Corrine Brown

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the ranking member. (Mr. OBERSTAR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is truly an outrage that we are here today debating how much money that we are going to spend on the weakest when the President and the Republican leadership want to make permanent tax cuts in this country to their country club friends to the tune of over $500 billion. And it is really worse for the poor people of Florida because we have a Governor, Jeb Bush, our own reverse Robin Hooder, deciding to spend the $6 billion on corporate welfare instead of making sure that the State can afford and look after all of its children. Perhaps I should remind the Governor and the President of Ril-ya Wilson, the poor little girl from Florida. I have a picture here. Ril- ya Wilson, the poor little girl from Florida that has been missing for 15 months. It is so sad that the Republicans can come up with all of these little slogans, Leave No Child Behind, well, my question is where is the beef? Where are the resources to make sure that this does not happen to other children in this country?

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Owens) to speak about the provision of the welfare bill which takes away the rights for education and training so people can move up and out of the welfare rolls. Other than that, it sounds like some form of regressive slavery.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have been elected for 20 years, 10 years in this House, and in that time period I have seen all kinds of welfare. The bill we passed last year, $94 billion to the farmers, the percentage of the farmers is 2 percent of the population. I have got to ask the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) because I do not know exactly what percentage will the wealthiest farmers get out the farmers' welfare bill.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I held up this picture earlier, and this is Rile-ya Wilson has been missing in the State of Florida for 15 months. Now we are talking about super block granting the money to the State where we have no accountability. In Florida, we have close to 800,000 children living below the poverty line. That is 22 percent of all of the children in Florida. The kids in Florida have double jeopardy. First of all, we have a President that has given away $500 billion and wants to make it permanent as tax breaks to the richest people in this country, and then we have a governor in the State of Florida that gives the rest of the money away to the businesses. And yet the State of Florida, the average worker that takes care of these kids does not make $20,000 a year, and they have a roll of between 40 and 100 kids that they have to look after. The Republicans are very, very good with gimmicks. They have Leave No Child Behind, a slogan they stole from the Children's Defense Fund. What does that mean? This is the time we need to look at leaving no child behind; but are we doing that? No, no. We are talking about we cannot afford to take care of our children, but we can afford to take care of everybody else but the children. They talk a great talk, but they do not walk the walk. Mr. Speaker, there are two words to describe what's wrong with this welfare bill--Rile-ya Wilson. Right now, there is a 5-year-old child from my State missing somewhere in this country because Congress wants to give full responsibility to underfunded State agencies without any Federal oversight. These super blocks grants allow the States to neglect our children. Let's look at my State of Florida for an example of what happens when States don't take care of our children. There are over 775,000 children living below the poverty line in Florida--a staggering 22 percent of all children in the State. The welfare rolls have gone down, but, not surprisingly, this number has not improved; 77 percent of our fourth graders' reading skills are not up to speed. And although almost 20 percent of our children do not have any health insurance, Florida had to return over $30 million in Federal funds for the Children's Health Insurance Program in 1998 because the State did not want to match the money. It is truly an outrage that we today have to debate how much money to dedicate to helping our weakest and most vulnerable as the President and the Republican leadership wants to permanently extend tax cuts to the richest in our country to the tune of $500 billion just in this decade and $4 trillion in the next! And worse, the children in Florida are doubly penalized because our Governor decided to spend the State's money on wealthy businesses instead of making sure the state can account for all of its children. Our priorities are all wrong when the average worker at the Department of Children and Families in my State makes less than $20,000 a year and handles over 70 cases at a time. It is time that we start to think of the children first. What happened to ``Leave no Child Behind''? The Republicans can come up with lots of catchy slogans, but I've got one for you: Where's the beef? The Republican bill does nothing to improve the state of children in this country. The Republicans want welfare recipients to work 40 hours a week, but where is the money for childcare? This bill does not allow parents to receive education in order to end the cycle of poverty that they find themselves in. They need an education to get a good job to stay off the welfare rolls. The proof is in the pudding. Don't just talk the talk--walk the walk! Instead of trying to make people all around the country go running to the altar to get married, we need to be making sure that the States are equipped to take care of our children. We cannot have any more tragic cases occur like the one of Rile-ya Wilson.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, there is two words to describe what is wrong with this welfare bill: Rile-ya Wilson, this beautiful baby. Right now, this 5-year-old child from my State is missing somewhere in this country, and this Congress wants to give full responsibility to under-funded State agencies without any Federal oversight. It is truly an outrage that we are tonight debating how much money to dedicate to the weakest, when the President and the Republicans want to make permanent extending tax credits to the richest in our country to the tune of over $500 billion. And worse, the children of Florida have double jeopardy because we have a governor, Jeb Bush, that gives all of the money to the wealthy businesses instead of making sure that the State can account for all of its children. Our priorities are all wrong. It is time that we start thinking of the children first. What happened to ``Leave No Child Behind?'' Well, Mr. Speaker, the Republicans are really good with coming up with catchy statements, but I have one for you: Where is the beef? I say, where is the beef? The Republicans do nothing to improve the state of children in this country. The Republicans want welfare recipients to work 40 hours a week, but where is the money for child care? This bill does nothing to allow parents to receive an education and training to get good jobs to get off the welfare rolls. The proof is in the pudding. Do not just talk the talk, walk the walk. Instead of sending money to the States to try to get people to get married, we need to focus all of our energy on what is really important: making sure that the States are equipped to take care of all of the children. We cannot afford another tragedy like this precious, precious baby. Mr. Speaker, to whom God has given much, much is expected, and they are expecting much from this Congress.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast a vote on H. Res. 404, rollcall vote No. 126, ``Expressing Solidarity with Israel against the fight against terrorism.'' Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on the measure. I am hopeful that President Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell will continue their push to bring an end to the violence and renew a viable diplomatic process between the two sides. I am also extremely glad to see that the administration is planning a Mideast Peace Conference among the regional leaders to discuss the various plans for peace that have been put forward. I am hopeful that the Arab Nations accept this offer, and are ready to sit down at the table to seriously discuss a cessation to the violence. As a strong proponent of continued U.S. support and friendship to Israel, I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 1795, the Middle East Peace Commitment Act. In all my years in Washington, I have been a strong supporter of Israel, and was fortunate to travel to Israel during my first year in office with members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. I remember this trip with pleasure, and was more than impressed with the free and democratic society that the citizens of Israel have built in their short, fifty four year history. However, for the United States to continue its sponsorship of the Middle East peace process, we need a commitment from Yassir Arafat to refrain from terrorism. The basis for U.S. support for peace, including the acceptance of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Palestinian Authority (PA) as diplomatic partners for peace, requires Yassir Arafat's PA to renounce in words and actions, all forms of violence to achieve their national aspirations. Chairman Arafat needs to rein in radical elements in the territories, as it is completely impossible for the Israelis to negotiate with groups that support or commit acts of random terror. On the other hand, I strongly believe that Israel must make concessions as well to obtain a lasting peace. For instance, Israel needs to continue negotiating with the Palestinian Authority, as well as the surrounding Arab states, if necessary. The United States, as a broker and overseer of the peace process, must encourage communication between the Israelis with the Palestinians, as well as promote a cessation of military incursions in the territories. These incursions I believe, are not productive for the peace process, and will in the end only produce more violence and radicalism among the already uncontrollable Palestinian factions. Again, I am hopeful that both sides are able to reach an agreement in the very near future to put an end to this seemingly endless cycle of violence, and that the United States will continue to support negotiations and compromise between the two sides.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, it is with sorrow that I announce the passing of my friend and mentor Allen Morris on April 22. Dr. Morris was the Clerk for the Florida House of Representatives from 1966 to 1986, and Clerk Emeritus until retiring in 1996. In his role as Capitol reporter and political columnist, Morris helped write the House rules that he later served to interpret. He taught generations of legislators the rhyme and reason of the House and was the most knowledgeable person regarding the history of the legislature that I have ever met. Morris' name graced 28 editions of the Florida Handbook, the definitive guide to Florida's political history, and he was the originator of the Clerk's Manual. Dr. Morris is survived by his wife of 36 years, Joan Morris, and his two children, David Morris of Tallahassee and Martha Marsh of Atlanta. Florida has lost a precious resource. We will all miss him.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this bill. While the other side likes to call this bill the Child Custody Protection Act, I have named it the Rapist and Incest Perpetrator Protection Act. This bill does not protect girls and their families. This bill protects the rights of those who rape and molest young girls by forcing these vulnerable girls to gain permission from the very person who has committed this awful crime to exercise her constitutionally protected right. The fact is that over 60 percent of parents now are already involved in this important decision of their daughters' lives. But if a parent is the perpetrator of a crime against these girls, and she turns to a grandparent or a teacher or a religious leader for help, that grandparent or religious leader can be dragged off to jail for doing what is right. Under this bill, if a man from my state of Florida helped his younger sister across state lines to Georgia because she feared telling her abusive parents or because the clinic in Georgia was actually closer and more convenient, this older brother could be charged with a felony. Not only that, but anyone who knew that he helped her could be charged as a co-conspirator. The receptionist at the clinic who gave directions from Florida could be charged. The person performing the intake interview or counseling who knew of her Florida address would be charged. If they spent the night at an aunt's house in Georgia, that aunt could also be thrown in jail. This is wrong. This bill is wrong. The government cannot mandate healthy and open family communications where it does not already exist. If passed into law, this bill will cause many young women to face very important decisions alone, without any help. I urge Members to vote overwhelmingly against this bill.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I am on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs and have been on that committee for the entire 10 years I have been here in this Congress. Let me tell my colleagues I am very upset over the fact that we have a budget before this Congress that talked a great talk for veterans, but does not walk the walk. I cannot believe that we are going from $2 to $7 for copayments. We in this Congress ought to be ashamed of ourselves. If we want to help the veterans, help them financially and not with this phony talk. Vote down this amendment. I believe that the Bush Administration budget for veterans is an absolute disgrace. Their proposal is particularly disappointing when one considers the fact that the Bush Administration made various public statements describing how they were going to improve and increase the veterans' budget. The Administration claims that this year's budget requests a record- setting $25.5 billion for medical programs, but in reality, they are asking Congress to appropriate $22.75 billion for veterans' medical care--$2.75 billion less than the reported record-setting reported total. And of the $25.5 billion the Administration claims the budget will provide for veterans medical care, $794 million will simply shift personnel related costs to VA from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Moreover, there is another $1.28 billion to offset cost increases like inflation, higher pharmaceutical prices, and federal pay raises. Taken together, this $2 billion increase doesn't provide a single dime more for medical care for veterans. Not only does this budget make it tougher for the veterans to receive the health care that they deserve, but it actually adds costs to the veterans by increasing their prescription drug co-payments. In addition, the proposed increase in the medical care appropriation for fiscal year 2003 is approximately $100 million more than the $1.3 billion Congress appropriated for fiscal year 2002 which the Administration acknowledges is $400 million short of meeting veterans' needs. Five of VA's 22 networks have already projected shortfalls in funding for veterans medical care by the year's end. The Administration already plans to request a $142 million supplement for funding to continue to treat non-service connected, higher income veterans, and they claim they will ``find'' another $300 million in ``management efficiencies''. As proposed by the Administration, the fiscal year 2003 VA medical care budget will require VA to find an additional $316 million in management savings in order to meet veterans' demand for health care. This is purely shameful. It is preposterous that the Bush Administration, who has requested $48 billion for the military, refuses to request more money to take care of our nation's heroes who have risked their lives to defend our democracy.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) so much for his leadership and help in this matter that greatly affects the people of Jacksonville. I also want to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw) for his hard work in helping to bring this bill to the floor. I cannot begin to explain how important this legislation is to the homeless service providers in our hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Unless this legislation is passed and signed into law, two long-time agencies will stop serving their clients and terminate 16 jobs. On February 28, the Quest program, which provides psychiatric medication management to over 200 clients, and Goodwill Industries, which last year placed 534 homeless clients in jobs, will end their service. There are also eight other major providers that will be forced to make the same hard decision. This legislation is the only thing that will prevent hundreds of homeless clients from being returned to the streets. Let me repeat this. This is the only thing that will stand in the way of hundreds of homeless clients being returned to the streets. I hope the Senate and the President will quickly get this legislation passed and signed into law. These folks have a tough job to do, and we need to put them back to work.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, despite the tragedy of September 11th, last year's Veterans Braintrust, an event that has become one of the traditional highlights of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Annual Legislative Conference was a somber occasion. As we commenced the event at a time when our country had experienced one of the more tragic events in its history. We paused for a moment to remember those who lives were lost as we convened for this family affair. While we didn't know what kind of turn out we would get after the terrible disaster we call ``911.'' We want to thank veterans for coming and always giving such tremendous support and participation for veteran's issues and concerns nationally. But last year especially we really appreciated veteran advocates coming that morning. This Braintrust brought veterans and their families together from throughout the country and gave us an opportunity to discuss critical issues affecting veterans with physical disabilities such as voting rights; wheelchair accessibility; community based care; family support; reasonable employment and expanding entrepreneurial opportunities. Minister Clyde E. Sims of the True Light Baptist Church gave the invocation and I had the very special honor to bring up Ms. Melba Moore, Recording Artist and Tony Award winner who sang `God Bless America.' Then Hon. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA) co-sponsor introduced our keynote speaker who exemplified our theme Ready, Willing, and No Less Able: Sen. Max Cleland, Georgia's Senior Senator, disabled Vietnam combat veteran, and former VA Administrator. A hard fighter in defense of veterans programs and services that many African Americans risk their lives to earn. Sen. Cleland noted, approximately 300,000 to 400,000 Vietnam veterans came back who were wounded from combat. But, the physical wounds healed up fairly quickly. However, then the emotional aftermath began to set in. Quite frankly, it was that emotional aftermath that he had to deal with, and sometimes still deals with decades later. By 1978 we gave it a name PTSD. Equally important, he said, America's veterans have always taken care of this country, but this country has not always taken care of our veterans. So we are grateful for this burst of national euphoria we haven't seen since Pearl Harbor, and we want to take advantage of this flurry of interest in veterans. Particularly, Tom Brokaw's book, the ``Greatest Generation'' about WWII and now HBO's special ``Band of brothers.'' However, the truth of the matter is anybody who has ever served in the military, they are ``Our Band of Brothers and Sisters,'' and we must look at it that way! Afterward Braintrust members Mr. Morocco Coleman, Executive Committee member and Mr. Clyde Poag, MSW made a special presentation as a token of our appreciation to Sen. Cleland, and it read from the entire body of the Congress Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust in recognition of your outstanding leadership, dedication, and commitment to all veterans on September 28, 2001. As the former Team Leader of the Grand Rapids Vet Center Program and Past Chairman of the National African American Veterans Working Group, Clyde who recently retired from the DVA, thanked him on behalf of all veterans who have received services from the Vet Center Program, and on behalf of all its very dedicated employees, he said to us you will always be Mr. Secretary. Next Mr. Anthony Hawkins, Acting Director of the Center for Minority Veterans, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, our forum moderator speaking from the heart remarked that it is extremely important that Congress keeps focused on the needs of our veterans, because if we don't care for our veterans, we can not expect our children to go forth `in harms way' and defend America. Only to come back and be treated as second-class citizens. With that said, he introduced our distinguished panelist Hope Cooper, Larry Hughes, Pastor Jerry Cochran, George Brummel, Alvin Jones, Lee Williams, Judge Hughey Walker, and Robert Coward. Although, there were many, many very touching, or compelling stories the common truth for all of us was `the importance of family and friends.' Because we all have to take responsibility for each other, particularly when anybody goes into the hospital, because if you don't have somebody to look out for you, you don't get good treatment! In closing, Hon. Charles Rangel (D-NY), Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust expressed his deep abiding appreciation for the camaraderie that veterans have displayed year after year not only to the CBC, but to their comrades who can't make it to Washington, DC. He said, you can feel it where ever you go that you say, to this great nation don't ever forget those people of African descent that have really fought for this great country of ours. Later that evening the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust held its 13th annual reception and awards ceremony with the gracious assistance of Mr. Wayne Gatewood, Jr., a Vietnam veteran and owner of Quality Support, Inc., an SBA 8(a) Vietnam veterans owned firm. Whereby, we honored those who made the freedom we enjoy possible. The brave men and women who laid their lives on the line for a country that all too often treated them as second-class citizens. Then it was my great pleasure to introduce the night's keynote speaker Gordon Mansfield, the Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Legislative Affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs, or the point man for the department's legislative agenda. He graciously thanked the Veterans Braintrust for inviting him to speak because many of the award recipients are his good friends. He also praised the work we have done on the part of all veterans regardless of race, gender, religion, or disability; and next took this opportunity to introduce, for the first time in Washington, DC, Mr. Del McNeal, the new Executive Director of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA). Mr. McNeal is a combat-injured Vietnam veteran, who has been a member of PVA since the 1970's and served as the Executive Director of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter since 1991. More importantly, Assistant Secretary Mansfield focused on four key words and they were: Able, Veterans, Challenges and Winning. This focus was done within the purpose of creating a dialogue between the veteran's community, and lawmakers, which can develop into policies that enhance the quality of life for all our nation's veterans. However, winning was the key to his presentation for the night. He stated we know from scientific studies that everyone with a catastrophic disability goes through a number of phases ``Anger, Avoidance, Denial, Understanding, and Acceptance.'' Yet, as you work your way through these stages, you have the opportunity to direct yourself on a path towards winning, or to resign yourself to the unhappy life of being a loser. Although, some days and even some years have been worse than others there are some common threads that contribute toward each of our choosing the winning path. One of the keys to this success has been veterans training, knowledge of teamwork, and group support contributing to reaching goals. Thus, veterans training and consequently learning to deal with adversity and to focus on the mission, or become outcome-oriented were a significantly positive factor. Other threads were hospital rehabilitation time with fellow veterans (or peers) facing similar challenges contributed in a positive manner to his progress, and linking-up with similar minded individuals, as well as having an opportunity to work and to give back to other disabled veterans and disabled people generally. Finally, he asked for our support in efforts to continue the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA's) work as a leader in the United States and throughout the world in providing rehabilitation assistance and saluted what we have accomplished. This years Braintrust awards were given to the following exceptional African Americans and veterans who are physically challenged; rehabilitation services providers; supportive personal, home and community care providers and disability advocates: Associate Minister Clyde Sims, Jr.; Larry Hughes; Lee Williams; Hope Cooper; Pastor Jerry Cochran; Alvin Roberts; George Brummel; Judge Hughey Walker; Robert Coward, Jr.; John Walker, MSW; Leon Wilson, MSW; Odell Brown; Dr. Wilbert Tatum; William `Bill' Demby; Webster Anderson; Kater Cornwell; Carl Brashear; Oliver Kuykendall; Robert Mountain; Winnie Jackson; Staff Sgt. Hilliard Carter; Thomas Duncan, Jr.; Robert White; Dr. Paul Cooke; Robert Muller; Edween Jackson; Tom Brown; Eugene Tatum, Sr.; Henry Tillman, III; Terence Goodman; Horace Grace; Jack Marshall; Henry Verner; the National Veterans Wheelchair Games; Department of Rehabilitation, Social Work & Addictions University of North Texas (UNT); Disabled Business Persons Association (DBA); Roosevelt Institute (Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation); World T.E.A.M. Sports; The Rural Institute, University of Montana; Center for Research on Women with Disabilities; and Howard University Research and Training Center for Access to Rehabilitation and Economic Opportunity. Further, I would like to acknowledge the following individuals and groups for their support: Dr. Ura Jean Oyemade Bailey, Arthur Barham, Robert Blackwell, Ethel Briggs, Constance Burns, Pastor Jerry Cochran, Morocco Coleman, DC Center for Independent Living, Rusty Denman III, Eastern Paralyzed Veterans of America (EPVA), Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL), Venessa K. Franklin, Wayne Gatewood, Jr., Sgt. Maj. Isaac Gillard, Jr., USMC, Ret., Eddie Glenn, Ph.D. Doctoral Fellow, Anthony Hawkins, Dr. Charles Johnson, Col. Clarence Johnson, USAF, Dr. William Lawson, Paul Leung, Ph.D., James Love, Roy Martin, Sandra McClellan, Ruby Miller, Minority Veterans of Texas (MVT), Singer Melba Moore, Delores Monye, National Council on Disabilities (NCD), Jan Northstar, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Col. Pete Peterson, USA, Ret., Clyde Poag, MSW, Bay Area Western PVA, Eda Robinson, Janet Sims-Wood, Ph.D., Wayne Smith, Wallace Terry, Clifton Toulson, University Legal Services, Marilyn Valiant, Alexander Vernon, Dr. Sylvia Walker, Dr. Celia Williamson, Joann Williams, Julius Williams, Michael Handy, and Rev. Arthur Wright. Let me also say, as Ranking Democratic member of the House Veterans Affairs SubCommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I have been on the House committee for ten years, or my entire time in Congress. I am on the committee because I feel it's the right thing to do. And as we prepare for war, I remind my colleagues we cannot forget the men and women that have already paid their dues while serving this great country. During each Veterans Day (which is my birthday) we wrap ourselves in the flag. But how you can really tell, how much we love and support veterans are how we treat you in the budget! So as a female giving you some love, it's not the words, it's the deeds. Consequently, I work very hard to make sure we honor our nation's obligation by being here to listen to your concerns and find out how we can make things better for you. So in this heightened time of patriotism that we are concentrating on the military, the example is how we treat the people who have already served, or been through it. So I am committed to make sure that we honor our words with our deeds. We have a contract with our veterans and we have to make sure that the check that was written never comes up insufficient funds! Lastly, I would like to thank Ron Armstead, Executive Director who was instrumental in putting together this Braintrust. And I would certainly be remiss without thanking the members of our Congressional staffs Jolanda Williams, Daisy Hannah, Beverly Gilyard, and Nick Martinelli who worked so hard to make this event a success. Again thank you. GOD is good, all the time. All the time, GOD is good. And GOD Bless America.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).

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

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), the ranking member, and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo) for their help in bringing this important legislation to the floor. The U.S. Coast Guard is a key player in protecting this country from harm, and we need to make sure that they have the tools they need to do their job. This bill gives them the authority, but we absolutely must work harder when it comes to funding this premier law enforcement agency. The motto of the Coast Guard is Semper Paratus, always ready, and they proved this on September 11. As the tragedy was occurring, the Coast Guard had a plan in place, and within minutes began securing our ports and waterways and protecting our bridges from harm. Whenever we talk about homeland security, we are talking about the U.S. Coast Guard. They are out there every day protecting the world's citizens from harm. The Coast Guard is responsible for protecting our ports and waterways, search and rescue missions, stopping drugs, stopping illegal immigration, and protecting our ships and carriers. But even with all of this, the toughest job they have is competing for money in the transportation budget. Let me repeat that. With all that they do, their toughest job is competing for money in the transportation budget. They have a difficult job, and they deserve adequate funding. This legislation expands compensation and benefits for personnel, improves safety and safety training, upgrades Coast Guard communication systems, renews important advisory groups, and removes barriers to Coast Guard authority. This is a good bill and an important bill, and I am glad we are passing it before the new year begins. I thank the men and women in the U.S. Coast Guard for their hard work, and their dedication to this Nation. Have a wonderful holiday, and keep up the good work. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as we pause for the holiday, the loyal opposition party is bent on giving out huge handouts for their country club friends for Christmas. Meanwhile, most Americans, especially minorities, go on suffering the economic consequences of 9- 11. In concentrating on passing tax cuts, trade bills and stimulus packages for the rich, this House, which is supposed to be the people's house, continues to allow the big dogs to eat first. In fact, right now, they are the only dogs that are doing the eating. More workers lost their jobs in October than any other time in the last 10 years. And what is their response? Pass a tax cut, pass a tax cut, pass a tax cut. This country needs a stimulus bill that provides money for jobs training, economic development, and real health care. In closing, let me just say one thing. Thank God for the other body and hold the line for the American people. Hold the line. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member both for their leadership on this matter. One year ago today, 10 p.m., I was standing in front of the Supreme Court. And I tell my colleagues that it was the coldest night I have ever experienced in my life. And I am not talking about the weather. I am talking about when the Supreme Court selected the President of the United States. Nobody feels more about this bill than I do, because my constituents were disenfranchised. There is no one in Florida who looks like me that believes we had a fair election in Florida. There is no one who looks like me that does not feel that we had a coup d'etat here in the United States. Harsh words. But the television today, and others, talked about what happened at the Supreme Court. But they said, well, everything is okay. Well, the end does not justify the means. We have to make sure that what happened in Florida never happens again. Now, this bill is not a perfect bill. I have been an elected official for 20 years. I have never seen a perfect bill. But this bill is a perfect beginning, and I support it and urge my colleagues to vote for it. It starts us on our way. One provision that I want to talk about that is in this bill is the provisional balloting, wherein 17,000 people would have had an opportunity to have their vote counted if that had been enacted.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. If the gentlewoman would yield for one minute, let me give you the rest of the story. Florida used $4 million of taxpayer money that they gave to a firm, it was not bid out, to a firm from Texas. Katherine Harris' office did that to the people of Florida, and they came up and purged people. There was no procedure, none whatsoever. In fact, when I went to the poll on election day, I went downtown and there was some young black guys there saying they are not letting them vote because they said they were felons, and they had never been arrested.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. There is no question. But I am going back to how it came about. There was a bid, a non-solicited bid, where a contract was given to a firm, and all this is in the record, and the firm told the State of Florida that this system that you are using will identify people that are not convicted felons. The State of Florida says, oh, that is okay. That is okay.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. The one thing that I want to say on that, and it goes back to what I said earlier, the letter that Jimmy Carter, former President Carter and former President Ford said was give the American people a Christmas President. Give them election reform. What happened in Florida in that election, a black eye is not what it was. It goes against who we are as Americans. It is bigger than that. Because if someone cannot win the election without stealing it, they do not deserve the office that they are running for. One of the things I can say that happened in the last election in Virginia, there was close to 1,000 attorneys in all of the precincts. People are committed to making sure that what happened in Florida never, ever happens again in another election. We have had other elections in Florida where still, we have, from the governor's office, highway patrols park in front of the precinct all day.

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the point of the matter is that the gentlewoman talked about what happened with the voters, but keep in mind that the system broke down before then, because we had Motor Voter where people went to the driver's license place, they received their driver's license, and they signed up to register to vote and to this day, they have not received their cards. So we had thousands of people that was registered to vote that never got the opportunity because that office did not turn it into the Supervisor of Election's office.

Ms. BROWN of Florida

Ms. BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, being on the Committee on Transportation and the Infrastructure, for every billion dollars that we spend on infrastructure, it generates 49,000 jobs. If we want to stimulate the economy, then we should invest in the building up of our infrastructure and tie it to homeland security.