Danny Davis

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I'm absolutely certain that the people in Morton Grove, Illinois, would not suggest that they have a high-crime community. It is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia, Representative John Lewis.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, it's my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to Representative Donna Edwards from Maryland.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I am prepared to close.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of our time. Mr. Chairman, we've been debating tonight a gun issue. But it also is a home rule issue, an issue that simply says that the people of the District of Columbia should have the opportunity to make a decision about themselves. We're also debating a homeland security issue, a crime prevention issue, a safety issue. It's a foreign dignitary protection issue. But it's also a commonsense issue. Common sense tells us that the more weapons you put on the street, the more likely you are to have disaster. And so H.R. 6842 represents and protects all of what we have discussed relative to the ability of the people of the District of Columbia to make their own decision. I urge that we vote in favor of the Waxman-Norton bill and reject the Childers substitute. I yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentlelady from Maryland, Representative Donna Edwards.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I yield 30 additional seconds to the gentlewoman. Announcement by the Chairman

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I now yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I yield 1 additional minute to the gentlelady.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to yield 4 minutes to the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Representative Henry Waxman.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds. Much of the discussion is about crime and crime prevention and protection. We sound as though people are invading people's homes and are murdering them and are attacking them. Much of the murder that I read about and that I hear about is really from drive-by shootings. It's really by individuals with semiautomatics who are engaged in turf battles over drugs, who are killing each other. They're not by people who are necessarily invading homes. They're by people who have access to these high-powered guns, people who are killing each other on the streets. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve. I understand that Mr. Childers is ready to close. Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, I want to certainly acknowledge the not only newness of the gentleman from Mississippi, but also his demeanor, his debate and his introduction of legislation. It occurred to me though if we were in West Point, Mississippi, or if we were in Fort Wayne, Indiana, or if we were in Western Pennsylvania telling the people in those communities what we thought they ought to be doing or the way in which we felt they had to be in compliance with the Supreme Court as they were wrestling with those decisions themselves, they probably would say that we were unwelcome. I think that the people of the District of Columbia would say that this amendment is unwelcome, that it further takes away their right to self-governance. Here they are, they don't have a representative in Congress with a vote. Now we are saying that your City Council and your representatives on the City Council can't decide the way in which you would be in compliance with the highest court in our land. Let me just mention that a previous speaker said that the District passed a law prohibiting District residents from bringing in weapons from across State lines. That was incorrect. In fact, Congress passed this law, not the District of Columbia. But this amendment would remove this restriction. So I think Members should understand that this is the first step in the NRA's plan to repeal Federal gun control laws, not just in the District of Columbia. But I think it is a matter of using the District of Columbia to work one's will for other parts of the country and to work a national will using the people of the District of Columbia. I think the protections that are needed and the compliance that is needed can be found in the Waxman-Norton bill, and that this amendment, the Childers amendment, unfortunately strips that bill of its impact. For that reason, I would urge that we reject the Childers amendment vote for the Norton-Waxman bill. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, we celebrate National Grandparents Day on the first Sunday after Labor Day every September. In honor of the 2008 National Grandparents Day, I wish to recognize the contribution of the millions of grandparent caregivers who raise their young relatives. In the United States, more than four and one half million grandparents are raising over six million children. These grandparents have embraced the role of full-time caregivers--juggling car seats, monitoring homework, and stretching fixed-incomes--to protect young children whose parents cannot provide them safe, permanent homes. This is not the vision of retirement that most of us hold, but it is a reality for millions of Americans. In Illinois, approximately 80,000 grandparents head households that include young children. Indeed, my Congressional District has the highest percentage of children living with kinship caregivers in the Nation, followed by the First District of Illinois with the second highest percentage and the Second District with the tenth highest percentage in the nation. I know the sacrifice and dedication of these grandparents. I know the lengths they go to identify the resources and obtain supports for these youth, foregoing their own needs to provide for their grandchildren. I am pleased that Congress is advancing legislation to support these grandparent caregivers. In June, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6307, the Fostering Connections to Success Act. This bill includes important provisions that I have championed for 4 years that will support kinship caregivers. Specifically, the bill includes the three core elements of my bill, H.R. 2188, the Kinship Caregiver Support Act, which I introduced with Representative Tim Johnson: It allows states to use Federal funds to support family caregivers' raising relatives who were in the foster care system; it provides funding to establish kinship navigator programs; and it requires notification of relatives when a child enters the foster care system. The Senate Committee on Finance is advancing related legislation this week. It is important that Congress acts quickly to support grandparent-headed families. Research clearly shows that kinship foster care families are safer, more stable placements that are more likely to keep children connected with their siblings and communities than non-relative placements. Further, these placements are cost effective. In Illinois, cost studies found a projected savings of approximately $48 million over 10 years. We know that millions of grandparents care for grandchildren who never entered the foster care system, and we need to include supports--such as kinship navigator programs--to help these families identify and access services as well. National Grandparents Day reminds us to care for our seniors. It is a fact of nature that all of us will turn grayer. I hope that Congress will succeed in implementing key supports for kinship caregivers who have done so much to protect and care for some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be authorized to file a supplemental report to accompany H.R. 6322.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6168) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 112 South 5th Street in Saint Charles, Missouri, as the ``Lance Corporal Drew W. Weaver Post Office Building''.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I present for consideration and support H.R. 6168, which names a postal facility in St. Charles, Missouri, after Lance Corporal Drew Weaver, a heroic marine and great American. H.R. 6198 was introduced by a colleague, Representative Akin of Missouri, on June 3, 2008, and has been considered by and reported from the Oversight Committee. I should mention that the measure had the support of the entire congressional delegation from Missouri before the committee approved the bill by a voice vote on July 16, 2008. Lance Corporal Drew Weaver was assigned to the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division I, Marine Expeditionary Force Twenty-Nine out of Palms, California, and was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom during the time of his death. A true hero and American serviceman, Lance Corporal Weaver was well known not only for his service to his country, but also for his service to his local community of St. Charles, Missouri. St. Charles, Missouri is proud of their hometown hero for the sacrifices he so nobly made, and those of us in the House of Representatives are as well. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, let us remember and pay tribute to the life and legacy of the courageous Lance Corporal Weaver and pass H.R. 6168 without objection. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 5683) to make certain reforms with respect to the Government Accountability Office, and for other purposes.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, once again, we come to the House floor to consider and pass what, in my opinion, is a vitally important piece of legislation designed to ensure the continual effectiveness of the U.S. Congress. H.R. 5683, the Government Accountability Act of 2008, will allow the Government Accountability Office to regain its footing as a premier government agency that both promotes its employees as the best and the brightest, as well as treats them as such. On April 2, after a 2-year investigation and several subcommittee hearings, I introduced H.R. 5683, which would restore the 2006 and 2007 annual across-the-board increase to GAO employees who met expectations but did not receive the adjustment. In summary, the legislation sets a ``floor guarantee'' that would preserve GAO's performance-based compensation system, while ensuring that GAO employees receive an annual increase in their permanent pay, provided they meet expectations, that is at least equal to the congressionally approved across-the-board increase. The floor guarantee will be comprised of the annual adjustment to the GAO pay schedule plus the permanent merit pay increase received by an employee under GAO's merit pay system. Other provisions in the bill include creating a statutory Inspector General for GAO, permitting the Comptroller General greater flexibility to administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and settling accounts, enabling the CG to expenditures for meals and other expenses in connection with recruitment, and eliminates the statutorily employed GS-15 pay cap to allow the Comptroller General the authority to pay employees up to the rate for Executive Level III. After consideration by our colleagues in the Senate, H.R. 5683 returns to us in the House amended and, in some respects, strengthened by the inclusion of language requiring the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, or any other Federal agency that the GAO elects to audit, to reimburse the GAO for the cost of performing such audits during fiscal year 2007. The most recent iteration of the bill also makes sure that GAO would be reimbursed by an agency that asks to be audited and elects to pay for the audit. While the bill represents a significant step forward, the subcommittee and many Members of the House still recognize that more work needs to be done at GAO. Nevertheless, H.R. 5683 will help improve the morale at GAO and remedy the inequities that resulted from the denial of the 2006 and 2007 across-the-board adjustments. Mr. Speaker, I hope that my colleagues will once again join GAO and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers and support the passage of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia for his support of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.