Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Centennial year of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, San Juan Bautista Parlor No. 179. Over the past hundred years, the San Juan Bautista Parlor has furthered the aims of the Native Daughters of the Golden West by preserving California's history, improving its present, and ensuring a brighter future for all its citizens.

On February 23, 1910, NDGW Grand President Emma Lillie Humphrey presided over a ceremony to institute the San Juan Bautista Parlor. In 1934, the Parlor purchased an Adobe built in 1830 on Fourth St. It soon became known as the Native Daughters Adobe. The Parlor restored the building to a useful condition and continues to maintain this historic building. It remains the monthly meeting place of the Parlor and a focus for many activities for local organizations. Chief among these are its work with children's organizations, veterans and active military. Their weekly Yoga class at the Adobe promotes a healthy lifestyle for the community.

The Native Daughters of the Golden West Children's Foundation holds fundraising events to assist California's children with special medical needs that are beyond the family's means. Additionally, San Juan Bautista Parlor No. 179 gives a scholarship annually to students from the local high schools and sponsors students who participate in the state-wide NDGW California History essay contest.

The Parlor's activities reach beyond the borders of San Juan Bautista and San Benito County, CA. With their focus on California history, the Parlor has placed plaques designating historical landmarks, helped restore and preserve the beautiful monuments in the state's twenty-one missions, and is very active in fund raising activities for the missions. The Parlor also provides California Flags to local schools, libraries, VFW Posts, city and county government offices.

The internationally played card game ``Pedro'' was said to have been invented in San Juan Bautista and has been continuously played throughout California since the mid-1800's. Each month, the Parlor hosts a Pedro card party for the community which keeps the Pedro history alive.

Parlor No. 179 organizes several annual events that celebrate California's history. Fremont Peak Day, co-sponsored with local Posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, commemorates the Bear Flag Revolt of 1846, the engagement between the forces of John C. Freemont and General Jose Castro. An Admission Day community barbeque celebrates the date California became the 31st State: September 9, 1850.

Members of San Juan Bautista Parlor No. 179 are also involved in activities which promote recycling, energy awareness and water conservation, protecting and preserving California's natural resources and its environment.

Madam Speaker, I know my fellow members of the House will join me in congratulating the Native Daughters of the Golden West, San Juan Bautista Parlor No. 179 on their 100th anniversary. Their civic pride shines brightly and illuminates the many activities that improve the community and conserve and promote our heritage.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Terry Medina, a great public servant

who has protected the citizens of Watsonville, California since 1982. Terry, the Chief of Police since January 1989, retired on December 30, 2009. His law enforcement career spanned four decades beginning in 1966. Moreover, he has dedicated his life to a higher calling of protection and service and has made a lasting impact on countless lives during his career. I am proud to honor my friend and thank him for his service.

Terry was born and raised in Santa Cruz, California. In 1966, Terry began his law enforcement career as a student and Campus Police Officer at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California. In that same year, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves as a Military Policeman. In addition to Cabrillo College, Terry attended San Jose and Sacramento State Universities to further his education in law enforcement. Later in his career, he graduated from the 122nd Session FBI National Academy and the 1993 Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar, both in Quanitco, Virginia.

The education Terry obtained prepared him for the many trials he would face as the top cop in Watsonville. In 1986, Terry commanded Watsonville personnel through an 18-month food processing strike. Three years later, he would guide his department and the city through the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake disaster; the epicenter of the 6.9 seismic event was located just 14 miles north of the city's downtown. Terry's leadership and warm character provided the much needed comfort to the people of Watsonville during and after the disaster.

Terry's command of the Watsonville Police Department has come to an end, but his role as a community leader will continue. Terry has served on and chaired numerous boards and committees including: the California Police Chiefs Association and the Watsonville Community Hospital. His newest title is the President of the Watsonville Rotary Club.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the House of Representatives, I would like to extend our Nation's deepest gratitude to Terry Medina for his 43 years of service. He was a great Chief of Police and he will continue to be a strong community leader, loving husband and proud father.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of Aquilino Zarazua of Carmel Valley, California. Aquilino was an extraordinary man whose infectious smile and peaceful demeanor comforted all those who came into contact with him. Aquilino passed away on September 12, 2009, at age 91, leaving behind an inspiring success story for many immigrant families to emulate.

Aquilino was born on January 4, 1918, in the small town of Santa Catarina, Guanajuato, in central Mexico. When Aquilino was quite young, his mother passed away leaving six children without their mother. Aquilino was the eldest sibling and so he became his father Quintil's trusted companion in raising the family. Aquilino eventually left Santa Catarina to search for other opportunities in neighboring towns and cities and years later made his way to the United States.

In 1945 Aquilino arrived in Chualar, California, as part of the Bracero or guest worker program. The work was arduous and strenuous but Aquilino was determined to persevere and succeed. Aquilino would often state that he would never return to his home town in worse shape than when he left; to do so would be shameful. Later Aquilino would travel to Jalisco, Mexico, with his friend Angel De Leon, the cook from the labor camp. Some time thereafter Aquilino decided to marry the cook's daughter, Ampelia De Leon.

Aquilino and Ampelia had three daughters in the United States, all of whom graduated from college. Aquilino instilled in his daughters the value of a formal education and was extremely proud to attend their college graduations. One of his biggest fears was that his daughters would be relegated to toiling in agricultural fields or undertaking menial labor to earn a living. He taught them that a formal education was the only path out of the poverty and limited employment options which many immigrant families had endured.

Aquilino could speak little English, yet he was precise in communicating his thoughts and feelings. His generous and sincere smile would always welcome you and make you feel significant and strong. Aquilino will be remembered for his gentle manner and honesty; his devotion to his family and friends; and his keen ability to impart compassion and understanding to everyone he met.

Madam Speaker, Aquilino Zarazua has left a legacy in Monterey County and has inspired many immigrant fathers and families to seek a better life for their children. Thanks to Aquilino we know that the greatest inheritance a child can receive is a father's sense of values and compassion for others. I am certain I speak for the entire House in extending our heartfelt sympathy to Aquilino's wife Ampelia and his daughters Albertina, Blanca and Gladys.

Mr. Speaker, I am ashamed on this great day of hope to hear so much fear, fear outside and fear inside. And I don't think they know fear. I know the fear of a woman carrying a baby dying because she has no access to health care. I saw that over and over again as a Peace Corps volunteer in Latin America.

Without health care, you can't start the day. You can't get up. You can't cope. You can't go to work. You need health care.

Combat that fear. Combat those fearmongers out there. Stand up for hope. Say ``yes'' to health care for all Americans. Vote ``yes'' for compassion. Vote ``yes'' for care. Vote ``yes'' for healing and health. Vote ``yes'' for my grandchildren.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this historic bill and ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.

My first exposure to real poverty was as a Peace Corps volunteer in Medellin, Colombia. People there lived hard-scrabble existences, barely eking out subsistence-level lives.

My role as a Peace Corps volunteer was to help the community organize and petition its government for basic resources to improve the lives of the people. What I learned in that barrio is that unless people have shelter, unless they have food, and unless they have health care,-- yes--health care, there can be no stability in the community and no confidence in the future. People need to have their health in order to cope and to be productive.

The lesson I learned in Colombia 45 years ago is still true today in the U.S.A., people in health care limbo can't focus on the future. They are too busy worrying about today.

History teaches us that America was built on neighbor helping neighbor. Colonists clung together in the New World and protected each other. Settlers out West never turned away a traveler. I am ashamed and amazed at the tone of debate today that would deny our fellow Americans access to health care coverage. That is not the American way. When did we become so selfish? At a time of historical hope why are we hearing so much about fear?

There is nothing to fear--tomorrow or a year from tomorrow you will still have you insurance policy, hospitals and doctors will be doing their jobs of caring and healing and for the first time the hope for health care for all will come true.

Tonight we are asked to make history--leadership is about getting results. To make just law we have to vote yes. I am proud to say ``yes'' to health care for all in America. ``Yes'' to compassion and care. ``Yes'' to healing and health. ``Yes'' to my grandchildren's future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my strong opposition to the Stupak-Pitts amendment.

The health care bill before the House tonight retains existing law on the ban on federal dollars being used for abortion services in federal programs. This health care bill does what it promised to do: not to expand abortion services. But the Stupak amendment wants to rewrite current law. This amendment ignores the constitutionally protected right for women to choose their reproductive health care. It makes women, and only women, have to purchase an additional policy with their own money to cover women's reproductive health care.

That we are considering outlawing a medical procedure--one chosen by patients and their doctors--in existing law. This amendment makes it impossible for women to purchase health care insurance to cover a health care procedure that can only be needed at a time of crisis. It would require women to plan for an unplanned pregnancy. That is plain wrong.

When will we stop treating women like second class citizens? When will we admit that they have the right to determine their health care like anyone else? Why are we boxing them in with this amendment that restricts and restrains their ability to act in a manner they deem appropriate for their well-being? Shame on us for being so disrespectful of their humanity and for attempting to disenfranchise them this way.

If we want health care for all Americans then women should be entitled to all health care, not just some aspects of it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today, with my colleague Anna Eshoo to honor the memory of a great woman and model citizen, Mardi Wormhoudt. Mardi passed away October 21, 2009 in her Santa Cruz home at the age of 72. Mardi was an influential politician, a loving mother and wife, and a dedicated friend.

Mardi was born October 1, 1937 in Wisconsin. She graduated with honors from California State University at Los Angeles in 1967. During the late 1960's and early 1970's, Mardi worked as a caseworker for the Los Angeles Department of Social Services, as well as a project director for the Martin Luther King Center in Pasadena. During this time, Mardi and her husband Ken, the love of her life, started a family with the birth of their children: Zachary, Jonathon, Jacob and Lisa.

In the mid 1970's, Mardi moved her family to Santa Cruz and by 1981 she was an elected official. She was soon Santa Cruz County's leading female official. She is best known for her time as Mayor when she helped lead Santa Cruz through the tragic Loma Prieta earthquake. We all remember the iconic image of her briefing President Bush, Representative Panetta, State Senator Mello, Assemblyman Farr against the backdrop of destruction along Pacific Avenue. Mardi helped keep the spirits of citizens high, and encouraged the city to unite in rebuilding efforts. In total, Mardi dedicated twenty-one years to public office. Mardi will also be forever remembered for her dedication to women's rights, environmental protection, and a firm belief in local economic growth. Mardi was also an advocate for those who were marginalized and overlooked.

Mardi was constantly active in the community as a member of a plethora of groups, including: The Santa Cruz City School District and the Santa Cruz AIDS project. She also received a vast stable of awards, including: The People's Democratic Club Woman of the Year 1988 and the 1991 nomination by then Assemblyman Sam Farr for The California State Assembly Woman of the Year. Those who were close friends of Mardi will especially remember her for her veracity, playful humor, hard-working personality, loyalty, and devotion to family.

Madam Speaker, we know as co-representatives of Santa Cruz County that we speak for the entire House when we extend our deepest sympathies to her family, and our deepest appreciation for the work she did to make her community and the world a better place.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the soldiers who served during World War II in the United States Army's 54th Coast Artillery Regiment. The 54th was an all-black regiment that shared the mission of guarding California's Central Coast from enemy attack. It was the U.S. Army's only all-black, heavy artillery unit during World War II.

The 54th was part of the network of forces that protected the entrance to San Francisco Harbor and the Golden Gate Bridge and the millions of tons of cargo and munitions coming out of the port. This network included coastal fortifications, underwater minefields, antiaircraft guns, radars, searchlights, patrol aircraft, and observation posts up and down the coast of California. Several such posts were located in my District, including one near the lighthouse in the city of Santa Cruz.

No enemy was ever seen, and in 1944 the Army began to phase out its California coast watch. Batteries of the 54th were deployed to other battlefronts, including Peru. After the fall of Germany in 1945, the 54th was restructured and sent to the Philippines to prepare to invade Japan, but Japan surrendered before that happened.

Armed initially with old guns and wearing uniforms left over from World War I, the men of the 54th served with pride and dedication. Two members of the Santa Cruz unit still live on the Central Coast. Russell R. Dawson returned to Santa Cruz after his discharge in 1946 and became the first black postal worker in that city, a job he held for 33 years. William Edward Jackson Sr., who lives in nearby Menlo Park, is a past president of that city's chapter of the NAACP.

On this Veteran's Day these two men will represent the 54th Coast Artillery Regiment at the dedication of a memorial plaque erected on the site of their former post at Lighthouse Field. This project was spearheaded by the Santa Cruz Women's Club who, after Dawson spoke to their group about his experiences, decided to memorialize this special piece of Santa Cruz and American history. Madam Speaker, I know the whole House joins me in thanking the 54th Coast Army Artillery Regiment for their honorable and dedicated service to our nation.

I thank my Chair, Chet Edwards, for yielding.

I rise today on the eve of Veterans Day recess in support of the condolence resolution. I fought all of my political career trying to get State, local, and Federal governments, including the Department of Defense, to seriously take the invisible wounds of war into consideration. This tragic loss of innocent lives to mental breakdowns is not new, so why should it be so hard to treat this illness?

As we have to pay condolences in this resolution, let's not forget that the other House has on hold S. 1963, the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Care Services Act of 2009. Until Congress is willing to support the funding of mental health, we will not be able to fully assure safety for all in all our communities, be they civilian or military.

I urge we support one with our hearts and the other with our minds in our vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of U.S. Army SFC Jose ``Roy'' Parra, a Salinas, CA native who gave the ultimate sacrifice in service of our nation in 1950.

Born in 1927, Army Sergeant First Class Parra spent his days as a young child delivering the newspaper, The Salinas Californian. Roy learned early on the importance of family and hard work by contributing his wages to his family. At the age of 17, he joined the Merchant Marines and later joined the Navy before enlisting in the Army. After receiving a post in Germany for 3 years, Mr. Parra returned to Salinas in 1949, only to be called to active duty the following year to serve on the Korean peninsula.

As a forward observer for artillery, Mr. Parra found himself on the front lines fighting north across the 38th Parallel and up to Pyongyang. His unit was ordered farther north and halted about 50 miles away from the Chinese border to await supplies. Just three months after being deployed, Mr. Parra was killed in action after he bravely took over a machine gun whose operator had been killed to repel waves of advancing enemy infantry. Sergeant First Class Parra was buried alongside 150 fellow American soldiers in a North Korean field where local Koreans placed unmarked crosses above the fallen.

It took three years before his family learned of his courageous efforts in the moments before he was killed and decades longer until they learned the fate of his remains. In 1954, after three years in a prisoner-of-war camp Lt. Walter Mayo, Parra's commanding officer, wrote to Parra's family detailing how the young man from Salinas sacrificed his life protecting his unit. The prolonged wait to return Sergeant First Class Parra to the U.S. ultimately ended when a recent excavation of a burial field in North Korea turned up remains. As soon as the identity of the remains was confirmed, an Army sergeant was assigned to escort the body of Sergeant First Class Parra home. After an agonizing wait of over 60 years, in August 2009, his family was finally able to bury their fallen hero in Arlington Cemetery.

For his dedication and service, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Parra was awarded the Purple Heart, the Korean Service Medal, the UN Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

U.S. Army SFC Jose ``Roy'' Parra was laid to rest with full military honors. Mr. Parra's sister, Lucille Withers, led the fight to identify and bury his remains.

Madam Speaker, I am deeply honored to have the privilege to share his story with you today and on behalf of my colleagues, want to thank U.S. Army SFC Jose ``Roy'' Parra and his family for their service to our Nation.

Madam Speaker, this resolution before us today, House Resolution 867, does nothing to advance the cause of peace and understanding between the Israelis and Palestinians.

In a recent meeting with Jewish constituents, I heard a comment that I thought was moving for its simplicity and power. My constituent told me, ``Israel will not have peace and security until Palestinians have hope.''

This resolution does nothing to give hope to the people of Palestine that a better, peaceful future is possible and therefore does nothing to give greater security to the people of Israel. It is a hasty and unconstructive measure that fails to establish a foundation upon which a future peace and prosperity will be constructed.

House Resolution 867 has too many flaws and questionable conclusions for me to support it. I think the Committee should have given the Goldstone report a hearing and taken the opportunity to ask Justice Goldstone questions about his mandate, his findings and his conclusions.

I would ask that Justice Goldstone's letter to Chairman Berman and Ranking Member Ros-Lehtinen be included in the Record.

In this letter, Justice Goldstone clarifies that he demanded and received an expanded mandate to include the attacks on Israel. The report includes more than 150 instances where it explores the rocket attacks against Israel. And as a matter of fact, the Goldstone report found that rocket attacks constituted ``indiscriminate attacks upon the civilian population of southern Israel''.

I recognize a history of bias against Israel at the United Nations and I believe that one-sided resolutions against Israel have no place in an honest debate. However, it should be noted--and it is not in the resolution before us today--that Justice Goldstone dedicated scores of pages to expose war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for the first time ever.

This resolution suffers too many instances of inaccuracy. It too often gives an account of the Goldstone report that is incomplete and therefore ends up being misleading. I don't believe this moves us closer to peace and for these reasons I cannot support the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to my friend Edward F. Newman, who recently died at age 85, for an inspiring life that promoted peace and social justice. He was a well-known and much loved Santa Cruzan.

Following high school he attended the School of Engineering at the University of California Berkeley before joining the Navy to serve in World War II. As a young enlisted man, he organized a brave challenge to the status quo, resulting in dismissal of a corrupt procurement officer. This experience taught him, at an early age, that even one person can make a difference in this world. He earned a law degree from U.C. Berkeley in 1951, and used his skills as an accomplished writer, speaker, and advocate, to stand up for justice and common people.

Ed actively promoted the causes of peace and social justice throughout his life. He vigorously opposed the Vietnam war and the invasion of Iraq. He served as president of the Castro Valley Democratic Club, and later founded and served as president of the People's Democratic Club of Santa Cruz County. He campaigned to protect the environment, abolish the death penalty, protect civil rights, women's rights, gay rights, and all human rights. As a veteran, he became active in the Santa Cruz County Chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, leading the chapter to advocate for peace, and to oppose expansion of the military-industrial complex. With intelligence and humor, he exposed political hypocrisy, writing countless letters to the editor, and contributing columns to newspapers.

As an attorney, Ed Newman championed causes of the underdog, handling numerous pro bono matters to protect fundamental rights. He defended ordinary citizens in proceedings by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and took cases for the American Civil Liberties Union. In the 1980s, he took a pro bono case to challenge gender discrimination, resulting in the court decision which transformed the Santa Cruz Boys Club into the Santa Cruz Boys and Girls Club. He was president of the Santa Cruz County Bar Association in 1985. He was also a leader in the Starr King Unitarian Church, and he served as committee chair and president of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Santa Cruz County.

As a civic leader and activist, Ed Newman inspired his community with his eloquence, intelligence, and tireless advocacy for justice. To his family and friends, Ed was known for his kindness, his wisdom, his outstanding cooking, and his wonderful sense of humor. With his wife Carol, he raised five children, all of whom graduated from U.C. Santa Cruz before obtaining advanced degrees in Library Science, Particle Physics, Medicine, Literature, and Law. He is survived by his wife Carol, with whom he recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary, as well as his sister, five children, and ten grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, I would like to express the gratitude of the whole House to Edward Newman for his legacy of courage, honesty, and love, inspiring us all to work for a better world. He will be sorely missed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the University of California at Santa Cruz's historic lime-producing district and the unveiling of the permanent National Register of Historic Places plaque. The installation of this plaque, which has been the result of many years of hard work by local historians and the campus, marks its permanent inhabitation on a base of Cowell Ranch limestone on the college campus. On behalf of the House of Representatives, I am honored to extend to the UCSC campus the gratitude of Congress and the American people for this historic event.

UC Santa Cruz is now the only higher education institution in California that has a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school has taken an important step in preserving the history and significance of the largest center of lime- production in Northern California during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These historic buildings and features have a special historic value because they represent the diverse set of facilities stemming from lime-processing, operations, and worker-support. Furthermore, the district was instrumental in the economic and physical development of the Monterey Bay region during the late 19th century and the development of California cities after the Gold Rush during the early 20th century.

These lands were once part of Henry Cowell's Ranch, where industrialists produced mortar, plaster, whitewash and other much needed materials for a number of other industries in the region. In addition to owning the lime-production sites that can be found scattered around the UC Santa Cruz campus, Cowell also owned dairies and cattle ranches that extended throughout Northern California. He was involved in banking, real estate, shipping, and warehousing.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to uphold this historic district as a model of maintaining our state's historical integrity. Historical spaces like these are an example of what makes our community a national leader in the preservation of lands which continue to shape our society. I know I speak for the House of Representatives in saluting the UCSC community on this momentous occasion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of a bill that obviously some people in this room haven't read. And some people in this room don't realize that in order to get results, you have got to do the positive. You have to work hard and you have to vote ``yes.'' Voting ``no'' doesn't provide any leadership; it just keeps the status quo.

But remember, part of this bill is going to have everybody in America have the same kind of insurance that we in Congress have. They don't want to admit that. They don't want to give up that insurance. They won't say ``no'' to that insurance. They won't say ``no'' to the TRICARE insurance that spouses and children of military folks get. That's what we are going to open it up to. That is the Medicare rates. They won't say ``no'' to Medicare for senior citizens. They just say ``no'' to the bill that is going to try to solve it for everybody else who doesn't have access to health care and can't afford health care and has preexisting conditions and can't get health care.

Also, insurance companies are raising premiums right now, all over this country, including the rates that we here in Congress will have to pay. And the party of ``no'' has said nothing about that. Read the bill. Yes, read the bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the 75th anniversary of Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, or CHOMP, as the locals fondly call it. It started in 1929 as the Carmel Clinic specializing in metabolic disorders, endowed by a gift from Grace Deere Velie Harris, heiress of the Deere tractor family. Over the years it grew into a 30-bed general hospital and in 1934 was renamed Peninsula Community Hospital.

Post World War II saw an increase in the population on the Monterey Peninsula. Twenty-two acres of the nearby forest was donated by the Del Monte Properties Company as a building site for a larger, modern hospital. In 1962 the new $3.5 million 210,000-square foot Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula opened with 100 beds, the first community hospital in the country to have all private rooms. The design by architect Edward Durell Stone won state and national awards for excellence in architecture. Two-thirds of the funding came from community donations.

CHOMP continued to expand; over the next 10 years 72 more rooms were added, including a mental health center, and a dome was constructed over the signature Fountain Court. The cost of the construction was $4 million, and again, half of it was paid for by contributions from the community.

The hospital developed a growing range of services that added 42,000 square feet to house outpatient, educational, and business offices. A new outpatient Surgery Center began performing more than half of all the hospital's surgeries. A Family Birth Center opened with single-room maternity care. Home health agencies were acquired, as well as a hospice facility and services. The Comprehensive Cancer Center opened in 1999, providing the best available diagnosis, treatment, and support for cancer patients and their families.

CHOMP also added off-campus sites to meet the expanding demands of health care on the Peninsula. The old Eskaton Monterey Hospital, built in 1930 and acquired by CHOMP in 1982, was remodeled. Renamed the Hartnell Professional Center, it now houses outpatient mental health services, a recovery center, a cardiopulmonary wellness and blood center, laboratories, and the Clint Eastwood Youth Program. A Breast Care Center opened near downtown Monterey, offering comprehensive breast care services, and an Outpatient Campus that treats sleep disorders, and offers diabetes and nutrition therapy, imaging, and laboratories.

In recent years the emergency and ICU departments were updated and moved to a new wing. CHOMP continues to expand and improve with the times to meet the needs of the community.

Throughout the years, CHOMP has served the entire spectrum of hospital health care needs of my family. My parents received their end- of-life care there. Both my wife and I have received care there, and both my daughter and granddaughter were born there. It truly is our community hospital.

Madam Speaker, I know the whole House joins me in congratulating Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula on its anniversary, and wish them many more years of quality service to the public.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for yielding. I appreciate the opportunity to address the House on the DHS appropriations bill.

I want to just first say at the outset, I am really surprised to hear, kind of shocked to hear, that they are taking an appropriations bill and trying to make it into something that it isn't. We stand here year after year passing these appropriation bills, pointing out that you cannot legislate on an appropriations bill, you cannot make legal policy; it is about spending the money and the ways to spend that money, not on inventing new law.

This bill does not deal with how you treat prisoners in Guantanamo Bay. We ought to get over it and know that it doesn't do that. What this bill does do, though, is address a lot of other issues, one of which is very important to this country. They're talking about how to keep those prisoners out of our jails and out of our prisons. Frankly, there are some States that would love to have the revenue; they know that their court system can handle it. But that's not the emphasis of this bill because what we really are trying to address is the biggest industry of all in this country, which is tourism.

Tourism relies on a lot of people from a lot of countries coming into this country. Just a few weeks ago, the entire House voted for a travel initiative bill to allow the United States to go out and advertise to get more tourists in here, and there wasn't one single vote against it. So we do want to attract these people to spend money and come to our country. And we need the facilities when they come in, the facilities to give them visas when they go down to apply for those visas and certainly when they enter.

And one of the great things about this bill is it sets up the Western Travel Initiative, which essentially appropriates money into 46 of the busiest border ports--these could be airports, harbor ports, the kind of ways in which people come into this country from abroad--to facilitate getting them through all the security and getting them through the customs and so on. That is a very important investment in the biggest industry in this country with the biggest payoff to our local communities.

So I want to point out some of the real positive things in here. This also allows for a tracking of all these visitors through the status indicator technology.

There are a lot of good things in this bill. I urge a ``yes'' vote on the appropriations bill and a vote against any motion to recommit.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for yielding.

I have no projects in this bill.

I have no benefit in this bill. I represent some of the greatest agriculture in the United States of America. And guess what? We don't get a drop of that water from anywhere but the sky that it falls out of and all of the wastewater that we recycle, the largest recycling project in the United States and the world irrigating agriculture.

You know what? You people that live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. You took a desert in the San Joaquin Valley, and using taxpayers' money, you built all these public systems, damming up those rivers--and I'm glad Mr. Nunes is going to support us in tearing down the Hetch Hetchy dam--and dammed up those rivers to get all the water into the canals to take them into a desert. And what happened? It didn't rain. All of a sudden you're caught in a drought. So who do you blame? You blame everything. You blame the Democrats. You blame the water. You blame the sky. It didn't fall out of the sky. But you blame every law that's out there.

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones because what are you doing about recycling all the wastewater that you're creating? You've always had that. Our communities have bellied up to the bar. They put their money up. This bill says you've got to put up three- quarters of the money before you even come and ask for help from Washington. Frankly, it ought to be the other way around. Recycling is so important we ought to be doing it in every community in the United States, and the government ought to be at two-thirds help and the community at one-third help.

This bill is a good bill. And don't think that because one part of one State didn't get enough rain last year that we ought to bury the whole thing trying to get recycled water. Guess what you do when you get that recycled water? You free up potable water that can go to other things.

No. You have time.

When you have that potable water, you ought not to be using it for agriculture. You ought to be using that for drinking purposes. All the golf courses on the Monterey Peninsula are irrigated by recycled water, Pebble Beach, Cypress, all these big famous golf courses.

So I think that those people that are criticizing this bill and criticizing the fact that we didn't get enough rain in the San Joaquin Valley ought to be asking for us to help them get recycling projects in their communities like we have in the Salinas Valley. We can solve this problem, but we've got to solve it in a multiplicity of ways, and one of the ways to do that is recycling. This bill makes a giant step forward for a lot of communities in northern California.

I would urge an ``aye'' vote.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore