Lois Capps

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, due to airplane malfunctions I was detained in returning from my district last night and missed three votes. Had I been here I would have made the following votes: rollcall No. 257-- ``yes'', No. 258--``yes'' and No. 259--``yes''.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, when I first came to this House in a special election 3 years ago, my first official act after being sworn in was to sign on to the Shays-Meehan bill. It was one of the proudest moments of my career. Today is one of the darkest days I have ever experienced in this Chamber. Mr. Speaker, this rule, passed in the dead of night, is unfair. It is undemocratic. It is a cynical parliamentary ploy aimed at stopping a straight up-or-down vote on the Shays-Meehan bill as a whole. The American people will not stand for this. They want to see democracy restored. They want us to reform a campaign finance system that is awash in unregulated soft money and dominated by special interests. Mr. Speaker, let us defeat this rule and have a fair and honest debate on the merits of the Shays-Meehan bill. By defeating the rule we can reassure all Americans that our cherished democracy is not for sale.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. I thank the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) for sharing her story. She brought up something that I want to accent, because I think it is such a sadness to see what I call revictimization that so often occurs with people and their bureaucratic paperwork that they need to do. Often facing terrible diagnoses with sometimes horrendous outcomes and strenuous treatment regimes that they must go through and then on top of that, to need to struggle with the insurance company to provide the coverage. It is like doing battle on every front. It must feel to the patient and also to their family like being kicked when you are down, when you have such a battle and such a struggle with your health care itself, and trying to save your life or trying to get back on track again with your health and then to be constantly nit-picked or told no, not this, and so many hoops to go through, I really feel like we need to get it back into the priority and to streamline many of the approval processes and to make it so that we are treating people with the dignity really that all of us know as American citizens that we want to have. For this to be so completely, not always, but so frequently gone down a different path, that is a most humiliating experience for someone who has to go through it. That is certainly part of what we want to correct in this Ganske-Dingell patients' bill of rights. Now it is a pleasure for me to yield time to one of my fellow nurses here in Congress the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy). She represents one extreme end of the country and I am out there in the other end but we are both nurses. That means we are joined at the heart. We have worked together to make sure that the patients' bill of rights, for example, includes whistleblower protection for nurses and other important pieces. It is no surprise to either the gentlewoman from New York or I that the American Nurses Association and so many of the other nurse groups around the country are strongly in support of this particular patients' bill of rights.

Mrs. CAPPS. I so appreciate my colleagues being here. I think we are almost out of time, but I will yield further to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen) for some comments.

Mrs. CAPPS. I want to thank my colleague from New York for sharing her personal story of her son and remark that she fought hard, she had to make a lot of phone calls. Some folks do not have that facility. Maybe there are language barriers. Maybe there are other barriers or they give up. That is compromised health care. That is health care that goes unmet, health needs that go unmet. Her son happened to work for the HMO, the president or whatever the situation, so that she had a personal connection. How about the thousands and thousands of families that do not have that privilege and have that opportunity? We need to speak for them. We need to have this be legislation that really does address the issues so that situations can be relieved just as a matter of course, not as a matter of exception. But I want to bring up and am happy to have the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands join us as well, but I do not want to leave another topic that the gentlewoman from New York brought up in her time as a nurse, and, that is, the important measure in this bill, the whistleblower protection. Let me make a couple of statements about it and ask our colleague who is a family physician to respond as well from the hospital perspective. I am concerned now as many in this House and many across the country are about the shortage of nurses. We have a crisis. We have 126,000 positions going vacant today in our hospitals and health care facilities across this land. We have many things we need to do to address this. But one of the issues that is of real concern to those who work at the front line and in the health care settings is the demoralization that occurs when a person with professional standards has been trained and goes to work in a setting and sees and observes something which is not to that standard and has no recourse. It is the most awful experience to go through and think, this is wrong, and sometimes you are there and you have to participate, and, for fear of your job, you cannot go to someone in higher authority or to an outside agency and a place without fear of retaliation. So this whistleblower protection which has been included in the Ganske-Dingell patient protection bill is vital. I know from my own personal experience in public health out in the community to have this accountability so that the confidence that you have when you go through training, which is hard enough, and then go out to work, which is also challenging. This kind of work that we are talking about that nurses and doctors and health care professionals provide is not the easiest in the world. It has its tremendous rewards. But when you feel that barricade, that you see something and you cannot report it because your livelihood will be on the line, well, that demands correction. That piece in this bill I believe we need to stand up for. Maybe either of my colleagues would like to comment.

Mrs. CAPPS. I want to make sure, just as we draw this to a close, I have a pledge I want to make with my two colleagues, but I want to make sure that we leave on the record the answers to a couple of myths that are out there. One is on the part of employers that where there is this fear that if we do this Patients' Bill of Rights that the employer who provides the insurance will be liable, that the lawsuit will include them. We have been assured that they are in the business of providing insurance plans for their employees, who are also occasionally patients. Then if their employees choose that plan and they give them often that range of plans to choose from that, then they are not themselves liable when the insurance company itself makes decisions which are not in the patient's best interest. The insurance company is the one who must be held accountable, not the employer in that case. The other myth that is out there is, and I have heard it on the floor, I have heard it among some of our colleagues who say it is just going to drive up the cost of health care insurance, and there are so many particularly small businesses who are struggling now to provide it, they want to provide it but that is another topic that we are going to address another time about making health care available in a variety of ways, not just putting it on the backs of mostly small business providers. The cost of the premiums in Texas, in the plan that this Patients' Bill of Rights, this Dingell-Ganske plan is based on, that the premiums went up, I think they characterized it as a Big Mac a month, or actually just a very small amount of an increase in a premium that most constituents, most employees, would be happy to make if they knew that they had the benefits that we have been outlining as part of this Ganske-Dingell Patient Protection Act. So we want to make sure that it is clear that we do in this country hold people accountable when they make mistakes. Doctors, health care providers, all of us had insurance policies because we knew that we could make a mistake and we wanted our patients to have recourse, and health care providers are very knowledgeable about the need to have that. On the other hand, HMOs, and insurance companies like HMOs, are the only sector of our economy now that is not able to be touched by accountability. That is clearly out of focus for our country's pattern of holding accountability. This bill will correct that. It only holds those insurance companies liable when they practice medicine. If one practices medicine, they are held liable. If an insurance company chooses to practice medicine, they will be held liable as well. That is what this is all about. Within the Patients' Bill of Rights, access to emergency care, access to obgyn without having to go through a gateway, these are not debatable. These are understood as needed reforms within managed care today, and we need to embrace all of it as a package, which is really about common sense.

Mrs. CAPPS. It is really common sense legislation. Those of us who have been doing health care work, I have spent 2 decades in my school community in the public schools of my community on the front lines every day with families that were seeking medical care and doing battle with their HMOs. This is not to do away with them. We are not trying to give insurance a bad name. We need it. There are good plans, but when excesses occur and when people step over the line, companies do and providers do, then they have to be held accountable because the bottom line is a matter of basic common sense and what is right for families, for individuals, for this country really in terms of access to health care and good quality health care. I appreciate the comments of the gentlewoman on that. I want to also make sure that we include in this discussion another very important piece of the Patients' Bill of Rights which includes the opportunity to have clinical trials be continued and be able to continue your insurance. I have some personal experience myself, so many families do, with members of family who are confronted with the most awful diagnosis, one of the most awful of all, which is the word cancer, and to know that many of the treatments that work for cancer are so recent in their discovery that they have not yet been fully implemented or approved under the Food and Drug Administration and, therefore, they are still under the clinical trial phase but if your doctor tells you that without treatment and without this particular kind of treatment, as our colleagues stated earlier in this hour, that there is no chance really for life to even continue, you might have a few months at best but you could try this clinical trial, you could embark on that course, I know personally, with my own family, that you do not hesitate for a minute; give me that chance; give me that straw to hang onto, particularly if it is one that has gone through several phases but it is still not approved yet and yet it has offered hope to others and treatment and good results to others; oh, you cling to that with your life. You do anything to get that treatment for your loved one, and in yet that very dark hour in your life, so many of insurance companies give you this ultimatum: You go down that path and you seek that medical treatment and we are cutting your insurance; you are losing all of your insurance. That is like a death sentence. That is an amazing position to be put into as a person, or with your loved one sitting there beside you having to make those terrible choices. We should not be forcing our patients to make this kind of choice. So that is why this Ganske- Dingell bill will require that insurance companies continue their basic coverage of patients when they elect to participate in clinical trials. Now that makes sense. That is a good thing to do. That is what we should be doing for those with the awful diagnoses that many are facing. We want to make sure that new and different treatments are available to all patients without having them lose their ability to have coverage for regular treatments. This is a good measure within this Ganske-Dingell bill. So I offer it as one of the reasons I am supporting it and perhaps either the gentlewomen with me tonight would like to comment on that or any of the other topics that we have left out.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, we will now close and remind our colleagues that we did pass this very bill before in this House. So let us just do the right thing and pass it again. This is my pledge that I want to make to my dear colleagues who have joined us here this evening, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy), and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), let us pass the Patients' Bill of Rights and then let us gather on the floor to discuss some other needs in health care, such as the nurse and professional shortage, such as those without any access to health care because we still have a long way to go. We are willing and we are prepared, we are going to be here until we can address each of these issues. So I will join my colleagues again on the floor at a further time.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), and particularly for her perspective from a public health point of view. I know many of us, when we saw the managed care plans coming on the horizon as a cost containment method applauded the program for its preventive care aspects, and some HMOs still do offer these, and they are to be commended. But many, in their cost cutting methods, have curtailed the prevention aspect and the guidance and some of the extra programs that are offered through counseling and health education, advice for families, and the periodic checkups that are part of a good developmental program for children in favor of cost containment. So I think we should go back and accentuate. We need to point out that this patient's bill of rights is not an attempt to do away with managed care, but to reform it and to bring it back into the arena of the responsibility of health professionals for the care of their patients and the ability of patients to get the kind of care that will be in their best interest in health care. I wish now to give time to my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland). He is a psychologist and now is my colleague on the Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Commerce. He has been a leader for a long time on the patient's bill of rights and comes to Congress with his perspective, coming right out of his work in psychology in his Congressional District. I am happy to yield to him.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Ohio for sharing such a moving story. It is remarkable in this land of ours we have some of the best possibilities for health care in the world, and some of that is due to funding for research which has been promoted and supported from this House, this very body. We stand behind the great advances in our medical technology and our skills and opportunity. Yet at the same time we have such a gap between our ability to give health care and those who are actually able to get it. Mr. Speaker, one of the barriers are those without access to any health insurance. That is the subject for another conversation here on the floor, but there are barriers even to those who have health insurance and how tragic it is to have an employer-sponsored plan and go to one's doctor, and sometimes it is a matter, as with the gentleman's young friend Patsy, of a life-and-death matter. To have that doctor's recommended plan denied by an HMO, to me that is practicing medicine; and particularly now with the legislation like we are supporting and proposing which would involve strong external review so it would not just be the view of one doctor, actually we need to protect against frivolous medical decisions, but a panel of one's peers, and to have that still set aside by an HMO, that to me calls for some kind of last resort that can only be handled in a court of law. We do not want any more stories like the one that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) shared with us about his friend, Patsy Haines. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen). She is the first woman physician ever elected to Congress. She is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Brain Trust, and is always willing to speak and share her information in our efforts to pass this national Patients' Bill of Rights.

Mrs. CAPPS. Yes.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to speak about the need for a strong and enforceable patient's bill of rights for the American people. I am one of three nurses currently serving in the House of Representatives, and there are other health professionals of all stripes among my colleagues, from doctors to public health specialists and microbiologist, from psychologists and social workers to psychiatrists. Together, in all of our experience and training, we know that we need to pass a real patient's bill of rights, a bill of rights that offers the American people real protection from the hard edges of managed care organizations or HMOs. Tonight we are going to share with our colleagues our firsthand experiences and make the case for the Ganske-Dingell bill. We have seen firsthand the damage caused by the excesses of the bean counters and the men in green eyeshades when they are too aggressive in containing costs. These bureaucrats have often done real harm to real people when they have taken on the role of medical professionals. Those of us here in Congress with medical backgrounds want to give our constituents the ability to fight back, and we think that the Ganske-Dingell bill is the best way to do this. This legislation guarantees access to high quality health care, including access to emergency or specialty care, to clinical trials, and direct access to pediatricians and OB-GYNs. It also holds health plans accountable when they interfere in the medical decisions of a trained medical professional. It provides for a strong external review process by medical professionals; and then, after that process, and if that process is exhausted, patients will have access to State courts. The HMOs have bitterly criticized this proposal on the grounds it will lead to frivolous lawsuits. The Ganske-Dingell bill is based on one now in practice in the State of Texas which has allowed patients to sue their HMOs and there have been only a handful of lawsuits of any kind. There is no evidence that this bill will lead to frivolous lawsuits, but it is an essential protection that our patients need because of the deterrent factor that it provides. Managed care organizations are operating in an environment designed to keep costs low, and we do need to control costs to keep health care affordable, but HMO administrators are under an incredible amount of pressure to cut corners. Often this pressure is excessive and leads to bad decisions and insensitive, inappropriate, and sometimes very damaging actions. Abuses of patients' rights to quality health care are very common, too common. There needs to be a counter force on the side of quality care, on the side of the patients, and that counter force has, at the bottom line, the threat of going to the courts. Access to the courts will help to restore the balance to the scales and will prevent the need for efficiency outweighing the need for quality care. It is what gives the patient's bill of rights its teeth. Without it, HMOs are free to continue their current practices without fear of the consequences. My constituents do not want to go to court to get the health care that they need, but HMOs do not always want to provide that care. And HMOs do not want to go to court either. The threat of appropriate litigation is how average Americans will keep the HMOs honest. We need to give patients that tool. Mr. Speaker, if the ceiling in this room were to collapse today because of a contractor doing shoddy work to save money, those of us who were injured would be able to sue that contractor in State court. This provides an important incentive for contractors to do their work well. The same should apply to managed care. And so I support this legislation, as do many of my colleagues with medical backgrounds. We know our patients. We know the HMOs. We know this issue and its importance. We know the challenges we face and we know how to overcome them. We know this bill is the right thing to do. So we are here this evening, Mr. Speaker, to help our colleagues see this example as well. We have an obligation to our constituents to do our duty and to pass this legislation. I want to now introduce and invite to the podium a colleague of mine, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter). She is going to present her viewpoint as a microbiologist with a master's degree in public health. She is particularly respected for her efforts on genetic nondiscrimination and women's health.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of some key amendments to the Interior Appropriations bill. I am pleased to join my colleague, Representative DeFazio, in our continued efforts to stop the extension of the misguided Recreational Fee Demonstration Program. Last year, I was successful in limiting an extension to only one year. But the bill before us irresponsibly extends the RFDP for four years. And it does it by circumventing the normal process for extending Federal programs and just tacks the extension on to a ``must-pass'' spending bill. This is irrresponsible and a disservice to those of us who would like to find alternative and more appropriate ways to support our National Forests. In my district the RFDP is known as the Adventure Pass and it requires my constituents to pay just to visit the Los Padres National Forest. This is a form of double taxation. We already pay taxes to maintain our National Parks, Forests and other publicly owned lands. We should not have to pay again just to see a sunset or have a picnic in our own backyard. I agree that our parks and forests have a backlog of maintenance and need more funding to address these needs. That's why I have introduced legislation that would end the subsidies to timber companies that reduce funding for our National Forests. My bill would end the Adventure Pass but ensure that Forest Service have enough funding to preserve and protect these precious lands. I am also pleased to join my colleague, Representative Rahall, on an amendment to ban new oil and gas drilling in National Monuments. My district is home to the new Carrizo Plain National Monument, located almost entirely in San Luis Obispo County. The Carrizo Plain contains one of the last remnants of the California Central Valley's wildflowers and is home to a host of wildlife, including the endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox and the California Condor. Carrizo contains significant Native American cultural sites, such as the Chumash ``Painted Rock,'' and geological phenomena, including the most visible portion of the San Andreas Fault. In addition, Carrizo is the location of an important study on livestock grazing and how it might be used as an effective tool to benefit wildlife and sensitive species dependent on indigenous habitats. The protections afforded to this precious area by the Monument designation--including no new mineral leasing within the Monument--have been met with widespread support in San Luis Obispo County. My constituents support protection of their environment and cultural heritage, and understand it is a vital component of the local economy, of which tourism is a major element. And new oil and gas drilling does not play into that picture. Mr. Chairman, I have received letters supporting the new designation and its restriction on new oil and gas leasing from a broad swath of the community, including the 1200 member San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, local environmental groups and ranchers, and the Chumash Council. I have advised both Resources Committee Chairman Hansen and Interior Secretary Norton of these sentiments and urged that they support my community's wishes to protect its environment and economy by allowing no new drilling in Carrizo Plain. The Tribune, San Luis Obispo County's major newspapers, correctly calls Carrizo ``a real treasure'' and notes approvingly that because of the Monument designation ``it will stay as it is forever.'' Our amendment would ensure that this prediction comes true. I urge my colleagues to support both of these common sense measures.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my support for the Pacific Salmon Recovery Act. I am very proud to be a cosponsor of this important legislation. I want to thank the people who worked so hard to bring this to the floor, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), and also the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) and the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), for their hard work on this issue. This is a very important issue for the fishermen in my district, particularly those in Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo. They depend on salmon for their livelihood, and when these species are endangered, it is a serious threat to provide for their families. Steelhead salmon has been listed in my district as a threatened species north of the Santa Maria River, and as an endangered species to the south. It is vitally important that we restore their numbers. As Members know, this legislation would authorize $200 million in Federal assistance to State programs so that they can restore salmon and steelhead populations. This funding would not only add to the resources that the California Fish and Game already has, but also leverage more funds from the State and from other local sources. This kind of assistance would support ongoing projects in California. In my district, projects designed by groups like the South-Central Steelhead Coalition, the Arroyo Grande Watershed Forum, led by Central Coast Salmon Enhancement, these groups would benefit from this funding. These collaborative projects would be able to put such funds to good use in a way which will restore our natural resources. This is a good bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the chairman of the committee.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am pleased to offer this amendment to provide funding for CPR training in schools on behalf of myself, the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella), and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley). This is a simple amendment. It would allow funds in title IV, the block grant provision of the bill, to be used to teach our kids CPR in schools. This amendment is based on legislation which I introduced earlier this year with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley) and the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) and others to encourage CPR instruction in public schools. It has been endorsed by the American Heart Association, the National Education Association, and the American Red Cross, among others. Mr. Chairman, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States with 220,000 Americans dying each year of sudden cardiac arrest. But according to the Heart Association, 50,000 cardiac victims could be saved each year by initiating a chain of survival. This includes an immediate call to 911, early CPR and defibrillation, and early advanced life support. The Congress has recently taken action to enhance our 911 system and encourage automated external defibrillators to be placed in public buildings. Encouraging more of our citizens to know CPR is clearly the next step as we continue strengthening this chain of survival. Teaching our kids this skill gives them the ability to assist cardiac victims, and will impress upon them how important it is to be prepared to help their fellow citizens in time of need. It also encourages the development of heart-healthy habits, diet, exercise, avoiding smoking. These are good things to learn at an early age. Mr. Chairman, this bill grew out of my experience as a school nurse in California where I began a CPR curriculum. I saw a need to teach students these life-saving skills. The strength of this amendment is that it encourages collaboration between public schools and community organizations such as the Red Cross and the Heart Association. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in very strong opposition to the Hyde amendment, and in support of the important family planning language in the bill. I want to commend my colleague from California, Barbara Lee, for her courageous work in the Committee that overturned the ``global gag rule.'' The gag rule is a medical and moral disaster. It simply defines common sense to prevent women in the developing world from having access to full and accurate information about their health care options. It is inexcusable for the United States to force community-based organizations to choose between desperately needed aid and their basic democratic rights. It is outrageous to reinstate a policy that will reverse global progress in the fights against unwanted pregnancies and the spread of AIDS. Let's stand up for women, children and families around the world. Let's stand up for fundamental democratic freedoms. Defeat the Hyde amendment.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I was not present on rollcall Nos. 88 and 89 due to a recent death of a close friend. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on rollcall No. 88 and ``nay'' on rollcall No. 89.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, due to recent death of a close friend I was unable to attend votes this week. Had I been here I would have made the following votes: Rollcall No. 85--``Yes,'' No. 86--``Yes,'' and No. 87--``No.''

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Dr. David K. Winter, President of Westmont College in Santa Barbara, who will soon retire. Though his impending departure is a great loss, I would like to congratulate David and thank him for 25 years of service and dedication to Westmont College and its surrounding community. David has a 25-year history of service to higher education. The list of organizations within American higher education that have benefited is a prestigious one. As president of Westmont, he has served on the boards of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, where he directed the board for three years. During his presidency, David has also provided leadership in connecting Westmont College to the local community. He is very active in local organizations, serving as the director of the Montecito Association, the Montecito Rotary Club, the Channel City Club, the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, and St. Vincent's school. He has also chaired the board of the Salvation Army Hospitality House, the Santa Barbara Industry Education Council, and the Santa Barbara County United Way Campaign, and served as vice chair of the Cottage Hospital board of directors. His honors are too long to list, but David has been named in a survey of higher education officials and scholars who study the college presidency, as one of the 100 most effective college leaders in the United States. In addition, David has received the Santa Barbara News- Press 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 1999 he was selected by the John Templeton Foundation as one of the 50 college presidents who have exercised leadership in character development. Most recently, David was honored with the ``Distinguished Community Service Award'' by the Anti-Defamation League and Santa Barbara B'nai B'rith Lodge. Clearly, David is a man of distinction. But his faithful dedication to education is perhaps his most important contribution. He aimed for excellence in all things, and the college has reached beyond its grasp to accomplish his vision. His plan was anchored in the premise that learning should be a lifelong pursuit. Accordingly, David has led the college under the theory that, in order to best serve its students, a college should arm its students with the skills, knowledge, and enthusiasm to continue learning long after they leave. On a personal note, David has been a good friend and someone with whom it has been a fine pleasure to work closely with over my years both as a Member of Congress and resident of the community. I look forward to continuing our friendship in the years ahead. Mr. Speaker, for his lifetime of service to education and commitment to community involvement, I recognize and salute Dr. David K. Winter and thank him for all his efforts on behalf of the entire Central Coast community. I am confident that David will remain a prominent figure in the community as he begins to enter a new phase in his life. We all owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude, and I wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay special tribute to a good friend, close advisor, and leader of the Santa Barbara community, Mr. William L. Gray. After twenty-eight years of service, Bill recently retired from Pacific Bell. Bill started his career at Pacific Bell in 1972 as a customer service representative. His commitment to serving the customers of his company and the members of his community has been Bill's trademark ever since. I have come to know Bill professionally over the past several years in his capacity as Director of Pacific Bell's External Affairs for Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Of course, Bill was an effective advocate for the positions of his company on legislation pending in Congress. But more important, Bill was a tireless proponent of the limitless potential that communications technology has to benefit our society. I learned a tremendous amount from Bill about the range of technology choices consumers can and should expect in the years ahead. His counsel was particularly helpful to me in my role as a member of the Committee on Commerce. Mr. Speaker, there are few institutions in Santa Barbara County that have not benefited from Bill Gray's substantial and generous community activism. He served on the Board of Directors of the Goleta Valley and Santa Barbara Region Chambers of Commerce, the Kiwanis club, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, Santa Barbara Partners in Education, Santa Barbara Family YMCA, the Red Cross, and the United Way. He has also contributed significantly to business and civic groups in Santa Maria, Lompoc, Carpinteria, and Solvang. Although Bill may have retired from his job, I know that he and his wife Cindy will not retire from their commitment to improving the quality of life in our community. I will miss working directly with Bill on issues involving Pacific Bell, but I know that I will continue to witness the wonderful contributions he makes to Santa Barbara County. I hope all of my colleagues will join me in congratulating Bill Gray on his lifetime of accomplishments and achievement.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, nearly half a century ago, after bravely serving his nation in the United States Navy, JD Butler became a carpenter and joined the Carpenters Union. Today, I rise to announce to my colleagues that JD has announced his retirement from the Carpenters Union, and to commend him for his outstanding services to his fellow carpenters and to our nation. I have known JD for several years in his capacity as Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Gold Coast District Council. In this capacity, JD was a passionate and effective spokesman, not only for the members of his union, but for working families across California and our country. Since coming to Congress, I have been guided by JD's wisdom and experience on a range of issues, from pension reform, to school construction, to workplace safety, to preserving the protections of Davis-Bacon. On these and other issues, JD is a tireless advocate for the rights of American workers. JD's success as a carpenter and labor leader is impressive. But more significant to me is the man's character. JD is a warm and compassionate man, a loving husband, father, and grandfather, and someone who has given so much of himself to better his community. Mr. Speaker, on May 5, people from across Central and Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona will gather in Palm Springs to pay tribute to JD's decades of service to the Carpenters Union. This is certain to be an extraordinary affair honoring an extraordinary man. I know my colleagues will join me in congratulating JD on his retirement and applauding him for a career of achievement and accomplishments.

Mrs. CAPPS

Mrs. CAPPS. Mr. Speaker, recently I published a speech in the Congressional Record celebrating the centennial of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Today I rise to recognize an extraordinary leader of the Cal Poly community, Carly Fitzsimons Baker. A graduate of St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana in 1961 and Cal Poly in 1985, Carly Baker has made countless contributions to the university and to the community of San Luis Obispo County for the past 22 years. While raising 4 children, Mrs. Baker has served as an unsung, yet remarkable partner to her husband, Warren, President of Cal Poly since 1979. During the past decades of exceptional growth and achievement of the university, Carly Baker has played a central role in the university's efforts to strengthen external relations. Carly's grace, good humor and attention to detail have been evident in every event for visiting dignitaries, university board members, community leaders, donors and the President's Cabinet. The welcoming environment she has created has nourished an expanding circle of university friendships, critical to Cal Poly's future. Carly Baker has made an enormous difference in our community's quality of life. She has distinguished herself with her contributions to the League of Women's Voters, the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Commission, the Women's Shelter, Children's Protective Services, the Children's Center Task Force, the Atascadero State Hospital Advisory Board, the Organization of State Hospital Advisory Boards, and the Performing Arts Center. Mr. Speaker, Carly Baker has admirers more numerous than she could ever imagine. Today, I speak for all of them to proudly recognize someone whose accomplishments and charm has affected so many in such a positive way. Cal Poly's centennial slogan is ``A Century of Achievement, A Tradition for the Future.'' Let the record show that Carly has played such a significant role in Cal Poly's remarkable achievements and will remain as one of the university's crown jewels well into the future. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in congratulating Carly Baker on more than two decades of notable achievements.