Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the achievements of Boswell Engineering. In 1924, the late David C. Boswell recognized the need for engineering expertise in a world that was expanding and developing at a lightening-fast pace. It was then, in Ridgefield Park, NJ, that he founded Boswell Engineering. His leadership provided the solid foundation upon which the company is built.

Family ownership continued as both of David C. Boswell's sons--the late Howard L. Boswell, Sr. and David J. Boswell--became the second generation to own and operate the firm, each making his unique contribution toward establishing Boswell as a full-service engineering company. The company's third generation of family ownership and management headed by Stephen Boswell who together with his brothers Bruce and Kevin are presently providing the leadership for continuation and expansion of the superb quality of service and high standard of excellence Boswell is known for in the engineering community.

Through the company's fine history of engineering accomplishments-- from a two-man field office concentrating on surveying and civil engineering to a 250 person multi-disciplined engineering firm serving numerous public sector clients at all levels of government, Boswell continues to play a major role in the structuring of the future and improving the quality of life for the cities, towns and counties with which it is associated.

Today, as the fourth generation is now actively engaged at the family owned business, Boswell Engineering, which has been headquartered in Bergen County since it's founding in 1924, looks forward to maintaining a reputation for excellence by continuing to provide superb engineering services envisioned by its founder 85 years ago.

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of the Holocaust Memorial Day program, which commemorates the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April 19, 1943 and Yom HaShoah, a day of remembrance for the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust. The event, which will be held in my Congressional District, specifically honors six survivors: Jeannette Adler of Glen Rock, Gunther Apfel of Elmwood Park, Ray Fischler of Wayne, Marion Coti of Bergenfield, and Joseph Grabczk and Leoni Salomon of Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding contributions and dedication of my Deputy Chief of Staff, Shelly O'Neill Stoneman, as she leaves my office to work in the Office of Legislative Affairs for President Barack Obama. Shelly served on my staff for more than 5 years, and during that time she advised me expertly on issues of defense and foreign policy. Shelly continuously demonstrated extraordinary intellect, grace under pressure, and the highest ethical and professional standards. Shelly's vast sphere of knowledge and her friendship will genuinely be missed in my office.

Shelly was born in Newport Beach, California, and later moved to Orlando, Florida where she attended Dr. Phillips High School. She attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She has also earned a Master of Arts in National Security Studies from the United States Naval War College, as well as a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma's Program in Europe.

Prior to joining my office, Shelly worked as an intern in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs in 1997 during the Clinton Administration. This is the same office which Shelly will now be joining as a staffer within the Obama Administration. In 1999, Shelly joined the United States Senate Governmental Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services under Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and later worked as a research consultant for the Small Arms Survey, evaluating the arms export control systems of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern European countries. Her previous experience has served her well and helped make her an extraordinarily effective member of my staff, and I know those same capabilities will serve her well in the White House.

While serving long hours as the brilliant Deputy Chief of Staff for my office, Shelly directed my legislative agenda and staffed me on the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, as well as the Subcommittee on Defense. In addition to her work within my office, Shelly founded the Democratic Legislative Directors Study Group, a wonderful support and networking system for Democratic senior staff on Capitol Hill.

Madam Speaker, over the past 5 years, my office has come to know Shelly O'Neill Stoneman well and we will remember her as a conscientious and dedicated colleague, a gifted writer, and a loyal friend to her fellow coworkers. Shelly is a passionate advocate for the protection of human rights and international aid, and has used her well-honed skills as a policy-maker to help ensure that these vital aspects of United States foreign policy are maintained. Throughout her tenure with my office, Shelly provided me with thoughtful and accurate counsel, which has allowed me to better serve the people of New Jersey's Ninth District. She is now, and forever, an honorary ``Jersey Girl'', and has my deep respect and appreciation for all of the contributions she has made to my office and the work she has done. While I will miss her dearly, I wish Shelly the very best and know that she has a bright future ahead of her. The White House is lucky to have her.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 84, legislation to honor the heroic efforts of Flight 1549's Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger III, his flight crew, the First Responders and private citizens that prevented a catastrophic engine failure on a commercial aircraft from resulting in a single loss of life.

Just five minutes after lifting off on January 15, 2009, Captain Sullenberger's aircraft was struck by a flock of birds, resulting in the loss of two of his engines. The instant those engines failed, Captain Sullenberger, his crew, the passengers entrusted to his care, and residents of the 9th Congressional District of New Jersey who were in the plane's potential flight path were at grave risk. And yet, rather than give in to panic, Captain Sullenberger wrestled his damaged aircraft into a controlled water landing--an act described in the Wall Street Journal as ``one of the rarest and most technically challenging feats in commercial aviation.''

When his plane hit the water Captain Sullenberger and his flight crew--including First Officer Jeffrey Sikes and Flight Attendants Doreen Welsh, Donna Dent, and Sheila Dail--worked quickly and calmly to evacuate their passengers, not stopping until every man, woman and child was out of harm's way. Outside, they were aided by a growing flotilla not just of Coast Guard and police boats, but civilian ferries as well.

Once Flight 1549 was emptied of passengers, Captain Sullenberger walked up and down the aisles of the sinking aircraft twice, only exiting when he was absolutely certain that he had discharged his duty to completely evacuate the plane. His grace under pressure, as well as that of the rescue workers and flight crew, ensured that an emergency in the air did not become a disaster on the ground.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting House Resolution 84. The courage, level-headed professionalism and sheer heroism of the Captain and crew of Flight 1549 are an inspiration to all Americans.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Robert Hekemian, a resident of Saddle River, New Jersey, for his lifetime of dedication to the improvement of the community, and being awarded the Bergen Community College Foundation's 2008 Medallion Award of Merit for Corporate Responsibility and Philanthropy.

Mr. Hekemian currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of both Hekemian & Co., Inc., a real estate investment, management and brokerage company, and First Real Estate Investment Trust of New Jersey. He has been active in the real estate business for more than 6 decades, and is esteemed by his peers.

Mr. Hekemian, who is of Armenian descent, is a devoted member of the Armenian Presbyterian Church in Paramus, New Jersey and serves on the Board of the Armenian Missionary Association of America. During the past 50 years, he has contributed substantially to numerous civic and community organizations, as well as domestic and international charitable endeavors, both personally and through the Robert and Mary Jane Hekemian Foundation. Benefactors of the Foundation include The New York Philharmonic, Hackensack University Medical Center, Bergen Community College, Boy Scouts of America and The Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). Finally, Mr. Hekemian is a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He has been married to his loving wife Mary Jane for 51 years, and they have been blessed with 4 wonderful children and 7 grandchildren.

Today, I would like to recognize Robert Hekemian's leadership by example for more than half a century. I am proud that such an honorable man resides in my Congressional District. My constituents' lives are better for all his many and generous contributions to the community. I offer my sincere and hearty congratulations on the occasion of this well-deserved and distinguished award.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize and congratulate the Jersey City

Fire Department on receiving the U.S. Department of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award.

From their beginnings in 1829 through today, the Jersey City Fire Department's primary focus has been on protecting and supporting the community. This is readily apparent in how they treat their employees, particularly those who have chosen to serve in the U.S. military Reserves. Fire Captain Leonard DiStaso has been working for the department since 1997 in addition to serving in the Marine Corps Reserve. In the past 5 years, Captain DiStaso has been deployed to Iraq twice and both times the Jersey City Fire Department was there to support him and his family:

The Jersey City Fire Department went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that Captain DiStaso was able to keep in contact with his family, while the department made sure to take care of them at home. His coworkers at the fire department stayed in touch with his family and helped them with snow shoveling and other necessities. In addition, the Jersey City Fire Department also raised thousands of dollars to buy phone cards for him and his fellow Marines in Iraq, as well as for wounded Marines at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. In fact, they even gave Christmas gifts to the families of all the Marines in his unit.

I commend the Jersey City Fire Department for their commitment to the community and their employees. This group of dedicated individuals is exceedingly deserving of the Department of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, which recognizes employers who provide exceptional support to employees serving in the National Guard or Reserve. This is the U.S. Government's highest recognition for efforts made in the civilian lives of America's citizen-servicemembers, which make up roughly half of the Nation's Armed Forces.

I am so proud to represent the men and women of the Jersey City Fire Department and hope every Member of Congress will join me in recognizing them for their outstanding commitment to the community.

I thank the gentleman from Virginia not only for the time but also for his leadership on the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

I also want to thank my friend and colleague from California (Mr. Issa) for all his support in moving this legislation forward.

I also want to recognize the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Gohmert from Texas. I also would like to acknowledge the leadership of Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member Lamar Smith.

Mr. Speaker, we are often asked, as Members of Congress, why don't you people do anything important? Well, today we're about to do something very important.

Back in 2000, when I was a member of the Judiciary Committee, I received two different letters from two different young girls in two different middle schools in my district. And the letters basically said, Congressman, we're afraid to go to school. There are gangs, there are wise guys, there are kids on drugs. We're not sure who's coming in and out of our school. And we're constantly looking over our shoulders wondering if someone's going to hurt us. Aren't you supposed to be doing something about that? You adults, protecting us kids?

As the father of two kids then, now of two kids and three stepkids, it really did strike me very deeply. And I went to our chairman, may he rest in peace, Chairman Henry Hyde, and I told him about the situation. I told him I had an idea. I said that we should have a matching grant program so it wouldn't be a Federal mandate, that schools that wanted to participate could, those that didn't want to didn't have to. But those who wanted to get metal detectors, new locks on their doors, security training for their personnel, they could apply to the Federal Government through the Justice Department for a grant, a 50/50 grant; the schools put up half, the Feds put up the other half. And if the schools were really destitute and out of money and could demonstrate that, as well as a real need, the Federal Government would pay 100 percent.

This was at the time right after Watergate, rather, after the Clinton impeachment. Needless to say, there was disagreement amongst the parties. The Republicans were in charge.

The bill passed unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee and then came to the floor and passed unanimously. And since then, more than 3,400 schools nationwide have benefited, have added security cameras and metal detectors and new locks to limit entranceways and egresses from the schools. More than 177 schools in the Garden State of New Jersey, my State. And I've gotten letters and phone calls and people stopping me on the street thanking me, Congressman, thank you for protecting us.

This year, 7 years after we passed the Secure Our Schools, actually we passed it in 2001, we have an improvement, the School Safety Enhancements Act.

What we found, unfortunately, was that the $30 million authorized level wasn't enough money to cover all the schools in the country who wanted to participate, who wanted to put up half the money for these security improvements for their schools. There wasn't enough money to go around. So we made our case to the subcommittee and to the full committee, and they

were kind enough to work with us and introduce this bill, the School Safety Enhancements Act, to raise the dollar amount from $30 million authorized to $50 million authorized.

The other changes we made were to change the Federal match so that the Federal Government could provide even a larger percentage than the 50/50 percentage. We know how strapped local property taxpayers are back home, and so that's the least we could do from the Federal Government.

We also added a couple of other things, as Chairman Scott referred to, namely, a campus safety assessment program to implement a campus emergency response plan that would have to be established at all of our universities across the country so that parents who are sending their kids to these universities and colleges would know that, at the very least, there was a plan if, God forbid, there was a tragedy.

We worked very closely, we also established a hot line for call in for kids and others to report problems.

We worked with Senator Barbara Boxer from the Senate who was instrumental in helping us in that body in adding some of these provisions.

Again, this has complete flexibility. This is not a Federal mandate. Schools have to make the applications on the merits of their need for these safety improvements and for the financial contribution from the Federal Government. But they're willing to kick in their own dollars to help pay for these security improvements, metal detectors, locks on doors, locks on windows and training for security personnel.

It doesn't get better than this when we can provide the money for even more schools and to protect even more students. That's our job, our responsibility as Members of Congress, to protect the people, as moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandparents and friends of kids. My goodness, there's nothing more important than preventing harm to our children.

I urge the adoption of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of the 34th Anniversary of the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus and to commemorate this tragedy for the Greek Cypriot people.

The 34th commemoration of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus serves to remind all freedom-loving people to solemnly remember the 1974 Turkish military invasion of the island of Cyprus, to mourn those who lost their lives in the invasion, and to condemn the ongoing Turkish occupation. For the past 34 years, Cyprus has endured the illegal military occupation of more than one third of its territory by the Turkish armed forces, in violation of a number of U.N. Security Council resolutions. However, both the U.S. and the Cypriot governments remain committed to achieving a peaceful resolution of this dispute through diplomatic negotiations.

However, the strong U.S.-Cyprus relationship is not just based on a shared interest in ending the Turkish occupation of Cyprus, but also on the fact that the U.S. and Cyprus share a deep and abiding commitment to upholding the ideals of freedom, democracy, justice, human rights, and the international rule of law. The U.S. and the rest of the international community have a moral and ethical obligation to stand with Cypriots to reunify their island and end the Turkish military occupation.

Cyprus's goal is the reunification of the island as a bicommunal and bizonal federation that will protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Cypriots, but also implement a prompt withdrawal of Turkish occupation forces. Cypriot President Demetris Christofias is committed to negotiating a just, viable solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of U.N. Security Council Resolutions, the High Level Agreements of 1977 and 1979, as well as the values and principles on which the European Union was founded.

I urge my colleagues in the U.S. Congress to take note of the 34-year anniversary of the violent invasion that brutally divided the island nation of Cyprus, and to encourage Turkish Cypriot leaders to negotiate in good faith with their Greek Cypriot counterparts, settle this dispute, and develop a plan for reunification that addresses the serious concerns of all Cypriots. The reunification of the island nation remains a priority for this Congress and for the international community. On this anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, we mourn the deaths of those killed in the invasion and the lost opportunities for reunification over the years, and we look forward to a future of a reunited and peaceful Cyprus.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Football League, NFL, for its continuing efforts to improve the lives of America's youth both on and off the field.

In 1998, the NFL and NFL Players Association organized the NFL Youth Football Fund, YFF, which is a non-profit foundation that supports the game of football at the youth level and promotes positive youth development. This wonderful organization has provided hundreds of thousands of children with the opportunity to learn the game of football, stay physically active, and get involved in productive after- school activities with positive role models.

One important initiative that the YFF has undertaken is its Grassroots Field Refurbishment Program. This unique program provides funds for communities to revamp local athletic fields so that youth have a safe place for athletic activities. The fields are newly built or significantly renovated, with improvements such as irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, goal posts and turf. The YFF has contributed nearly $23 million through the Grassroots Program to rebuild 170 fields nationwide in underserved areas.

The NFL recently awarded a $200,000 grant to the Jersey City public schools to help replace the playing field at Cochrane Stadium in the Caven Point Athletic Complex, which is located in my home state of New Jersey. The field was closed in April 2008 because of concerns about high levels of lead found in the astroturf surface. The sports complex at Caven Point is an integral part of youth athletics in Hudson County and many of my constituents use these facilities. I am extremely pleased that the NFL is assisting the community in this way.

I am honored to have an outstanding NFL franchise such as the Giants, who are the Super Bowl XLII Champions, play in my Congressional district at their home field of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford. Our local community continues to proudly support the Giants and is grateful that the NFL has selected Jersey City to receive a grant to improve their local athletic playing field.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me today in commending the National Football League for its consistent support of our youth across the country. I also ask for unanimous consent to enter an article from the Jersey Journal into the Record.

[From the Jersey Journal, June 10, 2008]

NFL Giving $200G To Help Replace Turf at Cochrane Stadium

(By Ken Thorbourne)

The National Football League is chipping in to replace an

athletic field in Jersey City that was closed in April due to

concerns about lead. The National Football League Grassroots

Program announced the $200,000 grant to the Jersey City

public schools to help replace the heavily used Cochrane

Stadium field at the Caven Point Athletic Complex last week.

``The district is thrilled the NFL is supporting local

athletics,'' said Board of Education spokesman Gerard

Crisonino. ``We see it as a real commitment to the students

of Jersey City.''

Cochrane Stadium--along with the field at Frank Sinatra

Park in Hoboken--were closed after elevated levels of lead

were found in the synthetic fibers. The Hoboken field has

already been replaced.

Crisonino said a new field at Caven Point is expected to

cost $1.1 million. In addition to the NFL grant, the district

expects to receive city and county money. Specifications are

being drawn up to bid the contract, he added.

Elevated lead levels were also found at the College of New

Jersey's Lions Stadium Field in Ewing, which also has a

synthetic turf field.

``Fields are an integral part of creating viable and

healthy communities,'' NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in

a statement. ``The development and refurbishment of these

football fields give youngsters a safe place to play the

game, and brings families and neighborhoods together.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize the outstanding contributions and dedication of my communications director, Kimberly Allen, as she leaves to relocate to Richmond, Virginia with her husband, Tom Emswiler. Kimberly has been on my staff for more than 2\1/ 2\ years, and during that time she has demonstrated extraordinary talent, grace under pressure, and the highest ethical and professional standards as my public spokesperson. She has also done a superb job handling the inquiries my office has received from national, State, and local media outlets. Kimberly has a true gift with words, is steadfastly loyal, and embodies the very spirit of teamwork.

Kimberly grew up in Annandale, Virginia and attended Annandale High School. She later attended Boston University's College of Communication and graduated with a bachelor of science in Communication in 2002. Before joining my office, Kimberly worked at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing as their communications assistant and webmaster. She later served as the communications and production manager for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Her previous experience served her well and helped make her a very effective communications director.

In addition to serving long hours as the brilliant spokesperson for my office, Kimberly is extremely involved in community activities and volunteers to help those who are less fortunate. Since 2002, she has annually prepared tax forms at weekend clinics for those who are not able to afford private assistance with their income taxes. She has also volunteered at ``We Are Family,'' which provides groceries to families in need, since 2007.

Madam Speaker, over the past 2\1/2\ years, my office has come to know Kimberly Allen well and we will remember her as a conscientious and dedicated colleague, a gifted writer with a great sense of humor, and a loyal friend to her fellow coworkers. She has been a passionate advocate for protecting the freedom of the press, immigration reform, and human rights. Throughout her tenure with my office, Kimberly has provided me with good counsel and effective communication to the people of New Jersey. She has my deep respect and appreciation for all of the contributions she has made to my office and the work she has done. I wish Kimberly the very best and know that she has a bright future ahead of her.

I thank our distinguished chairman.

Madam Chairman, I rise in support of the manager's amendment to the Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act.

I want to begin by thanking our distinguished Chairman Miller and his wonderful staff, as well as the ranking member and his outstanding staff, for putting together this bipartisan bill and for working with me to incorporate two provisions into this manager's amendment that will strengthen accountability measures in the bill.

Specifically, my provisions direct programs such as these to notify parents of any reports of abuse as soon as possible but absolutely no later than 48 hours after the incident.

Parents have the right to know when their child is in danger, and this amendment ensures that parents are informed expeditiously of any reports of child abuse or neglect. This amendment would also strengthen accountability in this way: The bill creates a publicly searchable Web site that will contain information on these facilities such as death, reports of abuse, and violations of safety standards. My provisions require the Web site to disclose the cause of death.

This will help parents to make informed decisions about which residential facilities are safely caring for children as well as which have poor records on incidents of abuse and/or death.

It is a terrifying yet documented fact that such severe abuse occurs in these programs. The Government Accountability Office reports that precipitated this bill found that more than 1,600 cases of alleged abuse in 33 States occurred in 2005 alone. These alarming occurrences of cruelty and neglect must end, and this bill will establish new national safety standards and guidelines for private therapy facilities to reduce, if not eliminate, these incidents.

Again, I would like to thank Chairman Miller and his outstanding staff for all of his help in including my thoughts on this measure. I thank again the ranking member and his staff for making this a very important bipartisan measure that deserves the support of all of our colleagues.

Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of Mr. Kevin Williams of Secaucus, New Jersey, for his extraordinary public service and congratulate him for being honored with the Congressional Award Gold Medal.

The Congressional Award is an esteemed recognition bestowed on exemplary young people who complete a minimum of 400 hours of voluntary public service, 200 hours of personal development activities, 200 hours of physical fitness, and four consecutive days and nights of an exploration or expedition. Kevin epitomizes everything that this award is seeking to extol; particularly his dedication to his community and commitment to public service.

At the young age of 18, Kevin Williams has already founded two nonprofit organizations, People to People International's Go International For Tomorrow Student Chapter and Wrap4ASmile Foundation, Inc. The first of these organizations, Go International For Tomorrow, focuses on developing youth leadership through educational, cultural and humanitarian activities. The second, Wrap4ASmile, raises funds, collects products, packs care packages, and distributes personal care items that cannot be purchased with food stamps. These two groups successfully encourage young adults to get involved in various public service activities.

Kevin has spent over one thousand hours performing valuable community service, both in my home State of New Jersey and abroad. He has earned numerous awards documenting and celebrating his achievements. Most recently, Kevin received the 2008 Comcast Leaders and Achievers Award, the People to People International Golden Award, and, for the past 4 years, the Presidential Volunteer Service Gold Award.

Kevin is a truly exceptional young leader in our community. In addition to founding two nonprofits, Kevin has participated in the International Student Leadership Conference of Operation Smile, the American Legion New Jersey Boys State Conference, and the National Youth Leadership Council Conference in Healthcare Medicine. He is an ambassador of public service, and his efforts help make the world a better place for all of us.

Today, I would like to congratulate Mr. Kevin Williams for receiving the Congressional

Award Gold Medal in recognition of his exemplary contributions to New Jersey and beyond. I extend to him my very best wishes.

Madam Speaker, I would like to state for the record my position on the following votes I missed on June 3, 2008. On Tuesday, June 3, 2008, I was unable to be present in the Capitol and missed rollcall votes Nos. 367 through 369. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner:

On rollcall vote No. 367, on H. Con. Res. 138, a resolution supporting National Men's Health Week, I would have voted ``aye.''

On rollcall vote No. 368, on H. Res. 923, a resolution recognizing the state of Minnesota's 150rh anniversary, I would have voted ``aye.''

On rollcall vote No. 369, on H. Res. 1114, a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of the Arbor Day Foundation and National Arbor Day, I would have voted ``aye.''

Madam Speaker, I rise to support the efforts of the Young Women's Christian Association, YWCA, of Bergen County Rape Crisis Center to designate April 28, 2008 as Denim Day in New Jersey. This day-long observance is an important opportunity to raise awareness about sexual violence and end the `blame-the-victim' mentality about rape that continues to impede justice for those attacked.

Unfortunately, appalling misconceptions about rape and sexual violence still exist and were on full display in the Italian Supreme Court decision that launched International Denim Day in 1998. In that case, the justices overturned a rape conviction because the woman wore jeans. They reasoned that the victim must have helped her attacker remove her jeans because they were ``tight,'' thereby implying her consent. After the decision, women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans to work the next day.

Those Italian legislators were right to protest such an awful decision and inspired people around the world to speak out against similar injustices. We must do everything possible as a community and as a Nation of laws to stop rape and sexual assault and help survivors. That includes educating young men and women about consent, making clear that rape is the responsibility of the offender, not the victim, and eliminating the fear of shame and blame that prevents an estimated 9 in 10 rape victims from reporting an attack.

Today, on the first annual Denim Day in NJ, I commend the ongoing efforts of the YWCA of Bergen County Rape Crisis Center to accomplish these goals. I stand united with the YWCA, survivors of sexual assault, and their loved ones in observing this important day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 322, which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Jewish State of Israel's independence and reaffirms the friendship between the U.S. and Israel. I want to thank the Speaker and the Minority Leader for sponsoring this legislation, as well as the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee for bringing it to the Floor so quickly.

On May 14, 2008, Israel will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Yom Ha'atzmaut, or the declaration of the State of Israel by David Ben- Gurion in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948. While this date traditionally celebrates Israel's birth as a pluralistic democracy--the only one in the Middle East--this date also marks 60 years of strong and vibrant U.S.-Israel relations, 60 years of Israel's success as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, and 60 years of Israel struggling to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing Palestinian- Israeli conflict.

The U.S.-Israel relationship that we celebrate today is grounded in centuries-old American regard for Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. This was so brilliantly discussed in Michael Oren's latest book ``Power, Faith, and Fantasy,'' which describes American support for Israel as the homeland for the Jewish people starting before the American Revolution and being a strong element in U.S. foreign policy ever since.

But while this historic connection is true, Israel's value to the U.S. as a military and economic partner is also incredibly important. For the last 60 years, Israel has been America's number one ally in an extraordinarily strategic region for the United States--she is, in many ways, our ``forward battleship of democracy'' in a sea of totalitarians, terrorists, and murderous thugs. Just appreciate the fact that the United States spends $150 billion a year in Iraq in order to have 165,000 U.S. combat troops stationed there. Without Israel--God forbid--the United States might

well need to have 100,000 or more troops stationed permanently in that part of the world to protect U.S. strategic interests.

There are literally hundreds more examples of how Israel has helped the United States since its founding in 1948 in matters of intelligence, improving American military equipment, capturing Soviet and Russian equipment, destroying the Iraqi nuclear reactor, obliterating the Syrian nuclear facility, and a thousand more classified instances where Israel provided literally invaluable assistance to the United States in ways that no other country on the planet could do or has done.

For myriad reasons, the United States could not ask for a better friend and ally in the region than the State of Israel. The Israeli people know they will always be able to count on the U.S. and the American people. Whether or not the Palestinians ever become a true partner for peace to the Israelis--and I certainly hope that they do-- the United States will continue to stand by the Jewish State of Israel and make sure it has the qualitative military edge and superior force to defend itself against all enemies.

Once again, I extend my best wishes and congratulations to the people of the State of Israel on their 60th Independence Day and urge my colleagues to join with me in strong support of H. Con. Res. 322.