Donna Christensen

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, Taunton, Massachusetts, is a city rich in its significant cultural and historical resources. As a result, we support authorizing the National Park Service to study this area to determine how these resources might best be conserved and interpreted for generations to come. I join the gentleman from West Virginia (Ranking Member Rahall) in congratulating the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for his hard work on behalf of this legislation and this community, and we look forward to working with him on legislation to implement any recommendations which come out of this study that we are authorizing today. So we urge the passage of H.R. 2129. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the sponsor of the legislation.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, with S. Con. Res. 76, I guess this majority is operating under the adage that it is better late than never. Senate Concurrent Resolution 76 was written for an event that occurred 11 months ago on November 2, 2003. The resolution would have been timely if it had been taken up before that date. The tribute to the survivors of the Holocaust at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on November 2, 2003 was a worthy event deserving of recognition. It is regrettable that the majority waited so long to bring up this resolution that the day we seek to honor has already occurred. However, even late, it is an important recognition and I am pleased that there will be this recognition of that tribute to the survivors that occurred last year. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is a very minor boundary issue left over from rights-of-way granted in the 19th century. We have reviewed the legislation and we do not oppose the passage of H.R. 4817. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we have reviewed Senate 2319 and have no objection to its passage today. I join the ranking member, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), in congratulating the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) on his efforts on behalf of this legislation and the Tapoco Project. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The legislation we are considering is sponsored by Nevada Senator Harry Reid. Both Committee on Resources ranking member, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and myself have become very much aware of the bipartisan efforts among the Nevada delegation to secure public lands for various causes. This is another one of those situations, and while we do not always agree with a particular Nevada land bill, when we can, we are always pleased to be of some of some small service to the distinguished senator. As a member of the American Legion Auxiliary myself, I am always pleased to support any bill that is done on behalf of the American Legion. As such, we have no objections to passing Senate 1521, as amended by the House. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4593, as it is being brought to the floor today, is a diverse bill affecting land and resources in Nevada and New Mexico. First and foremost, I want to take this opportunity to commend my colleague the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his work on title II of this legislation, which designates the Ojito Wilderness in New Mexico. Title II is the text of H.R. 3176, introduced by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) and favorably reported from the Committee on Resources. The language of title II is a model of the legislative process. The gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) has developed a bipartisan proposal that has significant local, State and national support, and we strongly support this aspect of H.R. 4593. Title I of H.R. 4593 is the Lincoln County, Nevada, lands bill. This is a complex and far-reaching piece of legislation that includes utility corridors and rights of way, land sales and conveyances, also wilderness, ORV trails, land exchanges and water. There are still a number of issues and concerns with this title, but we are pleased that at least the two wilderness areas that were previously dropped have been added back in. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4593, as amended, is a compromise, and as such, we have no objection to its consideration by the House today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, the majority has explained the pending measure. We, on this side of the aisle, have no objection to its consideration. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by commending my friend and colleague on the Committee on Resources, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz), for introducing this bill and for working hard to secure its passage. The community leaders in the Brownsville, Texas, area also deserve recognition for the decision to use water desalinization and water recycling as tools to stabilize their water supplies and reduce the impact of drought. We strongly support this legislation. Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2960, a bill I introduced that will amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Brownsville Public Utility Board water recycling and desalinization project. I would like to thank Chairman Pombo, Ranking Member Rahall, as well as Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman Calvert and Ranking Member Napolitano, for their valuable support on this legislation. This bill was considered in the House Resources Committee and was passed with no dissent. It will essentially allow the Brownsville PUB to participate in water recycling and desalinization project funding authorized by the Secretary of the Interior. This bill, H.R. 2960, makes the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (PUB) eligible for a Federal share of Title 16 funding for design, planning, and construction of facilities to reclaim, reuse, and treat impaired waters in the Brownsville area. PUB's water supply plan has several components including: reclaiming brackish groundwater (not obligated under the Mexican water treaty) through desalinization, and building a pipeline to transport treated sewage for irrigation. This is an important bill for Brownsville and the PUB because it will make them eligible for grants to do the essential work of reclaiming waters that are currently unusable in the South Texas area. Given our current water situation, and the ongoing water debt with Mexico, Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley must use all our creativity to find new sources of water for the next century to attend to all the needs of future water users. South Texas has seen an amazing amount of growth, a dynamic we expect to continue for decades to come. The more varied, and more creative, we are in finding new water sources, the more successful we will be in attracting new industry to sustain the growth of our Valley economy. I ask my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. CHRISTENSEN

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

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, the majority has explained the pending measure. I see the sponsor of the legislation is preparing to speak on it. We on this side have no objection to its consideration. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, as congressional action is required for land and trusts to be sold, and the Paiute Indian Tribe has contacted us for assistance, we are very supportive of authorizing the Secretary to convey these lands for the tribe. We support the tribe's sovereign decision to sell these lands and wish them the best in further economic development. We urge our colleagues to support H.R. 3982. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, the majority has explained the pending measure. We on this side have no objection to its consideration. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, across our Nation people are grasping for solutions to better control and mitigate the significant adverse economic and environmental costs associated with invasive plants, animals and insects. The pending measure is the final product of a dialogue initiated by Senators Larry Craig and Tom Daschle which began 4 years ago. Noxious weeds remain a substantial threat to western rangelands. This legislation will provide needed financial and technical support for local weed management programs, particularly in western States, including South Dakota and Idaho. While I commend the sponsors of this bill for working so diligently on it, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), ranking member the Committee on Resources, and I also hope that in the next Congress we might move forward with more comprehensive invasive species legislation to address the ecological challenge of harmful nonnative species on a broader level. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the contributions of a quiet, family man who served the community of my home island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands for over 30 years and who will celebrate his 70th birthday on October 2nd. Mr. Speaker, Charles Elvis Nixon came to St. Croix with his family in 1970 and has contributed to its health and well being as a pharmacist, small businessman and good friend and neighbor. Mr. Speaker, from 1970 through 1985, Charles Nixon owned and managed a small chain of drugstores, namely the Center Pharmacy, Island Pharmacy and Corner Drugs, which were the main centers that met pharmaceutical as well as other needs for the people of St. Croix. His Corner Drug Store was right down the hall from my family practice. More than just professional neighbors, we became friends and he was a sounding board for my early political ideas. We raised our children together. During that time, Mr. Nixon also co-owned the Caribbean Medical Supply Company with his late wife, Laura and the St. Croix Surgical Center, the island's first privately owned ambulatory surgical service. Since 1985, he has served the people of St. Croix as a pharmacist at various locations including Gore Pharmacy in Gallows Bay, D&D Apothecary in Frederiksted and Drug World Pharmacy in Sion Farm. He also worked for the Virgin Islands Department of Health from 1993 to 2000 as the pharmacist for the Medical Assistance Program at the Frederiksted Health Center. Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest tributes to Mr. Nixon, who is lovingly referred to as ``Doc Nixon'' by the many people who he served over the years, is the success of his four children who are all Ivy- League educated and successful as businessmen and women. Mark, his eldest son, is a marketing executive, Tracy, his oldest daughter is an entrepreneur, Jennifer is an obstetrician and gynecologist and Alison is a conference coordinator. Mark, Tracy and Allison are married with families of their own. Mr. Nixon was born and raised in Smithfield, North Carolina in 1934. He earned his Bachelor Degree in Science and Pharmacy at Texas University. Drafted to serve his country in 1959, he served two years at Ft. Gordon in Augusta, Georgia. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Nixon had an old fashioned country pharmacist approach to helping people. When his children asked him what he liked most about being a pharmacist on St. Croix, he said he liked meeting and helping people and being a part of the health care team for the island. His children remember that after St. Croix was devastated by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, how Charles Nixon worked long hours to provide as many people as possible with their much needed medication and in some instances, he personally delivered the medication to their homes after work. His children remember that after their mother's death, the local newspaper mentioned the urgent need for a substitute pharmacist since its only pharmacist, their dad, was out on bereavement leave. This ``mention'' illustrated for them just how many lives a pharmacist touches and how many people depend on them always being there. Mr. Speaker, on the eve of his 70th birthday, Mr. Nixon continues his work as a pharmacist on St. Croix at the Kmart Pharmacy in Frederiksted. I never go there without stopping to visit with him and catch up on old times and the latest accomplishments of his children. He has re-married to the former Lucille Jacobs and spends his free time playing golf, traveling and visiting with his three granddaughters. I am proud and honored to be able to call Charles Nixon my friend. Charles Nixon's friendliness, willingness to listen and help, his professionalism, his dedication to his work, his integrity and success as a father and husband, his success as an entrepreneur, his adoption of St. Croix as home and his belief in the power of God's love makes him eminently worthy of this recognition on behalf of the people of St. Croix, the entire Virgin Islands and our Nation.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) for yielding, and I want to thank him for his leadership and for bringing us here this evening. I am pleased to join him and other Members of our committee to call attention to the glaring deficiencies in homeland security, which continue to exist now more than 3 years after the attacks of 9/11, and the failures of the administration in this regard. I do not call attention to them to cause alarm but to continue to put pressure on the administration and the Department to address what every commission or task force has told us even before that fateful day, and what polls show is the primary concern of Americans, our safety and the safety of our children, our protection from terrorism. I am going to focus on the area of bioterrorism, and we can all agree that the threat of biological attack is a very real one. Indeed, we have seen biologic agents used in this very building against our colleagues and those who work here. We also witnessed the differences in public health response here and in our neighboring communities, especially communities of color where several people died. At committee meeting after committee meeting, we called the attention of this administration and the department to the fact that our public health system is inadequate in many areas; that the disparities in health care reflect this; and that many, especially in the private sector of medicine, are not trained or prepared to respond adequately in the case of an attack. Yet we still lag behind in these critical areas. First of all, the health sector is not yet as fully incorporated as it should be in all areas of planning, and the development of systems that are important to the protection of our citizens. Just this morning, we heard from Dr. Joseph Barbera of the George Washington University Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management, at a subcommittee hearing on the National Incident Management System, the very core of our response. In his statement, the fact that he saw it necessary to stress to us that ``medical care necessary for a mass casualty event must be recognized as a public safety function and therefore as a governmental responsibility that is equal in importance to fire suppression, emergency medical services, public works and law enforcement,'' the fact that he had to tell us, that speaks volumes about where this expert sees our state of readiness in this critical area. It is not where it should be. I can tell my colleagues that in too many instances, health, both public and private, are not included. This while 62 percent of emergency rooms are over capacity and public health laboratories are reportedly operating at an average of 75 percent above capacity. The funding that this administration has supplied to address these deficiencies is far below the estimated $10 billion that is reportedly needed to bring just the public health sector to where it needs to be. We have not begun to scratch the surface. Another aspect of bioterrorism preparedness which this administration and the Department has failed to adequately address is the need to develop the capacity to rapidly diagnose and develop treatments for any agents that might be used. In May, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) and I introduced the Rapid Cures Act which would promote technological advancements to reduce the time frame from several years to a few months at the most for the development of new medical countermeasures to treat or prevent disease caused by not only agents of bioterrorism but disease agents or toxins that have the potential to plague our communities today. SARS has shown us that we cannot know or predict what will be used. In that respect, Project Bioshield is not helpful. This bill gets to the heart of the matter and develops capacity that is more of the all- hazards approach that Governor Gilmore and many others have so strongly recommended. We need to have protection and treatment against dangerous biological agents that might be used in an attack quickly, not in the 10 or 15 years it is now estimated to take. That bill has not even had a hearing yet. Lastly, the administration has pretty much ignored the role of the public. They have not been brought into the discussion or development of the systems to the extent they need to be. In every town meeting that I have had, I have heard critiques of what has been promulgated, and I have been asked how they can participate in developing the preparedness and the response. We ignore them at the potential peril of all of us. One of the most important things that is needed in a disaster or any emergency is for people to follow instructions. If they do not, they put themselves and all of us at risk. Just in the last few weeks, we saw people who clearly knew what their instructions were out in the ocean or not evacuating their homes, and that was in a relatively familiar disaster. To date, most of the public are unclear about what they are to do in the case of the different forms of possible terrorism attacks. On September 14, the New York Academy of Medicine's Center for the Advancement of Collaborative Strategies in Health along with the Joint Center for Economic and Political Study released a groundbreaking report entitled Redefining Readiness: Terrorism Planning through the Eyes of the Public. The New York Academy of Sciences found that only two-fifths of the American people would follow instructions to get vaccinated in the event of a smallpox outbreak. In addition, it stated that only three- fifths of the American people would shelter in place for as long as told in a dirty bomb explosion. One reason for the lack of cooperation is that many people would be also worried about something other than what the planners are trying to protect them from. Three-fifths of the American people would have serious worries about the smallpox vaccine itself, and that is twice as many people as would be seriously worried about getting smallpox in the outbreak. What we find in the case of the public is that the administration and the Department, as they have done too often in the case of first responders, have assumed that they knew what was best, or what was needed, instead of letting the people, in this case, speak for themselves, participate in the process of developing the strategies and the plan. On something this important, there must be a methodology in place to do this. Three years later, there is none. First responders, all of them must be fully engaged in the process and so must the public. This administration has spent too much time assembling a bureaucracy, one that does not even reflect the diversity of the country which it protects and too little time on putting the kinds of protections in place to be able to begin to claim the security high ground. Two weeks ago, senators released a report card on this administration's progress in homeland security. While many other areas got a C to an F, bioterrorism actually got a B. The grade has to be much lower than that. Too much remains unaddressed. I would give them at best a C minus, and below average is not good enough for protecting us and our families. They have a lot more that needs to be done to ensure that we are as protected as we can be from a bioterrorism attack. We know that there is no way to be 100 percent safe, but the White House has fought us, the Democrats particularly, on almost every step of the way to get to even where we are today. It has not provided the kind of leadership that is required, and it has certainly not lived up to its promises. As a result, today, we are not as safe as we ought to be 3 years after that horrific wake-up call. I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) for yielding to me and giving me the opportunity to be included in this special order. I thank him again for his leadership on the committee.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, two weeks ago this House blocked consideration of legislation sponsored by my colleague from New York, Mrs. McCarthy, to extend the ban on the manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons. The assault weapons ban is supported by the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, National Association of Police Organizations, American Nurses Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Urban League, National Education Association, United Federation of Teachers, Children's Defense Fund, NAACP, Anti-Defamation League, and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The House instead today, voted to enact legislation which was introduced by a member from Indiana to get rid of the ban on firearms in the District of Columbia, against the wishes of elected Mayor, City Council, and U.S. Delegate to Congress. Federal courts have upheld the constitutionality of the DC ban. These actions by this distinguished body distress me greatly because it was just a day ago that a 4-year-old boy was shot to death and a 7- year-old boy was injured in a shooting Monday night at the Kirwan Terrace housing community on St. Thomas in my District. This heinous act has outraged my community which is seeking any and all assistance to prevent this kind of despicable crime, which apparently was perpetrated through the use of a high-powered firearm, from ever occurring again. Mr. Speaker, gun violence is reaching epidemic proportions in all of our communities and this body should be doing all we can to reduce the number of guns that are available, not increasing them. I urge all my colleagues to support the Meehan discharge petition, H. Res. 769, to allow a vote on Representative Carolyn McCarthy's Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act, H.R. 2038. We have a responsibility as leaders of our communities to do all that we can to keep our citizens safe from the ravages of crime-- particularly gun violence, such as what tragically befell four year old Leon Bowery. May he rest in peace.

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN

Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4806, the Pine Springs Land Exchange takes approximately 80 acres of forest lands in the Lincoln National Forest and exchanges that for private land currently owned by Lubbock Christian University. Currently, Lubbock Christian University operates a summer camp in New Mexico on private land adjacent to Lincoln National Forest. Their summer camp program has reached its capacity and the university desires to expand onto adjacent Forest Service lands. In exchange for approximately 80 acres of lands adjacent to their existing camp, Lubbock Christian University will provide the Forest Service with approximately 80 acres of privately owned lands surrounded by Federal forests. Our committee has worked hard to refine language that will make this exchange fair to the U.S. taxpayer. The bill we are considering today requires that the exchange be of equal value. If the land appraisals determine that the parcels are not of equal value, the bill provides for the equalization of values through cash payments. We appreciate that land exchanges can often be controversial. However, we have tried very hard to ensure that this package consolidates Federal ownership in some parts of the forests while enabling Lubbock Christian University to expand its summer camp. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.