Peter Deutsch

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, for the past several months, the House Republican leadership have stubbornly help up the entire foreign aid package, including MEPFA and aid to Israel, in order to score political points on a domestic political issue. Unfortunately, this intransigence has put the three most vital benefits of foreign aid to Israel in serious jeopardy. First, without delivering foreign aid by January 1, the economic stability of Israel could be threatened. The Israeli Government will come dangerously close to defaulting on its financial commitments. Moreover, funding for a variety of social projects in the region will be imperiled including money earmarked for roads, housing and hospitals. Second, the failure to pass the foreign aid bill will have a serious impact on the American economy. It is a little known fact that 83 percent of all aid to Israel is spent here in the United States creating good jobs for Americans. Without passage of the foreign aid legislation, billions of dollars that would have been injected into the American economy will be lost. Third, failure to pass the foreign aid bill will endanger the fragile Middle East peace process. Both Israel and the Palestinians rely heavily on American aid to stabilize their domestic economies. Eliminating this funding will encourage extremism in both societies and threaten all of the hard fought progress that has occurred over the last several years. On a practical level, the United States has a choice between either providing aid to Israel or sustaining a large military presence in the Middle East. I urge the House Republican leadership to negotiate a compromise on this legislation and pass the foreign aid bill. Without some type of action, we are in jeopardy of seriously undermining the peace process in the Middle East.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, for the past 50 years in Broward County, one man has been at the forefront of civic progress in South Florida. Whether it was a fight for the preservation of the Everglades or the integration of our schools, Hamilton C. Forman has taken a leading role in finding solutions to our communities' problems. In recognition of these civic accomplishments, the B'nai B'rith Foundation of the United States is awarding Hamilton Forman the Great American Traditions Award on Saturday, January 6. The Hamilton Forman story began in the rural section of Broward County during the pre-Depression era. His family worked as dairy farmers in an isolated section of the county. Yet, even though Hamilton Forman grew up in a remote section of Broward County, it did not restrain him from devising a clear vision on how he wanted Broward County, his home, to develop. He wanted to create a booming economy in South Florida built around warm weather and migration. With this idea in mind, he invested a good portion of his life's savings in real estate located across the region. By the end of World War II he had amassed hundreds of acres of local real estate and established himself as a role model for entrepreneurial success and civic involvement. But the achievements of Hamilton C. Forman over the last 50 years cannot simply be summarized by saying that he was instrumental in building a hospital or that he donated money and time to a charitable organization. The primary contribution Hamilton C. Forman has given to South Florida is that he has repeatedly offered his services to the community over the last 50 years. It is this rare example of continued leadership and civic involvement that I wish to pay special tribute to today. Since World War II, Hamilton Forman has chosen to involve himself in a wide array of issues facing our diverse society and I would like to take this time to thank him for this untiring involvement in the welfare of South Florida.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, when the Republican freshmen came to Congress, they promised us that they would run Congress like a business. Well, let us talk about what is going on right now. We have a disagreement, let us say, between the CEO and the board of directors of a publicly traded corporation, and then, as that disagreement is going on, the board of directors says, ``Let us fire all of the employees and pay them, yes, fire all the employees and pay them.'' Think what would happen to the value of that company the next day. You know something, that is exactly what my Republican colleagues are doing. They have decided to furlough the employees and pay them. I hope in the next nine 1-minutes someone tries to explain that inexplicable thing. It does not make sense to anyone out there in America. It just absolutely does not. That is what you are doing. What is going on reminds me of when my 5-year-old acts like my 2- year-old. I mean, adults really can have disagreements, but they really should act like adults, and what I would recommend to everyone out there, the children of America, is to call their parents in Congress and tell them to act like adults over the next couple of days.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of an override of the veto on this legislation, and I do that as a member of the Democratic Caucus and a member of the committee. I would, once again, point out to my colleagues that this is a bipartisan bill. A majority of Democrats in this Chamber voted for this bill, both as it originally passed the House as well as the conference report. The President's veto message highlights several specific things, and I want to discuss those in the short time that I have. The first is the issue of pleadings. Let me be very clear about that. That particular issue was in the bill at the request of the judicial conference, not at the request of any particular industry group, but by a group of judges that deal with pleading requirements. That is why that particular issue was in the bill. The other issue that the President raises is the issue of report language. And let me focus on that for my colleagues. What courts in this country have determined in terms of our legislative intent is that report language is not considered. It is the language that we pass in the bill. So the President's focus actually might have been accurate when he was a professor of law several decades ago in Arkansas, but by the latest court decisions that is just not accurate. Report language has no effect on the bill. But let me talk about what the President did agree with. He agreed with the safe-harbor provisions. He had no objections to the aiding- and-abetting provisions or for the issue of fraud, because the facts of this bill are that this bill is an antifraud bill. It creates an affirmative duty by accountants to report fraud, which does not exist under existing law. So, if anything, this bill truly is an antifraud bill. Finally, I would close just on the substance of the bill itself. This bill is really at the heart of what we are as Democrats as well. This is a jobs bill. Because the reality is the existing law stops access to capital, stops job creation in this country today. I urge support of the override of the President's veto.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I, too, join my colleagues in an honor today to really talk a little bit about John Dingell. As was pointed out, the times that we entered this Congress or first heard of John Dingell, John Dingell entered this Congress before I was born. I was elected in 1992, but obviously I had heard of the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell] before then. As somewhat considering myself a student of history and history of this Congress, in many ways John Dingell is the Babe Ruth of this Congress and really a legendary person, a person that, when you look back on 40 years of American history, had a role, had a piece, had a touch, on 40 years on American history, and, when we look back on 40 years of American history in terms of the good things that happened, that same hand, that same touch, that same action was there, and for those of us who studied the legislative process over the last 40 years, there is no one who has probably attained the status of master of this process of being able to use public policy to positively influence people's lives, and really that is what this process is about, using this process, using Government, to make a difference in people's lives, to make a positive force, to use Government as a positive force, in people's lives. And that really, I guess, is the legacy of John Dingell, really having done that over a 40-year period because none of our words here tonight can possibly do justice to what he has done in the last 40 years, but tens of millions, really hundreds of millions, of Americans whose lives are different because of his work are that legacy. And we can go through, and some of the issues have been talked about tonight, but his integrity and his commitment--but his attitude about this process I think is an example that all of us really use as a paradigm of unbought and unbossed, whose only interests really have been that goal of representing his constituents and people of this country. Whether it is health care, whether it is the environment, those differences have occurred, and I can think of no greater tribute than I can say for myself that I can look to no one in this Congress whose career that I would seek to emulate, and I think many, if not most, of the younger Members of this Chamber who have had a chance to serve with him would say the same thing, than to have a career, after any number of years, of trying to influence this process and being successful as John Dingell has during the first 40 years of his career.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, the President's decision to send United States troops to Bosnia is an appropriate and necessary use of power by the world's only superpower designed to bring peace to the Balkans. It is a mission we neither sought nor savior. These troops are not being sent into a war. Rather, they are going to support a peace treaty. Last month, in Dayton, OH, the three Balkan leaders initialized a peace treaty that would halt the fighting between the Serbians, Croatians, and Bosnians. Two months ago, while the fighting was raging across the former Yugoslavia, I would have refused to endorse a plan sending American troops to Bosnia. Today, however, American troops are not being sent to Bosnia to engage in an active military conflict. Instead, they form the backbone of a peacekeeping mission that will at long last bring stability to an area of the world that has only seen violence and misery for so many years. Surely there is risk in sending our soldiers overseas. However, it serves our national interest to help bring peace and stability to the Balkans and to Europe. Before we send our soldiers to Bosnia, however, it is imperative that we develop a comprehensive exist strategy to guarantee that our troops will not fall into another intractable quagmire. As wisely highlighted by the Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, if we leave Bosnia without allowing all the parties to stand on equal ground, we will find ourselves debating these same issues in the very near future. The United States must ensure that before our soldiers return home, the Bosnian Army has the ability to defend itself and its people.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleague, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Diaz-Balart], and all the Members from south Florida to rise today with great sadness to share with you the news that my constituent, 9-year-old Jimmy Ryce, was abducted, sexually assaulted, shot, and finally found dead just a few short miles from his Miami home. What happened to Jimmy Ryce is really the worst imaginable thing anyone could possibly imagine in their wildest nightmares, and all of our community in south Florida, unfortunately, share the hopes and the fears and, to an infinitesimal degree, some of the suffering that the Ryce family is feeling today and will always feel. One of the things that has happened during this period of time is, unfortunately, I have educated myself a little bit about what is going on in child abductions in this country. On several occasions during the last several months I spoke with the FBI and people involved in the investigation, people involved in the investigation of missing children. Over a thousand a year in this country fall into that category, and, again, unfortunately, there have been strides in what we have done as a society and what we have done as a country to try to help this insufferable tragedy. In fact, south Florida, unfortunately, was an impetus to this several years ago when Adam Walsh was abducted and killed in south Florida and from the time that Adam Walsh was killed to today, and really through his family's work, there have been changes. There is now, in fact, a missing persons center clearinghouse the Federal Government operates for missing children, abused and abducted children, that has been helpful in solving many cases and actually having children returned to their families. But, unfortunately, what the Ryce family found is there is still a lot more that we can do operationally as a country and as a government both on the Federal level, but on State and local levels as well, but on the Federal level. Some of the frustration dealing with the Federal Government during this ordeal really is worth hearing and talking about and changing. As the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Diaz-Balart] pointed out and the Ryce family obviously knows, when they tried to spread the news of Jimmy's abduction, and they did an amazing job, the community did an amazing job, and we also on the floor of this Congress were talking about it and sending photos ourselves, but when they tried to do that through a network that exists in this country of post offices, Federal buildings that are everywhere in this country, they found they could not do it, which really makes no sense at all. And what will happen by the end of this week is that all of us in the south Florida delegation will be introducing legislation to correct that so that we can send out that information. If I have learned anything about child abductions, it is that the more information that is out there, the more people see a child's face, the more chances that something will be solved, and even in this case, the lead was because of that. There are other instances where the Ryce family actually had operational problems dealing with the Federal Government in terms of coordination. They found themselves there is no coordinated effort for missing children. There is for criminal fugitives, but there is not for missing children. The family was actually calling law enforcement throughout the State who had not even heard or were aware of what was going on. I am committed, and I know my colleagues from south Florida, I believe, my colleagues throughout this country are committed to doing everything that we possibly can to make sure that there is less of a chance that something like this will ever happen again in this great country. I think we all need to really feel and share some of the pain with the Ryce family because we are a community of America, and as a community we need to really work on ourselves as a community to make sure that the sickness that exists and the indescribable sickness is eliminated as much as we possibly can. To the Ryce family, I can only say to them that their strength and their perseverance will, I am sure, be clear that there will be something that will occur in this time, and we know that Jimmy Ryce's soul is in Heaven, and we pray for its continuation.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I think something that has been pointed out previously but deserves to be pointed out again, is that this is a bipartisan bill in terms of over 50 percent of the Democrats supporting it. In a sense, speaking to my Democratic colleagues, what I think is important for us to realize is that just because something is good for public corporations does not mean it is bad for America. I think that is something we need to understand as individuals, but also as a party as well. If we talk about the specifics of this legislation, what occurs out there in the real world is that when a stock goes down, a company gets sued automatically, essentially. And there are professional plaintiffs out there that do this. The value added to the economy, to investors, to everyone in America of those lawsuits is negative. The effects are negative. The effects hurt America. As a party, we care about jobs. As individuals and all Americans, we care about jobs. The effect of this, the existing system, is to hurt access to capital. Hurting access to capital hurts existing businesses, growth businesses, upstart businesses, which are really the major creators of wealth in new jobs in this country. Mr. Speaker, in an era where we are competing in a world economy, to keep this shackle on us, especially when the value we are getting in terms of this focus of preventing fraud, and I think, as the gentleman from Oregon pointed out, this legislation, in terms of the real world, the real effect, will have a positive effect. This is not throwing [[Page H 14050]] out protections at all. That is a hyperbole that has been discussed on the floor. When we look at the specifics of what this legislation does, both in terms of affirmative duties of accountants, but in terms of SEC regulations as well, it is that investors' protection is not strong. What is cut out in this bill is frivolous lawsuits that have cost investors and cost our economy across America untold adverse effects over the years. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the conference agreement on securities litigation reform. Yesterday, the Senate overwhelmingly endorsed this proinvestor bill and today, I am confident that the House will echo its support with equal strength. Quite honestly, it behooves me that anyone who understands this bill could oppose it. It is a simple decision, a decision between stimulating growth or promoting frivolous, mercenary law suits. For far too long, economic growth and shareholder returns have been stifled by a ring of legal shackles that pumps the pockets of a few at the expense of many. This bill will right a terrible injustice: the abusive practice of hiring professional plaintiffs and holding other shareholders as pawns in meritless securities lawsuits. This bill will restore power to real investors in securities lawsuits, changing the rules so that actual investors, not predatory lawyers, call the shots. This bill will give the Government tough new powers to prevent securities fraud and to punish such fraud when it does take place. South Florida is home to a great number of dynamic enterprises-- growth companies. For these growth companies, passage of H.R. 1058 is a high priority, because H.R. 1058 is a jobs bill. When this bill becomes law, the innovators in my district will be able to spend more resources and effort in creating new jobs, and waste less time confronting frivolous lawsuits. There's a false notion that this bill weakens the law. THe fact is, this bill strengthens the law. It will strengthen the integrity of the law. It will strengthen the people's respect for the law. It will do this by putting fraudulent legal schemes by predatory lawyers out of business. H.R. 1058 will strengthen our capabilities for combating fraud. This is bipartisan legislation. THe majority of Members of my party, the Democratic Party, in this Chamber today will vote for this legislation. Progressive Democrats who also may be called New Democrats--Democrats who want innovative businesses to flourish and create jobs--support this bill. Mr. Speaker, America's capital markets grew to be the strongest in the world in no small part because of our legal system's honesty and integrity. Reforming securities litigation laws will correct an unfortunate flaw in our system and give it the full strength we need to stay competitive in the world. For the good of every American who invests in stock or a pension plan, I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, and I urge the President to sign it.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the maritime Security Act. This legislation will revitalize the U.S. Maritime industry and significantly strengthen our military readiness. Maritime commerce is a major part of the engine that drives south Florida's economy, where Port Everglades and the Port of Miami are among the fastest growing hubs for international commerce. In fact--in my home county of Broward--nearly 80 percent of Port Everglades' business relies on trade with the Caribbean and Latin America. Our increasing reliance on international trade makes this important legislation for all Americans. The Maritime Security Act will help ensure the bright future of south Florida's ports and their major role in international commerce. This legislation is good for U.S. business and it is good for national security. I commend the bill's sponsors for their excellent leadership and urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Rabbi Motty Berger who gave the opening prayer of today's session of the House of Representatives. I was fortunate enough to meet Rabbi Berger several years ago at the College of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem where my wife and I enrolled in one of his courses on Jewish philosophy. During a time of tremendous transition in the Jewish community, I found Rabbi Berger to be an extremely perceptive speaker on topics surrounding the heritage of the Jewish people. He talked passionately about his desire to promote the continuity of Jewish traditions and values. Rabbi Berger was born and raised in the United States and after graduating high school attended Ner Israel Rabbinical School in Baltimore. After completing his rabbinical studies, he went on to teach Jewish philosophy in Jerusalem and became extremely active with the Aish HaTorah organization. This yeshiva has dedicated itself to creating a warm environment that promotes Jewish unity. With that said, [[Page H 13939]] it is a tremendous honor to welcome Rabbi Motty Berger.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I am so tempted to take the 1 minute and respond to my colleague and good friend from Florida [Mr. Miller] about Medicare because there are just flat-out distortions in what he just said, but I think the focus right now is Medicaid, and let us talk about Medicaid for the country and for Florida as well. Unless there is some part of this bill which I have not seen which figures out how to cure illness and old age, the results of this proposal will be devastating to the country in the whole, but particularly to Florida. Florida will be more adversely effected than any State in this country, and I continue to urge my 15 Republican colleagues in Florida who could make the difference in stopping this bill from becoming law to vote against this proposal. There is an opportunity to make history today, this evening, and I urge my colleagues [Mr. Miller] as well as my other Republican friends from Florida to do that. Because, if they do not do it, let us just talk a little bit about what will happen. People will still get sick. People will still get pregnant. But what will happen is they will be treated in community hospitals throughout our State at more cost and less service. I urge the defeat.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I want to focus that 1 minute on Medicare in this budget and go through three things very clearly. No. 1, the Republicans continue to say it is unprecedented, Medicare is going to go bankrupt in 7 years. The chart right here points out the fact, and a lot of times my colleagues on the other side do not like to listen to facts, but the fact is in 12 of the last 30 years that Medicare has existed in actuarial life was less than 7 years. It is not unprecedented. We have done things to deal with the actuarial change. No. 2, is $270 billion in cuts. Where did that come from? That number has nothing to do with the actuarial soundness of Medicare. It is a derived number from the budget deficit that they need. And in fact if it had anything to do with Medicare, it would stay in the Medicare trust fund, which it does not do in the Medicare proposals in the reconciliation bill. Mr. Speaker, the third and final thing is that the truth of this program, the bottom line, I think I will let the Speaker speak for himself: ``We don't get rid of Medicare in round one because we don't think that's politically smart, and we don't think that's the right way to go through a transition period, but we believe it's going to wither on the vine because we think people are going to voluntarily leave it.''

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I, too, today join my colleagues in rising in support of this resolution. I had the honor to meet and interact with Yitzhak Rabin probably at least a dozen times. The last time I was in Israel I knew I was going to have an opportunity to spend some time with him, and I read his autobiography on the plane over to Israel, and his autobiography in a sense is really almost a history of the modern State of Israel. From the time of a young man in his early twenties being the commander of the Hagana and Palmach troops that defended and really secured the existence of Jerusalem for the Jewish State, going on from the 1948 through 1967 war when he commanded Israeli defense forces into his first term as Prime Minister, his life truly is the life of the modern State of Israel. Any death is a tragedy, and the tragedy that we see here is of untold, indescribable proportions. Brothers killing brothers. I think everyone in the world feels that pain. The pain that we feel is not just for the family, and we feel that pain, but really for the future as well. Because those of us who know and understand some of Jewish history know that there has been brother kiling brother that has destroyed prior States of Israel, and our hopes and our prayers is that that is not what this is about, but this is the act of a crazed one person, and that is the only act, and it is not tidings of worse things to come. Many people who have been in this Chamber on a daily basis do not acknowledge or do not realize that right above us, actually straight in the center of us, is a wreath of Moses who looks down on us every day in this U.S. Congress, and for those who are watching on C-SPAN I would ask them when they come to Congress, and even those in the gallery can look. I, too, know that God looks on us in our presence and through his help and strength that his will will be done in the future.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Actually, he is from my own community.

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California. Mr. Speaker, If I could again follow up, because it really was in some ways a good sign today when I spoke with several people from the FBI, from the missing and exploited children's branch, that the case which got a lot of publicity was two young boys, I think a 3-year-old and 11-year-old brother who got kidnapped in Minnesota, a guy in a stolen car. It really was luck, God's providence, whatever, that this woman who did not even remember where she saw their picture, based on the day she saw it, she might have seen it on America's Most Wanted. They specifically said that, because she kind of remembered seeing it on Saturday or Monday or whatever, but it does happen, and he is somewhere, and the question is hopefully someone is seeing him and is going to be able to call that 800 number.

Mr. DEUTSCH. They really are happy endings. In a little bit I will show the statistics of that. What they really have said to me, I have spent some time trying to understand, unfortunately, this tragedy, the more you learn about it, the more sickening it is, that the more publicity and the more people that know, the better it is. I am really happy that my colleague from Florida joins us here today. I know it has been a long day for my colleague as well, but Congresswoman Thurman.

Mr. DEUTSCH. Three hundred miles.

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with you, this Congress, and those watching at home, about an endangered innocent, a constituent of mine, Jimmy Ryce. Jimmy is a 10-year-old boy from Miami, FL, who was abducted 51 days ago, on September 11, 1995. He was last seen getting off the school bus less than four blocks from his home in the Redlands, an agricultural, quite spacious community just southwest of Miami. Jimmy is an A student enrolled in an honors-gifted program at his school. Everyone who knows him is attracted to his goodness, sweetness, and intelligence. He is a very trusting child. Jimmy loves to read. He has a habit of reading a couple of books at the same time, leaving the books scattered throughout the house with bookmarks in each of them. Jimmy loves baseball and football. Some of the family's happiest memories are going together to Dolphins and Marlins games at Joe Robbie Stadium. If I may ask the cameras to just focus in on Jimmy, and I will talk about the picture in a couple of seconds, but if they can leave the focus on him. Since learning of Jimmy's kidnapping, the reaction in south Florida is one of outrage, anger, and shock. The response from authorities has been swift and professional. The media in south Florida have been exceptional. But where is Jimmy? The television coverage has been extensive, over and above the magnitude of other such kidnapping incidents. Newsrooms and reporters have taken the Ryce case to heart and have made it their station's commitment to cover the case down to the latest findings. As we all know, when faced with adversity good things do tend to happen. People have volunteered tirelessly their time, services, and assistance, unconditionally. Wal-Mart is displaying Jimmy's posters in their 2,000 stores nationwide, as is Albertson's grocery outlet, and the list is endless. Most of these efforts were something solicited from volunteers, unbeknownst to the Ryces. Not only have State officials, including Governor Chiles, been involved, but Federal officials, too, including the FBI and Attorney General Janet Reno. What we are hoping is that the more people who see Jimmy's face, the more likely it is someone who has seen him will recognize his face from these posters. This is not a city problem or a State problem, not the abduction of a child in a custodial battle or a runaway, but who, taken from his family by a stranger, is a national problem. As I said, let me ask the camera again to focus on the picture. What I have learned in the last several weeks with the FBI missing persons, Missing Children Division, is that of the cases that have been solved, they are really solved by people in the community seeing these pictures, seeing the pictures on ``America's Most Wanted,'' seeing the pictures on milk cartons or on postcards. The case that very recently got national publicity, I just found out today the way it was solved. Two young boys who were kidnapped in Minnesota and found in Louisiana, in New Orleans, it was just a chance sighting by someone in a restaurant, calling the FBI through the 800 number that I will give [[Page H 11678]] in a second, and actually, several times, just a chance sighting. The woman who saw the young boys was not sure, she thought she saw him, she did not remember where she had seen a picture, she was not sure, and even to this day she is not sure, but the FBI followed up on it and went to the location where the sighting occurred, interviewed the woman, and those two boys are back with their family today. That clearly is what we are hoping will happen, and will happen very soon. As I said, this is a recent photo of Jimmy Ryce, and for people who are watching, hopefully they are watching, and hopefully, again, someone will have an opportunity to call maybe even this evening with the chance that maybe they have seen him in some location. It seems so impossible that even with all the communication of media involved that a child could vanish without a trace. As a parent myself, I cannot imagine what kind of fear and pain Don and Claudine Ryce are going through today; in fact, right now. It is a parent's worst nightmare. The Ryces have had their own nightmares. No matter what is taking place, from the moment they finally fall asleep at night until the moment they wake up, the first thought that enters their minds is that their little boy, Jimmy, is not sleeping in his own bed. Today is a good day for the Ryces. They are feeling optimistic. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the FBI, and Metro Dade police met today and released information that a witness has possibly seen Jimmy. If you have any information leading to the disappearance of Jimmy Ryce, please call the number on the poster, 1-800-361-9526. According to the Department of Justice fact sheet on missing children, every year there are between 1,600 and 2,300 stranger abductions of children under the age of 12 in the United States of America. These children are the endangered innocents. Only 300 of these kidnappings last more than 24 hours, and the FBI has told me that you can extend the radius of the circle where they may be 300 miles from point of abduction for every day they are missing. These missing children could have been deported or crossed borders, and may not even be in the United States. Jimmy Ryce is an endangered innocent. Typically the only way law enforcement ever finds these children is through information and leads called in by the police. On Monday, October 30, 1995, ADVO distributed over 50 million cards throughout the country with Jimmy's picture on it. You have probably seen pictures before of missing children in the space contributed by ADVO on the left side front of postcards, which carry on the back advertisements for various services and products. Please look at these cards and etch Jimmy's fact in your memory. Be on the lookout for these warning signs: a new child in your neighborhood, a child acting strangely next door, has a child suddenly been enrolled in a class. As small as the chance is, it may be the only chance Jimmy has of getting home safely. Jimmy's parents, Don and Claudine Ryce, have reached a celebrity status they never sought. Compassionate people embraced them and let them know that Jimmy is in their prayers. The more people know about Jimmy's disappearance, the better chance the Ryce's have of getting him back. Mr. Speaker, I ask you, the members of Congress, and the American public to give this family a happy ending. Bring Jimmy Ryce home safely to his parents. A few weeks from now we will celebrate Thanksgiving, a time of love, sharing, and counting one's blessings. I want this Thanksgiving to be the best one the Ryce family has ever had, as the family is all together with Jimmy. I know several of my colleagues have been with me this evening, and I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Dornan.]

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I thank Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen for preparing her statement and also I know that Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart spoke earlier under 5 minutes about Jimmy Ryce and his hope for his safe return to his parents. I want to shift gears a little bit and just talk about missing children in this country in general. As Jimmy Ryce's abduction has really heightened the community in south Florida, I educated myself a little bit about what I have said just has to be one of the most disturbing statistics in this country, if not the most disturbing statistic in this country. This chart shows from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children numbers, numbers that are staggering. Nonfamily abductions, 1,524. And then some very unfortunate sobering statistics, I guess optimistic but sobering as well, of those 385 were located alive and close to 200 were located deceased. So there is reason for hope. But a number that is staggering, 1 would be depressing, but I cannot express in any way what 1,500 families in this country have gone through in this period of time. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at least tries to advise parents and there has been, obviously, a national media campaign about things to do. And there is a national computer network that is linked via computer with 45 States, allowing the instant transmission of images and information on missing children. There is Project ALERT, America's Law Enforcement Retiree Team uses retired police to provide free on-site assistance to local police in difficult missing or exploited child cases, photos and posters with private sector partners, imaging/identification, case management, leads. The 800 number, which has been mentioned by other Members as well, is 1-800-843-5678. Specifically for Jimmy Ryce, the number is 1- 800-362-9526. Let me also follow up, as several Members have mentioned, sort of what can parents do and some of it unfortunately cannot do enough. Tens of millions of children in America left their buses today after school, tens of millions walked home, maybe a block, maybe several blocks. And I hope all of them made it back home. But unfortunately I know that on occasion some do not, like Jimmy Ryce did not. So, I do not think it is realistic to hope that every child, or we are at that point in our society, needs to be walked home from the bus station at school, but we can try to do some things, just knowing and just sort of a list of things: knowing where your children are at all times, being familiar with their friends and daily activities, being sensitive to changes in the child's behavior, that you should sit down and talk to your children about what causes changes, be alert to a teenager, be alert to a teenager who is paying an unusual amount of attention to the children or giving them inappropriate or expensive gifts, teach your children to trust their own feelings and assure them they have a right to say no to what they sense in wrong, listen carefully to your children's fears, support them in all your discussions with them, teach your children that no one should approach them or touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable, and if someone does, they should tell the parents immediately, be careful about baby-sitters and other individuals who have custody of your children. Now some people have also made suggestions and actually the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children talks about things, passwords that parents can use with their kids if someone does say that their parent is sick, or that they are a police officer, that there be a password that the child will know that that person would say. It is one of the techniques that has been suggested or that stop points. When a child is leaving a bus station, at a certain point they should be there by then, and if they are not, then someone needs to know about it, whether it is an older sibling, an older friend, or a trusted neighbor. Let me talk about some children, and that happened unfortunately on some other children mentioned from Florida that are missing. Obviously I have talked about Jimmy Ryce, but I want to show another, the picture there, but it is just a picture. If the camera could try to focus in on it, I will try to hold it as steady as I can, and, as you can read, the child has a birthmark on his shoulder blade, was last seen wearing a white shirt and blue jean shorts. His nickname is Jimmy. And, as the circumstance, child was last seen getting off his school bus at his bus stop, which is three blocks from his home. As I mentioned, all these are children from Florida. That was in Homestead, FL, my district. Walter Morales left his home in Miami, FL, with three males on October 27, 1993, and has not been heard from since. Child has a small scar near his right eye. He has two top teeth that are gold. He has a ``W'' on his left shoulder, and again, if the camera can focus in on that? This is a picture of Andrea Gail Parsons, who was last seen July 11, 1993, in Port Salerno, FL. She was 10 when she disappeared. The child was last seen wearing blue jean shorts, a dark-colored shirt, clear plastic sandals. Child was last seen at 6 p.m. near Commerce and Seward Ave. in Port Salerno, FL. As has been mentioned, those are cases of abductions, of nonfamily abductions. There are family abductions unfortunately, and I just-- again these are in Florida. This is Malik Mike Tourbah, kidnapped by his father in Miami Lakes, FL, on June 22, 1990. Child has a scar on his right eye. And this is Kaylee Nicole Lopez, kidnapped by her noncustodian grandparents on August 12, 1989, in Miami, and child has a birthmark on the right side of her chest and her upper right thigh. Her eyes are hazel green. Child's photo is shown age-progressed to 8 years. And Andrea Durham from Fort Walton Beach, FL, she left her family's new home on February 1, 1990, and it is an age-progressed photo, actually to 18 years at this point. Mr. Speaker, we have discussed something tonight that I wish I did not have to discuss. I think everyone in this country wishes we did not have to discuss this, but it does take place, and as a community of Americans, society, we clearly can do better in this area. We need to be vigilant as individuals, as parents, but as a society as well. I mean there is no limit to the amount of resources we need to put in [[Page H 11682]] to make sure that this does not happen to one child in this country. And law enforcement has resources, and they are doing everything they can, and are interviewing every person they possibly can, and following up thousands of leads as they come up in this case, and I know I appreciate it, and I know the Ryce family appreciates that as well, and hopefully for those people that are watching, because that is really what this special order is for, as I have learned more about this, the cases that are solved are solved because of people like the people watching an incident, a flash, a child in a restaurant, a face in a car passing, a child anywhere, and there are resources in this country, the 800 numbers we are talking. They follow up, they do follow up. The resources are there. We have put resources into it, and I am asking people, and I am praying and hoping people--I know the Ryce family is watching, too--that we will get a lead and that we will find Jimmy very, very shortly, and he will be with you and with our community again. Let me just ask one last time if we can just ask the camera to focus in on Jimmy Ryce.

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Shays wanted to join us.

Mr. DEUTSCH. I used a sort of example of a happy ending for these two boys in Minnesota, but obviously they have arrested the gentleman. Hopefully, I assume he will be convicted, he will spend a long time, the rest of his life in jail. But he told the young boys that he was a policeman. And I guess it is hard to put myself in the mind of a 10- year-old, but it was not unusual to get in a car with a policeman and drive for several days. How does he know what policemen do?

Mr. DEUTSCH. I thank you. You actually brought up an unfortunate sort of new avenue. When I spoke with, again, unfortunate people who are in the business of helping to find these children, the FBI officials involved, they actually have cases today of children in a sort of talk site on the Internet, where a child that could be not necessarily 5 but an 8-year-old, a 9-year-old, and a 10-year-old was on a talk site who thinks they are talking to another child somewhere but is talking to a very sick person who is asking them over the Internet about themselves. And they have actually, in saying why do you not meet me somewhere, something like that, there have actually been abductions that have occurred through cyberspace. It is sort of the ultimate sort of strange sickness, the technology being used that way. One of the things they pointed out, at some point this evening we will go through a list, the list is not long enough, but what they specifically said is parents ought to know what their kids are doing on their computers. It sounds like a crazy request. It is a 1990s request in America, but if your kid is out there on the Internet and talking to people on a site, you better know who they are talking to because it really has happened. I mean, what kind of mind does that, but unfortunately, there are some minds that do that. I think we need to do everything we can to stop it from happening, but I think that is a really unfortunate new point for parents to be worried about.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Chairman, there is an old expression: If it looks like a duck and it sounds like a duck and it quacks like a duck and it walks like a duck and it smells like a duck, there is probably a pretty good darn chance it is a duck. Let me tell my colleagues about the Republicans and Medicare. Bob Dole: ``I was there fighting the fight, voting against Medicare, one out of twelve, because we knew it would not work in 1965,'' a couple of days ago. Speaker Gingrich on Medicare: ``We do not get rid of it in round one, because we don't think that that is politically smart and we don't think that is the right way to go through a transition period. But we believe it is going to wither on the vine because we think people are voluntarily going to leave it,'' just yesterday. There are three big lies about the Medicare plan. The first one is that it is such a terrible thing that there is a 7-year actuarial life. In the 30 years of the Medicare System, 12 of those 30 years, there was a shorter actuarial life, and we did something about it. We made tough choices, and we did something about it. We changed it, not unprecedented health insurance. The second big lie is $270 billion in cuts. The actuaries, nonpolitical people, not numbers out of the ballpark. It has nothing to do with saving Medicare. The money is not going into the trust fund. It is a flat-out lie. The $270 billion in Medicare is not going to save Medicare. It is just a flat-out lie. It has nothing to do with the problems with the trust fund. The third problem and the third lie is the issue of choice. My colleagues continue to say that there is going to be choice. It is a false choice, because essentially the Speaker is right; no one will be able to stay in Medicare except for the richest of the rich, because people will be forced out of Medicare, forced into substandard HMO's. This plan is wrong, wrong, wrong. I urge a no vote.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to the 5-minutes this evening for over an hour now, about an hour and a half, and I think one thing that anyone who has been watching or been listening can conclude is that neither side of this aisle has a monopoly on wisdom, and there really is both wisdom and ignorance on both sides of the aisle. I think that when you look at this bill that we are going to vote on tomorrow, there are things that I can support and that I do support in this bill, but there are some things that truly will cause unneeded suffering for Americans and really things that are just out of place when you look at the facts. Yesterday evening I talked about one of them. I talked about the Medicare program, the fact that the $270 billion in cuts has nothing to do with what the actuaries say. The 7-year actuarial life, in 12 of the 30 years it has had a shorter actuarial life. Tonight I want to focus in on something that has no place in that bill, and that is, it is not in a couple of thousand page bill, it is really probably just a page and a half, and that is repealing the 1987 Nursing Home Protection Act. That is one of the many things this bill does that really is unprecedented and really, truly tragic. Prior to 1987, I think there are many people who are listening and watching remember reading and seeing stories, really horrible stories, stories about nursing home patients being tied down in nursing homes, being in their own feces, in their own urine, being drugged so they would not move, nursing home residents really dying in nursing home facilities because of lack of fire exits, nursing home facilities that had no 24-hour staff, I mean, horror stories on, if not a weekly basis, definitely on a monthly basis throughout the country. There is a reason we do not hear those horrors today, because in 1987 this Congress passed a law providing nursing home residents, the weakest of the weak, the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable in our society, protection against things like being tied down, like being drugged, like making sure that there was 24-hour nursing facility and a trained person in that facility, three meals a day, fire exits. You know, if that is overregulation, then I am for overregulation. But I do not think most Americans think that that is overregulation. I think most Americans think that that is sound public policy that really is in the public interest. Let me just go on in terms of what this regulation prevents from happening. I served in the State legislature for 10 years, from 1982 to 1992. Prior to that I served as a director of a Medicare advocacy group, 1982 and 1981. During that period, about once a week I would get a call from either the spouse or the child of someone who was being evicted from a nursing home, and I will tell you, I remember as if it were today, those phone calls because I have never heard since really just the tragedy. You can imagine what it means, someone's spouse, their parent is being evicted from a nursing home, and they called me and they asked me to do something. My response had to be there was nothing I could do, because the law did not protect those people either in Florida or in the United States. That does not exist today. People cannot be evicted from nursing homes in the United States of America today. No one gets those calls in the United States of America today. The tragedy that happened to thousands, tens of thousands of families in this country, does not happen, and in fact, the facts are that there was just lots of empirical evidence that was pointed out in hearings for this legislation in the 1980's that people died when evicted from nursing homes. That does not happen today, because of a piece of legislation that is going to be repealed tomorrow by that bill, and it should not be. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and I propose this as an amendment to the Committee on Rules, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say, well, the States can do better; the States know better; we want to return this issue to the States. You know, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle really have selective memory when they think about the States doing better. They pick and choose the issues they think the States can do better on. Two hundred years of tort law in America, forget that, the Federal Government knows best in the areas of medical malpractice. We are going to obliterate 200 years of States' rights in that area. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, there is one mandate, one State mandate in the Medicaid bill, in this bill. There is one State mandate, and that State mandate is that States cannot choose to spend money for abortions. It is an amazing concept when you think about that. Mandating that issue, which they prioritize, but they say we cannot mandate, that there cannot be nursing home evictions. I urge my colleagues tomorrow to really defeat this legislation for this and other reasons, and hopefully that people who are listening and watching will call their Members to let them know this is a provision in this bill that they do not want to see enacted.

Mr. DEUTSCH

Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume on two points. One is there is no Member of this Chamber, no political party in this country that has a monopoly on wisdom. I credit my Republican colleagues for moving some issues that I supported and I supported in the last Congress. In fact, this House passed out a line-item veto in this Congress. The House did. The Senate did not in the last Congress. Again, this truly is a bipartisan issue. This is what is the right thing, 38 States have it, and the thing I think that the American people want. But also let me talk about disingenuous, and I think the American people to some extent are watching this, they have the ability to watch this, this debate going on. How disingenuous can someone be to take 7 months to appoint conferees? This is not rocket science. This is not building the Taj Mahal. This is not building the space shuttle. This is naming five people. Just like writing the names. Again, and this is out of a high- technology office, they probably have computers there and they can probably even pull the computers out so it is probably seven key strokes. To take each month, if they did one keystroke, it is totally disingenuous. The smiles and smirks on the other side on this issue really are disturbing. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm]. (Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)