Michael Arcuri

Mr. ARCURI

Mr. ARCURI. Madam Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Mr. Mark Alvarado, a resident of my congressional district in upstate New York. Mark currently serves as the field representative for New York DeMolay, but he is leaving this position at the end of the fiscal year. DeMolay is a youth organization that develops leadership skills, civic awareness and personal responsibility among young men. With more than one thousand chapters worldwide, the organization combines its serious mission with a fun approach. Mark's first experience with DeMolay came when he joined, and later became the master councilor of, the David J. Nye chapter in Ohio. After serving as the secretary and president for Northeast Ohio, he became the state secretary in July 1995. Due to his outstanding work in Ohio, Mr. Alvarado was offered a position at the DeMolay International Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. In 2002, he became the field representative for New York DeMolay. During his tenure as field representative, Mark has traveled throughout the state to help the members of New York DeMolay as they have contributed approximately ten thousand hours of community service per year. He has developed and implemented a membership education curriculum, and planned conventions, athletic weekends and charity functions. Perhaps Mark's greatest accomplishment as field representative has been the redevelopment and expansion of the Mohawk Valley chapter, which is based in my hometown of Utica. Due to his encouragement and support, the chapter has become involved in many community events, including the Boilermaker Road Race and the St. John's Day Festival. In recognition of his work with DeMolay, Mark has received numerous honors including the Leadership Correspondence Course, the Blue Honor Key, the Chevalier, the Legion of Honor and the Representative DeMolay Award. Mark's exceptional dedication is to be commended. As the father of two teenagers, I recognize the importance of organizations like DeMolay that encourage young people to get involved in their communities. I thank him for his commitment and wish him luck as he pursues his future goals.

Mr. ARCURI

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, President Bush proposed that our Nation spend another $196 billion in Iraq next year. Today we will spend $330 million fighting the war in Iraq. Imagine that. Every day, $330 million in taxpayer dollars is going to Iraq. Just imagine for one moment what we could do here in the United States with that money instead. We could hire an additional 1,700 Border Patrol agents to work our borders for an entire year. We could provide health care to 50,000 more veterans so they receive the essential health care treatment that they need. We could enroll 46,000 more children in Head Start for 1 year, so they can receive early childhood education. If we took 1 day of funding from the Iraq war, we could help nearly 800,000 families keep their heat on this winter through the LIHEAP program. We could provide 270,000 more children health care coverage through the CHIP program. Mr. Speaker, while President Bush has no problem sending billions of dollars to Iraq, he is neglecting essential needs here in America. The Democratic majority in this Congress refuses to follow that lead.

Mr. ARCURI

Mr. ARCURI. I have one more speaker.

Mr. ARCURI. It is sad that my colleague attempts to change the actual meaning of what this statute does. It gives no protection to terrorists. It gives protections only to Americans, and it keeps us safe and it gives us the protections that are guaranteed us under the Constitution. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished Speaker of the House, the gentlewoman from California, Nancy Pelosi.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I would object to that.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

Mr. ARCURI. Well, we are waiting on one more speaker, so at this time I would not yield any additional time.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I'll continue to reserve my time.

Mr. ARCURI. We are waiting on one more speaker.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, we have heard so much today from the other side about the fear that they have that this provision will somehow put Americans at risk. And I think it's very clear that what this FISA bill does is protect America, give our Intelligence Community ability to do the kind of things that it needs to do, while, at the same time, protecting our civil rights. I think it was Benjamin Franklin who once said that any country who gives up its liberty for its security deserves neither and will end up losing both. And I think clearly this bill takes that into consideration. This bill clearly provides for security for our country. It clearly provides our Intelligence Community with the ability to obtain information that it needs and use that and analyze it in a way that keeps America safe to prevent another 9/11 activity. At the same time, this bill also protects Americans' rights and gives us the ability to prevent wiretapping of Americans here in this country. We're not talking about foreign-to-foreign. They can do that. They have done that in the past, and they will continue to do that. This clearly deals with protecting Americans. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes).

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to thank the gentlewoman from California for her very strong leadership on this issue and, over the years, for her many years of strong leadership in this area. I would also like to thank Chairmen Conyers and Reyes for their strong leadership in bringing this bill to the floor. Having said that, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule. The material previously referred to by Mr. Hastings of Washington is as follows: Amendment to H. Res. 746 Offered by Representative Hastings, WA In section 1, strike ``and (2)'', and insert ``(2) a further amendment to be offered by Representative Hoekstra or Representative Smith of Texas, or their designee, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order or demand for division of the question and shall be separately debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent; and (3)''.

Mr. ARCURI. I thank my colleague, and as a former prosecutor for 13 years, I have stood before a judge many times and made application for warrants on a number of different occasions. And, frankly, I certainly respect his position; but he is just not correct on this. This legislation not only gives our country the ability to do what needs to be done to protect us, but more importantly and equally as important certainly it protects our civil rights. So it does both things: It protects our civil rights and gives us the ability to keep our country safe. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ARCURI

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, over the last 7 years, President Bush has only vetoed four bills. The President's first two vetoes involved legislation that would expand Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, which has the potential to unlock the doors to cures for diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's. Two times, congressional Republicans sided with the President enabling his veto to stand and thereby denying hope to millions of American families. The President's third veto came on the war funding bill that finally included a deadline to bring our troops home from Iraq. Again, Republicans sided with the President, and our troops continue to be bogged down in a war that the President himself says could continue for another decade. Then, last week, the President vetoed a fourth bill that would provide private health insurance to 10 million low-income children. It received strong bipartisan support in Congress, and there are enough votes in the Senate to override the President's veto. The question now is will House Republicans once again side with the President or will they stand with the 10 million children who need and deserve health care.

Mr. ARCURI

Mr. ARCURI. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of the life of suffragette and abolitionist Martha Coffin Wright. Martha Coffin was born in Massachusetts on Christmas Day 1806, the youngest child of Thomas and Anna Coffin. After her father's death from typhus in 1815, Martha's mother assumed the responsibilities of the family's business, setting an example of an independent, self-reliant woman that would shape Martha's views about the role of women in society. In 1824 Martha Coffin married Peter Pelham. Soon the couple moved to a frontier fort in Florida where Martha would give birth to her first daughter. Tragically, Peter died 2 years later in 1826 leaving Martha a 19-year- old widow with an infant child. To support herself and her daughter, she moved to Auburn, New York, to teach painting and writing at a Quaker school for girls. Soon after relocating to Auburn, she met and married a law student named David Wright with whom she would have six more children. In July of 1848, Martha's older sister, Lucretia Coffin Mott, a prominent Quaker preacher visited Martha's home in Auburn. During the visit, Martha, Lucretia, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met to plan the Seneca Falls Convention at which 68 women and 32 men would sign the Declaration of Sentiments. This revolutionary document, modeled on the Declaration of Independence, stated that all men and women are created equal. It would be another 72 years before the 19th amendment gave American women the right to vote. In the years following the Seneca Falls Convention, Martha Coffin Wright was also active in the abolition movement. With her sister, Lucretia, she attended the founding meeting of the American antislavery society in Philadelphia in 1833 and later presided over numerous antislavery meetings, including two in upstate New York, in early 1861 that were disrupted by angry anti-abolitionist mobs. Martha bravely opened her home in Auburn to the Underground Railroad in Auburn where she harbored fugitive slaves. In 1863 Martha and other women's rights activists formed the Women's National Loyal League to carry petitions for the abolition of slavery which would finally be achieved in 1865 with the ratification of the 13th amendment. After the Civil War, Martha was also instrumental in the formation of the American Equal Rights Association, which attempted to merge the issues of black suffrage and women's suffrage; and in early 1874 she was elected president of the National Woman Suffrage Association. In December 1874, Martha took ill with typhoid pneumonia and died in Boston on January 4, 1865, at the age of 68. Madam Speaker, Martha Coffin Wright's dedication and commitment should inspire all of us. I am proud to represent the region of upstate New York where Martha Coffin Wright and countless others fought tirelessly for equal rights for all. I am proud to represent the people of Seneca Falls, New York, who established the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1969 to honor the contributions of great American women with a permanent home. I was honored to attend the induction of Martha Coffin Wright into the Hall of Fame this past weekend. I am proud to represent the birthplace of the women's rights movement, the importance of which was recognized by Congress in 1980 with the creation of the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to once again join me in honoring the contributions of Martha Coffin Wright and reaffirming the historical significance of Seneca Falls, New York with a voice vote in favor of House Resolution 588 recognizing the achievement of a truly great American, Martha Coffin Wright.

Mr. ARCURI

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings). All time yielded during consideration of this rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. ARCURI. This bill today.

Mr. ARCURI. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 704 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. ARCURI. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. ARCURI. I thank the gentleman. With all due respect, I couldn't disagree more. While some of my colleagues on the other side continue to criticize our new earmark rule, the fact of the matter is that the House Democratic majority has implemented the most honest and open earmark rule in the history of the United States House of Representatives. But don't take my word for it. In this week's CQ Weekly, Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense is quoted as saying: ``The House has given us more information than we have ever had before on earmarks, and they deserve credit for that.'' Mr. Speaker, the other side continues to talk about their plan to modify the earmark rule, but what they don't tell you is that their earmark rule would not cover any measure not already covered by the earmark rule presently in effect. It is important to remember which side actually abused the earmark process, and who actually stepped up to the plate to reform the system and provide transparency. We didn't wait until 2 months before the election; we responded to the people's call for more openness on the first day of this Congress. It seems quite clear to me that the minority is more concerned with obstructionism, while we are focused on actually meeting the needs of our constituents. That is exactly what this bill does and what the underlying rule does.

Mr. ARCURI. We have no additional speakers.

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

Mr. ARCURI. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from the Rules Committee, Mr. Hastings. But I must say that I am a bit confused as to what earmarks and what the statements that he just made have to do with this rule.