John Doolittle

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I am going to yield here in just a second to our good colleague from Florida, but just to observe, to corroborate what you said, the very thing Mr. Gore claims to support, the environment, his policies are actually hurting. It is the same thing in the area of national forests. I said earlier we have more standing timber than at any time in the 20th century. We also have the worst forest health than any time in the 20th century. Great over growth in the forests, huge amounts of dead and dying trees, all brought about by the horrific forest management policies of the Clinton/Gore administration catering to these sorts of extreme, bizarre, goofy views, and I yield now to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon) for his comments.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. McIntosh) for his participation tonight. I encourage everybody to read ``Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit.'' We will be back for the next chapter as we examine further the dangerous and extreme and outrageous and, as my colleague said, goofy views of the Vice President of the United States, Mr. Al Gore.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. If the gentleman will yield, our policy seems to be to bend over backwards and do everything we can for China, despite the fact they point their missiles at us and take advantage of us in every way.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I thank the gentleman. I thank him as well for doing his excellent work on this subject with his subcommittee in bringing out these important facts. Here is another claim by the Vice President. He has said, ``Global warming is responsible for 1998 being the hottest year on record.'' Some of these are just so patently false and absurd that it makes you smile when you read them. The hottest year on record. I mean, that is either true or it is not. The fact is it is not. This last year's hot weather in North America did not even set records. North America's record high was reached on July 10, 1913 when Death Valley in my State of California hit 134 degrees Fahrenheit. That is pretty hot. None of the other seven continents broke records last year, either. Africa hit its record high in 1922, Asia in 1942, Australia in 1889, Europe in 1881, South America in 1905, Oceana in 1912 and Antarctica in 1974. Here is another claim. Al Gore has maintained that all old growth forests in America will be wiped out within 20 years. Here is the fact on that. There are a lot of people that have, I think, been misinformed on this, precisely because of comments like this by the Vice President. The fact is as of 1993, there were 13.2 million acres of old growth forests left in America, old growth defined as forests containing trees over 200 years old. Eight million of these acres were totally protected in national parks and wilderness areas and can never be harvested. So 8 million of the 13.2 million acres of old growth can never be harvested in this country. Furthermore, the harvesting rate for the remaining 5.2 million acres of old growth forest is approximately only 1 percent per year. Here is another statistic that I will throw out. There is more standing timber in the United States of America today than at any time in the 20th century. That is also a fact. In fact, there is so much standing timber, that is why our forests face catastrophic threat of forest fire. If we quadrupled the cutting of the trees right now, we could not catch up with the amount of growth that is occurring each year. That is how serious this threat really is. Lastly--lastly for the night--of course there are many other absurd claims that we will focus on, but for the night this is the final one I will address. ``The United States is running out of space for landfills.'' Here is an interesting statistic, an interesting fact. All garbage produced in the United States for the next 500 years would fit in a single landfill measuring 20 miles by 20 miles. That is an interesting statistic. So I do not think we are running out of landfills. With that, I am going to now call upon the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. McIntosh), who by the way is chairman of the Conservative Action Team, a group of conservatives in the House, organized to try and increase their effectiveness in promoting that philosophy. I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I thank the gentleman. I would just observe the motto of the University of California is lifted from the Bible, ``Let there be light.'' We intend to shine as much light as we can so that, as the Bible says, ``The truth shall make us free.'' With that, I would like to now acknowledge our distinguished colleague from Florida (Mr. Weldon) who will share insights with us and perhaps will explain why Al Gore was not allowed to make the taxpayers fund his pet project of raiding money from NASA to show constant images of the earth from outer space.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Chairman, today we come to the floor with a very important bill, the water bill. I am very, very pleased to be able to support it. It contains many important projects across the country that can be developed with the passage and enactment of this legislation. I would particularly like to thank for their work on our problem in Sacramento our chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), and our subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) and their staffs. They have been tremendously helpful, and it has been a very, very difficult problem for us to resolve. I would like to thank my colleagues from the Sacramento region who have been involved with me for months of intense negotiation with our staffs, the gentlemen from California, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Ose, Mr. Herger, and Mr. Matsui. All of us have worked hard to try and come up with a solution. Ultimately that solution that we worked on did not materialize in the exact way that we had desired. But the bottom line is this, Madam Chairman, this bill today enables Sacramento to take a giant step forward in the area of flood control, achieving virtually a 1 hundred percent increase in the level of protection over what we presently have. Madam Chairman, I would be less than candid if I did not say that this is still not what we need. But the truth of the matter is that we will never have what we need until, in one fashion or another, we are able to complete the construction of the Auburn Dam. It is the only solution that provides the level of flood protection for Sacramento. Everything else ultimately falls short. But this is a political process, and one that requires a certain agreement between all the parties. We are moving in the right direction, and when we come to issues of water and flood control and so forth, I think if you are moving in the right direction and making progress, that is something that we have to acknowledge and encourage. We are taking this step today. It is something that will be, I think, a very significant improvement for our community. Moreover, we do not do any harm, such as by passing the disastrous stepped release plan which is in the Senate bill, which would actually make things worse, increase the danger to life and property, and export flood control problems to those down below. So I am grateful to see that. I cannot help but acknowledge that this process has revealed the tremendous problem we also face in our State, which is the shortage of water. Even in an average year we are short of water. In a drought year we are significantly short of water, by about 5 million acre feet a year. We in California are going to have to address that problem, and in my own subcommittee which I chair, next month we will be specifically addressing that problem as we continue oversight over the Cal-Fed process. Water storage has to be developed. I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the Chinese- American community and pay tribute to its ancestors' contribution to the building of the American transcontinental railroad. On May 8th, the Colfax Area Historical Society in my Congressional District will place a monument along Highway 174 at Cape Horn, near Colfax, California to recognize the efforts of the Chinese in laying the tracks that linked the east and west coasts for the first time. With the California Gold Rush and the opening of the West came an increased interest in building a transcontinental railroad. To this end, the Central Pacific Railroad Company was established, and construction of the route East from Sacramento began in 1863. Although the beginning of the effort took place on relatively flat land, labor and financial problems were persistent, resulting in only 50 miles of track being laid in the first two years. Although the company needed over 5,000 workers, it only had 600 on the payroll by 1864. Chinese labor was suggested, as they had already helped build the California Central Railroad, the railroad from Sacramento to Marysville and the San Jose Railway. Originally thought to be too small to complete such a momentous task, Charles Crocker of Central Pacific pointed out, ``the Chinese made the Great Wall, didn't they?'' The first Chinese were hired in 1865 at approximately $28 per month to do the very dangerous work of blasting and laying ties over the treacherous terrain of the high Sierras. They lived in simply dwellings and cooked their own meals, often consisting of fish, dried oysters and fruit, mushrooms and seaweed. Work in the beginning was slow and difficult. After the first 23 miles, Central Pacific faced the daunting task of laying tracks over terrain that rose 7,000 feet in 100 miles. To conquer the many sheer embankments, the Chinese workers used techniques they had learned in China to complete similar tasks. They were lowered by ropes from the top of cliffs in baskets, and while suspended, they chipped away at the granite and planted explosives that were used to blast tunnels. Many workers risked their lives and perished in the harsh winters and dangerous conditions. By the summer of 1868, 4,000 workers, two thirds of which were Chinese, had built the transcontinental railroad over the Sierras and into the interior plains. On May 10, 1869, the two railroads were to meet at Promontory, Utah in front of a cheering crowd and a band. A Chinese crew was chosen to lay the final ten miles of track, and it was completed in only twelve hours. Without the efforts of the Chinese workers in the building of America's railroads, our development and progress as a nation would have been delayed by years. Their toil in severe weather, cruel working conditions and for meager wages cannot be under appreciated. My sentiments and thanks go out to the entire Chinese-American community for its ancestors' contribution to the building of this great Nation.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I support the resolution by Representative Campbell to remove our troops from action in the Balkans. I'm opposed to applying American military force on behalf of Kosovo because our goals are unclear and the risks are too great without any fundamental strategic American interest. Introduction of ground forces onto what we still recognize as Yugoslavian soil is a muddled policy. Are we joining a Kosovar war of liberation, or are we demanding the Yugoslavian national government delegate an arbitrary level of power to the provincial Kosovo government? It is difficult to imagine Kosovars and the Serbs reconciling and co- existing peacefully and on equal terms after such massive intervention by the United States. Alternatively if Kosovo or a part of Kosovo were indeed to gain independence, we don't have any assurance that they wouldn't try to join a Greater Albania. I am wary of the side we picked in this Yugoslavian civil war. I do feel the United States should be a friend to freedom movements throughout the world. But our support for the Kosovars doesn't seem to be rooted in any affinity of theirs for freedom or for the United States. The Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) has links to very suspect groups, among them heroin smugglers and Middle East terrorists. Should we be strengthening a group that is supported by Osama bin Laden and other very dangerous people who hate America? A strengthened radical Muslim presence in Europe would pose a serious threat to the interests of the United States and our allies. A predominately Muslim country is not always hostile to American interests. Turkey is a long-time and solid ally of the United States. Several other predominately Muslim countries have also been friends of the United States. And that is precisely because they have rejected radical anti-Western elements. The KLA hasn't done that to my satisfaction. For these reasons, I urge adoption of the Campbell resolution.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, today marks the first in a series of special orders members of the Conservative Action Team and Western Caucus hope to hold on the record of Vice President Al Gore. For the past 6\1/2\ years Al Gore has been Bill Clinton's point man on the environment and on a number of key issues. He has been particularly aggressive in attacking the work of congressional Republicans, often portraying the positions of congressional Republicans as being very extreme and very anti-people, if you will. The members of the Conservative Action Team believe it is important for the American people to understand why Al Gore finds our record of cutting taxes, balancing the budget, eliminating wasteful government, and restoring commonsense environmental policies so contemptible, and to do this we think we must look at what Al Gore actually stands for. Today we will examine the Vice President's views on the environment. This examination is important because, upon being elected, Bill Clinton ceded control of his administration's environmental policy to Al Gore. In fact, Gore was given the authority to select the EPA Administrator and other high-ranking environmental policy positions. The timing of this special order also is important because tomorrow is Earth Day. Earth Day is a curious event, curious because we will not hear as much talk about protecting the environment, which all Americans support, as we will about what the Federal Government and Federal bureaucrats can do to curtail individuals' rights to use private property. What makes Earth Day more curious is that the first such celebration took place in the 100th anniversary of communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin's birthday. One thing we have come to expect is that Al Gore will use Earth Day to criticize Republicans for not micromanaging every river, wetland, and estuary across America from Washington, D.C. Al Gore's extreme views on the environment have not been given the attention they deserve, despite the fact that he has written an entire book explaining them. That book is entitled ``Earth in the Balance,'' and I would encourage all of my colleagues to buy a copy and to read it. I think it will be most instructive. Let me just cite a couple of things out of the book in the limited time I have: ``The 20th century has not been kind to the constant human striving for a sense of purpose in life. Two world wars, the Holocaust, the invention of nuclear weapons, and now the global environmental crisis have led many of us to wonder if survival, much less enlightened, joyous and hopeful living, is possible. We retreat into the seductive tools and technologies of industrial civilization, but that only creates new problems as we become increasingly isolated from one another and disconnected from our roots.'' Does any reasonable person really sit here and wonder if survival is even possible? I mean, this is unimaginable. And to compare this threat that he sees to the two world wars or to the Holocaust? And yet we live in a time of unimagined prosperity and a time when people in many ways are more well off than ever. I just think this is an interesting observation, to see that someone of this high office actually holds this kind of view which is so far out of the mainstream. The Vice President made a statement about the future of cars, and that is in the book and I will quote within that. Mr. Speaker, I will end on this note: Within the context of the Strategic Environment Initiative, which I understand to be a proposal the Vice President has worked on, it sought to be able to establish a coordinated global program to accomplish the strategic goal of completely eliminating the internal combustion engine over, say, a 25-year period. Let me just observe, the internal combustion engine has been a great blessing to Americans and to people around the world. I have never really heard of an adequate replacement for it. And it has certainly been the source, in the manufacture of that and related industries, that has created hundreds of thousands of jobs. And yet here the Vice President is essentially lauding the elimination of the internal combustion engine. We will conduct further discussions on this in the weeks ahead.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I am not a supporter of the disastrous proposal by the Clinton administration and the minority party in this House to do statistical sampling, for a number of reasons. I think it is clearly unconstitutional. I think we have a recent Supreme Court decision handed down at the beginning of this year, a fair reading of which would be to conclude that it prohibits both sampling for apportionment of representatives as well as for redistricting purposes within the States. I think, in the effort to make a more accurate count, in fact it introduces a high degree of subjectivity into the process, and in fact would be less accurate. And even if we accepted the fact that somehow this might be valid, we would have to have it with an administration that we could trust, and this administration is the most partisan one in history. This is an administration that we cannot trust on the issue, for example, as they have proven with the manipulation of campaign finance laws or of the immigration procedures, all designed to affect the outcome of an election. So the trust threshold is low here. But let me just say to those that do support sampling that I do not believe this bill, H.R. 472, deters them from their goal. Let me just quote from the committee hearing here that the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) conducted. A question was posed by the chairman to Dr. Prewitt, the census director. ``Does post-census local review impact sampling, because I have heard that one of the reasons you are opposing it is that it will make it harder to do the sampling adjustment?'' And Dr. Prewitt answered: ``No, sir. I do not know on what basis that would have been suggested to you.'' And then the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) replied, ``So the post-census local review has no impact, to your knowledge, on the 300,000 sampling process; right?" Dr. Prewitt responded: ``No.'' So I think it is clear that the Clinton administration's census director does not believe that this is going to threaten sampling, which we oppose, but which I submit this bill does not impact. I would, though, like to draw my colleagues' attention to the fact that there is strong support for the post-census local review. Now, we can all understand that, can we not? Yes, the U.S. Government, through the Census Bureau, is charged with doing the census every 10 years. But we also have a principle in this country that we all know called federalism, and post-census local review is perfectly consistent with this principle. Even from Thomas Jefferson forward we have known that the government which governs least governs best, and that government should occur at the most local level. Now, my Democratic colleagues claim Thomas Jefferson. I claim him, too. I have never understood why we did not have him in the Republican Party. In fact, I think he was a member of the Democratic/Republican Party, so we could have a Jefferson Day Celebration, too. But look at this. This is the testimony of Alex G. Feteke, who is the mayor of Pembroke Pines, Florida. This was testimony for the National League of Cities before the Subcommittee on Census given earlier this year. Here is what he had to say: ``The National League of Cities enthusiastically supports the Local Census Quality Control Act, H.R. 472. This bill will provide our Nation's cities and towns with the much-needed post-census local review process.'' And then we have here the testimony of Lanier Boatwright, President of the National Association of Developmental Associations, representing 77 million Americans: ``The precensus activities, such as local update of census addresses program, are not adequate substitutes for post- census local review. Local governments should have an opportunity to ensure the accuracy of the census numbers before they are final.'' And I would like just to conclude with this thought, Mr. Speaker. In 1990, there were 400,000 errors that were corrected as a result of this, and they only had 15 days to check it over. This bill gives them 45 days. We believe there will be an exponential increase. In 1990, we added 80,000 housing units, 198,000-some housing units to the right block, and 101,000 housing units were counted in error and were removed. A correction in either direction assures accuracy and fairness, and that is what we seek: accuracy and fairness, consistent with the Constitution of the United States. I strongly urge an ``aye'' vote for H.R. 472.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to join some of my colleagues in wishing a happy 300th Baisakhi Day to the Sikh Nation. The contributions that Sikhs have made to American life have been significant. They have added to almost every walk of American life. On April 10, the Sikhs marched in celebration of the 300th Baisakhi anniversary of the day of the last of the 10 Gurus, Guru Gobind Singh, initiated the Khalsa Panth. I understand that it was a glorious event for the Sikh nation, and I would like to congratulate the Sikhs of America and my friend Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, who was the march coordinator, on its success. I understand that the parade looked like a sea of saffron (the Sikh color of freedom) as it moved from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol and that the grounds outside here on the West Front were filled with over 40,000 enthusiastic Sikhs. It must have been something to see! It is appropriate that the march began at the memorial to Abraham Lincoln, issuer of the Emancipation Proclamation. The Sikh Nation struggles for their freedom, as instructed by the Sikh Gurus. Sikhs are instructed to oppose tyranny wherever it occurs. The Sikhs are a proud people, and justifiably so. They are a people dedicated to living a holy life, working hard, sharing with those in need, and to the equality of all people and freedom for everyone. Unfortunately, in their own homeland, Sikhs do not enjoy freedom. They have been subjected to tyranny. The Indian Government has also oppressed other minorities, such as Christians, Muslims, and Dalits (the so-called ``untouchables''). Yet India proudly proclaims itself a democracy. We cannot make India behave like a truly democratic country, but we can apply pressure by withholding aid and by publicly declaring our support for a democratic vote in Punjab, Khalistan, and other Indian states on the subject of self-determination. If India is truly democratic, this is the way it should settle these issues. The Governors of New Jersey and Texas have declared the ``Year of the Khalsa.'' Numerous Members of Congress from both parties have saluted the Sikhs on this historic anniversary. The new Mayor of Washington, D.C. sent congratulatory remarks. As Sikhs move into their fourth century, they should celebrate their next anniversary in freedom in their own sovereign, independent country. Let us honor their history and their struggle by supporting their effort to be free. I would like to add Mayor Williams' letter of congratulations to the Record. Congratulations, Council of Khalistan--``Recognize Ye All The Human Race As One'' 300th anniversary, april 10, 1999 As Mayor of the District of Columbia, it is my distinct pleasure to extend warm greetings and congratulations to the members, guest and friends of the Council of Khalistan as you celebrate your 300th Anniversary of the initiation of the Khalsa Panth. This is a significant milestone in the history of the Sikh Nation as you celebrate this Vaisaakhee Day. Sikhism is the youngest of the world's religion, and it is humility and service to mankind that are regarded as most important. Religion plays an important role in our daily lives, and you are to be commended for your efforts to provide spiritual enhancement to your membership, service to the community and commitment to the principles of peace, progress, dignity, integrity, human rights and justice for all. On behalf of the residents of the District of Columbia, thank you for making a difference in our lives and best wishes in your quest for holy fulfillment. Anthony A. Williams, Mayor, District of Columbia.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, has brought it to my attention that on April 13, the Sikhs will be celebrating their 300th anniversary. Sikhs have been significant contributors to America in several sectors of life, but their anniversary is significant for another reason. The Sikh Nation is currently one of several nations struggling to reclaim its freedom from Hindu India. It is an interesting coincidence that April 13, the Sikhs' anniversary, is also the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, the author of our Declaration of Independence. This symmetry of events highlights the Sikh Nation's desire to be free. It is time that the Sikhs enjoy the freedom that we enjoy here in America. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote that all people ``are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.'' In India, the government allows 70,000 Sikh political prisoners to rot in jail without charge or trial, some since 1984. They should be released on or before April 13 as a goodwill gesture. Instead, I fear that even more Sikhs will be endangered as ``democratic, secular'' India tries to maintain what it calls its ``territorial integrity.'' In the spirit of Jefferson, let the 300th anniversary of the Sikh Nation be an occasion to do whatever we can to support the Sikhs and the other nations of South Asia in their struggle to live in the glow of freedom. By stopping U.S. aid to India (which is one of the top five recipient countries) until human rights are universally respected, by declaring our support for self-determination through a free and fair plebiscite, and by imposing the same sanctions on India that we would impose on any other religious oppressor, we can share the blessings of liberty with the people of South Asia. This is the best thing that we can do to celebrate this important occasion with the Sikh Nation.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, James Madison, the primary author of the U.S. Constitution, warned about ``the tyranny of the majority.'' The modern state of India is an example of what Madison warned us about. Between Christmas and New Year, several Christian churches, prayer halls, and missionary schools were attacked by extremist Hindu mobs affiliated with the parent organization of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Washington Post reported on January 1 that ten such attacks occurred the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. Six people were injured in one of these attacks. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), or World Hindu Council, appears to be responsible for the attacks. The BJP is the political wing of the VHP. The Hindu militants are apparently upset that Christians are converting low-caste Hindus. Their frustration does not justify acts of violence. Christian activists report that there were more than 60 recorded cases of church and Bible-burning, rape, and other attacks in 1998 alone, including the recent rape of four nuns. The VHP called the rapists ``patriotic youth.'' In 1997 and 1998, four priests were murdered. In the fall of 1997, a Christian festival was stopped when the police opened fire. Clearly, there is a pattern here. However, Christians are not the only victims of India's tyrannical ``democracy.'' Muslims have seen their most revered mosques destroyed; Sikhs have seen their most sacred shrine, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, attacked and remain under occupation by plainclothes police. Their spiritual leader, the Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Gurdev Singh Kaunke, was tortured and killed in police custody. Although there is a witness to this murder, no action has been taken against those responsible. Is this the secular democracy that India is so proud of? The United States is the beacon of freedom to the world. As such, we cannot sit idly by and watch India trample on the religious freedom of its minorities. We should put this Congress on record in support of peaceful, democratic freedom movements in South Asia and throughout the world. The United States recently allowed Puerto Rico to vote on its status; our Canadian neighbors held a similar referendum in Quebec. When do the Sikhs of Khalistan, the Muslims of Kashmir, and the other peoples living under Indian rule get their chance to exercise this basic democratic right? Will we support democratic freedom for the people of South Asia, or will we look away while the tyranny of the majority continues to suppress fundamental rights like freedom of religion?

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an outstanding public servant, Justice Robert K. Puglia. Robert K. Puglia, Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal in the Third Appellate District of California, has brought credit and distinction to himself through his illustrious record of public service, and it is appropriate at this time to commemorate the valuable leadership and dedicated service he has provided to his community and the people of the State of California. Robert Puglia was born in 1929 in Westerville, OH. He completed his undergraduate work at Ohio State University in 1952. After serving 3 years in the U.S. Army as an infantryman, Bob Puglia enrolled in law school at the University of California at Berkeley and earned his law degree in 1958. Bob became a member of the California State Bar in 1959, upon passing the bar exam, and began working as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California. Later that same year he became Deputy District for the County of Sacramento. While serving in the Sacramento District Attorney's office until 1969, including over 5 years as Chief Deputy, Bob found time to teach law at McGeorge School of Law and government at California State University. Bob then joined the private law firm of McDonough, Holland & Allen in Sacramento until Governor Ronald Reagan tapped him in 1971 to be judge of the Superior Court, Sacramento County. In 1971, Governor Reagan appointed Justice Puglia to the California Court of Appeal in the Third Appellate District. Later that same year, he was elevated from Associate Justice to Presiding Justice. He has served there ever since. In recognition of his skills as attorney and judge, and for his service to his community, state, and to the legal profession, Justice Robert Puglia has received honorary doctorates in law from Lincoln Law School and the McGeorge School of Law. Justice Puglia was also active in numerous state and local bar activities, including service on several committees on the California Judges Association as well as serving as its president, and as a member of the California Judicial Council. In 1984 he was President of the American Bar Association. Outside of his long and distinguished career, Robert Puglia is husband to Ingrid, and father to four children, Susan, Peter, David, and Thomas. I take great pleasure in commending the Honorable Robert Puglia for his outstanding record of judicial leadership, his long and distinguished record of public service, and his outstanding display of civic leadership. He is indeed a man worth emulating and one who exemplifies the standards those in his chosen profession seek to uphold.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the English Language Amendment to the Constitution. It is my belief that this legislation is critically needed at this day and hour. It is time for Congress to stand up and reaffirm that this nation of immigrants requires the unity of a national language. Mr. Speaker, for over 200 years, America has made a home for immigrants from all over the globe. The newest American citizen is considered just as good an American as the citizen whose ancestors can be traced to the Mayflower. The United States has managed to accomplish what few nations have even dared to attempt: we are one nation even though each of us may have ancestors who fought against each other in generations past. This has been made possible by our common flag and our common language. The immigrant struggling to learn English in order to become a citizen is an ancestor of many of the Members of this House. The child of immigrants, going to school, learning English and playing baseball is the ancestor of many of us as well. And others here are that child a few years later, having the honor of representing many other Americans as a U.S. Congressman. Learning English was not always easy. And America has not always lived up to its high ideal that we are E Pluribus Unum--``out of many, one.'' But for most of our Nation's history, the English language was both the language of opportunity and the language of unity. During the 1960's, the notion of our common language came under attack. There were those who felt America had nothing worthy of pride. Some of these people gave the impression that they did not think the United States of America itself was a good idea. While those days are over, many of the ideas of that period are part of federal law. One of the most divisive of those notions was government multilingualism and multiculturalism. These ideas have infiltrated government at all levels. Yet these ideas were opposed and then and remain opposed to now by a vast majority of Americans. Mr. Speaker, I believe we would all concede that notions like bilingual ballots and bilingual education were well meant when they were proposed. But also believe that it is time that we ended this failed experiment in official multilingualism. I believe this experiment should be ended because government multilingualism is divisive. It seems that no amount of translation services is ever sufficient. Michigan offers its driver test in 20 languages. There are 100 languages spoken in the Chicago school system. Yet hard-pressed taxpayers know that they are one lawsuit away from yet another mandatory translation requirement. There are those who say that this amendment is not necessary. I would remind them that right across the street the Supreme Court will decide whether any official English legislation is Constitutional. Even though we may desire less comprehensive approaches to this issue, the actions of this Court, or a future Court, may well undercut any official English legislation short of the English Language Amendment (ELA). In 1996, I spoke with pride on behalf of the official English bill originally introduced by my colleague from the great State of California, Duke Cunningham. That was a good bill and would have made a good beginning. However, given that groups like the American Civil Liberties Union with their legions of lawyers stand ready to haul any official English legislation into court, I believe that we must accept the fact that Congress will be continually forced to revisit this issue until we successfully add the ELA to our Constitution. The path of a Constitutional amendment is not easy. The Founding Fathers made certain that only the most important issues could succeed in achieving Constitutional protection. Mr. Speaker, I submit that preserving our national unity through making English this Nation's official language is just such a critical issue. Look around the world. Neighbor fights with neighbor even when they speak a common language. Linguistic divisions swiftly lead to other divisions. Mr. Speaker, if the ELA is adopted, states like my own will save money. Under our current laws, the minute an immigrant sets foot on U.S. soil, he and his family are entitled to a multitude of government services, each provided in that immigrant's native tongue. When their children start school, we cannot give them English classes--instead California and other States must provide schooling to these children in the language of their parents. Bilingual education alone is an unfunded $8 billion mandate on State and local taxpayers. There is a sense in this body when the time has come for certain legislation. I submit that the time has indeed come for the English Language Amendment and I urge its adoption.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his comments. I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), my good friend and colleague from northern California, really right in between Frank's district and mine.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I would just like to, before I yield to the gentleman from Georgia, just like to briefly highlight two or three areas of Frank's legislative involvement that I am very proud of him for. One, he introduced a resolution affirming the right of the Boy Scouts of America, a voluntary association of free individuals, to set standards for membership and exclude those who do not reflect its traditional and moral values. As is consistent with what you heard about Frank, his courageous, really fearless nature, he carried that resolution and waged that battle. And many of us, including me, are grateful for that. He also has been extremely active. In fact, he gave up, in what is almost unheard of, I do not know of any other example of this, certainly while I have been here or before I got here. He was a member of the prized Committee on Appropriations. And that is a very difficult committee to get on. They are the ones who recommend how all the money is going to be spent for the budget. He got off of that in order to get on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and eventually become chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families. And he has fought tirelessly for children while having that stewardship, including a bill that he sponsored called HELP, helping empower low income parents scholarship amendments. This would allow them to offer opportunity scholarships to poor urban and rural children. Although that legislation was not successful, I believe it is the type of legislation that eventually will pass here. And when it does, you can look back to Frank Riggs, we can all look back, as the one who started that ball rolling and who had the foresight to wage that battle in what eventually, I believe, will be a successful effort. He also wrote the English language fluency act to end Federal support for the disastrous bilingual education programs. And this was modeled in California's English for the children initiative, which this legislation passed the House this last September. He also offered an amendment to the higher education act prohibiting public colleges and universities who accept Federal funds from setting admissions criteria on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin or ethnicity. Frank is, frankly, someone who went against the trend. And I hope he will not feel bad if I say this, but I observe that the longer he was here, the more conservative he became. Frequently and as a general rule, the trend is just the opposite. The longer you are here, the more liberal you become. But Frank was never one to fit into a mold. Frankly, these actions that he has undertaken, these bits of legislation, I felt would have qualified him to be a member in good standing of the conservative action team. So in my mind you will always be an honorary member of that by your philosophy. I think you have reflected those values in your actions. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Recalling our early days together, I must say, every now and then, back in those days, it seems like we had a lot of late nights here. Every now and then, we would go over to the Pentagon City Mall and have ribs and baked potatoes at the Silver Spoon, which was a great experience. I kind of looked forward to those occasions since we were both back here on our own for the first 8 or 9 months or so. That was better than having to cook for ourselves. That was always preferable. So, Frank, those are memories I will treasure as we move on here in life. I recall once Frank Riggs told me in a conference, I do not remember how this came up, but he told me that there were three things that he had considered being when he grew up. This is what he thought as a young person. One was to be a police officer, which in fact he did become, serving I believe in the Santa Barbara Police Department and then eventually, I do not remember the county, but it is Marin County or one of those up in Northern California, the sheriff's department. The other thing he wanted to be was a high school coach. He never became a full-time high school coach, but he did, indeed, and does, I guess, presently serve as high school coach for both his daughter and as well for his son, two different teams. Being a Member of Congress and a subcommittee chairman, I do not know how he did it, but he did all those things at the same time. The third thing was that he was very interested in becoming a member of the clergy. He never actually became a member of the clergy, but he has reflected, I think, fundamental values in his service here as a member of the United States House of Representatives for 6 years. Frank, I do not know if I have shared this with you, but there is a great quote I often use, and it means a great deal. It is from a former chaplain in the United States Senate Everett Hale, who said ``I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.'' I would say, Mr. Speaker, that Frank Riggs reflects the statement of the Senate Chaplain, someone who has done his best to make a difference and who has, indeed, made a difference for men, women, and children in this country, who has honorably served in the United States House of Representatives, and who will be long and fondly remembered.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I would thank the chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling) for his remarks. Mr. Speaker, I yield at this point to a distinguished colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) who, along with Mr. Riggs, were two of the Gang of 7. Both of them were involved in an effort exposing the House Bank scandal and ultimately closing down that institution; the House Post Office scandal, which was reformed as a result of this. Several people were indicted and had penalties imposed. Frank Riggs is a courageous man and so is the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor), whom I will now recognize.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, the subject of my special order is basically to recognize one of our colleagues, dear friend of mine, Representative Frank D. Riggs from the First Congressional District of California. I first became acquainted with Frank really over the telephone, and I believe we spoke once before the election in 1990 and once on election day in the evening after the results were known, or perhaps it was the next day. But the first time I met him was when we were both new Members of the House back here for our freshman orientation, which in those days, and I think this is one of the last times this happened, maybe the next to the last, we, in those days, the new Democrat and Republican Members received orientation together. That included a trip to the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then also a trip down to Williamsburg, sponsored by, I believe, the Congressional Research Service and perhaps one or two other organizations. People listening may wonder about this, in contrast to how it is done now but in those days there was a chance to really get to know our fellow Members of the class, and to the public that may sound strange but this is such a large institution, with I believe we have 440 members, 435 of them voting, that it is really hard, given the compressed work week schedule, the Members traveling to the far flung parts of the Nation, coming and going all the time, in retrospect that time we spend as freshmen Members is really almost a unique opportunity to get to know each other. I said freshmen Members, but Members-elect in this case because this happens before actually we are sworn in as Members of the House. Frank and I had the chance to get acquainted with each other and we became fast friends. Actually, we were roommates for the first 9 months of the first year of our term in 1991. Both of us had families out in California. Both of us had the intent of moving our families to be here with us in the Washington, D.C. area as we did the job, and it took several months for both of us, actually until late into the year of 1991, to wrap up the affairs and get everybody organized back here. So we rented an apartment in Crystal City and had the opportunity, as new Members, to experience all of the things that Members of Congress go through. For us, it was an unusual time because Operation Desert Shield had been put into effect in August of 1990 and late in the year or early in the first part of 1991, Operation Desert Storm was declared. We had a full-fledged military operation. One of our first votes was, in essence, what amounted to a declaration of war. As a result of that, we had the first real victory, well, I should not say the first victory but I guess I will say the first major victory really since World War II that the Nation has experienced. It was a great operation and something that I think Americans recognized as being kind of a pinnacle of America's military success. I will have perhaps other comments to offer, but I am pleased to see we have here the chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is the full committee of which Frank is chairman of one of the subcommittees, and maybe our full committee chairman, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling), will comment on that. Then we have the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), who is a fellow Californian, close friend of Frank Riggs. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling).

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of my special order.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher). And he referred to Frank's hard work and ability. And I have been just reviewing some of the material on Frank. I know that something jumped out at me that I did not realize, and that was that he was a graduate with highest honors of Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in the administration of justice. Furthermore, he was named the outstanding graduate in the College of Business and Public Administration. Of course, sometimes having achieved a distinction, they will give the graduate a cum laude recognition, or magna cum laude. But summa cum laude is the highest recognition. And, really, anyone who knows Frank would not at all be surprised that that was the distinction that he earned in college. I now would like to recognize the gentleman from Southern California (Mr. Bilbray), even further south than the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), he is from San Diego and the surrounding areas.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I will just observe that thanks to Frank Riggs, he introduced me to an East Coast donut, Krispy Kreme, which I hadn't known about before, and it has resulted in a significant expansion of my waistline which will be one thing that will cause me to remember him for a long time to come. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Southern California (Mr. Rohrabacher) who has joined us, a dear friend and colleague.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments and would just observe that I do not think I know of any harder work than campaigning in a hard fought election, and Frank Riggs has had nothing but a steady diet of that in the elections he has run, and it has never been easy. They have always been huge races where a million dollars was spent by both sides. Heavy negative advertising was out there attacking him, distorting his record, and I would just observe that to go through one of those races and then to lose and then to somehow be able to pick yourself back up and take up the battle again for 2 years running, getting ready for the next election, talk about the tenacity of Frank Riggs, I think that is true. That is extremely difficult. Frank is quite an athlete, but among other things is an avid jogger. I remember when we lived together, he would go for a jog at 9:00 at night out in the wonderful high Washington heat and humidity. It would be 90-plus degrees and he would be off on a jog. That is the type of individual he is. He really is just a real fighter and very, very tenacious and has stood tall for the things he believes in.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray). While the next gentleman is proceeding up to the front, I would observe that there is a third and oldest child, Ryan Riggs. And Ryan, Matt and Sarah, we have seen grow up. Sarah is not completely grown, but she is a lovely young lady now. And we have watched them grow up. Cathy, by the way, is a wonderful mother and a crack private investigator and a law school graduate as well. She has been a staunch supporter of Frank. And maybe for those who do not realize it, but a Member's family is integral to running a successful campaign. They are all deeply involved, as the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray) alluded to. There is a great deal of sacrifice that goes on on the part of the family once the Member is elected, and Frank has a strong family that loves and supports him. I yield now to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson).