Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 115th anniversary of Camp Alvernia, located in Centerport, NY.

In its first summer in 1888, Camp Alvernia's Franciscan Brothers brought deserving poor youth from Brooklyn to the country environment during the summer months. Since then, the camp has been dedicated to teaching their campers respect for themselves, each other and our environment.

Camp Alvernia also provides scholarships for families who find themselves in financial difficulty. They are committed to helping families and children from impoverished situations to develop spiritually, morally and physically while enjoying Long Island's beautiful environment.

Campers at Camp Alvernia enjoy sports, arts and crafts, nighttime campfires and many more activities.

I commend Camp Alvernia and their staff for their dedication to our nation's children, and congratulate them on their 115th anniversary.

Madam Speaker, over the weekend I joined with hundreds of Marines in my congressional district as they prepared to deploy to the Middle East. Many of their families asked me whether the American people will support them. They asked whether the polls that they read about reflect a lack of support for those who may be asked to fight for our freedoms in the Middle East.

Madam Speaker, I support the use of force, but I understand that there is a diversity of opinion on this issue. In America we have the right to agree, the right to disagree, the right to remain silent; but let no one believe for a moment that there is any division with respect to supporting our troops. Republicans and Democrats will go and fight for our freedoms abroad and Republicans and Democrats will stand by them at home. We cannot forget our support of those brave men and women, and I know that this Congress will not forget that for a moment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to an exemplary member of the Long Island community.

The Suffolk County Police Department consistently shows us the best and most heroic that Long Island has to offer. For thirty-one years, Detective James Roys has served as a commendable member of that department. Over the years, Detective Roys worked on numerous high- profile cases. In 1990 he was promoted to Detective and in 1995 he was transferred to the Homicide Squad. He was the lead detective on numerous murder investigations, including the noteworthy cases of Andrew Dukes, Krystal Barbasso, Anthony Meo and Eric Burkes. Detective Roys has made a lasting contribution to the safety of Long Island residents.

On January 4, 2003, Detective James Roys retired from the Suffolk County Police Department. It is with great admiration that I come to this floor to offer my congratulations and best wishes. He will be truly missed by his colleagues and by Suffolk County residents who depended on his hard work for so many years.

Mr. Speaker, Suffolk County owes a debt of gratitude to Detective James Roys.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to an exemplary member of the Long Island community.

The Suffolk County Police Department consistently shows us the best and most heroic that Long Island has to offer. For the past thirty-five years Detective Michael Calvin served as an admirable member of that department, first as an exceptional undercover officer with the Rackets Bureau, and then as a detective with the Homicide Squad. Over the years, Detective Calvin worked as the lead detective on numerous murder investigations, including the murder of Claudia Broder of Moriches, by her son-in-law, Ralph Farino. He has made a lasting impact on the safety of Long Island residents.

On January 6, 2003, Detective Michael Calvin retired from the Suffolk County Police Department. He will be sorely missed by his colleagues and by the community that has depended on his hard work to keep them safe for so many years. I come to this floor to out of respect and offer my congratulations and best wishes.

Mr. Speaker, Suffolk County owes a debt of gratitude to Detective Michael Calvin.

Mr. Speaker, I am a new member of the Committee on Armed Services and very proud to be serving on that committee under the able leadership of the gentleman from California (Chairman Hunter) and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, last month I visited the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in Amityville, New York, to bid farewell and Godspeed to the Alpha Company of the 6th Communication Battalion. They went willingly; they sacrifice selflessly; they serve proudly. I remember their faces; I remember their families' faces.

Our Nation owes them the legislation before us today, but we owe them much more than that. We must stand with them. We need to protect their jobs, protect their incomes, protect their homes, provide health care for their families while they are away, and just as important, after they return.

We cannot ask men and women who fight for our freedom abroad to fight for their veterans benefits when they return home. We cannot balance the domestic budgets on the backs of those who are willing to fight on our fronts. We have a covenant with these patriots. We have a moral contract with these soldiers. We have a national commitment to these hundreds of thousands of faceless heroes and their families. So as we stand here united in praise of our troops, let us never forget the sustained and long-term obligation we have to our regular Armed Forces, our activated Reserves and our veterans.

They are there for us, and we must be there for them. They are the ones who truly and bravely answer the philosopher's charge: ``Freedom must be reinvented in every generation.'' God bless them. God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce a bill that will correct a glaring vulnerability in our homeland defense. The ``Commercial Airline Missile Defense Act'' will fully fund the addition of electronic surface-to-air missile defense systems on all commercially scheduled flights on United States aircrafts.

Protecting American lives is the most fundamental job of the Federal Government. We must therefore eliminate every weakness that we see in our country's homeland defense. The vulnerability of our commercial air fleet to terrorist missile attack is not a hysterical hypothetical. It is a real and present danger.

Last November there was attempted missile attack on an Israeli airliner taking off from an airport in Kenya. Two surface-to-air missiles, also known SAMs, which can bring down large airplanes-- commercial as well as military--from up to 30 miles from an airport were launched against an Israeli chartered jet airliner. It was only profound good luck--likely a flawed missile batch--that saved the plane and its hundreds of innocent passengers. Thankfully, last November's attack on the Israeli jetliner failed. We need to keep in mind, however, that the missile used in the Israeli attack one of the least sophisticated of the several types of SAMs that exist in the world today. It was a Soviet-era SA7, which was been sold globally since the end of the cold war. The other types of SAMs are much more advanced and much more effective.

SAMs were designed to be highly portable and are easily disassembled. As such, they are relatively easy to transport and smuggle. Terrorist could launch this five-foot long missile from near an airport and flee before anyone can detect them. Airplanes taking off with full and highly combustible fuel tanks are the most likely and deadly targets. The U.S. government must equip all its aircrafts with a defense system to protect and defend against this threat.

The United States provided Stingers--a type of SAM--to the Mujahadeen in the 1980s in Afghanistan. They were used with devastating affect against the Soviets. The Mujahadeen, who subsequently splintered into the Taliban and Al Qaeda, possessed at least a thousand Stingers that were never accounted for after the war ended in 1989. Soviet shoulder armed missiles, like the ones used in Kenya against the Israeli jetliner, are even far more abundant.

Tens of thousands of these missiles are out there. Although most are in state arsenals, thousands--including U.S. Stingers and Russian SA7s--are unaccounted for and feared to be in the hands of terrorists.

Few doubt that Al Qaeda does not possess large quantities of Russian SA7s and even more effective U.S. Stingers. A successful attack against a Boeing 747-400 with full capacity could cost almost five hundred lives. Aside from large-scale casualties, such a successful attack would have a devastating impact on the U.S. Aircraft industry, on travel and tourism, and on the entire economy. It would be a multifaceted catastrophe.

Now that we understand that pleas are vulnerable, the United States Government must take every step to protect and defend American citizens. The advanced technology needed to protect American commercial airplanes exists and is operation on U.S. military transports. The new system are advanced and are much more successful than the previous system of diversionary flares. The most modern systems, such as those installed on U.S. C17s and C5As, identify when a plane is threatened, detect the source of the threat, jam the guidance system of the incoming missiles and steer it off its flight path. Similar systems are currently used on low-altitude military aircrafts.

The rapid deployment of this system is essential for the safety of U.S. commercial flyers and is the clear responsibility of the U.S. Government to implement. I propose fully funding the retrofitting of SAM defensive systems and beginning that process this year.

No one in this body would question that preserving and protecting the people of the United States is our most important and sacred constitutional responsibility. At this critical time in our Nation's history we have two simultaneous crises and concerns: national security and economic security. The bill I introduce today addresses both of these issues. This legislation would take the preventive step of reducing risk to millions of travelers and create thousands of jobs through the retrofitting of the defensive technologies.

Additionally, this bill will boost our airline industry. Recent surveys have shown that between one-fifth to one-third of Americans are restricting their flying because of fears of terrorism. Our government and the airline industry are working closely together to restore full consumer confidence in the safety of our commercial air system. Implementing a robust and effective defense system for our commercial jet fleet would further accelerate the process of making Americans feel safer when they fly, and help the economic recovery of U.S. air carriers. The estimated cost of $10.2 billion for a system of 6,800 commercial jets at a unit price of $1.5 million will be offset by these economic benefits. The unit cost could drop even lower in mass production.

Mr. Speaker, I fully realize that a ten billion expenditure is significant. But it is not prohibitive. The only thing that would be prohibitive would be for this Congress to be negligent in our responsibility to protect the people of our great Nation. Let us not gather together in grief the morning after a catastrophe and wonder what we could have done to prevent it. We know what can be done. Let's do it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce a resolution that recognizes the goals and ideals of National Runaway Prevention Month, which is sponsored by two organizations that work with runaway youth: the National Network for Youth and the National Runaway Switchboard.

This resolution will bring national attention to the important issue of runaway kids and remind parents of the importance of effectively communicating with their children. All of the conditions that lead young people to leave their homes are preventable when families are strong and when young people can find the support they need.

Runaway situations among our nation's young people are a widespread problem. One out of every seven children and youth in the United States runs away from home at some time before the age of 18. Although some return home after a short time, others remain on the streets and never go home. Studies have shown that 1.3 million runaway youth are on the streets each day.

Because today's young people are tomorrow's adults, preventing youth from running away is a family, community and national priority. Our country needs an educated workforce, charismatic leaders and a stable society.

Each November, nationwide activities take place to increase public awareness of the life circumstances of at risk youth. This resolution will show that Congress supports those educational activities aimed at ensuring safe, healthy and productive youth. I am hopeful that recognition of this issue will prevent other young people from running away and stress the importance of families and communities.

Mr. Speaker, in the last Congress, the House passed the landmark Israel-Johnson Medicare+Choice Improvement and Stabilization Act that I cowrote with Republican Representative Nancy Johnson. Unfortunately, despite a bipartisan consensus that something must be done and the best efforts of Senator Schumer, the Senate did not pass the needed legislation.

Now, at the beginning of the 108th Congress, and working closely with the administration, leadership of both parties and the Senate, the first piece of legislation I have introduced in the 108th Congress is a bill that will help stabilize the Medicare+Choice program.

Since 1999 more than 2.4 million beneficiaries, including more than 85,000 Long Island seniors, have had their service interrupted by a severe funding crisis. Millions of other beneficiaries have experienced a reduction in benefits or an increase in out-of-pocket costs. These problems are a direct result of the fact that funding for the Medicare+Choice program has not kept up with rising health costs.

From the moment I came to Congress, seniors have been asking me when relief will arrive. They wonder what is taking so long and why Congress can't pass this and the President sign-it. The fact is that while Congress blames HMOs for leaving Long Island, HMOs blame the administration, and Republicans and Democrats blame each other, seniors are suffering.

As we begin a new session of Congress, it is essential that we put partisan politics aside and give seniors the help they so desperately need. Playing the blame game won't help seniors pay their medicine bills. The time has come to act.

Over the past three years, there has been a growing consensus in Congress that the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 has had the unintended effect of constricting the Medicare market as a whole, and Medicare+Choice health plans in particular. According to a November 2002 report by the Commonwealth Fund, the BBA is limiting M+C payment rates, while health care costs are increasing. As a result, beneficiaries looking to Medicare HMOs as an affordable supplemental insurance option are being asked to pay more for fewer benefits.

And that is only part of the problem. The ultimate result of this flawed system created by the BBA is that HMOs in the program have been deserting seniors on Long Island. Just 4 years ago 12 HMOs offered seniors health plans in Suffolk County; now only two remain. More than 85,000 Long Island seniors have been dropped by their HMOs. This is unacceptable.

It is for this reason that the Medicare+Choice Equity and Access Act is so essential. It will stabilize the program and provide critical funding. The situation is unconscionable. Our seniors are depending on us. I urge my colleagues to quickly pass this bill and correct the funding inadequacies in Medicare+Choice.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the works of Barry A. Kastner. This outstanding individual from Long Island was honored last night at the B'Nai B'Rith Banking and Finance Distinguished Achievement Award Dinner.

Mr. Kastner's leadership in the commercial finance industry has been an example to many, and I am most grateful for his service to Congress Financial Corporation and to Long Island.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge the works of Morris S. Hodkin and Joseph Hodkin. These outstanding individuals from Long Island were honored last night at the B'Nai B'Rith Banking and Finance Distinguished Achievement Award Dinner.

Mr. Morris Hodkin and Mr. Joseph Hodkin of Daley-Hodkin Corporation have dedicated years of service to the corporate credit industry in New York. They are also to be commended for their continued activities in charitable endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to urge the President to spend the funds that this Congress authorized for medical monitoring of firefighters, police officers and others who so bravely responded to Ground Zero on September 11th, 2001.

I worked closely with my colleague, Mr. Crowley of New York and the other members of our state's delegation to designate $90 million to screen and evaluate emergency responders for hazardous exposure in the wake of the attacks.

Sadly, the Administration has only spent a fraction of the full amount--enough to fund only 9,000 of 40,000 medical screening examinations. Based on an initial sample of 250 WTC workers, one-half of WTC workers are experiencing ongoing pulmonary problems, ENT symptoms and mental health issues.

I am disappointed that the administration is not spending the additional funds to cover the entire population of heroes who were there when we needed them.

This is a glaring example of the most outrageous priorities. The administration supported spending $187 billion in a farm bill to subsidize America's farmers not to grow crops, but won't spend $90 million to subsidize the health care of America's firefighters.

Mr. Speaker, when farmers need our help, we're there for them with subsidies. When big oil wants a hand-out, we're there for them with lavish tax-breaks. But when a New York City firefighter who was on the job on September 11th needs to be screened for a breathing problem, we tell him we can't afford to help.

I was with President Bush in the immediate aftermath of the attack at Ground Zero. I admired his leadership on that day, when he stood with our firefighters in the rubble. Now, we need his leadership in standing with our firefighters in his budget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution to honor the contribution of Catholic schools.

Catholic schools play an important role in my district on Long Island and across the country in educating not only Catholics, but also many non-Catholic and minority students. Schools such as St. Anthony's Huntington, the Academy of St. Joseph in Brentwood, St. Dominic in Oyster Bay, St. John the Baptist in West Islip, and others throughout Long Island are models of educational excellence.

With limited budgets, but with unlimited devotion, the teachers and administrators provide a real public service--focusing on developing the heart, mind and spirit of their students. With a 95 percent graduation rate and 83 percent of students continuing on to higher education, their valuable service is more than evident.

I rise to support their role today and urge my colleagues to support this resolution commending the contribution of Catholic schools.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 26 honoring the contributions of Catholic schools. My 18th Congressional District in Houston has a number of outstanding Catholic schools that have contributed to the well being and education of thousands of students.

Catholic schools ensure a broad-based education for students in elementary grades. This education includes the emphasis on character, values, and moral development. More than 26 percent of school children enrolled in Catholic schools nationwide are minorities. In minority communities, Catholic schools serve a special purpose--they integrate students into a moral and spiritual doctrine that carries lifelong benefits.

This weekend, I attended a celebration in my district at the St. Philip Neri Catholic Church. The church has an exemplary school for students pre-kindergarten through the 5th grade. The school was founded more than 30 years ago.

I support the goals of Catholic Schools Week and congratulate the schools, students, parents, and teachers for their ongoing contributions to education. Catholic schools have played a key role in educating our students. Catholic schools have long been dedicated to teaching a diverse group of students, and I applaud their work. As we continue to seek methods to reform our nation's schools, Catholic schools serve as a model for discipline, for a broad-based education, and for values. Catholic schools are internationally acclaimed for their academic excellence. I strongly support H. Res. 26 and the accomplishments of Catholic schools everywhere.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding time to me, and thank the chairman of the Committee on Financial Services for their work together in bringing this important legislation to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman) and the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), my Long Island colleagues, joined me in writing to the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) and to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) last month asking that this bill be among the first the House considers this year. We did so because the program is absolutely vital to our region's homeowners.

Long Island, Mr. Speaker, is indeed an island. To the south we face the Atlantic Ocean and to the north the Long Island Sound. As a result, many in our communities depend upon the National Flood Insurance Program to protect and finance their homes. The program lapsed on December 31, resulting in essentially a halt to all real estate transactions on Long Island's shores until the program was reauthorized. The lapse has exposed homeowners, lenders, and the Federal Government, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to catastrophic and uninsured losses in the case of a major weather event.

Mr. Speaker, this is a straight reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program through the end of this year. It has the strong support of the Committee on Financial Services. People on Long Island and around our country need this program.

I want to thank the Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Oxley), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), for their leadership on this issue, and for bringing this bill to the floor in such a timely fashion. I look forward to the President's expeditious signature on this matter at the earliest possible moment.