Dennis Cardoza

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, there were several misstatements of fact in the last statements that were made here on the floor by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. This bill actually does not provide $4 billion for legislative branch appropriations, as the gentleman indicated, but $3.1 billion for the legislative branch. The actual spending for fiscal year 2007, including the supplemental but not rescissions, this bill is a $122 million increase, which is 4 percent of that amount. If the $50 million rescission in the fiscal year 2007 CR is included, the bill is only $73 million, or 2.4 percent, above the prior year. We have provided in this measure fiscal responsibility, accountability, and security and life safety for the Members of Congress, for the general public and for our staff. I would also like to make a point that this bill represents a $276 million reduction from the Republican administration's request on this matter. Madam Speaker, three principles guided the development of the underlying legislation: fiscal responsibility, security and life safety, and accountability. This bill makes smart decisions with taxpayer dollars. It provides the necessary resources for Congress to carry out its constitutional oversight responsibilities, something we saw sorely lacking in the last Congress. It ensures the Capitol complex is safe and secure. Most importantly, it allows Members of Congress to represent and serve our constituents in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and on the previous question.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Texas (Mr. Sessions).

Mr. CARDOZA. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Mr. CARDOZA. The gentleman is correct. I will yield him additional time to respond.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, at this point I would like just to yield briefly to our distinguished chairwoman, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, to respond.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I would just like to remind my friend, the gentleman from California, that I, in fact, did yield to him earlier in the debate for quite some period of time and let him speak on my time prior. So, with that, I think we have, in fact, worked on a bipartisan basis. I am also willing to work and discuss with my colleagues. But, in fact, as the gentleman said, this legislative branch appropriations bill is one where you can, in fact, have shenanigans, or I think his word was ``demagoguery,'' and, in fact, we have a structured rule so that we limit that. We are, in fact, trying to have the most open process. I think we have succeeded in doing a better job than happened in the prior Congresses. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. I would just like to thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Wamp) for his hard work on the bill. Clearly he and our chairwoman, Ms. Wasserman Schultz of Florida, have done a good job working together on a bipartisan basis to craft a bill that will work for Congress and work for the American people. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlelady from New York for her work with me on this. Mr. Chairman, by way of brief background, there is a strong and vibrant minority community of Christians in Iraq. Some the oldest Christians in the world are these various sects: The Assyrian Church of the East, the Assyrian Church of the East Ancient, the Assyrian Evangelical, the Syriac Orthodox, the Syriac Catholic, the Coptic Church, the Armenian Catholic, the Armenian Evangelical, the Armenian Orthodox, and the Chaldean have their origins in Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries such as Iran, Turkey and Syria. Like other ethnic minorities residing in the Middle East, throughout their history these various sects have been used as pawns by major powers in the region. Unfortunately, their Christian faith has made them targets and they frequently have been subjected to harassment and violence throughout the region. In particular, the regime of Saddam Hussein was particularly brutal in their treatment of Christians. Because of their religion and because the majority of Christians opposed Saddam's regime, many of their leaders were assassinated and subjected to arbitrary detention. The war in Iraq exacerbated this situation and further endangers the faith of this group. It is estimated that as many as 40,000 Iraqi Christians, 5 percent of the faithful, have left the country since the war has begun. While Iraqi Christians make up just 3 percent of the overall population, reports are that Christians make up more than 20 percent of the refugee exodus to Syria, and there are mounting fears that if Iraq becomes an Islamic theocracy, the exodus will accelerate. My congressional district, the 18th District of California, happens to be home to a large Assyrian population. I have heard the horror stories from some in my district, and I am committed to ensuring that the interests of the Assyrians and the broader Christian community are well protected in the new Iraq. I have taken numerous steps to protect the rights of the minority. In particular I have written a letter on the subject to Secretary Rice and have implored her to use all means available to ensure that the rights of this group are respected. To further enhance our ability to protect these people, it is my understanding that there is report language in this bill which urges that $10 million in the recently enacted supplemental be targeted towards helping the Christian community in Iraq. I want to work with the chairwoman and the rest of the members of the committee to ensure that this money goes for its intended purpose of protecting this community and does not get diverted to other issues.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for her help on this issue and for her agreement to work towards ensuring that the money goes to alleviate the suffering of the Christian community in Iraq. This community has lived in this part of the world for over 1,000 years, and we must do our part to ensure that they live there for 1,000 more.

Mr. CARDOZA. If the gentleman would yield briefly, I would say I did look for the gentleman on the floor yesterday as well, but we must have missed each other in our search. I thank the gentleman for his comments in the Rules Committee where I raised this issue initially. I look forward to working with the gentleman in the future. I will look for opportunities, together we will look for opportunities, to send a continuing message that this population is important, not just to the Middle East, but to this country as well, and it is important for us to assist and invest in this community.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, it is with the greatest pleasure that I rise today to honor a shepherd of California's Central Valley, Carolyn Lott. I can think of no one person who has worked harder for their community and on a wider range of issues than Carolyn. As she prepares to retire from years of dedicated service, I'd like to share a little about my good friend. Carolyn Lott has been a guiding light on the valley's path of social and economic growth. A champion of the Highway 99 Corridor, Carolyn has ensured much needed State capital be directed to this main transportation artery through the Central Valley. Her latest position as Senior Program Manager for the Great Valley Center in Modesto, California has allowed her to continue promoting this agenda, as well as incorporate it into a blueprint plan for the region. In addition to her responsibilities with this position, she also manages the project work within New Valley Connexions, a program that focuses on helping to strengthen and diversify the regional economy of the Central Valley by advancing the use of new technologies and positioning the region to be more competitive in the 21st century. Prior to Carolyn's current position, she was affiliated with the Great Valley Center as a consultant coordinating a nine-county regional effort to organize sectors of the San Joaquin Valley around development of voluntary measures to help improve air quality. She successfully guided the development of 14 sectors, corresponding working groups, a draft air quality improvement plan, and an inaugural summit with more than 400 attendees. Additionally, through both local efforts and a trip to Washington, DC, congressional assistance for the effort was obtained both through endorsement of the project and actual funding commitments. Through the Great Valley Center, Carolyn continued her affiliation with the Center for Collaborative Policy in Sacramento, California. CCP is a joint program of California State University, Sacramento and McGeorge School of Law and offers facilitation for public policy development. Carolyn has completed the sixth year of contract services providing facilitation to the Department of Water Resources for San Joaquin County. During her tenure, the county and a joint powers authority have moved from a stalemate position to recipients of State funding for water supply projects and are currently developing an integrated regional water management plan to assure water reliability and to help restore the significantly depleted underground aquifer. Also with CCP, Carolyn was both project manager and facilitator for the Smart Growth Local Elected Officials Roundtables, a joint project of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, the California State Association of Counties, the Local Government Commission, and the League of California Cities. Prior to her work as a facilitator and program manager, Carolyn (Ratto) Lott was a councilmember in Turlock, California. During this time she was actively involved in numerous policy development activities through both the League of California Cities and the National League of Cities. She played a leadership role as president of the LCC, board of directors member for both organizations, and chair of numerous committees and special projects, including chairing the National League of Cities Leadership Training Council. She has also chaired the California Cities, Counties, and Schools State Partnership and still serves on their board of directors, and served as a Governor's appointee on the Commission for Local Governance in the 21st Century. She has completed a decade of service on the Turlock Chamber of Commerce Leadership Steering Committee and has spent more than half a decade as an advisory board member for California State University, Stanislaus. She also completed three terms as a board member for Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock. Currently she serves as an advisory committee member of the Collaborative Governance Initiative, part of the League of California Cities' Institute for Local Government, as a board member for the California Budget Project, and on the Advisory Committee for the College of Business Administration, California State University, Stanislaus. Carolyn's efforts on behalf of the Central Valley have left an indelible mark. There is no doubt that future generations will benefit greatly because of Carolyn's foresight and commonsense plans of action. As she prepares to make more time for herself and her husband, Lonald, I trust she will continue to be a great example to all aspiring stewards of our community.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Unfortunately, recent scandals have somewhat tarnished the reputation of Congress and stretched the bonds of trust between the public and their government. My amendment is quite simple and will help to restore that bond between public officials and the people that we represent. My amendment gives Federal judges discretion to increase criminal sentences in cases where public confidence in government has been violated. If a public official has been convicted of bribery, fraud, extortion, or theft of public funds greater than $10,000, a sentencing judge has within his discretion to double the length of the sentence up to 2 years for those public officials convicted of ethics violations. The 110th Congress has already taken steps to ensure that public officials adhere to the highest ethical standards and are more accountable for their actions. Banning meals, restricting congressional travel, and tightening the lobbying rules are all important first steps that we have already taken. However, more needs to be done. With public faith in government officials weakened by scandals, we need to ensure that those who break these laws are punished appropriately. Beyond breaking the law, the perpetrators of these crimes violate the public trust by defying their fiduciary responsibility to our Constitution. For government to function effectively, the public must be able to trust the people making the decisions, and as public officials, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard. This amendment signals that breaches of the public trust will not be condoned. I hope my colleagues will support this amendment and join me in providing a deterrent to illegal behavior in the future and helping rebuild public trust in government officials. Madam Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Michigan, the distinguished Chair. I appreciate his comments. I think it's a worthy amendment, and I ask the House to support it. Madam Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arkansas, and I appreciate him yielding. Today I rise because on Monday I reintroduced a bill the Blue Dogs had endorsed last year, H.R. 2402, the Public Official Accountability Act. The Blue Dogs just aren't fiscally responsible, Mr. Speaker, but we're responsible in a number of other ways, and one is accountability of the Members of this institution to make sure that we uphold the public trust. H.R. 2402 gives judges the discretion to increase the sentence for public officials convicted of certain enumerated crimes that violate the public trust. If a public official has been convicted of bribery, fraud, extortion or theft of public funds greater than $10,000, a sentencing judge should have the discretion to double the length of a sentence up to 2 years for those public officials convicted of such ethical violations. Unfortunately, recent scandals have somewhat tarnished the reputation of this great institution and have stretched the bonds of trust between the public and their government. This bill signals that breaches of the public trust will not be condoned and, therefore, will help to restore the bonds of trust that have been frayed. The 110th Congress has already taken steps to ensure that public officials adhere to the highest ethical standards and are more accountable for their actions. Banning meals, constricting congressional travel, and tightening the lobbying rules are all important first steps that have already been taken; however, much more needs to be done. It will take a concerted effort and some time to overcome the spate of negative examples of public officials abusing the trust conferred upon them. For government to function effectively, the public must be able to trust the people making decisions in this institution. My bill will help restore that bond of trust between public officials and the people they represent. By holding ourselves to the highest ethical standards, we are making clear that we have heard the message of the people who are demanding honesty and accountability of their leaders. I urge my colleagues to support me in this effort and to become cosponsors of my bill. A number of Members have already signed on, and I hope the rest of my colleagues will join them. Let's pass this bill and restore the faith that our constituents have in their public institutions. As we're talking about accountability, you've raised the Blue Dog Coalition debt poster that we have in front of our offices. I'm disturbed, as we always are, that every single day that poster goes up. We've done a lot of work as Blue Dogs to restore accountability in the fiscal side. We have put into the House rules PAYGO rules that say you have to pay as you go. We need to work on statutory PAYGO yet some more. There's some more things that we need to do. We're not finished with this, but clearly we have been heard in this House, and we are changing the culture. This bill that I've brought forward today during our Blue Dog hour will also change the culture. It will send an important message that don't commit the crime if you can't do the time. We say that to common burglars and drug offenders all throughout our society. We also should say it to those same common criminals that perpetrate their crimes in the halls of Congress. So, today, I stand with my Blue Dog colleagues, as we always do during this Blue Dog hour, to ask for accountability in this Congress, accountability in our country, accountability with our finances. I'm just so proud to be a member of this organization. Thank you for yielding to me, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to get this bill inserted into the ethics bill that's going through the House this week or as a stand-alone measure later in the Congress.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I'd like to allow Mr. Weller to speak next.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Resolution 263, a resolution recognizing May, this month, as the National Foster Care Month. I want to begin my statement today by thanking subcommittee chairman, Mr. McDermott from Washington, for his outstanding support and work with us to bring this resolution to the floor. Chairman McDermott has dedicated virtually his entire life to the work of helping children that have been disadvantaged, and he deserves great praise and thanks for the hard work he continues to do in this Congress. I also want to recognize Mr. Weller for cooperating with us today in bringing this resolution to the floor, and also for his thoughtful comments that he just prepared. However, this resolution has a long and tortuous path to reaching the floor today. My staff's been working tirelessly with both the majority and the minority staffs of the Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees. Before this bill was able to reach the floor under suspension, I was forced to make substantive changes which severely, in my opinion, gut the force of this resolution. Specifically, my original resolution, drawing upon the recommendations of the respected Pew Charitable Trust, made clear that we need more funds for the CASA Program, that we need more funds to better ensure that we have trained personnel working with foster children, and that we provide more resources to State agencies that deal with foster children. In the interest of comity, I was forced to withdraw all these recommendations. Unfortunately, while of course I still support the thrust of the current resolution, without sufficient resources we will never fully tackle this problem. I'd also like to just point out, and it's important history for us all to remember, that in the previous majority in the last Congress, we took, in my mind, unconscionable measures to reduce the funding to foster children. On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The CBO estimates that this measure cut funds of $1.3 billion over 10 years to foster care and $2.1 billion over 10 years to Medicaid that would affect these children. I stood up on the House floor on that day in December when it was being debated in this institution and fought against those cuts. I, at that time, called it ``Scroogenomics,'' because we were cutting the money for foster kids right before the Christmas holiday. And those concerns went for nought. The bill was passed anyway and signed into law, and foster kids continue to suffer because of that act. I won't belabor the point too much at this point because I really want to focus on the needs today. But, Madam Speaker, I speak passionately about foster children because I have a very personal interest in this issue. Seven years ago I adopted two foster children. In fact, Madam Speaker, as an aside, I'm doing this resolution because they asked me to do it today. Since then, I have advocated on their behalf and on the behalf of the adoption of foster children in the California State Assembly and now here in Congress. The need is tremendous and the statistics are sobering. It is estimated that there are 800,000 children in foster care at some point during any given year. Moreover, children of color are disproportionately represented in foster care. African American children make up about 16 percent of the Nation's children, but make up 35 percent of the children in foster care. These children enter foster care at higher rates and remain in care longer, for longer periods than white children. Too many children in foster care sit waiting for permanent families. There are about 118,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted, and numerous barriers keep them in limbo. Children often bounce from one system to another, from child welfare to juvenile justice to mental health as their needs intensify. Each year, about 20,000 children age out of the foster care system without ever being adopted, placed with grandparents or any other supportive adult. Oftentimes, these children have no connection whatsoever to any adult. Several studies released in 2005 documented the special challenges facing these youths, especially in the area of mental health, education and employment. They are especially poorly prepared to be self- sufficient young adults. These children are waiting. Speaking from personal experience, there is no greater joy in life than helping a child. My wife and I can attest to this every day. Every child, no matter what their situation that they may be born to, deserves a chance to be raised in a stable and loving home. Innocent children should not be forced to bear the mistakes of their parents. We have a moral obligation to ensure that these children, no matter what background they come from, have a shot that is equal to the shot that every American has to the American dream. This is a big problem that will require bold solutions. In order to save the next generation of children, we must rededicate ourselves to their welfare and to pledge to do whatever is necessary to nurture and protect them. This resolution, by highlighting attention to their problems, is a necessary first step. But, Madam Speaker, other dramatic actions need to be taken. That is why I have introduced legislation to expand Medicaid coverage to children who age out of the foster care system, and I'm considering legislation to ensure that every foster child has a CASA representative, a court-appointed special advocate, the same type of court-appointed special advocate that saved my children. These are urgent problems. They require bold solutions. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. General Leave

Mr. CARDOZA. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Weller. I know he cares passionately about these children, and while we sometimes disagree on the specifics, I know that all Members in this institution care passionately about foster children. But the time to act is now. We need to do more to work on behalf of these children to eliminate the barriers that prohibit them from leading positive lives in society. We must extend health care coverage to these young people until the age of 21. It's currently a voluntary program. Thirty-three States in this country do not offer health care all the way to the age of majority. We must, in fact, do more. And it is imperative. And frankly, if we can keep these young people out of a life of crime, out of falling into trouble, assisting them into becoming productive citizens, instead of the current situation where nearly 50 percent of children who age out of the foster care system end up homeless after 1 year, we can do better for our citizens and we can, frankly, probably save money to the taxpayers of the United States. So, Madam Speaker, I urge adoption of this resolution. I urge my colleagues here today within earshot of my voice to redouble their efforts in helping this population of our citizenry that has become disadvantaged.

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 323, I inserted by vote card but was not recorded. My intention was to vote ``yes.'' Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would just like to respond to the gentleman and my good friend from Florida who serves with me on the Rules Committee. I would like to remind him that while it is true that no Republican amendments by themselves were in order, there certainly was made in order Ranking Member Mr. Chabot's suggested return of amendments the way it was in the Small Business Committee. He paired with Congresswoman Bean of Illinois, with Congressman Shuler of North Carolina and with Mr. Sestak of Pennsylvania in coauthoring three amendments that were, in fact, made in order. So to say that no Republican suggestions were made in order was simply not totally accurate. In fact, Mr. Speaker, three Democratic amendments and four Republican amendments were not made in order, but a significant number of them are going to be considered today. We believe that this is, in fact, a very good use of the time of the Members of this House. The Committee on Government Reform is the watchdog committee for this House. They had some issues that they wanted to clarify in the legislation, and I think that the Rules Committee felt that their suggestions had merit in at least two cases. I also want to make the point, Mr. Speaker, that this legislation is supported by the NFIB, the National Federation of Independent Business; the Women's Chamber of Commerce; the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; the Women Impacting Public Policy; the National Small Business Association; and the Associated General Contractors of America. Mr. Speaker, I have one additional speaker who requests some time who is not yet here, and so I reserve my time.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 383.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 383 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Lincoln Diaz- Balart). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. General Leave

Mr. CARDOZA

Mr. CARDOZA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New York and also the gentleman from Texas for their support. This is an important amendment. It needs to state clearly, this bill needs to state clearly that the Congress supports finding a resolution to interoperability conflicts that we have been besieged with. This is a very specific problem, as outlined in the FEMA report. I thank Chairman Dingell and Chairman Thompson for both appearing before my constituents and hearing this problem and also agreeing to shepherd this resolution through the House. I encourage adoption of my amendment. Mr. DOYLE, Madam Chairman, My colleagues who were with us last year, and frankly, I'm glad we have so many new faces, but my colleagues who were with us last year will recall my commitment to protecting local telecommunications resources and making sure decisions are made where they are best made. That's why I'm glad to talk about this important issue. Spectrum itself is nearly infinite. But in terms of what's usable, what's worth investing in is much more limited. Which is why we must challenge everyone who uses our airwaves to do so in the most efficient way possible. And that's why efforts to make public safety's communications interoperable, redundant and more effective are so critical to our Nation's first responders, and ultimately the American public. The days when government hands money over to people who don't understand technology to make choices between inefficient and expensive dead-end radios should be long gone. My time is short, but we must take the best of what we have learned from the commercial space like interoperability and cost-effective technology and merge it with the best of public safety's communications legacy such as rock-solid dependability. By passing this amendment today, Congress will be saying that we support innovative, forward-looking, technologically-neutral solutions, including IP-Based solutions. And I believe we are saying that the Department of Homeland Security should follow all of the recommendations that the Government Accountability Office made earlier this year, and especially the one that the administration rejected--that first responders need to have the flexibility to take advantage of technological innovations that could advance the state of interoperability. We need accountability and measurable goals from any and all programs that fund interoperability so that we can ensure that the money is being spent wisely. The Department of Homeland Security has told us we need to wait 15 years to get interoperability--it's clear to me that we need to get interoperable communications by any means necessary, even if it means relying on expertise outside Homeland Security and within other agencies like the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.