Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus to oppose H.R. 2210, which the leadership in the House of Representatives will bring to the floor this week.

Since the beginning of the program, Head Start has provided the foundation for low-income working families. Upon this foundation, thousands of adults throughout South Texas have overcome tremendous obstacles to break the cycle of family poverty and become productive citizens. Without the solid base provided by Head Start, the children and families in the 21st Century will have a much harder time trying to get a start on education, nutrition habits, and other simple health care and educational needs.

In South Texas, we have a long and successful relationship with Head Start. In my district alone, Head Start serves nearly 4,000 kids from birth to 5 years old.

Tonight, I want to share with you stories from people who have used this program so our colleagues will understand precisely what we will be taking away from the children of Texas and other states around the nation if the House passes H.R. 2210.

Cynthia del Angelo--She and her twin sister attended Head Start in 1973. They both own their own daycare centers now. Her mother received all of her education through Head Start, and is now an Education Coordinator. Her father is currently an area manager of a Head Start center. Her husband is a restaurant manager. They both feel that Head Start contributed to their success by instilling in them the confidence that they could achieve anything.

Jose Carrizales--Attended Head Start in 1965 in a small, rural community. Changed him from a shy, skeptical boy into a secure, loving kid with self-confidence. Later, having become a parent of a Head Start child, he was elected President of the Parent Committee, where the leadership skills he gained led him to a 6-year employment as the District Office Manager for Congressman Solomon Ortiz. He now is the Director of Family Services for Head Start in South Texas.

Maricela Vasquez Vitt--Former Head Start student now teaches elementary school in Los Fresnos, Texas. Head Start allowed her to learn English before she started school, and form a strong educational foundation.

Jo Ann Garcia--She and her sister are both Head Start students and are now Registered Nurses. Jo Ann has worked with cancer patients in a major hospital and as Director for a Home Health Provider, and says that neither one is as rewarding for her as working with Head Start kids.

These are the everyday people who have been profoundly affected by the good works of Head Start. These are the sorts of people in the future who will be without similar services and without the foundation now provided by Head Start.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the trade agreements before us, the Chile/Singapore agreements.

As a Democrat, I often find myself opposing long-time friends on matters of trade, and that never comes easily. But the reason I support this agreement is I know free trade simply works through strategic agreements like this one.

I have seen the unemployment rate in south Texas and my State of Texas decline through the 1990s. Coming from a poor district like the district that I represent, to see unemployment go down from 15, 17 percent to 9 percent after the agreement that we had with Mexico tells us one thing, that these agreements work.

Now we are not speculating about the benefits of free trade. We have seen them at work in our community. This economy churns mightily, and the more free trade we have, the more opportunities that there are for this Nation to advance our economy. By strengthening trade and investment relations between two partners with similar economies, both nations benefit from this agreement. This agreement streamlines the operation of major industries within our countries, the United States, Singapore, and Chile. It allows our companies greater efficiency and flexibility by cutting processing costs for some technology products and medical devices in Singapore and the United States. Benefits like this will foster greater economic growth between these countries.

The FTA formalizes our work together on labor, environmental and domestic enforcement issues. And in Singapore, clearly, these trade agreements strengthens our economic opportunity with our military partner in the war on terrorism. I have seen what Singapore has done to help us with our military. They built a pier to the cost of anywhere from 40 to $50 million so that our vessels could berth, so they could refuel, so that our young sailors could have R&R in Singapore. This strengthens the United States' presence in east and south Asia, with Singapore as a base.

Singapore serves as a regional center for many American multinational corporations. This will be the first transcontinental trade agreement across the Asia-Pacific to the nation whose United States trade exceeds all our current trading partners, which is the second largest Asian investor in the United States after Japan and which hosts over 1,300 United States corporations and 15,000 Americans. With Chile, we have the same.

As great a country that we are, can you imagine that we only have four trading agreements with the rest of the world? And what I have seen when I travel through these countries is that other countries seem to be eating our lunch. We cannot afford to do that.

I ask my friends on both sides of the aisle to please support these free trade agreements with Chile and Singapore. It will benefit our country and the lives of many of our people.

Mr. Speaker, in Texas we say, ``If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'' I oppose H.R. 2210.

Head Start is one of the greatest programs this government has produced. It is highly successful; and it is by no means broke . . . so this action by the House is unwarranted. If we pass this bill today, we will be denying hundreds of thousands of little kids from poor homes a solid foundation from which to begin their lives.

Since the beginning of the program, Head Start has provided the foundation for low-income working families. Upon this foundation, thousands of adults throughout South Texas have overcome tremendous obstacles to break the cycle of family poverty and become productive citizens. Without the foundation of Head Start, the children and families in the 21st century will have a much harder time trying to get a start on education, nutrition habits, and other basic health care needs.

In South Texas, we have a long and successful relationship with Head Start. In my district alone, Head Start serves nearly 4,000 kids from birth to 5 years old. Head Start offers several unique opportunities and programs to South Texas; including transportation, parent training, Diabetes and obesity education, general nutrition information, and services for immunizations, counseling and dental health. Their whole- family approach to these services vastly improves the health and education in South Texas.

By providing transportation to the program facilities, the South Texas Head Start helps parents who are too impoverished to have their own transportation from smaller towns to the Head Start facilities. By training parents through English courses, promoting GEDs, increasing literacy, and offering job referral services, parents learn to be self- sufficient for themselves, their kids and their community.

One of the more valuable offerings of the local Head Start is the Diabetes and obesity education. The Hispanic population suffers from diabetes at two times the rate of whites. Of Hispanic 2\1/2\ to 3 year- old kids, 50 percent will likely be diagnosed with diabetes within their lifetime, according to a recent CDC study.

Losing weight, of course, can prevent diabetes, along with exercising and following a sensible diet, all of which Head Start teaches local families. Through providing nutrition information to parents and kids with a focus on healthy eating and balanced meals, kids will develop healthier habits and break the cycle of obesity and diabetes.

By offering a comprehensive immunization record for kids to get the appropriate shots, Head Start helps prevents increase in spread of disease along the international border, where disease is often rampant. Dental services through Head Start educate parents and kids in proper dental hygiene and about how nutrition affects oral health.

Through counseling services, Head Start serves the many kids with severe emotional problems, who come from difficult backgrounds. Head Start works with professionals, parents and kids to improve the emotional well-being of the kids before they start school.

That's the overview of Head Start in South Texas; but let me share with you stories from people who have used this program and precisely what we will be taking away from the children of Texas and other states around the Nation.

Jaime Reyna--28-year-old with a Master's Degree in

pediatric physical therapy, fondly recalls learning, not just

numbers, colors and how to read, but also how to build self-

esteem through social interactions with other kids.

Victor Sauceda--Honors graduate and varsity football player

from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, is currently a

football, basketball, and track coach who will travel to

Reno, Nevada next spring to take a shot at the NFL. He

attributes his outgoing leadership style to the encouragement

and interaction he had from his Head Start teachers and

peers.

Lizandro Garcia--4th-year student at University of Texas-

Brownsville, is earning his Master's degree in accounting

while holding a steady job as the Accounts Payable

Supervisor. He says that thanks to the teaching he received

at Head Start, teaching him to always be your best, strive

higher and never settle for second best, he has been able to

succeed in life.

Antonio Guerra--Principal of Elma Barrera Elementary School

in Santa Rosa, Texas, says that even though he didn't

understand the importance of being in Head Start as a child,

he does remember that the people were friendly, smart and

caring. He came from a low-income single parent home, where

the things other kids take for granted weren't always

affordable, but where education was a high priority. Head

Start provided him with the educational foundation to improve

his future.

Melissa Duran--Attended Head Start in the early 70s, went

to college and worked as a Head Start teacher for a couple of

years after graduation. She received her Child Development

credentials through the Head Start program, and now has owned

her own two Day Care Centers for 11 years.

Pat Gomez--Parent of three boys who went through Head

Start. The program gave them the opportunity to gain self-

esteem and confidence in themselves. They are all

successfully employed. One is a dentist.

Ms. Davis--Single mother of one son who went through Head

Start. Because of the one-on-one attention her son received,

he changed from being shy and withdrawn to an outgoing young

man who is now a successful lawyer.

Ida Gonzalez--Raised by her grandmother who spoke very

little English. She specifically remembers learning how to

brush her teeth, jump rope, eat healthy food and was prepared

enough academically to stay ahead of her peers in the Gifted

and Talented Program once she entered school. Her love of

learning motivated her to become a teacher and child

advocate.

Jessika Perez--Former Head Start student who is currently

beginning her senior year at Texas A&M University where she

received full scholarship for all four years. She has spent

summers working at California State University with NASA

researchers, and plans to start her own Engineering Firm

after graduating with her Masters Degree in Civil

Engineering.

This is only a small sample of what this House is ready to end if we pass H.R. 2210.

Mr. Speaker, due to business in my district, I was unable to vote during rollcall vote No. 396. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 230, commending the cities chosen as All America Cities; and I thank my friend, Robin Hayes of North Carolina, for introducing the resolution to officially commend the winners of this competition in the House of Representatives.

I join my colleagues in commending the City of Corpus Christi and other winners for the recent accomplishment of being recognized by the National Civic League as an All-America City. As a resident of Corpus Christi, I can wholeheartedly endorse the concept that Corpus Christ represents all the best in an American city.

Corpus Christi is a place where the pace is easy and the people are the best there is. It is peaceful and beautiful with beaches, military bases, and a vibrant business community.

Corpus Christi's presentation included our Juvenile Assessment Center (an organization that helps decrease juvenile crime), Forward Corpus Christi (an economic development organization), the Air Quality Group (Corpus Christi is the only major city in Texas to meet state and federal air quality standards), and a local Junior ROTC team.

One of the central components of our community is our military complex. We often say South Texas is ``Navy Country.'' Four separate bases are incorporated in the Corpus Christi area: an army base and three naval bases. The military presence in the area contributes 20 percent to our local economy.

Corpus Christi conveyed this pride in our military, and demonstrated the importance of our military community, by incorporating the nationally recognized efforts of the Flour Bluff Navy Jr. ROTC into the presentation.

It was the solemn and excellent presentation of the Jr. ROTC, which has won seven national titles for excellence, and which led the way for the city to win the recognition by the National Civil League as an All- America City. Corpus Christi is the only city in Texas to receive this distinct honor this year.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me and the other co-sponsors of this resolution, all of whom are proud to live in an All-America City, in commending Corpus Christi and the other nine cities honored by the National Civic League.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the City of Corpus Christi for the recent accomplishment of being recognized by the National Civic League as an All-America City. As a resident of Corpus Christi, I can wholeheartedly endorse the concept that Corpus Christi represents all the best in an American city.

Corpus Christi is a place where the pace is easy and the people are the best there is. It is peaceful and beautiful with beaches, military bases, high rises and a vibrant business community.

Corpus Christi's presentation included our Juvenile Assessment Center (an organization that helps decrease juvenile crime), Forward Corpus Christi (an economic development organization), the Air Quality Group (Corpus Christi is the only major city in Texas to meet state and federal air quality standards), and a local Junior ROTC team.

One of the central components of our community is our military complex. We often say South Texas is ``Navy Country.'' Four separate bases are incorporated in the Corpus Christi area: an army base and three naval bases. The military presence in the area contributes 20% to our local economy.

Corpus Christi conveyed this pride in our military, and demonstrated the importance of our military community, by incorporating the nationally recognized efforts of the Flour Bluff Navy Jr. ROTC into the presentation.

It was the solemn and excellent presentation of the Jr. ROTC, which has won seven national titles for excellence, and which led the way for the city to win the recognition by the National Civic League as an All- America City.

Corpus Christi is the only city in Texas to receive this distinct honor this year.

I thank my friend, Robin Hayes of North Carolina, for introducing the resolution to officially commend the winners of this competition in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me and the other co-sponsors of this resolution, all of whom are proud to live in an All-America City, in commending Corpus Christi and the other nine cities honored by the National Civic League.

Mr. Chairman, I rise this evening in support of our men and women in the Armed Services. For many weeks now, we have all declared our gratefulness to these warriors and their families of the sacrifices they have made on behalf of our Nation.

Besides their incredible efforts in fighting the War on Terrorism, these patriots and their families have had to learn to live without their fathers or mothers or spouses present on a daily basis because of numerous, long, and dangerous deployments, or even worse, if their loved one has paid the ultimate sacrifice. I, myself, have had more than my share of families in my district that have paid this price.

I have traveled extensively to our military facilities and have observed the substandard housing we force our military personnel and families to live in. We must address this situation.

We are all grateful for these sacrifices, but how will we show this gratefulness? Will we support the Ranking Member in his effort to scale back the tax cuts by a mere 5 percent for those who make over a million dollars a year, so we can restore funding and adequately house our forces?

Even though we are cutting military construction spending by $1.5 billion from last year's funding, we can still do the right thing at this time by voting for the Previous Question. We must support the Ranking Member's efforts and truly show our gratitude to our troops.

Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen weather conditions, my flight back to Washington, DC, was unavoidably delayed and I was therefore not able to make it in time for rollcall votes. Had I been present I would have voted: No: 276--``yes''; No. 277--``yes''; and No. 278--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, due to business in my district, I was unable to vote during the following rollcall votes. Had I been present I would have voted: No. 244--``no''; No. 245--``no''; No. 246--``yes''; No. 247--``yes''; No. 248--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained due to official business as a member of an official Congressional delegation traveling to North Korea and was not present for the following rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as indicated below.

Rollcall No. 227--``yes''; 228--``yes''; 229--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained due to official business as a member of an official Congressional delegation traveling to North Korea and was not present for the following rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted as indicated below.

Rollcall No. 230--``nay''; rollcall No. 231--``nay''; rollcall No. 232--``yea''.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 1588, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004.

I want to specifically address the provisions of the act relating to military readiness.

First, I thank my colleagues on the subcommittee and the full committee for the manner in which they participated in the business of the subcommittee this session.

I also want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley) for his leadership and example in developing the readiness portion of the fiscal year 2004 National Defense Authorization Act. We were on an accelerated pace this session, and there were many issues that we were unable to address.

Additionally, this authorization act is based on a peacetime bill request from the administration that did not address many of the known reconstitution or post-conflict requirements. Our dedicated military and civilian personnel continue to do their part in protecting the security of this great Nation. We are obligated to do our part.

Mr. Chairman, while I am concerned that this act does not provide all that I would like to see in the direct readiness accounts, I am more distressed over the process.

First, there were issues that should have been addressed in the Subcommittee on Readiness that were presented during the full committee mark. I speak especially about the environmental provisions and the civilian personnel provisions that were inserted in the chairman's mark. Most troubling to me are the broad changes dismantling the safeguards in the civilian personnel system. Many of the changes are based on the homeland security model that has not been implemented yet. This bill would extend these experimental rollbacks to the more than 700,000 Department of Defense civilian employees who performed tremendously during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, a performance that we acknowledge.

There is no doubt in my mind that additional changes are needed to the civilian personnel management system, but that does not include wholesale removal of safeguards that ensure access and fair treatment for those dedicated civilian personnel who, like their military colleagues, also serve.

Second, for the first time in my long tenure here in the House and on the Committee on Armed Services, I am concerned about the partisan nature of the committee and its deliberations during the mark. We have debated many contentious issues in the past, and I see no reason why I should believe that the future will be different,

but I trust that in the future we will remember that the legislative process is a consultative process in which compromise among the parties is key to crafting some policy that would have a lasting effect and that it can only take place in an environment where mutual respect and bipartisanship is the norm.

Mr. Chairman, I support this act and will vote for it. On balance, it is not a bad start. It contains a lot of things that I am convinced are needed to permit the Department of Defense to perform its national security mission, but I do not want us to forget that significant work still needs to be done.

I urge Members to support this bill.

Mr. Chairman, this is an amendment that we have dealt with on a yearly basis, and on a yearly basis the Department of Defense tells us that they do not support this amendment. We have to be realistic. I was in law enforcement like my friend here. When one is in law enforcement, one is trained to do a certain mission, a certain skill. The military people who serve in the military, I think there was a group of very senior members who went to Iraq and some of the complaints of our troops there were we were not supposed to be police officers, we were trained to kill. And that is what they do.

So by putting troops on the border, this is not going to alleviate matters any. We need to put people who are trained to do a certain job, a certain skill to deal with people, and this is why we have the border patrol. If my colleagues feel by adding more border patrol officers on the border this is going to help, why not give them the money to do that? They are trained exactly. We have a training center where we pay millions of dollars to operate to train them adequately. Why do we not do that? We have 120-or-some thousand more troops stationed around the world. Can my colleagues imagine what this is going to do to our readiness by giving them a different mission to train on a different skill? This is absurd.

I think that we need to do something, but putting troops on the border is not going to answer the problem that we have. I think that we should focus and put our energy on people that are trained to do the job, and I urge my friends to defeat this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to another fallen soldier who gave the last full

measure of devotion to his nation while serving in Iraq: Army Sgt. Joe Garza of Robstown, Texas.

Robstown, my hometown also, is the biggest little town in Texas and we all felt this loss deeply. Army 1st Sgt. Joe Garza, 43, died on April 28 in Baghdad while serving in the war with Iraq.

He was a role model for young people growing up in Robstown, serving even as a surrogate father to others in his family and his community. He enjoyed his family and his friends. He made them laugh, and played games with them.

He left Robstown and Texas to make a life in the military, where he served honorably in Ft. Stewart, Georgia. So the memories of Joe in Robstown were as a student, a classmate, a son and a Cotton Picker, the mascot of Robstown High School.

The memories of Sgt. Garza in Robstown were that he was a good man that fought for justice all of his life. His service in the military was just one more step in this lifelong philosophy. He wanted to bring justice to the world. We find some level of comfort knowing he died bringing peace to the people of Iraq.

We also know that our way of life in the United States and the free world is possible because of our military and those who comprise it-- men like Sgt. Joe Garza.

Sgt. Garza is survived by--and lives on in the minds of--his family: his wife of 24 years, Mary Garza, their children, Joe, Jr., John Paul, and Myra Ann, and his mother, Enes Garza, of Robstown.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in commending the life and service of Sgt. Joe Garza, and in expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to his family.

Mr. Speaker I rise to commend the Texas Legislators who staked their political careers on demanding the legislature cease work on a national Republican Party map that would override voters' choices in Congress, re-mapping the state by congressional district just one year after a federal court did the job for them.

Redistricting is a serious constitutional matter; it is not a childish ``do-over'' when it does not meet your partisan whims. I appreciate the leadership of Jim Solis (D-Brownsville), Rene Oliveira (D-Brownsville), Jaime Capelo (D-Corpus Christi), and Juan Escobar (D- Kingsville) and thank them for their unique patriotism. They are doing a very hard thing and the good people of South Texas appreciate their position.

In a democracy, voters should choose their representatives; representatives should never choose voters. Drawing congressional district lines is an exercise that is mandated once a decade by our constitution. We did this last year; a federal court drew new lines for Congressional districts, and each member of this body from Texas ran in those districts and won elections. To redistrict again, one year later, is unconscionable.

These members of the Texas State Legislature have done an incredibly courageous thing by leaving the state to force the House Republicans to abandon their plans to gerrymander the state of Texas' in Washington's Republican-driven redistricting effort. This effort is part of a national effort across the country, with Colorado also being a target of national meddling in the business of State Legislatures.

I commend these legislators, particularly my South Texas friends, who have the commitment and bravery to take the politically dangerous position of leaving the state Capitol in the midst of the session, a highly extraordinary move borne of a highly extraordinary national political grab. By denying the quorum, they are protecting the rights guaranteed to Texans in the Constitution.

These legislators are being criticized for their actions, yet it is the national Republican leadership that put these events in motion and they are the ones who can end it so Texans can get back to the urgent business of balancing our budget, reforming insurance rates, re- financing education reform, and economic development around the state.

Were it not for high-level, unapologetic tinkering in the state's business, the state legislators would now be working on the issues upon which they were elected to pursue. As it is, the only members now hard at work on substantive budgetary matters are the Democrats working out of Oklahoma trying to persuade the national republican leadership to pull the redistricting bill so they can proceed.

The legislators are fighting for open participation in government and redistricting, which is precisely the vision our forefathers had when they founded this country.

I commend the political courage of the legislators who staked their careers on the principle of democratic process and one person-one vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commend the young people at Incarnate Word Academy, IWA, in Corpus Christi, TX, for their understanding and concern about international events and their concern for U.S. troops still stationed overseas fighting the war on terror.

These young people appreciate the military service of those in Iraq and Afghanistan--and elsewhere--and they are showing that concern in a substantive way. They have raised money to buy calling cards so the men and women in uniform can call their homes and families.

I am particularly proud of these young people since they are from my congressional district. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I know how important these amenities are for our troops stationed overseas.

First of all, this saves our troops and their families' money on telephone bills. Secondly, it demonstrates to those wearing our uniforms overseas that people understand their sacrifice and want to help in ways that they can.

IWA could help in this way, and so they have. I want to thank Sister Camelia Hertlihy, IWA's Elementary Principal; Mr. Adolfo Garza, IWA's Middle School Principal; Ms. Suzanne Coleman, IWA's High School Principal; IWA

Student Council Representatives; and the Patriotic Committees from each school level for their hard work to make this happen.

On Friday, they will present a check to Captain Paula Hinger, the Commanding Officer of the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station to formalize their gift of the heart to our warriors.

I ask my colleagues to join me in commending these young people and the school officials for their generosity and for remembering the difficult service our military offers the United States of America.