Lincoln Diaz-Balart

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following regarding earmarks I received as part of the FY 2009 Omnibus. Agriculture, FDA and Related Programs Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service, Research and Education Legal Name of Requesting Entity: University of Miami Address of Requesting Entity: 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149 Description of Request: I have secured $2,494,000 for the Southeastern Climate Consortium Application of Climate Forecasts in the Southeastern United States. The Consortium reduces economic risks and improves social well-being by providing climate information that is integral to agricultural decision-making. The program seeks to develop flood forecasting methods to help farmers and producers plan for reducing risks of economic losses and environmental damage; develop partnerships and methods for incorporating climate forecasts and other climate information into agricultural and water policy decisions; and begin development of a prototype decision support system for the application of climate forecasts to water resource management, especially for agricultural water use. Commerce, Justice, Science Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Justice, COPS Law Enforcement Technology account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Hialeah Address of Requesting Entity: 501 Palm Avenue, Hialeah, FL 33010 Description of Request: I have secured $600,000 to enhance the City of Hialeah police department's current radio system which does not allow for radio interoperability among other law enforcement agencies, especially important during times of statewide response to natural disasters, domestic security incidents or multi-agency jurisdictional public safety efforts. The XPS radio system would bridge the current gap and achieve interoperability with the State of Florida by replacing and upgrading fixed end, portable and mobile radio communication equipment. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Commerce, NOAA, Operations, Research and Facilities account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Florida International University Address of Requesting Entity: University Park Campus, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199 Description of Request: I have secured $500,000 to develop the capability of real-time forecasting for storm surges associated with hurricane activity and flooding. The State of Florida is completing a state-wide collection of data from airborne lasers to record detailed elevation information. Combined with new computational capabilities and overland flow algorithms, the proposed models would allow Florida the best understanding of storm surge effects and subsequent planning advantages. This new information will save lives and mitigate property loss due to storm surge flooding. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: ARISE Foundation Address of Requesting Entity: 4001 Edmund Benson Boulevard, Miami, FL 33178 Description of Request: I have secured $300,000 to educate at-risk youth. Established in 1986, ARISE has trained over 5,000 certified life skills instructors who have gone on to teach over 3,600,000 documented hours of evidence-based life skills lessons. Specifically targeting high-risk youth, ARISE's goal is to stop the cycle of crime and violence while offenders are young enough to learn life lessons--and ultimately, to reduce rates of recidivism, drug abuse and violence while building skills to keep juveniles in school and out of harm's way. The ARISE Life Management Skills Lessons provide both training and program materials for teaching such lessons to incarcerated youth through interactive methods that help develop positive social and emotional skills needed to break the cycle of violence and crime that would otherwise doom many of today's juvenile offenders. Further, it provides demonstrable outcome measures on the value of expanding this statistically proven, award-winning, professionally managed intervention program. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Justice, Juvenile Justice account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami-Dade County, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 1032, Miami, FL 33128 Description of Request: I have secured $200,000 to continue the partnership between Miami-Dade County and the Department of Justice in administering the JAC program which has been recognized by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for its exemplary results in reducing the recidivism rate among juveniles in Miami-Dade County. The Office of Justice Programs also strongly supports the JAC's initiative to provide an expanded data base, as it could offer valuable lessons to other large jurisdictions across the U.S. The Juvenile Assessment Center, a centralized processing, referral, and evaluation center for all juveniles arrested in Dade County, opened in late October 1997 and has served over 100,000 arrested juveniles. The JAC allows representatives from law enforcement and social services to work together to provide a complete range of services at the initial stages of the juvenile's involvement with the Juvenile Justice System. Over 5,000 juveniles have participated in the Post-Arrest Diversion component of the project since 2000, with a success rate of 73% and a sharply decreased recidivism rate among juveniles in Miami-Dade County. A successful completion of this demonstration project will continue to reduce juvenile crime in Miami-Dade County and provide a valuable blueprint for similar efforts across the country. Energy and Water Development Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Army Corps of Engineers, Operations and Maintenance account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Florida Inland Navigational District, Intracoastal Waterway Maintenance Address of Requesting Entity: 1314 Marcinski Road, Jupiter, FL 33477 Description of Request: I have secured $4,019,000 for the maintenance dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway in portions of St. Johns, Duval, St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River Counties. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Energy, Science BER account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Barry University Address of Requesting Entity: 11300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores, FL 33161 Description of Request: I have secured $761,200 to fund Phase II of the Institute for Collaborative Sciences Research which is intended to create a state-of-the-art research infrastructure through new laboratory and teaching space. The focus of the Institute will be to prepare minority leaders for future work in healthcare professions while facilitating important research that has a direct benefit on minority populations in my South Florida community. Barry University is one of the largest independent universities in Florida. The university boasts a student body that is more than 60% minority and 42% are the first in their family to attend college. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Office of Science, BER account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: St. Thomas University Address of Requesting Entity: 16401 NW 37th Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL 33054 Description of Request: I have secured $570,200 for a continuation of the university's Minority Science Program and its commitment to attract top minority students to pursue a career in science and provide them with up-to-date laboratories, cutting edge curriculum, experienced professors and research opportunities. To this end, STU is constructing a state-of-the-art science facility, the Carnival Cruise Lines Science and Technology Building. The U-CORTE project will be located in the space vacated by the Department of Natural Sciences when it moves to the new building. It consists of establishing a university-community resource center and programs to stimulate and expand linkages between the university and local community partners. This partnership will address disparities in access to critical health, mental health and legal services in the low-income, minority communities of Miami Gardens and Opa Locka, which are adjacent to St. Thomas University. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Army Corps of Engineers, Construction account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami-Dade County, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 1032, Miami, FL 33128 Description of Request: I have secured $478,000 for dredging of the Miami Harbor at the Port of Miami which includes the design, preparation of plans and specifications for bidding. The Chief of Engineers has recommended the deepening project to 50-52 feet and Congress has authorized the project (Title I, Water Resources Development Act of 2007). It is essential that the Planning, Engineering, and Design (PED) begin in FY09. Extended delay in the proposed dredging improvements could be detrimental to the economy of South Florida and the nation. Cargo growth at the Port of Miami has been phenomenally strong. However, the industry standard container ship is becoming larger, and the Port cannot handle the newer ships without deeper channels. In addition, the Port has been facing increasing competition from foreign ports with existing significantly deeper channels and faces lost business to foreign ports (such as Freeport). Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Army Corps of Engineers, Investigations R&D account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami-Dade County, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 1032, Miami, FL 33128 Description of Request: I have secured $239,000 for an ongoing feasibility study being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Miami-Dade County that examines the affect of canal and groundwater discharges on Biscayne Bay's hydrodynamics, water quality and ecology. This study will help determine the historic freshwater flows to Biscayne Bay and help to improve the ecosystem. Labor, HHS and Education Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Health and Human Services, HRSA account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami Jewish Home and Hospital Hialeah PACE Center Address of Requesting Entity: 5200 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33138 Description of Request: I have secured $476,000 to develop a PACE Center in Hialeah, Florida. The Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is an innovative long-term care model that allows frail elders to remain at home. The goal of PACE is to deliver high quality, cost-effective care while managing participants' complex medical, functional, and social needs. PACE integrates financing and delivery of acute and long-term care services. PACE enables older individuals who are eligible for nursing home care to continue living in the community with a full spectrum of medical, social and rehabilitative services. The Program of all Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) meets three important objectives in providing long-term care services: a) it allows long term care in operate in a managed care environment, b) it integrates Medicare and Medicaid into a seamless and transparent funding source, and c) it allows nursing eligible older adults to remain at home. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Health and Human Services, HRSA account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami Children's Hospital Address of Requesting Entity: 3100 SW 62nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33155 Description of Request: I have secured $285,000 to construct two new hybrid pediatric cardiac suites under the Miami Children's Hospital Congenital Heart Institute. These adjoining hybrid suites will feature: full cardiac operating room capabilities including cardiopulmonary bypass, dedicated pediatric cardiac anesthesia, state of the art hybrid cardiac surgical/interventional table, low dose digital flat panel imaging technology and operating room ventilation and temperature control. The goal of CHI is to achieve 100% survivability for children with congenital heart disease, and to improve their health status throughout their lives. This mission is entirely consistent with the goals of HRSA and HHS, and better medical interventions at the early stages of the disease lead to better quality of life for patients, shorter hospital stays, and fewer hospital admissions over their lifetime. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Health and Human Services, HRSA account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Florida International University Address of Requesting Entity: 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199 Description of Request: I have secured $238,000 to establish a nanotechnology facility to develop biosensors capable of measuring exposure to environmental and occupational hazards for community safety. The proposed Center for Advanced Diagnostics Devices would be able to design regional toxin monitoring systems. In addition, the project allows Florida International University's College of Medicine to merge research and treatment with real time toxin exposure detection. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: SAMHSA Mental Health account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Spectrum Programs, Inc. Address of Requesting Entity: 11031 NE 6th Avenue, Miami, FL 33161 Description of Request: I have secured $238,000 to demonstrate the effectuality of a mental health and substance abuse treatment continuum that integrates research, best practices and emergent treatment methodologies across the spectrum of mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders in a continuous improvement model, making the processes and procedures of behavioral health treatment more effective, the timelines to improved behavioral health shorter, and the gains more sustainable, substantially reducing the catastrophic personal, family, and societal consequences of historically disaggregated treatment approaches. The funding will establish the Florida Center for Excellence in Emerging Behavioral Health Strategies. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Administration for Children and Families Social Services account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Barry University Address of Requesting Entity: 11300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami Shores, FL 33161 Description of Request: I have secured $167,000 to support the Center for Community Services Initiatives (CCSI) to enhance opportunities for external individuals and groups to participate in on-campus programs. The Center will serve as an educational resource to community organizations, including health providers. Barry service-learning opportunities support local community clinics, helping to improve the quality and accessibility of health care, including behavioral health care. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Education, Elementary and Secondary Education (FIE) account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami-Dade County Public Schools Address of Requesting Entity: 1450 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33132 Description of Request: I have secured $143,000 to develop a curriculum modeled on world-class standards, delivered by a high- quality teaching corps, resulting in an internationally superior level of student achievement, and to establish an international education model of excellence. The membership of the ECIC will include chief education officers, national and international education researchers, business leaders, and mayors of major urban cities from around the world, ensuring that work of the ECIC is informed by the context of the new world economy and what will be required to succeed in it. Transportation/HUD Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Federal Transit Administration, New Starts account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami-Dade County, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 1032, Miami, FL 33128 Description of Request: I have secured $20,000,000 for Phases II and III of the Miami-Dade County Transit Authority's Metrorail Orange Line Expansion. Primarily, in Phase II, Miami-Dade County Department of Transit is in the final planning stage for the construction of a 9.2- mile Metrorail extension along NW 27th Avenue between the existing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Metrorail station and the Broward County line. Phase III, the County's East-West Corridor Rapid Transit Project proposes to extend Metrorail some 10-13 miles from the Miami Intermodal Center to Florida International University and points west. As fewer than 48% of the County's residents live outside incorporated Miami, this Orange Line expansion project will allow for more options for commuting and travel around Miami-Dade County. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Federal Highway Administration, TCSP account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Hialeah, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 501 Palm Avenue, Hialeah, FL 33010 Description of Request: I have secured $570,000 to enable the city's Streets & Engineering Department to develop and implement the City's 5- year Capital Improvement Program. The City of Hialeah has a rapidly aging infrastructure with some areas facing more than 50 years since any work has been done in repairs/reconstruction. Areas have been chosen throughout the city, based on roadway need, drainage concerns, areas that have not been reconstructed for over three decades and fill- in for sections that are still needed. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Federal Highway Administration, TCSP account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Sweetwater, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 500 SW 109th Avenue, Sweetwater, FL 33174 Description of Request: I have secured $475,000 to repair, resurface and mill city sidewalks and streets. Many of the city's sidewalks and streets have not been serviced in over 20 years due to the lack of funding for improvements and maintenance. These damaged sidewalks and streets compromise citizen safety (several are unsafe for walking and bicycling); cause damage to property (i.e., cars, bicycles); and give the city an undesirable aesthetic appearance. Sweetwater does have approximately $300,000 in matching funds for sidewalk and street- related projects. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Federal Transit Administration, Buses and Bus Facilities account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Miami-Dade County, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 111 NW 1st Street, Suite 1032, Miami, FL 33128 Description of Request: I have secured $475,000 to purchase additional buses for Miami-Dade County. Federal bus and bus-related funds will enhance current levels of service to meet the growing transportation demand--increasing bus routes and improving service frequencies. The purchase of additional buses will have an important collective impact on Miami-Dade County's ability to decrease congestion and promote intermodal linkages for passengers throughout the South Florida region. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Federal Transit Administration, Buses and Bus Facilities account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Pembroke Pines, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 10100 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, FL 33026 Description of Request: I have secured $475,000 to purchase three buses for the City of Pembroke Pines senior center for transporting the elderly population. This program will help to alleviate congestion on already crowded city streets and ensure additional safety of the elderly population who frequent the senior center. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Federal Highway Administration, TCSP account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Doral, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 8300 NW 53rd Street, Suite 100, Doral, FL 33166 Description of Request: I have secured $237,500 for property acquisition, design, permitting, and construction of roadway gaps and intersections identified to be in need of capacity improvements. This will help to alleviate roadway sections that are failing due to large traffic volumes. In addition, there are several roadway gaps where development has expanded the grid pattern of the City roadways surrounding small parcels that have not been developed. The completion of these small sections of roadway would complete the City's grid pattern and provide additional options for increasing traffic to avoid already congested intersections. Requesting Member: Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart Bill Number: FY 2009 Omnibus Account: Department of Housing and Urban Development, EDI account Legal Name of Requesting Entity: City of Miami Springs, FL Address of Requesting Entity: 201 Westward Drive, Miami Springs, FL 33166 Description of Request: I have secured $237,500 to replace the municipal gymnasium in Miami Springs, Florida. The new community center will be a focal point of Miami Springs, providing functions including theater, elderly continuing education and gymnasium functions.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about Omauris Rondon Rivero, a political prisoner in totalitarian Cuba. The Cuban people continue to suffer a repression unprecedented in the history of our hemisphere. For 50 years Fidel and Raul Castro have imposed a brutal, murderous and unscrupulous totalitarian tyranny on the Cuban people. Last May, Mr. Rondon was thrown into a dungeon after being accused of ``defamation of government institutions, heroes and martyrs'' by the dictatorship. It is unclear what Mr. Rondon had said, but the dictatorship sends people to the gulag even for the slightest of ``verbal transgressions.'' Mr. Rondon is not known to be a member of any human rights group, opposition political party or independent civil society organization. But he said something that bothered the criminal thugs who oppress the Cuban people. He was ``sentenced'' to a year in the gulag. Reports from within the political prisons have pointed out that Mr. Rondon has suffered continuous and serious beatings inside the degrading gulag where he is locked up. In totalitarian Cuba the cries of the tortured are never heard; we can only imagine the horrors Omauris Rondon is being subjected to. Thousands, like Mr. Rondon, languish in Cuban dungeons simply for their support of freedom, democracy and the Rule of Law, or for other acts that are considered criminal only by a murderous and demented totalitarian tyranny such as the Castros' (actions like ``attempting to leave the country without permission''). While countless thousands of Cubans suffer in the tyranny's infernal gulag, tourists visit the island's ``delights'', enjoying the regime's apartheid tourism system and partaking of the child prostitution promoted by the Castros' regime. Heads of State and government, foreign ministers and other ``dignitaries'' flock to totalitarian Cuba, partaking in the regime's sponsored ``delights'', and bringing ignominy to the nations they allegedly represent. But, Madam Speaker, I rise to remind my colleagues of the real Cuba. I rise to remind my colleagues that Omauris Rondon Rivero, and thousands of others who suffer in the Castros' gulag, exist. That they represent the best of the Cuban nation. That they represent the future of Cuba, a free and democratic Cuba. And I rise to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Omauris Rondon Rivero and all the political prisoners in the nightmare that is totalitarian Cuba.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to engage Chairwoman Lowey of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Subcommittee in a colloquy. Madam Chairwoman, President Bush's fiscal year 2009 budget directs $20 million for Cuba under the Economic Support Fund. This funding is critical U.S. assistance to those working for democracy and independent civil society in Cuba. The House voted overwhelmingly to increase funding for this important program in fiscal year 2008. However, funding for Cuba was not specifically designated in the report attached to the omnibus appropriations bill. Can you clarify for the Congressional Record that it is the intent of the committee and of this Congress to provide $20 million in the underlying legislation for this important program? I yield to the chairwoman.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Reclaiming my time, I wish to thank the distinguished chairwoman and her staff for working with Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Albio Sires, Mario Diaz- Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, and myself. It is vital that this important program receives $20 million to fully implement activities that range from democratic activism to humanitarian assistance that directly support the Cuban people, not the dictatorship, with the chairwoman's assurance of this full funding.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, it is not petty when we say that each Member of this House should have the opportunity to read this legislation. We are the people's House. Every Member is elected. We are all cognizant of the great difficulty being suffered by the American people, of the jobs being lost, of the very, very sad stories facing each of our districts. So it is not petty to say that, as the House requested, we should have 48 hours to review this legislation. With regard to the substance, what we have been able to gauge is in the legislation. I remember when we first started discussing this package and, really, the tone of bipartisanship that was engulfing the Nation at the time. I was pleased because I believed that we would be able to modernize with this legislation. I believed we would see a modernization of the infrastructure--of the roads and bridges--of the United States. When I saw the first $800 billion bill that was passed on January 28, including $30 billion for shovel-ready infrastructure projects, I thought that was most unsatisfactory, that a great opportunity was being lost. Since we are going to burden the American people with all of this debt, I thought at least we would modernize our infrastructure. I thought, well, maybe when the bill comes back it will be improved, and we will see more of the $800 billion, more than $30 billion within the $800 billion for our roads and bridges and for the modernization of our infrastructure. When I saw the bill returning and that instead of $30 billion there was $29 billion to modernize our infrastructure, I realized that this opportunity lost is more than sad, because the American people believed that this was sacrifice for modernization, for higher productivity, for the creation of jobs. That is not what it is. So, with sadness, I rise not only to oppose the rule but to say that this is an unsatisfactory package and that we can do better. We all believe that we need to act. I hope that we all come to the conclusion that we must, that we can do better.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. This last December 6, 2 months ago, was the ninth anniversary of the imprisonment--the cruel and unjust imprisonment in a cold and damp cell in the most inhuman of conditions--of the great Cuban leader in the fight for democracy and human rights in that enslaved island, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. Dr. Biscet is prohibited from even walking in the prison's yard, and he is incarcerated along with common criminals. Dr. Biscet was released from prison in 2003, for a few weeks, before being rearrested and subsequently sentenced to 25 years in the gulag due to his peaceful pro-democracy activities. Biscet personifies the opposition to the brutal totalitarian regime Fidel Castro and his brother, who the dictator has now given some additional titles to because of the ailing tyrant's failing health. Dr. Biscet is an admirer of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. A physician by training, he began his opposition to the totalitarian regime by speaking out against the regime's forced abortion when there is any indication whatsoever that a pregnancy may have an abnormality policy. Biscet described that policy as inhuman. He was immediately fired from his job at the hospital, prohibited from practicing his profession as a physician, and his wife Elsa Morejon was also fired from her job as a practicing nurse. Within hours, the couple and their son were summarily evicted from their apartment and their physical possessions thrown into the street. Fortunately, an elderly patient of Elsa allowed the family to move into her house. Dr. Biscet continued peacefully denouncing the totalitarian regime's absolute denial of human rights to the Cuban people; and, because of that, he has been unjustly and cruelly imprisoned for 9 years and counting. Hundreds of other brave human rights activists are also suffering in the political prisons of the Cuban totalitarian dictatorship for the crime of supporting democracy and liberty and opposing tyranny, including 23 known journalists thrown into dungeons because of articles they wrote that bothered the dictator. No regime in the world has more journalists in prison, with the possible exception of another totalitarian dictatorship in an obviously much larger nation, communist China. A few weeks ago, the respected international organization, Reporters Without Borders, gave one of those Cuban journalists in the gulag, Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, sentenced by the Cuban tyrant to 20 years in prison in 2003, and currently in very poor health, the Reporters Without Borders Journalist of the Year Award. Reporters Without Border is to be commended, Mr. Speaker. Three other Cuban prisoners of conscience, Aldolfo Fernandez Sainz, Pedro Arguelles Moran, and Antonio Diaz Sanchez, are known to have begun a hunger strike due to brutal conditions they are subjected to. Where is the outrage, Mr. Speaker? Where is the international solidarity? Where is there one word of coverage of this in the world's press? The reality is that for too many in the world today Cubans are supposed to be content with their lot, to be quiet; to, in the words of one of our colleagues in this Congress recently, to move on. The regime that enslaves a Nation and imprisons hundreds of heroes simply for their beliefs deserves unilateral rewards and concessions, many argue, such as more travel or dollars. But Dr. Biscet and the many other heroes imprisoned in the Castro brothers' gulag will not be able to be ignored forever. They must be freed. And political parties must be legalized, as well as independent press agencies, and labor unions. And free and fair elections must take place in Cuba. Many of those imprisoned today, Mr. Speaker, will be democratically elected leaders tomorrow. That is what is going to happen in Cuba tomorrow. Today, as they suffer the most unjust of cruel imprisonment, we here remember and honor them and, once again, demand the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience in the Castro brothers' infernal gulag.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would remind my distinguished friend that we did make known our protest with regard to the fact that this legislation was in the list of bills that the majority on the first day of this Congress made clear would be brought to the floor without the possibility of amendments. But it's interesting. When the Senate considered this legislation, the Senate did authorize and have debate on amendments. And so the question really, I think, is begged. What is the harm in allowing Members of this House to bring forth their ideas and letting this House work its way via the majority, the majority decide, and that way vet the ideas, discuss, debate, and decide which ideas brought forth by colleagues are appropriate and should be adopted. There's no harm in that, Mr. Speaker. There's no harm. But, unfortunately, the pattern is continuing. The record was broken in the last Congress with regard to the number of closed rules, with regard to the number of pieces of legislation that were brought to this floor under a structure that did not allow any amendments to be proposed and debated by Members of either party. And that trend continues. So we saw it not only on the first day of this Congress, but we see it today. Already, four bills, in the few days that this Congress has met, the 111th Congress has met already, we have seen four bills brought forth under these structures known as closed rules that do not allow Members of either party from proposing ideas to improve any of the pieces of legislation that have been brought to the floor. I think that's the most unfortunate. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I'd like to thank my friend the distinguished gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree) for the time. I wish to welcome my distinguished colleague to the Rules Committee. She is a very important addition to the Rules Committee, and all of us have had the privilege of welcoming her in the last days. She stated in her statement that she is a new Member. She's also a new member of our committee, and obviously we are very pleased that she is. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this closed rule that, once again, clearly contradicts the majority's pledge to the American people to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Today, the majority proceeds to consider this legislation here on the floor of the House under a closed rule. That means, Mr. Speaker, that if this rule is passed and this legislation is brought to the floor under it, every Member of this House will be forbidden from offering any amendments to it. And what makes this act even more unfortunate is that this bill did not make its way through the committee process during this Congress, thereby abandoning the critical committee vetting and amendment process. In effect, what the majority is doing is sidelining the legislative process. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle, Mr. Speaker, may say that they would refute that claim because this legislation was considered in the previous Congress and should be passed quickly. But I bring to my colleagues' attention that we have dozens of new Members who were not here in the last Congress and are now not given the opportunity to participate in the usual and proper legislative process. So, something that truly concerns me is that this closed rule may, in effect, foreshadow how the majority will continue to run this House. Considering the fact that we are only in the fourth week of the 111th Congress, and that when we take into account this rule, we count this rule, the majority has already considered four pieces of legislation under closed rules, I am quite concerned that the future will bring closed rule after closed rule to this floor. So, Mr. Speaker, the question is obvious. Will the majority continue its current path of blocking a bipartisan legislative process? Will they break their record of offering 64 bills, as they did under closed rules in the 110th Congress? Or will they change their behavior and open up this legislative process? The majority promised that it would when it achieved the majority 2 years ago, but it has not done so. In fact, as I stated, in the last Congress, 64 bills--breaking all records of all prior Congresses--64 bills were brought to this floor under closed rules that do not permit any Members in this House to have their ideas considered in the form of amendments. So the facts do not lead to optimism. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would point out that every piece of legislation brought to this floor is preceded by a debate on the terms of debate. In other words, the rule that we are now considering as a resolution sets the framework for how the underlying piece of legislation can be debated; and, if you will, it does set the process, the parameters for the process of the debate. It establishes the resolution, the rule that is debated and voted on before the underlying legislation can be considered, sets forth, determines if amendments are authorized; and, if so, what amendments are authorized. And so it is process that is debated by the rule, resolution commonly known as the rule, that is brought to the floor before legislation is considered. And that is what we are on right now. That is what we are discussing right now, the resolution, the rule to set the terms of debate. What I am pointing out and will reiterate now is that it is most unfortunate and unnecessary, totally unnecessary, for the majority to bring forth legislation that will have the support of the majority on the floor when it is considered, the underlying legislation, to bring it forth with a rule that prohibits debate, that shuts out debate, that does not allow any amendments from any Member, whether they are Democrats or Republicans, on the underlying piece of legislation. That is what I am trying to point out, and I thought it was pretty clear. Mr. Speaker, we reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, we reserve the balance of our time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, what we are saying is that there is no need to close off debate; that this legislation could very easily have been debated openly; that Members on both sides of the aisle could have been given the opportunity to bring forth amendments as they were able to in the Senate, and that this legislation would move forward. It is not only unfortunate but unnecessary for the majority to close off debate. And, as I stated previously, there is a pattern. In the last Congress, despite having promised the most open and the most transparent, the most fair Congress in history, the reality was exactly the opposite: More pieces of legislation were brought to this floor under closed rules that did not allow any amendments during the last Congress, the first Congress where our friends on the other side of the aisle had the majority in many years. More pieces of legislation were brought to the floor with closed rules prohibiting all amendments than in history, in all of history before in the history of Republic. So that is unfortunate. But we are seeing the pattern continue. It has continued in these weeks in the beginning of the 111th Congress, and already this is the fourth bill, the fourth piece of legislation brought to the floor under a structure that does not permit any amendments under closed rules. That is what we are saying, it is uncalled for, it is unfortunate. And we hope, I guess because hope springs eternal, that our friends on the other side of the aisle will open the process up and will allow Members from both sides of the aisle to introduce amendments and have them debated and have the majority work its will. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank my friend. It is unfortunate the rule is closed. It is such an important issue we are discussing. For example, a new member of the majority party came before us in the Rules Committee, Mr. Kissell, with a very thoughtful amendment. It was rejected, not permitted for debate. That is unfortunate and unnecessary. Now, I had said last year, Madam Speaker, that I wasn't going to support a major expansion of SCHIP until legal immigrant children were included, because we should not discriminate against legal immigrants. I represent South Florida. I represent hundreds of thousands of immigrants. So I made clear, I am not going to support an expansion of SCHIP until they are included. Well, they are in the legislation that we are going to vote on today and so I am going to vote for it. I commend the leadership for having included it, and I think the Senate has to do the same. As I said before, it was a sine qua non for me. Until legal immigrant children were included, I wasn't going to support an expansion of SCHIP. So, it is a good day. We are going to have a vote on this program that is going to include thousands of children and their moms who unfairly have been excluded. And, by the way, that affects kids in school and the other children in school. When the children who are sick have to go to the emergency room or when they are sick in the classroom, they affect all the kids in the classroom. It just doesn't make sense. And they are legal in this country. Anyway, I am going to be supporting the legislation today.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, for 100 years, the motion to recommit has really been sacrosanct in this House, and the essence of representative democracy is, yes, rule by the majority with respect to the rights of the minority. Today, history will record that in this rules package by the majority, the severe limitation of the right of the minority to offer an alternative in legislation, this severe limitation of the motion to recommit, is a sad, unfortunate, and wholly unnecessary step that takes a very strong, a very significant step toward unaccountability. So it is really a sad day for this House, that the House, the leadership, the majority leadership, would commence this Congress by retrogression, by taking such a significant and unfortunate step towards unaccountability, severely limiting the option, the ability of the minority to offer an alternative known for 100 years and respected in this House as the motion to recommit.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank my friend, Mr. Dreier, and echo his words. Madam Speaker, I was hoping that we would not see this legislation brought forth under a martial law rule that is going to change, is going to waive, is going to waive the rules of the House so that legislation that was filed just a little while ago does not have 24 hours for the American people and the membership of this House to review and study. I think that it was not necessary to do this. I think it's unfortunate for the martial law rule to have been brought forth to close down this process absolutely. The legislation that the House would be considering, obviously, with regard to the automobile industry, deals with a very important industry. I also believe that, as Mr. Dreier has stated, the U.S.- Colombia Free Trade Agreement is one step that this Congress could and should take that would create jobs for the American people, and it would create jobs throughout the entire Nation. I was hoping, Madam Speaker, that after the election, and the decibels of the electoral debate have been turned down, that we could have had consideration and a vote on that important, implementing legislation, legislation to implement the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. It is most unfortunate that the majority leadership has decided, in effect, to continue its policy, really, that offends our relationship with our best, best ally in South America. It hurts that relationship at this critical time, in addition to preventing in this delicate economic time, the creation of many, many jobs in the United States. So it's most unfortunate that the majority leadership has decided to act in this irresponsible manner, not only closing down, unnecessarily, the process with regard to the legislation brought forth today, unnecessarily, but failing to consider that most important implementary legislation with regard to the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement. I am disappointed, Madam Speaker, and would have hoped that we would have seen another attitude after the election.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, this last December 6 was the 9th anniversary of the imprisonment--the cruel and unjust imprisonment in a cold and damp cell in the most inhuman of conditions--of the great Cuban leader in the fight for democracy and human rights in that imprisoned island, Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. Dr. Biscet is prohibited even from walking in the prison's yard, and he is incarcerated along with common criminals. Dr. Biscet was released from prison early in 2003, for a few weeks only, before being re-arrested and subsequently sentenced to 25 years in the Communist gulag due to his peaceful pro-democracy activities. A few days ago, I was honored to receive a congratulatory letter from Ms. Elsa Morejon, Dr. Biscet's courageous and admirable wife. Oscar Elias Biscet personifies the opposition to the brutal totalitarian regime of Fidel Castro and his brother, who the dictator has given some additional titles to because of the ailing tyrant's failing health. Dr. Biscet is an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. A physician by training, he began his opposition to the totalitarian regime by speaking out against the regime's ``forced abortion when there is any indication whatsoever that the pregnancy may have an abnormality'' policy. Biscet described that policy as inhuman. He was immediately fired from his job at the hospital, prohibited from practicing his profession as a physician, and his wife was also fired from her job as a practicing nurse. Within hours, the couple and their son were summarily evicted from their apartment and their physical possessions thrown into the street. Fortunately, an elderly patient of Elsa's allowed the family to move into her house. Dr. Biscet continued peacefully denouncing the totalitarian regime's absolute denial of human rights to the Cuban people--and because of that he has been unjustly and cruelly imprisoned for 9 years, and counting. Hundreds of other brave human rights activists are also suffering in the political prisons of the Cuban totalitarian dictatorship for the ``crime'' of supporting democracy and liberty and opposing tyranny, including 23 known journalists, thrown into dungeons because of articles they wrote that bothered the dictator. No regime in the world has more journalists in prison, with the possible exception of another totalitarian dictatorship in an obviously much larger nation, communist China. Just last week the respected international organization, ``Reporters Without Borders'' gave one of the Cuban journalists in the gulag, Ricardo Gonzalez Alfonso, sentenced by the Cuban tyrant to 20 years in prison in the year 2003 and currently in very poor health, the ``Reporters Without Borders'' Journalist of the Year Award. ``Reporters Without Borders'' is to be commended. Three other Cuban prisoners of conscience, Adolfo Fernandez Sainz, Pedro Arguelles Moran, and Antonio Diaz Sanchez, are known to have begun a hunger strike due to the brutal conditions they are subjected to. Where is the outrage? Where is the solidarity in the international community? The reality is that for too many in the world today, Cubans are supposed to be content with their lot, to be quiet, to . . . ``move on'', in the words of one of our pro-Cuban dictatorship colleagues here in the U.S. Congress. The regime that enslaves a nation and imprisons hundreds of heroes simply for their beliefs deserves unilateral rewards and concessions, many maintain. But Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, and the many other heroes imprisoned in the Castro brothers' gulag will not be able to be ignored forever. They must be freed. And political parties be legalized, as well as independent press agencies, and labor unions. And free and fair elections must take place in Cuba. Many of those imprisoned today will be democratically elected leaders tomorrow. That is what is going to occur in Cuba tomorrow. Today, as they suffer the most unjust of cruel imprisonments, we here remember and honor them--and once again demand their immediate release.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Madam Speaker, pursuant to the Republican Leadership standards on earmarks, I am submitting the following information for publication in the Congressional Record regarding earmarks I received as part of H.R. 2638, the Fiscal Year 2009 Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act. Requesting Member: Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21). Bill Number: H.R. 2638. Account: Army, RDT&E. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Lehman Injury Research Center (Ryder Trauma Center). Address of Requesting Entity: 1800 NW 10th Avenue, Miami, FL 33136. Description of Request: The funding would be used for the Army Trauma Training Center (ATTC) at the Ryder Trauma Center situated in the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center. The ATTC has functioned as the national training center for U.S. Army Forward Surgical Teams (FSTs) since 2001. Monthly, the ATTC conducts a 14-day training program for deploying FSTs in order to improve clinical skills and teamwork. The resources of the Ryder Trauma Center and the William Lehman Injury Research Center present a unique opportunity to develop and evaluate new and innovative diagnostic and treatment tools and point-of-care information systems to maximize the care of injured soldiers. The Ryder Trauma Center is developing diagnostics and devices to enhance the capability of first responders to effectively treat casualties as close to the geographic location and time of the injury as possible. Since January 2001, the Army Trauma Training Center, in conjunction with the Ryder Trauma Center, has trained over 25 forward surgical teams and more than 650 Army personnel in active duty and reserve components--two-thirds of all forward surgical teams in the U.S. Army--supporting over 75,000 combat troops. Budget Plan Lehman Injury Research Center (Ryder Trauma Center) will likely receive $5 million in CR/FY 2009 DOD. Salaries Faculty, $419,195.00; Staff, $1,349,209.00. Total Salaries (includes fringe benefits), $1,769,194.00. Telemedicine equipment, $300,000.00. Minor other equipment, $70,000.00. Software licenses, $120,000.00. Programming consultants, $500,000.00. Minor supplies, $387,000.00. Total equipment, $1,377,000.00. Grand total, $3,146,194.00. Indirect costs, $853,806.00. TATRC 20 percent, $1,000,000.00. Total Award, $5,000,000.00. Requesting Member: Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21). Bill Number: H.R. 2638. Account: Army, RDT&E. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Heavy Fuel Burning Engines for UAVs (Locust USA, Inc.). Address of Requesting Entity: 8312 NW 74th Avenue, Miami, FL 33166. Description of Request: The funding will be used to accelerate development of very small engines (Microturbines) to meet present requirements at the Department of Defense. During the past 18 months Locust USA has made significant advancements in the design of the product, and bringing to test the smallest turbine engine (5 horsepower). A version of this engine was selected in September 2006 to power the Army's FCS (Future Combat System) Class I UAV. The DOD is currently in the process of purchasing nearly 500 MAVs (Micro Air Vehicles) for special missions; all are powered by a gasoline engine instead of the heavy fuel requirements that would be preferred under this project. Budget Plan $800,000 of the FY 09 funds are to be used to refine performance and durability of prototype heavy fuel propulsion systems in the 40 to 70 horsepower class. $1,200,000 will be used for the power range of 5 to 10 horsepower engines, to include the original heavy fuel system that was to power the MAV (Micro Air Vehicle). Specifically, improvements in component efficiency which will lead to improvements in basic performance (horsepower, fuel consumption, and internal electrical power generation) as well as durability of bearings, improved castings of critical parts that operate at speeds as high as 230,000 RPM. Requesting Member: Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (FL-21). Bill Number: H.R. 2638. Account: Army, RDT&E. Legal Name of Requesting Entity: Medium-Sized Unmanned Ground Vehicles Platform (Phoenix Worldwide Industries). Address of Requesting Entity: 10780 SW 190th Street, Miami, FL 33351. Description of Request: The funding will be used to develop and implement smaller, lightweight command platforms with reduced power requirements for biological, video and systematic sensors to be installed to function with medium-sized Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Phoenix Worldwide mobile command platforms would be fitted onto military vehicles. This effort would be overseen and directed by the Robotic and Joint Center for Unmanned Ground Vehicles at TARDEC, the attending agency. Unmanned Ground Vehicles and Robotics are of high importance to our warfighters. The U.S. military is currently using numerous types and designs of these UGVs overseas. The U.S. military will continue to develop newer UGVs and mobile command platforms whose technologies will reduce exposure in hazardous situations and at the same time gather information and intelligence. For this reason, the U.S. Army created the Future Combat System directive to increase situational awareness while reducing human exposure for our ground troops. Budget Plan--Budget Proposal, UNCLASSIFIED Appropriation--Phoenix Worldwide Industries. Platform: DoD or Military Spec. The design platform will be one that can be air lifted and/or driven. Materials: Much of the technology that will be incorporated in the working prototype developed for the Mobile Command and Control Platform will be Commercial, off-the-shelf products (COTS). We will use and intergrate current DoD or Military Spec sensors which will be listed as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) as per instructions. Platform Costs--structure reinforcing, balancing weight distribution, etc., electrical adaptations, shelter. $150,000.00. Vehicle Transportation, $12,000.00. Labor Costs--mechanical engineering, software engineering, design engineering, project management, trade labor. $750,000.00. COTS Material Cost, $913,000.00. GFE Adaptations, $50,000.00. Contract Costs--NASEA and TARDEC, $125,000.00. Schedule: 2009.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank my distinguished colleague for his remarks, and for this opportunity of being able to bring forward the points that we both brought forward today. Mr. Speaker, let me say at this point that Americans are really upset with regard to spending more and more of their paycheck for energy needs. For months they have been calling on Congress to consider legislation to help lower the price of gasoline. Just like the American people, the minority has been calling for legislation that will help the American consumer with the skyrocketing price of energy. Yet every time the minority has tried to debate comprehensive energy legislation, the majority has blocked and stymied our efforts. In August, the majority decided to close shop, head back to their districts, instead of really seeking to solve, in a comprehensive manner, this extraordinary issue facing our constituents, which is the rising price of gasoline. So I would imagine the majority heard quite a bit from their constituents in August, because when they returned in September they decided that they would finally, at least, debate energy legislation. Last week the majority brought to the floor their so-called Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, which really, ironically, did nothing to produce energy or provide Americans with energy security since really it only, that legislation, increased our dependence on unstable foreign sources of energy. So that bill is most unfortunate. Also, it won't be enacted into law, and it was only put together to provide the majority with a kind of political cover to say that they actually passed energy legislation, when, in reality, they did nothing. Now, the majority is set to end this Congress and, really, any chance to actually pass a comprehensive energy bill, comprehensive energy legislation will also end with this Congress for now. Our point is that this is not appropriate. We think that the energy issue is of extraordinary importance, and that we should not leave without comprehensive energy legislation. Mr. Speaker, I will be urging my colleagues to vote ``no'' to vote with me to defeat the previous question so that the House can finally consider comprehensive solutions to rising energy costs. If the previous question is defeated, I will move to amend this rule to prohibit the consideration of a concurrent resolution providing for an adjournment until comprehensive energy legislation has been enacted into law. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. By voting ``no'' on the previous question, Members can assure their constituents that they are committed to enacting legislation to help their constituents with rising energy prices. I also remind Members that the previous question in no way would prevent consideration of any of the suspension bills. I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. I thank my friend. ``Man is man plus his circumstances.''

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Repeat the name of the author.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. That being the case, Mr. Speaker, ``man is man plus his circumstances.'' That is one, I think, of the wisest sayings I have ever heard by one of the great philosophers of the 20th century, Jose Ortega y Gasset, who led a fascinating life. He was a professor in various universities in Spain, actually dabbled in politics, was a member of the parliament during the Second Republic in the 1930s in Spain, and then was a long-time exile. Toward the end of his life, I think he returned to Spain but just for a short period of time because he did not outlive the Franco dictatorship and Ortega y Gasset never wanted to live nor, quite frankly, visit his country under dictatorship. But that phrase, ``man is man plus his circumstances,'' I think, summarizes so much of life. And so we today, while not engaged, because this is a procedural debate and I would expect my friend on the other side of the aisle to agree that perhaps it is not one of the most popular to watch if a guest were here in the galleries because it is procedural, this debate. And yet process really is key to the functioning of representative democracy, Mr. Speaker. Why do I say that: because the rights of the minority are just as important as the right of the majority to rule. You can't have a functioning, a genuine, representative democracy unless, along with the right of the majority to rule, the minority has the right to be heard. And the opposition, the minority, has the right to play a significant role. And so process is what makes that possible. Without process, guaranteeing the rights of the majority to rule and the minority to be heard and to have all of the procedural rights followed by the majority, without that process, there can be no representative democracy. And so even though this debate may seem somewhat technical, process is important. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida. Ortega y Gasset. In Spain, you often have compound names or long names. Ortega y Gasset. An extraordinary philosopher, really a liberal in the best sense of the word and an open man, a man open to realize, my distinguished friends, that good ideas often come from not only both but all political viewpoints. And Ortega y Gasset was one such thinker. I highly recommend him to such an erudite, studious not only here Member of the House but generally a man of the law as my friend.