Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, last night President Bush told the American people that he bore responsibility for the many mistakes made in the prosecution of the war in Iraq. Then he announced that he planned to make another mistake: He planned to escalate and expand the war in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, the President said he intends to send more than 20,000 U.S. service men and women into Iraq and indefinitely. As has been the case with so many military strategic and diplomatic decisions made by this President regarding Iraq, tragically, this too would be a terrible error. This open-ended commitment of more U.S. troops will result in the death and wounding of thousands more American soldiers, cost U.S. taxpayers tens of billions of dollars more, and do nothing to help the Iraqi people resolve their civil war. In fact, this escalation will turn up the heat on the already boiling anti-American fanaticism in Iraq and in the region.

The President's plan also weakens our severely overstretched and depleted military, and it limits our ability to face the current and future conflicts, future threats to our country.

In summary, President Bush's escalation and expansion of the war in Iraq will hurt America's national security, and I will work with all of my colleagues here to do all that we can to make sure that the President's plan does not get allowed to be funded.

Our country has sacrificed deeply to help the Iraqi people already by removing their murderous dictator Saddam Hussein from power, by training their military, spending billions of our money to rebuild their infrastructure, and by supporting them so that they could develop a democratic government.

If we owed the Iraqi people a moral obligation after we deposed their dictator and started this war, Mr. Speaker, we have long since met that moral obligation.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, the United States must now simply, but importantly, remove all of our troops from Iraq without delay. We must rebuild our military and let the world know that we are ready to counter the real threats to our national security, current and future.

Let me add one more thing, Mr. Speaker. I am delighted that my friend and colleague Maxine Waters from California will be engaging in a Special Order on Iraq and the necessity for withdrawing our troops from Iraq. I am unable to participate in that Special Order and look forward to participating and working with her under her leadership in the very near future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the dedicated students and faculty at Hasbrouck Heights High School who have made The Pilot's Log an award-winning and exemplary newspaper year after year.

This November, students earned top honors from the National Scholastic Press Association by capturing a Pacemaker Award--the third in four years. Widely considered the Pulitzer Prize of high school journalism, this award is a testament to the outstanding writing, photography, layout, and management skills that students learn at Hasbrouck Heights High School. Journalism is a difficult profession and learning to meet deadlines and juggle priorities is challenging at any age.

I am extremely proud of the 2006 Pilot's Log editorial staff: Matthew Connors, Wade Friedel, Harvir Kaur, Brielle Marino, Joseph Marino, Kaitlin Olcott, Russell Piazza, Prachi Prachi, Nishit Raval, Robert Spindler, Caitlyn J. Walsh, and Nicole Weingartner. I also applaud their teachers and families, who encouraged and helped them along the way. Pilot's Log advisers Lora Geftic and Gary Pankiewicz deserve special recognition for the quality of their teaching.

It is an honor to represent so many individuals dedicated to the values and ideals of journalism. I am especially pleased that a Pacemaker Award has gone to a student newspaper written, printed, and distributed in my own Congressional District. I again offer my congratulations to the award-winning students and teachers at Hasbrouck Heights High School for the consistent, first-rate reporting in The Pilot's Log. Keep up the good work!

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Christopher J. Donfield, a resident of Washington Township, New Jersey, for his

devoted service to Bergen Catholic High School as an English teacher, guidance counselor, and basketball coach for 46 years.

Christopher Donfield grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and earned a full academic scholarship to attend Fordham Prep in the Bronx. He continued on to Fordham University, where he majored in both English and Accounting. Shortly after graduating, Chris sought a teaching position at Bergen Catholic High School, where he quickly became a favorite of both students and colleagues alike. He also became coach to the high school basketball team. During his 40 year tenure as the Varsity Head Coach of the boys' basketball team, the Crusaders, Chris led the team to an astounding 648 wins in his 878 game career. This includes a streak of 31 straight winning seasons that began in the 1968-69 season. In addition to his accomplishments as a Varsity Coach, Chris led his team in an unprecedented achievement of 30 straight Bergen County Jamboree appearances, as well as qualifying for the State Tournament 33 times in 34 seasons and winning the Sectional Crown 7 times.

The most significant accomplishment of Chris's career, however, is the impact he had on the thousands of students that he has taught and coached over the years. Chris put his heart and soul into everything he did while he was at Bergen Catholic High School and it shows in the heartfelt respect and admiration the student body and the entire Bergen Catholic community have bestowed upon him.

Today, I would like to recognize Christopher Donfield's dedication to the Bergen Catholic High School community and congratulate him on his impressive coaching achievements. I send him my best wishes on his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 2048.

Madam Speaker, first let me thank my colleague from New Jersey for giving me this time, and all of your efforts to increase polio awareness.

I would like to thank Chairman Deal for all of your hard work as the chairman of this subcommittee in bringing this matter to the floor, and for all of your support. I would also like to recognize the role of Ranking Member Sherrod Brown for his help.

Madam Speaker, I first want to thank the leadership of the Energy and Commerce Committee for bringing Resolution 526 to the floor. I also want to take this opportunity to recognize my constituent, a very tireless worker on behalf of those suffering the aftereffects of polio, Dr. Richard Bruno.

As the director of the Post-Polio Institute and International Center for

Post-Polio Education and Research at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, and chairperson of the International Post-Polio Task Force, Dr. Bruno is at the forefront of the movement to educate parents about the need to vaccinate their children against this debilitating virus.

This resolution, Madam Chairman, would not be on the floor today without Doctor Bruno's help. I am grateful for his work and commitment to this cause.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution, 526, that will bring critical attention in the United States and around the world to the need for children to be vaccinated against polio. It sounds so simple. So many of us thought that polio had been eradicated, but that is far from the truth.

This resolution recognizes the need for every child to be vaccinated against polio and designates the year starting October 1st as the Year of Polio Awareness. It also urges all Federal agencies to educate doctors and parents about polio, and to also educate polio survivors and medical professionals about the cause and treatment of something called post-polio sequelae. More about that later.

It has been 51 years since the introduction of the polio vaccination. By now this virus should have been eradicated. But as has been said earlier by our chairman and Mr. Pallone, this is not the case. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 10 percent of the U.S. children under 3 years of age, which is approximately 1 million toddlers in our country, are not vaccinated against polio.

This percentage is even greater in America's poorest cities. Even more of our young people are not vaccinated against polio. In my own home State of New Jersey, only 86 percent of the toddlers living in Newark were vaccinated in 2004. Furthermore, the United States is not protected against a polio outbreak. In October of 2005, five children in an Amish community in Minnesota were diagnosed with polio. Although that outbreak was ultimately brought under control, this was a clear signal that we must do more in our country to prevent the spread of polio.

Polio outbreaks, Madam Speaker, are not only limited to occurring in the United States, but have, for example, as my colleagues have said, been reported in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Somali, Afghanistan, Egypt, Niger, Ethiopia and Yemen, amongst other countries.

In some way the polio vaccination has become a victim of its own success, one might say, with many Americans believing that polio has been eradicated. They no longer have their children vaccinated against this virus. That is a mistake. With outbreaks occurring all over the world, unvaccinated children everywhere, including in the United States, are susceptible to exposure and to catching polio. That is why this resolution is so important.

Madam Speaker, parents must be informed when making decisions about vaccinating their children. They have to know that there is still a threat that their child could be exposed to the polio virus. This resolution will help ensure that doctors will provide all of the necessary information to parents about the polio vaccine and the dangers of the virus.

I hope that the passage of this resolution will accomplish our goal of raising awareness of the importance of having every child vaccinated against polio, and will have the effect of allowing doctors to understand this post-polio sequelae syndrome, which is that after someone has lived a whole lifetime with polio, they then suffer a series of additional complications: chronic overwhelming fatigue, joint pain, and chronic pain of a variety of natures.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this resolution, which will educate our own people and all of the people of the world to the continuing threat of polio.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the groundbreaking for the new George P. Pitkin, MD Emergency Care Center at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Holy Name Hospital was founded in 1925 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. To assist the sick and indigent of Bergen County, New Jersey, Dr. George Pitkin and Dr. Frank McCormack worked with Mother General Agatha Brown of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace to purchase a suitable hospital site to provide administrative and nursing care. In 1925, Holy Name Hospital opened with 115 beds.

Today, Dr. George Pitkin's far-reaching vision is realized in an institution known locally, statewide and nationally for health care excellence, dedicated and skilled nursing care, and cutting-edge technological advances. Each year more than 17,000 inpatients, 44,000 Emergency Department patients, and 18,000 outpatients receive state-of- the-art diagnostic, treatment, and health management services in cancer care, cardiovascular services, dialysis treatment, women's health care and neurology services.

The new George P. Pitkin, MD Emergency Care Center at Holy Name Hospital will feature 21,000 square feet of space, 41 patient treatment rooms, patient- and family-friendly facilities, leading-edge trauma procedure rooms, contiguous radiology and laboratory services.

My congratulations and very best wishes to the President and CEO, Michael Maron, and Board of Directors at Holy Name Hospital, and to all of their health care professionals and associates as the outstanding new George P. Pitkin, MD Emergency Care Center is dedicated.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Marc C. Saperstein, who was elected this past summer as president of the New Jersey Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA-NJ). Mr. Saperstein is more than qualified for this distinguished position. He currently practices law at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. in Teaneck, New Jersey, which is located in my district.

Mr. Saperstein grew up in New York City. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Rutgers University in New Bnmswick, New Jersey and then completed a Juris Doctorate at Emory University School of Law in 1978. Mr. Saperstein has been admitted to the Bar of New York, New Jersey, Georgia in addition to the U.S. District Court, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second, Third and Fifth Circuits and the United States Supreme Court. He has been admitted as Pro Hac Vice Counsel in various complex litigation matters in the States of California, Florida, Louisiana and West Virginia. More importantly, Marc is a devoted husband to his wife, Shelly, and a caring father to his wonderful children, Gregory and Allison. I am proud to have such an excellent attorney and a fine man representing the New Jersey branch of ATLA.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to congratulate Mr. Saperstein on his impressive accomplishments and wish him the best of luck in his new position as president of the New Jersey Association of Trial Lawyers of America.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow's headlines are going to read ``hostage taken''. And you know what they are going to mean? The increase in the minimum wage was taken hostage by the Republican majority. They have taken the increase in the minimum wage hostage unless we give the super-rich $100 billion.

To give the working poor a $2.10 increase an hour, they have held us hostage unless we give them $800 billion. Now, they have had 9 years in the majority in the House to have a clean increase in the minimum wage. They never did it. They would not let us do it, because they were in the majority.

They still will not do it. Only if we give the super-rich $800 billion. And American people are not stupid. They do not want a bad deal. They do not want a bad law. They do not want to give into hostage demands. They do not want to give in to extortion. They want an increase in the minimum wage, not another $800 billion gift to the super-rich because the Republican majority does not want to give it in any other way.

Mr. Speaker, the distinguished chairman dares me to go back and tell my people. I am going to say, the Republicans will not give you the minimum wage increase unless we give $800 billion to the super-rich.

They will say, don't do it, Steve. We will throw the Republicans out in November and get an increase in the minimum wage without them.

Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I would like to join the gentlewoman from California in acknowledging and honoring our friend, Tim Friedman, for all his 30-plus years of service to the House of Representatives.

I have been here now 10 years, Mr. Speaker, and I can you I have asked a great deal of Mr. Friedman, how to get from place to place, what the votes are going to be, asking him his advice on all kinds of family matters, frankly, to whether to go home for that soccer game or that school play. And he always gave me the right answer: Go home and be with your kids, and we will take care of the institution.

Mr. Friedman has been an exemplary servant to this institution and to this country. And for 30-plus years of service, I want to thank him and his family for all of the sacrifice that he has expended on behalf of our country.

I want to say one other word. Tim is part of a team on our side of the aisle that makes our work possible. I know on the other side of the aisle there is a terrific team of people helping our friends on the other side of the aisle. So Tim represents the finest in public service, and I want to wish him and his family a wonderful retirement, and from the bottom of my heart, Tim, a sincere and grateful thank you for all you have done for me and for the Democratic Party, for the Democrats here, for the United States Congress and the people of this country.

Thank you, Tim Friedman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, and in support of overturning the President's veto of this legislation. Unfortunately, what should be a debate about promising new research and technology that could lead to cures and treatments for countless diseases and disorders has been overshadowed, yet again, by a debate about when life begins.

These stem cells do not come from fetuses as some people mistakenly believe. They are blastocysts, 3- to 5-day-old embryos made up of so small a number of cells they can fit on a head of a pin. This legislation does not allow these embryos to be cloned or created for stem cell research. Therefore, there is no risk of rogue scientists performing illegal or unethical experiments.

In addition, the authors of H.R. 810 have taken all precautions to ensure that safeguards are in place for the ethical use of embryonic stem cells. The only embryos permitted to be used under H.R. 810 are those that will come from in vitro fertilization, IVF, donors who no longer plan on using the embryos and who provide their written consent.

Every year hundreds of thousands of leftover embryos from IVF are thrown away. Instead of tossing them in the trash, why shouldn't the owners of the embryos be able to give their consent to have these embryos used for research? We should not be denying their right to help save lives.

Those of us who support embryonic stem cell research unfortunately will not be able to overturn the President's veto. We, however, must not give up. To all Americans who support saving lives, who want to cure diseases and disorders that are plaguing their loved ones, and who care about groundbreaking ethical health research, I ask you to take this issue to your elected Representative and tell them that you demand this legislation become law in the next Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Tim Friedman, Assistant Manager of the House Democratic Cloakroom, on his retirement after 30 years of illustrious service to the United States House of Representatives.

Tim's career has been a long and distinguished one marked by outstanding accomplishments and the well-deserved esteem of Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. I am pleased to join with my colleagues in wishing Tim and his wife Colleen many happy years of fulfillment and rewards in their new pursuits.

I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Tim for all of his kindness, assistance and support during my tenure in Congress, along with my warmest personal regards. He will certainly be missed.

Mr. Speaker, on July 18, 2006, due to illness, I missed 3 recorded votes. I take my voting responsibility very seriously, and had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 379; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 380; ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 381.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Seton Hall University on its 150th anniversary and recognize the extraordinary contributions the university has made to my home State of New Jersey.

As Seton Hall marks a century and a half of achievements, I join my fellow New Jerseyans in commending this esteemed university and its faculty, led by Monsignor Robert Sheeran.

Seton Hall, located in South Orange, is New Jersey's largest Catholic university, and it was founded in 1856. Today, after 150 years, Seton Hall has become both a pillar of academic life in New Jersey and an invaluable member of the South Orange community.

I proudly join the residents of the Ninth District of New Jersey in congratulating the students, faculty, and administration of Seton Hall University and wishing them a happy 150th anniversary.

I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding and would ask to enter into a colloquy with the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).

Mr. Chairman, recent data released by the FBI shows violent crime on the rise for the first time in 15 years. The violent crime rate rose 2.5 percent across the country. Areas of New Jersey, including the cities of New York and Jersey City have disproportionately high rates of crime, two to three times more than the average national rate.

These cities, while only about 5 miles apart are the two largest cities in my State. Preliminary data for 2005 shows that the violent crime rate for Jersey City, New Jersey, is 1,302 crimes per 100,000 people and the violent crime rate for Newark, New Jersey, is 1,008 crimes per 100,000 people. The national average is significantly lower, 478 violent crimes per 100,000 people, less than half of Newark's and Jersey City's.

These high levels of violent crime, including murders, rapes and aggravated assaults, tear families and communities apart. Just this past Sunday evening, at least two people were killed and eight injured in four separate shootings in Newark.

Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding there is $16 million in the bill for 15 violent crime impact teams. These teams of ATF agents, U.S. Marshals, DEA agents and Federal prosecutors work together to reduce violent crime for an area. Will you, Mr. Chairman, work with me to direct one or more of the violent crime impact teams to these areas of New Jersey?

I yield to the chairman.

Mr. Speaker, on June 14, 2006, I was attending my daughter Karen's middle school graduation ceremony in New Jersey and, therefore, missed 13 recorded votes.

I take my voting responsibility very seriously, and had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 274; ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 275; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 276; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 277; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 278; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 279; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 280; ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 281; ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 282; ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 283; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 284; ``no'' on recorded vote No. 285; ``yes'' on recorded vote No. 286.