Danny Davis

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Well, I want to thank the gentlewoman for joining me this afternoon. It has really been a pleasure, and not only to talk about history, but also to talk a little bit about mystery. I always believe that if you break ``history'' apart, I was taught to read phonetically, and if you say ``history,'' that becomes ``his story.'' But if you say ``mystery,'' then that becomes ``my story.'' Certainly I would hope that every young African American in this country especially would realize that they are in the process of creating and writing and making their own story, and that they really do not have to live through other people's dreams. Dr. King had a dream, but he did not have a patent on dreaming. He had a dream, but he did not get a patent, which means that you can live on 63rd street and have a dream, you can be down in the Mississippi Delta and have a dream.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I think of my mother, who was probably in many ways when I was a kid my greatest doctor. I do not know how she could do it, but if I had a fever or was catching a cold, somehow or another it seemed as though she could come into the room, put her hand on my head and the fever would be reduced, and, if it did not get reduced, I certainly felt like it did. The legacy of what it is that we have had the opportunity to experience, the roles that our parents and grandparents and others have played in terms of being the bridges and being the shoulders, I could never do anything in relationship to the celebration of African American History Month without celebrating my parents, my mother and my father. My father is 87 years old; and, fortunately, he is still around. We say that he was a doctor of sorts, but he really was not. He was a doctor because he believed so much in himself. I shall never forget, he actually cut a calf's leg off once. I mean, we were farmers, and the calf's leg got hurt and set up gangrene, and my father decided that he had to save this calf, that we could not afford to lose it. So he simply got his ax, sharpened it as sharp as he could get it, got himself some ashes and soot and coal oil and chloroform, had my brothers and I to hold this calf, and cut the calf's leg off. The calf lived, and we had a three-legged cow from then on. We were the only people, and we actually kept the cow until we finally took her to the auction in a place called Eudora, Arkansas; and sold the cow at the auction. My point is that if people believe in themselves, if they can believe that they can do things, I had 100 chickens one year in the 4-H Club. I was a 4-H Clubber, and these chickens would follow me around everywhere I went because I would feed them. One day I stepped on one's neck and broke the chicken's neck. Well, I really felt badly about it, so I thought I would become a physician. I got myself a piece of wood, a small piece of wood, put it on the chicken's neck, put some coal oil on there and tied it together, and, would you believe that the chicken lived? The chicken always walked like this, but the chicken lived. I ended up that year with my 100 Rhode Island Reds intact for my 4-H Club project. The other point is when you try something, you do not know if it will work. If you want to go to medical school, start getting ready to go. Just because you live in the inner city does not mean you cannot go to medical school. Just because somebody said your school might not be the best, if you want to go to medical school, start preparing right now and decide, I am going to be a doctor, I am going to be a nurse, I am going to be a scientist, I am going to be an astronaut. I am going to do whatever it is that I want to do. Then, by golly, prepare yourself, and God will do it.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I certainly agree that we must have the resources. There is simply no doubt about it. We have to find new avenues, new systems, and new approaches. But I am just amazed when I look back into history and see what individuals were able to do. I was looking at African Americans who had been inventors. Some of this is back during the time of slavery when slaves, of course, could not have patents; and so African Americans may have significantly been involved in some inventions that they never got the credit for. For example, it is suggested that when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he had Lewis Latimer, a black man, to draft the plans, and that Mr. Latimer had been a member of the Edison Pioneers; and this was a group of individuals who had actually worked for Edison. Then we go back to even people who lived in the 1700s, Benjamin Banneker, who is sometimes called the first black scientist in this country of any real note. And of course, Banneker helped to lay out the plans for the city of Washington, D.C. He was an engineer. He received a presidential appointment. It is just amazing that he could have done that. Then there was Joe Anderson, a slave who was believed to have played a major role in the creation of the grain harvester that Cyrus McCormick got all of the credit for, the McCormick reaper. But Joe Anderson helped him do it. Ben Montgomery, another slave, who actually belonged to Jefferson Davis, and he was supposed to have improved a boat propeller. Then there were other people like Henry Blair who invented a seed planter, Norbert Rillieux who patented a sugar refining evaporator, Louis Temple invented a harpoon for killing whales. This is back in 1848. Henry Board created an improved bed frame. James Forten was actually one of the few blacks that became wealthy from an invention. He came up with an invention that helped to guide ships. Yet these individuals could not have had a great deal of formal education, or they could not have had a lot of opportunity to have developed themselves. Take Granville Woods who invented a steam boiler furnace. I guess my point is that if these individuals were able to come up with the inventions with the creativity, had all of this potential, then certainly young African Americans today, who do not necessarily have equity in each and every instance but certainly have much more to work with than these inventors, like Madam C.J. Walker who came up with hair products that women could use in the cosmetic line, and of course, became the first African American female to become a millionaire. We have had the first doctors, but she also became the first millionaire in terms of being a businessperson. And so I make a plea for young African Americans to not only look at the history, that is, to go back and see what other individuals have done, not to just be aware of it, not to just bask in it but to also understand what they themselves can in fact do. That, I think, really becomes a real part of the value of African American History Month, not just to have pageants, not just to have plays, not just to sing songs, not just to glory in the athletes and entertainers but to really look at the history of a people who have had to make creative use of the art of struggle, who have had to make the best use of themselves to come from a position of where they were, always moving in the direction of where they ought to be, and realizing that when you get to the basement, that you are not in the penthouse, and that you have got to keep coming. But also understanding what Carter G. Woodson attempted to teach us about the whole notion of mind control. Carter Woodson wrote this tremendous book, The Miseducation of the Negro, and he suggested that if you control a man's mind, you do not have to worry about how he will act. That is, if you control a man's mind, you do not have to tell him to go hither or yon, you do not have to tell him to go to the back of the bus, you do not have to tell him to go to the back door. Woodson said that he will find his place and stay in it. And that if he goes to the back door and there is no door, he will cut one out. But the point that he also made is that once individuals get through the door, then they need to reach back and help bring somebody else along; that it makes no sense to go through the door alone; and that you really move as an individual as you help to create opportunities for others and as you help to move the group. And so we do not necessarily just revere these individuals in terms of saying Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a great doctor or Dr. Percy Julian was a great scientist. We say that Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a great doctor because he saved people's lives, because he created an institution, he helped people to become well, he provided opportunities for others to grow and develop and to become and to be. That really becomes the greatness of the people as opposed to the individual just simply being a great person. That is not the point at all.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I think the only answer that we are going to ultimately have is universal health care as far as I am concerned and a national health plan that is going to provide each and every citizen no matter who he or she is, no matter where they might live, no matter where they might be, so that they have got access to quality health care and they are not going to be shut out because they just did not have the resources or they are not going to be put in a category of the non-poor, a category of being too wealthy to qualify for some of the entitlement activity but really too poor to pay for health insurance, too poor to really have a regular physician, to go to a doctor. We have got to change that. Hopefully, the initiatives this year that are designed to reduce the disparities, to close the gap, hopefully those initiatives will build upon the strengths that we have seen and come the next year and the next year, we will be much closer to equity than where we currently are.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, they sound like they were some very wise people.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. She mentioned two ladies, Dr. Irby and Dr. Elders, both of whom had some connection with the State of Arkansas, a State that I know a little bit about in terms of having grown up there. As a matter of fact, I know many members of Dr. Elders' family. It occurred to me as my colleague was talking about the things that people had accomplished who, in spite of coming from situations that, at the very least, would have seemed to have been difficult, and I really think of even the African Americans along with others who opened black medical schools during the 1800s, shortly after slavery, I mean individuals whose parents had been slaves and whose grandparents had been slaves. Now we find these individuals actually opening medical schools and teaching others to become physicians and medical professionals. And then I look and even today I am somewhat alarmed, because as I look at minority employment in health professions, that only 1.9 percent of the speech therapists are African American, 2.8 percent of the dentists are African American, 3.9 percent of the dental hygienists, 4.1 percent of the pharmacists, 4.2 percent of the physical therapists, 4.9 percent of the physicians, 6.1 percent of the dental assistants, 6.5 percent of the occupational therapists. I guess my question becomes, why does it still seem to be so difficult for African Americans to become health professionals at a greater number than what we are currently experiencing? I mean, why only a small percentage of the dentists, 2.8 percent, or such a small percentage of the physicians in this country, 4.9 percent? Why do you think we are still facing that phenomena in this country?

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I guess what we are going to have to do in some of these areas, my colleague mentioned education and the difficulties where some of the schools are not up to standard and where individuals do not get the early training, the early education that they really need. I guess we are going to have to even go beyond that. I was just looking and reading how a report, the Flexner Report, which was done as a result of some resources made available by the Carnegie Foundation in 1910, that after the report there were six black medical schools existing at that time, but after the report, four of those six ended up being closed; and the only two left were Meharry and Howard. And so standards in terms of the definition of standards and who set the standards and how the standards are set oftentimes determine the extent to which not only do individuals get in but also the extent to which institutions may continue to thrive, to survive and to function. I cannot help but recall Dr. Charles Drew, the pioneer in blood plasma, who after all the work that he had done and all of the advances that he had made had an accident and supposedly died because he really could not get service at the hospitals that were nearest to him because he was African American, he was black; and that time those hospitals denied him the opportunity to be served, which means that in addition to the technical things that we have to do, the political things that we have to do relative to creating the resources, providing the money, that there are still some attitudinal changes that must occur in our society if there is to be the kind of equity that we desire, the kind of equity that we are talking about. I mean, it pains me to know, for example, that the Daniel Hale Williams hospital, the Provident Hospital that was founded by Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, an African American physician who performed the first open heart surgery and who established because he had met a nurse who had had difficulty being trained and he set up this training school, eventually it became a hospital. Yet it had ultimately some difficulty. It has reopened now as a part of the Cook County health care system but not as a private African American-owned, community- owned hospital.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it would just seem to me that, especially as we talk about unemployment and as we go into certain areas and as there is uncertainty about what fields individuals should pursue and go into even those individuals who are available to attend colleges and universities sometimes seemingly come out and might have majored in areas where there did not seem to be many job opportunities, and yet if you go down to the community hospital and there is a sign saying ``nurses wanted,'' or you go to the medical center and there is a sign saying ``nurses wanted.'' So I guess I would also, then, want to take this opportunity to suggest, especially to African American youngsters, that if they are looking for a career, but to anybody, if they are looking for a career and they want to make sure that there are opportunities in that field or in that career, then perhaps they ought to be looking at the health professions and especially perhaps they ought to be looking in the nursing arena. Not that they necessarily have to stop there, but certainly that is an area where job opportunities do in fact exist.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment my colleagues on a very interesting discussion that just took place, especially as it relates to health care and the role of community health centers and rural health centers in providing for the health of this Nation. As we continue to celebrate African American History Month, a time that is set aside largely due to the efforts of Dr. Carter G. Woodson, where we pause, take a look at the contributions as well as the needs, hopes and aspirations of African Americans in this country, I am pleased to be joined by my colleague, the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen), who is a physician, has been a practicing physician, and who has been a director of clinics and community health centers, who currently serves as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus' Health Brain Trust, but is indeed a dynamic Member of this body. Mr. Speaker, we come to talk a bit about not only the contributions of pioneer African Americans in the area of health, but also as we look at continually the health problems and disparities that exist in our Nation, especially as they relate to the needs of African Americans. So I say to my colleague, it is a pleasure to be here with her this afternoon.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3201, the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Study Act. Carter G. Woodson, a son of former slaves who worked in the mines and quarries until the age of 20, who matriculated at Berea College and received his MA in history from the University of Chicago and his doctorate in history in 1912 from Harvard. Carter G. Woodson is generally recognized as the Father of Negro History because of his quest to open the long-neglected field of African American history. His thirst for life and quest for truth institutionalized the study of Afro-American and African societies and cultures in the United States. Among his notable accomplishments are: Negro History Week, which was instituted in 1926 and has since evolved into Black History Month; the widely consulted college text ``The Negro in Our History'', and the Associated Publishers, a publishing outlet to bring out books on black life and culture. Yet despite these towering achievements, there is at present no suitable memorial for Carter G. Woodson. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I heartily support the idea of designating the Carter G. Woodson home in Washington, DC, as a national historic site. To do so recognizes the great debt we owe this important founding father of Afro-American scholarship.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, under current law, many working married couples end up paying more in taxes than they would if they were single, but married couples with a one-wage earner often get a bonus by paying less to the Federal Government than they would if they were single. While Members on both sides of the aisle agree that America's working couples need to keep as much money in the house as they can, but we must ask at what cost. Mr. Speaker, the Republican bill costs $50.7 billion over 5 years, $182.3 billion over 10 years. Two-thirds of the total tax relief will go to the 30 percent of married couples with incomes over $75,000. In my district, the Seventh District of Illinois, that equals to about 7,000 families out of about 130,000 total. Mr. Speaker, I have over 30,000 families with an average income of less than $20,000 a year. The substitute offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) will benefit those families making $50,000, but it will also benefit families claiming the earned income tax credit, as well as increase the standard deduction for joint filers to twice the level of single filers. This is a more comprehensive bill, a less expensive bill, and it is truly a bill for more of America's families. Therefore, I urge support for the Rangel substitute.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge you to support S. 632, the Poison Center Enhancement and Awareness Act of 1997. This important legislation authorizes Congress to provide assistance to poison control, information and treatment centers nationwide through a grant-funding program that would be administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The funding will be used to educate the public about the benefits of poison prevention and treatment, primarily through the ``Mr. Yuk'' campaign. The federal government should support poison control and treatment centers because they provide immediate, around-the-clock toxicity assessments and treatment recommendations over the telephone for all types of poisoning, overdoses and drug interactions affecting people of all ages. On a daily basis, parents, grandparents, child-care providers, teachers and health care providers consult these centers. Most calls are safely managed over the phone and referrals are made to health care facilities as appropriate. More severe cases are followed up so progress can be assessed and additional recommendations provided as necessary. The Illinois Poison Center (IPC), which is located in my congressional district, is the nation's oldest and Illinois' only remaining poison control, information and treatment center. Since 1953, it was operated by a local Chicago hospital. By 1996, however, the hospital was no longer able to maintain the center's operation, largely because of a lack of funding. Also by that time, the four other poison centers located in Illinois had closed. Eventually, the IPC's operations were assumed by the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council and, at the request of others around the state, the center was expanded to serve the entire state. Unfortunately, the IPC's existence, like that of other poison centers around the nation, is jeopardized because of a lack of stable funding. There remains, however, a great need to support these centers and their education and treatment efforts. Studies also show that 90 percent of all poisonings happen in the home, and 53 percent of these cases involve children under six years of age. Also, a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that for every dollar spent on a poison center saves $7 in unnecessary medical costs. In 1998 alone, more than 79 percent of all human exposures presented to the Illinois Poison Center were handled without a referral to a hospital emergency department or a private physician. This in turn saved more than $15 million in unnecessary emergency room and physician office visits.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, one of my constituents, Miss Elizabeth Hines, stated very clearly my position on this issue when she wrote a letter to me saying, ``As a registered nurse, I urge you to persuade your colleagues on the conference committee to move ahead and pass H.R. 2990, to honor the clear imperative from the American people for enactment of strong, comprehensive and enforceable protections embodied by the bipartisan Norwood-Dingell legislation. The final bill must include protection for nurses and other professionals who blow the whistle so that they can be advocates for their patients.'' I agree with Miss Hines. We need to move now, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year. The American people are saying, ``Pass it now.''

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I was just thrilled to listen to him give that history, that great and glorious history of which he was such an integral part and provided so much of the leadership for. I could not help but smile, both internally and externally, thinking about how meaningful that period was to those of us who were indeed teenagers at the time, to those of us who had the opportunity to simply take an idea, not really knowing where it was going to take us or what would happen as a result of the action, but simply an idea that, as the gentleman indicated, four freshmen college students would sit down, and because of the fact that they sat down, America ended up standing up. So I just want to commend the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for being a part of the leadership of that movement, but then never stopping and understanding that it was the movement that undergirded him and prepared him for the continuation of the great work that he has done for the rest of his life. I am just pleased to be associated with him, and with my other colleagues who kick off Black History Month, African American History Month, in this manner. I also want to reinforce the comments that were made by the chairman of the caucus, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), whose leadership has been impeccable during this past year. And as he begins this year talking about the unfulfilled dreams, the unmet needs, I was listening to his wise counsel as he suggested to all of us throughout America that in addition to looking at the past, in addition to reflecting in the accomplishments that have been made, that in addition to just looking at the great academicians, athletes, entertainers, builders and developers and other heroes of African American life, those who have contributed so richly and so greatly to this country, that in addition to looking at that, in addition to looking at what Frederick Douglass taught us, that struggle, struggle, strife and pain are the prerequisites of change, rather than just talking about it, that we really need to use this month to be engaged in it. We really need to be making sure that all people who are not registered to vote in African American life make absolutely certain that, in honor of Black History Month, that in honor of Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers, that in honor of Jim Farmer, all of the others, that we make absolutely certain that during the month of February we make sure that we are registered to vote and that all of those who will receive census forms, rather than reciting the creation that James Weldon Johnson wrote, or rather than talking about the great portrait of Langston Hughes, or rather than just reminiscing about the tremendous music of Duke Ellington, that in addition to that, we make absolutely certain that everybody fills out their census form and sends it in so that each and every person in our community will in fact be counted, so that nobody can be missed, so that we will never be three- fifths of a person again. So it is just a joy, it is a pleasure, and it is a delight to be here with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) and the rest of my colleagues who use this evening to be so didactic, to be so informative, to be so inspirational, and to be so accurate and correct as we kick off the beginning of Black History Month, and I thank the gentleman and yield back to him.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Well, we have had some great role models. My father is 87 years old, and we just moved him to Chicago from Arkansas, where he was living alone. And we were chatting the other day, and he said to me that in spite of how far we have come, we still have a long way to go. And I think he was absolutely correct. So I thank the gentleman.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to recognize one of Chicago's premier institutions, the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, as they kick-off their contribution to the Mars Millennium Project and celebrate the grand reopening of their landmark building on October 1st. Located on Chicago's beautiful lakefront, the Adler was founded in 1930 by Max Adler ``to be the foremost institution for the interpretation of the exploration of the Universe to the broadest possible audience.'' To help fulfill this mission, the Adler has become actively involved in the Mars Millennium Project using its StarRiderTM Theater Mars Millennium Show as the centerpiece of their contribution. The Mars Millennium Project is an official White House Millennium Council Youth Initiative, challenging students across the nation to design a community yet-to-be-imagined--for the planet Mars. This national arts, sciences and technology education initiative is guided by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its Jet Propulsion Lab, the National Endowment for the Arts, the J. Paul Getty and others. The world's first StarRiderTM Theater is a 3D interactive virtual reality experience, which will transport visitors on a voyage to Mars and allows the audience to participate in developing a viable Martian colony. The audience flys over Mars, picks a place for their colony and then designs the architecture, cultural icons and symbols that will make the colony unique. The Adler is working with the Illinois State Board of Education and the Chicago Public Schools Teachers Academy for Professional Development to involve classrooms from across Illinois in the Mars Millennium Project. Throughout the project year, teachers will engage their students in project-based learning opportunities that will result in the development of student-created Mars colonies and Web pages. Mr. Speaker, as we move into the Millennium it is important to engage the public in science and technology. The Adler's work with the Mars Millennium Program through the StarRiderTM Theater and the reopening of their historic dome marks the advent of new era for the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, a few days ago we celebrated the Nine Black Americans who had the courage to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957, thus becoming known as the Little Rock Nine. On the very same day that we gave the Congressional Medal of Honor to the ``Little Rock Nine,'' the Nation was burying Daisy Bates, who had recently expired. Without Daisy Bates, I am not sure that there would have been a ``Little Rock Nine.'' Mrs. Daisy Bates was the civil rights leader who helped the nine young people, nine young African Americans to break the color barrier at Little Rock Central High School. In 1941, Mrs. Bates and her husband, Mr. L.C. Bates, founded the Arkansas State Press. They turned the weekly newspaper into the leading voice for civil rights in the State of Arkansas long before the decision was made to try and integrate Central High School. As president of the Little Rock NAACP, Daisy Bates, was an inspiration, a spark and a symbol of hope for smaller chapters which were on line or being organized throughout the state and indeed, in many rural and semi-rural communities throughout the Nation. As the struggle in Little Rock intensified and as Mrs. Bates' profile emerged, she appeared as a regal, thoughtful and fiercely determined leader who made tremendous self sacrifices in order to keep the Little Rock NAACP and the Arkansas NAACP alive, viable and continuing to grow. As the highest profiled African American leader in the state of Arkansas during that period of history, Daisy Bates performed exceptionally well under intense pressure. She was called upon for guidance, counsel, direction and overall leadership for a people. She was indeed a mother figure, a big sister, a mentor and protector for the Little Rock Nine; but she was more than that, she was a Moses for her people, leading them into a new era of freedom in their quest for equality and justice. Yes, Mrs. Daisy Bates, a pioneering freedom fighter, may you rest in peace.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago as they celebrate the birth of a beluga whale. On August 3rd, a 4-foot-6-inch female calf was born weighing approximately 115 pounds. This is the first calf for Immiayuk, a 13-year-old beluga whale who has been in Shedd Aquarium's care since 1989. Immiayuk is a first-time mother, and less than half of the calves born to those mothers, either in captivity or in the wild, are able to survive their first year. The new beluga has cleared many of the first hurdles, by swimming, diving and nursing with her mother. Shedd visitors will be able to see the calf in an underwater viewing area in late September. A contest to name the calf will be held for children ages 8 to 13. The belugas reside in the Shedd's Oceanarium, a re-creation of the Pacific Northwest. Throughout the Oceanarium, large underwater viewing windows give Shedd visitors the opportunity to see the animals from the vantage point of their environment. Whales, dolphins, sea otters, harbor seals and penguins are some of the marine life on display. The birth of the beluga is a milestone for the Shedd because the Oceanarium was built for the purpose of breeding marine mammals. The knowledge gained from the birth will provide Shedd staff with a better understanding of belugas and in turn that information will be used to help educate the public and contribute to the conservation of wild populations. The birth of the beluga also is significant to the general beluga population as the National Marine Fisheries Service plans to list the beluga whales in Alaska's Cook Inlet as a depleted population. The 1998 Cook Inlet beluga census, counted 347. In 1994, about 675 belugas were counted; it is believed that 1,000 whales were in the inlet in 1980. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating the John G. Shedd Aquarium on the successful birth and continued health of Immiayuk's beluga calf.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 791 the Women's Business Centers Sustainability Act. Women entrepreneurs are an increasingly significant part of the U.S. economy. Women own more than 8 million businesses and account for approximately one-third of all U.S. businesses and are starting businesses at twice the rate of men. Shrouded by these stirring statistics, is the fact that women encounter numerous obstacles trying to start, maintain or expand a business-- obstacles which must be eliminated if we are ever to realize the full potential of this dynamic sector of our economy. In my particular District, there exists several entities that help women's small businesses expand, in some instances, get started. I am very proud of these organizations for their dedication and hard work. In a very orderly and organized way, without a lot of overhead, women's business centers, by various names, are helping women who have an idea about a small business, providing them with technical assistance, in some instances to provide micro loans, and in all instances to provide the knowledge and wherewithal and planning that is necessary so that they start off on the right foot. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I urge all members to vote for this mindfall, well thought out bill and support our Nation's women's businesses.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Foreign Operations Conference Report and I applaud the Foreign Operations Subcommittee for joining together and bringing to the floor a bill to make the world a better place. This is a good resolution, however I believe it fails to provide an adequate amount of funds for Sub-Saharan African nations, the most needy nations of the world. U.S. leadership and support are critical to the growth of Africa. In the past, our diplomatic efforts and bilateral aid programs have given significant stimulus to democracy-building and economic development. Our contributions leveraged with those of other donations to the programs of the World Bank and in Sub-Saharan Africa have reinforced economic policy reforms and infrastructure development across the continent. The increase aid and debt relief for Sub-Saharan Africa has significant implications for U.S. interests. First, the progress realized to date, has stimulated growing interest and opportunities for U.S. business. Second, the emergence of more stable, more democratic governments has given us responsible partners with whom we can address the full range of regional and international issues: settling or preventing conflicts; combating crime, narcotics, terrorism, and weapons proliferation; protecting and managing the global environment; and expanding the global economy. We must maximize our current efforts to protect and develop the vital human and physical resources that are necessary to drive economic prosperity in Sub-Saharan Africa. By increasing Sub-Saharan Africa aid and debt relief, we will ensure that the United States continues to be constructively engaged with the people of Africa. It's my hope as we approach the time to deliberate over a new Foreign Operations Conference Report we sincerely increase aid and debt relief to these needy nations. Again, I strongly support the Foreign Operations Conference Report and urge all members to vote yes.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on August 26, 1999 the Village of Oak Park Fire Department was awarded the title ``Accredited Fire Department'' by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (C.F.A.I.). The Oak Park Fire Department is only the third fire department in the State of Illinois and one of only 21 departments in the United States and Canada to achieve such accreditation. Fire Chief Gerald Beeson and the other members of the department worked to complete their application for over 2 years. Chief Beeson told the Wednesday Journal, ``Those who review applications--members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of City and County Managers--look at all facets of fire service, including departmental aspects like training and response time and on the village side like finances and codes.'' The accreditation is a benchmark, a set of standards, Oak Park can use to judge the quality of their fire protection service. The departmental achievement is a credit to all of Oak Park's fire fighters and we salute them for their outstanding accomplishment.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, at the end of the millennium we have received and continue to receive and to see and hear and give great attention to the fact that we are moving into a new era. And as we move forward, it serves us well to look back and see from whence we have come. However, there are dates which are truly beginnings or ends of eras. The village of Oak Park celebrated such an event November 1 of this year. After 29 years at Village Hall, at age 64, Sherlynn Reid, a lifetime advocate of diversity and racial balance in Oak Park, retired as Director of Community Relations for the Village of Oak Park, Illinois. Oak Park is a vital, exciting community, home to more than 53,000 residents of different cultures, races, ethnicities, professions, life- styles, religions, ages and incomes. Diversity is highly prized, promoted, and nurtured in this community; and it has played an important role in defining the economic, cultural, and social character of this unique community. Oak Park works hard to ensure a desirable quality of life. Oak Park established a Citizens Community for Human Rights and the Community Relations Commission in 1963 to assure all residents of equal service and treatment. The commission works to improve intergroup relations without regard for race, color, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. It works to ensure good human race and community relations and reduce tensions, and acts as a hearing panel for resolution of discrimination. In 1968, the Village Board approved one of the Nation's first local fair housing ordinances, outlawing discrimination. In 1973, the Village Board approved the Oak Park Diversity Statement. Sherlynn Reid started at Village Hall as a Community Relations Representative in 1973 and became Acting Community Relations Director in 1977. Shortly afterwards, she was appointed Director of Community Relations. The Community Relations Department enforces the Village's Human Rights Ordinance, the Fair Housing Policy and promotes Oak Park's Racial Diversity Policy. The Department participates in block organizing, community safety programs, conducts multi-cultural training and networks with community agencies and groups. Miss Reid was instrumental in creating the Committee of Tomorrow's Schools, the quota ordinance of 1974, the equity assurance ordinance, and the organization of the gang and drug task force. She serves as volunteer in charge of girls guidance for the John C. Vaughan Scholarship Cotillion and is the youth chair for the West Town's chapter of LINKS Incorporated, a national service organization for young and adult women. She has a special place in her heart for the annual Friends of the Library used book sale, which each year now occupies an entire floor of the Oak Park/River Forest High School. Village Manager Carl Swenson said, ``I can think of no other person who has had such a positive impact on this community. She is irreplaceable. It is a loss for us, but she is not leaving the community, she will still be here.'' Reid responded with typical modesty. ``I will miss it. I enjoyed my job. I may get all the attention for what they do, but a lot of people in the community have added to what I have done. The people in this community are key, and I have enjoyed working for and with them. I feel it is crucial the community remain racially diverse. It is not a one or two-person job.'' Sherlynn Reid plans to spend more time with her daughters and grandchildren but has promised to remain active in the community. She intends to finish writing two books, My Oak Park, and another one on her family. Sherlynn Reid leaves behind a living legacy, a legacy of love and respect, a legacy of struggle for equality and fairness, a legacy of building unity based on our infinite diversity, a legacy of unlimited economic and cultural growth and prosperity based on the fullest participation of every resident. Her legacy will continue to develop, and regardless of her retirement, she will continue to help shape the future of her community. We congratulate Sherlynn on the occasion of her retirement, and look forward to working with her for many more years to come in continuing to build an outstanding community.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I certainly want to thank the gentlewoman from Colorado for yielding me this time. Let me just add my voice in strong support to all of the sentiments that have already been expressed by my colleagues. All of us have indicated that one does not have to go very far to see the impact, the effects of diabetes. My own mother died of kidney failure. My brother- in-law probably at this moment is undergoing dialysis treatment. The chairman of my political organization just a few months ago, one of my young associates who was a childhood diabetic, I used to take in between meetings, I would drop him off to get his dialysis treatment. Here is an opportunity for this House, for this Congress, for all of America to get on board with a resolution that will provide the kind of resources for the research, the education, the treatment, the information that we really need to enhance the quality of life for millions.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for yielding me the time. I also want to thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering) for introducing this resolution. I am pleased to join with the millions of others throughout America and the world who have been inspired, motivated, and stimulated by the life and the legacy of Walter Payton. Yes, Walter was indeed a great athlete and thrilled millions weekly as he glided, weaved, bobbed, and zipped up and down football fields, chewing up yardage, scoring touchdowns, and helping to win championships. But Walter Payton was much more than a gifted athlete. He was a gentleman, a good son, a good husband, a good father, a good citizen, and yes, indeed, a role model. He attended a small school, one of the historically black colleges and universities, Jackson State, in the Southwest Conference, the same conference that I had the opportunity to participate with and in when I attended one of the same small colleges and universities. Walter proved that it is not always a matter of where we come from as much as it is sometimes a matter of where we are going. He demonstrated to all of us that there can be inspiration in death just as there is inspiration in life. He helped to raise the issue of organ donation and transplantation, even though at the latter part of his life he knew that he would not be able to use one even if it was available. I want to commend the city of Chicago, my city, for the outstanding tribute that it paid to Walter Payton when thousands of people filled up Soldier Field. Yes, Walter was the best on and off the field. So, on behalf of the people in the Seventh District of Illinois, we celebrate his life and offer condolences to his family and say that all of us are a little bit better because Walter Payton lived.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have played a part in the House consideration and markup of the Honesty in Sweepstakes Act of 1999. Last month, the Subcommittee on the Postal Service marked up H.R. 170, and unanimously approved an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by the ranking minority member congressman Fattah and chairman McHugh. Our bill which closely mirrors sweepstakes legislation passed by the Senate in August would: Impose disclosure requirements relating to sweepstakes mailings and skills contests (contests in which a prize is awarded based on skill, and a purchase, payment, or donation is required) concerning rules, terms, conditions, sponsor, place of business of sponsor, odds of winning, and other information to help ensure the consumer has complete information about the contest; Prohibit mailings that suggest a connection to the federal government, or that contain false representations implying that federal government benefits or services will be affected by participation or nonparticipation in the contest; Require that copies of checks sent in any mailing must include a statement on the check itself stating that it is nonnegotiable and has no cash value; Require certain disclosures to be clearly and conspicuously displayed in certain parts of the sweepstakes and skill contest promotions; Require sweepstakes companies to maintain individual do-not-mail lists; Give the Postal Service additional environment tools to investigate and stop deceptive mailings, including the authority to impose civil penalties and subpoena authority; Require that companies adopt reasonable practices and procedures to prevent the mailing of materials on sweepstakes or skills contests to individuals who have written to the companies requesting not to receive such mailings; Establish a private right of action in state court for consumers who receive follow-up mailings despite having requested removal from a mailer's list; and Establish a federal floor above which states could enact more restrictive requirements. H.R. 170 adds two very important and critical provisions consumer protection provisions. First, we provided the Postal Service with subpoena authority to combat sweepstakes fraud. In addition, we have limited the scope of subpoena authority to only those provisions of law addressing deceptive mailings, and required the Postal Service to develop procedures for the issuance of subpoenas. The second provision contains language authored by the ranking minority member, Congressman Fattah which added a private right of action to sweepstakes legislation. This provision now a part of H.R. 170, would allow consumers to file suit in state court if a sweepstakes promoter continues to send mailings despite having requested removal from a mailer's list. This important enforcement tool, contained in section 8 of H.R. 170, is supported by the National Consumers League, the American Association of Retired Persons and the Direct Marketing Association. The issue of consumer protection, whether it relates to telemarketing fraud or sweepstakes deception is finally receiving the attention it deserves and I am pleased we have provided additional consumer protection along this line. I would be remiss if I did not thank my colleagues who have sponsored honesty in sweepstakes legislation in the House. Special recognition deserves to go to the authors of H.R. 170, Congressmen LoBiondo and Condit. Their diligence has ensured a bipartisan bill. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Congressman Blagojevich, himself the sponsor of sweepstakes legislation, H.R. 2731, the Consumer Choice and Sweepstakes Control Act. Special recognition goes to the State of New York, Office of the Attorney General, the National Association of Attorneys General, the Federal Trade Commission, National Consumers League, the American Association of Retired Persons, Direct Marketing Association, the Postal Service Inspector General, and Courtney Cook, of the minority staff. Your hard work, input and support have been appreciated. Mr. Speaker, I thank you for being gracious and working with us to achieve a bipartisan bill.