Danny Davis

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the 57th year of the National School Lunch Program, which is dedicated to the health and well being of our Nation's children. National School Lunch Week commenced on October 13 and will run until October 17th. The National School Lunch Program has been joined through the years by several excellent child-feeding programs, such as: School Breakfast, Food Stamp, Child and Adult Care, Emergency Food Assistance and Summer Nutrition Programs, among others, and there is definitely a need to continue these programs in order to inspire nutrition education and awareness in our children. President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act on June 4, 1946, which authorized the National School Lunch Program, which is the oldest and largest of child nutrition programs. The legislation came in response to claims that many American men had been rejected for World War II military service because of diet-related health problems. The Federally assisted meal program was established as ``a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation's children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities.'' To continue the spirit of the program, in 1998, Congress expanded the National School Lunch Program to include reimbursement for snacks served to children in after school educational and enrichment programs for children through the age of 18. In this day and age, we are even more focused on providing nutritious, well-balanced, low-cost or free meals for our young boys and girls. The Program contributes to the development of healthy eating habits by providing the children with no more than 30 percent calories from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. All children can take advantage of this program, but if the child comes from a family with an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty level, that child is eligible for free meals. With about 57 percent of children receiving free or reduced price lunches, the National School Lunch Program often times provides the most nutritious meal or the only meal that some children receive in a day. We celebrate another year of this Program because it has helped combat the growing hunger and poverty levels among children in our country. According to the Food Research and Action Center, National School Lunch Program has grown from about 7.1 million children participating in 1947 to over 27.2 million in the 2001-2002 school year. The program operates in more than 99,800 public and non-profit private schools and residential childcare institutions, with over 187 billion lunches having been served. National School Lunch Program is just one step in developing our children into the prosperous, successful individuals we want them to become. The Program's Team Nutrition Initiative focuses on teaching and motivating children to make food choices that enhance their energy, growth, and potential. In addition, the Program is vitally important to achieving our educational goals. Poorly fed children have more difficulty learning, are less attentive in class, and suffer more chronic problems, such as absenteeism and tardiness, than children who are properly nourished. By making nutritious meals available to all school children, the National School Lunch Program will help us ensure that we leave no child behind. According to the Food Research and Action Center, proper nutrition improves a child's behavior, school performance, and overall cognitive development. All in all, properly nourished children more actively participate in the education experience, which benefits them, their fellow students, and the entire school community. Studies have shown what we already have known--that healthy school meals play a critical and positive role in students' development and learning process. Unfortunately, we have a double-sided battle to fight, with regards to mal-nourishment and obesity. A peer- reviewed study conducted by academic researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, found that girls in food insecure households had a significantly lower risk of being overweight if they participated in the National School Lunch Program. The findings suggest that participation in these Federal child nutrition programs can combat our growing problems with obesity in children. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2000, 10.5 percent of all U.S. households, representing 20 million adults and 13 million children, were ``food insecure'' because of lack of resources. In 2001, Illinois reported 9.2 percent of households are food insecure, which represents 3,239,229 children under the age of 18. Thanks to the National School Lunch Program, there are over 4,446 schools participating in Illinois, with over 1,083,548 students that benefits from it. Specifically in Chicago Public Schools, over 350,000 students are registered in the Program. If President Truman found this to be important to our national security in 1946, we should continue his vision in 2003 by continuing to support National School Lunches. As the Committee on Education and the Workforce, of which I serve, continues to examine this program during its reauthorization, I will continue to ensure that good nutrition is promoted among our children, thus helping them to become healthier, positive, citizens within our country.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Dorothy Height is a steadfast pioneer of women's rights and racial justice for people of color. She has set an example of what can be achieved through commitment and group activism. As the fourth elected president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Height led a crusade for justice for Black women. To help strengthen the Black family, Height conceived of and organized the Black Family Reunion Celebration which has been held here in Washington, D.C. since 1986. Under the leadership of Ms. Height, the NCNW achieved tax exempt status; raised funds from thousands of women in support of erecting a statue of Mary McLeod Bethune (NCNW's founder) in a federal park; developed several model programs to combat teenage pregnancy and address hunger in rural areas; and established the Bethune Museum and Archives for Black women, the first institution devoted to Black women's history. She has been instrumental in the initiation of NCNW sponsored food, childcare, housing and career educational programs. No stranger to political activism, in the 1960's, Height called on NCNW to sponsor ``Wednesdays in Mississippi'' when interracial groups of women would help out at Freedom schools and conduct voter registration drives in the North and voter registration in the South. She worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Roy Wilkins to prevent lynching, desegregate the Armed Forces, reform the criminal justice system, and provide equal access to public accommodations. Dr. Dorothy Irene Height has a long legacy as a leader in the struggle for equality and human rights. She through words and deeds have proven her distinguished service to humanity and her many contributions for equality, social justice and human rights for all peoples. She is to be commended for her efforts. I encouraged all my colleagues to support H.R. 1828 to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Dorothy Height in recognition of her many contributions to the nation.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 1828 as a part of my hope and commitment to finding a just, permanent, democratic, prompt, non-military conclusion to our occupation of Iraq and as part of my hope and commitment to doggedly pursue a roadmap to peace, security and justice for both the people of Israel and the people of Palestine. There is no magic bullet, no simple solution to bringing an end to terrorism. What we do know is we cannot win alone, that we must find the means to enlist every nation as an ally. Our record, to date, in this regard can only be characterized as poor. The President has reported that the territory of Syria has been, and is being, used as a base by certain terrorist organizations. This bill gives the President additional diplomatic and economic leverage in the war on terror. Our goal is to deny sanctuary to terrorist who may be using the territory of Syria. Our aim is to become partners with Syria in the war on terror, not to make Syria an enemy, not to punish the Syrian people. We trust that these new options will offer constructive new possibilities and potential to American diplomacy and that these new powers will be used wisely and constructively.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer condolences to the family of my good friend Carl D. Ashley. Carl was indeed a role model a good provider, a good husband, a good father, grandfather, uncle, a good friend to all of those who needed a friend, a good citizen and a great American. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to speaker after speaker at the funeral testify and extol the virtues of Carl, I sat in amazement, young lawyers, doctors and other successful young people talked about the impact Carl had on their lives. He was not a professional teacher and yet he taught, he was not a psychologist and yet he gave counsel, he was not a clergyman and yet he preached a great gospel. He was a lover of people and he displayed that love each and every day of his life. I met Carl in the early 1960's when we both worked at the post office, a job from which Carl retired. While we did not see each other on a regular basis our friendship maintained itself and bloomed. Carl married a great lady and they were able to raise a wonderful family, taught to achieve, accomplish and to be actively engaged in all aspects of life, including politics, Carl was a judge of election and took his politics seriously. I extend heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Carl D. Ashley and thank God for having been able to know him and to see firsthand his efforts to help make the world a better place in which to live. Carl served his country in Vietnam and continued to serve until his death. May his soul rest in peace.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. I rise in favor of the Obey substitute and in opposition to the President's $87 billion appropriation request for Iraq. I am not in opposition because it has been proposed by the Commander in Chief. I am not in opposition because I do not think that we should not help rebuild Iraq. We tore it down; therefore, we should help to build it back. I am not in opposition because some major companies are going to make a lot of money. Bechtel and Halliburton should be able to make money. Some people call it profiteering, but since it was supposedly for Iraq, then local Iraqi businesses and contractors should also be able to make money. Small businesses, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses and others should be able to provide services and make some of the money. I am, however, opposed because all of the spending that will result from this $86.9 billion appropriation will be added to the public debt, the debt that would not be necessary if we were operating with rational tax and trade policies. I unequivocally support our troops, and I would love to vote for this supplemental to help rebuild Iraq, but I also would love to vote for health care for the millions who are uninsured. I would love to vote for affordable housing for millions who live in squalor. I would love to vote for the thousands and millions of poor children who need Head Start and cannot get it. I would love to vote for the thousands of young men and women in central city communities all over America who cannot find jobs and stand on the corners hollering crack and blow, pills and thrills and end up in prison for practically all of their lives. So, Mr. Chairman, I support our soldiers, but I cannot vote a $27 billion blank check to rebuild Iraq and nothing to rebuild the south and west sides of Chicago, Maywood, Ford Heights and other disadvantaged communities all over America. We need a more balanced approach to priority spending. I support the Obey substitute and oppose the President's request.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday I attended a funeral in my community, a funeral of an outstanding American, one who spent time in Vietnam, who served his country, but then who came back and was a quiet, gentle man. He raised a great family, served as an election judge, was actively involved in helping others. And I simply express condolences to the family of my good friend Carl D. Ashley, who gave his life in the service of others. A great American, great humanitarian.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu to comfortable circumstances in Macedonia, Yugoslavia in 1910. She joined the Sisters of Loreto at the tender age of eighteen, taking the name ``Teresa'' after St. Teresa of Lesiux, patroness of the Missionaries. It would turn out to be a highly appropriate selection of names. According to legend, Mother Teresa discovered a dying woman lying in front of a Calcutta hospital in 1948. She stayed to comfort the woman as she died, an experience which marked a turning point in her life. The shattering experience of staying by the side of this forgotten, poverty stricken women left to die in the street inspired Mother Teresa to devote her life and her Mission to serving the poor. She founded an order of nuns called Missionaries of Charity. Mother Teresa did not just address herself to the poor, she lived among them, became part of their community, made their lot, her lot. For over half a century Mother Teresa devoted herself to that great cause. She won the Nobel Prize in 1979 and was the recipient of countless other honors and notices. None of the accolades changed her lifestyle or her commitment. Missionaries of Charity grew from a dozen sisters to over 3,000 sisters in more than 500 missions in more than 100 countries. Mother Teresa became a symbol of compassion and inclusion, of the struggle to address the needs of the poor, to provide every human, regardless of circumstances a basic dignity. It is appropriate that the beatification of Mother Teresa will take place on October 19, 2003. It is another important step in the revered path to sainthood. The life of Mother Teresa has become a symbol for all of us, a message that the great mass of poor people on this earth should no longer be invisible. Her legacy is one that we could all do well to emulate and we can only trust that legacy will continue to find a place in the hearts of all humankind.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. I want to commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) for the leadership that they have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate in this area. As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus' Child Welfare Brain Trust, and also coming from a community where I have a very active advisory committee on child welfare issues, and also coming from a community where there is one of the greatest needs for adoption that exists in the country, much of the inner city of Chicago, this legislation is tremendously important. The idea of providing an opportunity for children who could not experience family life, to give them the opportunity to have the well- being, the nurturing of a family rather than being institutionalized or as a ward of the State is of tremendous value. I simply want to add my voice in support of it. Again, I commend the gentlemen for their strong leadership and the articulation of a need that exists.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud) for yielding me time. I also want to commend the chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the gentleman from New Jersey (Chairman Smith), and the ranking member, my good friend and neighbor, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), for the outstanding leadership that they continue to provide as we try and make sure that our veterans receive the benefits that they are indeed due. I represent a district that has a number of very core veterans' facilities. I have three Veterans' Administration hospitals in my district, as well as a residence. Unfortunately, one is slated to be closed. But we have a large number of veterans who are always seeking services. Particularly, I want to mention the addition of cirrhosis of the liver to the list of service-connected disabilities, which I think is so important, and also the provision of services for the Filipino scouts. I have a very active Filipino community and group of individuals who lobby me consistently about the role that the Filipinos played in giving assistance to this country. They deserve to, in fact, be included, and I am just simply delighted to see those additions. So, again, I want to commend the Committee on Veterans' Affairs under the leadership of Chairman Smith and the ranking member, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), for the services that they provide to all of us as we provide benefits to our veterans, who have given so much to our country.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding and also commend her for her tremendous leadership. I also want to commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), my good friend, for introducing this legislation. I think it is so timely and so important. I grew up during the era of trains, and I can remember being a small child and seeing trains zip by. I was also part of what we call the Great Migration, and that is people who lived in the area of the country where I lived, in the south, in Arkansas, migrating to the Midwest, to the north, going west to California. I also remember the cultural experiences that people had with trains. Writers and blues singers: ``C.C. Rider, See What You Have Done''; ``Take the A Train''; ``The Wabash Special''; ``The Chattanooga Choo Choo: Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo.'' So trains were a great part of the history and development and the culture of this country, and for the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) to capture that in terms of a Railroad Hall of Fame I think is indeed commendable. I simply voice my support for it; and once again, it indicates what a great Nation the United States of America is, and all of the different entities that have played a part in its development. As a student of history, I say to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) I commend him for this legislation, I strongly support it.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H.R. 2452, the bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 339 Hicksville Road in Bethpage, New York, as the Brian C. Hickey Post Office Building. As a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am honored to join my colleague in consideration of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2452 was sponsored by the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) on June 12, 2003. This measure has met the committee cosponsorship policy and has the support of the entire New York delegation. Mr. Speaker, Brian Hickey, a 20-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, was fire captain of Rescue 4, an elite group based in Woodside, Queens, New York. On September 11, 2001, Brian was filling in for a Rescue 3 captain when an emergency signal was sent to the men of Rescue 3 from the Bronx to the World Trade Center minutes after a plane hit the north tower. None of the eight men in the company survived. Mr. Hickey was not formally identified until June of this year when a bone fragment was identified as belonging to him. Prior to that, the only item found 2 years ago at Ground Zero was Brian's battered New York City Fire Department helmet. Who was Brian Hickey? Well, according to Fire Commissioner Bill Ura, a close friend and colleague, Brian was a 27-year member of the Bethpage Fire District. A lifelong resident of Bethpage, Brian served as chief officer of the Nassau County Fireman's Training Center and as an elected official of the Bethpage Volunteer Fire District. He was noted as being a loving father, husband, and son. Brian was doing what he was trained to do on September 11, 2001, and that is respond to major fires, rescuing his firefighting colleagues and the public from harm. Captain Hickey's death on 9-11 was especially tragic because he had just returned to duty after barely escaping death a month earlier when an explosion occurred and he was blown out of a building in Queens, New York. He survived, but three of his men died. As I understand it, Brian Hickey, after recuperating from his injuries, returned to work on Wednesday, September 5, 2001, and perished at the World Trade Center on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Mr. Speaker, I extend my profound sympathies to the family and friends of Captain Brian Hickey and commend my colleague for seeking to honor the life and work of a firefighter who died in the line of duty. Brian Hickey really represented the best of what America has been and what America continues to be, that is, made up of ordinary people who are willing to do extraordinary things when situations and circumstances call for them. So I would urge swift passage of this legislation as we honor the life and the legacy now of Brian Hickey. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of H. Con. Res. 71, recognizing the importance of Ralph Bunche, introduced by the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel). Mr. Speaker, American diplomat and winner of the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize, Ralph Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan, on August 7, 1904. His father, Fred Bunche, was a barber in a shop having an all-white clientele, and his mother, Olive Johnson Bunche, was an amateur musician. When Ralph Bunche was 12 years old his parents died, and he was raised by his grandmother, Ms. Nana Johnson, who had been born into slavery. Ralph Bunche was valedictorian of his graduating class at Jefferson High School in Los Angeles where he had been a debater and well-rounded athlete. While studying at the University of California at Los Angeles, he supported himself with an athletic scholarship, which paid for his collegiate expenses, and a janitorial job, which paid for his personal expenses. With a scholarship granted by Harvard University and a fund of a $1,000 raised by the black community of Los Angeles, Ralph Bunche began his graduate studies in political science. In the time between earning his masters and doctorate degrees in government and international relations at Harvard University, he established a department of political science at Howard University in 1928. During that time, he also traveled through French West Africa on a Rosenwald field fellowship, which enabled him to conduct research in Africa for a dissertation comparing French rule in Togoland and Dahomey. He completed his work with such distinction that he was awarded the Toppan Prize for outstanding research in social studies. Between 1938 and 1940, he collaborated with Swedish sociologist Gunnar Mydral on the monumental study of U.S. race relations published as An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy. The study is renowned for presenting the theory that poverty breeds poverty. During World War II, Ralph Bunche worked for the War Department and the State Department. Toward the end of the war, he played an important role in preliminary planning for the United Nations, the organization he served for the rest of his career. After the chief mediator between the warring factions in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, was assassinated, Bunche, then an aide on a special U.N. committee to negotiate an end to the first Arab-Israeli War, was thrust into a leading role in the process. His successful negotiation of a 1949 truce between the parties earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950. In the last decade of his life, he became an increasingly vocal supporter of the civil rights movement in the United States, participating in the 1965 civil rights marches in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. Ralph Bunche died on December 9, 1971, in New York City, shortly after retiring as Undersecretary General of the United Nations. H. Con. Res. 71 recognizes the importance of Ralph Bunche and the enduring legacy that he has left as a skillful negotiator and an example of what diplomacy can provide and generate when adroitly used. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to urge swift passage of this resolution.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first of all, let me commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Platts) for introducing this important resolution. Cancer of the pancreas stands out as a highly lethal disease, with its victims facing the poorest of all likelihood of survival among all of those surviving major malignancies. It accounts for only 2 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers in the United States each year but 5 percent of all cancer deaths. It is the fifth leading cause of cancer- related mortality in the United States, with an estimated 30,300 deaths attributed to this disease in 2002. Most pancreatic cancers arise from the ductal cells of the pancreas. The pancreas, an organ situated deep in the abdominal cavity, serves several critical functions. It produces enzymes that are delivered to the small intestines to aid in the digestion of food, and it controls sugar levels in the body. This disease is often far advanced by the time symptoms occur and a diagnosis established. As indicated by 5-year survival rates of less than 5 percent, successful treatment is rare. Men have a higher incidence in mortality rate of pancreatic cancer than women in each racial and ethnic group. Black men and women have incidences and mortality rates that are 50 percent higher than the rates for non-blacks or for Caucasians in this country. Rates for Hispanics and the Asian American groups are generally lower than that of whites. Cigarette smoking has been identified consistently as an important risk factor for cancer of the pancreas. Other risk factors which have been suggested but not confirmed include coffee drinking and high fat diets. The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is dedicated to focusing national attention on the need to find a cure for pancreatic cancer, and I support this resolution wholeheartedly and Pan CAN's efforts to designate November as Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. Again, I commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania for introducing this resolution, urge its swift adoption. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mental Health Awareness Week. With the Census Bureau reporting yesterday that the number of people without health insurance shot up last year by 2.4 million, the largest increase in a decade, raising the total to 43.6 million, showing there is no hiding that our Nation is facing a health crisis. The reason behind this remarkable increase has been blamed on soaring health costs and many workers losing coverage provided by their employers. Although it is usually a misconception that those who are uninsured are also unemployed, the number of full-time workers without health insurance rose by 897,000 last year, to 19.9 million. Among people living in poverty, 49 percent of those worked full-time were uninsured. Beside a lack of information and education about mental illness, being uninsured plays a significant role on whether an individual reaches out for help or even receives treatment. In our Nation, one percent of the population has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, one percent has been diagnosed with manic depression and between 5-10 percent of Americans will experience at least one episode of major depression. This gives us a base number of about 14-24 million individuals. If you add in the millions who suffer with panic attacks or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and include the more than four million who suffer with dementing illnesses, such as Alzheimer's Disease. Then if we include substance abuse and other addictive disorders, we reach a number that includes a quarter to a third of the American public who suffers with some form of mental illness. During any one year period, up to 50 million Americans, more than 22 percent, will suffer from a clearly diagnosable mental disorder. These numbers demonstrate the need for mental health care and coverage. Yet, instead, services are disappearing and many, specifically minorities, are backing away from the services that still remain. Minorities in America face severe economic, cultural, linguistic and physical barriers for treatment of mental illness. According to a report from the U.S. Public Health Service, these difficulties prevent thousands from being properly treated. The study explains that minorities are no more likely than whites to suffer from mental illnesses. However factors often keep African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Asian Americans from getting the help they need and when they do, the treatment may be substandard or too late. For Asian Americans, studies have shown that they underutilize mental health services much more than other populations. The National Research Center found that Asians were underrepresented in the outpatient system, and they were more likely than African Americans, Whites, and Hispanics to have psychotic disorders. Although overall rates of mental illness among Hispanics roughly equal that of whites, young Hispanics have higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders, and suicide. The study also found that Hispanics born in the United States are more likely to suffer from mental illness than those born in Mexico or living in Puerto Rico. With African Americans being overrepresented in populations at high risk for developing mental illness--namely, the homeless, prisoners and children in foster care--the need for mental health treatment is generally higher. All three of these particular cultures have stigmas attached to mental illness along with social battles preventing treatment from being obtained. Even research on the mental health of minorities is sparse considering it was only in 1994 when the National Institute of Health started to require that its funded studies include minorities and that studies indicate a subject's race. The research that does exist is startling. About 25% of African Americans do not have health insurance and many who do are more likely to receive care from a primary health provider rather than a mental health specialist or end up in the emergency room looking for help. As I mentioned, African Americans are over-represented in high-need populations that are particularly at risk for mental illnesses. One population group is the homeless, of which African Americans make up about 40% of the homeless population. Another is the prison population that is comprised of nearly half of all prisoners in State and Federal jurisdictions and almost 40% of juveniles in legal custody are African American. African American children and youth constitute about 45% of children in public foster care and more than half are waiting to be adopted. African Americans are also more likely to be victims of serious violent crime. One study reported that over 25% of African American youth exposed to violence met diagnostic criteria for post- traumatic stress disorder. When compared to whites who exhibit the same symptoms, African Americans tend to be diagnosed more frequently with schizophrenia and less frequently with affective disorders. In addition, one study found that 27% of blacks compared to 44% of whites receive antidepressant medication. Moreover, the newer SSRI medications that have fewer side effects are prescribed less often to African Americans than to whites. And while the rate of bipolar disorder is the same among African Americans as it is among other Americans, African Americans are less likely to receive a diagnosis and, therefore, treatment for this illness. One of the high-risk populations that overly effect the African American population, the prison population, is of an extreme concern of mine. This year an estimated 600,000 exoffenders will be reentering communities across the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, about 283,000 people who are incarcerated on any given day in the United States are known to have a mental illness, with almost 550,000 others on probation. The rate of mental illness in the jailed population is four times greater than that in the general population. The Cook County Jail in Chicago has become, by default, the largest psychiatric facility in the state of Illinois. At least 10% of the Facility's 10,000 detainees are on psychiatric medications. Because the jail is overcrowded, prisoners must be released every day, whether they are ready or not, to make room for new arrivals. Unfortunately, our prison system's purpose is social control, not treatment. This means most of the detainees who have a mental illness are released with just a prescription and the address of a mental health facility and receive very little follow-up. Mr. Speaker, we have made much progress in mental health awareness-- we are talking about it today, which would have been unheard of 15 years ago. But we have so much to do. In our recent budget crisis, states are cutting mental health funding first and not realizing the cost it will be on our society later. Education and breaking down misconceptions that many cultures face need to be improved. We need to ensure that our citizens are receiving the help they need by providing equal mental health services to all.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano), a tremendous Yankee fan and the author of this resolution. (Mr. SERRANO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) control the rest of the time for this side.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I have never really been a Yankee fan. As a matter of fact, I grew up as a Dodger fan; and, of course, the Yankees generally got the best of that competition. But over the past 100 years, the New York Yankees have spun memorable personalities and indelible moments. The Yankees franchise is defined by team success and excellence. New York has won an American League pennant and appeared in a World Series in every decade since the 1920s, however, that was not always the case. The Yankee franchise formed in 1901 in Baltimore, Maryland as the Baltimore Orioles. They played their first game on April 26, 1902 in Oriole Park. In 1903, the franchise moved to New York and was renamed the New York Highlanders. From 1905 to 1919, the club was a regular inhabitant of the second division, seldom posted a winning record and lost 100-plus games twice. In 1913, they were renamed the New York Yankees. In 1923, they moved in to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. After spending their first 18 seasons, a cumulative 41 games, under the .55 percent, the Yankees swaggered into the Nation's consciousness with their first American League pennant in 1921. The legendary Yankee dynasty of the 1920s and 1930s won 11 pennants and eight World Series championships with players such as outfielders Babe Ruth, Earle Combs, and Joe DiMaggio; first baseman Lou Gehrig; infielder Tony Lazzeri; pitcher Waite Hoyt. From 1941 to 1947, New York continued its success, winning four pennants and three World Series titles. Manager Casey Stengel guided the Yankees from 1948 through the 1960s, the team's most overpowering era. During this period, the club won 10 American League pennants and seven World Series championships, including five straight championships from 1949 to 1953, a major league record. The teams Stengel managed featured Joe DiMaggio, catcher Yogi Berra, pitcher Whitey Ford, and outfielders Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. The Yankee dynasty continued through the early 1960s as the team won the American League pennant from 1961 to 1964 and World Series crowns in 1961 and 1962. The next period of greatness came in the 1970s, after businessman George Steinbrenner bought the franchise and hired former Yankee Billy Martin as manager. Led by outfielder Reggie Jackson, the Yankees won three straight pennants from 1976 through 1978, going on to win the World Series in 1977 and 1978. The Yankees won another American League pennant in 1981. After a relative dry spell, the franchise returned to dominance in the late 1990s, winning the World Series in 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2000. Yes, the Yankees are indeed the pride of millions of New Yorkers and millions of Americans who love the game of baseball, the great American pastime. I commend and congratulate them. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Tennessee for his introduction of this legislation. Though the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Ross) could not be here, I, too, grew up in Arkansas; and I grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry. I grew up as a tremendous fan of country music, but I grew up more of a fan of the gentleman that we revere and discuss today. Because of his ``Folsom Prison Blues,'' as a matter of fact, the fact that here was a gentleman who did, in fact, represent the downtrodden but who took his music into the prisons; and as a result of the ``Folsom Prison Blues,'' it caused people to begin to look at prisons and life in prison in a different way. As a matter of fact, right now, there are more than 2 million people who are incarcerated in this country, almost 1 million of them coming home each year. Johnny Cash means more than just the music. He means part of a tradition in our country. I think I may not have 70 of those albums, but I must have at least 15 or 20, and whenever I want to really connect, I just sit back and listen. So Johnny has made a tremendous impact on the history and development of culture in our country. Again, I commend the gentleman from Tennessee for the introduction of this legislation, I urge its swift passage, celebrating the life and legacy of Johnny Cash.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Indiana (Chairman Souder) and the gentleman from Maryland (Ranking Member Cummings) for the tremendous amount of work that has gone into the development of this legislation. In addition to that, I want to commend them for the overall work that has been done on this issue. We have attended hearings in many places throughout the country, well attended, as an indication of the tremendous amount of interest that people have in one of the most pernicious issues facing our society. Out of respect for the bipartisan efforts that have taken place to try and reach agreement, I am very pleased that this legislation is on the floor. I am in agreement with those who suggest that not enough emphasis, though, is placed upon treatment. While all of the components of trying to wrestle with the drug problem are necessary and essential and while they must be balanced, I, for one, believe that we need to place more emphasis and put more resources into treatment for those individuals who are, in fact, addicted. As a matter of fact, I am a proponent of what I call treatment on demand. That is, whenever a person who is addicted presents himself or herself seeking treatment, they ought to be able to receive it. I am also concerned that in this country, while it is not necessarily a part of this legislation or covered in this bill, that there are individuals who are denied the opportunity to receive a Pell grant to go to college because they have been convicted of a drug offense. While that may seem rational and logical and wholesome and healthy and good because there are never enough resources to go around for everybody in our country to receive what they need, I think there are some situations where, rather than aiding the situation and helping it to change, that we actually retard the growth and development of individuals. Or the fact that there are individuals who, when convicted of drug offenses, can be denied food stamps. While, again, that does not diminish in any way the work that this subcommittee has done or the work that the full committee has done, those are realities of our society and realities of our times and issues that I think must be addressed. Notwithstanding that, I commend the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Davis), the gentleman from California (Ranking Member Waxman) and, again, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for the work that they have done.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise in recognition of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. This inherited, debilitating blood disorder affects more than 2.5 million Americans, most of them of African heritage. In fact, it is the most common genetic disease in the United States. In my home State of Illinois, there are more than 3,000 African Americans who live with sickle cell disease every day. Many adults with SCD have severe physical problems, such as acute lung complications, that may result in death. Moreover, there is an estimated 70,000 or more Americans who have SCD. The average lifespan for an adult with sickle cell disease is the mid-40s. With proper treatment, many people with sickle cell anemia can lead productive lives and enjoy reasonably good health into their 40s and beyond. Sickle cell anemia can lead to a host of complications, including stroke, acute chest syndrome, organ damage, blindness and ulcers appearing on the lower legs. Sickle cells can also block blood vessels, which nourish the skin, causing cells to die. There are a number of treatments and prescriptions designed for this disorder, causing a 40 percent reduction in death. While bone marrow transplantation is a curative therapy for SCD, this therapy is used in only a minority of patients, predominantly because of the high risk of the procedure and difficulty in finding suitable donors. This surgery is painful, yet also traumatic. Unfortunately, this procedure is expensive. Many insurance carriers do not cover this expense; and sadly to say, many African Americans are less likely to donate bone marrow. Sickle cell patients and their families may need help in handling the economic and psychological stresses of coping with this serious chronic disease. Sickle cell centers and clinics can provide information and counseling on how to handle these problems. People who are planning to become parents should know whether they are carriers of the sickle cell gene; and if they are, they may want to seek genetic counseling. The counselor can tell prospective parents what the chances are that their child will have the sickle cell trait or sickle cell anemia. There is no cure for sickle cell disease. However, H.R. 1736, the Sickle Cell Treatment Act of 2003, which I introduced along with the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), moves us closer to a cure and improves the quality of life for those living with the disease. H.R. 1736 provides funding for sickle cell disease and related services, making it easier for doctors to treat SCD patients by increasing the availability of physician and laboratory services that are not currently reimbursed or under-reimbursed by Medicaid. In addition, the bill creates 40 sickle cell disease treatment centers through a $10 million grant program for 5 years. Another key component of the bill is that it allows States to receive a fifty-fifty funding match for nonmedical expenses related to sickle cell disease treatment, such as genetic counseling, community outreach, education and other services. In addition, H.R. 1736 creates a national coordinating center, operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to oversee the SCD funding and research conducted at hospitals, universities and community-based organizations in a coordinated effort to educate patients and help find a cure for the disease. This legislation is about improving patient care and putting patients first. I hope that as we celebrate Sickle Cell awareness Month that we will also find a cure for this terrible disease. I urge support for H.R. 1736.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Again, I would like to commend the gentleman from Puerto Rico for introducing this legislation. In my community, there is a Roberto Clemente High School that we revere as one of the great institutions in the city of Chicago. I certainly would urge passage of this legislation naming a post office for a tremendous athlete, but more than that for a great humanitarian and a great citizen. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 2826 would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1000 Avenida Sanchez Osorio in Carolina, Puerto Rico, as the Roberto Clemente Walker Post Office Building. As a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleague in the consideration of H.R. 2826, which designates a U.S. postal facility in Puerto Rico after Roberto Clemente Walker. H.R. 2826 was introduced by the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Acevedo-Vila) on July 23, 2003. Roberto Clemente Walker was born in Barrio San Anton in Carolina, Puerto Rico, in 1934. A top athlete from his early years where he excelled in track and field, he went on to play amateur baseball in Puerto Rico. From there he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers, playing for the Montreal Royals. He later joined the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team as the number one draft pick in 1954. He played 18 years, his entire major league career, with the Pirates. During his career with the Pirates, Roberto Clemente played in two World Series, he was the National League batting champion four times, was awarded 12 Gold Gloves, and selected National League Most Valuable Player. Roberto Clemente Walker could do it all, and he did. He was also a very caring man. He was the father of three sons, Roberto, Jr.; Luis Roberto; and Roberto Enrique, and the husband of Vera Cristina Zabala. Sadly, he died in a plane crash in 1972 delivering food, clothes, and medical supplies to an earthquake- stricken Nicaragua. Mr. Speaker, while we often honor athletes for their great athletic ability, for the number of home runs that they hit, for how fast they can run, how well they can catch, how many touchdowns they may have thrown or how many they may have caught, Roberto Clemente died demonstrating that when you give of yourself, when you give of yourself for others, that is when you truly give. That is really what makes you great. Roberto Clemente died proving that if he could help somebody as he passed along, if he could cheer somebody with a word of song, if he could give his life for the benefit of others, that is the real stuff that heroes are made of. That is really what made Roberto Clemente the hero that we all know him to be. I commend my colleague for seeking to honor this great American, this great humanitarian, this great man. I urge passage of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Acevedo-Vila), the author of this legislation.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, America is indeed a land blessed with many treasures and foremost among them are people. Some countries, for example, such as Japan, have formal programs to honor citizens which they classify as ``national treasures.'' We have no such formal program, but I take this opportunity to acknowledge such an individual. This evening I want to highlight one of America's great national treasures who lives in my district, John H. Johnson. John H. Johnson was born, a descendant of slaves, to extremely modest circumstances in Arkansas City, Arkansas, in 1918. John's father died when he was very young. His mother, Gertrude Johnson Williams, worked as a domestic and levee cook. It was a time when Jim Crow law defined life in the South. Arkansas schools did not permit African Americans admittance to high school and, under normal conditions of the day, John Johnson's education would have ended with the eighth grade. However, Gertrude Johnson would not accept normal circumstances, and moved with her family to Chicago in 1933. John enrolled at DuSable High School and became an honor student, class president, student council president and editor of the school newspaper and the yearbook. He taught himself public speaking by standing in front of a mirror at home. Among his classmates at DuSable were Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx and William Abernathy. He won a scholarship to attend the University of Chicago at night while working for the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company, owned by African American businessman Harry Pace. His job at Supreme Liberty came as a result of his public speaking talent after Pace heard him speak at an Urban League event. One of his tasks at Supreme was the collection and organization of news of the African American community into a weekly digest. The black press of the day, such as the Chicago Defender and the Pittsburgh Courier, was a kind of national nerve system, transmitting information to every corner of every community where African Americans lived. John appreciated the value of the news he was collecting and, in 1942, he launched his first magazine, Negro Digest. The $500 he used as seed money for his new venture came from his mother, who pawned their furniture. The first issue sold 3,000 copies. Within one year, circulation hit 50,000. By 1945, he launched his second magazine, Ebony, which highlighted the achievements of African Americans. Six years later he began publishing a news magazine of African American politics, entertainment, business and sports: Jet. Today, Johnson Publishing is headquartered in an 11-story building, located at 820 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago's Loop. The last time I looked, Johnson Publishing had annual revenues of some $425 million and more than 2,000 employees. Ebony now has a readership of more than 11 million, and Jet enjoys a readership in excess of eight million. Together, it is estimated these periodicals are read in half the black households in America. Today the book division of Johnson Publishing is home to such authors as Lerone Bennett, Jr. and to such publishing standards as the New Ebony Cookbook. For those who would like to know more about the life and work of John H. Johnson, they also published his autobiography, Succeeding Against the Odds. The Johnson Publishing empire also encompasses Fashion Fair Cosmetics and Supreme Beauty Products, headed by Mrs. Eunice Johnson. The Ebony Fashion Fair is the world's largest traveling fashion show and raises money for scholarships and charities in the United States and Canada. John H. Johnson has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Spingarn Medal, the Horatio Alger Award, the USC Journalism Alumni Association Distinguished Achievement Award, the Black Journalists' Lifetime Achievement Award and countless other awards and recognitions. Awards are nice, but I suspect that Mr. Johnson takes the greatest pleasure in watching as his daughter, Linda Johnson Rice, joins him in managing Johnson Publishing as its president and chief operating officer. Mr. Speaker, John H. Johnson's dream has profoundly influenced America and its people. We are all impacted for the better by his vision and his implementation of that first of our great freedoms, the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. On September 26, Howard University will be holding its 136th opening convocation and will celebrate the accomplishments of communications pioneer John H. Johnson. In January, Mr. Johnson made a $4 million contribution to the School of Communication at Howard, which will be renamed in his honor. Mr. Johnson, a firm believer in education, is a great contributor to the United Negro College Fund and many other charities. Mr. Speaker, John H. Johnson may truly be said to be one of America's greatest living treasures. I congratulate him and his family for their contributions to America.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased to join with my colleagues in consideration of H.R. 2533, which designates a U.S. postal facility in Savannah, Georgia after J.C. Lewis, Jr. H.R. 2533 was introduced by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) on June 19, 2003. Mr. Lewis, the former mayor of Savannah, Georgia, serves on many charitable and community-oriented boards. A given and committed man, he financed the building site for the Savannah Baptist Center, which serves as a recreational and education center in town. He is best known for his work with Union Mission to end homelessness in Savannah. He purchased and donated the Union Mission's main office building and helped to renovate the facility so that needed and necessary health care services could be provided to those in dire straits. Mr. Lewis is currently the honorary chair of Union Mission's capital campaign. Mr. Speaker, oftentimes individuals are involved and help raise money and generate money, not always do they give as much of their own money as Mr. Lewis seemingly does. So, Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) for seeking to honor such an individual, and I urge swift passage of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.