Danny Davis

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I would urge passage of this legislation, and yield back the balance of our time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res 994) expressing support for designation of a National Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Awareness Day, as amended.

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, as a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I stand for the consideration of H. Res. 994, as amended, which expresses support for the designation of a National Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Awareness Day. H. Res. 994 was introduced by Representative Paul Broun of the fine State of Georgia on February 25, 2008, and has the support and cosponsorship of 57 Members of Congress. The measure was considered by the Oversight panel on March 13, 2008, and was passed by voice vote at that time after being amended for technical purposes. Mr. Speaker, while many people may not be aware of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, which is an extremely rare disorder of the blood where the platelets lack glycoprotein, a key element for blood to clot, therefore significantly prolonging bleeding time. While on average there are only 200 cases of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia reported every year, the disease and finding a cure for it still requires our attention, resources and support. March 1, 2008, marked the inaugural commemoration of the National Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Awareness Day. The day was celebrated with events, receptions and our colleagues in the Senate Chamber passed an identical resolution honoring and recognizing the importance of National Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Awareness Day. I think it is important that we in this body help to expand research awareness of Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, which is why I rise in support of H. Res. 994. Passage of this measure will help to raise the profile and the general public's understanding of this illness and the corresponding National Glanzmann's Thrombasthenia Awareness Day. I urge passage of the resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5517) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 7231 FM 1960 in Humble, Texas, as the ``Texas Military Veterans Post Office''.

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. Now, Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I join Representative Poe and his fellow colleagues from the Lone Star State of Texas in considering H.R. 5517, which renames the postal facility at 7231 FM 1960 in Humble, Texas as the Texas Military Veterans Post Office. As stated, the measure at hand was first introduced by Congressman Ted Poe on February 28, 2008 and is cosponsored by all members of the Texas congressional delegation. The measure was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, where it was considered and passed by voice vote on March 13, 2008. H.R. 5517 is intended to remember the lives, service and legacy of hundreds of military men and women from the State of Texas who have served or loss their lives in service to our great country. By renaming this particular Humble, Texas post office, H.R. 5517 will set into motion the creation of a living tribute to the sacrifices made by so many of Texas' sons and daughters, who gave their lives in service and honor abroad in order to ensure our protection here at home, an honor befitting the thousands of military men and women past and present, from every State of the Union that have unselfishly given of themselves in service and in battle for America. H.R. 5517 will help memorialize the memory of generations of Texas' servicemen and women for years to come by designating the 7231 FM 1960 Humble, Texas postal facility as the Texas Military Veterans Post Office. Mr. Speaker, I would reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.

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

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, it is said that we should judge a society by how it cares for its young, its old, and those who have difficulty caring for themselves. We have done much in the United States to care for our young citizens, but justice calls on us to do much more. We know that, from 2000 to 2006, poverty increased by 10.7 percent, leaving 12.8 million children living in poverty. We know that one in three black children and one in four Latino children lives in poverty. We know that almost 12 million children under the age of five participate in some type of regular child care weekly. And we know that research demonstrates that high quality, comprehensive educational care for infants and toddlers can eliminate the achievement gap that exists between middle class and lower-income children. Together these facts highlight that Federal support for quality care in the earliest years via Head Start and CCDBG is critical to help young children from low-income families arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and obtain a strong foundation for success in life. Despite the importance of early childhood care and education, Federal funding for these programs continues to lose ground. With nearly flat funding over the last several years, Head Start is serving fewer children than it did in 2002. Despite an increase in the percentage of children under six with only working parents, Federal funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant has been effectively frozen since 2001. These cuts affect Chicago and Illinois in very real, negative ways. In Chicago, just under 41,000 families with children under 5 live under the poverty line, yet only 17,000 of these children are served by Chicago Head Start. In Illinois, CCDBG served an average of 82,200 children in 2006, which is 20,000 fewer than it did just five years ago. As policymakers, we should invest in families and children by bringing funding for Head Start, Early Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) at least up to the inflation- adjusted levels at which they were funded in 2002. History will judge us harshly if we withhold key resources that we know can provide essential supports for our youngest citizens. During this Week of the Child, I urge my colleagues to reverse this trend and invest in children.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I wish to recognize the week of April 7-13 as National Public Health Week. In 1995, former President William Jefferson Clinton proclaimed the first full week of April as National Public Health Week. Since then, the American Public Health Association has organized National Public Health Week and developed campaigns to educate the public, policy-makers and public health professionals about issues important to improving the public's health. Public health efforts strive to prevent disease and promote good health in a variety of ways, including vaccination programs, regulation of prescription drugs, worker health and safety standards, access to clean water and air, and other educational campaigns. Public health includes professionals from many fields with the common purpose of protecting the health of a population. My colleagues and I have no doubt seen the positive effects that public health awareness can bring to a community. A healthy public gets sick less frequently and spends less money on health care; this means better economic productivity and an improved quality of life for everyone. Healthy children are more likely to attend school and, as a result, improve their overall performance in education. Healthy parents can inform their children about positive wellness choices that will hopefully stay with them well into adulthood. Public health prevention not only educates people about the effects of lifestyle choices on their health, it also reduces the impact of disasters by preparing people for the effects of catastrophes such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and terrorist attacks. The American Public Health Association has selected climate change as the theme of National Public Health Week 2008. Though the scientific realities and environmental impacts of climate change have been highly publicized in recent years, little has been said about the effects of climate change on public health. Extreme weather events such as hotter summers, colder winters, higher rainfall, and increased rates of natural disasters all aid in posing a greater risk to public health. Disease and injury, in addition to the negative effects of pollution and other modern environmental challenges, are all hazards to public health which must be explored and addressed as this issue continues to influence communities. I commend the organizations and individuals in Chicago as well as nationwide for their work on the critical issue of public health. National Public Health Week is the ideal time to highlight the immediate and ongoing need for the promotion of and investment in public health activities that will safeguard our Nation's current and future well-being.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize April as National Autism Awareness Month. Autism Awareness Month brings attention to the wide spectrum of autistic-related disorders affecting as many as 1 in 150 children born in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified autism as a national public health crisis whose cause and cure remain unknown. Autism is a complex neurobiological disorder that typically lasts throughout a person's lifetime. It is part of a group of disorders known as autism spectrum disorders. It is now more common in diagnosis than pediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and is four times more likely to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs one's ability to communicate and relate to others; depending on the severity of the diagnosis, autism may dramatically affect one's quality of life and ability to obtain employment. I am proud of the many organizations and programs that exist in the Chicagoland area to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of autism. I especially want to recognize Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago for its extraordinary work on this important issue. Easter Seals provides comprehensive autism services to its clients, including autism therapeutic schools, adult vocational programs, after school programs, information, and professional training. Illinois has seen a 353-percent increase in autism since 1993. Easter Seals is responding proactively to this increase by building the Therapeutic School and Center for Autism Research, which has already begun its construction and is expected to be completed in 2012. This landmark facility will offer students with autism an array of services that includes medical assessments, nursing, behavior, speech, physical, and occupational therapy, social work services, art and music therapy, vocational training, and community training. Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago has provided excellent care to its clients for over 70 years, and I commend them for their commitment to serving those affected by autism spectrum disorders in our community. In Chicago and across the country, it is clear that autism is having an enormous effect on children and families. Autism Awareness Month and its associated events help shine light on this critical issue. Therefore, Madam Speaker, I am indeed pleased to join with my colleagues in celebrating the goals of awareness, prevention, and treatment of autism spectrum disorders during this April's National Autism Awareness Month.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, the ``Government Accountability Office Act of 2008'' (the Act), is intended to improve the oversight, administration, and pay adjustment functions at the Government Accountability Office, GAO. The former Comptroller General has asserted that Federal agencies should have ``modern, effective, credible, and, as appropriate, validated performance management systems in place with adequate safeguards, including reasonable transparency and appropriate accountability mechanisms, to ensure fairness and prevent politicization and abuse.'' Some of the safeguards recommended by the Government Accountability Office, GAO, include a performance management system that makes meaningful distinctions in individual employee performance; involves employees and stakeholders in designing the system; and achieves consistency, equity and nondiscrimination. Over the last 24 months, the subcommittee has conducted oversight, and more recently investigated, the implementation of GAO's new personnel system to determine if it meets the aforementioned criteria. The subcommittee found that it did not. In addition, based on its investigation the subcommittee concluded that, contrary to legislative intent, GAO employees who met and exceeded expectations in 2006 and 2007 did not receive the annual across-the-board increase that other GAO employees received. The Act would restore the 2006 and 2007 annual across-the-board increase to GAO employees who met expectations but did not receive the adjustment. It would also set 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. At a hearing the subcommittee held on March 23, 2008, on this legislation and GAO's personnel reforms, the subcommittee learned from the Ivy Planning Group, a consulting firm hired by GAO to conduct an African American Performance Assessment Study at GAO, that there are significant differences between the ratings for African American analysts and Caucasian analysts. Therefore, the personnel reforms at GAO had a significant negative impact on African American staffers. Furthermore, a survey that was administered to GAO employees at my request, found that 81 percent of respondents thought morale in general at GAO is worse or much worse than before the reforms and a majority of the respondents felt that not having an across-the-board increase for all staff is very or somewhat unreasonable. While the subcommittee recognizes that more work needs to be done at GAO, the Act 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. Other provisions in the Act include creating a statutory Inspector General for GAO; permitting the Comptroller General, CG, greater flexibility to administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and settling accounts; enabling the CG to accept gifts and to make expenditures for meals and other expenses in connection with recruitment; and eliminates the statutorily imposed GS-15 pay cap to allow the CG the authority to pay employees up to the rate for Executive Level III. The Act has the support of GAO and its union, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I was unable to cast votes on the following legislative measures on March 31, 2008. If I were present for rollcall votes, I would have voted ``yea'' on each of the following bills: Roll No. 147, March 31, 2008: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended: H.R. 3352, To reauthorize and amend the Hydrographic Services Improvement Act, and for other purposes. Roll No. 148, March 31, 2008: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended: H.R. 2675, To provide for the conveyance of approximately 140 acres of land in the Ouachita National Forest in Oklahoma to the Indian Nations Council, Inc., of the Boy Scouts of America, and for other purposes. Roll No. 149, March 31, 2008: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree: H. Con. Res. 302, Supporting the observance of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and for other purposes.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, the week of May 5 through May 11, 2008, marks the 24th anniversary of Public Service Recognition Week, PSRW. PSRW is a week set aside to commemorate the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice made by our Nation's Federal, State and local government employees. I am proud to once again introduce this resolution honoring public service and public servants. Public Service Recognition Week offers an opportunity for all Americans to both recognize and learn about the significant contributions public sector employees make on a daily basis to our local communities, States, and country. Whether fighting crime, educating future generations, or serving on the front line to protect our Nation, public servants touch every aspect of our lives. While Public Service Week lasts only 7 days, I believe that the contributions and sacrifices of public servants ought to be recognized and appreciated throughout the entire year. By honoring public servants we show younger generations the importance of public service and inspire them to consider entering the field, whether on the Federal, State, or local level of government. We, as a nation, have a responsibility to honor the commitment of government employees and to recognize that our country runs on their diligence and hard work. The commemoration of Public Service Recognition Week stands as a reminder to every citizen that the sacrifices and contributions made by American public employees is what makes our country a more perfect union and our Government one that is truly of the people, for the people and by the people.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 310) expressing support for a national day of remembrance for Harriet Ross Tubman.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam 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. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. As a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, I am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of H. Con. Res. 310, which seeks to honor the life of Harriet Tubman and acknowledge the many sacrifices she made on behalf of freedom and the inalienable rights of all men and women. She was a steadfast warrior for the values which we cherish today: freedom, justice, and equality for all. Without her, these values would not have been enjoyed by the dozens of African Americans that she rescued from slavery, in addition to many more that she helped by her unwavering commitment to emancipation. H. Con. Res. 310 was introduced by Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland on March 5, 2008, and was considered by and reported from the Oversight Committee on March 13, 2008, by voice vote. The measure has the support of over 60 Members of Congress and provides our body a collective opportunity to recognize and pay tribute to a woman who dedicated her life to ensuring equality and freedom, which stand at the foundation of our country, were afforded to all of its citizens, including those enslaved in the South. Harriet Tubman was born Araminta Ross in 1820 to Harriet ``Rit'' Green and Ben Ross, a slave couple from Dorchester County, Maryland. From an early age, it was evident that Harriet Tubman was willing to put her life on the line to assist African Americans in escaping that peculiar institution we know as slavery. At 12 years old, she suffered a traumatic blow to the head from her overseer when she refused to help restrain a slave who was escaping. Due to the head injury she sustained, Harriet was plagued for the rest of her life with violent seizures and spells of unconsciousness. Yet despite these ailments, Harriet Tubman continued to press on. In 1849 Harriet Tubman managed to escape from the plantation she worked on, located in the eastern part of Maryland. On her first trip up north, Tubman made great use out of the Underground Railroad and crossed over 90 miles to reach her final destination of Pennsylvania. Because of the dangers that lined every step of her journey, she had to travel at night, using the North Star for guidance. When she reached Philadelphia, she recalled that it felt like she was in heaven. Yet the memory of her family still in bondage caused Harriet to leave ``heaven'' and voluntarily return to the land of her enslavement. After the decision to save her family, she spent the majority of her life bringing individuals out of slavery by way of the Underground Railroad. In fact, Tubman became known as Moses because of her relentless efforts to aid more and more African American slaves out of captivity. For 11 years Harriet Tubman risked her life to free over 70 slaves and their families. She also served as a Union spy during the Civil War and assisted abolitionist John Brown in recruiting men for the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. In the post-war era, Tubman devoted her efforts towards the women's suffrage movement up until her death in 1913. In a letter to honor her memory, Frederick Douglass wrote: ``Excepting John Brown, of sacred memory, I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than she has.'' Madam Speaker, let us honor this true patriot for the courage and tenacity that she has shown in the face of great danger and great adversity. Harriet Tubman deserves our utmost respect and gratitude for her unconquerable valor, her harrowing dedication, and her unshakable faith all in the name of freedom. Therefore, I urge swift passage of H. Con. Res. 310. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1005) supporting the goals and ideals of Borderline Personality Awareness Month, as amended.

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois

Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1021) supporting the goals, ideals, and history of National Women's History Month, as amended.