Michael Bilirakis

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 309), recognizing the importance of good cervical health and of detecting cervical cancer during its earliest stages.

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 309, which recognizes the importance of good cervical health and detecting cervical cancer during its earliest stages. This resolution, which was unanimously approved by the full Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 24, would help increase the public's awareness of cervical cancer and the importance of early detection. Approximately 12,900 women are diagnosed with, and 4,400 women die from, cervical cancer in the United States each year. I was pleased to sponsor legislation in the 105th Congress, the Women's Health Research and Prevention Amendments of 1998, that included provisions to increase the emphasis on the early detection of this terrible disease. I am, therefore, pleased we are considering this important resolution today that will help us to continue focusing on prevention and early detection of cervical cancer. Since many vulnerable groups of women are less likely to receive screening tests for cervical cancer, it is critical that we continue our commitment to education programs so that these women increase their utilization of these important preventative services. This resolution is another positive step in that direction. We are again indebted to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) for this legislation, and I urge my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to join me in support of H. Con. Res. 309. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 165) expressing the sense of the Congress that continual research and education into the cause and cure for fibroid cancer be addressed.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the concurrent resolution.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 165, which expresses the sense of the Congress that research and education on fibroid tumors be increased. This resolution was unanimously approved by the full Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 24. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution, which will help place a much-needed focus on fibroid tumors and their prevention. As a firm believer in prevention, I am pleased that this resolution places such an emphasis on providing women with the information they need to make smart decisions about their health. For example, fibroid tumors are linked to diets rich in fatty foods. Women need this important information so they can modify their eating habits to reduce their risks of developing fibroid tumors. The vast majority of fibroid tumors occur in women of reproductive age. Today, a hysterectomy is the most common treatment for women with fibroid tumors. This procedure has devastating consequences for women as they are unable to have children, as we know, after a hysterectomy. The resolution calls on the medical community to explore alternatives to hysterectomies for the treatment of fibroid tumors. We must focus research efforts on the development of alternative therapies that will increase the treatment options for women. Therapeutic advances are the surest way to enable women to receive care and preserve their ability to bear children. I would like to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender- McDonald) for her good work on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 165. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time, and I thank him and the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for their kind remarks. I rise in strong support, Mr. Speaker, of all of the veterans bills we are considering today; however, I do want to focus my remarks, as so many others already have done, on H.R. 4085, the bill at hand. In addition to providing an annual cost-of-living adjustment to disabled veterans and their survivors, this bill addresses an issue that I have been working on for a number of years. Dependency and indemnity compensation, DIC, is the benefit accorded to the surviving dependents of those members of the Armed Forces who died while on active duty or a service-connected cause. DIC is the only Federal annuity program that does not allow a widow who is receiving compensation to remarry at an older age and retain her annuity. Last year, I reintroduced legislation which provides that the remarriage of the surviving spouse of a veteran after age 55 should not result in termination of dependency and indemnity compensation. I have heard, and I am sure we all have, Mr. Speaker, from military widows from across the country who have found someone they would like to spend the rest of their lives with, but cannot afford to do so because of the current law. They have expressed deep frustrations about not being able to remarry. Mr. Speaker, these are people who have sacrificed, who have suffered. I have always said that it is the families who really sacrifice even more and have even more of a burden than the actual person in the military. Many of these women lost their husbands at a very young age and have been alone for a long, long time. They have finally found someone to share their lives with, but they are afraid to remarry because they will lose their DIC benefits. I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the committee; the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), the ranking member; the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Benefits; and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), the ranking member of the subcommittee; and primarily the majority and minority staffs for working with me to include a DIC remarriage provision in H.R. 4085. Due to funding constraints, my original provision had to be modified. The legislation we are considering today provides that remarriage of a surviving spouse of a veteran after age 65 should not result in termination of DIC or eligibility for CHAMPVA medical care, education and housing loan benefits. Those surviving spouses that remarried after age 65, prior to the enactment of this legislation, will have 1 year, and I hope that we will continue to get this word to them, will have 1 year from the date of enactment to reapply for benefits. While we all would have preferred to be able to allow for remarriage at an earlier age, I do believe that the bill before us will provide a significant benefit to the surviving spouses of veterans. As I understand it, there will be report language requiring the VA to track the number of spouses applying for reinstatement of benefits, which should provide our committee with more accurate data than is currently available. It is my hope that we will be able to readdress this issue in the future, and adjust the remarriage age from 65 to 55 to bring the DIC program in line with other Federal annuity programs. I also urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4085 and other veterans' bills before us today.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I will limit myself here. The abstinence- only education funds were first included as part of the 1996 welfare reform law, and something that I do not think has been said to date is that 49 of the 50 States have elected to participate in this program. During our hearing, we heard of a program taking place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where the lady told us that they have only a 1.1 percent teen pregnancy rate. A 1.1 percent teen pregnancy rate. By continuing this funding for another 5 years, we can encourage the development of more successful programs. It is really, really critically important, as has already been pointed out. I would like to accent that abstinence-only programs do not, do not prohibit educators from discussing the facts about the effectiveness of contraceptives, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, or any other topic that might be raised. The only requirement is that the use of contraceptives cannot be advocated. Only abstinence can. This is not a ``just say no'' type of a program. It is a program that is designed for the overall individual. It goes into character and all those dignity types of areas.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mrs. Mary Konrad for her philanthropic deeds to this country and to her community. Mary was one of the first women in her era to leave home to attend college. While enrolled at University of Illinois, she worked for a local doctor to pay her way through school. When World War II started, Mary decided she would help the war effort by working in a defense plant making bombs. Her work entailed lifting shells several hours a day. She finished college and graduated with a degree in sociology. Following graduation, Mary moved out west and settled in California, becoming a social worker for the Red Cross. Her successful job ethics and determination earned her the ``Red Cross Social Worker of the Year'' award. After moving back to Chicago, she continued devoting her time to the Red Cross on weekends. After raising two fine children, she and her husband moved to my district in Clearwater, Florida where she became active in a number of philanthropic ventures. She helped fund and start the program ``Children in the `D'Zone'' for diabetic children at Morton Plant Hospital. She knew first-hand the trials and tribulations of raising a diabetic child and wanted to help others. In addition to this venture, she has supported many other programs at Morton Plant Hospital. At Christmas, Mary helps fund the City of Clearwater's ``Christmas Cheer Program'' by providing all of the bicycles, helmets and locks for the needy children in the inner-city core. Supporting the arts and introducing children to the joys of the theater is another way she shows her love for those most vulnerable. Each year, Mary provides several scholarships to gifted students. Her support gives needy students an opportunity to attend performances during the year and summer programs at the Performing Arts Center at Ruth Eckerd Hall. Finally, Mary's newest love is the Clearwater AHEPA Home for which she and her husband are dedicating a Hellenic Cultural Library. It is therefore fitting and proper that we honor her today for her long and distinguished record in community service and for her tireless efforts to improve the lives of so many children.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Chairman, the 106th Congress took the first steps toward addressing the inequity that provides for an offset between military retired pay and VA disability, which unfairly penalizes more than 500,000 disabled military retirees nationwide by authorizing a monthly allowance to certain severely disabled military retirees. Last year, Congress took an additional step towards eliminating the offset by authorizing my Concurrent Receipt legislation, H.R. 303. The bill we are considering today follows the fiscal year 2003 budget and includes a provision to authorize military retirees who are 60 percent or greater disabled to receive their full retired pay and VA disability compensation benefit on a transitional basis by fiscal year 2007. So I say to all my colleagues, Mr. Chairman, support America and its veterans, vote for H.R. 4546. And I would also offer in closing my compliments to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stump) for being a great patriot and a great chairman. Some military retirees--individuals who are eligible for military retirement benefits as a result of a full service career--are also eligible for disability compensation from the VA based on a medical problem they incurred while in the service. Under present law, these service-disabled retirees must surrender a portion of their retired pay if they want to receive the disability compensation to which they are entitled. Congress enacted this unjust law in 1891. Nationwide, more than 500,000 disabled military retirees must give up their retired pay in order to receive their VA disability compensation. In effect, they must pay for their VA disability our of their military retirement-- something no other federal retiree must do I have been trying to repeal this unfair offset for more than 17 years. My legislation, H.R. 303, has received strong bipartisan support with more than 390 cosponsors in the House. More than 80 members have cosponsored similar legislation in the Senate. Moreover, every major veterans and military organization strongly support the concurrent receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation. The 106th Congress took the first steps toward addressing this inequity by authorizing the military to pay a monthly allowance to military retirees with severe service-connected disabilities rated by the Department of Veterans' Affairs at 70 percent or greater. These provisions were recently expanded to include retirees with ratings of 60 percent. Last year, Congress took an additional step towards repealing the offset by authorizing H.R. 303. However, under the provisions of the Fiscal Year 2002 National Defense Authorization Act, this authorization requires the President to submit legislation in his annual budget request and Congress to enact this legislation to offset the cost of this initiative. Since the enactment of last year's defense authorization act, I have been working to secure the money needed to fund ``concurrent receipt.'' I was very pleased that the Budget Committee included almost $6 billion in the FY 2002 Budget Resolution for a partial repeal of the dollar-for-dollar offset between retired pay and VA disability compensation. I am also pleased that the bill we are considering today follows the FY 2002 budget resolution and includes a provision to authorize military retirees who are 60 percent or greater disabled to receive their full retired pay and VA disability compensation benefit by Fiscal Year 2007. Until the program is fully implemented, the bill establishes a transition program through which retirees will receive increasing amounts of their retired pay. I want to thank Chairman Bob Stump, Ranking Member Ike Skelton, Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman John McHugh and Ranking Member Vic Snyder for their continued support and interest in this issue. While H.R. 4546 does not allow for the complete elimination of the current offset, it does provide for a substantial concurrent receipt benefit and it is a tremendous step forward in our fight to repeal the current inequitable offset. I urge my colleagues to support the Bob Stump National Defense Authorization Act.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, due to the start of the celebration of Greek Orthodox Easter and religious obligations in my district, I was unable to cast a vote on roll call 126. Had I been present, would have voted ``yea'' on H. Res. 392. I strongly support Israel's right to defend its citizens and applaud their quest for peace. Israel is exercising its right to act in self- defense against the suicide bombings and other attacks on Jews. This is the time for the United States to stand with Israel, our ally for several decades, and to express our support for ending the violence in Israel. Israel must squash the terrorism within its borders in order to maintain its status as a free, democratic and civilized society. Our pledge to eradicate terrorism everywhere it occurs should be taken seriously, and Israel should be commended for having chosen to help us. Ms. DeGette. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express solidarity and sympathy with the people of Israel, but also with innocent Palestinians who have suffered violence and injury. I believe it is important for Congress to condemn in the strongest terms terrorism wherever it occurs. I also strongly believe that the U.S. must not forget that the highest goal of our foreign policy in the Middle East should be forging a lasting peace agreement. The U.S. must work toward a lasting peace for the vast majority of Israeli and Palestinian people who are non-violent and only seek peace and stability. In its effort to help establish a concrete agreement for peace, the U.S. must first work aggressively through diplomatic channels with the Palestinians and the Israelis to help negotiate a cease-fire. All people in the Middle East deserve to live their lives in peace and security. Yet, only with a cease-fire and a reduction of fear and anger will there be any hope of future peace talks. The goal of a lasting peace agreement is why the resolution that Congress is considering today should not be defeated. If this resolution were to fail, the wrong message would be sent to the people of Israel. The U.S. Congress would be seen as turning its back on the people of the Middle East in this time of horrible violence. The resolution's failure would have a dampening effect on America's ability to successfully negotiate a cease-fire, and eventually a lasting peace agreement that will benefit all the people of the Middle East.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 358) supporting the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech Month, and for other purposes.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 358, which supports the goals and ideals of a National Better Hearing and Speech Month. Approximately 42 million Americans suffer from a speech, voice, language or hearing disability. For the last 75 years, the month of May has been celebrated as National Better Hearing and Speech Month to help raise awareness on how to prevent, mitigate and cure these impairments. Communication is indispensable for learning, working, playing, and enjoying family life and friendships. Children with listening difficulties due to hearing loss continue to be an underidentified and underserved population. The earlier the problem is diagnosed and addressed, the less serious the long-term impact. That is why I was so pleased that provisions relating to hearing loss in infants were included in the Children's Health Act of 2000. My good friend from New York (Mr. Walsh) was instrumental in this effort. This resolution commended the 41 States that have implemented routine hearing screening for every newborn delivered in a hospital. I am happy to report that my home State of Florida vigorously promotes this policy by screening the newborns at all birthing facilities prior to discharge. Recent developments have shown that interventions to address auditory problems in newborns greatly enhanced the success rate in overcoming hearing-loss issues. Each adult and child with hearing loss is affected differently, which is why it is critical to detect hearing loss early and to determine the extent of loss in order to intervene appropriately. This resolution encourages all Americans to have their hearing checked regularly and encourages individuals to avoid environmental noise that can lead to hearing loss. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 358. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun), who not only is the author of this resolution but who has personally experienced this problem and who has shared that with many of us over the years.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Watts), one of our Republican leaders who has been so very much involved in this legislation but also the legislation we passed in the last Congress.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 388) expressing the sense of the Congress that there should be established a National Minority Health and Health Disparities Month, and for other purposes.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 388.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton) for scheduling today's special order. I, too rise, this evening to talk about an issue that the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health, which I chair, examined last week. I am referring, of course, to the Abstinence Only Education Funds, which are provided through title V of the Social Security Act. The Committee on Energy and Commerce favorably reported legislation last week that would reauthorize this important program through fiscal year 2007. These Abstinence Only Education Funds were first included as part of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which reformed our Nation's welfare laws to put an emphasis on work and end the seemingly endless cycle of dependency that was present under the old Aid to Families With Dependent Children Program. Title V allocated $50 million for fiscal years 1998 to 2002 for block grants to States for the development of Abstinence Only Education programs. To date, 49 of the 50 States have elected to participate in this program. I am very pleased, of course, that my own State of Florida has elected to participate in this program. In fact, during my subcommittee's hearing last week, we heard from Ms. Jacqueline Del Rosario, who runs a project in Miami titled ReCapturing the Vision. Ms. Del Rosario started the program in a middle school in an impoverished area of Miami, Dade County. In its 8 years of operation, participants in ReCapturing the Vision have only a 1.1 percent pregnancy rate, and I repeat that. In its 8 years of operation, participants in ReCapturing the Vision have only a 1.1 percent pregnancy rate. Ms. Del Rosario testified that one reason why she believes her program has been so successful is because, ``ReCapturing the Vision does not just teach teens to say no to sex, but we also build their values and cause them to embrace the future.'' Ms. Del Rosario went on to add that ``Contraceptives cannot protect a 15 year old from the erosion of her dignity and self-worth. There must be another value that causes teens to raise their standards and protect their emotional and physical health.'' She further argued that diluting the Abstinence Only message was harmful. She went on to say, ``I had heard it said that abstinence with contraceptives was a `mixed message' but I never believed it to be true.'' However, she learned that, ``Kids need a concise and clear message. To hear it from the students caused me to believe that we must be the voice that tells them that we expect them to abstain and we believe they can do it.'' By continuing title V funding for another 5 years, we can encourage the development of more successful programs like ReCapturing the Vision. This is so critically important because the consequences of ill-advised sexual activity by young people is severe, and I asked her specifically during the hearing if the other title V programs in the rest of the country are somewhat similar to hers or at least follow basically the same concept, and her answer is, yes, they are. Again, I want to emphasize, these are not ``just say no'' programs. They go into the broad work and the character of the individual. This is so critically important because the consequences of ill-advised sexual activity by young people is severe. Another one of our witnesses, Dr. Joe McIlhaney, told us that, ``Sexually transmitted infection is highly prevalent among adolescents. 3 to 4 million sexually transmitted diseases are contracted yearly by 15 to 19 year olds, and another 5 to 6 million sexually transmitted diseases are contracted annually by 20 to 24 year olds.'' As we all agree, and everybody agreed, abstinence is the only sure way to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as out-of-wedlock pregnancies. I would like to point out one important fact that I highlighted during my subcommittee's hearing and the subsequent full committee markup. Abstinence-only programs do not prohibit educators from discussing the facts about the effectiveness of contraceptives, the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases, or any other topic that might be raised. The only requirement is that the use of contraceptives cannot be advocated; only abstinence can. In a recently-release interim report on the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs, the highly-respected research firm Mathematica noted that, and I quote, ``Obtaining clear and definitive evidence on the success of abstinence evidence programs is a difficult task that requires time.'' Until this comprehensive assessment is complete, in spite of the fact we hear about the success rates by Ms. Del Rosario and others, until the assessment is complete, and given the anecdotal success we have learned about from programs like ReCapturing the Visions and others, we should continue to fund these programs so we can have an accurate picture of their effectiveness and to gain the value of the good that they do. The proven good they do. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. BILIRAKIS

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

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton). (Mr. BARTON of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)