Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who has dedicated his entire life to the betterment of his community and the success of his family.

It is my great pleasure to inform the House of Representatives that Mr. Robert ``Elliott'' Powers of Savin Hill, in the Dorchester neighborhood of Massachusetts, is celebrating his 75th birthday at a surprise celebration with friends and family this Saturday, March 31st, 2007.

Bob Powers is a lifelong resident of Boston who attended Boston public schools, including the Edward Everett and Christopher Columbus High School. Then, at the age of 17, Bob volunteered to serve his country by enlisting in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. The Navy instilled in Bob a lifelong work ethic as well as personal pride and integrity.

As a letter carrier, Bob was a familiar face in the South End, Back Bay, and the Prudential Center where for many years he worked to ensure postal customers received their mail in a timely and professional manner. For 38 years, as a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, Branch No. 43, Bob Powers put on his uniform every day to ensure that the men, women, families, and businesses on his route received their mail. Bob set an example of hard work and dedication to his friends and family that nobly illustrates the best of the American work ethic.

Madam Speaker, Bob Powers has also been a man committed to his community and has dedicated many hours and much energy to various activities within his home parish of St. William, including coaching basketball and managing the band. For many years Bob led St. William's Band, helping countless numbers of young people to find a purpose and direction in their lives. Through his thousands of volunteer hours Bob made sure that each young person had an opportunity to grow and learn in a safe, enriching, and fun environment.

And most importantly, Bob has had the enormous pleasure and tremendous good fortune to be married to his wife Pat for over 47 years. Additionally, Bob has been blessed with five children: Rosemary, Trish, Kevin, Robert, and Caroline, and is the proud and, from what I hear, doting grandfather to Tierney, Colm, Brendan, Kelli, Erin, and Tara.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take the floor of the House today to join with Bob's family and friends to thank him for his service to his community and to wish him a happy and healthy 75th birthday. I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating the birthday of Bob Powers and wishing him well in all his future endeavors.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I want to begin by thanking Chairman Bennie Thompson, Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Member Mica, and Ranking Member Peter King for their great work on this bill.

This amendment actually strengthens the worker training requirements contained in H.R. 1401, the Rail and Public Transportation Security Act, by ensuring that Congress is kept informed of the progress that must be made in rail and mass transportation providers providing basic security training to their front line workers.

Specifically, this amendment would require the Secretary of Homeland Security within 1 year of issuing the worker training guidance mandated by section 109 of this bill to submit a comprehensive progress report to Congress on the steps that rail and mass transit entities have taken to meet the bill's worker-training requirements.

Notably, this report must also include the result of a worker survey conducted by the Department on whether our front line rail workers and mass transit employees have actually received basic security training.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment stems from the reluctance on the part of the Department of Homeland Security and the rail industry carriers to make worker training a priority.

Back in November, Chairman Thompson and I addressed the National Rail Symposium here in Washington, a rail security conference attended by rail workers, union representatives, industry experts, and transportation scholars. The symposium marked the release of a key rail security study prepared by the National Rail College which noted that our Nation's rail workers continue to lack basic and necessary emergency and anti-terrorism training.

The National Labor College study came on the heels of a 2005 Rail Worker Safety Report prepared by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Rail Security Conference based on over 4,000 surveys completed by the members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way employees. Regrettably, that report revealed that 84 percent, of rail workers

surveyed had not received any terrorism prevention training within the last year, and that 64 percent had not ever been trained in their railroad emergency response plan.

Mr. Chairman, reports that our locomotive engineers, our train crews, conductors, track workers, bridge and building trade employees, our electricians and all other front line rail employees have not received basic security training, are particularly troubling, given that the pattern of terrorist activity around the globe continues to be markedly centered on rail and mass transit.

You can follow the pattern of attacks, Mr. Chairman. Whether it be in 1995 with the sarin gas attacks in Tokyo, the 1995 attacks by the Algerian rebels in Paris, the 2004 suicide bombings of the Moscow metro rail car by Chechen separatists, the 2004 Madrid train bombings, the 2005 London train bombings, or recently the 2006 Mumbai train bombings, terrorists have indicated that this is a preferred area of terrorism, and there is no indication that there is any let-up here. Their willingness to execute bold attacks on rail and transit systems worldwide continues.

Yet despite these lessons learned, our rail and mass transit workers still lack basic and necessary security training, and since 9/11 we have spent over $24 billion on aviation security versus less than $600 million on rail and transit. The Rail Security Summit that we had in Boston not long ago revealed the fact that very few of these workers have been trained at all.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, as well as the main bill, bipartisan legislation that is the result of good work on the part of Chairman Thompson, again Ranking Member King of the Homeland Security Committee, as well as Chairman Oberstar and also Mr. Mica, the ranking member of the Transportation Committee.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, just on the point of the risk analysis and the risk-based strategy here, I do want to note that in our rail conference, our summit on rail security, at one point I did ask the union representative of Amtrak and some of the train crews that were present where they worked. They explained they are the train crews that travel on the trains that go beneath New York City. They run the Northeast corridor from basically Boston to Washington, D.C.

I asked them if they had been trained on evacuation procedures in the tunnels beneath New York City and they explained to me that, no, they had not been trained on evacuating train passengers from the maze of tunnels beneath New York City. I think reason and experience would agree that that is something that would be included in our risk-based strategy.

Thank you very much. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to join the rest of the Members here tonight to say how proud we are of the fashion in which you have defended American workers and led this cause for all Americans.

I rise tonight to address the House on the matter of the pending trade agreements with Peru and Colombia and the general trade promotion authority.

There has been much talk over the past couple of weeks and all of us have heard it about the desire of our country to export democracy to the Middle East. I just have to say that I am a firm believer that you do not export democracy through the Defense Department, as has been suggested by this administration.

What we are talking about here in these trade agreements, this is how you export democracy. If you are going to do it at all, it is through trade agreements which give other workers in other countries a fair opportunity to have a decent standard of living, and it is really incumbent upon us through the Commerce Department and these trade agreements to make sure that at the same time we protect our own workers, we also give a fair chance at a decent living to those of our neighbors internationally.

Just like the job loss that has been described by Mr. Hare, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Ellison, and Mr. Michaud, as the gentleman from Maine indicated, I worked at a General Motors plant in Framingham, Massachusetts, and I saw the impact in Massachusetts and in Framingham of those 2,300 workers getting laid off.

The same thing happened at the General Dynamics shipyard where I worked in Quincy, Massachusetts, and I saw the impact there, as well as the steel plants in the Midwest that I worked at which have also been closed down.

What really gets me is as an ironworker hearing the talk in Washington, especially this administration, they talk about job loss like they talk about the weather, like it is something beyond their control, like it is a natural disaster that they have nothing to do with, when in reality when you look at the policies this administration has put forward, it is a deliberate cause and effect. The reason we are losing jobs is because of the policies that we have adopted.

Just like so many other so-called free trade agreements, this Colombia and Peru trade agreement contain no meaningful language or effective labor and environmental standards for workers in those countries, nor does it provide adequate protections to our own workers.

Madam Speaker, these trade agreements are based on deeply flawed models of NAFTA and CAFTA. We continually repeat the same mistakes and offer the same problematic language in our trade agreements. Instead of enforceable labor provisions, these free trade agreements merely suggest that those nations that we deal with adopt and enforce their own labor laws. They offer no assurance that existing labor problems will be resolved, and they allow labor law to be weakened or eliminated in the future with no possibility of recourse for those workers.

From our experience, we understand that attaching nonbinding side letters is not enough; especially when you consider, as my colleagues mentioned tonight, the record of deplorable labor conditions in the two countries under consideration: Peru and Colombia. They are among the worst examples of labor laws and protections and enforcements in the world.

Peru, as my colleague from Maine has pointed out, the U.S. State Department documented the failure of Peru's own labor laws to comply with U.S. internationally recognized worker rights and ILO core labor standards. Our own State Department included violations of child labor laws with an estimated one-quarter of all Peruvian children between the ages of 6 and 17 employed.

The State Department also indicated Peru's noncompliance with minimum wage guidelines with roughly half of the workforce, about 50 percent of the workforce in Peru, earning the minimum wage or below. These conditions are a far cry from free trade.

Instead, American workers are being asked to compete with underpaid, exploited and child labor workforces. One would think with such deplorable conditions in Peru, that the U.S. would insert enforceable labor standards in the agreement. However, the labor protections are weak and nonbinding.

The same goes for Colombia, a country that is infamous for having the highest trade union assassinations in the world. Mr. Michaud pointed out that more than 2,000 labor activists have been murdered in Colombia since 1990.

Until the Colombian government takes action to change this volatile situation, the United States should not offer any enhanced trade agreements with Colombia.

We also must consider the national security implications of these agreements. Both Peru and Colombia harbor terrorist organizations with heavy involvement in narcotrafficking. While both countries have established financial intelligence units for analyzing and disseminating financial information connected with anti-terrorist financing regimes, greater cooperation from the Peruvian and Colombian government is crucial in undermining the funding mechanisms for these organizations. This crucial issue of national security cannot be overlooked when we consider these trade agreements.

Madam Speaker, while sanctions and serious remedies are granted to the commercial trade and investment provisions of these free trade agreements, the labor, environmental and international security standards are completely ineffectual.

There is no quick fix that can make trade agreements with these countries work for Colombian and Peruvian workers.

To truly strengthen the trade agreements, Congress must also strengthen its negotiating mechanism. Not only are free trade agreements flawed trade models, it is paired with a flawed blueprint for negotiation, and that is the trade promotion authority. Congress needs a new procedure for trade negotiations because we are being held responsible for the damage all over the world. Under the TPA, Congress cedes its ability to control the content of these U.S. trade pacts. Yet we are stuck time and time again with the political liability for the damage that these trade pacts cause.

This damage falls mainly to the American middle class, but also the Peruvian and Colombian agreements are replicating the same model of NAFTA and CAFTA that have been disastrous for the U.S. economy. Since NAFTA, over 1 million jobs have been lost nationwide, with over 23,000 jobs lost in my State of Massachusetts alone. This has reduced wage payments to U.S. workers by $7.6 billion for just 2004. The administration's trade agreement model is killing the American middle class, plain and simple.

Not only has NAFTA been harmful for American workers in Mexico, it displaced 1.7 million campesinos and forced them towards overcrowded cities and to enter the U.S. illegally. Yet the administration has evidently not learned from NAFTA's mistakes. Instead, the administration insisted on zeroing out corn, rice and bean tariffs, even in the face of warnings from the Peruvian and Colombian governments. Such measures will expand the NAFTA disaster to Peru and Colombia.

In their current form, the Peru and Colombian trade agreements will only export more economic hardship rather than democracy for foreign workers.

So I urge my colleagues and I urge everyone to reject the Peru and Colombian trade agreements until the rights

of labor and the environmental issues are contained in these agreements. They should be rejected.

I believe in the potential of free trade, like my colleagues Mr. Hare and Ms. Kaptur and Mr. Michaud, but along with power, as the major world power, we have a responsibility to use that power in a way that softens the impact of globalization on our own American workers, as well as the workers from Peru and Colombia.

Madam Chair, I want to, first of all, thank the gentleman for yielding.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 1362, the Accountability in Contracting Act. This is contract reform legislation that was reported favorably out of our Oversight Committee by unanimous consent, and I think that speaks to the merits of this bill. As a result of the hard work of Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Davis, this is a good first step in bringing accountability to contracting practices in our government.

By minimizing the use, as others have said, of the abusive no-bid contract practice, we will reintroduce competition into this contracting protocol used by our government. As well as limiting the use of cost-plus contracts, we will strengthen the reporting and disclosure requirements for contract overcharges and increase funding for contract oversight personnel. H.R. 1362 will address the glaring weaknesses in our Federal procurement system that have caused considerable waste, fraud, and abuse of American taxpayer dollars.

The need to reform Federal contracting law has been with us for some time and demonstrated, I think, glaringly during our series of contracting hearings in the House Oversight Committee, as we continue to examine a variety of misguided and poorly managed, poorly designed, and extremely costly Federal contracts that have been issued.

In the area of Iraq reconstruction, where we have spent a lot of time, we have learned from William Reed, the Director of the DCAA, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, of more than $10 billion, 10 billion with a ``b,'' in questioned and unsupported costs related to our Iraq reconstruction and troop support contracts. In addition, based on updated data provided to the committee by DCAA, we know that Halliburton's three massive cost-plus contracts alone are the source of at least $2.7 billion in questioned and unsupported billings. And until recently, unfortunately, we have not had auditors on the ground in Iraq. The DCAA did not have contractors on the ground to review these contracts. They were auditing these contracts from Alexandria, Virginia. We have changed that process and put people on the ground.

In the area of homeland security, we recently examined the Department of Homeland Security's $24 billion contract to modernize the Coast Guard's aging fleet and the $30 billion SBInet contract to design and implement a modernized border security plan. Based on thousands of pages of documents provided by DHS to our committee, we have learned that the Department's oversight of these massive contracts is severely limited by what they call the ``prime integrator'' contracts. These prime integrator contracts vest the government oversight responsibility in program design and construction to contractors to do this very work. In addition, we came to find out the Department had actually contracted out oversight functions that it had retained under the contract terms.

This is a good first step. And I want to give great credit to Chairman Waxman for his good work and also Mr. Davis for building compromise in this, and I think that the American taxpayers will be better served by the result of the work of these two gentlemen.

Madam Chairman, I rise today in proud support of H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act.

There has been much said during this debate about what effect this bill will have for American workers and for our business community.

In the simplest terms, the operative language of this bill allows American workers to have a voice in the workplace. It allows individual workers greater ability to come together and bargain collectively with their employer.

In some cases it would mean that workers would have the opportunity to have a say when the company closes its pension fund or moves jobs overseas and lays off its workers.

In some cases these hard-working Americans would have a chance to question exorbitant salaries paid to company CEOs. These workers may actually have a chance to bargain with their employer over health benefits.

Now, it may seem threatening to some folks, that these workers will have a better chance to have a voice in the workplace. But that's basically it, that's what this bill is all about.

Giving a little bit of power to workers who may have had their pensions eliminated and their jobs eliminated.

These workers who would be powerless to have any effect individually will be able to get together, to associate, and bargain as one.

For twenty years I worked as a union ironworker, one of the most dangerous occupations in our society.

The safety standards that were maintained and enforced to make the job as safe as possible were made possible by the Ironworkers International Union and my brothers and sisters of the American Labor Movement.

I can honestly say that I often find it strange that in a country as great as the United States, founded on individual freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of association, that it is necessary to actually have a Federal statute passed so you can join with your fellow workers in order to have a voice in the workplace.

This bill actually allows human beings to exercise a moral right, a God-given right. The time is now, our cause is just, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 800, The Employee Free Choice Act and I yield back the remainder of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 63, which opposes the President's plan to escalate the war in Iraq. I do so because I am in total agreement with Generals Casey and Abizaid, who have said that what is needed in Iraq is a political solution and not a military one, and that additional troops are not recommended.

I have had a chance to travel to Iraq five times now, and based on my own observations in places like Fallujah and Tikrit and Al Qaim out on the Syrian border, I firmly believe that it is the Iraqi people who must ultimately decide whether they are committed to building a better life for their children through democracy, or whether they are more committed to an all-or-nothing sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shia.

Madam Speaker, I believe that packing more troops into the narrow streets of Baghdad would be a disaster. As our daily briefings indicate, the dominant conflict now on the ground in Iraq is no longer Coalition forces against al Qaeda and supporters of the Baathist regime. As the daily body counts of tortured and executed Iraqis indicate, the prevailing conflict on the ground in Iraq now is a brutal civil war between the Sunni and Shia militias, with our troops in the middle.

In fact, in a recent hearing here in Washington, it was entitled, ``Iraq: What Will it Take to Achieve National Reconciliation?''

Basically, as this hearing pointed out, the key mission that we have given to our troops is to somehow now reconcile the differences between Sunni and Shia in Iraq. Just to be clear on this, Madam Speaker, the Sunni and Shia have been in frequent conflict since the year 632 A.D., following the death of the prophet Mohammed. That is what we have asked our troops to do, in essence, to convince the Iraqis now to stop killing each other and to embrace democracy instead.

The President has now asked our brave sons and daughters to take up a police action or essentially a civil affairs action, going door to door in Baghdad. The mission in Iraq has changed.

I have to wonder, how many votes would the President and Vice President have gotten initially if they had been honest and said, We want to send our sons and/or daughters to Iraq in order to reconcile the differences between the Sunni and the Shia who have been fighting for almost 1,400 years. Not many, I think. But that is where we now find ourselves and our troops. While the mission in Iraq has changed, the President is staying the course. What's more, he has decided to push even harder in the wrong direction.

Now is the time that the American people have fairly asked, What will Congress do? Many of my colleagues believe that this resolution doesn't go far enough; and in honesty, I tend to agree with that assessment. But I do believe that this resolution presents a solid and meaningful step in the right direction.

There will be a further debate in coming weeks on the funding on how to best protect our troops while transitioning to Iraqi control in Iraq, and we will have more opportunity to do that.

Lastly, I would like to address the argument that the continuing war in Iraq is necessary for fighting the global war on terrorism. As I have said before, I have been to Iraq five times now. One of the questions that I have repeatedly asked our people on the ground is, How much of this fight in Iraq is part of the global war on terror? How much of it is involving foreign fighters in al Qaeda? Unanimously, they have recommended that it is about 10 percent of the fight in Iraq.

So 90 percent of our cost, 90 percent of our sacrifice, is in a matter that has nothing to do with the global war on terror. In fact, the Defense Department now says that the Mahdi Army, the main Shia militia, has replaced al Qaeda as the most dangerous force in the increasing violence there.

If we are truly committed to the global war on terror, I might point out we have a situation in southeast Afghanistan and in Waziristan, where the

Taliban, who actually did support al Qaeda and who actually did involve themselves in the attacks on September 11, are building support.

While we spend $350 billion in Iraq, Pakistan has meanwhile allowed a safe haven to be established for the Taliban. If we are indeed committed to protecting America and the global war on terror, I would suggest that there are smarter and better ways to do that.

Yes, the American people are waiting for this Congress to take a stand. It is time to step up. I ask my colleagues to support this resolution. It is the first step in eventually bringing the troops home safely

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 437) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 500 West Eisenhower Street in Rio Grande City, Texas, as the ``Lino Perez, Jr. Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 437, legislation naming a postal facility in Rio Grande City, Texas, after the former postmaster of Rio Grande City, Lino Perez, Jr.

Lino Perez, Jr., was the 18-year-old son of the mayor of the City of Rio Grande, Texas, where he witnessed how a breakdown in a government service could disrupt the lives of nearly all of its beneficiaries.

The City of Rio Grande, with a population of over 2,000, was disincorporated in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression over local businesses' refusal to pay taxes, causing young Perez's high school to lose its accredited status.

Thereafter, unable to complete in school in town, Mr. Perez persevered with his education, attending classes 100 miles away in Brownsville and eventually receiving his diploma from a school in Austin. Mr. Perez's father, Lino Perez, Sr., had served for 4 years as the Democratic mayor of the now disbanded town of Rio Grande. Some might have feared that a town which had financially defaulted and disbanded its government would suffer the fate of so many ghost towns in the western States, slowly fading from the map.

However, Mr. Perez, Sr., continued to look after his community, volunteering for the office of postmaster to his unincorporated neighbors. Mr. Perez, Sr., put his son, Lino Perez, Jr., to work delivering letters that same year.

Mr. Speaker, Lino Perez, Jr., succeeded his father as postmaster of Rio

Grande on New Year's Eve, 1957. During his first term, Mr. Perez improved service to the growing downtown district and the surrounding rural areas of Starr County. Mr. Perez strove to further serve the city by winning approval for a new post office building.

The Perez family, senior, and then junior, ran that post office in Rio Grande from 1934 to 1975. Together, they watched the town heal from economic stagnancy and grow in population throughout the century.

When Lino Perez, Jr., retired from the postal service, he continued his public service as State warden, State secretary and finally State treasurer of Texas. Lino Perez, Jr., learned from his father and, in turn, showed his town the strength of a community to weather difficulty as one, and the power of letter carriers to knit the lives of their fellow citizens together, to make all of the neighbors' stories into one story.

Many local officials support naming this post office after Lino Perez, Jr., including the city mayor, the county judge, and the area's State Representative.

Mr. Speaker, together with my colleagues, we urge the swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield for as much time as he may consume to my esteemed colleague from Texas (Mr. Cuellar).

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, we are indeed very proud that this post office is being named after a postal employee, a very proud family.

On behalf of all the workers of the United States Postal Service, we want to urge swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 414) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 60 Calle McKinley, West in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as the ``Miguel Angel Garcia Mendez Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in this House in the consideration of H.R. 414, legislation naming a postal facility in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico after the local politician, Miguel Angel Garcia Mendez.

Mr. Garcia Mendez proudly served the territory of Puerto Rico as the youngest Speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives, serving between 1932 and 1940. He later was elected senator and founded the newspaper, El Imparcial.

Born in the town of Aguadilla on November 17, 1902, Mr. Garcia Mendez became an attorney and successful businessman. During his political career, he helped start the Republican Statehood Party, which was the predecessor of today's New Progressive Party, in 1948.

Up until his death, he advocated for Puerto Rico statehood in the hope that they would gain the right as American citizens to vote for President and to have a counted vote in the U.S. Congress.

Mr. Garcia Mendez passed away in November of 1998, and his dedication to service for all Puerto Ricans should be remembered and celebrated with this small tribute.

Mr. Speaker, together with my colleagues in the House, I urge the swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of a man whose professional life has been dedicated to improving the lives of working men and women in Massachusetts and our Nation. Joseph ``Duke'' Carter is a remarkable labor leader with a long and illustrious career with the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.

Duke joined the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades in 1965 and over the next 21 years worked on numerous jobs throughout Boston and the State of Massachusetts. In this capacity Duke developed complete comprehension of the trade and was known for his expertise and attention to detail.

In 1986, Duke became a Business Representative for the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council #35 until 2005 when he was appointed to the position of Assistant Director of Servicing. Duke has also contributed to the improvement of workers' rights as a Delegate to the International Painters and Allied Trades at their National Convention as well as being a Trustee to the Pension, Annuity, Health and Apprenticeship funds program.

Despite his various accomplishments, the title that Duke has always been most proud of and which he cherishes most, is the title of a proud and loving husband. Duke has had the enormous pleasure and tremendous good fortune to be married to his wife Patti for over 43 years.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take the floor of the House today to join with Joseph ``Duke'' Carter's family, friends and brothers and sisters of labor to thank him for over 40 years of remarkable service to the American Labor Movement. I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating Duke's distinguished career and wishing him good health and God's blessing in all his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 577) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3903 South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, as the ``Sergeant Henry Ybarra III Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 577, legislation naming a postal facility in Austin, Texas, after Staff Sergeant Henry Ybarra III.

On September 11, 2003, Sergeant Ybarra died in Iraq, performing maintenance on a heavy expanded mobility tactical truck when a tire exploded. He was serving in the Army's 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Unit when he was killed at the young age of 32.

Born in Austin, Texas, Sergeant Ybarra grew up wanting to be just like

his father and serve in the military. At age 19 he enlisted in the Army and fulfilled his dream.

Sergeant Ybarra served as a technical supply clerk, keeping track of spare parts for the squadron, which was not an easy task since spare parts are often scarce during times of conflict.

Sergeant Ybarra was known for his upbeat attitude, his contagious smile, and strong devotion to the Catholic faith. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Staff Sergeant Ybarra's service to our country should be remembered and celebrated by this small tribute, and I urge swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett) as much time as he may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with the eloquent remarks of the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 514) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 16150 Aviation Loop Drive in Brooksville, Florida, as the ``Sergeant Lea Robert Mills Brooksville Aviation Branch Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 514, legislation naming a postal facility in Brooksville, Florida, after Sergeant Lea Robert Mills of the United States Marine Corps.

Sergeant Mills was killed April 28, 2006, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He was 21 years old. A native of Masarkytown, Florida, Sergeant Mills joined the Marines in 2002 after graduating from Hernando High School. After his initial service, he renewed his commitment to the Marines and volunteered to serve his country in Iraq.

He spent only 6 weeks in that country before an improvised explosive device took his life. Sergeant Mills is survived by his wife, Keesha, his parents, Rob and Delores, and his brother, Parker. This young man's death is a tragedy for our Nation and for all those who loved him, but his sacrifice is a triumph of human courage and selflessness. Sergeant Mills is due the gratitude and remembrance of his country and its people.

I urge the swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 433) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1700 Main Street in Little Rock, Arkansas, as the ``Scipio A. Jones Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H.R. 433, legislation naming a postal facility in Little Rock, Arkansas, after Scipio Africanus Jones.

Mr. Jones was an African American lawyer, judge, professor and humanitarian. Born in 1863 as a slave, he is most noted for his work to appeal the conviction and death sentence of 12 black sharecroppers for their involvement in the Elaine Race Riot. The Elaine Race Riot is one of the bloodiest racial conflicts in American history. Mr. Jones' work brought the case to the United States Supreme Court, and as a result found mob driven trials violated the due process clause of the 14th amendment.

Mr. Jones also made history when he personally purchased $50,000 worth of Liberty Bonds, which helped support the Allied war efforts in the First World War. Soon thereafter, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to the Liberty Bond National Advisory Board.

Later in his life, he continued to advocate against racial discrimination. He fought for black voting rights and worked with Thurgood Marshall in a case ensuring fair pay for African American teachers. His contribution impacted society's treatment towards blacks in a powerful way, and for this we all should be proud and remember him dearly.

I urge the swift passage of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of a woman who has dedicated both her personal and professional life to the men, women, and children she has so thoughtfully served. Massachusetts State Representative Kathleen M. Teahan has served the citizens of Abington, East Bridgewater and Whitman for the last ten years. The impact of her work has been felt not only throughout the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but throughout this great Nation as a whole.

Known to be an always positive leader in both the classroom and legislature, Representative Teahan began her public service as a teacher after graduating from Bridgewater State College in 1969. Over the next three decades, she taught at Whitman-Hanson Regional High School and Gordon W. Mitchell Middle School in East Bridgewater. Yet her passion to help others and invest in the community was not limited to just the classroom. Representative Teahan's commitment to Habitat for Humanity, the Whitman Democratic Town Committee, and the Whitman Library are just a few examples of her devotion to the citizens of Massachusetts.

Encouraged and supported by her late husband Robert, Representative Teahan decided to expand her efforts to help others and was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in November 1996. Since that time, she has not only made an impact on the citizens within the 7th District but has been a national leader and role model through her involvement with issues involving health care, education, employment, and the environment,

especially finding passion in the areas of children's health and adoption.

During her time in elected office, Representative Teahan served on the House Personnel and Administration, Joint Elder Affairs, and Joint Public Health Committees and served as the House chairman of the Caucus of Women Legislators. As a sign of her strong leadership and efforts to bring about positive change, Representative Teahan was nominated by her colleagues in 2001 to participate in the Flemming Fellows Institute at the Center for Policy Alternatives. She has also participated as a Massachusetts Team Leader for the Veterans Oral History Project at the Library of Congress since 2003.

A place where her dedication and work is most evident is on the issue of oral health care. Representative Teahan served as a member of the Special Committee on Oral Health, who presented its report to the Massachusetts Legislature on March 2, 2000. Five years later, Representative Teahan became part of history when she became cochair of the Massachusetts Caucus on Oral Health, which is the first caucus on oral health in the Nation.

Those who come in contact with Representative Teahan know all too well that she will fight for the health and well being of any child, whether they are in District 7 or in another country. In 2002, she accompanied a humanitarian delegation to bring medical supplies, books, Braille texts, toys, and toothbrushes to Cuba. Representative Teahan has been honored for her legislative efforts by the Congressional Coalition Adoption Institute, Health Care for All, and the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, and the Special Olympics.

It has always been clear that Representative Teahan's most cherished asset is her family, and she values the time she will now have to spend with her four children Anne, Jean, Robert, John, and her granddaughter Jill. Even though Representative Teahan's tenure as a State Representative has ended, her passion for changing lives will not cease. She will continue to inspire the next generation to get involved in their local communities, continuing her role as educator by teaching American Government at Bridgewater State College.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take the floor of the House today to join with State Representative Kathy Teahan's family, friends, and fellow citizens of Massachusetts to thank her for a decade of service in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and her lifetime of service in educating all within her reach. I hope my colleagues will join me in celebrating Representative Teahan's distinguished career, as we wish her good health and God's blessing in all of her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4, to give seniors someone to negotiate on their behalf for lower-price drug prices.

We all know how in 2003, in the middle of the night, after twisting arms and making threats, Congress passed a flawed Medicare prescription drug bill. By actually forbidding the Medicare program to negotiate directly with drug companies to get the best price for seniors' prescriptions and save money, the Republican Congress simply put profits for the drug companies ahead of Medicare beneficiaries.

The medicare drug benefit actually is designed to ensure that pharmaceutical and insurance companies maximize their profits.

By prohibiting Medicare from directly negotiating drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry like the VA does, many drugs within Medicare are more than twice as high as the prices paid by the VA.

Since the industry is already making a profit at the price for which it sells drugs to the VA, the higher price paid in Medicare is pure profit for the drug industry.

That's why I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of a man whose professional life has been dedicated to improving the lives of working men and women in Massachusetts, across our nation and beyond our borders. Jack McGinness is a remarkable labor leader with a long and illustrious career in the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada.

Brother Jack McGinness, the youngest of six children, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to William and Anne McGinness. He grew up in the City of Cambridge and graduated from Cambridge High and Latin School. After graduation, Jack honorably served our country by enlisting in the United States Marine Corps.

Jack was initiated into the Plumbers Apprenticeship Program on September 28, 1964. In his first year, Jack worked for the George Murphy Company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following the completion of his five year apprentice training program, Jack worked as a plumber and foreman for U.A. Contractors within the jurisdiction of Local 12 but also other U.A. contractors on the road in the U.S. and Canada.

During his tenure, brother McGinness served as a member of Plumbers Local 12, as an officer on Local 12's Joint Conference Board, Executive Board, the Apprentice Committee as well as served as Trustee for the Local 12 Health and Welfare Fund, delegate to the United Association's National Convention in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006. Brother McGinness served on the Sergeant of Arms Committee from 2001 until 2006. He was elected Business Agent in 1994.

Jack's dedication to the men and women of the Building Trades has been regularly acknowledged by his peers. He was elected by his brothers and sisters of labor to serve as President of the Framingham- Newton Building Trades Council as well as to serve on the State Building Trades Executive Board as a Delegate to the National Building Trades Convention in 2001 and 2005.

Anyone who has had the privilege to work along side Jack knows that he is a dedicated and thoughtful individual, concerned primarily for the safety and welfare of his union brothers and sisters and their families.

Beyond his professional commitment, Jack devoted much of his time to developing Local 12's annual participation in Dads' Day and Toys for Tots as well as the Local 12 Golf Committee and the Local 12 Social Committee.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to take the Floor of the House today to join with Jack McGinness' family, friends and brothers and sisters of labor to thank him for more than forty years of remarkable service to the American Labor Movement. I hope my Colleagues will join me in celebrating Jack's distinguished career and wishing him good health and God's blessing in all his future endeavors.