practice, we will be taking a significant step in protecting innocent children.

Mr. Speaker, for the past 64 years the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program has empowered Americans who are blind or severely disabled by providing them with a diverse set of employment opportunities. Today, 38,000 disabled Americans are realizing their potential by working in their local communities under this program. These Americans are proud to provide the Federal Government and the U.S. Military with a wide array of SKILCRAFT brand and other program products and services. The Program prides itself on delivering high-quality products and services at competitive prices in the most convenient way possible.

The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program includes, among other things, the following product categories: office supply, military-specific, safety, maintenance, repair, medical-surgical, janitorial-sanitation, and customization. The services that are provided to federal and military customers include, but are not limited to, call center and switchboard operation, military base and federal office building supply centers, CD-ROM duplication-replication, data entry, document imaging and grounds care.

I rise today in support of the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program and the opportunities it provides for an underemployed population of hard- working Americans. Sales of these products and services are enabling more disabled Americans to have the opportunity to become full members of society, including paying into the tax base rather than taking from it. Today in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 127 blind Americans are employed under the Program, and are producing quality items and services for federal customers.

The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program is administered by the Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (appointed by the President), with much assistance from National Industries for the Blind, NIB, and NISH, which serves people with a wide range of disabilities. More than 650 local nonprofit agencies associated with NIB and NISH employ people who are blind or disabled to produce the products and offer the services authorized for sale to the federal government under the Program.

The Javits-Wagner-O'Day Program is a great illustration of a successful partnership, a partnership that has the ability to grow with the changing procurement environment within the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, in the past year Americans have become acutely aware of the horrible crime of juvenile abduction. We have also become aware that time is a crucial factor when attempting to recover an abducted child. The Amber Alert system, which uses the media to inform the public when a child has been taken, has been an effective tool aiding in their rescue.

The State of North Carolina is in a very tight budget year, and could not fully fund the North Carolina Child Alert Notification, or NC CAN. When the budget was passed, NC CAN funding came up $150,000 short. The program could not expand from the current 15 counties to all 100 counties in North Carolina without the additional funds.

When good people see a problem, Mr. Speaker, they step in to help. That is exactly what the Tabor family of Kernersville did for their fellow Tar Heels. Physicians Pharmaceuticals, their family business, offered to fill the gap in NC CAN's budget by donating the $150,000 that the program needed. Physicians Pharmaceuticals makes Revival soy protein products, and it was a natural outgrowth of the company's Christian philosophy that led them to help the children of North Carolina.

I commend Physicians Pharmaceuticals for making this donation. It is very possible that children's lives may be saved due to the company's sacrifice. In a time of great discord in the world, this selfless act is an example of what good works are done in God's name by the faithful. Now all North Carolinians can feel better about the safety of their children because of Physicians Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today a proud North Carolinian, to pay tribute to Harlan E. Boyles, long-time State Treasurer of North Carolina and beacon of fiscal integrity.

Born May 6, 1929, in Lincoln County, North Carolina to a farming family, Boyles learned from the Great Depression the importance of financial responsibility and the value of a dollar. Along with economic hardships, he also fought and finally overcame polio that plagued him from the age of fifteen. His perseverance was unshakable. He went on to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1951 with a degree in accounting. Wasting no time he made his way to the Department of Revenue and, as a junior level auditor, began his lifelong career in public service.

Harlan served North Carolina for sixteen years as the Deputy State Treasurer under his mentor, Edwin Gill. Gill assigned Boyles the challenge of upgrading the State's bond rating, a daunting task with the economy stuck in a post-Depression state. He succeeded: in 1960 his work propelled North Carolina to a triple-A credit rating.

Mr. Boyles succeeded Gill as Treasurer in 1977 and served honorably until his retirement in 2001. In the forty years that he served as Deputy and State Treasurer, he maintained the Triple-A credit rating, resulting in millions of dollars in savings for North Carolinians, one of the Treasurer's proudest accomplishments.

He was a respected man, sought for his soft-spoken knowledge and economic genius. His approval was considered vital to pass bond-related issues that came before the Legislature. He began warning in the 1980's that North Carolina had a fiscal disaster looming on the horizon. He used the past as guide and his uncommon intuition to foreshadow the economic future of the State. Boyles argued that the government was growing faster than the State could afford, maintaining that North Carolina needed ``better government, not bigger government.''

Boyles was an expert at making an organization perform at its peak, in part because he was constantly seeking new ideas. The level of efficiency that he maintained at the Department of Revenue was ahead of its time with the cutting-edge technology that he instituted. Computers were used everywhere possible to increase productivity. He did the job with one of the smallest staffs in North Carolina government.

Arguably one of the most effective State Treasurers in American history, Harlan made profound strides in his efforts to prepare the State for the twenty-first century. During his tenure, the value of State employee pension funds rose from $7 billion to $67 billion and the total North Carolina workforce increased from 158,000 to 218,000. Without his leadership as Treasurer the security of our State employee retirement fund would not be the guarantee that it is today for so many Tar Heels. The measures that he took to ensure the economic security of the State have yet to be surpassed.

Harlan's passing is not only a loss to North Carolina, but is indeed a loss to America. His legacy of service stands to direct the next generation as they embark on their journey into the new century. North Carolinians mourn his loss, and we keep in our prayers his loving wife Frankie and his children, Lynn, Phyllis and Edward. The history of North Carolina is marked by the work of great men and their ideas; Harlan Boyles is such a man and his legacy will live on to guide the future of sound economics and responsible leadership.