Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this enormously important amendment.

Others have spoken eloquently about the need for women to have equal rights in their paychecks, but this is a right that extends far beyond female Americans. It extends to families, because in this day and age we all know that working families require the incomes not just of the husband but also of the wife, Dad and Mom together, and if Mom's salary is decreased unfairly and illegally, that hurts everybody in that family.

So I urge my colleagues to support this measure, not just for the women of America but for the men and women and families of America.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3123) to extend the designation of Liberia under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act so that Liberians can continue to be eligible for temporary protected status under that section.

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

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

H.R. 3123 extends Liberia's current temporary protected status designation, which is due to expire on September 30 of this year, for 1 year.

As many of us know, Liberia was founded by former American slaves with the help of our government. Since 1989, however, the country has been ravaged by two brutal civil wars which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and destroyed Liberia's economy and infrastructure.

In recognition of these intolerable conditions, the United States for the past 16 years has accorded special protection status to prevent approximately 3,600 Liberians residing in our Nation under temporary protected status from having to be returned to their homeland in the midst of those wars. Recently, the Department of Homeland Security has determined to terminate these temporary protections in light of the fact that Liberia's civil wars have finally ended and in anticipation of the political stability that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, its newly elected President, will bring.

While there is no question that President Johnson-Sirleaf has put Liberia on the road to recovery, that road will unfortunately be rather long. Currently, 85 percent of Liberians are unemployed. The country is suffering from severe shortages in electricity and running water. As for medical care, Liberia has only 26, yes, that is only 26, physicians who must serve a population of 3.4 million people.

Recognizing her country's fragile state, President Johnson-Sirleaf has acknowledged that Liberia is unable to accept and absorb the 3,600 Liberian nationals currently residing in the U.S. under TPS. I am sure we all recall President Johnson-Sirleaf's visit and address to this body and our interest in making sure that she succeeds in bringing peace and democracy to her country. Accordingly, we are deeply concerned about the consequences that could result if thousands of Liberians in the United States are forced to return to their homeland before it is ready and able to accept them.

For these reasons, I ask that you join me in supporting H.R. 3123, which simply extends this protection status for 1 year. I should also note that this bipartisan measure is supported by President Johnson- Sirleaf and the Liberian Government.

I would also like to extend a special thanks to Republican Whip Roy Blunt who, in talking to Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn last week, agreed that we should proceed in this manner. Mr. Blunt is a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, along with the prime sponsors, Representatives Kennedy and Jim Ramstad, Representatives Pence and Tiberi, myself, Mr. Langevin, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. McCotter, Tim Walberg, John Conyers, Ms. Jackson-Lee, and Representative Wynn. So this is a thoroughly bipartisan bill, and I would urge my colleagues to support it.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy), the prime author of the legislation.

Madam Speaker, at this time I yield 4 minutes to one of the co-authors of the bill, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Wynn).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes now to a cosponsor of the legislation, the gentlelady from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee)

Madam Speaker, if we allow the temporary protective status for Liberia to expire this September, more than 3,000 Liberians living in the United States will be forced to immediately return to a country that lacks housing, jobs, health care, education, and other necessary services. Such a result would be inhumane to these men and women, but it would also be destabilizing to their country, a country that we want to support in their efforts to achieve peace and a democracy.

So I urge my colleagues to please join in supporting passage of this important legislation

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

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 975) granting the consent and approval of Congress to an interstate forest fire protection compact.

Madam 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.

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

I rise in strong support of S. 975, the bill that grants Congress's consent and approval to an interstate forest fire protection compact. This legislation serves as a critical tool toward providing communities in South Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming with the necessary resources to fight wildfires.

State wildfire compacts allow States, subject to the consent of Congress, to rapidly request and mobilize firefighting equipment among compact members. Once enacted, this legislation will immediately allow South Dakota, Colorado and Wyoming to work directly with each other and to pool their resources so they could rapidly address current wildfire conditions.

In addition, S. 975 includes a provision that will allow North Dakota to participate in a similar resource-sharing agreement once its State legislature has ratified the agreement.

The need for S. 975 is critical as the fire season for this region approaches and is really upon us today. According to a recent article in the Rapid City Journal, the dry, hot conditions persisting in the Black Hills could result in August being one of the worst fire seasons in the history of South Dakota.

Thus, in an effort to expedite our consideration of this matter, given the potentially critical situation presented by the fire hazards currently affecting South Dakota, we are taking up the measure as passed by the Senate.

I should note that my colleague in the State of South Dakota, Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, introduced identical legislation, H.R. 3050, to address this matter. I commend Representative Herseth Sandlin for her hard work and leadership in this body. And together with the strong support from the Colorado and Wyoming delegations, she has spearheaded the effort to obtain a legislative response to this crisis so that it can be sent to the President for his signature without undue delay.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to support S. 975.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I would like at this time to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the author of the House companion bill and the Representative from South Dakota, Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin.

Madam Speaker, this bill grants our approval to an important interstate compact that will enable States in the Great Plains to pool resources to control forest fires. Especially in light of the fact that these States may shortly be experiencing what could be the worst fire season in years, I strongly urge my colleagues to support this urgently needed measure.

I commend the ranking member, Mr. Cannon, and the chairwoman of the subcommittee, Ms. Sanchez, as well as the chairman of the committee and ranking member for not standing on formality, waiving jurisdiction, and bringing this bill directly to the floor. It is the right way to get something done in a hurry, and it needs to get done

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

Madam Speaker, this evening at the Library of Congress, David Woodley Packard, president of the Packard Humanities Institute (PHI), will officially transfer the 415,000- square-foot Packard Campus in Culpepper, VA, to the Library of Congress to house what is the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of moving images and sound recordings.

As a member of the Joint Committee on the Library, I want to commend the board members of the Packard Humanities Institute and, in particular, its president, David Woodley Packard, for making this new facility possible. It is truly a gift to the Nation whose creative heritage in sound and image will for the first time be consolidated in one state-of-the-art facility. I also want to note the generosity of the Packard Humanities Institute to my home state of California: the UCLA Film Archive and the restoration of the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto and the San Jose Fox Theater for the San Jose Opera.

Constructed by the Packard Humanities Institute, the three-building facility represents the largest-ever private gift to the U.S. legislative branch of government and one of the largest ever to the Federal Government. The Packard Campus will consolidate audiovisual collections and will enhance the Library's efforts to preserve and make accessible its collections of moving images and sound recordings. I also want to commend my colleagues in the Congress who have provided an additional $82.1 million to support operations, maintenance, equipment and related costs for this magnificent facility.

In closing I want to commend the Librarian of Congress, Dr. James H. Billington, for his commitment to the preservation of our Nation's audio-visual heritage. Under his leadership, Congress approved P.L. 105-144 in 1997 to authorize the unique public-private partnership that has resulted in the facility now being transferred to the Federal Government for the Library of Congress.

Madam Speaker, I concur with the suggestion that this motion to recommit be defeated.

As the author of the amendment yesterday to increase SCAAP funding by $55 million, I can certainly not be counted as someone who does not support funding for State and local alien incarceration programs.

On the other hand, we had offsets for our amendment yesterday, $55 million in offsets, and if I had found additional offsets that didn't adversely impact the Drug Enforcement Agency or the FBI or the COPS program or the National Science Foundation, I would have suggested an even bigger amount. I couldn't find those offsets.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment on behalf of myself, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, Mr. Dreier of California, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Carter of Texas.

This amendment would increase the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program funding by $55 million, a 14-percent increase over the funding level currently included in the bill.

The offset for this increase would be a transfer from three different accounts, $25 million from the departmental management of the Department of Commerce, $25 million from the Department of Administration from the Department of Justice and $5 million from the FBI's Construction and Acquisition Fund.

The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or SCAAP, provides critical

reimbursement to States and localities for the incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens. This program was created in 1994 to ease the fiscal burden on States and local governments.

SCAAP had its highest funding relative to authorization in fiscal year 1998, 1999 and 2000 under the Clinton administration when $585 million was appropriated. By increasing SCAAP by $55 million, this amendment would bring funding to States and local governments closer to the authorized amount. I would note that this would still be under 50 percent of the authorized amount for SCAAP of 48 percent, in fact. It would bring needed assistance to States such as California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and New York, all of whom have come to rely on SCAAP reimbursement to help absorb the high financial cost of incarceration of aliens.

Over the last 6 months, I have met with many Members of this House, both Republican and Democrat, to listen to their concerns about immigration as we examined the comprehensive immigration reform proposals and various elements of it. One of the issues that was raised on both sides of the aisle is the cost of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens that is being passed on to States, counties and other localities.

I would note that this amendment, a modest increase of 14 percent, is endorsed by the National Association of Counties, and, likewise, we have a letter from 17 Governors who support increased SCAAP funding going to their States. These States' Governors include Arizona, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Oregon, California, Washington, Utah, Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Illinois, Virginia, New Mexico, New York, Minnesota, Texas and Nevada.

This is a good investment for local governments, for our States. It's part of shouldering our responsibility, because immigration is a Federal responsibility.

I think it's an item where, on a bipartisan basis, Mr. Dreier and I chair our respective State delegations, he the Republican delegation, I the Democratic delegation, that we can deliver jointly.

I respect a great deal, as Mr. Mollohan knows, the chairman of this subcommittee. We have worked together on many items. This amendment should not be seen as critical of his wonderful efforts, but I think we can do just a little bit better, and I think our constituents and counties and our constituents and States will appreciate that we are doing something to ease the burden of incarcerating illegal immigrants.

I would note that all of the studies show that immigration is good for America. Legal immigration is good for America. It boosts productivity. We know that in our high-tech sector, more than half of the startups in Silicon Valley have an immigrant cofounder. There is much to revel in immigration in America.

But having said that, there are costs. This is one of them, something we can do something about, do something about. This bipartisan amendment really deserves the support of us all.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of my time to the cosponsor, Ms. Linda T. Sanchez of California, noting that the Judiciary Committee on which we both serve is the authorizing committee. She has been a true partner in this effort.

Mr. Chairman, I would yield the 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California.

Offered By: Ms. Zoe Lofgren of California

Amendment No. 33: Page 16, line 20, strike ``$58,693,000''

(reduced by $7,500,000).

Page 21, line 7, strike ``$104,777,000'' (reduced by

$20,000,000).

Page 30, line 10, strike ``$33,191,000'' (reduced by

$7,500,000).

Page 42, line 8, strike ``$1,315,000,000'' (increased by

$40,000,000).

Page 43, line 3, strike ``$405,000,000'' (increased by

$40,000,000).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Robert Causor, Jr., a paratrooper rifleman with the 82nd Airborne Division who was killed July 7 by a homemade bomb in Samarra, Iraq.

Robert was born and grew up in San Jose, California. Since childhood, he dreamed of being a soldier, and after graduating from Overfelt High School he enlisted to serve in Iraq. Despite worries from his family, Robert was determined to fulfill his lifelong dream.

To Robert, service in the military was a way to repay his country for the successes of his family. He came from a close family, one of 26 cousins who lived in San Jose for over three decades.

On behalf of California's 16th Congressional District, I offer Robert's family our deepest condolences as they deal with this painful loss. He will be decorated with many honors, including a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart, but today our thoughts and our prayers are with his parents, the rest of his family and his friends.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the American Library Association for its annual conference being held this week in Washington, DC. I am also pleased to recognize Melinda Cervantes, County Librarian of Santa Clara County for representing our County librarians at this conference.

I have always supported America's public libraries and believe they are an essential part of building stronger and more educated communities. One of the basic tenets of democracy--equal access to opportunity--is played out every day in America's public libraries. Their doors are open and welcoming to anyone without having to show a diploma, a bank balance, proof of residency or any other qualifier. You can read, learn, think, create, analyze, research, and contemplate any topic that might improve your mind, your skills, your daily life, or your future. The wealth of knowledge and opportunity available at the fingertips of all who possess a library card is powerful.

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 FY08 appropriations process. The projects requested in the list below were presented to me by constituents, local groups and local governments.

Project Name: AACI Community Health Clinic. While

approximately 30 percent of Santa Clara County residents are

Asian, AACI provides the only Asian-focused community health

clinic in the County. Funding would help create negative

pressure rooms, and create infection control and respiratory

protection equipment. It would also help to retain staff,

help them advance professionally, and ensure that they are

knowledgable about best practices in the field.

Project Name: Advanced IED Jammer Research & Development

Program. The Advanced IED Jammer Research & Development

Program will substantially advance the U.S. Military's

ability to combat and defend our troops against roadside

bombs.

Project Name: Anti-Microbial Nanomaterial for Battlefield

Medical and Dental Use. Funding will help in developing an

antimicrobial nanomaterial which would be used to destroy

bacteria and fungi affecting U.S. service members

Project Name: ATTWR Special Module. The Advanced Tactical

Threat Warning Radio (ATTWR) Special Module Project will

provide Special Operations Forces with the ability to

clandestinely identify and locate IED bomb making factories,

terror cells, and insurgent commanders.

Project Name: Blossom Hill/Monterey Highway Crossing, San

Jose. This funding will complete construction of a pedestrian

overpass across railroad tracks and a four-lane highway in

the vicinity of Blossom Hill Road and Monterey Highway (State

Route 82), which divide rapidly growing residential and

commercial sites into four quadrants.

Project Name: Bus Rapid Transit Alternatives Analysis. This

funding request is for conducting an alternatives analysis to

allow the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)

to develop an integrated Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network that

would

link major activity and employment centers throughout Santa

Clara County, and offer high-quality public transit service

to areas that are not served by VTA's light rail system.

Project Name: California Bay-Delta Restoration Program. The

mission of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program is to develop and

implement a long-term comprehensive plan that will restore

ecological health and improve water management for beneficial

uses of the Bay-Delta System.

Project Name: Collaborative Affordable Homes for San Jose

Families. These funds would be used for the building of homes

for low income families and providing vocational skills to

at-risk young men and women.

Project Name: Collaborative Response to Victims of Domestic

Violence. This project will initiate a new model of

collaborative education, training and community response to

victims of domestic violence.

Project Name: Coyote and Berryessa Creek Project. The

Coyote Creek project provides 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: Coyote Creek Watershed Study. 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: Development & Testing of Advanced Paraffin-

based Hybrid Rockets for Space Applications. SPG will use the

requested funds to design, build and initiate testing of 24-

inch diameter, 30,000 pound thrust-class motors.

Project Name: DeWitt Avenue S-Curve Realignment, Santa

Clara County. 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: Digital Heads-Up Display (DHUD) Upgrade for

the ANG F-15s. The Heads-Up Display (HUD) system was designed

to provide a pilot with the ability to acquire superior

Situational Awareness (SA) by projecting critical flight

information into the pilot's forward field of view serving as

the aircraft's primary targeting system.

Project Name: Drug Court Discretionary Grant Program. This

language supports restored funding to the Drug Court

Discretionary Grant Program.

Project Name: Early Childhood Development Initiative-

National Hispanic University. Funding will enable creation of

a National Hispanic University (NHU) program in early

childhood development to formalize the process of certifying

``Smart Start'' graduates, improving the number and quality

of early childhood educators in San Jose.

Project Name: Early Warning IED Detection System. The Early

Warning IED Detection System program will develop an advanced

IED detection system that not only can detect the presence of

IED's hidden along roadsides, but can also do so in a low

profile and disguised manner.

Project Name: East Wing expansion--Guadalupe River and

Silicon Valley History Project. This project would create a

30,000 square foot outdoor exhibit gallery with interactive

exhibits and educational program spaces.

Project Name: Electronic Warfare Concept Demonstrator for

the Littoral Combat Ship. The Electronic Warfare Concept

Demonstrator (EWCD) will integrate commercial off the shelf

Electronic Warfare antenna/receiver technology, the ES 3701

Tactical ESM System, with the Navy's current display and

control systems.

Project Name: Fire Disaster Recovery project. This will

provide the Foothill Family Community Clinic with a permanent

home for its community health center program in the high need

area of east San Jose.

Project Name: First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program. The

First-time Homebuyer Assistance Program provides interest

free closing cost loans to low and moderate income households

for their first home purchase in the county.

Project Name: Guadalupe River Flood Control Project. The

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.

Project Name: High Power Fiber Laser Program. This years

funding request will drive the power output and improved beam

quality of fiber lasers to technological levels that have

never previously been met, providing new and unique

capabilities to our warfighting personnel.

Project Name: Job Training for the Homeless Initiative.

Funding will enable development and implementation of a job

training and placement initiative to provide homeless persons

in San Jose with remedial education, peer counseling, access

to temporary shelter, transportation, childcare, vocational

training, and job placement assistance.

Project Name: Llagas Creek Project. It will serve a 104

mile watershed by providing flood protection for 1,100 homes,

500 businesses, and over 1,300 acres of agricultural land in

Santa Clara County.

Project Name: Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Community/

Teen Center. Federal funding will support the redesign,

construction, and equipping of a 2,600 sq. ft. Community and

Teen Center, co-located with the San Jose main library, to

provide a combination educational, performance, and public

gathering space, with special attention to the needs and

interests of teens.

Project Name: Mounted Warrior Equipment for the 4th Stryker

Brigade. The Mounted Warrior Soldier System (MWSS) is the

U.S. Army's integrated soldier fighting system, which

permits the vehicle commander and driver to view the Force

XXI Battle Commander, brigade-and-below (FBCB2) display,

Driver's Vision Enhancer (DVE), and Remote Weapon System

(RWS).

Project Name: National Transportation Security Center. This

language directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to

establish a National Transportation Security Center of

Excellence at San Jose State University.

Project Name: OPAL (Optically Pumped Atomic Laser for

Defense Microelectronics). OPAL will develop sub 200nm light

source technology known as Optically Pumped Atomic Lasers

(OPALs). Funds will be used for the demonstration of the sub

200nm at Newport-Spectra Physics and will be used to design

the semiconductor inspection tool into which it will be

integrated for inspection of advanced silicon chips.

Project Name: Roll-to-Roll Microelectronics Manufacturing

in Support of the Flexible Display Initiative. The U.S.

Display Consortium is under contract to the Army Research

Laboratory (ARL) to organize the commercial display industry

to develop the materials and supply chain required to enable

volume production of flexible displays.

Project Name: San Francisquito Creek Flood Damage Reduction

and Ecosystem Restoration Project. The study is examining

possible flood protection measures for the cities of Palo

Alto, East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and portions of San Mateo

and Santa Clara Counties.

Project Name: San Luis Reservoir Low point Improvement

Project. The San Luis Reservoir Low Point Improvement Project

is to increase the operational flexibility of storage in San

Luis Reservoir and ensure a high quality, reliable water

supply for San Felipe Division contractors.

Project Name: San Jose Courthouse. This money would be used

for site acquisition for a new Federal Courthouse in San

Jose.

Project Name: San Jose Area Water Reclamation and Reuse

Project. The San Jose Water Reclamation and Reuse Program

will increase water supply reliability and protect endangered

species by reducing wastewater discharges into San Francisco

Bay.

Project Name: San Jose BEST Gang Intervention Program

Expansion. B.E.S.T. coordinates and funds a continuum of

prevention, intervention, and suppression programs targeted

at youth demonstrating at-risk, high-risk, and gang-involved

behaviors.

Project Name: San Jose Steam Railroad Museum. The funding

will be used to help pay for the first two phases of

construction of the San Jose Steam Railroad Museum.

Project Name: San Jose/Santa Clara Wastewater Pollution

Control Plant Solar Research and Development. This project

will demonstrate how municipalities around the country can

improve air quality and reduce pressure on the electrical

grid while saving taxpayers' dollars and reducing dependence

on foreign fuel supplies.

Project Name: San Jose Women's Business Incubator and

Training Center. Women's Initiative will own and operate a

fully bilingual and culturally-competent Women's Business

Incubator and Training Center in San Jose, where low-income

and immigrant women in Silicon Valley can access business

plan training and ongoing support.

Project Name: Santa Clara County HIV Test Counseling

Program. In partnership with the Santa Clara County

Department of Public Health, the DeFrank Center developed a

pilot fixed-site HIV counseling and testing program to serve

Santa Clara County.

Project Name: Santa Clara County: Juvenile Detention

Reform: Evening Reporting Center (South County). The Evening

Reporting Center is a comprehensive community-based

intervention program designed to further Juvenile Detention

Reform goals.

Project Name: Semiconductor Focus Center Research Program

(FCRP). Funding will continue to support The Focus Center

Research Program (FCRP) which conducts mid- to long-term (8-

12 year time horizon) basic research in semiconductor

technology at 38 universities across the country.

Project Name: ShotSpotter Gunshot Location and Detection

Systems. The requested legislative language would broaden

DHS' research and development priorities to include gunshot

detection and qualifier systems.

Project Name: ShotSpotter Individual Protection System

(SIPS). DOD R&D funding is needed for work to reduce the size

and enhance the capability of the ShotSpotter Individual

Protection System (SIPS). The sensor identifies the gunshot

and radios the information back to a portable base station

where the location is displayed on a lap top or PDA screen.

Project Name: Sobrato House youth facility. The Sobrato

House will be able to provide 10 bed shelter for homeless,

runaway youth. Also available will be a multi Service Center

that is open daily for homeless youth, providing medical

care, food, case management and other basic services.

Project Name: South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds

Restorations (FWS). The project will restore the health of

the San Francisco Bay. The project will also provide tidal

and fluvial flood protection in the Bay, including

approximately 42,800 acres, 7,400 homes and businesses and

significant urban infrastructure including major highways,

parks and airports.

Project Name: South San Francisco Bay Salt Ponds

Restorations (USGS). This funding request would provide

$900,000 to the United States Geological Survey. USGS 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.

Project Name: South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Study. The

project will restore the health of the San Francisco Bay, one

of the nation's largest estuaries, by creating the largest

restored wetlands on the West Coast.

Project Name: Student Partners Reaching Kids. The Students

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 such as:

Discovery Youth, Getchy.com, CDMedia Studio, Safe Nights and

Summer of Service.

Project Name: The Japanese American Experience: Making it

Available. 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: Trades JOBS for At-Risk Out-of-School Youth.

The Center for Employment Training's Building Trades JOBS

Program will provide comprehensive occupational skills

training and employment services to 50 at-risk out-of school

youth (age 17-24) and place 85% of them in demand jobs in the

building trades.

Project Name: Upper Guadalupe River Flood Control Project.

All proposed flood protection improvements include long-term

environmental benefits for fish and wildlife habitat and

continuous creekside trail access. The Upper Guadalupe River

Flood Protection project will provide flood protection for

7,500 homes in Santa Clara County with potential damages from

a 100-year flood event exceeding $280 million.

Project Name: Upper Penitencia Creek Project. The Upper

Penitencia Creek Flood Protection project will provide flood

protection to over 5,000 homes, schools and businesses in

Santa Clara County, specifically the communities of San Jose

and Milipitas.

Project Name: Yu-Ai Kai/Boys & Girls Club Senior Youth

Wellness Center. The funds will establish a Senior Youth

Wellness Center. The new Senior Youth Wellness Center will

offer the following programs: preventive health programs

through education, i.e., stroke prevention, diabetes

prevention, cognitive wellness, nutrition education, heart

disease prevention, etc.; therapeutic support groups and

recreational activities; caregiver support groups with

short term individual and family counseling, outreach,

prevention and resource referral; M.D. and nurse visits/

consultation for foot care/diagnosis, and preventive

education; physical therapist visits/consultation and

alternative health programs such as Tai-chi, Qi-gong, Yoga

and Reiki; and indoor and outdoor physical fitness

programs.

Project Name: Yu-Ai Kai/Boys & Girls Club Senior Youth

Wellness Center Gymnasium. The new Senior Wellness Center and

the Boys & Girls Club gymnasium will offer the following

programs: physical fitness programs for seniors from the

Minority Senior Providers Consortium; recreational and

physical rehab programs for seniors, i.e., basketball,

volleyball, handball, badminton, etc.; physical fitness for

youths; recreational programs for youth, i.e., basketball,

volleyball, badminton, handball, indoor soccer, indoor flag

football, etc.; alternative health programs such as Tai-chi,

Qi-gong, Yoga and Reiki; annual cultural events, i.e. Keiro

Kai (honoring seniors 75 years and older), Bonen Kai (end of

the year party for seniors), Shinnen Kai (Recognition of the

New Year); and offer the gym to Japanese American youth who

have tournaments and practice during the evenings and

weekends.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor our country's veterans with a poem by my constituent, Jack Richards.

Veteran's Day for Sgt. Joshua P. Morgan, USMC

I think of your valor

In being willing to take a stand for liberty

I am speechless

In light of your bravery

I know your type

Is not charmed, by show-offs, in the ranks

Nonetheless

Please, lower your guard for a moment

And hear a grateful nation's thanks

It's not the battles you fight, it's signing the line, saying

you will.

Offered By: Ms. Lofgren of California

Amendment No. 94: Page 31, line 13, insert after expended

``Provided that, of the funds made available under this

heading, at least $3,000,000 is for the establishment of a

National Transportation Security Center of Excellence.''

Madam Speaker, this poem is in tribute to Veteran's Day.

I think of your valor,

In being willing to take a stand for liberty,

I am speechless,

In light of your bravery,

I know your type,

Is not charmed, by show-offs, in the ranks,

Nonetheless

Please, lower your guard for a moment,

And hear a grateful nation's thanks,

It's not the battles you fight, it's signing the line, saying

you will.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1525, the Internet Spyware Prevention Act of 2007. I'm very pleased that my first stand-alone bill that will be passed in this House under the new Democratic majority is one that both protects Americans on the Internet and fosters continued technological innovation. I thank my friend, Congressman Bob Goodlatte, for working with me once again on this legislation to combat spyware.

Spyware is becoming one of the biggest threats to consumers on the Internet. Thieves are using spyware and key loggers are harvesting personal information from unsuspecting Americans. It also affects the business community that is forced to spend money to block and remove it from their systems.

Experts estimate that as many as 80 to 90 percent of all personal computers are infected with spyware. In short, it's a very real problem that's endangering consumers, damaging businesses and creating millions of dollars of additional costs.

This is a bipartisan measure that identifies the truly unscrupulous acts associated with spyware and subjects them to criminal punishment. This bill is the right approach because it focuses on behavior, not technology. It targets the worst forms of spyware without unduly burdening technological innovation.

The bill imposes tough criminal penalties on those who use spyware in furtherance of another Federal crime or to defraud or injure consumers. It also funds the Attorney General to find and prosecute spyware offenders and phishing scam artists.

Focusing on bad actors and criminal conduct is preferable to an approach that criminalizes technology or imposes notice-and-consent- type requirements. You know, bad actors don't comply with requirements. The more notices Internet users receive, in fact, the less likely they are to pay attention to any of them. Seventy-three percent of users don't read agreements, privacy statements or disclaimers on the Internet.

In 2005, the Pew Internet and American Life Project proved this point. A diagnostic site included a clause in one of its user agreements that promised $1,000 to the first person to write in and request the money. The agreement was downloaded more than 3,000 times before someone finally claimed the reward.

We don't want to overregulate user experience. We must avoid interfering with increasingly seamless, intuitive and interactive online environments. Regulation of technology is almost always a bad idea because technology changes faster than Congress can legislate; and what we attempt to regulate will morph into something else and render useless the regulatory scheme we adopt.

Legislation that attempts to control technology can also have the pernicious effect of chilling innovation by chilling investment into prohibited technological arenas. H.R. 1525 avoids these pitfalls by focusing on bad conduct, and that's why it has the broad support in my district in Silicon Valley, California.

What we're doing here today is important for consumers, for businesses. It's also important for the future of our high-tech economy.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of this crucial legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, last year, during the conference process on reauthorization of the PATRIOT Act, a check on executive power simply disappeared. In its place, the Republican majority overseeing the conference put in a provision removing the court from the process of appointment and authorizing the Attorney General to appoint interim U.S. attorneys indefinitely.

The Senator who was chairman of the Judiciary Committee at the time said recently that he did not realize the provision was in the bill passed last year until a colleague alerted him to it last month. I don't think anyone was surprised to learn that after the investigation, the former chairman learned that the language had been requested by the Department of Justice. The language was apparently presented by a DOJ employee who is now the U.S. attorney in Utah. Before Senator Specter made these comments, the only legislative history of this amendment was one sentence in the conference report that said the new section ``addresses an inconsistency in the appointment process of U.S. attorneys.''

As we receive more information about the Department of Justice and White House interaction leading up to the dismissal of eight, now nine, U.S. attorneys, the appearance of a political basis for the removals becomes more clear. U.S. attorneys are the chief Federal law enforcement officers in their districts. We rely on them to enforce the law without political prejudice.

One of the former U.S. attorneys who testified before our Judiciary subcommittee recently said that former Attorney General Ashcroft made a point in their first conversation to say that U.S. attorneys have to leave politics at the door. This bill that is before the House today would reinstate a system that encourages politics to be left at the door during the appointment process and creates a check on the system if the executive branch cannot bring itself to do that.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I have to add that I have been dismayed in reviewing some of the terms provided to the Judiciary Committee relative to communications between the DOJ. Historically the American people have been able to rely on the Department of Justice to stay above the political fray, especially when it comes to prosecutors. Watergate should have indelibly impressed this lesson upon future administrations, but clearly in this case it did not.

I ask my colleagues to support this legislation and to refute Kyle Sampson's statement when he said, ``The only thing at risk here is a repeal of the AG's appointment authority. House Members won't care about this at all. All we need is for one Senator to object to the language.''

The House of Representatives does care about political independence. We do believe that the executive branch should not ignore legislative branch authority. We should refute the Department's slow march to cooperating with our oversight efforts, and we need to reinstate this important check on the executive branch authority to appoint U.S. attorneys.