Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 274, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Announcement by the Acting Chairman

Mr. Chairman, this is a list put out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It lists the 74 United States citizens convicted of felonious crimes in the United States who are currently living in Cuba under the protection of the Castro regime. This list reads like a litany of the worst of the worst, hijacking an aircraft, piracy; and, of course, the highlight to me and the most regrettable is a woman by the name of Joanne Chesimard, who murdered in cold blood a New Jersey State Trooper and has been on the lam and really in the sanctuary of Cuba.

There are those in this body, I know, who take different sides on how we deal with Cuba, whether it is trade or travel. This has nothing to do with any of those, in my opinion.

We know that Cuba has been a haven and a sanctuary for terrorists. We know that people like Joanne Chesimard are living comfortably, while the family of that New Jersey State Trooper who was murdered two decades ago, three decades ago I should say, are still living with the agony and the pain of losing their loved one.

We know that people like Guillermo Morales, who was part of the FILN who terrorized this country for many years, is living in Cuba. This is a story from the Washington Post a couple of years ago. Guillermo Morales is a fugitive on the run from the FBI, but at this particular moment he is sipping a cappuccino in a chic hotel lobby in Havana.

Nine and a half of his fingers are gone, blown to bits by a bomb he was making in New York in 1978, but he manages to open a packet of sugar and stir it into his coffee. On the lam for 23 years, he has cleverly learned how to live with what remains of his hands and his life.

The convicted felon was facing 89 years in prison for illegal possession of firearms when he escaped from a New York hospital in 1979 while under police custody.

Mr. Morales and so many of his cohorts terrorized this country, led to the demise and permanent maiming of many individuals, including many members of the New York City Police Department and other law enforcement officials.

And what we wanted to do in an amendment, Mr. Chairman, is basically get the truth out to the people of Cuba. Our effort would be to disseminate through the United States Interest Section in Havana, and next week we are meeting with folks from Radio and TV Marti to tell the people of Cuba just the truth, just about transparency, that people like Joanne Chesimard has a $1 million bounty on her head, and that if returned to the United States, she would pay for her crime, and that anybody basically participating in bringing this woman back to justice as she rightly deserves will be the recipient of a million dollars.

So I would ask you, Mr. Chairman, in ways to just get that truth out for the legacy of those who have suffered at the hands of so many of these fugitives or convicted felons, murderers, that the people of Cuba just be told the truth. And we have the opportunity to do so through the Interest Section in Havana as well as Radio and TV Marti.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 241 and 242 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for yielding me the time. And just let me add this is not just a New Jersey issue, but it is a New York City issue, as a Representative of Staten Island, just a couple of miles away.

I applaud the gentleman's efforts. And I thank the chairman for agreeing with that.

Mr. Chairman, at the outset, let me thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the ranking member, and especially the gentleman from California (Chairman Cox) for his leadership and understanding of this very complex but critical issue, as well as all Members, especially those from New York who have worked on this, such as the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) and especially the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney) who have been dogged in ensuring that New York as well as all communities get their fair share to deal with Homeland Security.

Currently, Federal Homeland Security funds, and I would like to engage the Chairman in a colloquy, if I may, can be used for overtime but cannot be used to provide any support to law enforcement activities dedicated exclusively to counterterrorism. It is also prohibited to use the money for construction, which is often the very thing most needed for hardened targets.

New York City has by far the largest force dedicated exclusively to counterterrorism. Every single day, we have hundreds, if not thousands of police officers protecting the lives of not just New Yorkers, but the millions who come to New York City to work and to vacation. Its officers span the globe, from Guantanamo Bay to Israel to Afghanistan, working in many instances with federal and foreign officials on intelligence initiatives. These officers have the unique role of safeguarding America's largest city, home to some of the Nation's most symbolic buildings and landmarks, several Federal assets and the country's economic center.

Just as the unique nature of the Capitol complex requires a dedicated force, the Capitol police, which does a great job every single day, New York needs its own dedicated force to help prevent terrorist strikes against New York's 8 million residents, its millions of tourists, and its numerous national landmarks and those Federal assets I mentioned.

I submitted an amendment addressing these issues to the Rules Committee. I understand the Chairman and others expressed concern over the amendment, and given the situation, I withdrew the amendment and asked the Chairman to work with me on this important issue as the bill moves forward towards conference.

I would be delighted to yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I thank the chairman again for this and what we will seek to achieve as well in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to recognize today the great achievements of a high school in my hometown of Staten Island: Curtis High School (CHS). This important educational institution has just been given a $25,000 check from the College Board to accompany the school's receipt of the 2005 Inspiration Award. The Board levies this honor annually on only 3 schools that help students achieve equitable access to higher education despite social, economic, and cultural challenges. A focus on attendance led to CHS' receipt of the award this year. The school's pioneering programs have led to 90 percent attendance rate and an 88 percent rate of graduation. Such a feat is truly amazing considering the schools circumstances.

CHS is a 100-year-old Gothic-style building, embellished with gargoyles and ornate stone archways. The school has an active alumni association, and many of its teachers are graduates, but CHS has changed dramatically since the days when it served a small, homogeneous middle-class community.

Today, Curtis High School functions at 160 percent of capacity. Forty-six percent of its students are documented at or below the federal poverty level, and more than half of its students receive free or reduced-price lunches. Among its racially diverse population of more than 2,600 students, 40 percent are white, 33 percent are black, and 20 percent are Hispanic. The school also serves children who are recent immigrants from Latin America, West Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia.

Curtis High School credits its success to 10 small learning communities called ``houses.'' Every freshman who enters CHS chooses among the themed tracks, which include such varied subjects as the performing arts, Junior ROTC, business and computer science, nursing, and journalism. Each house has unique electives that develop the student's particular talents and interests--be it dance, computer graphic design, or law--while maintaining a college-preparatory curriculum for all students.

The school also offers afternoon and weekend tutoring programs, active college counseling, and a mentoring program that targets recent immigrants and students with little parental guidance. The Career Connections program, a partnership among CHS, local businesses, and other community-based organizations, helps students to upgrade their resumes by finding paid internships and part-time employment opportunities. Principal Curtis has also introduced programs for parents, such as ``Parents As Art Partners,'' which offers a free photography class, to create more parent involvement at the school.

These innovative initiatives and the school's commitment to its 3 foundations of success, ``Attendance, Attitude and Achievement,'' have allowed literally thousands of children to gain a high school diploma in the face of tremendous odds. In doing so, such efforts have put these children on the path to a better life, free from the shackles of poverty. I am honored to recognize this fine institution and hope its efforts serve as a model for schools throughout the country. The CHS example shows there is no limit to human ingenuity and that through creativity, commitment and perseverance, we can provide a better life for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 109 I was inadvertantly detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, the threat to the United States is still very real. Just yesterday it became public that one of the terrorists responsible for the Madrid train bombings had sketches of New York City's Grand Central Station on his computer.

A few days ago it was reported that Osama bin Laden was caught urging some of his associates to take the threat to the United States once again. Clearly the threat to our country is real, and it is essential that we have a comprehensive strategy for distributing our homeland security grant funding to confront it.

That is why today I am introducing the Responsible Funding For First Responders Act of 2005. The bill reforms the current formula used to distribute homeland security grant money.

Yesterday, our newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary said, ``I think we owe the American people a more focused and priorities driven'' funding formula. This bill aims to achieve just that.

Over the past few years, we have gone a long way in fighting terrorism. Last year, Congress passed a meaningful intelligence reform which implements many of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations. However there was one recommendation that we did not address adequately.

The 9/11 Commission explicitly stated ``homeland security assistance should be based strictly on assessment of risks and vulnerabilities.'' This bill would put that recommendation, which I think is common sense to most Americans, into effect.

In introducing the bill, I wish to start the debate anew and begin working towards a meaningful first responders funding reform. Since September 11 homeland security funds have been distributed under a formula that requires a minimum of .75 percent to go to each State, and then the remainder is distributed on what we call a per capita basis.

The block grant formula, where most of the funding has originated, does not consider threat at all. This means that almost 40 percent of the money is distributed equally to each State as a result of that minimum, about $1.5 billion. Congress needs to do better.

This year the President's budget once again distributes all the funds based on threat. His fiscal year 2006 budget request which distributes a little over $1 billion in State homeland security grants is based upon risks, threats, vulnerabilities, and unmet essential capabilities.

Let me say what this bill is not. This bill is not designed to pit one area of the country against another. It is designed, I think again speaking to the common sense and conventional wisdom of the American people, to identify where the vulnerabilities are, identify where the threats exist, identify where the risks are and send the money to those areas accordingly.

Why New York City in particular, for example, I think is still a target, let us look what happened after the first

bombing of the World Trade Center that took place in 1993.

In between the bombing in 1993 and the tragic day of September 11, there was a conspiracy to destroy the Holland and the Lincoln tunnels, the George Washington Bridge, the United Nations and the Main Federal Building in Lower Manhattan, as well as a plot to bomb the subway system. The plot was foiled at the last minute by New York City police officers who broke down the door of two individuals who were putting finishing touches on the device.

Since then major media outlets in New York City were the subject of anthrax attacks. In February of 2003 a seasoned al Qaeda operative named Iyman Faris was in New York City on a mission to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge. Faris fought alongside bin Laden, engaged in a battle which included the wholesale slaughter of Russian prisoners and helped supply al Qaeda fighters more recently with sleeping bags, airline tickets, cash and cell phones.

Nearly 2 years after the destruction of the Trade Center, Faris was in New York City conducting surveillance on the Brooklyn Bridge. Faris reported back to his handlers that ``the weather is too hot,'' meaning that security was too tight for the plot to succeed. He was deterred this time.

New York City nevertheless remains a prime al Qaeda target.

Most recently, just before the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, two suspected terrorists were arrested for yet another plot to destroy the subway system, this time near Herald Square in midtown Manhattan.

I think it is in our national interest to move this process forward to a point that just makes sense. It is one thing for Congress to come together and compromise how much of the funding is distributed among the States and towns and villages and cities across the country, for example, agricultural funding or funding for our national security; but when it comes to the lives of the American people and the millions of people who come to our shores annually, it is responsible and above all it is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It is just common sense to send the money where it is needed the most. That is what this bill seeks to do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to my distinguished colleague from the State of New York, Congressman Amo Houghton. He is retiring after 18 years of esteemed public service as the Congressional Representative of the citizens of the 29th District of New York. Prior to his service in the U.S. Congress, Representative Houghton was an established and well respected businessman. A former CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Mr. Houghton was able to bring those skills to Washington to the benefit of the legislative process. His ability to work with both sides of the aisle made him an effective and powerful legislator. Known as a moderate Republican and fiscal conservative, Congressman Houghton actively worked with a coalition of moderate Republicans to pursue meaningful budget reforms. Additionally, history will record Mr. Houghton as one of the early leaders driving reform of the Alternative Minimum Tax. On behalf of the residents of the State of New York, I would like to thank Representative Houghton for his exceptional service in the U.S. Congress. It has been a pleasure to serve with him, and his presence among the New York delegation will be sorely missed. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Houghton on a job well done, and wish him the very best in the years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to one of my distinguished colleagues from the State of New York, Congressman Jack Quinn. In his six terms as Representative of the 27th District of New York, Congressman Quinn brought a strong and well respected voice to the United States Congress. His good nature and approachability made him a pleasure to work with, for both sides of the aisle. As Chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Mr. Quinn fought to preserve Amtrak as part of our Nation's infrastructure and worked tirelessly towards ensuring the safety of our railroads. He has used his seat on the Committee on Veterans to bring about needed reforms for our veterans and to raise awareness and appreciation of our Nation's heroes and their sacrifices. His role as Chairman of the House Republican Working Group on Labor provided an important link to keep the lines of communication open between labor leaders and the Republican party. Beyond his legislative accomplishments, Congressman Quinn made service to his constituents the cornerstone of his office, and it is this service that will be his legacy. On behalf of the residents of New York, I would like to thank Mr. Quinn for his exceptional service to the United States Congress. His presence, both in the House and within the New York delegation will be greatly missed. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating Mr. Quinn on 12 remarkable years of service, and in wishing him and his family all the best in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, sixty years ago this week, one of the greatest battles of

World War II took place. While D-Day had put the Nazis on the ropes, the war wasn't over yet; as General George S. Patton reportedly said at the time, the Germans could no longer win the war, but the Allies could still lose it.

Lengthening supply lines had endangered the Allied drive to Berlin and reduced the effectiveness of American and British forces. Logistical miscalculations were a serious problem as well.

Then the weather turned bitterly cold; heavy snow and sleet took its toll on soldiers who had gone days without sleep. It became even more difficult to hold strained supply lines together. Fuel and ammunition shipments were not getting where they needed to go. Only the tenacity, courage and ingenuity of the men in uniform kept the good guys moving.

D-Day was a victory, but it wasn't the final victory, as we would soon discover.

The Battle of the Bulge was crucial. Just five months after D-Day, the Allies had yet to seal the fate of the Nazi regime. The Wehrmacht would come back with an offensive that seemed as if it might be unstoppable. The very ``bulge'' of the battle's name refers not to some physical place, but to the alarming way our military maps showed the major battle line had ``bulged'' back towards the Allies.

Ultimately it proved to be the Nazis' last gasp, but we couldn't know that at the time. Had the German offensive not been crushed, their improved morale could have caused other reverses and sent the war into a stalemate, prolonging it and leading to thousands more being killed.

The fighting men of America and the other Allied nations had to summon a fierce will to beat back this charge, and did so heroically. It was one of those occasions that showed how right America was to trust in these men to keep our families safe. Our debt to them is enormous.

These men deserve the highest respect. The Battle of the Bulge was one of the most important moments of the second World War, and winning it was critical to winning the war.

Below are 82 veterans and family members of that battle from my home district, Staten Island and Brooklyn, in New York. It is important that we honor their sacrifice while they still walk among us:

William Abell, B. Roger Acker, Albert Agnotti, Elmer Van Arrindell, Salvatore Baratta, Peter P. Benedetto, Anthony Bianco, Dennis Bracket, Maryann Briney, Carmine Burzumato, Gertrude Calvacca, James Campbell, John Capano, Paul Capofari, Barbara Carreras, Raymond Cebula, Rubin Cohen, Edward Connors, Dominic Corcillo, Anthony Cuollo, Edward Curran, Vito Dellagarzie, Anthony DeMaio, Vincent DeSetto, Eugene Devlin, Anthony DiRosa, Henry Dudziec, Frank D'Alleso, Henry J. D'Andrea, Joseph Emmanuele, Angela Fazio, Roy Ferlazzo, Stephen Fiala, Peter Fiorella, Michael Fortier, William Franz, Aldo Furetti, Eugene Gagliardi, George Geissler, Clarence Genau, Finn Gjertsen, Jonas Goldenberg, Stanley Grapes, Robert E. Holmes, John Hynes, Frank Juliano, Rudolph Korman, Robert Landvogt, Alfred Lotz, William Macaluso, Joseph Magliocco, Val Manetta, Anthony Moody, William Morris, John Nee, Charles Nolan, Lenord Parente, Edwin Petrazzolo, Thomas Poidomani, Joseph Reilly, William Reilly, Seymour Richman, Rev. Br. Marion Santor, George Sheppard, Dr. A. B. Siewers, David Silver, Charles Snyder, Eugene Sobiesiak, Eugene Sorensen, John Spiritus, Joseph Sportiello, Joseph Sterbenz, Ralph Taliento, Herbert Thompson, Dennis Tobin, Horace Turner, Anthony Vaccaro, Ira Wells, Susan Witman, Peter T. Zacked, Dominick Zero, M. Riccio.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (F.O.P.) Awareness Campaign and the declaration of October 12-20, 2004 as National Awareness Week. Currently 220 Americans have been diagnosed with this rare and incurable disease. F.O.P. is a musculoskeletal disorder that leads to the growth and formation of additional bones, ultimately forming a ``second skeleton'' in the human body. Due to the diligent and dedicated efforts of the friends and family of those diagnosed with F.O.P., there is a growing campaign to raise awareness about the disease and muster support for F.O.P. research. In addition, President Bush has declared the years 2002 through 2011 as the National Bone and Joint Decade; the kick-off for which is the National Awareness week set to begin October 12. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the observance of Bone and Joint Decade National Awareness Week and to encourage our fellow citizens to support awareness and research of musculoskeletal disorders.

Madam Speaker, I believe the ability for public safety officers to communicate to each other is one of the core principles in protecting this nation. Whether it is police officers and firefighters working together to save a child from a burning building or the FBI and local officials stopping terrorists before boarding a plane, the ability for local, State, and Federal public safety officers to communicate should be, and I believe is, one of the goals this Congress and administration diligently works to achieve.

Just Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Ridge announced the launching of an Office of Interoperability and Compatibility. This office will oversee the wide range of public safety interoperability programs and efforts currently spread across Homeland Security. These programs address critical interoperability issues relating to public safety and emergency response, including communications, equipment, training, and other areas as needs are identified.

I want to commend the Secretary for his leadership on this issue and would like to add that it is now Congress's duty to ensure this office has the resources and flexibility it will need to achieve it's goals. Just as importantly as it is to ensure that State firefighters can, and do communicate with State police officers, it is equally important that Congress, through its committees, remains committed to working with Federal agencies in making sure that they not just set goals, but that they accomplish them.

As was discovered in a hearing before the Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet earlier this month, achieving true interoperability will be one of the more difficult tasks First Responders will encounter in coming years. Despite a clear desire to achieve interoperability, there remain a number of traps that have continued to slow down progress.

One of those traps has been the interference public safety officers receive from some wireless carriers. More and more often, when a public safety officer responds to a call, he or she will arrive at the call site and find out their radio doesn't work because a private wireless carrier operating in the same spectrum band has a tower close to the call site. The interference is generally a result of the carrier's signal either overpowering or mutating public safety's signal.

For more than 3 years, the Federal Communications Commission studied the issue. It was clear that separating public safety spectrum from the interfering private wireless carrier's spectrum was the only solution. During this time, a number of my colleagues and I contacted the FCC to make it clear that whatever solution the FCC was to choose, it must cover all of the costs incurred by public safety. In July of this year, the FCC issued a ruling to address the problem. Since July, details of the proposal have been released and the FCC has continued communication with the interfering company. While it is good to see that the FCC is making progress on their proposal, I continue to believe that the only solution will

ensure that public safety no longer receive interference, and that all of their relocation costs are covered in full with no possibility for a funding shortfall.

The second trap that I previously spoke of involves public safety's need for additional spectrum. While Congress and the FCC could spend their time finding and allocating public safety new spectrum, I believe it would be more prudent to eliminate the digital divide and give public safety the 24 MHz of spectrum they've been allocated in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. The Balanced Budget Act allocates an additional 24MHz of spectrum to public safety when broadcasters operating on their current analog spectrum transition to digital spectrum.

While many broadcasters have prepared for the transition, others have chosen to bet against congressional action and become spectrum squatters, holding hostage the very spectrum that public safety needs to protect this country. It is time for the broadcasters to vacate their analog spectrum, and I believe that under the leadership of Chairman Barton and my colleagues at the Energy and Commerce Committee, we will be able to offer members the opportunity to vote on legislation that will eliminate the digital divide and get public safety the spectrum that they need to make our communities a safer place to live.

In closing I would like to recognize the public safety officials in our country for that work tirelessly to ensure that our families are safe and able to enjoy the freedoms that this country provides. While our troops abroad are working to ensure we don't see terrorism and war in our streets, it's our public safety officers that prevent and respond to events at home.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support and commend both the chairman and the ranking member for bringing this resolution to the floor. I think all Americans, indeed all free-loving people, come together again on the third anniversary of that dreadful day, forever to be known as 9/11, or September 11, to pay tribute to the victims who died, so many heroically, and all of them innocently, on that fateful day.

I cannot help but think that on September 11 people around the world will take a moment to remember what that day was all about, and I cannot help but think about what was happening 3 years ago today. Three years ago today, a bunch of individuals who were barbaric in nature put together the plan, the final touches that would lead ultimately to the death of almost 3,000 innocent people and how they scurried about the country, here, the United States of America, once thought to be not possible. In fact when they built the World Trade Center, no one ever contemplated an attack on our own soil; but that is what happened.

These barbarians, after reaping the fruits of what America had to offer, decided to take those planes and use those planes as missiles and kill innocent people just going about their lives, too many of whom I had the privilege to represent in Staten Island and Brooklyn. Chances are they were getting up to send their kids to school, got on the bus, took the Staten Island ferry, and walked up to the Trade Center, never to return. As we join today, there are still many families who have not recovered from that day, and perhaps some never will; but our hearts and prayers hope that they find the strength to move on.

We can never erase the lives of the likes of guys like Marty Egan who was not working in Manhattan that day but jumped on a fire engine and ran into the Trade Center to try to help. His wife, Diane, and kids live in Great Hills in Staten Island, and they try to go on; but I know it will never be the same.

There were people like Stephen Siller, a fireman who was supposed to meet his brothers to play golf, said there is an emergency, I have to go into Manhattan, and ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to help his fellow firefighters and try to save innocent people. Stephen never saw his brothers again, not to mention the hundreds, if not thousands, of others who went about their lives as they should have that day. All this while those barbarians contrived and plotted, as terrorist barbarians do, to take the life of innocent people. Let us not forget what these terrorist barbarians are apt to do. Just last week look at what happened in Russia where the ultimate acts of barbary took place and innocent children were blown up. That is what we are up against.

As we honor those who lost their lives on September 11 and give thanks to the families who have suffered every day since, let us not forget what we are up against. Let us not forget that freedom is under attack still. Let us not forget there are individuals around this globe who still want to see the destruction of the United States of America.

I commend the 9/11 report to every American to read so they can get some insight into what these individuals, these terrorists have coming, that is, they do not want to see us be free. They would rather take innocent life after innocent life after innocent life until they get their way.

I hope and pray that Republicans and Democrats long ago understood that we need to unite in a vigilant and a constant and a steadfast way to root out those evil ones wherever they may be. They may be here, they may be in the caves in Afghanistan, they may be in spots around the globe; and we do not even know the names of the towns or cities or villages they are in. If we can stay together and leave the ridiculous rhetoric aside and join with our young men and women who wear our Nation's uniform to support our Commander in Chief when he makes that claim that we are under attack, if we can somehow put our partisan differences aside and unite and stay fast for our great country, and if anything, to remember those victims who perished on September 11, 2001.

Mr. Speaker, I am not recorded on rollcall numbers 359, 360, 361 and 362. I was unavoidably detained and was not present to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall numbers 359, 360, 361 and 362.