Duke Cunningham

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I laud, not only the experience of the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), even though it is in the Air Force instead of the Navy. But I laud her leadership in defense and also the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Fowler). I want to tell my colleagues, when it comes to standing up for our men and women in uniform, there are no two stronger women in this House than the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Fowler).

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Secondly, I wrote most of the special education legislation. I was chairman of the committee when it started. Thirdly, I have been a teacher and a coach, both in high school and college, and a dean of a college. My wife has a doctorate in education. My sister-in-law is the head of special education in San Diego County. What we are doing in the Labor-HHS bill is saying that, for years, we got less than half of the dollars down to the classroom, and we are block granting the money down to the school. Let me give my colleagues just a quick analysis. People say, ``Well, Duke, why did you not support Goals 2000?'' I did as it initially is, and in concept. But if my colleagues look at Goals 2000, one has to have a plan. They say it is only voluntary, only voluntary if one wants the money. One has to submit it to a board, not one's board of education, but another board. One has to submit that to the board. It goes to the principal. Then it goes to the superintendent. Think of the time. Then all that paperwork has to go to Sacramento, California. Think of the bureaucracy that has to rest in Sacramento. Now, take all the schools in California sending that paperwork to Sacramento. Where do they have to send it? They have to send it to Washington, D.C. with all of the other States. We are saying, give the State the money. If they want Goals 2000, if they want the program that works in their area, do it. It actually provides more money to them. We provide $300 million more than the President requested for education. The President zeroed out impact aid. When one has a military family or Native Americans and one's district, that impacts the school. The President zeroed that. IDEA gave very little amount of money to it. We increase it up to 12 percent in the bill. We think it is important. I think it is important to show the differences in priorities.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I do not remember the exact amount, I believe it was almost 100 percent, if not 100 percent, of the authorization committee on defense supported the bill in the defense appropriation. That is in the Senate and the House. On the appropriations cycle, Democrats and Republicans alike supported the defense bill that came out in the conference. One hundred percent signed it. The President is wrong to veto a defense bill that increases our military servicemen's pay by 1.8 percent.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Would the gentlewoman agree, though, that in my district Social Security is not enough to live on in many cases?

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Many of my seniors are having to spend their money on prescription drugs, on health care, and many of them are afraid to live day by day. What we are also trying to do is prepare our youth so that we do not run into the same problem in the outyears, to give them a way to set aside, to not tax savings, so that they can set aside money for when they become chronologically gifted that they will have the money and be able to enjoy their grandchildren.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I agree.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. The friends that were telling me this said they were upset, that their side was rebelling because many of them in each of these 13 appropriations bills worked in a bipartisan way, through the subcommittee, through the committee, did not agree on everything, brought it to the House Floor and now the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) tells them to vote against it. They have their projects, they have their hard work, and they thought that was wrong. I think it is wrong for a single minority leader to tell people to vote against every single bill.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, if I can mention one last thing on this, and then I will be quiet. The other side mentioned emergency spending. None of the Republicans voted for the extension in Somalia; it costs billions of dollars and we got our rear end kicked out of there. Haiti. Kosovo cost $12 billion in 2 months. We are spending $50 billion in Kosovo. We bombed an aspen factory in the Sudan, $100 million. The President just gave them a $50 million settlement. In this foreign aid bill, the President spent $47 million taking 1,700 staff and press to Africa this summer, $47 million; and these things were declared emergency, because under emergency, we told them not to go to Kosovo; we told the Black Caucus not to support going to Haiti. We told them that it would cost billions of dollars going to Kosovo, and we flew 86 percent of all of the sorties there; and yet we said, you are going to have to pay for it. And they said, no, we are going to go and pay for it later. Well, that emergency spending they are talking about is just that. The actual enumeration of the consensus, we had that paid for, in the budget. What we did not pay for is their guesswork that they wanted to maneuver the numbers for partisan advantage in the elections, guessing district by district, and the Supreme Court ruled against them, and they are upset. But they did get $300,000 just to see how it would work; and we had to fund that in emergency funding, because it is not in the budget. We are saying, maintain a balanced budget, Mr. President. Take this red marker, take this red marker that our leadership took to him, to the White House, and mark out the programs that you want to and put in the programs that you want to, and we will work with you, but stay under the balanced budget and keep your hands off of Social Security and Medicare, like you propose with $344 billion. I thank the gentlewoman.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. I had a friend of mine on the other side of the aisle today on the subway, and I quote, he said, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) has an insatiable personal ambition to become Speaker of the House. I think everybody has seen every speech he gives. Another Democrat said that the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) told us to vote against every single one of these bills and the White House, at the meeting, under good faith, he was doing the same thing. Today he came to the House Floor, very partisan, having the Democrats vote against every single bill. I asked the Democrat I said, ``Why?'' And he said, quote, ``Duke, if we can stop all of the bills and the President, one of two things, either the Republicans will give in and give the President an omnibus bill and we can spend more, or the government will get shut down and you will get blamed for it,'' and that is the strategy. I think that is lame. What we are trying to do is pass 13 appropriations bills. The gentleman over there, he is so naive. He said that we are doing it piecemeal. There are 13 appropriations bills. That is the way it is supposed to work, is we give the President each bill.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. This is the 106th Congress, which is 212 years. Now, granted, early on they did not do it that way but they have an authorization and an appropriations cycle and that is the way they do it, 13 appropriations bills. The young man is obviously naive on the way of the system. He wants one big bill. Like we made a mistake last year and put all the bills in one, as the mother of all bills, and the President, to get him to sign it, demanded that we increase the spending in it. We did that. That is a mistake. We are not making that same mistake this year. We are saying in each of the 13 bills, Mr. President, take your magic marker, mark out where you want to, put in your priorities and we will work with you, but we are not going to touch Social Security, Medicare. We are not going to increase taxes. It is that simple.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I would tell my Air Force friend, I have a confession to make before the House, that I recently had to pay for a 20-ounce bottle of Diet Coke as a wager for the Air Force-Navy game. Of course, Air Force won 21 to 14, so I had to pay for the 20-ounce bottle of Coke. I personally wanted Pepsi, we have a Pepsi dealership in my district, but I did lose that bet. However, stand by for next year. What I would like to address is both issues that the gentlewoman spoke to. I am not going to be as kind. My mother told me that if a person lies enough, that they are going to go to hell, and I would tell the speakers in the last hour that I am going to be happy to send them a fan when they die because they are going to need it. I have never in my life heard spin and such lunacy as I heard in the last hour. People across this Nation wonder, well, the Democrats say this, the Republicans say this. Let me give my colleagues some markers for credibility. The gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), her husband is the poster for Bill Clinton. The group that spoke, I am not sure about the young man that spoke there at the end, but the rest of them belong, and I want the viewers, Mr. Speaker, to look up: www.d_as in dog--DSAUSA, which stands for Democrat Socialists of America. Democrat Socialists of America lists 58 members of the Democrats, which every one of those speakers belong to. Their agenda, the Democrats' socialist agenda is government control of health care. They tried that. Mr. Speaker, $100 trillion, 100 trillion. Government control of private property, Government control of education. The highest socialized spending possible, the highest taxes possible, and cut defense by 50 percent. Now, for them to stand up and say that they are not tax-and-spend liberals, liberal is kind for this group. They are the farthest left in this House, and it makes me angry to hear such poppycock that goes on. Let me give my colleagues some facts. The gentlewoman talked about the $9 billion that the President proposed in the tax. He takes it, sets it up for new spending, and when we do not spend $19 billion extra on spending, he says we are cutting, but not a single one of them would stand up and support it, because it cuts not only the things that the gentlewoman mentioned, it also cuts student loans and puts a tax on them. They are not going to do that, at least not openly. The President, remember, he said, I want 100 percent for Medicare and Social Security. Well, then 3 weeks later, he says, I want 60 percent for Social Security and 15 percent for Medicare. Look at the bill. Look at the words, the language, the facts. The President takes $344 billion out of Social Security and Medicare, and he puts it up here where that $19 billion is for new spending, takes it out of Social Security. Then he puts in the 60 percent for Social Security and 15 percent for Medicare. They use it as a slush fund like they have for 20 years. Mr. Speaker, facts are facts. We said no, Mr. President. We are going to put 100 percent in Social Security; we are going to lock it up and make it a trust fund, not a slush fund. It will accrue interest. And the gentleman said, well, how about a long-term plan? Long term? That interest accrues and saves Social Security and Medicare forever, and it also pays down the national debt in a very short time.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1180 in memory of a fine San Diegan who died last May, who died too soon, whose life work lives on. Holly Caudill of San Diego, California was a vigorous and tireless advocate for persons with disabilities. She was a young lawyer, a native of the State of Washington, an assistant U.S. Attorney, and she was a quadriplegic. She died last year. I would like to quote from San Diego Union Columnist Peter Rowe who was a preeminent teller of Holly's life and her advocacy. ``There are thousands of people, there may be tens of thousands of people, just like her,'' said Cyndi Jones, Director of the Accessible Society Action Project, ASAP, a San Diego-based organization that lobbies on behalf of the disabled. ``If you are disabled and Washington, via Social Security or Medicare, pays some of your health bills, you cannot work. Without a job, there is a good chance you will end up on welfare.'' Holly fought until the very last second not to be on welfare, to fight because she wanted to work, she wanted to be an active member of this society, but our government stopped it. I laud the authors of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I met Ms. Caudill some years ago in a meeting where she gave me the benefit of her experience. Notwithstanding the fact that she was eager and qualified to work, the existing system of medical benefits, disability coverage, and other government programs made productive work almost impossible. A job with greater pay meant a severe reduction in benefits payments, providing a powerful disincentive against paid work for her and for other Americans with severe disabilities. Her knowledge of the system, and her determination to succeed, together with support from others that she inspired, helped Ms. Caudill to continue to work and be a tax-paying citizen. When it cam to this basic principle--that people who work for pay should not have the government arrayed against them--Holly Caudill was second to none as a vigorous, determined, effective and inspirational advocate. I recall most vividly that in the 105th Congress, at her request, I helped her to meet with House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He was the sponsor of H.R. 2020, the Medicaid Community Attendant Services Act, which would have made a greater amount of attendant services benefits payable under the Medicaid program. She had a long and wide-ranging discussion with the Speaker and his staff--about her life, about the Speaker's bill, and, most importantly, about how important it was to stop government programs from being such a barrier to work and dignity for persons with disabilities. The Speaker himself remarked to me on several occasions about Ms. Caudill's vigor and determination, and what an inspiration she was. With her advice, I was privileged to add my name as a cosponsor to H.R. 2020, which had 76 cosponsors at the close of the 105th Congress. And in this Congress, I am honored to be one of 249 cosponsors of a similar measure introduced by the gentleman from New York, Mr. LAZIO, which is H.R. 1180, the Work Incentives Improvement Act. The fact that this legislation is before us today is testimony to the power of Holly Caudill's message: that, in America, the system ought to work for people with disabilities, not against them, so that we all have a fighting chance to achieve the American Dream. Mr. Speaker, Holly Caudill had the ability. She had the desire. She found the whole system aligned against her iron will to work. Yet she did work. She helped to make our system of justice work as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, while she so vigorously advocated for justice and dignity in work for persons with disabilities. Before she reached her goal, of an America where people with disabilities could work and enjoy the fruits of their labors, our Heavenly Father brought her home. There are no wheelchairs there, Mr. Speaker. Let the permanent Record of the Congress of the United States today note that Ms. Holly Caudill, Assistant U.S. Attorney in San Diego, California, was an inspiration to me and to many others, and a friend of America. May God rest her soul, and give peace to her family, friends, co-workers, and to so many others that she touched. Today, by adopting this bill, we help to remember well her life's purpose.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, there was not time allowed in the debate on foreign aid, and I wanted to make some comments, and so I will do so now. First of all, the ranking minority member on the subcommittee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), made a statement that more money was available to Ronald Reagan for foreign aid. Well, that is because the Democrats controlled spending. There was always more money available, without any regard to a balanced budget. Ronald Reagan decreased taxes, he did not increase taxes like the President plans to do, $74 billion worth. And he only had control of the Senate for one term. The Democrats controlled Congress, where spending is originated and voted for. After Ronald Reagan, the Democrats continued spending with no regard for a balanced budget. All additional revenue that the tax decrease brought in, they spent. And that was not enough, they raided the Social Security Trust Fund and used it as a slush fund to pay for such things as welfare, that was wasted in many cases. There are many families that need welfare, but not the 40 percent that was eliminated, and now the President lauds, after he vetoed our bill twice. They are trying to do the same thing now that they did when they had control of the House, spend more than the balanced budget. To do so, they have to take it out of Social Security or the President has to identify where he would take the money from. He will not do that, because in each of his budgets he has said, I will make cuts in the fifth year, when he would not even be here. And then he refuses to tell where those cuts would come, except for defense, because he knows it would make people mad at him. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) said that the Democrats did more for Social Security. I think that is a joke. In 1993, they increased the taxes on Social Security. For 30 years they stole the money out of the Social Security Trust Fund. There is zero money in that fund, but they will say, oh, there are notes in there and they are guaranteed. But they are not backed up with gold; they are only backed up by the U.S. Government. And the only way to make those Social Security notes valuable is to put the money in there. When there is a surplus, the money can be put back in there. The Republicans have said we are going to put a lockbox on it and make it a trust fund not a slush fund, but yet the President wants to take the money out. Remember, in 1993, he not only increased the taxes on Social Security, he increased the taxes on the middle income. I think using the term middle class is a terrible term to use. There are no middle- class citizens in this country. They may be low income, they may be middle income or high income, but yet the Democrat leadership continues to use class warfare, and I think it is wrong. We are not going to take the dollars from Americans, but yet the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) said that the billions of dollars is just a little bit, a good investment. Well, that little bit we already funded Africa at the same level, but they want more. They want more money not for American citizens but for foreigners, out of the Social Security Trust Fund, and I think that is wrong. The President vetoed it. They also want back the majority, but I think it is going to backfire. The President wants more spending for Africa, but yet the President, in his trip this spring to Africa, took 1,700 staffers and press, 1,700, at a cost of $47 million. Africa would have loved the $47 million extra and let the President stay home. The gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi) quoted the Constitution of the United States. Well, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) is our libertarian. I do not agree with everything he says, but he, if anybody, is a constitutionalist on spending. He votes against almost everything. But the Democrats vote against the Constitution every single day, in my opinion. Remember when the President said he wanted 100 percent for Social Security in his address before Congress and the American people? Well, 3 weeks later he came back and said, no, 62 percent, and then 15 percent for Medicare. And what he does not tell us, and why we do not trust this President, is because he takes $100 billion out of Social Security and Medicare. He increases taxes $74 billion, and he spends it for brand new social spending. Not even the old social spending, new social spending. And we said no, Mr. President, we are going to put that money in a lockbox, not spend it, we are going to accrue those savings to protect Social Security and Medicare forever. But yet now the President wants to take the money out. And we are saying absolutely not. We are going to send this bill back to the President. We are not going to spend money unless the President identifies where he wants those cuts to come from or unless he spends Social Security money. I want my colleagues to look up WWW.DSAUSA.ORG, Democrat Socialists of America. They list the progressive caucus. There are 58 Democrats listed under the Democrat Socialists of America.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I happen to live in D.C. I am a resident. I think that for many, many years the other side has let D.C. deteriorate. We set up control boards. We focused on education. We fully funded charter schools. We funded education. We got a new mayor that I am proud of, Mayor Williams. He is working with us. The things that we are doing in education, the waterfront, the Anacostia River, $5 million to clean up the most polluted river in the United States, with the highest fecal count of any river. Yet, my colleagues on the other side would vote against this bill. I know what the leadership wants, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt). He is fighting for the majority. But to vote against this bill because they want to legalize marijuana is wrong. My own son was involved with marijuana, Jim. He is in boot camp today. If there was a doctor's prescription and it was under real tight control, if someone had AIDS, someone had cancer, then yes, maybe. But I have talked to residents. I have talked to hundreds of people. Not a single one of them knew that it did not even take a doctor's prescription to use marijuana. Maybe the President would like this. He could inhale, for a change. But it is wrong. Even the President saying, I would inhale if I could, is wrong. It is the wrong message. For the capital of the United States to say it is okay to legalize drugs is the wrong message. It is wrong. With all of the fine things that are in this bill, my colleague, the gentleman from the other side, and he is my friend, he knows that, we have long discussions together through heat, through cold. But I believe that we have done a good job on this bill, I say to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran), and that to deny, because the leadership wants to stop this bill for the crazy things, when we talk about home rule, it is wrong. They, this House, inhibits our cities; IDEA, the Individuals With Disabilities Act, OSHA, everything is inhibited by this body. We are saying with all the good things in this bill, please support it. It helps Washington, D.C.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. It continues our program of restoring Washington, D.C., to its rightful place as a world capital, putting further into history the city's problems borne of decades of neglect. Very simply, this bill adopts the City's budget. It keeps expanding and improving educational opportunity for citizens of the District. It helps restore the waterways and waterfronts of our Nation's Capital, so that they can be something all Americans can be proud of. And it is fiscally responsible, keeping its books in balance. As the House goes to conference with the Senate for a second time on this measure, I hope that we will continue to work to make this the best possible legislation--in the interest of improving our nation's capital city for this generation and the next, and in the interest of our commitment to constitutional home rule. For example, the measure provides for an infrastructure fund requested by the City. Recently, representatives of the City provided the Subcommittee its recommended allocation for the use of these funds. This allocation was developed by the Mayor's office, in consultation with the City Council. In light of the City's request to allocate these funds, I hope that the Conference Committee will see fit to adopt the entire recommended allocation as part of a conference agreement on the District budget, rather than the more limited list provided in this bill. Secondly, one of the most important issues that this bill addresses is the reform of how the City handles leases of real property. There simply needs to be a predictable, orderly process for the development and execution of these leases, where the Mayor and the City Council each have clearly defined roles that move an accountable and transparent process forward. The provisions included in this bill go a long way toward providing that kind of clarification. I urge the Conference Committee to continue working with the City so that, when these provisions are enacted into law, there is no longer unnecessary confusion between the appropriate roles of the City's executive and legislative branches of government with regard to lease negotiations. Again, I thank Chairman Istook for his work on this legislation.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, my district in San Diego is home to some of our nation's largest flower growers. This industry plays a key role in the economy of San Diego County, the state of California, and the entire country. Flower growers, wholesalers, and retail shops produce a product that makes all of our lives more beautiful. Last week, the Society of American Florists recognized the achievements of two outstanding individuals in the floral industry. I want to personally commend one of those individuals, who also happens to be my constituent. The Society of American Florists gave out its highest award--induction into the Floriculture Hall of Fame--to Franz Fruehwirth, a scientist, inventor and breeder for the Paul Ecke Ranch, in Encinitas, California. We should thank Franz every time a poinsettia--the number one flowering potted plant in the United States--is bought, sold and enjoyed. As one of the premier poinsettia breeders in the world, Franz has created many ``firsts,'' including Lilo, the first long-lasting, dark leaf poinsettia that set the standard for all future varieties. He also created the first yellow poinsettia, ``Lemon Drop.'' He bred the classic Freedom poinsettia, which now represents more than 60 percent of the poinsettia production in the United States. Franz is more than a plant breeder. He is also responsible for developing the first hanging basket container and the first self- watering container. He also premiered a technique to produce the poinsettia in a tree form. He has shown his dedication to the floral industry as a 31-year member of the Ohio Florists' Association and the San Diego County Flower Growers Association. In his acceptance speech, Franz simply said that he had been privileged to spend his life doing what he really considers to be fun: playing with his plants and seeing what new and exciting varieties he can develop. What a great lesson for all of us: here is a man who, by loving his work and devoting his life to that love, has given a great gift to us all. Few of us can remember a time when Christmas celebrations did not include the poinsettia, but we would not have poinsettias at Christmas time without Franz Freuhwirth. The floral industry, my good friend Paul Ecke, of the Paul Ecke Ranch, and all of us in America are fortunate to have Franz Fruehwirth, who has changed American floriculture forever. And I am very proud to have him as my constituent. I have attached an article from the San Diego Union Tribune that further highlights Mr. Fruehwirth's career. Poinsettia Breeder Recognized With a Slot in Horticultural Hall of Fame (By Dan Kraft) Ecke, now that's a name synonymous with poinsettias. Franz Fruehwirth's name may not be as well-known, but he, too, has been instrumental in the proliferation of the popular plants. Fruehwirth's contributions to the floral industry were recognized in Tucson last week, when he was inducted into the Society of American Florists' Floriculture Hall of Fame at the group's annual convention. Fruehwirth, 66, is the chief breeder, or hybridizer, at the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas, which claims to be the world's largest producer and breeder of poinsettias. For the latter half of that claim, they have Fruehwirth to thank. Although Ecke sells about 500,000 poinsettias grown in its own greenhouses each Christmas season, its genetic work has been licensed to growers around the globe and accounts for about 80 percent of poinsettias sold in the world. That genetic work is largely Fruehwirth's. ``Until he started breeding, almost all the poinsettias in the world had been mutations,'' said Marc Cathey, president emeritus of the American Horticultural Society and one of those who wrote letters recommending Fruehwirth for induction. ``He is unique because he has no scientific training to do what he does, yet he has beat all the big boys in the world.'' Fruehwirth, a native of Hungary, immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1960 with his wife, Lilo, and their daughter Monika. He was 27 at the time and did not speak English. He worked at a tailor's shop in Oceanside when Paul Ecke Jr., a customer at the shop, hired Lilo as a housekeeper and nanny and offered Fruehwirth a job caring for his plants. That was in 1962, at a time when the ranch was converting from field-grown plants to greenhouses. ``Very quickly it became obvious that he was intelligent and creative, and Dad and Grandpa began promoting him,'' said Paul Ecke III. ``He was instrumental in figuring out how to grow the poinsettias inside.'' In 1968, Fruehwirth introduced the first new poinsettia genetics created at the Ecke Ranch. In 1991, a new variety he bred, called Freedom, was introduced. Today, it accounts for 60 percent of the poinsettias sold in the United States and Canada. ``I feel there are a lot of people who deserve recognition like this, and I'm very fortunate that I have the honor,'' Fruehwirth said. ``I love my work and am humbled to get (the Hall of Fame induction).'' According to the Society of American Florists, induction into its Hall of Fame is reserved for those who have made a unique contribution to the industry and changed the way it does business. ``Most of those honored have a Ph.D. or are owners of major floral companies,'' Cathey said. ``It's very rare for someone like Franz to receive this award.'' During his 37-year tenure with the Eckes, Fruehwirth's ``cultivars'' have become increasingly dark in color and hearty, which enables florists to ship the plants greater distances and gives them a longer shelf life. Fruehwirth, who lives in Encinitas with his wife, has no plans to retire. He is still hard at work evaluating the potential of 6,000 to 10,000 seedlings each year. ``As long as I have a positive influence, I'll keep working'', he said in Tucson last week. ``I still can't believe (the honor).''

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the promise of medical research. With the advancements in medical research being announced every day, the possibilities for improving the length and quality of life for all Americans appear impressive and unprecedented. We can maintain hope, buoyed by good science, that improved treatments and cures can be found for cancer, diabetes, AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries to name a few. However, to take full advantage of this possibility we must increase our funding for the National Institutes of Health and all federally funded medical research. I could marvel you with the achievements in medical research that I have seen in the last year through my role as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education. However, I would instead like to focus on those individuals that experience pain in their daily lives. The National Arthritis Foundation tells me that nearly one in six Americans will suffer from some form of arthritis and according to the American Chronic Pain Association, pain is part of the daily lives of one in three Americans. I am blessed to know a wonderful lady in San Marcos, California, Alfie Burns. Alfie is President of the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association of California, serves as an Appeals Board Member on the California Department of Rehabilitation, is involved in her community and still has time to raise a family. It is for people like Alfie that I have recognized the month of October as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Awareness Month in the 51st District of California. I encourage my colleagues to join me in promoting unity in the chronic pain community to provide sound public education, cohesive medical information and bring compassion for those who experience chronic pain. I wish for all Americans to live self- supporting and fulfilling lives free from the ravage of pain. In Honor of National Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Awareness Month, October 1999 Whereas, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) is a complex and extremely painful neurogenic medical condition that afflicts millions of Americans annually. RSD is a multiple symptom condition which may simultaneously affect nerves, muscles, bones, skin, and the circulatory system; and Whereas, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) was officially assigned an International Category of Diseases Code Number, ICD-9337.2, in October 1993, allowing accurate statistics on this condition to be collected. According to a recent survey by the National RSD Hope Group, 65% of RSD sufferers contract the disease in their thirties or forties and three out of every four RSD patients are women; and Whereas, Alfie C. Burns founded the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association of California in 1992. The mission of the not for profit organization is to promote education and awareness of this debilitating disorder. The RSDSA-CA is the longest standing organization of its kind in the state and it serves as an RSD information resource; and Whereas, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) involves numerous medical procedures and a variety of medications if the disease becomes chronic and there is no single standard treatment for the condition. Additionally, medical costs for treatment of the disease can be prohibitive. One of my goals is to double funding for medical research so that new treatments may be found and costs may be curtailed for all Americans with health problems; Now therefore, be it Resolved, that in recognition of the numerous accomplishments of the RSDSA-CA, the month of October 1999, is hereby proclaimed ``Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Awareness Month'' in the cities and communities of California's 51st Congressional District.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, it is time for the United States to ban the wasteful, unsportsmanlike and destructive practice of shark finning. Shark finning is the removal of a shark's fins, which represent just one to five percent of its body weight, and discarding its carcass into the sea. The waste associated with this practice is horrific. The public outcry to halt it was an important factor in the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) decision to ban shark finning in federal waters of the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. I had thought that NMFS had prohibited this practice in all waters of the United States. To my surprise and dismay, it was recently brought to my attention that shark finning is occurring in the U.S. Pacific, and increasing at an alarming rate. Between 1991 and 1998, there was a 20-fold increase in shark finning by U.S. longline vessels in the Central and Western Pacific. There are no regulations in place to stem further growth of this terrible practice. According to NMFS, in the Central and Western Pacific fishery, the number of sharks finned rose from 2,289 in 1991 to 60,857 in 1998. The most troubling fact about this increase in the number of sharks killed is that 98.7%, or 60,085 of the 60,857, of the sharks taken in 1998 were killed just for their fins. The NMFS has gone on record with the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WestPac) expressing its view that finning is wasteful and must be stopped. Unfortunately, WestPac has balked and NMFS has failed to step forward and stop this terrible practice. It is my belief, and those of any responsible outdoorsman, that the waste associated with discarding 95 to 99% of 60,000 animals annually is intolerable. With the support of my colleague, Fisheries Subcommittee Chairman Jim Saxton, and the conservation and sportfishing communities, I am introducing two pieces of legislation to remedy this situation. Today, I am sponsoring a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that we disagree with the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council's and NMFS failure to halt shark finning, while urging that Council to prohibit the practice immediately. Later this year, I will be introducing legislation to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act by adding the practice of shark finning to the list of actions prohibited in all waters of the United States. I hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me by cosponsoring this important resolution. For the record, I have attached a letter of support from the Ocean Wildlife Campaign, a coalition that includes the Center for Marine Conservation, National Audubon Society, National Coalition for Marine Conservation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Wildlife Conservation Society, and the World Wildlife Fund. In addition, I have attached separate letters of support from the American Sportfishing Association and the Center for Marine Conservation. Our prompt action is critical to ensure that we will halt the rampant waste resulting from shark finning. American Sportfishing Association, Alexandria, VA, September 23, 1999. Hon. Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Cunningham: On behalf of the nearly 500 members of the American Sportfishing Association, I wish to express my strong support for your resolution to ban the wasteful practice of shark finning. I commend your initiative in tackling this important, yet easily dismissed issue. For far too long, we have neglected to take action to stop this most unsportsmanlike fishing activity. We now know that the best shark is not a dead shark; that these oft maligned fish play critical roles in preserving balance in the marine ecosystem. Healthy shark populations help maintain robust fisheries. Your effort to ban finning will not only benefit depressed shark populations, but many other species of commercially and recreationally important fish. Thank you for your leadership in this area. Sincerely, Mike Hayden, President/CEO.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, it is a distinct honor for me to pay tribute to Dr. Terry A. Straeter, an individual who is universally recognized as one of the most talented and innovative men in the field of defense aerospace and intelligence. Dr. Straeter is retiring following an illustrious career spanning over 30 years. He does so with the gratitude and appreciation of a nation that is more secure as a result of his work. And while the Nation has been fortunate to reap the benefit of Dr. Straeter's work, I have been even more fortunate in being able to call Terry a true friend. Dr. Straeter's personal and professional accomplishments reflect a selfish dedication to improving the national security of this country. He distinguished himself through his work in a wide range of national intelligence systems. Specifically, Dr. Straeter was instrumental in the development of digital avionics and spacecraft at NASA's Langley Research Center. In addition, he was recognized for the work he did in digital mapping, exploitation, targeting, and archiving systems. While working for the Defense Mapping Agency, Dr. Straeter led an exceptional team of engineers which developed digital production systems which have become the baseline for the evolution of our nation's imagery intelligence capabilities. Dr. Straeter's leadership and technical expertise were key in the development of the current generation of low-observable aircraft auto- routing systems--a capability which contributed significantly to the development of stealth technology in this country. He later developed a technology which significantly improved both the speed and accuracy of image extraction that directly improved our Government's digital map production. He also developed a commercial version of this solution that is currently used by more than 50 countries around the world. Dr. Straeter's enormous talent, his keen insight and penchant for creative thinking made him a highly desired advisor. He served as a member of the Senate Select Committee for Intelligence's Technical Advisory Group, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Security Affairs Support Association, an active contributor to the Defense Science Board, as well as a corporate leader of the highest standing. A recipient of the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, Dr. Straeter is a national asset who is admired and respected by all who know him. I know I speak for a grateful nation in wishing Dr. Terry Straeter the very best as he begins a new chapter in his long, distinguished career.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, as a strong advocate of excellence in education, I am honored today to give recognition to four men and women who have been named San Diego County Teachers of the Year. These are: Alma Hills, O'Farrell Community School; Karen O'Connor, Sunset Hills Elementary School; Jan Patrick Mongoven, San Marcos High School; and Gualter do Rego Moura, Mission Bay High School. Excellent education begins at home with strong families. It continues in the classroom, with teachers who do their jobs well, whose lives are dedicated to the children and the young people that they enrich and inspire. As a former teacher and coach, I understand that teaching is a difficult job whose rewards are not always immediately evident. But nothing that is truly rewarding in life comes easily. And the dedication and commitment shown by San Diego County's finest teachers exemplifies the best of our schools, the best of our communities, and the best of America. Because education is the passport to the American dream, I want for all of our Nation's young people to have the finest teachers. And while San Diego County has recognized these four for Teacher of the Year honors, eligible for further recognition at the State and national levels, the truth is that there are hundreds and thousands more outstanding teachers where these came from--in public and private schools, in public charter schools, and in home schools across our country. As we work to do better, we can learn from the best. Let the permanent Record of the Congress of the United States note the contributions that San Diego County's 1999 Teachers of the Year have made to the lives of young people in our community, the high standards of professionalism that they exemplify, and their love of teaching and learning. I commend to my colleagues two news articles describing San Diego County's Teachers of the Year. The first is from the San Diego Union- Tribune of September 19, 1999, and the second is from the Escondido (Calif.) North County Times, of the same date. [From the San Diego Union Tribune, Sept. 19, 1999] Four Saluted as Teachers of the Year (By Angelica Pence) Four teachers were saluted last night with the San Diego County Teacher of the Year Award for the creative and dedicated ways in which they bring out their students' potential. Those honored were Alma Hills of O'Farrell Community School, Karen O'Connor of Sunset Hills Elementary School, Jan Patrick Mongoven of San Marcos High School and Gualter do Rego Moura of Mission Bay High School. This year's winners were announced at a Salute to Teachers ceremony that was broadcast live on Cox Communications Channel 4. The event was held at San Diego's Civic Theatre and co-sponsored by the county Office of Education. Thirty-one educators throughout the county were nominated by their peers and school districts. Given its size, the county submits four candidates for consideration for the state honor. The award is the first steppingstone to state and national Teacher of the Year awards. Candidates are selected on the basis of student achievement, professional development, community involvement and accountability. A nominee's teaching philosophy, personal style, knowledge of educational issues and trends, and promotion and development of the teaching profession are also considered. For this year's crew of favorites, tapping into each student's talents is a key to their success. Hills, a language arts and social studies teacher of O'Farrell, has helped prepare hundreds of teen-agers for high school and beyond. ``I live and constantly work with the anticipation that children can grow up to be productive adults in our society,'' the seventh-grade teacher wrote in her contest application. ``I am very anxious about my responsibility to children and society, and so I teach with a sense of urgency and determination.'' Hills received a master's degree in teaching in 1989 from the University of California San Diego. The 13-year veteran is earning administrative credentials from National University. ``Alma believes that a child's education is a journey, not a race,'' wrote William Rose, O'Farrell's school programs coordinator. ``And as their teacher, she has the obligation to monitor, encourage and support every child under her care to succeed on this journey.'' Hills, who has worked at 1,490-student O'Farrell for eight years, was the San Diego Unified School District's Teacher of the Year for 1999. ``I have not found the solution to getting every student where he or she need to be academically,'' Hills admitted. ``But I am clear that I must never stop trying and I must never grow weary in my pursuit.'' O'Connor, a third-grade teacher at San Diego's Sunset Hills Elementary, decided to take on teaching later in life than most. ``Because I came to the teaching profession at a relatively late date, I had more times than most to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up.'' she wrote. ``My decision to be a teacher wavered at times, but I knew when I had children of my own and began volunteering at school that I had rediscovered my early desire to teach.'' She earned a master's degree in curriculum and instruction, with honors, from Chapman University. This year her school, the Poway Unified School District and Wal-Mart each recognized her as Teacher of the Year. O'Connor's ability to see each child as an individual is what sets her apart from other educators, said Sunset Hills principal Steve Hodge. ``I've watched her coach a highly gifted writer into making those subtle improvement that make a good piece of work,'' Hodge wrote. ``Literally 30 seconds later, she's skillfully guiding a severely handicapped student into a learning game with his classmates.'' Mongoven's chosen career, on the other hand, is a family tradition. ``One could say I was born into teaching,'' wrote Mongoven, who teaches genetics and a biotech lab to juniors and seniors at San Marcos High. ``The first person to cuddle me and murmur soothing words into my ear was a teacher--my mother. The first person to lift my tiny being into the air and safely return it to the ground was another teacher--my father.'' In 1994, Mongoven graduated from National University with a master's in counseling psychology, all the while earning a molecular biology workshop certification from California State University San Marcos. A two-time National Teacher of the Year nominee, Mongoven was awarded 1999 Teacher of the Year honors in the San Marcos Unified School District. But he counts his students' achievements, not his awards, among his greatest accomplishments. ``I feel so proud upon hearing that a former student has become a nurse, doctor, lab tech, chiropractor, research scientist or marine biologist,'' wrote Mongoven, who has been teaching for a quarter-century. Among them, ``I proudly recall Karin Perkins (genetics class of '86) saying she was off to Stanford University as a graduate student to work on the Human Genome Project.'' Moura, a Portuguese immigrant, learned early on to love and respect education. ``In Portugal, I learned that school is everything,'' he wrote. ``Teachers were highly regarded--like demigods. Their words were the Golden Rule.'' Since then, Moura has worked hard to pass his respect for learning to his students. ``My greatest success in teaching is instilling the belief in students that they can accomplish anything they desire,'' wrote Moura, who has taught mathematics at Mission Bay High for six years. ``I must help students realize and recognize their potential and help the formation of an appreciation for mathematics.'' Moura has degrees and teaching credentials from National University, San Diego State University and Mesa College. During the 1998-99 school year, he was named Teacher of the Year by his school as well as the San Diego Unified School District. ``Gualter Moura is a man for all seasons!'' wrote Donna Bullock, head counselor at Mission Bay High. ``He is one who is able to deal with the exceptional math students as well as the student who (has) difficulty with language. The counselors occasionally assign students to his classes who are unable to achieve in another environment.''

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, our military cannot fight one MRC, that is regional conflict, today. General Ryan shut down the Air Force that put 1 year of life on every aircraft from Kosovo. Last week the press reported that the services are being hit with a $5 billion tax, due to a sudden loss of defense budget. We stood in the well on this floor and said that the President's budget was gimmicks. He said that inflation would stay the same over the next 10 years, and so would fuel prices. They have gone up. Those prices cut $5 billion out of our defense system. The President knew it when he did it and he still did it, and when the Joint Chiefs said they needed $150 billion just to come up to fight two conflicts at the same time, the President said, I will give you a $1 billion offset, which means a net zero. We need to invest in our defense systems and provide for our men and women the training and assets when we ask them to go into conflict.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, for the first time in history and in the last Congress, we had over 20,000 children in the D.C. school system request to go to summer school, not because they had to, but because they wanted to. We are trying to turn the entire education system around in D.C. to where most of the children that graduate are functionally illiterate and those who do not graduate drop out. The system has totally gone bankrupt. Education, public works, the city, a mayor sniffing cocaine and putting the rest of it up his nose, the system to where we had school board members that were hired because of their political affiliations to Marion Barry. The mayor today is a bright light and has tried to work with this Congress and I think has done very well. Charter schools. The education system. We did not cut public education. We actually increase education dollars and the charter schools. Thanks to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Davis), for the first time in this bill, children in D.C. can go to other universities of other States and not have to pay that tuition. I mean, that is fantastic, those kinds of changes that have been made in this. The Anacostia River. How many have ever been up to Bladensburg? Look at the mud flats, the toxic wastes that are up there. For years, it has piled up. The Anacostia River has more parts per fecal than any river in the United States of America. Why? Because every time it rains, the sewage from D.C. system flows into that valley, and all of that fecal material goes into that river. It is so bad, there is so much bacteria that it soaked up all the oxygen in the Anacostia, and that is why the fish died, bacteria taking up oxygen. The Navy has agreed to dig out those areas with toxics and the PCB. We have established a $25,000 fine for dumping. I took a little boat up there. One cannot even get one's boat up there for the beer cans and the dump and the trash. These are good things. It is a health hazard. It is an economic hazard. And we are changing those kinds of things. Mary Williams has worked with us to revitalize that waterfront. Go down there. There are empty lots down there full of beer bottles and trash because the D.C. system wanted a year-by-year lease. They get money under the table. Well, we will give one a lease but one has got to give a little bit of money back to me. That liberal system failed. We are putting in 30-year leases so that there will be businesses established down there. We want to take that whole waterfront and turn it into a San Francisco waterfront where we have got businesses that are creating dollars instead of the neglect that D.C. has given it. The gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) says, ``We did it on our own.'' I do not believe that. The system was so far out of line that the control board had to be established. For 40 years, the Democrats did nothing. The neglect for D.C. Look at the education system. Look at the crime. Look at the streets. Look at everything. We took the majority. We established a control board. We are coming in. We are changing the school systems. We are cleaning up the Anacostia River. We are cleaning up the waterfront. They want to oppose it because they want to give drug addicts needles, or they want to legalize marijuana. I disagree with my friend from Virginia (Mr. Moran) that every study has not been conclusive. Take a look at Sweden and other areas. I ask for a ``yes'' vote on this bill.

Mr. CUNNINGHAM

Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I was honored on Sept. 1, 1999, to take part in the first inauguration ceremony of the California State University San Marcos, and to listen closely to the remarks of its energetic President Alexander Gonzalez. The CSUSM campus represents a way station on the road to the American Dream for thousands of people of North San Diego County today and for tens and hundreds of thousands of people in Southern California tomorrow. While San Marcos until recently could claim to be the newest Cal State campus, like the community where it is located, it is growing and maturing. And now, in its tenth anniversary year, Cal State San Marcos is the sole four-year public university in one of the most rapidly growing regions of the country. And it is North County's only federal depository library. And it is becoming truly great. You can see its new greatness with new buildings arising on campus, new housing in the works, and a new outdoor facility for track and field. Even the long-overdue replacement of the Twin Oaks Valley Road interchange is under way, serving this campus and the surrounding community. But its true greatness is more difficult to view on first glance. It is less evident in its buildings than in its people--in the legacies established by the late State Senator Bill Craven and its first president Bill Stacy, and in the person of its current President, Alexander Gonzalez. Cal State San Marcos is on the front lines of training a new generation of quality teachers for our schools. it is instructing this generation and the next about the tremendous new opportunities available in science and technology, and in commerce and entrepreneurship. It is doing this for an increasingly diverse population of young people and adults, many of whom are the first in their families ever to obtain a college education. For the vision of President Gonzalez is for men and women to gain at his campus the tools they need to achieve and, in the case of the many teachers that this campus trains, to pass that tremendous dream on to others. North County's community future will be built upon the CSUSM campus, upon its people, upon its students and alumni, and upon President Gonzalez. With the work done there, the people of the community I represent will be better citizens, and a stronger community, making a brighter future. I am honored to insert into the permanent Record of the Congress of the United States the remarks delivered by President Gonzalez on Inauguration Day, and commend them to my colleagues and the public. Inaugural Address (September 1, 1999) Dr. Alexander Gonzalez Mr. Chairman, members of the Board of Trustees, Chancellor Reed, students, faculty, staff, honored alumni, and distinguished friends of CSU San Marcos-- I accept this presidential insignia and the responsibilities it represents with a profound sense of optimism and my total commitment to building this young University's next decade of excellence. When I arrived in 1997 as interim president, I promised to give 100% of my effort to the challenges the university faced. I knew I would keep that promise. But it became quickly apparent that the faculty and staff, as well as the citizens of North San Diego County and the greater Southern California region we serve, were prepared to match my effort with an equal effort of their own. To all of you--partners in building this University--thank you for the vote of confidence that led to the honor of my assuming the presidency of CSU San Marcos. A typical inaugural speech might emphasize the present state of the University and a vision of its future. However, many of you have heard that speech from me, just last week in my convocation address. So, given the current challenges of higher education, today I would prefer to share some of my thoughts about the role of a university president within that context. In doing so, I can take advantage of the unusual circumstances of this inauguration, one that comes more than two full years past my initial appointment as interim President, to reflect upon what I have discovered through attempting to provide leadership at this young institution. As Mayor Smith mentioned, the motto of the city is ``Valley of Discovery''. The phrase comes from the discovery of the valley, named by Spanish soldiers chasing horse thieves on St. Mark's Day, April 25, 1797. The Spanish soldiers came looking for horses, but discovered instead a fertile valley, a land of great beauty, indeed, a great discovery. Fifty years later, Major Gustavus French Merriam came here from Topeka, Kansas looking for farmland. He homesteaded 160 acres in north Twin Oaks Valley--just the other side of the clogged highway overpass you might have taken to get here. Unlike the Spanish soldiers, he discovered exactly what he was looking for. And he began to create--literally--a land of wine and honey amidst the Twin Oaks. Of course, these discoveries were not new. Before either `discovery' Native American people already lived here and some still live here today. They had inhabited this terrain for centuries. Similarly, university leadership, even in a rapidly growing valley that many new inhabitants are just now discovering, is not necessarily about staking out new territory. In many instances, the problems of leading a university remain the same as in the past. One challenge of a presidency is to bring a fresh perspective to the cyclical problems that universities face. As Hungarian scientist Albert Szent-Gyorgyl wrote, ``Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.'' Ironically, CSU San Marcos frequently has used language that implies no history at all, as if the external and internal forces governing universities had never existed. The first brochure about the campus referred to it as built ``from scratch'', and the first catalog talked about building ``from the ground up''. But the historians among us know that there is no ground zero; our present always contains our past. We know that events and circumstances occur within frameworks of meaning, of time, of geography, of culture. CSU San Marcos exists within the particular histories of higher education institutions in the state of California and the United States. In fact, the young university soon became bound within the constraints of tradition, from the CSU system and from each individual's past perspective of what had worked or failed at the last university where each had been. So, history and tradition already govern this new enterprise. University leadership requires, in part, rediscovering the same problems that we have had all along, but encouraging the entire campus community to contribute new solutions. The process of leadership has always been multi- and not unidimensional. Yet, since coming to San Marcos two years ago, I have also dwelled in the land of discovery, facing new challenges of public higher education and new ways of thinking about leadership. And while I have confronted novel situations, perhaps the greatest challenge that I have discovered at San Marcos is the fact that the bounds of tradition present the greatest barrier to discovery and creativity. The traditions that guide us can also thwart our attempts to break from the usual and push beyond the limits of convention. We need to bring new perspectives towards meeting these challenges, a point of view based on student achievement and student success. Traditional structures, traditional measurements, traditional calendars won't do the job. Neither will a traditional presidency. In the fall '98 issue of THE PRESIDENCY, Stan Ikenberry asks his readers: ``Where are the giants? Where are the Conants, the Kerrs, the Gilmans, and the Hesbergs?'' I do not believe that we will find a new leadership for higher education by revisiting the past, invoking the good old days when the towering figure of President overshadowed the university campus. The gentlemen Presidents just mentioned--and it goes without saying that educational leadership was the province of a few gentlemen--were ``larger than life'' public philosophers. They were men--always men--convinced of their destiny to lead not only their institutions, but also the nation. They followed the tradition of millenia, the ``great man'' as leader. Times have changed. We seek new ways to meet old challenges, but also innovative ways to respond to the new realities of student needs. We have learned that no one leader can create a new university; no one individual can assure that the university succeeds. Instead of a ``cult'' of leadership wrapped around one individual, we should evolve into a culture of leadership. We need to utilize leadership throughout our organization, not solely in the Office of the President. This model doesn't imply that everyone becomes an administrator, multiplying our layers of bureaucracy. It does mean that everyone takes responsibility for solving problems, and whenever possible, doesn't simply pass our students to another office, another professor, or to another university. And I believe that we--teachers, faculty members, and even the university president--are uniquely able to utilize such a model of grassroots or distributive leadership. How will we do that? In a culture of leadership, leadership will be understood as an interdisciplinary endeavor. We will incorporate both the disciplines we have set about to master in our chosen fields as well as the culture in which we reside, that we will never master, only negotiate. This is the kind of leadership teachers already understand very well. And what is a teacher? A teacher is a guide, who both facilitates discussion and listens, who teaches by example, and learns by teaching. John F. Kennedy stated, ``Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.'' Despite the decades since his comment, we are not yet accustomed to thinking of interactive guidance as leadership. Perhaps the times and challenges are ready for us to do so. Let me give an example of this sort of teaching and learning leadership. In the book, Sacred Hoops, Coach Phil Jackson talked about his work with Michael Jordan. With such a gifted athlete, no coach could do much traditional ``coaching'' to improve Jordan's basketball skills. Instead, Coach Jackson focused his efforts with Jordan on making him a leader of the team. Within five years of joining the league, Jordan began to see his role not just as stealing balls and scoring points, but as a leader-teacher whose job was to help raise the level of play of every other player on the team. I see the job of university president as a leader teacher. That kind of leadership requires a few things of us. First, we must have teachable points of view. Of course, we need to have views on how the world operates and how to get things done, but this is never sufficient. We also need to invest the time and effort to make those points of view teachable to others. We need to think about our experiences, draw lessons from what we know, and figure out how to share those lessons with others. Second, we need a serious commitment to teaching, to make it a top priority in everything we do. I learned this best through my mentor, Elliot Aronson, who is known primarily for his work as a researcher. But Elliot knows it is his mentors and students who teach him and inform his understanding of the world. It is his own serious commitment to teaching that has produced a new generation of great researchers. I am certain that he knew of the wise counsel of the great scientist, Linnacus, who recommended this practice centuries ago. ''A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discoverers are among us, as comets among the stars.'' In his classic book on social psychology, The Social Animal, Dr. Aronson writes that, in order to grow, we must learn from our own mistakes. But if we are intent on reducing dissonance and finding comfort, we will not admit to our mistakes. Instead, we will sweep them under the rug, or worse still, we will turn them into virtues. He concludes by saying, (quote) ``The memoirs of former presidents are full of these kind of self-serving, self-justifying statements . . .'' (unquote) That will not be the case for this President, nor this campus. Together, I trust that we will seek to foster a culture of leadership that is, above all, about learning. This culture is also about people, not person. I challenge each of us as leaders to become teacher learners. We are not only part of a culture of leadership--we are the culture itself. We are attracted to institutions like CSU San Marcos--faculty to teach, students to learn, presidents to help this process--because of values we find here or values we wish to bring here. New to this Valley of Discovery, I have learned that we must inculcate the value of shared leadership, of the leader as teacher learner, or we surely will not meet our collective challenge. Soldiers came to this Valley searching for something they had lost, and they discovered a beauty that they had not known existed. The first homesteader found promise and developed a land of wine and honey. What is it we have come here to do? What have we yet to discover among the Twin Oaks? Let me finish today by telling you the beginning of the story. The Spanish soldiers who arrived did not know the old indian legends about the land that they discovered. Overlooking our valley to the south is a mountain the Indians called Wee-la-me. It was here on that mountain, the legends said, that the indian Wind-Spirit brought the first students, Native Americans, to teach them together before they were divided into tribes. The most important lesson on the mountain, Wee-la-me, was learning the beauty of the Spirit, duty towards each other, and songs of love, of battle, and of death. Change was not a good thing for those first settlers of the region. The legend says only that ``the good spirits left them.'' But perhaps, through thinking again of our duty to each other, part of that good spirit may return to us. The duty of President, as I've tried to suggest, is not paternal. It is not about running the campus, nor supervising, and certainly not about dictating change. Our duties towards each other revolve around leading each other towards discovery, towards teaching and learning. The primary job of the University President is to foster that discovery, growth, and change, to ensure that we fulfill our duty to each other. Honored guests, dear friends and colleagues, thank you again for the confidence you have placed in me. Let us continue to lead each other towards discovery.