Xavier Becerra

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act. This bill would create a commission to review and determine facts surrounding the relocation, internment, and deportation of Japanese Latin Americans during World War II. Almost 30 years ago, Congress established the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians to study the circumstances which led to the detention of 110,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. After twenty days of hearings, testimony from 750 witnesses, and review of thousands of government and military documents, the Commission concluded that internment of Japanese Americans was the result of racism and wartime hysteria. In its report to Congress titled Personal Justice Denied, the Commission stated ``not a single documented act of espionage, sabotage or fifth column activity was committed by an American citizen of Japanese ancestry or by Japanese alien . . .'' The Commission's findings vindicated these loyal Americans and President Ronald Reagan's signature of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 brought closure to thousands who suffered unspeakable indignities and tremendous losses. However, there remains a group who has not yet experienced the closure they deserve or obtained the justice to which they are entitled. Between December 1941 and February 1948, approximately 2,300 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry were abducted from 13 Latin American countries and deported to internment camps in the United States. The U.S. government orchestrated and financed this operation with the intention of using these individuals as hostages in exchange for Americans held by Japan. Over 800 people, many who were second or third generation Latin Americans and had no familial or linguistic ties to Japan, were used in two prisoner of war exchanges. The remaining detainees were held in U.S. internment camps until after the end of the war. In the appendix of Personal Justice Denied, the Commission cited the Federal government's role in kidnapping and detaining Japanese Latin Americans, but acknowledged it had not researched documents that exist in distant archives or received official testimony from government officials or survivors. It is for these reasons that I introduce this very important legislation. The Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act would create a commission to investigate and review the facts with regard to the abduction and detainment Japanese Latin Americans during World War II by the U.S. government. Composed of nine members appointed by the President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President pro tempore of the Senate, the commission would be charged with holding public hearings and submitting a report of its findings and recommending appropriate remedies to Congress. I am proud to be working with Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a decorated World War II veteran and a tremendous public servant, who is also introducing an identical Senate companion measure today. Additionally, I am honored to have the indispensable support of the wonderful men and women of the Campaign for Justice and the Japanese American Citizens League. Without them this effort would lack the heart and soul essential to cross the finish line. Madam Speaker, now is the time to reconcile our past and complete the official narrative on a troubling period in our Nation's history. As we commit ourselves to building a better America for our daughters and sons, I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Latin Americans of Japanese Descent Act.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Act of 2009 with Representatives Roy Blunt and Mike Ross. This important bill repeals the monetary caps that limit beneficiary access to medically necessary outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services. Senators John Ensign and Blanche Lincoln are introducing this legislation in the Senate. To remove all uncertainty for Medicare beneficiaries about being able to receive the appropriate therapy, the bipartisan Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Act of 2009 creates a stable payment environment so that health professionals can focus on providing quality health care. Rehabilitation services provided by physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech language pathologists are essential to assisting individuals reach their highest functional level possible and the monetary caps are inconsistent with this objective. A March 2008 Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) study provided evidence that enforcement of the monetary caps could cause Medicare beneficiaries harm since it may require them to delay necessary medical care, force others to assume higher out-of-pocket costs, and disrupt the continuum of care for many seniors and individuals with disabilities. Specifically, the study provided data that the sickest patients who suffered from Parkinson's disease or who have multiple medical problems were most likely to exceed the monetary caps. Since inclusion of the caps in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, both Democratic and Republican Congresses and administrations have interceded to prevent their implementation and enforcement citing the negative impact the caps would have on elderly patients' access to necessary services. Most recently, Congress extended through 2009 the existing medical exceptions process that gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to allow patients to exceed the monetary caps if deemed medically necessary. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to continue ensuring that Americans have access to the highest quality physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language pathology services by supporting this legislation.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman, Mr. Lewis, and the ranking member, Mr. Ramstad, for this work that is now embodied in H.R. 7083. I support the legislation, and thank them for their efforts to move forward on what is a very important subject, and that is encouraging Americans to participate in charitable giving. The government has a partnership with the charitable sector. The government relies on charities to reach out to populations in need, and that is why the charitable sector receives tax-preferred treatment. We want to incent charitable activity as much as we can because government, by itself, cannot serve the needs of all of those Americans who work very hard but who sometimes fall upon bad times. At the same time, we find that there are some charitable organizations that are doing tremendous work while others are not, and I believe this is the beginning of a major effort on the part of Congress to try to really focus our attention on the charitable sector to make sure that we are receiving everything Americans expect through that tax-deferred treatment that these charities and nonprofit organizations receive. One example in this bill of how we are doing good is through the tribal charities provision in this legislation. Tribal charities, charities that are within the jurisdiction of the tribal governments of this country, are a good example of nonprofits that recognize the overwhelming need of a people, in this case, people in Indian country. Tribal charities play a crucial role in serving the needs of members of these many tribes throughout America. We know that close to 25 percent of Native Americans today live in poverty. It's even higher for Native American children. Some 31 percent live in households that live in poverty. That compares to 11 percent of American children who are non-Native American. We also know that close to 20 percent of Native American seniors today still live in poverty, far greater than we see outside of Indian country. Fewer than 15 percent of Native Americans today go on to receive a bachelor's degree or higher. We need to change that. So these tribal charities that we find are making every effort to try to reach out to communities throughout Indian country to make it possible for young kids, for adults who work and for seniors to have a chance to benefit from all we can. Tribal charities under this legislation will be treated the way any other State government or local government is treated when it comes to dealing with charities, the same type of tax treatment. That will give tribes an opportunity to really enhance the ability of tribal charities to do the most good for a larger population. This legislation will go a long way in correcting some of the mistakes that we've made and in correcting some of the omissions that have been there in the past. Once again, I believe, as I said before, that under the leadership of Chairman Lewis and with the good help of Mr. Ramstad that we're moving forward to make sure that we have a charitable tax deduction that works for everyone and that is optimal in its efforts to try to do public good.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, on Monday, September 22, 2008, I was unable to cast my floor vote on rollcall votes 617 and 618. Had I been present for the votes, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, over 1 year ago, we were trying to figure out how we would resolve this situation where seniors were on the verge of losing access to their doctor and where doctors were fretting whether they would be able to get enough reimbursement to be able to continue to offer services to these seniors. And it's very difficult to come to consensus. We almost went over the cliff. That 10 percent cut to doctors almost came to be. But today we have a chance after the President's veto to make sure that doctors will get their payment, seniors will get their services and then we can all move forward to try to deal with the major reforms to Medicare that we must make. Three hundred fifty-five to fifty-nine. That was the vote in the House some 3 weeks ago to pass this legislation. Sixty-nine to thirty in the Senate. It's not often that you get a strong vote in the House. It's not often that you get a strong vote in the House and the Senate. This is bipartisan. This is bicameral. It is the type of consensus we need. We did something for our seniors who are modest income. We did something to make sure that we have better oversight over those doctors that are unscrupulous. And at the same time, we did this without adding a single cent to the deficit for a Federal budget which right now is in the hock for $400 billion. This is the right way to go. We will overturn the President's veto on a bipartisan basis.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, on Monday, June 23, 2008, I was unable to cast my floor vote on rollcall vote 438. Had I been present for the votes, I would have voted ``aye'' for rollcall vote 438.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, 2 years of debate, a 10 percent cut, 40 million American seniors at risk, and 6 days before the clock strikes 12. That is where we are. Regardless of what anyone says, that is where we are. We need to do something. The time to act is now. The bill before us is actually a Senate version of an attempt to come up with a modest bipartisan fix. Is it the best bill we could have? Absolutely not. But it is a fix that avoids a 10 percent cut, which could cause many physicians across the country to say no mas. I cannot afford to do this. And it would cause 40 million American seniors to say where do I get my health care? We need to do something. That is why the Alliance for Retired Americans, the American Association for Health Care, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, the National Community Pharmacists Association, and the National Rural Health Association have said please stop the partisanship. Pass this bill.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, I was unable to cast my floor vote on rollcall vote 341. Had I been present for the votes, I would have voted ``aye'' for rollcall vote 341.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. I thank the gentleman for yielding and his work on putting forward a budget that brings us to balance and that is fiscally responsible. Mr. Speaker, what we have here is a repeat of what we heard during the 12 years that our friends on the Republican side of the aisle tried to push forward a very failed policy as our friend, Mr. Markey from Massachusetts, mentioned with regard to ANWR. This is a policy that was tried over the years by a Republican Congress with a Republican President, and never once did it pass because of the flaws and challenges that it would present. What I think we have here is a classic case of what many of us will recall from the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali fight: a case of rope-a- dope where you're trying to deflect what's really going on on this floor tonight. And that is the fact that this budget presented by this Congress will bring us to a balanced budget faster than the President's budget at the same time that it's providing for some fiscal responsibility when it comes to tax cuts, energy policy, how we treat our kids in school, what we do for our kids when it comes to health care. All of that's done in a way that not only brings us to a point of having fiscal sanity in the way we do things, but it does it without having to deal with these gimmicks that we have now with ANWR. The reality is that if you don't divert the American public's attention to what's going on in this budget, they would be very happy. The fact that we are restoring fiscal responsibility by making sure that anything we propose to do that costs money will be paid for so that we don't continue to see rising budget deficits is phenomenal and it's new. What we see here is an effort to devote resources to energy that's renewable sources that provides with renewable sources on energy, that provides us with efficient sources of energy that moves us towards solar, towards wind; and we put money there, and we do it in a fiscally responsible way. We don't cut the moneys that the President never provided for his No Child Left Behind education program. We provide the money. We do all those things, and we do them in fiscally responsible ways. That's the story in this budget. You don't need to do rope-a-dope to get past that. This is a time for us to move in a different direction. We intend to do so. I urge Members to vote against this motion to instruct.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, April 29, 2008, I was unable to cast my floor vote on rollcall vote 224. Had I been present for the votes, I would have voted ``aye'' for rollcall vote 224.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, on Wednesday, March 12, 2008, Friday, March 14, 2008, Wednesday, April 8, 2008 and Monday, April 14, 2008, I was unable to cast my floor vote on rollcall votes 133, 146, 169, 170, 171, 172, 183, 184 and 185. Had I been present for the votes, I would have voted ``aye'' for rollcall votes 133, 146, 170, 171, 183, 184 and 185 and ``nay'' on rollcall votes 169 and 172.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 2739, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, which includes a provision to establish a commission that will report to Congress on the feasibility of creating a National Museum of the American Latino. Recently, the Senate passed this legislation. The House of Representatives already voted unanimously for the National Museum of the American Latino provision in the form of H.R. 512 on February 4, 2007. And today, we get the chance to do it once again. The passage of S. 2739 will ensure that a full, rich, and inclusive story of American Latinos will be told in our nation's capital soon. Tomorrow, as many families and educators celebrate El Dia de los Ninos, a day on which families and educators celebrate our children, it is important to consider a valuable learning tool that until now has been somewhat neglected. Our national museums influence what Americans and foreign visitors know and believe about this nation's collective history and cultural life. My largest disappointment is that the official narrative portrayed in our museums still fails to recognize and exhibit the significant contributions made by Latinos to the culture and history of the United States. This National Museum of the American Latino Commission Act included in S. 2739 creates a bipartisan Commission tasked with looking at whether our national museums are doing all they can to provide future generations a more complete portrayal of American Latino contributions to American life. The 23-member Commission of experts would examine whether and how to establish a new museum dedicated to the art, history, and culture of the American Latino population of the United States. Within two years of the bill being signed into law, the Commission will report their findings and recommendations to Congress, detailing a recommended plan of action on how to move forward with taking the museum from concept to reality. In passing this legislation, we are laying the first cobblestones in what many hope will ultimately create a National Museum of the American Latino. Though American Latinos' contributions span centuries and economic sectors, many people are unaware of the role Americans of Latino descent played, and continue to play, in America. This legislation offers an extraordinary opportunity to better understand the historical and significant contributions that make this country great. It is my hope that children who visit Washington, DC's museums go home with a more complete understanding of what it means to be an American. We hope one day our children can learn from our national museums that: Latinos' contributions to the United States of America date back to 1565, when the Spanish established the first permanent settlement in the territorial United States in St. Augustine, Florida--four decades before the establishment of Jamestown and Plymouth Rock. From General Bernard de Galvez who supported General George Washington's rebellion against England to the 500,000 Hispanics who served in the Armed Forces during World War II to the soldiers like Jose Antonio Gutierrez who was among the first casualties of American troops in Iraq, Latinos have played a pivotal role in every major U.S. military war. The sacrifices and honor of our Latino service members represent a proportionately larger number of our Nation's Congressional Medal of Honor awardees than any other ethnic group. Latino astronauts, such as astronauts Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz, Sydney Gutierrez, and Dr. Ellen Ochoa, have soared into space. During Hispanic Heritage Month in October, 2003, I first sponsored this important legislation with my good friend, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. I thank her and my Senate colleagues, Senators Ken Salazar, Bob Menendez, and Mel Martinez for their work as lead champions of the National American Latino Heritage Museum Commission Act in the Senate. To Senator Jeff Bingaman and Majority Leader Harry Reid, I send my appreciation for their help both in including H.R. 512 as part of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 and in ensuring the bill's safe Senate passage. Mr. Speaker, we are moving closer to the day when we can confidently say that the mosaic portrayed in Washington, DC's museums truly reflects America. I thank you for allowing the consideration of S. 2739, which includes the National Museum of the American Latino Commission Act to have its time on the House floor. I strongly encourage my colleagues to vote in support of S. 2739, so that we can clear this final congressional hurdle and move forward a broadly supported effort to ensure that American Latinos are included in our national narrative.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, it is with utmost pleasure and privilege that I rise today to congratulate the Dodgers for calling the City of Los Angeles its home for the last 50 years. I'm honored to be participating in the kick off event at the Los Angeles City Hall on March 28 for what will be a year-long ``Golden Anniversary'' celebration. The Los Angeles Dodgers played their first home game on April 18, 1958, defeating the San Francisco Giants 6-5 before 78,672 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Since arriving in Los Angeles 50 years ago, the Dodgers have had its share of baseball firsts, major league moments, shattered records and invaluable players--making baseball history and achieving golden moments over and over again. The Dodgers led the geographic expansion of baseball to the west and managed to preserve the New York City cross-town rivalry by convincing the Giants to move to California as well. The historic and heated competition between the Dodgers and the Giants is more than a century old, and is the longest rivalry in baseball history. In 1959 the Dodgers, then playing their second season in Los Angeles, played the defending World Champion New York Yankees in an exhibition game in Roy Campanella's honor at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The attendance was 93,103--still the largest crowd ever to attend a Major League Baseball game. The Dodgers are set to make history again when they play the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox in an exhibition game on March 29, 2008, at the Coliseum. The game is expected to draw the largest baseball crowd since the Dodgers played that historic 1959 game at the same venue. The Los Angeles Dodgers earned its reputation for success with five World Championships, nine National League pennants, 15 playoff appearances, eight Cy Young Award winners, four MVPs, an incredible 12 Rookie of the Year recipients (five of which were handed out in five consecutive years--an unmatched feat), and numerous other Major League Baseball honors. And in addition to these impressive records and awards are other ``golden moments'' that stand out in the minds of Dodgers fans. The 1981 Opening Day starting pitcher was a 20-year-old rookie from Mexico. Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout that day and proceeded to win his first eight decisions with five shutouts. Later that year Fernando helped the Dodgers win its first World Series title since 1965. ``Fernandomania'' swept through the baseball world, a culture- crossing phenomenon that took Los Angeles and the world by storm when Valenzuela won both the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards, becoming the first player to win both in the same year. And all true blue Dodgers fans can close their eyes and picture the footage of Kirk Gibson hobbling around the bases on both hurt legs, and pumping his fist as he rounds second base, during his pinch-hit home run in game one of the 1988 ``Fall Classic.'' The Dodgers would go on to win a World Series upset that year, and Gibson's ``golden moment,'' his single swing, is considered the ninth most memorable moment in Major League Baseball history. In all likelihood only one or two fans even remember one of my personal favorite Dodgers ``golden moments,'' and I must admit it was not the bottom of the ninth inning, with two outs, and the bases loaded. But once upon a time, a certain local congressman was invited to throw the first pitch of a ball game--and it was a perfect strike! Such are the heart pounding thrills that the Dodgers deliver time and again. Madam Speaker, after 50 years of time honored tradition in Los Angeles, the Dodgers truly are a community institution. An institution I'm proud calls Dodger Stadium in my 31 st Congressional District of California home. Whether you are ``thinking blue,'' ``bleeding Dodger blue'' or ``praying to the big Dodger in the sky,'' many Angelenos share an intense loyalty and kinship with their ``Boys in Blue.'' I look forward to many more decades of the Los Angeles Dodgers'' community involvement and history-making baseball accomplishments.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. I thank the chairman for yielding the time. Let me see if I can get this straight. ExxonMobil, which made over $40 billion in profits recently, the most ever made by any corporation in our country's history, needs a tax break, a tax subsidy. The five largest oil companies which had revenues of $123 billion last year need a tax break so they can have a reason to keep jobs in America. Today Americans, I know back home in Los Angeles, my constituents are paying over $3.30 a gallon for gasoline at the pump. From those $3.30 a gallon, every gallon of gas that's pumped, the oil companies extract the moneys that gave them these massive profits. Yet now it's not enough that they take the money from our constituents' pockets for gasoline but they have to take it in the taxes that our constituents are paying to the Federal Treasury to give tax subsidies to the largest oil companies in America so that they can be persuaded to keep jobs in America. Something is wrong. That's why this bill is on the floor today. We're going to take this debate on energy policy in a new and different direction. Think solar. Think wind. Think geothermal. Think hydro power. This bill takes us in a different direction because we think that industries that are saying we want to create clean burning energy, we want to create new jobs and pay great wages is the best way to go. Today our country is suffering from the highest inflation rates it's seen in almost three decades. Today we see sinking employment numbers, and today we have companies, large corporations that are making vast profits asking for tax breaks. Something is wrong. This bill tries to cure it. I am proud to join with my constituents, the American Wind Energy Alliance, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen, Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation, Target, Whole Foods, the Real Estate Roundtable, the National Association of Realtors and many more in saying enough is enough. Let's pass this new energy policy legislation.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I too rise in support of this bill, H.R. 5264, to extend the Andean Trade Preference Act for another 10 months to our friends and allies in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. At some point, we are going to find that this Congress will move closer to a bipartisan trade agenda because for many years, it was absent, but I think you see in the seeds of this legislation and in previous actions on the Peru Free Trade Agreement the opportunities for us to not only move towards a bipartisan trade agenda, but quite honestly a nonpartisan trade agenda where what we are talking about is an American trade agenda that promotes the interests of our workers and of our industries and so that when we reach a hand out to our neighbors whether in our hemisphere or otherwise, we are doing this in a way that promotes not just competition, healthy competition among our friends, but it also makes it possible for us to move forward the thing that will keep the engine of American ingenuity going. And so as we try to figure out how to open the doors to the markets of the world, to our interests, so that our American workers can continue to produce more goods and goods of excellent quality, we will be able to open our door to the goods of other countries where, based on a fair trade agenda, we can do so and feel comfortable that we are bringing in quality goods that are safe and reliable here in the U.S. for its use. Now whether you are with the labor movement, and the AFL-CIO has come out and supported this extension, or whether you are with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has also come out in support of this, I think what we are finding is that the seeds can be planted for us to move forward on trade in a way that leaves out the words ``party affiliation'' completely and lets us talk about how the trade agenda for this country, for America, will be not only advanced but benefit so many people in this country who work. I believe that this is a chance for us to show our friends in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru that we want to strengthen our friendship with them, that we want to increase our ties with our hemispheric neighbors and make this into something that leads towards an American agenda on trade that we can all feel very comfortable with and get resounding support in this House.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to rise today and acknowledge a special honor that is being bestowed on Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, within the 31st Congressional District that I am proud to serve. Performing arts will once again flourish at Abraham Lincoln High School after many years of absence, thanks to a generous Ethel Percy Andrus Legacy Award from AARP. This grant recognizes the founding of AARP in 1958 by Dr. Andrus, who served as principal of Lincoln High School from 1916-1944. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration in 2008, AARP is awarding more that $1 million in Ethel Percy Andrus Legacy Awards to recognize excellence and innovation in education at high schools nationwide. The first of these awards will reinvigorate the performing arts program at Abraham Lincoln High School--connecting the high school's heritage of achievement with its very bright future. On February 8, 2008, representatives of AARP, the city of Los Angeles, and the State of California will gather at Lincoln High to dedicate a plaque at the new Ethel Percy Andrus Performing Arts Center. This center will enable students to receive pre-professional training in music, dance, theater and other performing arts. The school will also enjoy the support of many AARP volunteers who will contribute their time and efforts in bringing the school's new performing arts center to life. These volunteers will continue the strong legacy established by Dr. Andrus of connecting all generations to work for the greater good of the community. The more one learns about Dr. Andrus and her background and deeds . . . the more one marvels about her accomplishments and vision. In 1916, Dr. Andrus became California's first female high school principal when she was invited to head the faculty and staff of the former East Los Angeles High School. She renamed the school ``Abraham Lincoln High School'' to help inspire her students. The community represented a broad range of ethnicities and races--32 languages were spoken in students' homes and most families were low-income. Dr. Andrus held her students and teachers to high academic standards. She believed in promoting creativity and fun, and fostered dances, plays, and musical performances to encourage them to pursue their creative talents, while also breaking down the barriers between students' cultures and backgrounds. She also set out to pull the community and the school together, involving parents and local organizations in many ways. At the time, extracurricular activities were rare. Where they did exist, they were considered frills of little value. Working against this bias, Dr. Andrus involved Lincoln's students in serving the community. Students worked in hospitals as nurses' aides, ran errands for shut-in residents, supervised playground activities for younger children, and formed art classes to make posters for local events. She retired from teaching in 1944 in order to care for her ailing mother. After getting involved with the California Retired Teachers Association, Dr. Andrus was shocked to realize that so many retired educators were financially struggling because of inadequate income and health care. She established the National Retired Teachers Association in 1947 to give them a national voice, and established the first nationwide group health insurance program for its members. In 1958, she established the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization now known as AARP so that people at mid-life and older could enjoy independence, dignity and purpose as they aged. Since its founding, AARP's motto has been ``To serve, not to be served.'' Since its founding, AARP has grown to more than 39 million members with more than 3.3 million members in California alone. Ethel Percy Andrus passed away in July, 1967, but her legacy lives on in countless ways. I am pleased that one very special way that she lives on will be in the songs and dances of the students at Abraham Lincoln High School. I have no doubt she will be checking in on their progress from time to time and rejoicing in their talents! Abraham Lincoln once said, ``Whatever you are, be a good one.'' Ethel Percy Andrus embodied this clear bold statement and the students at this school carrying his name, and all of us, should also rise to this challenge. Each of us can make a difference. I congratulate James Molina, principal of Abraham Lincoln High School, and the students and parents of this fine school, and commend AARP for giving students fresh opportunities to grow academically, creatively and personally--sharing their ``Lincoln spirit'' with a nation and a world that needs their intelligence, commitment and idealism.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to rise today and pay tribute to Bill Lambert, an outstanding educator and passionate advocate for our students and teachers. Bill retired on January 2, 2008, after 45 years of exceptional service to the students of the Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD, and the educators of the United Teachers of Los Angeles, UTLA. Uniquely, Bill is a product of the same school district to which he has committed his professional career. Bill is a proud alumnus of several schools in LAUSD and is a graduate of Fairfax High School. His public education served him well on the path toward achieving a bachelor of arts degree and teaching credential from the University of California at Los Angeles and a master's degree from California State University Los Angeles. Bill has enjoyed a distinguished career as a teacher and as a union advocate, all along fighting for greater opportunities for students, teachers, better wages and expanded benefits. He began his career in 1955 as a teacher at Montague Elementary School and later continued educating students at Canterbury Elementary School. Following his early experiences as a teacher, Bill became active in a number of teachers' organizations including a stint as associate executive director of the Los Angeles Teachers' Association. In 1971, Bill played an instrumental role as one of the initial organizers of UTLA. Once UTLA was formed, he dedicated the next 36 years to advocating on behalf of teachers as the director of governmental affairs for UTLA. Today, UTLA represents 44,000 teachers, counselors, psychologists, and nurses in LAUSD. According to a Latin proverb, ``By learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn.'' Bill Lambert certainly embodies these wise words. He spent his life in and out of classrooms learning and teaching, and then walked the halls of the United States Congress and the California State Legislature doing the same. His tireless advocacy on behalf of retired teachers and their pension and Social Security inequities is legendary. It's not an easy task to achieve well over 300 bipartisan co-sponsors on a bill, but through ``pounding the pavement,'' that is exactly what Bill has helped achieve. Learning and teaching, teaching and learning, when combined with Bill's unstoppable energy and enthusiasm, you have a powerful combination. Bill's passionate belief that a public education can he used as a tool for upward mobility by students and communities throughout Los Angeles is also illustrated in his work as an advocate to improve the lives of working families. He has lent a strong, dedicated voice to the educators and students of Los Angeles as a champion for education and labor equity. Further, Los Angeles families are forever indebted to Bill for his instrumental role in addressing racial, ethnic and religious division in Los Angeles. His work organizing the ``Children of the Dream'' outreach program, which brought Israeli-Ethiopians to Los Angeles and took inner-city Los Angeles students to Israel, was successful in creating dialogue and understanding between various communities in Los Angeles. Bill's retirement marks the final chapter in a distinguished career in education that began and ends in Los Angeles. He has always been respected and admired for his dogged commitment to improving the lives of working families throughout Los Angeles, and his wonderfully giving spirit. I wish Bill much luck and leisure in the days to come when he can enjoy his cherished pastime of traveling. I suspect, however, that even in retirement Bill will continue to be a powerful and unyielding voice for children. Madam Speaker, as family, friends, and colleagues gather to celebrate Bill's many accomplishments, it is with great admiration and pride that I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting this exceptional advocate. On behalf of the countless students and educators to whom Bill Lambert has dedicated his career, and the entire labor community which has benefited immensely from his lifelong contributions, I say thank you and may you enjoy many more years of fruitful endeavors.

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished Speaker of the House.

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, at this point I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the chairman of the Democratic Caucus, a member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel).

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, let's remember why we're here. Less than 2 weeks before Christmas, and we're talking about whether or not 10 million children, the children of hardworking American families, when we know that the cost of health care has increased, we're talking about whether or not 10 million children, 2 weeks before Christmas, will have access to health care. Madam Speaker, the bill we're attempting to override is a responsible bill. It does not increase the deficit in providing health care access to our children. It is completely paid for. Madam Speaker, this bill speaks for itself. Regardless of what's been said by either side, read the bill, it speaks for itself. This is about children's health care. And it's only for children who are citizens, who are legally in this country. And it is for modest-income Americans who are in this country. Madam Speaker, let some numbers speak for themselves: 43, 100, 10 million. Forty-three, that is the number of our Republican colleagues who voted on a bipartisan basis to override President Bush's veto of this children's health care bill. One hundred, we have been in the process of talking to our Republican colleagues and trying to resolve our differences for over 100 days, as the gentlelady from Illinois (Mrs. Biggert) herself stated. Ten million, that's the price. Ten million children in this country who will not have access to health care if we don't do anything. They simply want to have the same access to health care, to a doctor, to a clinic or to a hospital the way the children of every Member of this Congress has access to health care. No Member of Congress stands up and complains that, at taxpayer expense, we are making available to each and every one of us a health care policy which today and on Christmas Day will ensure that our children will be insured if something should happen and they need to go to a doctor or to a hospital. Is there any reason why hardworking Americans who just don't earn enough money to pay for the full cost of that health insurance shouldn't have the same access as each and every Member of Congress has for his and her children today? Madam Speaker, I hope we all keep our eye on the prize; 10 million children, 10 million children who we're trying to make sure have access to health care. If Members of Congress can guarantee our children health care, then we should be prepared to guarantee that anyone who works in this country can provide health care to their children. That's what this is about. We're going to return to the people of this country the Congress that they feel they've lost. We said a while ago that this Congress would take a new direction. That's what we mean when we mean to override the President's veto. I urge my colleagues to vote today, to think about 10 million kids right before Christmas and say to the President, We will override your veto. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/4\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining on both sides?

Mr. BECERRA

Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today Americans believe that our Nation's leaders have forgotten the middle class. They believe that Big Business gets whatever it wants any time it wants it in Washington, DC, and they feel that way because what they see is that the top Americans in income have seen their incomes skyrocket. Meanwhile, most Americans have seen their wages stagnate for the last 5 years. Americans have watched as 3 million manufacturing jobs have left this country, and today, outsourcing to China and India threaten millions more. We see pensions and health insurance becoming too expensive for too many Americans to afford. We have seen the costs double for those pensions and that health insurance over the last 5 years, and we have seen gasoline prices triple. What we need is an economy that works for everyone and makes America stronger. So what we propose in this bill is to show the American people that we do hear them. This bill is responsive. It provides tax relief to 23 million middle- class families, and it helps 12 million children by expanding the child tax credit. And this bill is responsible because, rather than just borrow the money to provide the tax relief, we pay for it up front. And the Speaker already said it. We're giving it to tens of millions of people, the tax relief, and only asking thousands to pay for that. This is responsible because we will not add to the already big $9 trillion debt. We won't add to the fact that today alone, $2 billion will have been spent by this country in deficit spending. Each and every American in this country, including the child that is born today, begins a birth tax now of a $29,000 bill because of the size of the debt. We want to do this responsibly. This is a different day in this Congress. We told America we would change direction, because we want to be responsible and help all Americans, but be responsible and pay for what we do.