Jo Ann Davis

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thought we had one other speaker on his way, but I would just urge that the House pass H.R. 2751.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of February 24, 2004, I call up the bill (H.R. 2751) to provide new human capital flexibilities with respect to the GAO, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to protest the U.N. General Assembly's decision to rule on the legality of Israel's security fence. I have just recently returned from Israel, where I had the opportunity to see firsthand the issues surrounding the security fence. Simply stated, Mr. Speaker, the purpose behind this temporary fence is to protect the Israeli people from suicide bombers and terrorists in a region marked by violence and instability. However, the issue here today is not the lawfulness of Israel's security fence. It is the appropriateness of bringing such a complicated and political issue before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in an unbalanced manner. I am encouraged by the administration's support for Israel before the court and agree that such proceedings could undermine the negotiations already under way between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I encourage Congress to join the administration in sending a strong message to the U.N. opposing this anti-Israel decision.

Mrs. JO-ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO-ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be here today to speak in favor of S. 610, the NASA Flexibility Act of 2003. Since its creation in 1958, NASA has been the foremost symbol of American ingenuity, daring and accomplishment. Its talented employees have helped us explore new worlds and peek into distant galaxies. Time and again, NASA has shaped our Nation's future. But in one respect, NASA is still stuck in the past. This bill will help us transform NASA's personnel system into a modern, flexible and responsive system, one that is absolutely necessary for a 21st Century workforce. This legislation gives NASA powerful tools to win the recruitment and retention battles it faces everyday. Just last year, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe described the agency's personnel situation as ``alarming,'' given that 1 out of every 4 of the agency's scientists and engineers is eligible to retire, and that those above the age of 60 outnumber those below the age of 30 by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio. NASA faces a potential ``brain drain''--and that is not a scenario we can allow to happen. By authorizing higher pay for certain exceptional employees, offering more vacation time to mid-career hires, and allowing for recruitment, retention and relocation bonuses, S. 610 addresses these concerns. And this legislation has been created to address some of the concerns of employees, too. In exchange for these flexibilities, NASA is required to submit a written plan to the Office of Personnel Management stating the workforce needs of NASA, how NASA will use increased workforce flexibilities to meet those needs, and how NASA has used existing flexibilities. A workforce plan must also be submitted to Congress and to all employees at least 60 days before exercising any part of the plan. Prior to submitting a plan to Congress, however, a proposed plan must be provided to employee representatives and NASA is required to give their recommendations ``full and fair consideration.'' These are provisions that I had pushed for in the House version of this bill, H.R. 1085, and I am pleased that they will be included in the final version that is poised to become law. Mr. Chairman, I urge passage of S. 610.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Government Reform be permitted to file an investigative report by December 19, 2003.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the Senate bill (S. 1683) to make technical changes to the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, first I want to say that this is an identical bill to one that I also introduced into the House, and I am very pleased that we are taking up the Senate bill so that we can get it out and do what is right for the law enforcement officers. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of S. 1683 a bill introduced by Senator George Voinovich to require the Federal Government to conduct study reviewing the pay and benefits for our 128,000 federal law enforcement officers. This legislation is identical to a bill I introduced this year, H.R. 3205. We are considering the Senate version of this bill, ``The Federal Law Enforcement Pay and Benefits Parity Act of 2003,'' which was approved by the Senate shortly before Thanksgiving, in an effort to speed up enactment of this important piece of legislation. I want to thank the leadership for bringing this matter to the floor today. It has become obvious over the last 2 years, but bears repeating: Federal law enforcement officers are part of our first line of defense in defending the Nation. The legislation would require that the government reexamine how we compensate these brave men and women--with the goals of eliminating disparities among various law enforcement agencies, improving recruitment and retention, and ensuring that the Federal Government is keeping pace with State and local law enforcement agencies in terms of compensation. For an example of why we need to investigate this matter, look no farther than the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, following the September 11th terrorist attacks. The TSA needed to hire tens of thousands of people very quickly, and the agency wound up cherry picking from other federal agencies, luring law enforcement officers with offers of better pay and benefits. This left the other agencies short-handed, and many still report recruiting problems. And very shortly, the Homeland Security Department is slated to establish its new pay system, which could once again attract law enforcement officers away from other agencies. The Civil Service and Agency Organization Subcommittee, which I chair, held a hearing on July 23rd on the subject of law enforcement compensation. It became clear to us that the Federal Government is facing a serious problem in recruiting, retaining and rewarding its law enforcement personnel. Having the Office of Personnel Management conduct a detailed analysis of the problem and offer some possible solutions is the first step toward fixing this problem. In addition to requiring OPM to review the classification, compensation and benefits of federal law enforcement officers, S. 1683 also requires the establishment of an employee exchange program involving Federal, State and local law enforcement agents as a way of sharing best practices and maintaining a well-trained force. Once again, I want to thank the leadership for bringing this bill to the floor today. I urge passage of S. 1683, ``The Federal Law Enforcement Pay and Benefits Parity Act of 2003.'' Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, this Saturday, November 22, numerous organizations will join together in celebration of National Adoption Day to recognize the many blessings afforded by adoption. In honor of this day, I would like to draw attention to a bill that I introduced this year that seeks to raise awareness of adoption, the Adoption Information Act, H.R. 1229. Essentially, the Adoption Information Act would require all federally funded clinics to provide a detailed pamphlet of adoption referral information to all people seeking family planning services. All too often, women seeking pregnancy counseling do not receive all the information necessary to make an informed decision. Information on what adoption is and referral for adoption services are rarely discussed at all, and when they are that information is often inaccurate and incomplete. H.R. 1229 aims to ensure that women are empowered with the accurate and complete information they need to make informed decisions. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Adoption Information Act.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to express my disappointment and outrage with the recent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission deeming the use of obscene language acceptable on television. Last month, the FCC ruled the use of what has been termed the ``F word'' in a live interview was not inappropriate, and its use in this case was deemed acceptable. While I understand this FCC ruling addresses a specific instance, I strongly caution my colleagues to the dangerous precedent that this ruling sets. This profane word has long been deemed inappropriate by American society and consequently has not been permitted on broadcast television and radio, and its use factors into movie ratings. However, with this recent FCC ruling, we are opening the door to a whole new world of what is deemed acceptable for television audiences. I ask my colleagues, then, what are our standards? Where do we draw the line? If the use of this expletive is appropriate in this one instance, what is to deter additional uses of it in similar instances, and at what point does it remain inappropriate? Again, I urge my colleagues to tread carefully and be mindful of what this ruling means for the future. We are sending the children of America mixed signals about what is decent behavior when we make exceptions to our standards, and I certainly do not think that we need to further complicate the complex period of childhood and adolescence. Mr. Speaker, I ask then, why do we even have an FCC if they are not going to uphold rules of decency? Why do we even as a society even make laws if they are not going to be followed? Turning a blind eye to this assault on decency will do a great disservice to America and damage the integrity of our airwaves. Mr. Speaker, the American public is currently under siege in their own homes. Every day, the Internet brings unsolicited and inappropriate material into the household through the dissemination of pornography. Our e-mail accounts are flooded with pornographic spam, making it necessary to utilize various controls and software to protect our children from being exposed to such obscene material. I am encouraged by the Attorney General's efforts in combatting this problem, specifically the recent increased number of prosecutions for adult obscenity and pornography. Additionally, my colleagues in Congress are actively working on language to curb spam solicitations and to further protect Americans from unsolicited e-mails. In doing so, we will stop not only those annoying advertisements but also keep indecent images out of sight of our children. It is through such efforts that we are able to take important steps against the onslaught of sexual offenses that so often stem from obscenity and pornography. The common decency of America is being tested, as little by little we are broadening the definition of acceptable and decent behavior. It is imperative that we now pause to carefully examine the decisions being made today that will ultimately impact the accepted standards of tomorrow.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 390, which passed the House last night, and wish to commend the Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee for his efforts to bring this important measure to the House. As the Chairman noted, the recent debate over Iraq was a particularly difficult time for overall transatlantic relations. As my Colleague correctly pointed out, it is important to recognize that this dispute was with four nations in particular and not the whole of Europe. France and Germany are important friends and allies and it was particularly frustrating that we were having such a disagreement with them. However, we must not ignore the contributions and sacrifices the British, the Italians, the Spanish, the Poles and the many others who did stand beside us, provided during this difficult and dangerous time. And while some of us may have consumed ``freedom fries'' and avoided Bordeaux wines or Bittberger beer, many of us were happy to travel to Prague for the NATO summit or to Rome for the Legislators' Dialogue in order to assess the state of our relationship and to work on ways to reenergize the U.S.-European partnership. Now, however, it is time to move on. We must work to reestablish the kind of strong transatlantic relationship with all of Europe which is necessary if we are to deal effectively with those international issues which effect us on both sides of the Atlantic. The resolution before us recognizes that both the United States and Europe face serious challenges at home and abroad and that to meet these challenges we must adapt and strengthen the transatlantic partnership into a transatlantic community of action. As the resolution correctly states, the transatlantic relationship is much too important to allow an issue such as Iraq, however difficult, to result in both the United States and Europe drifting apart or worse, becoming rivals. As Chair of the U.S. delegation to the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue, I am especially pleased that the resolution mentions the importance of this organization and the kind of dialogue the TLD promotes with our counterparts in the European Parliament. As my Colleagues may know, in July, after the bitter debate over Iraq subsided, we had a very successful meeting of the TLD. During that meeting, both delegations pledged to rededicate ourselves to strengthening the transatlantic partnership by renewing our pursuit of common values such as democracy, human rights and open markets and societies and by reinforcing inter-parliamentary contacts. At that meeting we also agreed to try to enhance the effectiveness of our operations by establishing new consultative mechanisms which would serve as an ``early-warning'' system designed to allow intensified dialogue on possible contentious issues at early stages of the legislative process. Mr. Speaker, next week our Colleagues from the Parliament will be coming to the United States to continue our discussions. I believe we all understand and appreciate the importance of this dialogue and the need to continue to support stronger relations with Europe and its Union through mechanisms such as these Parliamentary exchanges. I urge passage of this resolution.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3175) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2650 Cleveland Avenue, NW in Canton, Ohio, as the ``Richard D. Watkins Post Office Building''.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Committee on Government Reform, I am pleased that the House is considering H.R. 3175. This legislation, sponsored by my distinguished colleague from the State of Ohio (Mr. Regula), names this post office in Canton, Ohio, as the Richard D. Watkins Post Office Building. The entire delegation from the State of Ohio has cosponsored the bill. Mr. Speaker, Mayor Richard Watkins is a devoted public official who is retiring next month after 12 years as the chief executive of Canton, Ohio. His contributions to the people of east central Ohio are immeasurable, and this post office would be a deserved tribute to Mayor Watkins' service. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Ohio for introducing this legislation, and I urge all Members to support the passage of H.R. 3175. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), the sponsor of H.R. 3175. (Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I commend the gentleman from Ohio for working on such a meaningful piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of S. 926, a bill introduced by my colleague, Senator Voinovich, to increase the annual and total limits of student loan repayments by executive branch agencies. This is identical to a bill that I introduced on the House side, H.R. 3080. We are considering the Senate version of this bill, the Federal Employee Student Loan Assistance Act, which has already passed that Chamber in an effort to speed up approval of this important piece of legislation. I want to thank the leadership for bringing this matter to the floor today. As the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Civil Service, Census and Agency Organization of the Committee on Government Reform, I have raised the same questions at many of our hearings this year: How do we attract the most qualified people to government service and how do we keep them once they have started? Recruiting, retraining, and rewarding talented and hardworking individuals are at the very core of making our civil service the best that it can be. Very clearly, having the ability to tell potential recruits, come work for the United States Government and we can help you repay your student loans, is an extremely valuable tool. All of us are surely aware of how expensive a college or graduate- level education is. And it is the prospect of these daunting student loans, $50,000, $75,000, or even more than $100,000, that can prevent public service-minded people from coming to work for the government. They simply cannot afford it. Student loan repayment is at the top of the list for newly graduated students looking for jobs. To keep up with the higher salaries of the private sector and nonprofit organizations, the Federal Government must have an effective student loan repayment program. This legislation before us today raises the annual maximum amount that agencies could give towards student loan repayment, from $6,000 a year to $10,000 a year. It also raises the total amount an agency can contribute toward an individual's loan, from $40,000 to $60,000. These changes reflect the increases in annual college tuition costs since the Federal Government's original Student Loan Repayment Bill was enacted in 1991. All funds to pay for the repayment program come out of the agencies' own budgets, so this legislation has no negative impact on the current budget. It is the right thing to do and something that we must do in order to remain competitive in the job market. I strongly urge my colleagues to pass the Federal Employee Student Loan Assistance Act before us today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 926) to amend section 5379 of title 5, United States Code, to increase the annual and aggregate limits on student loan repayments by Federal agencies

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on S. 926.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2744) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 514 17th Street in Moline, Illinois, as the ``David Bybee Post Office Building''.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, my esteemed colleague, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans), introduced H.R. 2744, a bill that honors the life of a diligent and admired member of the U.S. Postal Service family, David Bybee. Mr. Bybee served the Postal Service for 33 years as a letter carrier in Moline, Illinois. He was an active member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, representing thousands of postal employees in Illinois as the NALC's National Business Agent for the Chicago area. Away from work, Mr. Bybee was a fire chief, school board member, Elks Club member, and he enjoyed, most of all, spending as much time as he could with his family. Mr. Speaker, David Bybee sadly passed away on May 31, 2002. He is survived by his wife, Judy; his two sons, Michael and John; his mother, Marilla; his brother, Richard; and three grandchildren, Ryan, Brandon and Jennifer. I want to join with the gentleman from Illinois to offer the best wishes of this House to the family of David Bybee. Mr. Speaker, I want to express gratitude to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Evans) for his valuable work on H.R. 2744, and I urge all Members to support its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.