Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, not long ago a 15-year-old boy from Glastonbury, Connecticut, found a loaded .357 magnum in the bedroom drawer of one of his parents. In the midst of playing, the gun accidentally went off, shooting the boy in the face and killing him. The boy's name was Kyle Hirons. Today is the last day Kyle's death will remain anonymous. I invoke the Kyle Hirons because he is one of the 13 children who die every day because of guns. These are not nameless, faceless statistics. They are real people. They are our children. In this case, one more child would be alive today if the gun had been equipped with a safety lock. And yet there are forces in this country, in this very body, who would undermine modest gun safety legislation that would protect our children. This week, we can take steps. We can pass the Senate provisions and require gun child safety locks and devices. We can close the loophole at gun shows, and we can eliminate high-capacity, human-hunting ammunition clips. Our kids are dying of an epidemic. The epidemic is unsafe guns. Let us pass sensible measures that make guns as safe as possible.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I stand today to honor one of New Haven, Connecticut's most celebrated citizens. On July 13, 1999, family, friends, and the New Haven community will gather to pay tribute to Daniel R. Gooley as he celebrates his retirement. Dan Gooley has served the citizens of New Haven in a variety of professional settings for more than half a century. His involvement with the City of New Haven began in 1933 when his father founded Gooley's Pub where Dan acted as managed until he became the proprietor of the pub in 1973. Over the years, Gooley's Pub has been a popular establishment for local businessmen, city officials, politicians, and the local Irish community. Gooley's was known for its warmth, friendliness and high-spirited political discussions. Dan's own interest in local politics led to his election as a Member of the New Haven Board of Aldermen where he served three terms on the city board. After the closing of the historic saloon, Dan continued to stay involved with the New Haven community by serving a five year term as Deputy Sheriff. His community involvement continued at the Knights of Saint Patrick, where Dan eventually served as President and then assumed the stewardship for the Irish-American fraternal organization. Ethnic-based clubs, particularly in the New Haven area, have helped to enhance the spirit and friendship among its members and realize the importance of family traditions and family values. As the club steward, Gooley managed the organization, dedicating himself to the promotion of the Irish culture in the local community. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me to rise today and join with his wife, Phyllis, family, and friends to celebrate this wonderful occasion and to recognize Dan's contributions to the local community. We wish him continued health and happiness in his retirement.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, 2 weeks ago the other body passed a modest gun safety package to keep guns out of the hands of kids and of criminals. They did the right thing. Now it is our turn to do the right thing. But instead of doing the right thing, the Republican leadership in this House is playing games with gun safety. We now have a gun safety bill that has been written by the National Rifle Association. Instead of closing the gun show loophole to allow criminal background checks at gun shows, the NRA opens that loophole wider. Background checks work. I would refer my colleagues to a study released in this morning's USA Today that says, ``The instant background check might be the most effective piece of gun legislation ever.'' The NRA says that we do not need new gun safety to protect kids and that the Justice Department has failed to do its job. Wrong again. This new study shows that gun laws are enforced more vigorously today than 5 years ago, prosecutions are up, and crime is down. Gun legislation we passed in 1994 is working. We did the right thing then. Let us do the right thing now for our children and for families in this country.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, 2 weeks ago the U.S. Senate did the right thing and passed modest gun safety legislation to keep guns out of the hands of our kids. Now it is time the House of Representatives do the right thing. I was saddened to read in the paper this morning that the Republican leadership is playing games with gun safety legislation. Two weeks ago, instead of allowing us to vote on the gun safety package passed by the other body, the Republican leadership told us that they needed more time for hearings to proceed in the regular order. Now what we have found out is that what they really needed was more time for the National Rifle Association to wage a grassroots campaign and to water down gun safety legislation. The Republican leadership is pulling a bait and switch on the American people. It is time to stop playing games with the deadly serious issue of gun safety for children. We should vote on the Senate gun safety package, not a watered down, NRA written, loophole filled, sham bill. Madam Speaker, this is the people's House, it is not the NRA's House, and the American people want gun safety legislation. Let us have a fair and open debate on gun safety legislation.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to honor one of Connecticut's finest military officers. Major General David W. Gay is the Adjunct General of the Connecticut National Guard and today friends and family will gather to wish him well on his retirement. Beginning his military career with the Marine Corps in 1953, General Gay has dedicated his life to serving and protecting our great nation. Throughout his distinguished career, General Gay has received numerous meritorious awards and decorations from the Marine Corps, Army National Guard and State of Connecticut for outstanding conduct. Among his many accolades, he has been honored with the Connecticut Longevity Service Medal, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Legion of Merit Award, and the National Guard Bureau's Eagle Award--the most prestigious award issued by the National Guard Bureau. These signs of recognition are testament to a prominent and honorable career. His commitment and dedication to service culminated in his appointment as Adjunct General of the Connecticut National Guard, serving as the ranking member of the Governor's Military Staff and commissioner of the State Military Department since 1992. General Gay has been an invaluable resource to me in my capacity as a Member of Congress. His professionalism and unparalleled skill in his field have helped to address the concerns of my constituents quickly and effectively. I appreciate all that he has been able to provide for Connecticut's Third Congressional District. In addition to his illustrious military career General Gay has demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to his community. As well as being a member of several local organizations, General Gay chairs the State Management Board of the Community Learning and Information Network (CLIN), a pioneer project in distance learning education technology. He has also served as President of the Nutmeg Games, a state-wide multi-sport festival for Connecticut amateur athletes. His innumerable contributions to the community and the State of Connecticut will not be forgotten. I am honored to stand today to join his wife, Nancy, children, David, Jennifer, and Steven, and the many other voices of family and friends in congratulating General Gay on his retirement. His service to our country and community will not be forgotten and we wish him much health and happiness in the coming years.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago the Republican leadership in this House told us that we could not vote on gun safety legislation before we left for the Memorial Day break because we needed to have a hearing in committee, needed to go through the proper legislative process. Ah-ha. Well, now they are bringing this legislation to the floor with no hearings and with no markup. So what was the 2-week delay all about? It was about giving the NRA a head start. We took the Republican leadership at their word that they would play it straight with gun safety legislation. But now it appears that they spent the last 2 weeks scheming with the NRA to bring down gun safety legislation. With their 2-week head start, the NRA has launched a 2-week campaign of fear. They have spent more than a million dollars in the last several days to kill gun safety legislation. I am here today to ask to plead with the Republican leadership in this body to stop playing games with gun safety. This debate is about protecting our children. Thirteen children a day are killed by gunfire in the United States of America. This is about saving kids' lives. This vote on gun safety is deadly serious. There is no more room for political games. Let us stop the games. Let us pass gun safety legislation for our families and for our children.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time. Mr. Chairman, I might just say to the last speaker, very quickly, that in fact the editor of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute has said that there is insufficient evidence that exists to link induced abortion and breast cancer. That is a medical opinion. Let me move onto this amendment this afternoon. I am shocked, quite frankly, that we are going through this debate again this year after the outcry of the many medical and pharmaceutical organizations who opposed this amendment last year. It is an unprecedented invasion into the FDA's approval process. Quite frankly, this is a place where Congress has no right to be. We are not scientists. We do not know what is best for the health of American citizens. This amendment is intended to block research. It blocks not only drugs that are currently in the pipeline, but potential future breakthroughs in biomedical research. It is an attempt to promote an anti-choice agenda. I have respect for people who have a different view of this issue on choice than I do, but the proponents of this amendment are risking the lives of millions of Americans, because this amendment would also block the development of drugs to cure cancer, ulcers, rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, and other medical conditions because some of those drugs can cause a spontaneous miscarriage. Let me read you a portion of a letter from the National Coalition of Cancer Research that is just one of the many medical organizations that is firmly opposed to this amendment: ``Attempting to legislate any drug's approval or disapproval is inappropriate. It starts down a slippery slope of prohibiting development in certain drug categories. The comment that the ranking member of this committee made, not only does it threaten the credibility of the drug approval process, it would impede the development of pharmaceuticals to treat different diseases not related to reproduction, such as cancer. If disease or condition-specific approval is dictated by legislative action, drug researchists' efforts to develop new therapies will be stymied.'' By passing this, the FDA's approval process would be prevented from having the opportunity to do something about this issue. Let me just talk to you for a second as a cancer survivor. I am a survivor of ovarian cancer; 25,500 women will contract ovarian cancer this year; one-half of them will die. Any chemotherapy drug that is taken by anyone with cancer, any chemotherapy drug has the propensity to cause a spontaneous miscarriage. Why do we take our personal philosophy about where we are on choice and try to foist it on the millions of Americans who, through no fault of their own, contract cancer or a serious illness? Why would we relegate millions of women to die because we have a particular view on choice? Mr. Chairman, it is wrong for us to prevent biomedical research. We have an obligation. We spend billions of dollars to promote what happens at the National Institutes of Health because we believe we have the obligation to cure disease in this country. Do not take an action here this afternoon that would in fact condemn millions to die because somehow we want to score a point on choice in this country. It is wrong, it is unconscionable, and I plead with my colleagues to defeat this outrageous amendment this afternoon.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) for her comments. And I just want to highlight something that she said, which is the wonder of the body that we serve in and what can be done. She said that every now and again in our congressional career comes a moment where we have an opportunity to make a difference, to do something. I happen to view, as my colleague does, that this is an historic opportunity. We are not so glued and fixed in a calendar and in a schedule that we cannot move when a need arises in the country for us to move. Thirteen children dying every single day from gun violence is a national crisis. The kinds of unspeakable violence we have seen in school settings across the country, the pleas from parents and grandparents, from children, to make our schools safe places to be in says to those of us who hold a public office we need to act and to move to try to help us with this problem. We cannot be so fixed in our own agenda, in our own schedule, in everything that only we concern ourselves with to say we cannot change what it is that we do here so that we can meet this challenge, meet this need, take this opportunity to say, yes, we can act and act in the best interest of the American public. And that is all we are talking about. We have this opportunity this week. We would be derelict in the responsibility that we have been entrusted with if we walk away from that responsibility. And again, my colleague said it, the Senate passed modest legislation, legislation that has consensus from the gun industry, from the sports councils, from others. Our duty and obligation is to pass that kind of legislation in this body. I thank the gentlewoman and I thank my colleagues for joining us tonight.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, before we begin our commentary this evening, I want to congratulate my colleague, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) and my colleague from California who spoke earlier about the White House Conference on Mental Health. I had the honor to participate in that event as well today, and just very, very quickly, I think it is clear that we need to focus on the issue of mental health. It is so critical in our society. One, we cannot divorce the head from the rest of the body. We need to have the recognition that mental illness is an illness like other physical illnesses that people have. We need to destigmatize it. We need to provide, most essentially, insurance coverage in the same way that we provide insurance coverage for physical illnesses. There needs to be parity for mental illnesses. We should consider that good mental health is good public health, and we need to promote that effort. So I compliment my colleague on her comments. Mr. Speaker, this evening I am pleased to join with other colleagues, because we recognize that this is an important week for this Congress. Two weeks ago the United States Senate did the right thing. It is now time for the House of Representatives to do the right thing. That is to pass gun safety legislation for children in our country. Thirteen children every single day are killed by guns in America. By comparison, there was an interesting statistic, that we lose one police officer every other day. That means it is more dangerous to be a child in America than it is to be a law enforcement officer. That is wrong. We need to pass commonsense gun safety laws in order to protect the children in this country. Democrats in this body are a minority. We need votes from Republicans, from the other side of the aisle, to pass any piece of legislation. I believe that 85 percent of the Democrats in this body will vote for commonsense gun safety legislation to protect our youngsters. We need 20 percent of our Republican colleagues in the House to say no to their leadership and to join us to try to do the right thing. We can in fact pass strong bipartisan gun safety legislation for children in this body. That has been the historical past. In 1995 with the Brady Bill, with an assault weapons ban, these pieces of legislation happened because thoughtful, reflective people came together on both sides of the aisle to say that this makes sense for our country. We have the opportunity to do that again this week. I happen to believe that American families and American children are counting on us to do our jobs. What we have seen in the last couple of weeks, there were a number of us who wanted to try to pass this legislation before we left for the Memorial Day break, but we were told that we needed to come back to have hearings, that there needed to be a more thoughtful approach to how we dealt with this. What has happened in the interim, and I think it is important to note this, unfortunately, the National Rifle Association, they asked for this delay and they received a two-week delay from the Republican leadership in this House. That was designed to give the NRA time to generate a campaign of fear in an attempt to influence this vote, to water down the provisions that were passed by the United States Senate around which there was agreement that these were good pieces that everyone could agree to. The NRA has generated that campaign of fear. That is what they have been doing. I just want to read briefly from a letter that was sent out over the weekend from the NRA. It is an astounding example of big money propaganda, but it has little relationship to the truth. If I can just read one or two excerpts, and I quote, ``What the Clinton-Gore-Lautenberg-Schumer legislation would do is to impose a cradle-to-grave massive Federal regulatory scheme on gun owners throughout America, and that is no exaggeration.'' The second item, this legislation, ``It gives the Federal Government open-ended authority to issue phone-book sized volumes of new Federal red tape on Americans who buy and sell firearms. It gives the Federal Government authority to keep names and addresses of citizens in FBI files, even after they are cleared as honest people entitled to buy firearms. It imposes virtually unlimited Federal fees across the board, whether you are selling guns, buying guns, or organizing or attending a gun show.'' The final item, again I quote, ``None of this has a thing to do with the Littleton or Georgia school attacks or any violent crime anywhere in America. It has everything to do with an attempt by gun haters and the enemies of your Second Amendment freedoms to dismantle the Second Amendment, one step at a time.'' That they could comment to say that the Nation has not focused its mind, hearts, and energy on what happened in Littleton, Colorado, or in Conyers, Georgia, this is mind-boggling. They say it has nothing to do with this event. It has nothing to do with Georgia? I say, I do not understand where these people come from. This has everything to do with Littleton, Colorado, and with Conyers, Georgia. This has everything to do with parents who today are afraid to send their children to schools. They are afraid of utilizing what has been the route to opportunity and success in this country, the classroom, the schoolroom. I heard a fifth-grader last night in Orange, Connecticut, say that schools used to be the safest place to be. She, this little mite of a person, was reading her little statement at a town meeting, and she said, ``I have had to ask myself and ask my classmates whether or not this could happen in my school. And I have to answer that yes. And it makes me sad and it makes me afraid.'' All we are asking for in this body, again, on this side of the aisle, is let us pay attention to the hue and cry of the American public in asking us to try to do something to bring some sense out of fear and some sense out of chaos. Parents and teachers are pleading with us to respond. We are in the midst of a national crisis. Frankly, in my view there is no need for this kind of propaganda where the safety of our kids is concerned. We do not need to be engaged in hyperbole. We need to be very careful about this issue. We need to be very thoughtful and reflective about this issue. Our message to the NRA is that this is the people's House. This is not their House. The American people desperately want to see gun safety legislation for their children, and those of us who are charged with the responsibility of bringing their voices to this people's House have an obligation to try to do the will of the public. We should heed their voices this week. I am optimistic that we will pass good gun safety legislation, because while the NRA was generating this campaign over the last few weeks, there was another campaign that was going on in this country, a campaign by moms and dads, and teachers and grandparents, a grass roots campaign in America, people writing, calling, and having town meetings like the one that I went to last night on a beautiful Sunday evening in Connecticut, in Orange, Connecticut; 200 people willing to sit for almost 3 hours to express their views on how we try to deal with youth violence in this country. Everywhere that I go these days people come up and they ask me, what is Congress doing to try to address this issue of gun violence? I went to a meeting where I was talking about social security and Medicare, and a woman stopped me as I was leaving. She grabbed my arm and she said to me, Rosa, she says, you are going back to Congress next week. Is there anything that is going to be done about the violence? She says, can you do something about gun legislation? She says, I have two grandchildren. Both of them were forced to leave school 2 weeks ago because they had to be evacuated out of school in Indiana. She lives in Connecticut, her grandchildren are in Indiana, scared to death because these kids had to be evacuated from their classroom because of the fear that is out there. I remember reading a story in the wake of the Littleton shooting where a Colorado parent said that his 5-year-old asked him, and I quote, ``Dad, are they just shooting the big kids, or are they shooting the little kids, too?'' Do we want to live in a country where 5-year- olds fear for their lives? Our 5-year-olds should be learning the ABCs. They should be playing outside at recess. They should not be worrying about gun violence. I view this week as a test for this institution as to whether or not we have the courage to act. We have a chance to make such a difference in peoples' lives, to do the right thing, to allay some of those fears of parents, to begin to make a difference in keeping guns out of the hands of young people. But it must be a real deal, commonsense gun safety legislation, not watered-down legislation that is filled with loopholes. We could make some very small changes in our laws that could make a big difference in people's lives: Close the gun show loophole and apply the Brady background checks at gun shows, require child safety locks to be sold with every gun, raise the eligibility age for owning a firearm from 18 to 21, and ban the sale of high capacity ammunition clips. The issue of youth violence is not an easy one, it is a complex one. We need to have parents take greater responsibility for their children. We need the entertainment industry to take responsibility for its products. We need to ensure that our children have access to the mental health care that they need, that we talked about today at this conference. But we must also curb our children's access to guns. We should pass this commonsense gun safety legislation this week. The American people I believe are depending on us. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy) is someone who is truly a leader in this House of Representatives on this issue, someone for whom we have in this body, all of us, a tremendous amount of admiration; a woman who has demonstrated such unbelievable courage in the face of tragedy in her own life, who has taken on this issue of gun safety, and taken her own personal experience and turned it in a way to drive energy and vision and inspiration to trying to bring some sense to this issue of gun safety. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn McCarthy).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I want to express my thanks to the gentlewoman. We thank her for her courage, we thank her for her optimism. She is truly an inspiration for all of us. And what she has said, I, too, and I know my other colleagues here tonight believe, as she does, that the American people will stand tall with us. They have to know we are willing to take that first step, and I believe that they will be with us. I want the gentlewoman to know that she gives us all really great courage to try to do the right thing and we thank her so very much. The gentlewoman also said one thing about inconvenience, and it will be an inconvenience in the same way that seat belts are an inconvenience in this country, the same way that metal detectors at airports are an inconvenience. But they happen to save lives, and so we swallow hard or we get annoyed, but we buckle up and we take whatever jewelry or change out of our pockets and we go through those metal detectors because it does make a difference. I thank the gentlewoman for making a difference. I would now like to recognize the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). And as part of this debate and as part of this discussion, because some of us who are here tonight have been the subject of commentary that would say that the only thing that we believe as part of the issue of youth violence is gun legislation, and that is so totally not the case. There are a number of people who were at the mental health conference today and precisely there because there is an unbelievable need in our schools to integrate mental health services for our youngsters. That is part of this puzzle. That is so much a part of this puzzle of youth violence, of engaging teachers and administrators and law enforcement people to understand and to recognize signs of difficulty that students may be having and to help them to get the services that they need. And I know my colleague from Texas is a big proponent of that effort in the same way that she is a proponent of trying to do something about gun safety legislation in this country. We are not one- dimensional people on the floor of this House tonight. And so I yield to my colleague from Texas.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) for her eloquent words and for her leadership and for pointing out so clearly that the document from which she quoted in fact is a fund-raising letter. It is a letter prone to hyperbole in order, in fact, to scare people. It is a campaign of fear. It is a campaign of rhetoric. I, too, hope and believe that there are people out there even who receive that letter, who understand probably better than most about the necessity for safety and gun safety legislation, that they will understand the hyperbole, understand the rhetoric, but also understand that they are caring Americans and care about the safety of their families, which they do, and of other families. It gives me great pleasure to yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey). And I want to continue to emphasize the point that those of us who stand here tonight are not one-dimensional. We do not react to this issue of youth violence in a cavalier or knee-jerk way that says that the only resolve is gun legislation. The gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) has spent her career fighting for lowering the blood alcohol level to lower the incidence of drunk driving. She works tirelessly on promoting after-school programs in our schools, which is part of this issue, so that young people have a place to go and a place to be during those hours where the greatest amount of crime occurs. She has spent time talking about lessening the size of our classrooms for safety and accountability in education and of providing safer schools for our youngsters so that they can, in fact, achieve their desires and their dreams. So as part of what she does on a daily basis to understand the complexity of the problem and knowing that we have to move on all of these areas, including the gun safety issue, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen) for his leadership on the floor and for holding this colloquy with me to clarify the Agriculture Research Service funding level for rainbow trout research. Is it correct that the chairman's amendment offered in subcommittee markup provided that within the funds provided to the Agriculture Research Service the committee recommends an increase of $500,000 for research at the University of Connecticut on developing new aquaculture systems focused on the rainbow trout?

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico.

Ms. DeLAURO. I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, May 24, a storm in Connecticut kept me from returning from official business in my congressional district. As such, I was unavoidably detained on rollcall votes Nos. 145 and 146. Had I been present, I would have voted yea on both.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Republican leadership announced that it was willing to bring gun safety legislation to the floor of the House in mid June. After a week of wrangling and stalling, I applaud their decision to join the Democrats to discuss fair and sensible measures that will in fact save children's lives. But why are we waiting? There is not a reason to put off until tomorrow actions that will reduce the chances of tragedy today. Why do American parents have to wait, when they are so scared? I quote to my colleagues from USA Today. ``Slightly more than half of parents with school-aged children say they fear for their children's safety when they are at school, up from 37 percent 1 year ago.'' Parents in this country need to know that this body is willing to act, willing to act quickly to allay their fears and not make them fearful to send their children to school every single day. That is not what the United States is all about. Why are we stalling the American public? Do we want the additional time to give the NRA the opportunity to twist arms? Measures like this will pass this House in a heartbeat. Let us do it, let us do it in the next 2 days.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, let me thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen) and the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for their hard work in what has been a difficult feat to balance the important priorities of this bill given the budget constraints that the subcommittee faces. I am concerned that we could not do more to support vital programs, however, that improve the day-to-day lives of hardworking American families; providing a safety net for farmers in crisis, reducing smoking among young people, ensuring high quality nutrition for parents and their children. These are issues not receiving enough attention. First there is a crisis facing our farmers today. From low grocery store food prices to safe food on the dinner table, the benefits of U.S. agriculture are immeasurable to each and every American family. Farmers across this country are begging Congress to do something and, by God, we must do something. This bill does not do enough to address the depression level prices our farmers face. A serious issue before this Nation is tobacco use among America's youth. Each day an astounding 3,000 teenagers take up the smoking habit. The loss to America equals 420,000 lives. This year the President requested a $30 million increase to expand the partnership between the FDA and States to enforce the laws prohibiting tobacco sales to minors. The additional funding would have enlarged this successful and business-friendly program that would have been expanded to 50 States. Sadly, this bill does not provide this important investment, made even more essential because States like Connecticut, my own State, are not investing their money from the tobacco settlement into educating the public about the dangers of smoking. I am concerned about the little over $4 billion allocated for the WIC program in that it may not be able to cover all of its participants. WIC guarantees that 7.4 million women and their children receive solid nutrition and health advice, preventing future illness and serious health problems. I am disappointed that funds could not be found to take the first steps toward a study of the benefits and the costs of a universal school breakfast program, a study that has already been authorized by the Goodling Act. Regional studies have linked school breakfast programs with higher test scores, better behavior and improved attendance. But a truly rigorous and a comprehensive study is necessary to nail down and to solidify the proof of that relationship. This is an unfunded mandate. If the Congress is going to require this study, it must provide the funding. I again applaud my colleagues for facing these restrictions. These issues deserve our highest commitment.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I listened to the Speaker of the House this morning tell us that we cannot pass gun safety legislation in this body before we leave for the Memorial Day break for vacation. We owe it to the American people, to American families, to move on this legislation before we go home. We need to work on the people's timetable and not on the congressional timetable. To delay this issue is politics. That is what this is about. We have 13 children in the United States who die every single day because of gun violence. If this is not an emergency, I do not know what is an emergency. This House of Representatives has risen to occasions where there have been crises in this country. We can move on a dime. We can pass legislation in 24 hours or less if we have the will to do it. The juvenile justice bill has been sitting in committee for the last 3 to 4 weeks. It is a bipartisan piece of legislation. It can be passed in a heartbeat if we have the will to do it. We have to pass gun safety legislation in our country if we are going to meet the pleas and the cries of American families today. I saw a grandmother yesterday in my district in Connecticut. She lives in Connecticut, her family is in Indiana. And she said to me, ``Ms. DeLauro, when you go back, please pass gun safety legislation. My two grandchildren were evacuated from their schools just last week.'' And I am not the only one who is hearing the plea of the American public. Let us do what is responsible, let us respond to American families. Last week the other Chamber did the right thing. They passed common- sense gun safety legislation. The House of Representatives this week has that opportunity. Let us take up this legislation and pass fair and sensible measures that we, in fact, know will save lives. There are some who want to wait until mid-June. I say we have waited too long. We have done nothing despite repeated tragedies in our schools, and we sit idly by while, as I said, 13 children are killed by guns every single day. Youth violence is a complex problem. It requires several answers. We need parental involvement, safe schools, guidance counselors, mental health services, and less violence in our media. But gun safety laws that protect children are part of a sensible response to a crisis that is killing our kids in the United States. I call upon the Republican leadership, I call upon the Speaker of the House, to schedule that vote this week. Like the other Chamber, we must ensure that firearms are sold with child safety locks, that we have background checks at gun shows, and that a person is 21 years old before he or she buys a gun. Let us take these steps. Our families, our children are relying on us, those of us who have been sent here to do the people's business. Let us take the people's House and let us be responsive to the American public this week, when they are in need of knowing that, in fact, we can represent them and their families and their children in this body. That is what our responsibility is this week. My God, I hope that we are up to the task in this body.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to recognize Leon Medvedow as he celebrates his 70th birthday. This evening friends, family, and the New Haven community will gather to pay tribute to Leon for a lifetime of contributions to the City of New Haven. A respected leader of the community, Leon has served the City of New Haven and its residents with an unparalleled commitment for over fifty years. His distinguished record of public service began with his election as New Haven's Old Third Ward Alderman in 1953. For decades, Leon continued his leadership and vision for New Haven in many other capacities including City Clerk, Chairman of the Board of Finance, and Chairman of the 25th Ward Democratic Committee. Leon was honored by former President Jimmy Carter with an appointment to the Federal Small Business Administration Advisory Council in recognition of his professionalism as a small business owner. Today he remains president of Leon A. Medvedow & Associates, Inc., a printing company he built from the ground up, and continues his political career as Campaign General Chairman for New Haven's current mayor, John DeStefano, Jr. His exceptional talents remain focused on the improvement of the New Haven community. The generosity Leon has shown throughout his life has made him a true friend to the community. He gives his seemingly endless time and energy to many community organizations. Currently, he is a member of Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel as well as the Board of Directors for the New Haven Jewish Community Center, overseeing a myriad of social programs for New Haven's Jewish community. He is a former trustee of the University of Connecticut's Alumni Association and a founder and past president of the UCONN Club. An avid basketball fan, he is a fifty year veteran basketball season ticket holder showing true loyalty and spirit for his alma mater. His passion for the sport led him to sponsor a local team, the New Haven Elms, bringing the game he loves to the City of New Haven. After five decades of accomplishments, you wouldn't think Leon would have anything left to achieve and yet he continues to add to his extraordinary life. Just five days ago, Leon celebrated his Bar Mitzvah, fulfilling a promise he made to himself over fifty years ago when circumstances forced the ceremony to fall by the wayside. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to join Leon's wife, Phyllis, children, grandchildren, friends, and the entire New Haven community to wish my good friend a very happy 70th birthday. Leon's work and commitment have truly left this community a better place and for that we thank him.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the majority leader for the schedule. If I might just ask one or two questions about the schedule for next week. Does my colleague know what days the Social Security Lock Box bill and the appropriations bills will be called up?

Ms. DeLAURO. Sometime later in the year.

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, the majority leader anticipated my question in wanting to know if there were going to be any late nights next week. So we should anticipate late nights next week. And a final question: I do not see on the agenda listed out for next week anything about campaign finance reform on the schedule. Does the gentleman from Texas know when we might be able to expect any action on that issue?

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise to inquire about next week's schedule. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey) for an explanation of the schedule for next week.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, 3 weeks ago, America learned a terrible lesson: Our culture is producing teenagers who are capable of unspeakable violence. We, as a country, must come together to address this complex problem. It is one that requires several answers. We have students who attend schools without guidance counselors. We have children exploring violent websites alone at night. We have handguns sold and resold without basic safety features or background checks. Our children grow up in a world that is unlike the one that I grew up in. We need to take basic steps to improve our cultural environment. Families must embrace their children's questions, ideas, hopes and dreams. Adolescence is a difficult time. Our schools must be safe without becoming prisons. Classrooms should be small enough for strong discipline and individual attention. Schools must have guidance counselors and mental health services that presently are shamefully lacking. Handguns should come with safety locks. Firearms should not be sold to children under 21. Background checks at gun shows, period. The entertainment industry must clean itself up and stop marketing violence to our children. Let us take these steps together and invest in a stronger America.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, friends, family and members of the city of New Haven will gather on May 13th to honor one of our city's finest public servicemen. For more than three decades, Captain Andrew Consiglio, Jr. has served as a member of the New Haven Police Department, protecting the City and its residents. In 1966, Andy entered one of the most challenging and rewarding professions. Law enforcement officials make tremendous sacrifices in service to our community, putting their lives on the line each and every day. In his three decades on the New Haven Police Force, Andy has always been on the front lines, his first priority always the safety and security of the public. Moving steadily up through the ranks, he has met every new challenge with energy, integrity and vision. His commitment to enhancing public safety has made a profound difference in the City of New Haven. Throughout his career, Andy has distinguished himself as an exceptionally dedicated member of the force. His many accolades include 18 Certificates of Commendation, 10 Letters of Commendation, 2 Awards of Merit, 26 Letters of Appreciation, and 1 Certificate of Appreciation--a true testimony to his dedication to the City of New Haven and of the community's respect for him. It is an honor for me to pay tribute to Andy who is not only an exemplary public serviceman, but a true friend to me. I grew up with Andy in New Haven's Wooster Square, and he has been an unfailing source of support for me and my family throughout my life. He is a trusted and well-known figure in the community, who will long be remembered for his extraordinary commitment to the people of New Haven. Andy has seen the City change over the years and has worked tirelessly to make our community a place where we feel safe to live and raise our families. Today, I am proud to join with family, friends and the City of New Haven to thank him for his innumerable contributions to our community and for thirty-three years of dedicated public service. Mere words cannot express our appreciation and we wish him much health and happiness in his retirement.