Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, as the Member of Congress who represents all of Putnam County, NY, I rise today to recognize Putnam County leaders, groups, and residents for their remarkable achievement in being recognized nationwide as one of eight Preserve America communities.

The new Preserve America initiative was developed in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, as well as the U.S. Departments of Interior and Commerce. Putnam County recently received a Preserve America Award at a White House ceremony hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.

Located along the Hudson River, many of Putnam County's towns and villages were instrumental to trade and commerce throughout our nation's history. Putnam County has further demonstrated its ability to make history by becoming one of the first communities in our country to apply for and receive this special designation as a Preserve America Community. Putnam County's proactive spirit has been duly rewarded with this prestigious recognition.

County government has partnered with local municipalities, historic societies, and non-profit organizations to develop initiatives and plans to protect historic property for economic development and community revitalization. These efforts have helped Putnam County emerge as a national leader in the preservation of cultural and natural heritage.

I rise to commend Putnam County legislator Vincent Tamagna's dedicated efforts in spearheading the county's application efforts. I also rise to thank the Hudson River Valley Institute for its active support of Putnam County. Also deserving recognition and congratulations are Putnam County Executive Robert Bondi; the Putnam County legislature; Putnam County Historical Society; Putnam County Tourist Promotion Agency; Foundry School Museum; and the county's Historic Advisory Preservation Commission and its Office of the County Historian and County Archives.

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud and honored to represent the people of Putnam County. They deserve this special designation for their steadfast commitment to preserving a uniquely historic past while planning for a bright and promising future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to an issue that is too often overlooked in our society: the problem of suicide

According to the Centers for Disease Control, a suicide occurs once every 18 minutes. In the year 2000, we lost 29,350 people to suicide. It is the third leading killer of children ages 10 to 14 in the U.S., causing 7.2 percent of the total deaths in that age group. For children ages 15 to 19, the percentage jumps to 12 percent. When most people are starting a family and beginning their careers, between the ages of 25 and 34, suicide is the number two cause of death.

Too often suicide has been stigmatized as a weakness or character flaw. Instead, suicide must be viewed as it truly is: a symptom of mental illness. Viewing suicide as such allows us to recognize the warning signs (including depression, reckless behavior, substance abuse, and a drastic change in attitude and behavior) and helps encourage people to seek help.

While the number of males who commit suicide is about four times higher than the number of females, it is important that we pay special attention to suicide attempts among females, especially teenage girls. It is estimated that women attempt suicide at a three-to-one margin. In the case of teenage girls, these attempts are often a cry for help at a very confusing time in their lives.

We lose one person to suicide every 18 minutes. To put this in perspective, this equates to nearly 13,000 more deaths per year than homicide. We must do more to educate people about suicide, thereby helping to prevent it. For this reason I am sponsoring a Concurrent Resolution in support of National Survivors of Suicide Day and the ideals it upholds. This resolution recognizes and praises the work that numerous public and private sector groups carry out to raise awareness about suicide and provide treatment for depression.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the passage of H.R. 1964, the Highlands Stewardship Act.

The Highlands region is spread through parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania and covers more than two million acres of pristine, undeveloped land. In studies in 1992 and 2002, the National Forest Service recognized the Highlands as ``nationally significant'' and estimated that 5,000 acres of land are lost to development just in the New York and New Jersey portions of the Highlands.

The Highlands also serve as an ``oasis'' amid the urban centers of Philadelphia, Hartford, and New York. The region, with its networks of reservoirs and aquifers, supplies clean, safe drinking water for over 11 million Americans. At the moment, only 23% of those watershed lands are protected, with almost 100,000 of those acres being immediately threatened. Without these water sources, the sprawling metropolises we know today and New York and Philadelphia would have never developed.

The tourist value of this region cannot be overlooked. Every year, over 14 million people visit the Highlands. This total is higher than the number of people who visit Yellowstone National Park every year, and we don't even have a geyser.

Twenty million people live within a two hour drive of the Highlands. With the ever-increasing rigors of city and suburban life, it is important to have a place for families to unwind and interact with the natural splendors that are too often missing from their lives. The Highlands provides that and so much more. This bill will ensure that these natural beauties survive so that future generations can enjoy them as we do now.

Mr. Speaker, it happens I do not agree with the previous speaker. I rise in strong support of the conference report before us. I would like to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Oxley) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Ranking Member Frank) and their counterparts in the Senate for moving this legislation with great thoroughness, deliberation, and really in a strong spirit of bipartisanship.

At the heart of the legislation is the permanent reauthorization of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It has provided a national uniform credit reporting system that has effectively lowered the cost of credit. And it has increased the choice and convenience for millions of Americans across the country.

The FCRA has helped to address other vital security issues such as combating identity theft and blocking terrorist financing under the U.S.A. Patriot Act, both issues that I have held hearings on in my subcommittee.

Combating identity theft and drying up terrorist financing requires a collaborative effort of law enforcement and regulatory agencies, consumers, and financial institutions, all with access to appropriate information.

We have also made some other important improvements to the FCRA in order to protect the sanctity of privacy for the American people throughout the credit granting process. I believe that one of the most important pieces of that is medical information. The medical information of consumers should be kept private. It does not need to be shared or be distributed by creditors or listed on credit reports.

Individuals should know that their personal medical information belongs to them and it is not released for any other purposes, whether it is for the credit-granting process or employee background checks. And we have done that with our legislation by coding the information.

I would like to thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) for working with me on this amendment that will protect medical information of individuals without disrupting the access to low-cost credit and the security of information.

By allowing consumers to benefit from reporting the financial aspects of their transactions to credit bureaus while maintaining the sanctity of their medical privacy, this legislation is a real win for all Americans.

Finally, I am pleased we were able to include a new title in the legislation, which creates a Commission on Financial Literacy and Education, or the SAFE Act. As a result of that strategy, we will have a clear vision of the future financial literacy that will be the benefit of all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Conference Report before us.

I would like to commend Chairman Oxley and Ranking Member Frank--and their counterparts in the Senate--for moving this legislation with great thoroughness and deliberation and in the spirit of bipartisanship.

The legislation, ``The FACT Act'', is the result of a dozen hearings, one hundred witnesses, and months of deliberations by my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and both sides of the Capitol.

At the heart of the legislation is the permanent reauthorization of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or FCRA. FCRA has provided a national uniform credit reporting system that has effectively lowered the cost of credit, and increased choice and convenience for millions of Americans across the country.

As a conferee on this report, I can tell you that we worked with many diverse interests before we reached a unified, solid product. And in this product, we have built on the framework of FCRA to ensure that the legislation continues to lower the cost of credit and help fuel our economy--while also creating new opportunities for populations who have never had access. That's why this legislation has overwhelmingly bipartisan support.

FCRA has also helped address other vital security issues, such as combating identity theft and blocking of terrorist financing under the USA PATRIOT Act--both issues which I have held numerous hearings on in my Oversight Subcommittee. Combating identity theft and drying up terrorist financing requires the collaborative effort of law enforcement and regulatory agencies, consumers and financial institutions--all with access to appropriate information.

I am extremely pleased that this conference report addresses these important issues, and improves our ability to combat identity theft and help law enforcement officials track down illicit money. The information-sharing under this legislation is essential to protecting the American people by detecting suspicious activity and weeding out wrongdoers.

The national uniform standards under FCRA have also facilitated a financial institution's ability to utilize additional authentications and identity verifications to protect consumer security. And the increased protections incorporated in this legislation are critically important in enabling victims to correct the damage to their credit histories created by identity thieves.

This legislation will further help law enforcement combat financial fraud and track down criminals and terrorists. And it adds new protections that are important to achieving these goals.

We have also made other important improvements to FCRA in order to protect the sanctity of privacy for the American people throughout the credit-granting process.

I believe the medical information of consumers should be kept private, and it does not need to be shared or distributed by creditors or listed on credit reports. Individuals should know that their personal medical information belongs to them and is not released for other purposes, whether it is for the credit granting process or employee background checks. And we have done this in our legislation by coding this information.

I would like to thank Reps. Ross and Watt for working with me on an amendment that will protect the medical information of individuals without disrupting access to low cost credit and the security of information.

By allowing consumers to benefit from reporting the financial aspects of their transactions to credit bureaus while maintaining the sanctity of their medical privacy, this legislation is a real win for all Americans.

Finally, I am pleased that we were able to include a new title in the legislation, which creates a Commission on Financial Literacy and Education to improve the financial literacy of millions of Americans of all ages.

At the crux of this language is the creation of the first ever national strategy for financial literacy--which will facilitate new public, private and nonprofit partnerships to help educate all Americans in financial literacy. The national strategy, and its subsequent report to Congress, will be known as ``The Strategy for Assuring Financial Empowerment'' or ``SAFE strategy'', based on legislation that I introduced--H.R. 3520, ``The SAFE Act''.

As as result, the ``SAFE strategy'' will provide a clear vision for the future of financial literacy. The vision will provide a systematic approach to identify effective ways to increase the general education level of current, and future, consumers of financial services and products. The Commission and the ``SAFE strategy'' will be goal- oriented and subject to reviews by Congress through annual testimony.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation that is crucial to the economy and the security of the American people.

I thank you for addressing these important issues and urge my colleagues to support this conference report.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this important legislation. The Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act will provide prescription drugs to seniors, and provide additional money for doctors and hospitals, both of which are the front line in providing health care.

I am particularly pleased with provisions in the bill which seek to provide financial assistance to hospitals currently experiencing difficulties with inadequate wage index reimbursement rates. And I am encouraged by the potential this bill holds for assisting hospitals in the Hudson Valley which are adversely affected by their proximity to the New York City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

I would also like to direct my colleagues' attention to an aspect of this legislation which perhaps hasn't received a great deal of attention, and that's the provision that creates Health Savings Accounts.

For years we have been concerned about the many people in this country who have no health insurance. Many of the uninsured are small business owners or employees who simply cannot afford health insurance. With the Health Savings Accounts established in this bill, the small business owner can not only save tax free money for health care, but offer tax free health care money to their employees.

Think of it. Now, because of Health Savings Accounts, the owners of small businesses across the country can make contributions--tax free contributions--to their employees.

Money in these accounts can be used for insurance premiums or spent directly on medical care. This means many more people can buy coverage. For the first time, health care will be more accessible to the millions of small businesses in this country.

This is a powerful tool for empowering working Americans who deserve to control important decisions over their own medical care.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kanjorski) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for their leadership in improving and moving this legislation through. It is going to send a clear message to all Americans that we are trying to make sure that when they invest their money, there will be fairness and there will be oversight in the marketplace.

The interest of the investors of this Nation need to come first. As the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) said, this is a good step in restoring confidence to those people with whom we trust our investment money. And when we entrust that money to them, we want to know that it will be regulated, that the transactions will be transparent so we can see what they are doing.

This problem with the mutual funds should have been addressed many years ago. Again, as my colleague, the gentleman from Delaware (Mr. Castle) pointed out, this is something the SEC should have acted on a long time ago, and especially during the 1990s when we had a strong market and such a bright light of investigation could have gone in with possibly less impact, because we certainly do not want to do anything that is going to affect this Nation's growth that we are experiencing with our economy now.

I think it is imperative that Congress take action to strengthen investor confidence. It will allow our economy to continue to experience a full growth. And we have to be sure that our investors here in the United States, now over half of all American families are invested in mutual funds, we have to make sure that we have, they have the backing of Congress, that they have the oversight from Congress, but more importantly, that that backing and oversight comes from the

Mr. Speaker, during debate on the bill today, the gentleman from Pennsylvania placed in the Record an editorial authored by the Attorney General of New York. I want to also include for the Record a response published on November 18, 2003, in the Wall Street Journal by the chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission.

[From the Wall Street Journal, Nov. 18, 2003]

Investors First

(By William H. Donaldson)

Washington.--Among its many roles, the Securities and

Exchange Commission has two critical missions. The first is

to protect investors, and the second is to punish those who

violate our securities laws. Last week's partial settlement

of the SEC's fraud case against the Putnam mutual-fund

complex does both. It offers immediate and significant

protections for Putnam's current mutual-fund investors,

serving as an important first step. Moreover, by its terms,

it enhances our ability to obtain meaningful financial

sanctions against alleged wrongdoing at Putnam, and leaves

the door open for further inquiry and regulatory action.

Despite its merits, the settlement has provoked

considerable discussion, and some criticism. Unfortunately,

the criticism is misguided and misinformed, and it obscures

the settlement's fundamental significance.

By acting quickly, the SEC required Putnam to agree to

terms that produce immediate and lasting benefits for

investors currently holding Putnam funds. First, we put in

place a process for Putnam to make full restitution for

investor losses associated with Putnam's misconduct. Second,

we required Putnam to admit its violations for purposes of

seeking a penalty and other monetary relief. Third, we forced

immediate, tangible reforms at Putnam to protect investors

from this day forward. These reforms are already being put

into place, and they are working to protect Putnam investors

from the sort of misconduct we found in this case.

Among the important reforms Putnam will implement is a

requirement that Putnam employees who invest in Putnam funds

hold those investments for at least 90 days, and in some

cases for as long as one year--putting an end to the type of

short-term trading we found at Putnam. On the corporate

governance front, Putnam fund boards of trustees will have

independent chairmen, at least 75% of the board members will

be independent, and all board actions will be approved by a

majority of the independent directors.

In addition, the fund boards of trustees will have their

own independent staff member who will report to and assist

the fund boards in monitoring Putnam's compliance with the

federal securities laws, its fiduciary duties to

shareholders, and its Code of Ethics. Putnam has also

committed to submit to an independent review of its policies

and procedures designed to prevent and detect problems in

these critical areas--now, and every other year.

This settlement is not the end of the Commission's

investigation of Putnam. We are also continuing to examine

the firm's actions and to pursue additional remedies that may

be appropriate, including penalties and other monetary

relief. If we turn up more evidence of illegal trading, or

any other prohibited activity, we will not hesitate to bring

additional enforcement actions against Putnam or any of its

employees. Indeed, our action in federal court charging two

Putnam portfolio managers with securities fraud is pending.

There are two specific criticisms of the settlement that

merit a response.

First, some have charged that it was a mistake not to force

the new management at Putnam to agree that the old management

had committed illegal acts. In fact, we took the unusual step

of requiring Putnam to admit to liability for the purpose of

determining the amount of any penalty to be imposed. We made

a decision, however, that it would be better to move quickly

to obtain real and practical protections for Putnam's

investors, right now, rather than to pursue a blanket legal

admission from Putnam. The SEC is hardly out of the

mainstream in making such a decision. All other federal

agencies, and many state agencies (including that of the New

York attorney general), willingly and regularly forgo blanket

admissions in order to achieve meaningful and timely

resolutions of civil proceedings.

Second, some have criticized the Putnam settlement because

it does not address how fees are charged and disclosed in the

mutual fund industry. While this issue is serious, the claim

is spurious. The Putnam case is about excessive short-term

trading by at least six Putnam management professionals and

the failure of Putnam to detect and deter that trading. The

amount and disclosure of fees is not, and never has been, a

part of the Putnam case, and thus it would be wholly improper

to try to piggyback the fee-disclosure issue on an unrelated

matter.

If our continuing investigation of Putnam uncovers evidence

of wrongdoing in the fee-disclosure area, we will not

hesitate to act, and the Commission is already moving forward

with rulemaking that will address this issue, and others, on

an industry-wide basis. Those lacking rulemaking authority

seem to want to shoehorn the consideration of the fee-

disclosure issues into the settlement of lawsuits about other

subjects. But we should not use the threat of civil or

criminal prosecution to extract concessions that have nothing

to do with the alleged violations of the law.

Criticism of the Commission for moving to quickly misses

the significance of the Commission's action. While continuing

our broader investigation of Putnam, we have reached a fair

and far-reaching settlement that establishes substantial

governance reforms and compliance controls that are already

benefiting Putnam's investors. It is a settlement where the

Commission put the interests of investors first.

As the Commission continues to initiate critical and

immediate reforms of the mutual-fund industry, and while we

investigate a multitude of other cases involving mutual fund

abuses, we will continue to seek reforms that provide

immediate relief to harmed investors.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 541 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, the bill before the House today makes certain that the heroes of America's forgotten war are not forgotten. It is important because if we look at the Korean War Veterans Memorial here in Washington, D.C., we will see the words ``Freedom is not free.'' We need to remind ourselves that over 36,000 Americans lost their lives in a war that has been essentially simply forgotten by many, many people.

Flying the flag on this day makes a difference because people will look at it, young people will look at it, and they will say why is the flag flying especially today. The flag is flying because it is a reminder and a recognition of the Korean War Veterans Armistice Day. It is a day when we all should stop and remember a tremendously difficult hard-fought war. We had an armistice there, and 1.8 million members of the United States Armed Forces fought bravely to preserve freedom and democracy in Korea; and we need to take time out to honor them.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Sensenbrenner) for his leadership and his assistance in bringing this measure to the floor this morning, and I urge all Members to support H.R. 292.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I want to applaud both the chairman and the ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services for acting on this important legislation with the kind of thoroughness and deliberation that they did take.

The legislation before us, the FACT Act, is the result of half a dozen hearings, 75 witnesses, and months of deliberation by my colleagues from both sides of the aisle. The construction of the legislation is the permanent reauthorization of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, or the FCRA. It has provided a national uniform reporting system that has effectively lowered the cost of credit and increased choices and convenience for consumers across the country.

In our hearings, we heard extensive testimony from many diverse witnesses with different interests. But there was a common message that the FCRA has lowered the cost of credit and helped fuel our economy. And this extension of low-cost credit has created new opportunities for populations who have never before had access to credit. That is why this legislation has overwhelming bipartisan support.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act has also helped address other important security provisions, such as combating identity theft and the blocking of terrorist financing under the USA PATRIOT Act, both issues which I have held a number of hearings on in my oversight subcommittee. Combating identity theft and drying up terrorist financing requires the collaborative effort of law enforcement and regulatory agencies, consumers and financial institutions, all with access to appropriate information.

FCRA improves our ability to combat identity theft and help law enforcement officials track down illicit money under the PATRIOT Act. The information sharing under this legislation is essential to protecting the American people by detecting suspicious activity and weeding out wrongdoers.

The national reform standards under FCRA have also facilitated the financial institution's ability to utilize additional authentications and identity verifications to protect consumer security. And the increased protections incorporated in this legislation are critically important in enabling victims to correct the damage to their credit histories created by identity thefts. This legislation will further help law enforcement combat financial fraud and track down criminals and terrorists. It adds new protections that are important to achieving these goals.

We have also made other important improvements to the FCRA in order to protect the sanctity of privacy of the American people throughout the credit-granting process. I believe that medical information of consumers should be kept private and does not need to be shared or distributed to others by creditors listed on credit reports. Individuals should know their personal medical information belongs to them and is not released for other purposes, whether it is for the credit-granting process or employee background checks. And we have done this with our legislation by coding this information.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt) and the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) for working with me on an amendment in full committee that will protect the medical information of individuals without disrupting access to low-cost credit and the security of information. By allowing consumers to benefit from reporting the financial aspects of their transactions to credit bureaus while maintaining the sanctity of their medical privacy, this legislation is a real win for Americans.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this legislation. It is crucial to the economy and the security of the American people. I thank the chairman for addressing these important issues, and I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, while this bill contains good consumer protections, my concern is that if free credit reports are extended to consumers, then there will be an unquestionable strain on the system. Unfortunately, the current system is not yet equipped to deal with overwhelming requests for credit reports that may result from offering free credit reports or any other extraordinary events. Consumers who have an identified need to access their file could find their request lost in an overburdened system. This will undoubtedly reduce service levels that could otherwise be dedicated to helping consumers who do have a concern about their files and need to have information quickly.

After holding several hearings on the issue of identity theft, my concern is that large numbers of people simply looking for information could result in a chaotic shock to the system that would be ripe then for fraud and difficult to detect criminal behavior.

In the full committee I offered an amendment to ensure consumers' requests are accommodated by alleviating burdens on credit bureaus as the new law is implemented. I am pleased we have included a lot of this language in the manager's amendment, and as a result, the underlying bill now directs regulators as they construct a system for implementation to take into consideration potential spikes in the volume of requests for first year of the legislation. It is a tremendous first step, but I do not feel it is enough.

The amendment I am offering now builds on the manager's amendment and simply gives regulators the authority to respond on a temporary basis to the needs of consumers when credit bureaus are overwhelmed with requests after the 1-year implementation.

If the regulators determine it is necessary to exercise this authority, the amendment also explicitly states that their temporary approach must maintain consumer access to credit reports for emergency or time-sensitive requests. Including incidents of home purchases and suspected identity theft. Without the flexibility that this amendment provides, customer service may decline as credit bureaus become overwhelmed with requests under extenuating circumstances. By giving regulators the authority to mitigate in these instances, credit bureaus would be able to devote time and attention that each request deserves.

I want to thank both the chairman and ranking member for including some language in the manager's amendment on the first year of implementation, but this amendment would complete that work. It is a straightforward approach to a significant problem and I urge colleagues to support the amendment that will benefit millions of Americans who need prompt access to their credit reports.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite).

Mr. Chairman, does the gentleman have any further speakers on this issue?

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

Mr. Chairman, I believe this is an important work that I think we need to address before any conference report is finished. I think with an agreement with our chairman and with an agreement, hopefully, that was just stated by our ranking member, I think that I am willing to hopefully work with him in the spirit of cooperativeness here on the floor today.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Offered By: Mrs. Kelly

Amendment No. 16: Page 44, after line 22, insert the

following new subsection:

(c) Regulatory Authority To Adjust Report Distribution

Schedules in Times of Request Spikes.--Section 621 of the

Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681s) is amended by

inserting after subsection (g) (as added by section 702(e) of

this Act) the following new subsection:

``(h) Regulatory Authority To Adjust Report Distribution

Schedules in Times of Request Spikes.--

``(1) In general.--If the Federal Trade Commission and the

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System determine

that consumer reporting agencies have been temporarily

overwhelmed with requests for disclosures of consumer reports

under section 612(e) beyond their capacity to deliver such

reports in a timely fashion, the Commission and the Board, by

order, may implement such measures as the Commission and the

Board determine to be necessary for a limited time to regain

equilibrium between the ability of the agencies to disclose

consumer reports and consumers' demands for such reports.

``(2) Protection for emergency and time-sensitive

requests.--In issuing any order under paragraph (1), the

Federal Trade Commission and the Board of Governors of the

Federal Reserve System shall ensure that, during the

effective period of any such order, creditors, other users,

and consumers continue to have access to consumer credit

reports on a time-sensitive basis for specific purposes, such

as home purchases or suspicions of identity theft.''.

Mr. Speaker, the week of August 10 through August 15, 2003, is ``Health Center Week'' in Peekskill, New York. Let me urge our citizens to recognize the important contributions of the Hudson River Community Health Centers in safeguarding health and improving the quality of life for the people of Peekskill.

Hudson River Community Health is a private, nonprofit corporation that provides high-quality, comprehensive primary health care to uninsured and medically underserved people in Peekskill, New York.

Hudson River Community Health has made great strides in expanding access to affordable health disparities while empowering the community to address special needs and decrease the cost of illness through preventative strategies.

Hudson River Community Health has improved the health status of Peekskill promoting health awareness and providing primary care and preventive health services of the highest quality to reduce preventable deaths, costly disabilities, and communicable diseases.

Hudson River Community Health serves as a vital safety net delivering care to Peekskill patients annually, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay, and contributes to the health and overall economy of the community with health services, jobs, leadership and investment.

Hudson River Community Health promotes 100 percent access and zero health disparities to help achieve primary care for all people.

The people of Peekskill are right to recognize this wonderful asset to our community. Let us applaud their fine work. Our citizens look forward to a better future because of the Hudson River Community Health Centers.

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 452, due to a technical difficulty with my voting card, my vote was not recorded. I would have voted ``aye.''

Stated against:

Mr. Speaker, Rabbi Milton Balkany, Dean of Bais Yaakov in Brooklyn, New York, is an acquaintance of mine. He has been an active participant and leader in the Jewish community in New York City for many, many years. Rabbi Balkany has worked hard to bring the community together in order to continue traditional religious and cultural values. Not only does he help younger generations understand the intrinsic and extraordinary Jewish culture to which they belong, but he also welcomes others of all religions to engage in prayer, meditation and community.

I applaud you, Rabbi, on this special occasion and welcome you as the guest chaplain of the House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 658, the Accountant, Compliance and Enforcement Staffing Act of 2003. This legislation will help streamline the hiring process at the SEC, and it will allow the Commission to employ additional, much-needed securities industry accountants, compliance examiners and economists in an expedited manner. Believe me, they need it.

As we work to improve investor confidence, I think it is very important that we work to strengthen the SEC and send a clear message to the American people that we are not going to tolerate corporate misconduct.

Last year, Congress increased the funding for the SEC by more than $270 million. It was a 62 percent increase. We did that because we want to help America understand that we are not going to tolerate corporate misconduct. This monumental increase will help the SEC to enhance their overall operations which are crucial to implementing and enforcing new corporate governance requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley bill, but the Commission is still severely hamstrung by current hiring practices. Now the need for this legislation is more urgent than ever.

With the hiring of accountant positions lagging far behind other professionals in the SEC, it is imperative that Congress give the Commission direct hiring authority for these critical positions. What we must do is enable the agency to fill them in a timely manner, the quicker the better, and that is what this legislation does.

I commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Baker) for introducing this important legislation and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) for moving it through the committee and

working with the House leadership to get it on the floor. They have continued to work tirelessly on these issue and they are to be commended.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and help the SEC protect America's investors and restore integrity in the market.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that I be permitted to control the remainder of the time for consideration of

Madam Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and we yield back the balance of our time.

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

Mr. Chairman, my purpose in rising is to express my strong support for the passage of H.R. 2115, Flight 100.

Three years ago, we passed landmark legislation under the chairmanship of Chairman Shuster, which increased dramatically Federal investment in our aviation system.

As we all know, the country has undergone fundamental changes since the enactment of AIR 21; and few, if any, industries have been so directly affected by our new circumstances. The legislation we have on the floor today is important because it builds on the accomplishments of AIR 21 and helps our aviation system adapt to new changes. Air transport is a large and very important part of the U.S. economy, and safety is a focus of not only the industry itself but of this bill.

The central feature of this bill is that it continues protections for the aviation trust fund that we achieved with AIR 21. These procedural protections which ensure the revenue generated by aviation taxes will be dedicated solely to aviation improvements have had a substantial and positive effect on Federal investment levels in aviation. In the first year of AIR 21 alone, funding for the Airport Improvement Program increased by $1.3 billion. Funding for the Facilities and Equipment Program increased by $700 million in the first year.

This bill maintains a strong focus on safety. It sets us on a path that will allow us to accommodate the continued growth of the system that we expect and we desire.

So I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for their efforts in getting this bill to the floor. And I would like to take note of my appreciation for their inclusion of a provision affecting our air traffic controllers and flight attendants. Once again, I urge a positive vote on this measure.