Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with my colleagues these remarks from my constituent, Larry Simon, on the dedication of the Simon Rainbow Room at the Gurwin Jewish Geriatric Center in Commack, New York. Larry and Sandy Simon's spirit of generosity is evident in these touching remarks.

Simon Rainbow Room Dedication, Larry Simon Remarks

Thank you Gerry, Concetta and Barbara for helping to make

this a very special evening for us. It is particularly

meaningful to Sandy and I that those for whom Gurwin was

built, our residents, share tonight with our family, friends

and special colleagues.

We chose to dedicate the Rainbow Room because it represents

the vitality and possibilities of life. It symbolizes the

very reason for our devotion to the Gurwin Center's work.

Sandy and I have had the opportunity to stand at this podium

and witness so many joyous events that have touched us beyond

imagination. We have shared excitement and joy with our

residents and their families, and we always leave with an

uplifting feeling that we and our fellow colleagues have made

a difference.

So often when people confront the difficult challenges of

life they ask, ``why me . . . why us.'' For Sandy and I,

grateful for our yesterday's when our hopes and dreams were

new, grateful for today's joys and bounty's of life and thus

given the opportunity to make a difference, the question we

asked ourselves is ``why not us . . . if not us who.'' That

simply is why we have made Gurwin such a special and

important part of our life. Our involvement is a tremendous

source of pleasure, pride and personal satisfaction. We truly

believe we receive back far more than we have given.

Let me share this poignant letter with all of you to

demonstrate our point!

Dear Mr. Friedman: . . . My wife entered the Gurwin Center

on March 25, 2003. At that time she was on a ventilator,

incontinent and was being fed through a G-tube. She couldn't

speak or walk, and I feared I was losing her.

The wonderful, professional, compassionate and caring staff

of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants and therapists on 4

East changed all that. My wife is now off the ventilator, no

longer incontinent, and eats solid food. She can walk and

speak and seems well on the way to a complete recovery.

God bless you and the excellent staff on 4 East for giving

my wife back to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Respectfully and gratefully.

This letter certainly confirms our point of getting back

more than we have given.

In the business world we deal with many ``investment

partnerships and partnership investors.'' Sandy and I

are equally grateful for our Gurwin partners as well. We

would like to thank those who work so closely with us. We

greatly value the commitment and leadership of our fellow

Board and Auxiliary colleagues. We respect and admire the

dedicated staff who make this Center their life's work,

and we thank the staff of the Gurwin Auxiliary and the

Gurwin Foundation for making our volunteer experience so

rewarding.

We must also acknowledge tonight's Gurwin participants who

have been so kind to us, here at the podium.

Phyllis Charash, you are a woman of strength, a woman of

faith, a woman of honor, and a woman of pride and charity.

Thank you for emceeing tonight's celebration and dedication.

You are a very special lady.

Herb Friedman, you've worked so hard and diligently to make

Gurwin what it is today. You've dared to share your dreams,

encourage and advise all of us and you've been here right

from the very start. You are one of the most important people

in our Gurwin life and we thank you for your dedication and

outstanding effort year after year.

Joseph Gurwin, you continue to share your strength, vision

and wisdom with us, and mentor by example the values of love,

respect and commitment to family and the Gurwin community.

Your friendship and counsel have been sustaining and

inspiring. We offer our love and admiration. You are a very

special man.

Our wish for all of you here tonight--be grateful for

tomorrow and the promises it holds--wonderful times, a

happier life, and a deeper affection for the human spirit and

needs as each new day unfolds.

Just as our name will now be etched on the dedication

plaque for this room, the special feelings of this evening

will be etched in our memories forever. We applaud all of you

for sharing our passion for Gurwin. Thank you!

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act (H.R. 438), which will help improve the education of children attending public schools in high poverty areas.

Research has demonstrated that highly qualified teachers and high retention rates improve the performance of our schools. This will require additional incentives for our nation's college students to enter the teaching profession.

The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act will increase the amount of student loans that can be forgiven from $5,000 to $17,000 for ``highly qualified'' math, science or special education teachers serving in schools with special needs.

For the past two years, Congress has been working to ensure that no child is left behind. We must also ensure that we do not leave minority teachers behind.

Currently minority students account for 33 percent of American public school enrollment. But minorities only account for 13 percent of America's public school teachers. It is estimated that more than 40 percent of the nation's public schools have no minority teachers at all.

This gap between the percentage of minority students and teachers will not close on its own. In fact, it will grow wider every day.

By the year 2025, minority students will account for half of American public school enrollment. But one bleak estimate has minority teachers representing just 5 percent of the future teaching force.

If attracting and retaining high quality teachers is necessary for our children to have a high quality education, and we continue to value equal opportunity and diversity in our public workplace, then more must be done to correct this disparity.

That is why I have worked to secure funding for innovative programs on Long Island.

In 2002, I secured $800,000 for a new Institute for Minority Teacher Training, based at St. Johns University, to attract a new cadre of minority math and science teachers.

Last year, I secured $400,000 in funding for Dowling College to continue the development of an innovative program to attract minority students from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods, help the students obtain an undergraduate degree, and return them to the same neighborhoods to teach in underserved public schools.

I am hopeful that this legislation will work in concert with my efforts on Long Island to ensure that our teachers become as diverse as the student body they mentor.

We cannot make the mistake of leaving minority teachers behind.

I urge my colleagues to join me in this effort by creating similar programs in their districts and by expanding incentives for people to teach in previously neglected schools.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great pride and admiration to commend Leonard R. Totora for his service in the United States Army.

At this time of conflict, stories like those of Mr. Totora remind us of the courage the members of our Armed Forces have always displayed and continue to display on a daily basis. They are a testament to the dedication, honor and strength of the men and women in uniform. They deserve to be praised for generations to come.

After enlisting in the army at the age of 17, Mr. Totora attended the Army School of Photography and then spent two years in Europe as a member of the Signal Corps, filming motion pictures for the military. With the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Mr. Totora was assigned to General MacArthur's headquarters in Japan.

In Korea, Mr. Totora served above and beyond the call of duty when he volunteered to jump 35 miles behind enemy lines with the 187th Airborne Rangers. Unfortunately, with no prior parachuting experience or training, Mr. Totora suffered severe injuries to his right leg and ankle. Knowing hove important the footage he was capturing was, Mr. Totora initially refused medical treatment and remained with the 187th Airborne Rangers for many more hours.

Upon hearing the news of his heroic effort on the battlefield, UN Supreme Commander General Ridgeway awarded Mr. Totora paratrooper wings with a Battle Star. In addition to his paratrooper wings, Mr. Totora was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery against the enemy.

I commend Mr. Leonard Totora for his dedication and service to his country and for the bravery, honor and valor he displayed during his service in the Army.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to be a Democratic Member of this body. I have always been proud to be a Democrat. And always will be.

But I came to Congress 2\1/2\ years ago with a promise to my constituents that I would work hard to break through partisan gridlock. I promised that when I agreed with the Republicans I would vote with them; and when I disagreed I would vote against them. But that I would always work to develop consensus and move our country forward.

That is what brings me here today, Mr. Speaker.

In those 2\1/2\ years, I have focused on a health care crisis for seniors on Long Island. We used to have 12 Medicare HMOs in my communities. Now we have two

left. Eighty-five thousand seniors have been tossed out of their Medicare HMOs. One out of five is skipping their medication because they can't afford them.

And in those 2\1/2\ years, I have listened to Republicans blame Democrats for this crisis; Democrats blame Republicans; the House blame the Senate; the Senate blame the House; Congress blame the White House; the White House blame Congress; and everyone blame the insurance companies.

There is plenty of blame to go around. But all the blame in the world isn't going to help a single senior citizen get their prescription drugs at a more affordable price.

It's time to stop blaming. It's time to stop finger pointing. It's time for conservatives to stop railing against a $400 billion prescription drug plan because it's too liberal. It's time for liberals to stop railing against a $400 billion prescription drug plan because it's too conservative. It's time for everyone to stop rejecting the imperfect because we can't get the perfect. It's time to move this process forward.

Mr. Speaker, I believe the Democrats are right. It will take at least $800 billion to provide America's seniors with a truly comprehensive, voluntary prescription drug plan.

Is an $800 billion prescription drugs program better than a $400 billion program that's before us today? Of course. $400 billion is only half as good as $800 billion . . . but it is $400 billion better than nothing. And nothing is exactly what we will leave our seniors if we reject this proposal today.

To reject the largest expansion of Medicare in its 38-year history because it's $400 billion instead of $800 billion just doesn't make sense to me.

Mr. Speaker, only a short time ago, President Bush argued for a $190 billion prescription drug plan. My side of the aisle proposed an $800 billion plan. Some say we have ended up at a $400 billion plan.

I disagree. I think we are beginning with a $400 billion plan. It is the largest expansion of Medicare in its 38-year history. It is, in my view, a down payment. An investment.

Is this plan flawed? I believe it is. I believe the Senate plan, supported by Ted Kennedy, is much better. But we can't get near that plan unless we go to a House-Senate conference. And we can't go to a House-Senate conference unless we pass this bill today.

Yesterday at the White House, I listened carefully to President Bush. He said clearly we must move this process forward and pledged to work on a bipartisan basis to develop a final bill that represents consensus.

But there's no hope for consensus, no hope for a penny of prescription drug spending, if we slam the brakes on the process today by killing this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, of particular importance to me and the constituents I represent is that this bill contains the Greenwood-Israel-Fossella amendment, which ends the economic discrimination in federal reimbursement formulas to suburban Medicare HMOs that have forced 85,000 of my constituents out of their prescription drug plans.

Those seniors are watching us today. They are tired of blame, tired of gridlock, tired of excuses. They don't care whether it's a Democratic solution or a Republican solution, as long as it's a good solution.

This is not a perfect solution. But it is a good start. It is the largest expansion of Medicare in its 38-year history. It ends the price discrimination on Long Island and other suburbs around the nation.

Mr. Speaker, let me close by repeating this: $400 billion is only half as good as $800 billion . . . but it is $400 billion better than nothing. And nothing is exactly what we will leave our seniors if we reject this proposal today. In the spirit of advancing the process, I will support this bill. I reserve the right, however, to vote against a bill that emerges from Conference that does not address the significant flaws in the legislation before us tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a resolution that expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Postmaster General should issue a postage stamp commemorating the 75th birthday of Anne Frank.

As we all know, Anne Frank documented her life during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam in a diary that she called ``Kitty.'' The diary became her confidant, and she wrote about her experiences before the occupation, going into hiding, and the tortuous years in hiding. She has come to be a girl we all feel we know well, a personification of good in the face of hatred, murder and genocide.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl has been translated into 67 languages and has sold more than 31 million copies. It is the most widely read memoir of the Holocaust. For many American students, this book is their first exposure to the horror and historical uniqueness of the Holocaust.

Anne Frank has become an inspiration to youth of all faiths and is a symbol of children throughout the world who suffer in war, subjugation and oppression. She serves as a beacon of bravery, hope and tolerance under the most harsh, inhumane conditions. Her life and death are reminders of the need for constant vigilance and international human rights.

U.S. postage stamps have honored well-respected and influential people, and I believe that Anne Frank deserves recognition. It is appropriate to honor her in this very unique way.

Today Anne Frank would have been 74 years old. She was a talented writer, and her contribution to the world cannot be understated. In one year from today, we will be remembering her on her 75th birthday. I am hopeful that this postage stamp will be issued in time for this milestone.

I encourage all my colleagues to cosponsor this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Coach Lou Giani of Huntington High School on his induction into the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Coach Giani is among the most successful wrestling coaches in New York State history, having compiled 388 victories in 34 seasons. This past season Coach Giani and his Huntington High School team won the New York State team title--a remarkable eighth title for Coach Giani. In addition to the team accolades, Huntington High School also had three individual wrestlers win State Championships, increasing the career total of Coach Giani to a record 22 individual state champions. In recognition of these accomplishments, the National Wrestling Coaches Association bestowed on him the honor of ``Coach of the Year.''

In addition to his service to Huntington High School and New York State, Coach Giani has served as an international ambassador for wrestling. Having organized cultural exchange programs in both the Soviet Union and Poland, he has provided disadvantaged youth with the opportunity to learn wrestling from one of the sport's best coaches.

Beyond his service as a coach and international teacher, Mr. Giani had an equally impressive career as a wrestler. Having not begun to wrestle until his junior year of high school, Mr. Giani went on to win ten New York Athletic Club titles, a gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games and was given the honor of representing the United States on the 1960 Olympic Freestyle team.

I commend Coach Lou Giani for his dedication to the sport as well as his service to the students of Huntington High School and I congratulate him on his induction into the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, every day we wake up and are faced with new discoveries. We read about the depths of space that we can only now see with the Hubble Telescope. We learn about tremendous achievement in nanotechnology, like the printing of a Bible that can fit on a pencil eraser. We have been to the moon and back, landed robots on Mars and cured diseases that have plagued mankind for millennia. Yet, Mr. Speaker, in this litany of great achievements one that stands out above all, is to have learned the very vocabulary of life, to have mapped the entire human genome.

I rise today in support of this resolution and to recognize that the sequencing of the human genome is indeed one of the greatest scientific accomplishments of the past one hundred years, indeed of all of history.

But Mr. Speaker, I rise with special pride because of Long Island's unique contribution in the quest to map the genome. Much of the work to sequence the genome took place at Cold Spring Harbor Lab on Long Island, and in particular, by a brilliant scientist I am privileged to know: Dr. James Watson.

Dr. Watson, along with Francis Crick, discovered the structure of DNA. For this accomplishment they shared the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology of Medicine with Maurice Wilkins. Their revolutionary concept was that the DNA molecule takes the shape of a double helix, and elegantly simple structure that resembles a gently twisted ladder.

Mr. Speaker, my children learn about the double helix today in science class. We take it for granted. We watch Law and Order and CSI and hear about DNA testing and we go to the doctor to find out if we have a genetic marker for a specific disease.

Yet we almost never stop to think about this phenomenal breakthrough. It is amazing that in fewer than fifty years we have come so far. We should all be very proud that this achievement occurred here in the United States, a testament to our ongoing strengths, continuing leadership in science and technology.

The human genome provides us with the most basic information of life. What we do with that information is up to us. Dr. Watson and his colleagues have gotten us this far. It is my hope, that through efforts like Human Genome Month and DNA Day, our young people will be inspired to make the great scientific leaps of tomorrow--applying the genetic map to conquering dreaded diseases and improving the quality of life on our planet.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend Coach Lou Giani of Huntington High School on his induction into the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Coach Giani is among the most successful wrestling coaches in New York State history, having compiled 388 victories in 34 seasons. This past season Coach Giani and his Huntington High School team won the New York State team title--a remarkable eighth title for Coach Giani. In addition to the team accolades, Huntington High School also had three individual wrestlers win State Championships, increasing the career total of Coach Giani to a record 22 individual state champions. In recognition of these accomplishments, the National Wrestling Coaches Association bestowed on him the honor of ``Coach of the Year''.

In addition to his service to Huntington High School and New York State, Coach Giani has served as an international ambassador for wrestling. Having organized cultural exchange programs in both the Soviet Union and Poland, he has provided disadvantaged youth with the opportunity to learn wrestling from one of the sport's best coaches.

Beyond his service as a coach and international teacher, Mr. Giani had an equally impressive career as a wrestler. Having not begun to wrestle until his junior year of high school, Mr. Giani went on to win ten New York Athletic Club titles, a gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games and was given the honor of representing the United States on the 1960 Olympic Freestyle team.

I commend Coach Lou Giani for his dedication to the sport as well as his service to the students of Huntington High School and I congratulate him on his induction into the U.S. National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be in Washington yesterday. Three recorded votes were taken by the House; if I were here, I would have voted as follows:

Rollcall No. 227: a motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 159, a resolution Expressing Profound Sorrow on the Occasion of the Death of Irma Rangel. I would have voted ``yea'';

Rollcall No. 228: a motion to suspend the rules and pass H. Res. 195, a resolution congratulating Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs for Hitting 500 Major League Home Runs. I would have voted ``yea'';

Rollcall No. 229: a motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1465, a bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4832 East Highway 27 in Iron Station, North Carolina, as the ``General Charles Gabriel Post Office''. I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H. Res. 218, a resolution that expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should not revise its media ownership rules without more extensive review and without a public comment period. The FCC is scheduled to announce their decision on June 2, 2003.

I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important resolution because the proposed media ownership rules will undoubtedly be a drastic rewrite that would place huge limits on what Americans hear on the radio, watch on television or read in the newspaper. We should invite more review and public comment on the consequences of these changes before the rule is implemented.

Among other things, these proposed rules would permit a television corporation to own a radio station and a newspaper in the same market. They would also increase the number of stations a television company can own from two to three. These rules will result in increased mergers activity and ultimately, in many markets, Americans will get all aspects of their news and information from one company.

The legislated goals of the FCC include fostering competition, local control and an array of voices. But these proposed rules go against the FCC's own objectives by allowing a massive concentration of power and putting local stations out of business. These rules would create homogenized programming.

The United States prides itself on diversity and freedom of the press. My constituents have expressed concern at the thought of one media outlet controlling all of the news and information they receive about their government, their fellow citizens and their culture.

I am hopeful that by June 2, 2003, FCC Chairman Michael Powell will hear the voices of Americans and postpone implementation of his rule so that he can hold public discussions and conduct a more extensive review.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, earlier I listened to the distinguished chairman of the committee talk about the importance of funding our national security budgets, and I agree with him. But make no mistake about it, this tax plan makes it harder for our kids to fund their national security budgets.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated that starting in 2008 we are going to require defense budgets of $464 billion a year. What does that mean? Within a few years, we are going to have to come up with at least $64 billion a year every year over this year's authorized limits. That is $384 billion for defense before this tax cut expires. You do the math: $384 billion more for defense, and $350 billion less to pay for it. We are draining the Treasury when we need even more for defense.

No conferee would go into a fancy car dealer, pick out the most expensive model, and say, Let my kids pay for it.

Mr. Speaker, this is reckless. For those Members of this body who say they are strong on defense, let them be strong on defense budgets. Strong defense budgets are more important than tax cuts. This plan does the opposite.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Denis J. McElligott, who will be honored by the Smithtown Democratic Committee tonight.

Denis has been committed to politics since his early years on the campaign trail with his father. He went on to intern for my predecessor, Congressman Tom Downey in Washington. During his service on the Smithtown Committee from 1992 to 1999, Denis worked tirelessly to preserve the true spirit of the committee.

In 1999, Denis was tapped by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to run the Attorney General's Suffolk Regional Office. Since then, he has successfully represented the State of New York in various types of litigation.

In addition to his work in politics, Denis is also an active member of the legal community. He is a member of the Suffolk County Bar Association and has served as chairman of the Plaintiff's Negligence Committee.

I commend Denis on his commitment to the Democratic Party and his service to New York and Long Island.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday the House of Representatives considered seven bills under suspension of the rules. We met for 2 hours and 24 minutes of legislative business. Yesterday we considered six more bills under suspension. We convened at 10. We completed our legislative business by 4:22, 5 hours and 35 minutes of doing the people's business. And what was the people's business that we did?

We directed the commandant of the Coast Guard to convey the Cutter Bramble to the Port Huron Museum of Arts and History; we renamed three Federal facilities; we honored the life and work of the former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; we made funds available for the fruit and vegetable pilot program in the school lunch program; we established the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site; we authorized the Secretary of the Interior to revise a repayment contract with a Texas county and to grant an easement to facilitate access to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

All we did not do is extend temporary emergency unemployment compensation to millions of American workers who will fall off a cliff at the end of this month. Today we convened at 10. We are going to go home at 2 o'clock, back to our districts, spend the weekend there, come back next week and still we will not have helped those 2 million Americans who will fall off a cliff without a paycheck and without temporary emergency unemployment compensation. How is it possible that this House can find time to do all of those activities this week and not do what the American people want us to do, to help them, to assist them? If this bill came to the floor now, it would pass, because none of my colleagues are willing to go back to their districts and look in the eyes of a worker who has lost his job and say, I couldn't help you, I wouldn't help you, I didn't help, but I did rename three Federal facilities this week. This bill would pass if it were allowed to the floor.

The gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) have introduced legislation to extend temporary unemployment compensation. I have introduced a special rule to allow it to the floor immediately. We have to do this. We have no choice because those millions of workers have no choice, have no paycheck, have no help. This economy is pushing them off that cliff. We are the only people who can bring them back from the brink. If we go home to our districts without having done that, we have done a massive disservice to them, slapped them in the face, and further endangered and damaged our economy.

Mr. Speaker, in the wake of the recent war with Iraq, many Americans are analyzing the battles and asking what lessons the military and its leadership learned. The Boston Globe carried an analysis on Tuesday, May 13, by Lawrence J. Korb, who was Assistant Secretary of Defense in President Reagan's administration.

In Mr. Korb's analysis, a great deal of credit for our success must go to President Clinton, who appointed many of the commanders, prepared and recruited the troops, and modernized the weapons and strategies used in the war.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Mr. Korb's work to the entire House and ask that it appear in the Record at this time.

[From the Boston Globe, May 13, 2003]

Thank Clinton for a Speedy Victory in Iraq

(By Lawrence J. Korb)

While it is understandable that President George W. Bush

and his secretary of defense are receiving plaudits for the

relatively swift military victory in Iraq, the fact of the

matter is that most of the credit for the successful military

operation should go to the Clinton administration.

As Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld noted, the battle

plan that led to the American success was that of General

Tommy Franks, an Army officer appointed to head the Central

Command by the Clinton administration. More important, the

military forces that executed that plan so boldly and bravely

were for the most part recruited, trained, and equipped by

the Clinton administration.

The first Bush defense budget went into effect on Oct. 1,

2002, and none of the funds in that budget have yet had an

impact on the quality of the men and women in the armed

services, their readiness for combat, or the weapons they

used to obliterate the Iraqi forces.

Given the way that Bush and his surrogates disparaged

Clinton's approach to the military in his 2000 campaign, this

is ironic. The president and his advisers claimed that

Clinton had diminished the armed forces' fighting edge by

turning them into social workers and sending them too often

on ``useless'' nation-building exercises. These same people

also claimed that Clinton had so underfunded the military

that it was in a condition similar to that which existed on

the eve of Pearl Harbor.

Throughout the summer and fall of 2000, Vice President Dick

Cheney summed up the Bush team's sentiment toward what

Clinton had done to the military: He went around the country

telling the military and the nation that help and additional

support were on the way for our troops.

Anyone examining the facts would know that these claims

were bogus. The Clinton administration actually spent more

money on defense than had the outgoing administration of the

first President Bush. The smaller outlays during the first

Bush administration were developed and approved by Dick

Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, who were then

serving as secretary of defense and chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff respectively.

Clinton's last secretary of defense, William Cohen, turned

over to Rumsfeld a defense budget that was higher in real

terms than what James Schlesinger had bequeathed to Rumsfeld

when he took over the Pentagon for the first time in 1975 at

the height of the Cold War.

Not only did Clinton spend a large amount of money on the

military; most of it was spent wisely. In the first Persian

Gulf War, less than 10 percent of the bombs and missiles that

were dropped on Iraq were smart weapons. That number jumped

to 70 percent during this war because the Clinton

administration ordered large quantities of upgraded munitions

that made these ``dumb'' weapons smart. The Clinton

administration also invested heavily in the technology that

gave the on-scene commanders a much more vivid picture of the

battlefield than a decade ago.

It was the Clinton administration that improved the

accuracy of the Tomahawk cruise missile and upgraded the

Patriot missile, which was so much more effective this time

than the original Patriot in the first Persian Gulf War. The

Clinton administration also kept the quality of our military

personnel high by closing the gap between military and

private sector compensation, a gap that the first Bush

administration had allowed to grow, and improving retirement

and health benefits for military retirees.

So if this latest military effort warrants a victory parade

for the troops, let's insist that Clinton and his secretaries

of defense are invited. They deserve it. And if the Bush

administration wants to learn how to rebuild the nation of

Iraq, they might ask their predecessors how to go about it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge May 7th as National School Nurse Day.

There are approximately 60,000 registered nurses in public school systems across the country caring for more than 52 million students. Professional school nurses strengthen and facilitate our educational process by improving and protecting the health status of children and youth through prevention, detection and correction methods. School nurses work diligently in the school environment, serving not only our children and youth but also their teachers, community, state, and nation to provide valuable school health services.

School nurses have assisted our children for many years, and The National Association of School Nurses, the professional organization of school nurses, is celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary this year.

Frequently, the only health care attention a child receives is through a school nurse. Our nation's children face an increasing number of chronic and severe health problems, from diabetes to asthma, obesity, depression and other mental and physical health problems. School nurses assist these children with their health problems so children can remain in school and achieve success.

School nurses also care for a large number of children with chronic and severe health problems, including children in wheelchairs, on ventilatory support or with special health procedures. School nurses provide direct services to them from initial assessment and diagnosis to treatment and maintenance so disabled children can learn and achieve academic success.

After September 11th, school nurses had to take on additional new roles. If another bio-terrorism event takes place, school nurses may be the first health care responders that will cope with symptoms of a chemical, radiological or other event as well as providing the necessary treatments and emergency evacuations.

School nurses are unsung heroes as they both effectively and efficiently meet the daily and emergency needs of the student populations they serve.

Professional school nurses have touched the lives of students throughout our great nation for over a century, and we commend them on their continued contributions to the development of our young people.

I urge all Americans to recognize the important contributions that school nurses make toward the health and well-being of our children and youth. National School Nurse Day is a wonderful way to commend them on their years of diligent efforts to keep our children healthy and safe in school.