Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, education--and higher education in particular--is more important than ever to solving the most pressing problems of our communities and the country.

Let me give you some sobering statistics:

According to Nellie Mae, the average undergraduate student loan debt has increased the last 5 years from $11,400 to $18,900.

Today, 70 percent of federal student aid is made in loans; Grants account for only 22 percent of aid. Thirty years ago, student loans accounted for about 25 percent and grants about 70 percent of all federal student aid.

Seventy-five percent of full-time students now work to help cover their college expenses. Twenty percent of working students work 35 or more hours a week while enrolled in school full-time.

In 1975-76 the maximum Pell Grant award covered eighty-four percent of an average tuition at a state school; today it covers forty percent.

The generation often referred to as the ``baby boom echo'' will soon enter American institutions of higher education, resulting in record enrollments that will further strain the ability of colleges and universities to deliver a quality education to their students.

That is why I am introducing the Higher Education Affordability and Fairness Act.

It would make college tuition deductible, in conjunction with existing tax benefits for higher education. The proposal would further allow a family to deduct up to $10,000 in tuition expenses. A family would be capped at deducting a total of $15,000 in tuition expenses in one year if they have more than one child in college. In addition, if a family was ineligible for the Hope Scholarship (due to its income limitations), they would be able to deduct $5,000 of tuition costs.

The bill would raise the income limits for eligibility for Hope Scholarships. Currently, the income phase-out on the HOPE tax credit is $40,000 to $50,000 for singles and $80,000 to $100,000 for couples. The proposal would raise the phase-out ranges to $50,000 to $60,000 for singles and $100,000 to $120,000 for couples, allowing more families to benefit.

In order to ensure that savings go to the intended beneficiaries, the bill directs the Inspector General of the Department of Education to conduct an annual study to examine whether the federal income tax incentives to provide education assistance affect higher education tuition rates.

Access to an affordable, quality education is inseparable from our economic prosperity, national security, and civic health. We must do everything possible to support this and that is why I have introduced the Higher Education Affordability and Fairness Act.

Mr. Speaker, I am saddened by the sudden loss of Robert Matsui, and I would like to join my colleagues in honoring him today. Bob was one of the finest members to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. His strength of character, wisdom, civility, and attention to detail were inspiring to many of us serving with him. His thoughtful and helpful nature has been remembered by many today, but I will always be grateful for his desire to seek out and befriend younger and less senior Members of Congress like me. I join my colleagues in mourning the loss of a friend, a mentor, and a great leader in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce letters of endorsement for the Center for Scientific and Technical Assessment Act of 2005 (H.R. 4670). I have introduced the enabling bipartisan legislation with Mr. Houghton, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Honda, Mr. Gordon, Mr. McDermott, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Oliver, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Castle, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Frost, Mr. Berman, Mr. Ruppersberger, and Mr. Ehlers.

The Center for Scientific and Technical Assessment would be a bicameral and bipartisan resource providing Congress with highly respected, impartial analysis and assessment of scientific and technical issues and would enable Congress better to oversee the Federal science and technology programs, which receives over $130 billion, annually. Finally, the Center also would help the Congress to better understand complex technical issues by providing timely information to members of Congress and our Committees before we have to make difficult voting decisions and funding tradeoffs. There is growing support for H.R. 4670 among our Nation's best science and technology professionals. I submit the following letter of endorsement by several professional societies for H.R. 4670:

October 7, 2004.

Hon. Rush Holt,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon. Amo Houghton,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representatives Holt and Houghton: The following

engineering professional organizations are writing to express

our support for your bipartisan bill, H.R. 4670, to establish

a Center for Scientific and Technical Assessment (CSTA).

America's national security and economic well-being demand

that the United States remain the world's leaders in advanced

technology in the 21st century. However, technological

development is advancing with unprecedented speed and

complexity in a truly global environment and other countries,

for the first time in U.S. history, are now threatening

America's scientific and technological preeminence.

Members of Congress, now more than ever, need to have

access to objective, timely, and sound science,

engineering and technology-related assessment pertinent to

legislation and the complex policy issues before them.

The sheer volume and complexity of the technological data

facing federal legislators necessitate some mechanism for

balanced, non-partisan and technologically-informed analysis

provided in a judicious manner. A Center for Scientific and

Technical Assessment as envisioned in H.R. 4670 would satisfy

these criteria by operating under the highly respected

Government Accountability Office (GAO), being overseen by a

bipartisan, bicameral Technical Assessment Board (TAB)

consisting of Members of Congress and the Comptroller General

of the GAO, to provide nonpartisan peer reviews of all CSTA

reports.

We are encouraged that this bill takes into consideration

the GAO's successful technical assessment pilot program as

well as the GAO study ``Technology Assessment: Providing

Independent Assessments of Technologies,'' for guidance when

crafting this legislation. We feel that H.R. 4670, if passed,

would provide a valuable service to members of the House and

Senate in making informed decisions on the complex

technological issues of the times.

We look forward to working with you and your staff in

advancing this important legislation.

Respectfully Submitted,

American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES).

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-

Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Federation of Materials Societies (FMS).

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers--

United States of America (IEEE-USA).

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE).

Optical Society of America.

Mr. Speaker, Frank von Hippel, a physicist and professor of public and international affairs at Princeton University, has had, and continues to have, a far-reaching influence on arms control and nuclear policy. He is without question one of the world's leading experts on nuclear arms control and non-proliferation.

Frank's many contributions include path breaking work on nuclear reactor safety, energy efficiency in automobiles, support of whistle- blowers, training of a large group of young policy scientists, and his current work on the safety of stored spent power-reactor fuel. He is the founder of the journal Science and Global Security, the leading peer-reviewed journal on technical issues of arms control and international security. He is a model to many people about how a scientist should contribute to the policy process.

On the occasion of the award of the George F. Kennan Peace Leadership Award, I would like to highlight Frank von Hippel's work with Soviet scientists that prepared the way for deep cuts in nuclear arsenals. This is only one aspect of Frank's many contributions.

During the 1980s Frank developed a working relationship with Soviet physicist Evgeny Velikhov. At the time, Velikhov was the deputy director of the I. V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy in Moscow, and he became the science advisor to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Through this relationship, Frank was able to launch a series of cooperative efforts between U.S. non-governmental organizations and the Soviet Academy of Sciences. These included the installation of devices to detect underground nuclear weapons tests, an arms control experiment to verify the presence of a nuclear weapon on Soviet warship, inspections of Soviet nuclear facilities, programs to safeguard and reduce Soviet stockpiles of nuclear weapons materials, programs to reduce the nuclear proliferation risk from former Soviet nuclear materials stockpiles and from former weapons scientists, and a joint U.S.-Soviet project to assess the potential for deep cuts in nuclear weapons arsenals. These activities provided a basis for U.S. and Soviet reductions in their nuclear arsenals.

Frank always knows his subject; his work is well reasoned and backed up with careful analysis. But his achievements show that he is much more than a technical expert. Frank is a great person to work with; everyone likes him. His generosity and, especially, his even temper, that have helped him forge international cooperation among scientists and governments. Frank is the first person I call when I have questions on nuclear weapons and arms control or any number of other subjects. He richly deserves this great honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctant support of the conference report on H.R. 4818, the FY 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill. Though there are many important and laudable provisions contained in this spending bill, I am troubled by other specific provisions and by the process that this bill has followed.

I am pleased that the bill provides an increase in funding for national security and counterintelligence operations at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Unfortunately, this Congress has failed in its effort to pass comprehensive intelligence reform legislation, which would ensure that this money is being spent appropriately and that the efforts of our agencies are coordinated.

I am pleased to see that this conference report provides $1.3 billion for Education Impact Aid, $24 million more than last year. This program provides funding for military impacted schools such as those in the towns of Eatontown and Tinton Falls. I am also pleased that the bill includes $250 million for the community college initiative, which will fund workforce development partnerships between community colleges and employers.

Despite these provisions, we have more work to do to fully fund what should be a top priority for this Congress--education. One day after we passed the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, we underfunded aid to schools by $1.7 billion. Considering the rising cost of higher education, I am disappointed that the bill does not increase the maximum Pell Grant Award. We cannot keep the maximum Pell grant award at $4,050 and expect families to be able to afford college.

I am deeply troubled that this bill includes such a restrictive limitation on funding for a woman's constitutionally protected right of choice. Specifically, this bill prohibits use of funds to pay for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. It also protects health care providers who refuse to provide this needed service. Such measures are designed to limit women's rights, and have no business in this bill.

I am disappointed that the Community Oriented Policing Service, COPS, program has been cut by $142 million. Many of the towns in my district have received funding for police officers through this program, which has made our communities safer. It simply makes no sense to be taking cops off the street at a time when they are more needed than ever.

I am also troubled that this spending bill cuts the budget for the National Science Foundation, NSF, by $62 million from last year's inadequate appropriation. The work of the NSF provides the basic scientific underpinnings for the most advanced technological research and development in the world. We cannot hope to remain the world's most scientifically advanced nation if we continue to shortchange our researchers.

I am disturbed by the economic situation in which we find ourselves. Congress was forced to increase its debt limit by $800 billion--and that is on top of debt increases of $450 billion in 2002 and another $984 billion in 2003. The increase in the debt ceiling in just the past 3 years is almost 2.5 times the entire Federal debt accumulated between 1776 and 1980.

We are in this situation because of the choices of the President and the Republican majority. They chose to prioritize tax cuts for the wealthy, rather than adequately maintaining balanced budgets and protecting the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds. They chose to engage in a costly, dangerous, and unnecessary war in Iraq, which has sapped our ability to combat al Qaeda and fund important domestic priorities. They chose to bundle funds for 13 Government departments rather than engaging in a robust debate justifying the policies and priorities that we are asking the American people to pay for.

Perhaps most disturbing about this appropriations bill is the process that it has followed. The infamous provision allowing unprecedented authority for Members of Congress and staff to access the private tax returns of individuals and businesses demonstrates that our budget process is broken. This provision was slipped into a 3,000 page bill which Members had no time to read before voting. The process has become corrupted by the Republican majority, which has evidently decided that enacting pet projects and controversial items that cannot pass on their own merit, are more important than debate, compromise, and good governance.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill because it will allow the important work of the Federal Government to continue. However, I hope that next year's appropriations process reflects a greater commitment to funding important priorities and following a fair and thorough legislative process.

Mr. Speaker, it was religious freedom that brought the Pilgrims to America's shores. In our beloved Constitution and Bill of Rights, we affirm our steadfast commitment to freedom of expression and freedom of the press as pillars of our democracy. Consequently, it pains and embarrasses me, as an American that the executive branch of our government continues to betray our democratic values and preclude Ms. Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and other distinguished Muslims from publishing their views for all Americans to read.

Ms. Shirin Ebadi is the first Iranian and the first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She is a distinguished lawyer, scholar, and teacher. President Bush has praised her tireless work as a champion of democracy and human rights. She represents Reformed Islam, and argues for an interpretation of Islamic law which promotes international respect for universal human rights. She is devoted to religious freedom, even to the extent of risking her own life, for example, to defend the rights of other faiths inside Iran. In short, she personifies precisely the type of Islamic voice of faith and scholarship with whom our nation should be in dialogue.

Why then is our government, through self-defeating U.S. Treasury Department Regulations, imposing a gag order on Ms. Ebadi? Why are Americans who attempt to help Ms. Ebadi publish her writings now being threatened with severe fines and lengthy prison sentences?

The current over-reaching Treasury Department regulations are demonstrably short-sighted, counterproductive, and unrepresentative of American ideals. That is why I have written to President Bush urging him to reverse to reverse this policy and demonstrate anew America's commitment to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the free flow of ideas. I ask unanimous consent that my self-explanatory letter be reprinted in its entirety at the conclusion of my statement. The intent of the regulations, I presume, is to prevent giving beneficial trade revenue to governments that support terrorism, but preventing the publication of ideas is a clumsy, foolish way to try to protect Americans.

Ms. Ebadi's views are the antithesis of those of Osama bin Laden. She is in the same tradition as Solzhenitzen, Sakharov, Sharansky, Walesa, and Havel--all of whom risked their lives to condemn Soviet repression, thus helping give hope to their oppressed countrymen and women and end the Cold War. America should extend Ms. Ebadi and others like her the same support. That would be in keeping with the democratic values and ideals of the American people that have been championed by Democratic and Republican Presidents alike since from the founding of our republic until recent years.

Instead, unbeknownst to many Americans, the Bush Administration continues to enforce unreasonable regulations that silence Ms. Ebadi's voice in America just as effectively as if the Iranian mullahs imprisoned and silenced her, as they have on numerous occasions in the past.

Congress of the United States,

November 24, 2004.

Hon. George W. Bush,

President of the United States, The White House, Washington,

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference report on the National Security Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. I must admit that when I arrived this morning, I was dubious that this measure would actually make it to the floor. That it did is due to the incredibly hard work of the conferees and the staff from both the House and the Senate, as well as the tireless advocacy efforts of the families of 9/11, and I thank each one of them for their service to America.

There are many laudable provisions in this bill, Mr. Speaker, including most of the principal recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. I'm very pleased that the conferees were apparently able to agree that the proposed Director of National Intelligence will have meaningful budget and personnel authorities to help reshape our intelligence community to meet existing and emerging threats. I'm also pleased that another key 9/11 Commission recommendation, the creation of a National Counter Terrorism Center, will also come pass.

Also of note in this bill is its requirement that our intelligence, law enforcement, and homeland security agencies achieve a greater level of information sharing, and that this process will include Federal, State, local and tribal entities, as well as the private sector. If there is

one lesson that both the attack on Pearl Harbor and the attacks on America on 9/11 should have driven home is that information sharing among the elements of our government is paramount if we are to prevent surprise attacks. I hope these new provisions will be effective in breaking down the barriers to information sharing that figured so prominently in both of these national tragedies.

I'm also gratified that this bill includes a Privacy and Civil Liberties Board to help safeguard the freedoms that make our nation the greatest on earth. This Board will conduct oversight of executive branch policies to ensure that the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens are protected, and I hope that it will serve as an effective watchdog in that role.

Make no mistake about it: The next Mohammad Atta will not present himself for biometric or other screening at an existing border crossing point. Future al Qaeda operatives will almost certainly attempt to slip across the border at a weak or undefended point, carrying with them the false identity documents necessary to blend in and execute another attack against our citizens. We must do whatever is necessary to guard our borders, and I want to thank my colleague, the ranking member of the Homeland Security Committee, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Turner, for all of his hard work in this area, and to wish him well in his future endeavors.

There are some things in this bill that trouble me, Mr. Speaker. I'm concerned about the sweeping FISA authorities that are added in this bill, particularly those aimed at alleged ``lone wolf'' terrorists and the apparently sweeping definition of what ``providing material support'' to terrorists that is permitted in this bill. I realize that each of these clauses has sunset provisions, but as we've seen with the Patriot Act, such sweeping authorities can be used against innocent citizens. I will monitor the implementation of these provisions very closely, as I hope all of my colleagues will, and if evidence of abuse surfaces, I hope they will join me in modifying these provisions as necessary.

Mr. Speaker, one key 9/11 Commission recommendation that did not make its way into this bill is the need to reform congressional oversight of the intelligence community. The bill before us also includes new provisions for expanded ``red teaming'' within the intelligence community, and I hope that this provision will sharpen analytical products coming out of the intelligence community. But we need to face facts, Mr. Speaker: Our own house is not in order when it comes to conducting effective oversight of the intelligence community. I intend to revisit this issue in the coming Congress, and I hope my colleagues will join me in that effort.

Despite the concerns I've raised above, Mr. Speaker, this is a good compromise that will help to protect our country in the years ahead. I'm also confident that this compromise addresses the concerns that some in this body and elsewhere have raised that this reorganization of the intelligence community would somehow endanger our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan by constraining their access to real-time intelligence. This bill was held up for weeks by Members who claimed it would deny good intelligence to our soldiers in the field. Clearly, this compromise bill does not do that, and if anything, the provisions contained in this bill will only strengthen and rationalize the collection and dissemination of intelligence to both policymakers and warfighters. A bureaucratic turf fight is a better description of the disagreement, and that is no reason to hold up this bill.

Again, I thank the conferees and the staff for their Herculean effort to bring us a bill we can collectively support, but above all I thank the families of 9/11. Simply put, this would not have happened without their relentless effort, and they are patriots in the truest sense of the word. I intend to vote for this measure, I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Assemblyman Upendra J. Chivukula of

the 17th legislative district in New Jersey, for his commitment to public service and leadership within the Indian-American Community.

As a professional engineer, Assemblyman Chivukula has applied his expertise effectively to develop public policy. In addition to serving as Vice-Chair on the Commerce and Economic Development Committee and as a committee member on both the Telecommunications and Utilities Committee and Environment and Solid Waste Committee, Assemblyman Chivukula serves as an active member on the NJ Commission on Science and Technology. His efforts on the Commission were instrumental in planning the nation's first state-supported stem cell research institute.

Before becoming the first American of Asian Indian decent elected to the NJ State Assembly in 2001, Upendra had previously demonstrated his commitment to the public by serving as Mayor of Franklin Township for four years. In addition to serving as an Assemblyman, Chivukula continues his involvement by serving as a councilman and as a member of numerous Middlesex and Somerset County committees, including the Somerset County Affordable Housing Board of Trustees, the Cultural and Historic Commission, and the Middlesex County Cultural and Historic Commission.

Assemblyman Chivukula has built an impressive public service record as an elected official. However, no where is his leadership more notable than within the Indian-American Community. As one of the highest ranking Indian Americans in this country, Assemblyman Chivukula has worked to build public awareness and understanding of Indian- American culture, and has worked to ensure that issues facing the Indian American community are heard and addressed. His dedication to the Indian-American Community has been proven through his service on the national committee of the Association of Indians in America, as past secretary of the NJ Chapter of Indian American Forum for Political Education, and as past president of the Asian American Political Coalition. The outstanding leadership of Assemblyman Chivukula is evident even here, in Congress, as it was his work with Congressman Frank Pallone that led to the creation of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

On a personal note, it is with much gratitude that I want to recognize the efforts of Assemblyman Chivukula and his wife Dayci and Mr. Harish Mehta to organize forty members of the Indian-American community in central New Jersey to visit Washington, D.C., as part of my Indian-American ``DC Day,'' on Thursday, September 30th, to meet with members of the Congress and leaders of academic and nonprofit organizations to discuss important issues affecting Indian-Americans nationwide. This is a good example of the Assemblyman's efforts to educate and involve the Indian-American community in public affairs.

Mr. Speaker, people like Assemblyman Chivukula help make our community in Central New Jersey strong and well-informed. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, to join me in commending him.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Heather O'Reilly, one of America's most talented rising soccer players and student- athletes. Heather has been a vital member of the U.S. national soccer team and the University of North Carolina soccer team.

Heather, along with her teammates, earned the 2004 Olympic Gold medal in soccer. During the semifinal game against Germany, Heather netted the key goal in overtime, sending the team into the Olympic gold metal soccer finals. She has been apart of the national team since 2002 and has scored over eighteen goals.

Born in East Brunswick, New Jersey, on January 2, 1985, Heather lived with her parents, Andrew and Carol O'Reilly and three brothers. She attended East Brunswick High School, where she played soccer and basketball. Heather is one of New Jersey's finest players; she was All- Conference, All-County, and All-State all four years. She was a three- time NSCAA All-American and a Parade All-America. As a senior, Heather was the Parade National Player of the Year and the Gatorade National High School Girl's Soccer Player of the Year. She scored 143 goals in High School and led the Lady Bears to a state championship in 2001. She was the top soccer college recruit in the country.

At the University of North Carolina, despite suffering an injury, Heather helped lead the Tar Heels to a perfect record (27-0-0) and a Division I NCAA Championship. She earned All-American honors and named Freshman Player of the Year from numerous soccer organizations across the country. On November 13, 2004, she tied the NCAA tournament record for most assists in a game in the Tar Heels' quest for another championship.

Apart from playing soccer, Heather is a model student-athlete. While in high school, Heather was a member of National Honor Society and now as a college student, she continues to maintain a strong grade point average.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the entire 12th district of New Jersey, I would like to recognize Heather O'Reilly for her Olympic gold metal in soccer, and commend her for representing the state of New Jersey and our country with pride and excellence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Jason Read on his gold medal performance in rowing at the 2004 Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece, and also to commend him on his heroic service to the American people on September 11, 2001.

Read and his fellow teammates from the U.S. Men's Elite rowing team won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Athens, on August 22, 2004. Read helped his team set a new world record in their event. He has repeatedly stated how proud he was to represent America to the world at the Olympics, and he usually adds that he is also proud to serve as a local volunteer fire chief in Ringoes, New Jersey.

On September 11th, 2001 Jason Read, joined other workers in the rescue and recovery efforts by setting up field hospitals, treatment centers, and by searching for survivors at Ground Zero.

This past September, the people of Ringoes honored Read with a parade celebrating his Olympic gold medal and his contributions as a firefighter. As both an Olympic athlete and devoted fire chief, Read has demonstrated a strong sense of community and commitment to public service that can inspire every American.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the entire 12th district of New Jersey, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating Jason Read for his Olympic gold medal in rowing, and also, for his commitment to serve the people of Ringoes, New Jersey, and the people of America.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for the time, and I am pleased that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey), the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) and the other conferees have succeeded in providing legislation that will help ensure the basic rights of children with disabilities to see that they get a free, excellent and appropriate education.

I still believe that we must work toward mandatory funding of IDEA. It appears this year in our appropriations we are going to slip farther away from our goal of providing 40 percent of the additional cost of educating these students. We need to work to provide a full Federal share of funding to educate these students.

I am pleased that the conference report removed a cap on the number of students that schools may identify as having a disability. The Federal Government should fulfill its obligation to provide for the education of every disabled child, not according to some arbitrary ceiling.

We all recognize the need for teachers to maintain discipline, but I am pleased to see that this legislation will continue to regard as relevant whether a child's disability is the cause of specific behavior before the discipline is brought to the child.

I strongly support the added protections for children who, through no fault of their own, move and change schools frequently so that their IEPs will transfer with them and be based and be used at the new school so that the parent and the new school can then work to develop a new IEP as appropriate.

I am pleased to see that the bill includes a provision related to educational media services which ensures visually impaired and print- disabled students will continue to have access to recorded education materials. IDEA funding received by organizations like Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic are critical to providing textbooks and reading material to students around the Nation.

I hope that in the future we will be able to work in a bipartisan manner on properly funding this legislation, but, while we work on that, I think this authorization bill provides a useful basis.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Highlands Conservation Act.

My constituents, like most people around the state of New Jersey, have seen the ills of sprawl and the consequences of poor planning and meager preservation efforts. Most of us are surrounded by rampant commercial and industrial development in New Jersey.

Despite the overdevelopment of our state, unique areas of beauty and open space remain. One such tract of land, the Highlands Region, will be saved through today's legislation.

The Highlands is an incredible 2 million acre swath across four states--New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. This tract is home to nearly one and a half million people and is still a quick drive away from New York City and other major metropolitan areas.

Even more importantly, the Highlands provides and protects the drinking water supplies for over 15 million people who live in the Philadelphia-New York-Hartford metropolitan area, which cuts right through my central New Jersey district. Protecting these valuable water sources now will save the Federal government untold millions in future costs associated with building more treatment plants for the nation's most densely populated metropolitan area.

The Highlands Conservation Act authorizes the use of federal Land and Water Conservation Fund money to preserve and protect this area. This legislation fosters community involvement in the future of this region by allowing the governors of the four Highlands states to identify which lands are best eligible for conservation efforts. This act also increases local and state investment in this project by requiring that federal funds be matched dollar for dollar by local, state, and private funding sources. I am confident that the governor and the residents of New Jersey are eager to begin identifying and planning for the future of this green space in New Jersey.

In addition to monetary assistance to preserve the Highlands, this bill will provide technical assistance to communities and organizations involved in conservation efforts in the region. So many people have already done so much to help preserve this area, and they will now get the added benefit of assistance and expertise from the federal government.

I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Mr. Frelinghuysen for his leadership on this issue and his hard work in getting this legislation to the floor. His tireless effort will ensure that future generations will have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of region.

I am pleased that the House of Representatives is considering this legislation today. This bill means a lot to New Jersey, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Princeton Township Affordable Housing Program, formed on November 18, 1984, by the adoption of Ordinance No. 84-31. This program began well before the New Jersey Supreme Court mandated affordable housing in each municipality throughout the State, and preceded the establishment of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing. The program has shown over the years Princeton Townships' commitment to maintaining a diverse population, and has been consistent in its dedication to provide housing opportunities for low and moderate income individuals who reside within the Princeton community. Princeton was far ahead of other towns.

To oversee the implementation of the Affordable Housing Program, the Princeton Township Housing Board was created. Since its inception, the Housing Board has developed hundreds of housing units in and around the greater Princeton area, the largest of which are the Princeton Community Village, Reading Circle, Griggs Farm, and Washington Oaks. In addition to the creation of a great number of housing units, the board has also established and funded a municipal Downpayment Assistance Program and Condominium Fee Assistance Program; these programs aim to assist those with low or moderate incomes in either initially purchasing or continuing to afford low and moderate income housing units. The Housing Board has also explored housing for developmentally disabled individuals and seniors of low income. They have also partnered with Habitat for Humanity in building two units of affordable housing.

For the past 20 years, the program has never wavered in its commitment to affordable housing, and has continued to provide housing opportunities for a wide range of people from diverse economic and social backgrounds.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Princeton Township Affordable Housing Program for its commendable and exemplary work in ensuring affordable housing exists in New Jersey and wish it many years of continued success.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor New Jersey Blood Services for its thirty years of dedication to blood collection and services. As the first regional division of the New York Blood Center, New Jersey Blood Services (NJBS) is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to ``provide the safest, best quality transfusion-related products and services at a reasonable cost to those who will benefit, and to increase the body and availability of knowledge in transfusion medicine.'' Since its founding in 1973, NJBS has collaborated with companies, labor unions and community organizations in New Jersey to collect over 2.2 million units of blood, thus improving and even saving the lives of countless residents of New Jersey.

In its thirty years of existence, New Jersey Blood Services has developed a strong and valuable relationship with many New Jersey based American Red Cross chapters. These organizations have partnered together in scheduling blood drives, recruiting donors and providing necessary services to donors during blood drives. NJBS has also been a leader in efforts to ensure the safety of the region's blood supply by piloting the ``Safeblood'' computer system and opening the Nucleic Acid Test Lab in 1999, to screen all blood donated for HIV and HCV. Moreover, NJBS has been a forerunner in the development of pheresis blood donation procedures, which allows for the separation of different blood components and is particularly helpful in treating cancer.

New Jersey Blood Service has made remarkable and lasting contributions to our society through its efforts to increase both the quantity and the quality of our blood supply. Again, I rise today to honor the New Jersey Blood Service for its distinguished achievements in helping to enhance or save the lives of millions of patients in New Jersey over the past thirty years and I look forward to their continued good work over the next thirty years.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about a very important subject for the young people of my district and America, the draft. This week, the Congress considered H.R. 163, Universal National Service Act of 2003, which would require every U.S. citizen, and every other person residing in the United States, between the ages of 18 and 26 to perform a two-year period of national service, unless exempted.

Let me make clear, I do not support reinstatement of an active military draft system. Also it is very unlikely there will be a draft in the foreseeable future.

The legal authority for drafting men into the U.S. armed forces expired in 1973. However, the U.S. Selective Service System has been registering 18-25 year-olds on a stand-by basis. These young men could be called for service should an active draft ever be reinstated. Currently, women are not required to register with the U.S. Selective Service.

Young people, as well as their parents, across my district have heard about a draft bill, and these constituents are asking questions about the draft bill and want to find out its status. Congressman Rangel and U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings from South Carolina introduced this legislation to reinstate an active draft and extend service requirements to women. I cannot speak for them about their motives behind this legislation, but they certainly do make a fundamental point: if we go to war, all Americans should share in the cost and sacrifice of that war. The authors point out that without a universal draft, this burden falls disproportionately on the shoulders of the poor, the disadvantaged, and minorities, as was the case during the Vietnam War.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 163 raises important questions about the current composition of U.S. armed forces. For example, Representative Rangel argues that among 535 Members of Congress, only four have sons or daughters who presently serve in the military.

Yet we have not had a national debate on the draft and we certainly did not have that debate this week. H.R. 163 was not marked up or voted on by any committee here in the House. This bill was added to the suspension calendar of the House reserved for noncontroversial items. And yet it is quite controversial.

Mr. Speaker, the war in Iraq--combined with other worldwide deployments in Afghanistan, Korea, and over 140 other countries--has put an enormous strain on our active duty and reserve soldiers. We have seen underpaid, ill-equipped, and overextended American troops fighting in Iraq. More than two-thirds of New Jersey's National Guard will be activated this year. There are hard questions that need to be answered about how we can continue this war, at this pace. We do need to review our commitments overseas and asses our ability to meet them. This bill shows that a National debate on these issues is greatly needed. This week, we did not have that debate. The House leaders simply tried to make a political point, but I hope that this has sown the seeds of the discussion. The nation's military leaders are nearly unanimous in saying that the military can meet its needs better without a draft. None of us here in the House today would be eligible under a potential draft. We are too old. And I would like to see this debate with the input of the young people who are affected by it. I feel strongly that we should all go back to our districts and continue this discussion-- but with those who it will be affected by it.

I do not believe that an active military draft system is currently necessary or advisable. More important, the generals and admirals do not believe that a draft is necessary or advisable. I have co-sponsored legislation introduced by Representative Ellen Tauscher to meet military manpower needs by temporarily increasing by 8 percent the end- strength numbers of our all-volunteer armed forces during the next five years and increasing enlistees' pay and benefits accordingly (H.R. 3696). This alternative approach would increase the volunteer numbers of active duty-soldiers gradually over the next five years, thus enabling members of the National Guard and Reserve to rotate out or transition voluntarily into active duty slots with better benefits and equipment.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard from many moms and dads, and I have heard from many students from all across my district who are disturbed by the idea of renewing the draft and I agree with them. We do not need to return to the draft system.