Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my support for our men and women serving in the military and to urge Congress to continue funding for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research Program (ALSRP) at the Department of Defense.

Studies conducted by the DOD and Veterans Administration have found that those who served in the 1991 Gulf War are approximately twice as likely to die from ALS, the deadly disease that took the life of baseball legend Lou Gehrig, as those who did not serve in the Gulf. In addition, current research suggests that ALS is occurring at greater rates in those who are serving in the current conflict in Iraq. Tragically, there is no effective treatment for ALS and it is fatal in just two to five years after diagnosis.

The ALSRP is an innovative program that has the potential not only to develop new treatments for ALS that benefit our soldiers and veterans but also to determine why they are at greater risk and enable us to take action to protect them. I therefore urge the Appropriations Committee to include $5 million for the ALSRP in the FY 2009 DOD Appropriations bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2516) to assist members of the Armed Forces in obtaining United States citizenship, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, S. 2516, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistant Act, pays tribute to the memory of 21-year-old Army Reserve Specialist Kendell K. Frederick who was killed in Iraq while attempting to become an American citizen.

Specialist Frederick was born in Trinidad and immigrated to the United States when he was 15 years old to join his mother, stepfather, and two sisters. He attended Randallstown Senior High in Baltimore County, Maryland, where he joined the school's ROTC program. Specialist Frederick enlisted in the Army Reserve in his senior year and was deployed to Iraq in December of 2004.

As he was serving our country, Specialist Frederick sought to apply for U.S. citizenship, yet one bureaucratic hurdle after another delayed his application.

First, the USCIS failed to route his application to the unit that processes naturalization applications for members of the military. The gentleman then rejected his application for failure to pay an application fee even though active military personnel applying for U.S. citizenship are not required to pay that fee.

Next, the agency directed Specialist Frederick to get his fingerprints taken in Maryland despite the obvious fact that he was deployed in Iraq at the time. Besides, he had recently had his fingerprints taken as part of his background check when he enlisted in the Army Reserve.

But when his mother called the agency's help line, she was told that nothing could be done.

Finally, after trying for more than a year to become a U.S. citizen and having his application rejected and delayed as a result of various bureaucratic failings by his own government, Specialist Frederick was forced to travel on a convoy to a base where he could get his fingerprints taken again for his naturalization application.

Tragically, he was killed en route by a roadside bomb. Specialist Frederick was posthumously granted U.S. citizenship a week after his death.

S. 2516 would remove unnecessary procedural hurdles like the ones Specialist Frederick faced for naturalization applications currently or recently serving in the military. Most importantly, it directs Homeland Security to accept fingerprints taken at the time of enlistment as long as they are otherwise acceptable.

The House has already passed legislation similar to S. 2516. It was introduced by Representative Elijah Cummings. It was H.R. 2884, the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Act, and passed the House by voice vote on November 6 of last year. There are a few minor differences between the House-passed bill and the Senate bill, but both accomplish the goal of removing these bureaucratic hurdles to our soldiers becoming U.S. citizens.

Therefore, I ask that my colleagues support the passage of this bill so that we can get the bill to the President and signed into law as quickly as possible.

Approximately 45,000 lawful permanent residents are currently serving in our Armed Forces. More than 35,000 noncitizen members of the military have applied for U.S. citizenship since 2002.

This bill is an excellent measure that will help ensure that from now on American soldiers do not face some unnecessary, unreasonable hurdles to American citizenship that cost Specialist Frederick his life. Much more needs to be done to assist America's soldiers with their hassles with our immigration system. But this bill is a good first step, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5569) to extend for 5 years the EB-5 regional center pilot program, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Today, we move to extend an immigration program proven to promote investment and to create jobs for American workers. H.R. 5569 would extend the EB-5 regional center pilot program for 5 years. Unless Congress acts, the regional center pilot program will sunset on September 30 of this year.

Congress created the fifth employment-based preference, known as EB- 5, immigrant visa category in 1990 for immigrant investors. To qualify for a green card, the investor must prove that the investment is in a commercial enterprise that will benefit the United States economy and create at least 10 full-time jobs.

In general, investors must invest at least $1 million. However, that amount can be reduced to $500,000 if the investment is made in a rural or high unemployment area.

Approximately 10,000 visas have been made available in the EB-5 green card category each year. But the category has been underutilized ever since it came into being.

To help further encourage this program, Congress created a temporary pilot program in 1993. The regional center pilot program allocates 3,000 visas each year, out of the 10,000 available, for EB-5 investors who invest in so-called designated regional centers.

Under the immigrant investor pilot program, an applicant seeking EB-5 status must make the qualifying investment within an approved regional center. The requirement to create at least 10 new jobs, however, can be met by showing that, as a result of the new enterprise, such jobs will be created either directly or indirectly.

The regional center program is vital for our economy. For example, in fiscal year 2007, a total of 806 investors and family members immigrated to the United States in the EB-5 category.

That is not very many people, but even at that level, the EB-5 immigrant investor program is expected this year to generate an annual rate of $1 billion in aggregate immigrant investment, creating more than 20,000 new direct and indirect jobs. Usage of the program is expanding as new regional centers get approved.

The regional center program helps get investment money to some of the Nation's poorest communities, creating jobs and revitalizing communities. In Vermont's poorest county, for example, a regional center investment has put $17.5 million into a ski resort at Jay Peak. This project is expected to create close to 2,000 jobs in the area, according to the New York Times.

It is important that Congress reauthorize the EB-5 regional center program. The pilot program has been renewed several times, and is currently due to expire, as I said earlier, on September 30 of this year. This bill would extend the EB-5 regional center pilot program for 5 years, until September 30, 2013.

When the subcommittee reviewed this bill, we had a discussion about looking at the level of investment and also the possibility of including venture capital-driven investments, where it's really the patents and ideas that are creating the jobs. We hope to be able to work with the minority to further pursue those ideas at a subsequent date. It should not deter us from proceeding today with this program that has proven to be valuable to our Nation by creating jobs for Americans.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I'm sure that we will pass this bill. We have broad bipartisan support for it. But one of the values of debating these bills is not just to enact law but to let the public know of opportunities that the law provides to them.

And it might be instructive to citizens who are observing our proceedings to know that these projects that are being investment- driven through this program are in rural, as well as urban, communities. The regional center staff--actually, it seems to me this pilot project has proven--make this thing work.

And so there are areas in the country today that are having economic problems. I would encourage those areas, through their local governments, to look very carefully at whether they may want to utilize this program as one piece of putting their economy on the road to recovery.

I note that our colleague Sheila Jackson-Lee expressed her interest in making sure that urban disadvantaged areas be looked at, and I note that Houston, Texas, has actually one of the largest applications of all. It is expected that they will have 7,000 jobs and a $350 million investment.

So this is a great opportunity for America. I would hope that we will pass this expeditiously. It is part of getting our economy on the move again.

I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that we will likely have an extended debate next year when we visit again the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. I don't

want to get into a debate today, I will just say a core principle of immigration law has always been that the United States Government doesn't tell American citizens who they get to fall in love with and marry. And a second core principle is, when our U.S. citizen marries somebody from another country, the American doesn't have to move to France, his wife gets to move here. So that's something that we will protect as this debate goes forward.

This bill has bipartisan support, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5938) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide secret service protection to former Vice Presidents, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5938, the Former Vice President Protection Act of 2008, a much-needed permanent solution that would authorize protection for our former Vice Presidents and their families.

As you no doubt know, the President of the United States, along with his or her spouse and children, are provided continued protection by the United States Secret Service after the President leaves office, but the law does not provide such protection for a former Vice President and his or her family. Rather, Congress has, on an intermittent basis, authorized such protection for limited periods of time.

In the near future, Congress will again be faced with this issue. In January, Vice President Cheney will be leaving office, and we will presumably decide to provide continued Secret Service protection for him and his family, as has been done for every Vice President in recent decades. But this ad hoc process is inefficient, and the legislation before us replaces it with a permanent fix to current law. Specifically, it provides for Secret Service protection to a former Vice President, including his or her spouse and children under 16 years of age, for 6 months, and it permits this period to be extended if information or conditions so warrant.

I would urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of H.R. 5938 and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5593) to amend title 5, United States Code, to make technical amendments to certain provisions of title 5, United States Code, enacted by the Congressional Review Act, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 5593, the Congressional Review Act Improvement Act, would cut government waste by reducing duplicative paperwork and relieving some of the administrative burdens currently mandated by the Congressional Review Act, the congressional mechanism for reviewing agency rules.

The Congressional Review Act requires that all agencies promulgating a rule submit to both Houses of Congress and to the Comptroller General a report that contains a copy of the rule, a concise general statement describing the rule, and the proposed effective date of the rule. Thus, under current law, the same material is submitted to, housed in, and printed by four different governmental entities. This approach creates unnecessary burdens. For example, the House Parliamentarian has testified before the Subcommittee on Administration of the Judiciary Committee in three separate Congresses about the ever-increasing volume of executive branch communications under the Congressional Review Act and its overwhelming impact on the operations of the Parliamentarian's office.

This legislation would eliminate the requirement that agencies submit rules to each House of Congress if they are already printed in the Federal Register. Instead, the House and Senate would receive a weekly list of all rules from the Comptroller General. The House and Senate would then have that list printed in the Congressional Record with a statement of referral for each rule.

The bill would still require agencies to submit rules and reports to each House of Congress that were not printed in the Federal Register, and Congress could still employ the procedures in the Congressional Review Act to disapprove agency rules.

H.R. 5593 was introduced by Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee Chair Linda Sanchez, along with Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers. They were joined by Ranking Member Lamar Smith and Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Cannon as original cosponsors. This bill has bipartisan support, and makes a lot of sense. I would urge my colleagues to support it.

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

Mr. Speaker, once again, I urge adoption of this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1251) saluting the life and music of the late Otha Ellas ``Bo Diddley'' Bates, guitar virtuoso and rock and roll pioneer, whose music continues to influence generations of musicians.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, today we honor the life and musical legacy of Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock and roll, a guitarist who has influenced generations of musicians, who no doubt will continue to do so for generations to come.

This resolution was introduced by the chairman of the full Judiciary Committee, Mr. Conyers, who was unable to be here in time to present it himself.

I am honored to note that Bo Diddley was born Otha Ellas Bates in the small town of McComb, Mississippi. He moved as a young boy to Chicago, where he initially studied classical violin. But at age 12, he heard John Lee Hooker play ``Boogie Chillen'' and found his true calling, the electric guitar.

He got the nickname, by which he will ever be known, as a teenager from a girl in his neighborhood. He said she meant it as a compliment to his boxing skill.

After years playing music with friends on the South Side of Chicago, first on street corners, later at the 708 Club, Bo Diddley and his band made their first record in 1955.

Vee-Jay Records had turned them down, who said the music was just too strange. But they walked across the street to Chess, who signed them up on the spot. The song, titled ``Bo Diddley,'' became an instant hit, reaching number 2 on the charts.

Later that year, he was invited to perform on TV on the Ed Sullivan Show. For some reason, Ed Sullivan chose to have him play a Tennessee Ernie Ford song, ``16 Tons.'' Bo Diddley didn't know that song. So the show's crew spent 2 hours playing him the record and rehearsing it with him and made cue cards with the lyrics for him.

But what the audience got to hear that night was ``Bo Diddley.'' And when the show's producer asked him what went wrong, he said, ``Man, maybe that was `16 Tons' on those cards, but all I saw was `Bo Diddley.' ''

Although Ed Sullivan didn't plan for it to be, that was the first rock and roll performance on TV, a year before Elvis Presley made his appearance on the show.

Bo Diddley had several other songs reach the top of the charts. He became as well known as any recording artist in America. But he contributed so much more than that, and it would be hard to overstate his importance to the music world.

He quite literally played to his own beat, actually called the ``Bo Diddley beat.'' And to this day, that beat is a rock and roll staple. You hear it in the music of Buddy Holly, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and countless others.

But Bo Diddley was no mere one-beat wonder. He introduced a rich complexity of driving rhythms and cross-rhythms, building on African American traditions from the Cuban clave, to the hambone of the Chicago street, to the shout of the church.

He not only laid the cornerstone for rock and roll, he also laid the groundwork for rap music and, by mixing in elements of classical violin technique, also for funk. He was also a pioneer in the use of reverb, tremolo, sustain, distortion and feedback, all essential ingredients in heavy metal and psychedelic rock.

To help round out the Bo Diddley beat with what he called ``that freight train sound,'' he persuaded Jerome Green to set aside the tuba and take up the maracas and added Billy Boy Arnold on the harmonica.

His band may also have been the first to feature a woman on guitar, first Peggy Jones, then known on stage as ``Lady Bo,'' in the late 1950s, and then when she left, Norma Jean Wofford, a.k.a. ``the Duchess.'' He also invented two well-known guitar designs, the square guitar, and the Flying V. And he may have been the first to build his own home recording studio, right here in Washington, DC.

As the preeminent rock historian Robert Palmer observed a few years ago, and I quote, ``If the musical copyright laws of the United States more accurately reflected the way American vernacular music is created and disseminated, Bo Diddley would be a wealthy man today.''

But Bo Diddley never did become a wealthy man. Despite all his hard work and his invaluable cultural contributions, he had to stay on the road right up until the time a stroke forced him to retire last year at age 78. The fact that he reaped so little from all that he had sowed helped spur him in later years to become a tireless advocate for educating musicians on their rights. As he explained in a 2005 interview in Rolling Stone magazine, ``I tell musicians `Don't trust nobody but your mama.' '' Good advice for many of us.

Mick Jagger spoke for many when he said last week that Bo Diddley was ``a wonderful, original musician who was very generous to the Rolling Stones in our early years.'' Although Bo Diddley himself is now gone, he has left an indelible mark on American music. And this resolution is before us today to honor that uniquely American contribution to music, rock and roll.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of H. Res. 1251 and yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Staff Director and General Counsel of the Committee on Homeland Security for her dedication and service. Jessica will be leaving the Committee on Friday, June 6 for the private sector.

When I was the ranking minority member of the then Homeland Security Select Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Science, and Research and Development, Jessica served as the staff director for the subcommittee. Jessica worked tirelessly with me and then Chairman Mac Thornberry on the Homeland Security Department Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2004, which elevated the position of head of the department's National Cyber Security Division within the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate to Assistant Secretary. This change was eventually made in the Homeland Security Authorization Act for FY 2006.

The subcommittee, chaired by Congressman Thornberry, was a rare scene of bipartisanship in the 108th Congress. Majority and minority staff collaborated just as minority and majority members did. This seamless bipartisanship reflected well upon Jessica, staff director for the subcommittee.

Jessica's commitment to our Nation's security is demonstrated by her service to the Committee on Homeland Security since its inception in 2003. Her knowledge of cybersecurity and critical infrastructure and other homeland security issues over the years has benefited Congress, the Committee on Homeland Security and this Nation and she will be greatly missed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to submit into the Congressional Record a list of projects that I have requested receive federal funding as part of the FY09 appropriations process. The projects requested in the list below were presented to me by constituents, local groups, and local governments.

Project Name: Multidisciplinary Alternative Reception Center (MARC). The Multidisciplinary Alternative Reception Center (MARC) would provide a facility for police to refer non-violent minors in Santa Clara County.

Project Name: Collaborative Response to Victims of Domestic Violence. This project will develop a new model of collaborative education, training and community response to victims of domestic violence. The College of Applied Sciences and Arts (CASA) at San Jose State University will foster interdisciplinary education and internship team placements in the relevant departments/schools in collaboration with central public and community agencies in both Santa Clara County and the city of San Jose, California.

Project Name: San Jose Police Mobile Identification, Field Reporting, and Records Management Systems. This project will complete department- wide availability of mobile identification technology and initiate addition of automated field reporting and upgraded records management systems. In addition, it will address inefficiencies and enable better cross-analysis and information sharing.

Project Name: South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study (NASA-Ames Research Center). A 2.5 mile trail adjacent to the restored habitat and NASA's Ames Research Center is being constructed as part of Phase 1 restoration of the South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds. The requested funding will be utilized to construct a new security fence for the Research Center as the current fence is sub-standard and could be easily compromised.

Project Name: Coyote Creek Watershed. The project is a new study and was authorized by a May 2002 resolution of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The Coyote Creek Watershed Study will examine ways to provide flood protection for the cities of San Jose, Milpitas, and Morgan Hill, including a major portion of the Silicon Valley's high-tech area.

Project Name: Upper Guadalupe River. The Upper Guadalupe River flood protection project will provide flood protection for 7,500 homes in Santa Clara County.

Project Name: Guadalupe River. The Guadalupe River flood protection project extends through downtown San Jose from Interstate 880 to Interstate 280 and protects the area from $576 million in damages from a one percent flood. The project is part of a multi-phased flood protection project along the Guadalupe River and is an integral component to downtown San Jose's revitalization efforts.

Project Name: San Jose Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project. The San Jose Water Reclamation and Reuse Project will increase water supply reliability and protect endangered species by reducing wastewater discharges into San Francisco Bay through the recycling of wastewater.

Project Name: Coyote and Berryessa Creeks. The project provides extensive flood protection to the area downstream of Montague Expressway in Milpitas and San Jose where potential damages from a 1 percent flood exceed $250 million.

Project Name: Llagas Creek. By providing flood protection to the local community, the project will protect 1,100 homes, 500 businesses, and over 1,300 acres of agricultural land in Santa Clara County that would otherwise result in damages totaling more than $8 million (1982) dollars with annual average damages of $900,000.

Project Name: Upper Penitencia Creek. The Upper Penitencia Creek flood protection project will provide flood protection to over 5,000 homes, schools, and businesses in the communities of San Jose and Milpitas and surrounding areas, with potential damages from a 100-year flood exceeding $455 million. The project includes modified floodplains, levees, floodwalls and bypass channels along the Upper Penitencia Creek.

Project Name: South San Francisco Shoreline. The South San Francisco Shoreline study project is expected to provide tidal and fluvial flood protection for Silicon Valley, including approximately 42,800 acres, 7,400 homes and businesses, and major highways, parks, and airports. This year's funding will allow the Corps of Engineers to make satisfactory

progress on completion of the Feasibility Report for the study as directed by the Water Resources Development Act of 2007.

Project Name: San Jose Urban Forest Planting Program. This project will plant trees throughout San Jose, in partnership with Our City Forest, to achieve the goal of 100,000 new trees over the next 15 years, replacing 60,000 trees lost and increasing the tree canopy to reduce urban heat island effects and carbon impacts. Trees will be planted throughout the City and will benefit all of the diverse communities within San Jose.

Project Name: South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study (USGS). US Geological Survey would use these funds to conduct interdisciplinary monitoring (biological, hydrological, and water quality studies) of Salt Ponds in San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay. With restoration work occurring in both the South Bay and North Bay salt ponds, there is an urgent need for monitoring to guide planning and implementation efforts.

Project Name: South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study (FWS). The Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge is managing 9,600 acres of the recently acquired South Bay Salt Ponds; funding is needed annually to effectively manage these lands, including installation and management of water control structures, levee maintenance, and monitoring of salt ponds.

Project Name: The Japanese American Experience: Making It Available. Located in one of only three Japantowns remaining in California, the Japanese American Museum of San Jose (JAMsj) is contributing to the renaissance of Japantown through the construction of a new museum. This museum will allow the broader community better access to and understanding of the history, culture and arts of Japanese Americans in Santa Clara Valley.

Project Name: Branham Lane/Monterey Highway Rail Grade Separation-- San Jose, CA. Federal funding will complete environmental assessment work and conceptual engineering to convert the highway-rail at-grade intersection of Branham Lane and Monterey Highway to a below-grade intersection. By depressing Branham Lane and Monterey Highway, the project will separate vehicles and trains to provide both a safety and congestion relief benefit.

Project Name: Lazzarini Place Affordable Homes--San Jose, CA. Federal funding will provide funds to train at-risk young women and men in the construction of new homes for low-income first time home buyers.

Project Name: Advanced Zero-Emission Bus Demonstration Program--Santa Clara, CA. This funding request relates to purchasing three hydrogen fuel-cell buses by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority in order to implement an Advanced Zero-Emission Bus Demonstration Program pursuant to regulations enacted by the California Air Resources Board. Under the program, public transit agencies must purchase a minimum of three advanced zero-emission buses and operate them in revenue service for a minimum of 12 months starting January 2009.

Project Name: Way Back Lot at Children's Discovery Museum--San Jose, CA. Proposed project includes the following: (1) A 30,000 square foot outdoor exhibit gallery with interactive exhibits and educational program spaces that engage children in the process of creating ideas and solutions that have been San Jose's stock-in-trade as far back in history as archaeologists have documented. (2) A perimeter wall or fence, artistically designed to depict distinct cultural periods of the Guadalupe River, which also secures the outdoor exhibit gallery for the safety of visitors and deters vandals. (3) A 12,000 square foot ``green building'' expansion to Children's Discovery Museum's southern wing that will serve as support space to the new outdoor gallery.

Project Name: First-Time Homebuyer Low Income Downpayment Assistance Program--San Jose, CA. The mission of the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County is to provide the resources and leadership to make housing more affordable for those who want to live and work in Santa Clara County. Federal funds will go to a revolving loan fund for Low Income Assistance Program to households with incomes up to 80% of Area Median Income, with maximum assistance of $15,000 per loan with a below market interest rate loan.

Project Name: Preserving the Historic Issei Memorial Building--San Jose, CA. Federal funding will rehabilitate and renovate a historic building built in 1906, now known as the Issei Memorial Building. Structural safety improvements are needed and facility expansion is required to meet the needs of the local community.

Project Name: DeWitt Avenue S-Curve Realignment--Santa Clara County, CA. The project would straighten the existing horizontal curve and flatten the vertical curve by extending it and widening the travel lanes. The project would straighten an S-Curve on DeWitt Avenue to enhance the line of sight for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians, thereby improving overall safety.

Project Name: Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Project (SVRIP) Data Interoperability Project. Like jurisdictions across the country, the SVRIP operates standalone and disparate Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), as well as law enforcement and fire Records Management Systems (RMS). The SVRIP has piloted a way to shave valuable minutes off the response times of first responders by interconnecting three disparate CAD systems.

Project Name: Development & Testing of Advanced Paraffin-based Hybrid Rockets for Space Applications. Recent research at Stanford University has led to the identification of a new class of fast burning paraffin- based fuels that promise to make hybrid rockets a practical system for a wide variety of propulsion applications of interest to the government.

Project Name: Strategic Language Initiative (CSU Center for Strategic Languages). The 5 California State University (CSU) campuses originally comprising the Strategic Language Initiative (SLI) Consortium worked collaboratively between 2005 and 2007 to create an effective model capitalizing on campus language expertise, student heritage language diversity, and local linguistic communities in Arabic, Mandarin, Korean, Persian, and Russian. The Consortium's success in southern California can be enhanced by developing a similar model in northern California. This request would build the programs within the current Consortium, and add CSU campuses in San Francisco and San Jose. Lessons learned from the current 5 programs will shape the 2 new programs.

Project Name: Advanced IED Jammer Research & Development Program. The most important aspect of the program is the development of a next generation IED jammer that can simultaneously allow our Blue Force radios to communicate. Another facet of the program is to develop a flexible, standardized, jammer architecture that can adapt to changing threats quickly, a so-called ``multi-mission spectral combat system'' architecture.

Project Name: Advanced Tactical Threat Warning Radio (ATTWR). This project will substantially advance U.S. Special Forces teams to combat and defend our troops against radio controlled roadside bombs. The effort will lead to an advanced technology that will allow for the dismantling of the terror cell command and control elements, as well as identify and locate the bomb making factories. This effort will ultimately save U.S. lives and also reduce the number of maiming and casualties due to IED's.

Project Name: Large Area and Printed Electronics for Defense Systems. This project involves the combination of new, advanced materials and large area printed electronics and will enable flexible, lightweight, and rugged photovoltaic, battery, sensor, and communication products for military systems. Integration with textiles and other surfaces will enable production of electronics for military infrastructure not possible today.

Project Name: Nonlinear Optics for Memory Electronics (NOME). This project will be used to develop and manufacture nonlinear materials, solid state lasers and large field of view deep ultra-violet objectives for the development and inspection of memory microelectronic chips, as well as advanced microelectronics that are used in classified and secure communications equipment, electro-optic sensors, satellites, and various weapon systems.

Project Name: San Jose Courthouse. This money would be used for site acquisition for a new Federal Courthouse in San Jose.

Project Name: AACI Domestic Violence Shelter Project. The Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) Domestic Violence Shelter Project will expand an emergency shelter for abused women and their children. In Santa Clara County, this is the only domestic violence shelter that meets the linguistic and cultural needs of the Asian community.

Project Name: Regional Homeless Medical Respite Care Initiative. Funding will be used for one-time start-up costs of a homeless medical respite care program providing post-hospitalization medical services to the homeless in San Jose/Santa Clara County, including program refinements, personnel, and equipment, in order to address medical needs in a more cost-effective manner, to be sustained by local funding.

Project Name: Center for Migration Studies. Purpose of the funding is to establish an interdisciplinary Center for Migration Studies (CMS), envisaging faculty and student participation from multiple departments in the College of Social Sciences at San Jose State University (SJSU). The main objective of the CMS is to facilitate interdisciplinary research on a comprehensive, multifaceted examination of immigrants' experiences globally.

Project Name: Center for Employment Training--IT Capacity Building. Center for Employment Training (CET) is a private, non-profit human services organization focused on providing employment training and education services to hard-to-serve populations. The

project will expand and upgrade the IT capacity of the organization and enhance the computer technology for vocational training and GED education services for at-risk youth, ages 18-24.

Project Name: Student Partners Reaching Kids. The Student Partners Reaching Kids (SPRK) program serves more than 1,000 young adolescents through a series of offerings which form a continuum of opportunities throughout the year for students in the fourth through ninth grade age range.

Madam Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to honor the memory of a distinguished civic leader in Santa Clara County, Mr. Thomas Harold Riddle. Harold spent his entire life serving his community and country and helping those around him. He was a loyal solider, a gifted educator, an active minister, a party activist, a loving husband, and a devoted father.

Harold Riddle was born in Washington, DC, and grew up on a farm in Central California. During World War II, Harold and two of his brothers bravely served our country in the Marine Corps and saw action in the Pacific Theater. After the War, Harold returned home to California and earned his teaching degree and credentials from San Jose State University. He also went on to receive his master's degree in education from Stanford University. Harold's distinguished teaching career spanned 50 years and in 1973 he was recognized as California's Outstanding Teacher of the Year in Industrial Arts Education.

Harold met his future wife, the former Loretta Mezza, while they were both teaching students at San Jose State. They married after receiving teaching degrees in 1948 and would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this August. Harold and Loretta Riddle were honored last month by local Democratic Party leaders with the Don Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award for their active involvement in civic activities. Loretta was a legislative staffer for Assemblyman and State Senator Al Alquist for over 30 years. Harold served for 12 years on the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee.

More important than his personal achievements, Harold will be remembered because he always made time for those that needed his time. From influential politicians to struggling high school students, Harold offered a friendly ear and sound advice. Harold is survived by his wife Loretta, his daughter Judy Riddle-Skintuay, and his sister Ruth Cooper. Our community mourns the loss of a great civic leader, friend, teacher, and family man.

Madam Speaker, I rise today along with Congressman Michael Honda to recognize the accomplishments of Don Kassing, President of San Jose State University. Mr. Kassing has served as the President of the University since 2004 and is retiring this year.

Don Kassing worked nearly three decades in higher education in Illinois, Kentucky, Colorado and California before coming to San Jose State University in 1993. Prior to his appointment as President, Mr. Kassing served San Jose State University as Vice President for the Division of Administration and Finance for eleven years and was responsible for six major administrative units on campus. As Chief Financial Officer, he held overall responsibility for all business and financial affairs of the campus.

Under Mr. Kassing's leadership, the University's department structure was revamped to improve enrollment services. For the most recent admissions cycle, the process for financial aid packaging was revitalized to provide information to students about their financial aid packages earlier, thus enabling them to make enrollment decisions earlier. In part because of these and related changes, the university had record enrollment for Fall 2007 of nearly 32,000 students. These efforts are linked to a reenergized focus on student success in class and involvement in campus life outside of class.

Typically, the University realized about $11 million annually in private gifts; however, new fundraising efforts under Mr. Kassing's leadership resulted in the doubling of gifts to the University in 2005- 06, and a rise to $50 million in 2006-07, which is the single highest year of fundraising in San Jose State University's history.

Don Kassing has encouraged San Jose State University to engage in externally funded research and education-related activities that have significantly enhanced the University's academic quality while engaging faculty and students in the creation and application of new knowledge. As a result SJSU faculty successfully partner with government agencies, corporations, and private foundations to perform cutting-edge research, public service, and other specialized projects vital to this community of scholars. During Don Kassing's tenure as president, approximately $212 million has been awarded to support the University's expanding research enterprise, placing San Jose State among the top 200 universities in the country for total R&D expenditures.

Don Kassing will be missed for his work at San Jose State University, for his leadership in the community and for his commitment to excellence. I join the community of students, faculty and staff of San Jose State University in honoring Don Kassing for his contributions and in wishing Don and his wife, Amy, their three children and eight grandchildren, the best as he enters retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan, an American citizen who was arrested and detained by the Government of Vietnam on November 17, 2007 while preparing to distribute pro-democracy leaflets. Earlier today, Dr. Nguyen and two others were convicted in a Vietnamese court under the catchall charge of ``terrorism'' in a trial lasting less than 6 hours. Dr. Nguyen has received a sentence of 6 months time served and will be allowed to return to the United States within 4 days.

I commend Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan for his courage and dedication to the peaceful cause of spreading democracy to Vietnam, a country in which the government believes that all those who dare to peacefully speak out against it deserve to be classified as ``terrorists.'' His courage and dedication should be an inspiration to others pursuing the same peaceful goals.

Madam Speaker, I rise in honor of Vietnam Human Rights Day and to commend the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom for again recommending that Vietnam be designated a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) in their recent annual report.

The State Department removed this designation in November 2006, and since then, human rights conditions in Vietnam have steadily deteriorated. According to the Commission, ``removing the CPC designation suspended the diplomatic framework that had led to a productive bilateral engagement on religious freedom and other human rights concerns and therefore removed the potential incentives and leverage needed to urge the Vietnamese government to continue to improve its human rights record.''

Since the removal of CPC status and Vietnam's subsequent accession to the World Trade Organization, the Vietnamese Government has continued to detain and imprison those whose only crimes were speaking out against the government or exercising their freedom of religion. In addition to violating Article 69 of the Constitution of Vietnam, which guarantees the ``freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the press, the right to be informed and the right to assemble, form associations and hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of the law,'' these detentions are in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Commission has recommended CPC status for Vietnam every year since 2001. It is time for the State Department to heed this advice and redesignate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern.

Madam Speaker, as chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, I rise today to recognize a historic milestone in California history. Next week, on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, the Honorable Karen Bass will be seated as California's first African American woman Speaker of the State Assembly. I would also point out, Madam Speaker, that this is the first time that an African American woman has held this post in any State.

Speaker-elect Bass was first elected to the State Assembly in 2004 to represent the 47th

Assembly District which covers parts of Los Angeles. Assemblywoman Bass's leadership skills were recognized early on, as she was selected in her first term to the influential position of Assembly Majority Whip. In her second term, Assemblywoman Bass was elevated to the powerful post of Assembly Majority Leader. During her first two terms in the State Assembly, Speaker-elect Bass had 17 of her bills signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger on issues ranging from foster care reform to children's health insurance.

Before entering elected office, Speaker-elect Bass founded and ran the Community Coalition, a community based nonprofit organization in South Los Angeles. As Executive Director, she built the Community Coalition into an important social justice organization that empowered residents and helped clean up neighborhoods ravaged by the crack cocaine epidemic. Today, the organization is considered a model of community engagement throughout the country.

Speaker-elect Bass grew up in the Venice/Fairfax area of Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of DeWitt and Wilhelmina Bass. Her father worked as a mail carrier and her mother was a full-time stay-at- home mom who raised four children. Speaker-elect Bass is a graduate of Hamilton High School, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Health Sciences from Cal State Dominguez Hills and has a Physician Assistant Certificate from the University of Southern California School of Medicine.

Within a matter of a few short years, Speaker-elect Bass went from being a community organizer to an elected official, and beginning next week, will be one of the most influential legislative leaders in the largest State in the country. Her rapid ascension is a testament to not only her leadership skills, but also to her dedication to the people that she serves.

On behalf of all 34 members of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, I congratulate Speaker-elect Bass on her historic election and look forward to working with the new Assembly Speaker as we move forward together to address the issues facing the State of California.

Madam Speaker, today I rise along with my fellow Members of Congress Anna Eshoo, Sam Farr, Mike Honda, Barbara Lee, Doris Matsui, Jim McNerney, George Miller, Jackie Speier, Pete Stark, Ellen Tauscher, Mike Thompson, and Lynn Woolsey to congratulate Dean Tipps on his retirement and to honor a man whose career of over 40 years has been dedicated to empowering and bettering the lives of working men and women.

For the last 22 years, Dean Tipps has been executive director of the California State Council of the Service Employees International Union. In this capacity, he has directed the council's statewide legislative and political activities on behalf of the 650,000 California members of the Service Employees International Union. As the director of the largest union in California, Dean Tipps' impact has reached beyond SEIU membership as the growth, innovation, and persistent advocacy of the SEIU has served as an example to other unions in a variety of industries.

Mr. Tipps' vision, leadership, and strategic thinking have had a substantial impact on California's people and politics over the last few decades. Dean's ability to build coalitions and bring together the necessary resources has meant that working people have had a powerful voice in electoral and legislative arenas. Dean Tipps has been a leader in many of the labor movement's victories in California, including the defeat of State Proposition 226, the election of Gray Davis, and labor's special election victories in 2005.

He began his political work in 1976 as the first legislative advocate for the California Tax Reform Association and was deeply involved in the politics of California's property tax revolt. In 1979, he moved to Washington, D.C., to become the founding executive director of Citizens for Tax Justice. At CTJ, Mr. Tipps developed the successful campaign strategy that defeated Howard Jarvis' Proposition 9 in 1980 and was involved in initiative campaigns in Massachusetts, Ohio, and other States. He subsequently went to work for the Service Employees International Union where he became the Public Sector Division Director. In 1986, he returned to California to assume direction of SEIU's California State Council and has continuously led the council except for taking leave in 1988 to navigate the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee.

In his many capacities and positions with various groups, Dean Tipps has remained constant in his dedication to helping our country fulfill its responsibility to the men and women who labor in service jobs that make our lives more comfortable. He leaves grateful colleagues and a grateful membership. We are proud to add our thanks for his many years of advocacy and our congratulations for all his achievements.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to