Rosa DeLauro

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to congratulate the Marchegian Society of New Haven as they celebrate their centennial anniversary--a remarkable milestone for this very special organization. Founded in 1909 by 36 men who had come to the United States from the Marche Provence of Italy, the Marchegian Society was born out of a sense of responsibility to their fellow Marchigianni. They wanted to provide financial assistance for their fellow members in the event of illness, death, or accidents--not an uncommon occurrence at the turn of the century. Though the majority of the Marchigianni came from agrarian backgrounds, they were skilled artisans who were family oriented, industrious and proud of their work ethic. While they quickly assimilated into American society, the Marchegian Society provided them with a way to celebrate their shared ancestry, culture, and traditions. The original members of the Marchegian Society met in a building at the lower end of Minor Street in the Hill section of New Haven, Connecticut. In 1923, the society purchased its present home on Cedar and Minor Streets. The acquisition allowed the organization to expand in size and led to the formation of the Marchegian Club for the purposes of social endeavors. In 1924, a group of 132 women founded the Societa Femminile Marchegiana which functioned under its own bylaws until a fusion pact was passed in 1936 giving the Marchegian Ladies Society an equal partnership with the men--an act of equal rights for women well before the concept became a national issue. The construction of the present building was completed in 1936 and the new facility provided an outstanding space which soon became the social and cultural center of the community. Minstrels, musical shows, bowling contests, card games, bocce tournaments and weekly dances were among the many activities and charity events held there. The society remained a very progressive organization and continued to care for its members, providing sick and death benefits as well as cemetery plots for those members who could not afford one. The Marchegian Society provided a social and financial safety net for their members and, when the nation called on communities to sell war bonds during World War II, the society held numerous rallies to support the cause. The pride that they have shared, from generation to generation, in their community, their work, and their nation--that sense of family--is what has made this organization so special and what has enabled it to continue its mission for 100. The Marchegian Society is a community treasure. Today, as members gather to celebrate, I am honored to have this opportunity to stand and extend my sincere congratulations to the Marchegian Society on their 100th anniversary. I have no doubt that the Marchegian Society will continue to be a source of pride for our community and continue in their mission to preserve, protect, and celebrate the strong and special traditions of Le Marche.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for this time, and I thank the gentleman from New York for his leadership on this issue. It is an honor to serve with him. He has been a champion of the cause of cancer and particularly ovarian cancer. I strongly urge my colleagues to support the Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month resolution. This is an easy call for me because I know firsthand that awareness saves lives. Twenty-three years ago, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was lucky: I had excellent doctors who detected the cancer by chance in stage 1. I underwent radiation treatment for 2\1/2\ months, and I am fortunate to say I have been cancer free ever since. Standing here before you today, I know I am one of the lucky ones. My life was given back to me, and changed at the same time. And I know that had my doctors not caught my cancer at this earliest stage, the final outcome may have been very, very different. That is why it is so important that we pass this resolution and help raise the awareness about ovarian cancer. Ten women in the United States are diagnosed with a gynecological cancer every hour; 26,000 women succumb to these terrible cancers each year. Women who detect their ovarian cancer in stage 1 are more than four times likely to beat it than those who find out in stages 3 or 4. Of course there are other steps we should also take. We need to re- fund Johanna's Law this year, reauthorize it for future years; and we need to make sure that our Affordable Health Care for America Act becomes the law of the land so all Americans have access to quality, affordable health insurance and can get the cancer screenings that may save their lives. But today, we can do our part by standing up against ovarian cancer and passing this resolution. Cancer is indiscriminate. It does not care about your age or family, your sex, your race, or religion. It reminds us that we are all human and that, yes, we are vulnerable; and that we must all come together, man and woman, young and old, Democrat or Republican, to fight it on every front. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, to support life, to help to support saving lives.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. This amendment undermines the thoughtfully crafted and balanced language in the bill that already prohibits Federal funds from being used to pay for abortion. It attempts an unprecedented overreach of women's basic rights and freedoms in this country. Abortion is a matter of conscience on both sides of the debate, and it goes to the very heart of our belief as citizens and as legislators. This amendment takes away that same freedom of conscience from America's women. It prohibits them from access to an abortion even if they pay for it with their own money. It invades women's personal decisions, discriminates against working women, and, put simply, violates the law of the land. Access to quality, affordable health care coverage is a question of life or death for millions of Americans. We should not be injecting this divisive and polarizing issue into our debate. The best vote for life we could make today would be to pass the critical reforms American families have asked for and desperately need. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise at this historic moment in support of the Affordable Health Care for America Act. None of us will again have such an opportunity in our time serving in the United States Congress to do something so enduring and fulfilling, to make sure that every American shall have access to quality, affordable health insurance. For more than a century, the special interests have won this moment. Presidents Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Nixon, and Clinton have spoken of our country's aspiration, but only now have we come so far. When the Democrats and the Congress passed Medicare, we lifted seniors out of poverty forever, and now we get to say to working Americans, You can no longer be broken by a health insurance system that drops you when you are sick or lose a job. It says to women, You will no longer be denied coverage on account of a C-section or domestic violence. No longer will maternity or preventive care be ignored. I urge my colleagues to vote for history and for America today. This is why we are here. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the life and work of Kathryn Brophy, longtime Director of the School Lunch Program for Boston's public schools, who passed away at the age of 89 last month. Kathryn Brophy's passionate commitment to the cause of fighting hunger and malnutrition was borne of personal experience. As the daughter of a single mother from the age of 10, Brophy, nee Kathryn Nagle, spent her formative years during the Depression as one of the very same vulnerable and often hungry children she would spend her life's work aiding. But, in part thanks to her mother's strong emphasis on education--Mrs. Brophy would go on to graduate from Framingham State Teacher's College in 1941, and study dietetics for a year at Duke. From her years as a dietician for the U.S. Army during World War II, where she achieved the rank of captain, to her retirement from the Boston school system in 1988, Mrs. Brophy subsequently spent a lifetime of service in the cause of bettering nutrition. In Boston, she ultimately oversaw a program that fed over 30,000 children, and she made sure fruits, vegetables, skim milk, and other healthy foods were made available to her charges. Aside from nutrition, Mrs. Brophy's other great passion in life was her two daughters, Susan and Jane, whom she took years off to raise. She leaves them now, along with a sister, Jean Hannon, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, as she goes to join her husband of 47 years, William Brophy, who passed in 1995. She is missed not only by her family and the many nutrition advocates who share her cause, but also by the thousands of Boston schoolchildren who could learn better and live healthier thanks to her decades of public service.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today to join the many family, friends, and colleagues who have gathered to pay tribute to an outstanding member of our community and my good friend, Cheryl Pegues, as she celebrates her retirement. A dedicated professional, volunteer, mentor and friend, Cheryl has earned the respect and admiration of those throughout our community. Cheryl has been a member of the Administration at Gateway Community College in New Haven, Connecticut for more than two decades. She spent 18 years as the Director of Financial Aid, a year and a half as Acting Dean of Students, and, today, is retiring from the position of Director of Student Development and Services. Prior to her move to Gateway, she served as Assistant Director of the Connecticut Talent Assistance Cooperative-Education Opportunity Center--a federal TRIO program where she also served as an education counselor. As you know, TRIO programs are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Throughout her professional career, Cheryl sought to assist young people in their endeavors to further their education. Many of those she worked with would not have otherwise benefitted from a college education. Education is the cornerstone of success and today, more than ever before, our young people are facing weighty challenges as they try to pursue a college degree--and those challenges are even larger for disadvantaged children. Cheryl's work has opened the doors of opportunity for countless young people and made all the difference in their lives. Cheryl's interest in enriching the lives of young people extends far beyond her professional life. Over the years she has been an active member of the Board of Directors of the Latino Youth Development, the Education Support Services program, the Children in Crisis Coordinating Committee, and the Urban Improvement Corps. Cheryl served on the original Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Conference Committee and has organized financial aid workshops and college orientation seminars upon request from local high schools, churches, as well as civic and service organizations. In addition to all of this, Cheryl still finds the time to serve as a Deacon and active parishioner at Immanuel Missionary Baptist Church. She also served as a member of numerous professional organizations including the Theta Epsilon Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the National Council of Negro Women, the Greater New Haven Chapter of the NAACP, and the New Haven Chapter of the Jack and Jill of America, Inc. Her invaluable contributions have left an indelible mark on our community and I have no doubt that Cheryl will continue in her work to enrich the lives of young people and make our community a better place to live, learn and grow. Today, as she celebrates her retirement from her professional life, I am proud to join her husband, Elbert, her children, Elbert and Elicia, and her granddaughter, Kaila, as well as the many family, friends, and colleagues in extending my sincere congratulations to Cheryl Pegues. Her extraordinary professional career and infinite generosity touched the hearts and minds of many. I wish her all the best for many more years of health and happiness.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to Frederick K. Biebel of Stratford, Connecticut who passed away this week at the age of 83. Fred was a remarkable member of the community and a local political legend. His passing marks the end of an era in the Stratford community and in Connecticut's Republican Party. Fred began his career in the 1950s as a member of Stratford's Town Council as well as the Chairman of the Stratford Republican Town Committee. During his tenure, he organized countless campaigns and served as a role model and mentor for other candidates. Fred went on to serve as Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee in Connecticut and during President Reagan's Administration he presided as Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He also represented Connecticut as a delegate in fourteen national GOP conventions--the last just this past year. Fred served in every capacity--from volunteer to candidate to national party co-chair. He was committed to his ideals, but understood the value of debate. Through his activism he earned a distinguished reputation and was respected by colleagues of every political persuasion. As involved in politics as he was, Fred was just as committed to his family and community. He and his wife of 58 years, Violet, raised three children and he was a proud grandfather and great-grandfather. Fred was also a dedicated member of the Lordship Community Church where he served as deacon. In fact, he helped to literally build the Church itself, dismantling, transporting, and reassembling an unused Colonial white church from Vermont in the late 1940s. Fred was proud of the life he built--a fact that was reflected in his recently published autobiography, ``Path of a Patriot: The Political Journey of Mr. B.'' Though we may have come from different political viewpoints, Fred and I shared a common cause--public service. Whether through his political career or his work in the community, Fred dedicated a lifetime to service. He understood better than most that a community is only as strong as those members who dedicate themselves to its improvement. He knew that meaningful change came from active involvement--a lesson that he passed on to several generations. I consider myself fortunate to have known him. Today, as family and friends reflect on the life of Frederick K. Biebel, I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Violet, his children, Karen, Kyle, and Kevin, as well as his nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Fred was an extraordinary man who touched the lives of many. His is a legacy that will continue to inspire generations to come.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Today's resolution has the support of several key organizations, including Living Beyond Breast Cancer, breastcancer.org, The Wellness Community, Breast Cancer Network of Strength--formerly Y- ME--and the Young Survivor Coalition. By drawing attention to this disease, we can help medical researchers find ways to provide a higher quality of life and a longer life expectancy for patients. We can help make stage IV cancer a chronic but not a fatal disease, and we can encourage the women and men we love to stay aware of metastatic breast cancer and to protect themselves through regular checkups and screenings. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman for the time, and I also want to say to him thank you for your very, very kind words. It has been my honor to work in partnership with Congressman Pallone. He is enormously committed to health care and to health care reform but with particular interest to women's health issues. He has been a strong partner in his championing of these efforts on the committee which he chairs. I also want to say a ``thank you'' to my colleague Congressman LoBiondo for cosponsoring this resolution with me today and a particular ``thank you'' to my colleague and good friend, Congresswoman Myrick, for all of her efforts and stamina. We are a band of sisters in this effort. Thank you so very, very much. Mr. Speaker, following the lead of eight States across the Nation-- Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Washington, and my home State of Connecticut--this resolution expresses support for designating October 13, 2009, as National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Right now in America, it has been said that 15,000 men and women around the country are living with metastatic, or stage IV, breast cancer. It means that the cancer cells have traveled from the breast to other areas in the body, such as to the liver, lungs, bones or brain, and the cells are now growing there. There is no cure for breast cancer once it has metastasized, and most of today's current medical treatments are focused only on extending the best quality of life for the patient. Breast cancer is the second leading type of cancer among women. In this year alone, 192,000 women--over that number--and 1,900 men in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease, and over 62,000 women will die from it. Thirty percent of women diagnosed with earlier stages of the illness will eventually suffer from metastatic breast cancer. The later it is diagnosed, the more likely it is that the cancer has or will metastasize. Missed opportunities of early detection is a major reason why women in developing countries, as well as right here in the United States with our own most vulnerable citizens, are more likely diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer. Without adequate access to preventative medical care, the health of the poor here and around the world is already at extreme risk. For all of these reasons and more, we believe that Congress should support this resolution and should get behind National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day on October 13. Not only will such a day help to emphasize the urgent need for new and targeted breast cancer treatments for stage IV cancer patients, but it will raise awareness, and it will save lives. I know firsthand. I'm a cancer survivor--ovarian cancer. I was fortunate enough to have been diagnosed at stage 1. If it had not been caught early by my doctor or if the cancer had metastasized, there is a good chance I would not be standing here today. We need to promote awareness of metastatic cancers in any way that we can so that women and men will know how to get timely mammograms and cancer screenings that might just save their lives. Even as doctors and scientists search for a cure for metastatic breast cancer, it is up to us to help make the treatment affordable for women in need and to pass comprehensive health insurance reform now, not later. Too many women with breast cancer today are forced to make decisions based on their finances and not on what is best for their health. All too often, as they bravely battle their illnesses, they must also fight high out-of-pocket costs and denied claims. If they become too sick to work, they must face the terrifying prospect of losing their coverage altogether. While today we express our support for a National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day, I hope very soon in the future we will reaffirm our commitment to breast cancer patients by passing meaningful health insurance reform.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the life and mourn together with his family the death of an American hero, CPT Benjamin A. Sklaver of Hamden, Connecticut. A captain the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division serving his second tour of duty, Benjamin Sklaver was killed in an ambush on Friday, October 2, while on patrol in Afghanistan. Struck down at the age of 32, he leaves behind a legacy of humanitarian works and honorable deeds that would do any man or woman proud. Captain Sklaver was, as his friend Jake Herrle deemed him, ``a combatant of peace,'' and his career of good works took him from Malawi to Djibouti and from Uganda to Central Asia. He served as a crisis relief specialist, helping people all around the world get back on their feet after hard times. Compelled to national service by his patriotism and to humanitarian action by his Jewish faith, Sklaver was at once a proud soldier and a humble man of peace. Along with his firearm and ammunition, he carried schoolbooks and drinking water. He constructed not only forts and bunkers, but roads, schools, and dormitories. He brought not war and destruction in his wake, but infrastructure and peace. Before serving in Afghanistan as an army reservist, Sklaver--a graduate of Tufts University as well as its Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy--had worked for FEMA in New York and the CDC as an international emergency and refugee health analyst. And he was the co- founder of and director of ClearWater Initiative, an organization which aspired to provide clean drinking water to refugees displaced by an international emergency. In the past two years, Sklaver's leadership at ClearWater had managed to provide over 6,500 people in Uganda with clean drinking wells. To the thousands of lives he changed in Uganda, Sklaver was known as ``Moses Ben.'' But to his grieving family--his parents, Gary and Laura; his siblings, Anna and Samuel; his fiancee, Beth; her son, Danny; and her parents, Barbara and Jimmy Segaloff--he was simply Ben, a warm, kind, and generous young man with so much life ahead of him, taken from us all too early. Connecticut mourns, and America mourns, this family's loss.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I could not be more pleased than to have this opportunity to rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend and outstanding member of the Milford community, Alan H. Jepson. I am proud to join family, friends, colleagues, and community leaders in thanking him for his many years of dedication and commitment as he celebrates his retirement from public life. It is difficult to put into words what Alan means to the Milford community--he is one-of-a-kind. Alan is a rare individual who has dedicated a lifetime to public service. He bravely left high school after just three years to join the Navy during World War II and proudly served for two years, eight months, and twenty-four days. Upon his return from military service, he went back to high school, earned his diploma, and completed his college degree under the original GI Bill--in just three years, eight months, and twenty-four days. His first professional experience was as the Director of the Junior Achievement Program in Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts. It was this calling that brought him back to Connecticut in 1956 when he became Director of Junior Achievement for the City of New Haven. Moving his family to Milford, Connecticut, it was shortly later that Alan would begin his more than forty years in civic service. In 1960 Alan was appointed as the Director of the Citizens' Action Commission where he worked with the City of New Haven in connection with the federal requirement of urban renewal. It was through this work that his interest in government, politics and eventually elected office was sparked. In 1962 he found himself chairing a charter revision commission for the City of Milford which required that he work with both Democrats and Republicans to accomplish. Just a year later he ran and was elected Mayor of Milford--a post which he held for six years. Today, Alan is retiring after serving seven terms as the Town City Clerk--an elected office for which it is said he now runs unopposed out of sheer respect and the knowledge that no one else can truly compete. His years of service to the City of Milford have earned him the respect, admiration, and esteem of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Alan's commitment to civic service extends far beyond his professional contributions. He has volunteered countless hours to innumerable service organizations. Alan is the former president of the Milford Rotary, has served as a United Way campaign worker as well as on the board of directors of the local Red Cross, and is a former First President of Milford Progress, Inc. Alan was also very involved with the local Boy Scouts where he served as a Volunteer Merit Badge Counselor and instituted Boy Scout Civic Day and Girl Scout Civic Day to promote civic pride and government studies. Alan can also be found giving his words of wisdom as ``Uncle Sam'' at the annual ``Let Freedom Ring'' bell ceremony on July 4th and volunteer reading at Milford public schools. And the list goes on. Alan Jepson is a reflection of all that we hope and expect community leaders to be. The City of Milford would not be the same without him so it was a fitting tribute when he was officially named and honored as a ``living treasure.'' Alan's retirement marks the end of an era for the Milford community. I am so proud to call Alan my friend. He and his late wife, Betty--a remarkable woman herself, welcomed me to their community with open arms and I will forever be grateful for their many years of special friendship and support. It is my privilege to stand today and extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to Alan H. Jepson and to wish him, his five daughters; Linda, Susan, Margo, Nancy, and Paula, as well as his eight grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, and three great- grandchildren all the best for many more years of health and happiness.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentlewoman for this time. I thank Chairman Berman for moving so quickly in this effort. I also want to thank Congressman Jim McGovern and Jo Ann Emerson for co-leading this bipartisan effort with me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 823. It expresses deep condolences to families, friends, and colleagues of those who were killed and injured in the attack on the U.N. World Food Program at their offices in Islamabad, Pakistan, on October 5, 2009. We offer our support for the World Food Program's mission to bring emergency food aid to the most vulnerable people of Pakistan and around the world. We condemn this reprehensible attack in the strongest of terms. All acts of terror are contemptible, but the murder of civilian workers engaged in humanitarian aid is particularly vile. Fighting hunger and deprivation around the globe is a cause to which people give more than just a daily effort. It's an all-consuming responsibility. As we saw in the horrible tragedy, it can even be the struggle in which people lose their lives. Our thoughts and our prayers go out to the families of those U.N. World Food Program workers who perished in this terrible bombing. Through their efforts and the efforts of countless others, WFP feeds 10 million Pakistanis, including 2 million displaced by violence each year. For the people who have sacrificed so much to alleviate suffering to be struck down by a wanton act of terrorism, it is unjust and senseless. We remember the fallen in our thoughts. This resolution represents a small way of honoring them as we continue the struggle for which they gave their lives: to put an end to global hunger around the world. For the first time in history, over 1 billion people--one in six--are undernourished worldwide. Every 6 seconds a child dies because of hunger and related causes. Because of higher food prices, the number of undernourished people in the world increased by 75 million in 2007, 40 million in 2008. Even in America there are 12 million children facing hunger and uncertainty right now. The continued existence of such famine in our day and age, even within our borders, is a moral outrage. We have the resources and the ability to confront this kind of suffering in the world. What we need is the conscience and the will to put an end to it. The brave and the compassionate aid workers who perished in Pakistan had this in spades. They knew that prosperous nations cannot just remain an island of plenty in a sea of want. They stepped up. They met their responsibilities. We must meet our responsibilities. This is a moral imperative that's shared by workers in the World Food Program, in the Sudan, in Somalia, where they provide 43 percent of the population with its basic food, and in places all around the world where women and men give their all to be able to ensure that starving people have enough to eat. It is also shared by many of us here in the Congress. We are in a season of political turmoil and economic uncertainty. It's particularly important that we reaffirm the memory of these murdered workers and renew our commitment to ending global hunger. Put simply, this is a national security issue. Hunger, gnawing, unyielding, forces people into desperate acts and dangerous pacts. Famine and starvation create the conditions for militant extremism around the world, the very extremism that killed these five in Pakistan. We fight hunger, and we undercut the recruiting base of those who would threaten us. As former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger recently reminded us in the L.A. Times, ``Ensuring that no child goes to school hungry is the single greatest investment we can make in building prosperous, healthy and stable societies.'' The World Food Program has long understood this. For 50 years, it has worked to feed the suffering and malnourished citizens of our planet. In 2008, their operation reached over 102 million poor and hungry people in 78 countries with 3.9 million tons of food. They have worked to eliminate not only hunger but its root causes. In short, the world food program is doing wonderful work for the people of Pakistan, the people of the United States and the people of the world. We laud their humanitarian efforts, as we condemn the cruelty and the malice that perpetrated such a deplorable atrocity in Islamabad on October 5. For the fallen, for their families and their friends, and for hungry men, women and children all around the world, our fight against global hunger will go on. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution and reaffirm their commitment to this cause.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. This month a health insurance company tried to deny health coverage to a 4-month-old baby in Colorado. Why? Because they said he was too fat. An insurance company also, just this week, denied coverage to a 2-year-old girl. Why? Because they said she was too thin. Too fat, too thin, sounds like a no-win situation, a catch-22. And, in fact, it was designed that way. An industry spokesman said they might reconsider covering those children if they got medical treatment and seemed healthy over a period of time. So in order to get health insurance, these children need to get treated without health insurance until they prove they're healthy enough to satisfy the insurance company. A cruel trick. And these companies pull it every day just to preserve their profit margins. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Our friends across the aisle have been using similar logic to defend these companies and to defeat health insurance reform. They tell us that a public option will mean government-run health insurance, and that must be stopped. They tell us our health reform plan will endanger Medicare which is, of course, a public option. Which is it: too fat, too thin, too much government or not enough?

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, let me tell an old story relevant to our current health care debate. One day, a frog was hopping by a river when he came upon a scorpion. The scorpion asked if the frog would carry him across. The frog said, No, you will sting me. The scorpion replied, No, if I stung you, we would both drown. What is the point of that? So the frog put the scorpion on his back and waded into the river. Halfway across, he felt a sudden sting and his body went numb. Scorpion, why did you do that? Now we will both die. Said the scorpion, It is my nature. Today, the health insurance industry refuses to cover basic maternity care for four out of five women, while charging them higher premiums. It kicks women out of hospitals within hours of a mastectomy. No industry in history that profits from a broken system has ever moved to reform that system. After faking support for health care reform for months, why did the health insurance industry on Monday suddenly try to sting us with a flawed and incomplete cost analysis of a health care plan? The same reason they fight to prevent competition through a strong public option, and the same reason many of my Republican colleagues have done nothing but obstruct reform. It is their nature.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the life and mourn together with his family the death of Captain Benjamin A. Sklaver of Hamden, Connecticut, who served his country and the neediest people of the world honorably. Captain Sklaver was killed in an ambush last Friday while on patrol in Afghanistan. Struck down at the age of 32, he leaves behind a legacy of humanitarian works and honorable deeds that would do any man or woman proud. Before serving in Afghanistan as an Army reservist, Ben had worked for the Centers for Disease Control as an international emergency and refugee health analyst. And he was the cofounder and director of ClearWater Initiative, an organization which aspired to provide clean drinking water to refugees displaced by an international emergency. In the past 2 years, his leadership at ClearWater had managed to provide over 6,500 people in Uganda with clean drinking wells. To the thousands of lives he changed in Uganda, Ben was known as ``Moses Ben.'' But to his grieving family--his parents, Gary and Laura; his siblings, Anna and Samuel; his fiancee, Beth; her son, Danny; and her parents, Barbara and Jimmy Segaloff--he was simply Ben, a warm, kind, generous, and loving young man with so much life ahead of him taken from all of us too soon. Connecticut mourns and America mourns this family's loss today.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. With that, let me yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Davis).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Ms. DeLAURO. First of all, let me just say thank you to the ranking member, Mr. Kingston; and, in fact, it is a pleasure to work with Mr. Kingston. We always say that we may have philosophical differences, but we are good-natured about it and understand that and work in a very collaborative effort. And I, too, thank you for all of your help and your input with regard to the issue of Chinese poultry. It was a long discussion, but one in which I think we came to a conclusion as our colleague, Mr. Davis, said being able to strike that balance where we are able to protect the public health and at the same time to protect an industry. And I feel good about that. And I, too, look forward to our continued efforts together as we approach problems--as you know and I do--that really face people with the jurisdiction that we have that comes under this portfolio. It really touches people's lives in so, so many ways. And I know that you have a deep and abiding concern for what happens to our farmers and our ranchers, what's happening to our industries and to making sure that we have the wherewithal and provide the resources people need to succeed. I would like to, if I might, just make one further comment, and then we'll yield back whatever time is remaining. I wanted to bring the attention of my colleagues to an important matter of health and safety. And when we talked about the child nutrition program and its extension, our Nation's schoolchildren and the people who work with them on a daily basis are faced with a growing public health concern. Awareness of vaccine for H1N1 flu, annual flu has made the front pages of our communities these days. You've got school food service workers who face a very difficult dilemma in trying to do their jobs. They don't have any paid sick leave. These are people without any leave. So there's thousands of food service workers who pose a real risk to the health and safety of our Nation's kids. And the comment is ``show up for work or do not get paid.'' So rather than exacerbating the problems, these workers can and should be part of the solution to ensuring the health and safety of our children. I look forward to working in the months ahead as Education and Labor looks to reauthorize their legislation, and I pledge to work with my colleagues to see if we can provide a minimum and a reasonable standard for paid sick leave for school service workers. In the meantime, I am also encouraging the administration to examine this issue because I think it is a health problem and the Nation's well-being depends on it.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, just to set the record straight on one or two items, as the gentleman from Georgia knows, the difference between a little over 11 percent and a little over 13 percent comes from the $350 million allocation for U.S. dairy farmers. Now, I don't know if the gentleman has dairy farmers in his district, but North, South, East and West, the dairy industry is collapsing. Now, it may be that you and your side of the aisle would like to see the dairy industry collapse. We pay for it. It's within the allocation, in addition to which we thought it was the right thing to do in order to deal with small farmers, people who are on their knees with regard to the dairy industry, and essentially because of what happened in China. If the truth be known, it is that given the tainted product in China, we were exporting--we were doing a voluminous export business to China. Because the product was tainted, the Chinese were not buying their product because it killed their kids. So they are not buying milk, and our dairy farmers are suffering as a result of that. Now, I happen to believe it is an appropriate responsibility for our government to look at what was happening to the U.S. dairy farmers and to provide them with assistance, and the gentleman knows what that is. In addition to this, one additional point. We keep hearing about air- dropping. You know, it sounds good, and maybe the view is that if you continue to repeat it often enough, it will somehow in some way catch on. There was no such thing as air-dropping anything into this bill. As a matter of fact, as far as I know, Education and Labor is an authorizing committee. This went through the authorizing committee, and essentially, as I said in my opening remarks, conferees--House, Senate, Democrat, Republican--agreed to extend for 1 year the child nutrition program because it isn't ready to move to reauthorization yet. And what would that cut off if we did not, if we did not extend it under this bill? It would mean the school breakfast program, the school lunch program. I know several years ago folks on the other side of the aisle thought it was a good idea to end the school lunch program. I think probably on a bipartisan basis these days no one believes that we should end these nutrition programs. So nothing was air-dropped. It was vetted by the committee, supported by Chairs and ranking members, both sides of the aisle, House and Senate, and essentially what we did, at no cost within this allocation, was to extend this program for a year. With that, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).

Ms. DeLAURO. I am delighted to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Ms. DeLAURO. I would be happy to accept an invitation for breakfast. I love grits with butter and salt. What do you put first, the butter or the salt? I'll take your advice on that.

Ms. DeLAURO. I'd be happy to yield.

Ms. DeLAURO

Ms. DeLAURO. I thank the gentleman for yielding time, and I am delighted to present the 2010 Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Appropriations Conference Report. I wanted to note that this is the earliest that an Agriculture appropriations conference report has come to the floor of this House since 1999. In fact, we have been busy all year. The subcommittee has held seven hearings so far, including two hearings with the Secretary of Agriculture, a hearing with the Acting Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, another with the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. We had a hearing on domestic nutrition programs, a hearing on the equivalency process for imported meat and poultry. We also had a hearing at which Members discussed their priorities. This report before us is then the culmination of this process. It focuses on several key areas, supporting agricultural research, investing in rural communities. My colleague from Texas was just up on his feet, and he represents a rural part of Texas. Well, in fact, what we did was increase resources for rural America, and I'm sure that that includes his portion in Texas. He ought to think twice about voting against a bill which is going to help his constituents. And that's probably true of agricultural research as well. We also focused on protecting the public health, bolstering nutrition programs and food aid, and conserving our natural resources. I would just say that the report proposes investments in these priorities and the agencies that can help us to meet them while making specific and sensible budgets cuts where feasible. The appropriations bill on Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration for 2010 provides for $23 billion in funding. It is a 13 percent increase over the 2009 levels, the reason being, as our colleague from New York said a moment ago, because there was an additional $350 million put in this bill in order to deal with the crisis amongst dairy farmers in this country. Whether you are from the East Coast, the way I am, the middle of the country, where others are, or the West coast, dairy farmers are in critical difficulty. Now, if we propose not to do that, let's close it down. Let's close the dairy industry down, because, you know what? You can't stop milking cows just because the prices are low. You have to continually do it. And our small dairy farmers are going under. We also made responsible investments across the board and, yes, in fact, we did make cuts in programs. We made a significant investment in agricultural research, $1.2 billion for the Agriculture Research Service, $1.3 billion for the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Among the key programs that were funded was the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. In addition, the report seeks to create new opportunities for growth in the Nation's small-town economies, rural America. The conference agreement provides $173 million for section 502 Guaranteed Single Family Housing Loans and $40 million for the Renewable Energy Program to focus in on renewable energy projects so that rural communities can take advantage of this effort. I also might say again to my colleague from Texas who was standing up there, the administration proposed to cut the Farm and Ranchland Program, the Wildlife Habitat Program, and several other very good conservation programs. The Resources Conservation Agency development offices, I would bet he's got those issues in his district. Well, you know what we did? We restored that funding because those communities need to have these resources in order to succeed.