Jo Ann Emerson

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Point of personal privilege, Mr. Speaker.

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, was my name on the poster?

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of a dear friend and public servant who is stepping down after nearly thirty years with the U.S. Forest Service. Bob Willis has spent his life dedicated to the protection and conservation of several of our country's national forests. Bob Willis began his career with the Forest Service in 1971 in the beautiful White River National Forest in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and in Monte Vista, Colorado in the magnificent Rio Grande National Forest. From there, Bill moved on to the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Bob went on to ``Big Sky`` Country in 1976, with service in the Bitterroot and Lolo National Forests in Montana, and finally found a resting place in Rolla, Missouri in 1980 serving the Mark Twain National Forest. Bob is the longest serving Staff Officer that Mark Twain has ever had, serving 19 years. Bob is married to Kris Swanson, also a Staff Officer on the Mark Twain National Forest. He has two daughters, Erin Willis, 22, Robin Wilson, 24, and a son-in-law, Tommy Wilson. In addition, Bob has two step-sons, Thomas England, 16, and Daniel England, 13. When he is not caring for the Mark Twain, he and his daughters show, breed, and raise Tennessee Walking Horses. Bob's responsibilities with the Mark Twain included managing the technical services within the forest, including computer systems, telecommunications, minerals and geology, special uses, land acquisitions, and real estate management. In his retirement, Bob will remain committed to the outdoors with his favorite hobbies such as raising and caring for his horses, landscaping his new home, and playing tennis. He is moving on to serve as a consultant in Government Relations and Environmental Management. Bob's tenure with the Mark Twain covered the same amount of time that an Emerson has been in Congress and both Bill and I benefited by his work there. He helped us cut through the red-tape of government over the over again. Because of that help, we have been able to move projects forward that were, and are, beneficial to the people who live in the Eighth Congressional District of Missouri. His pleasant personality often made it possible for people with very different opinions to get together and work toward common goals. That consensus building helped to make sure that the multiple-use concept for our national forests prevailed in the Mark Twain. He clearly understands that the wise use of our natural resources is not only good for local economies and jobs, but also is necessary for the health of a vibrant, growing forest. We will miss Bob Willis. If more government employees were like him then the label ``bureaucrats'' would not fit! My office and I appreciate his years of service.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I was attending my daughter's high school graduation and missed the following recorded votes. Had I been present, I would have voted, ``no'' on rollcall vote 292, ``no'' on rollcall vote 293, ``no'' on rollcall vote 294, ``yes'' on rollcall vote 295, ``yes'' on rollcall vote 296, ``yes'' on rollcall vote 297.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, just for an inquiry, can I take it from what the gentleman has just stated that he believes that we should regulate CO2, carbon dioxide, or that the EPA has the authority to regulate it?

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, first I really want to commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg) for the tremendous job he has done in taking the lead on this issue and also say that, as one who has been working fervently to make certain that the Kyoto Protocol is not implemented through the back door, I will say that I can live with this amendment, because I know that we are working in a bipartisan manner to ensure that the administration cannot implement the unratified Kyoto Protocol. I, too, have some concerns about clarifying the meaning and intent of the exact language used in this amendment, and I am hopeful that as we work through the process in a bipartisan way, we can get this figured out, at least in conference. But let me say for the record, Mr. Chairman, that the Senate does stand on record with the unanimous bipartisan vote of 95 to 0 that called on the administration not to sign the Kyoto Protocol, for lots of reasons, because it is going to harm our economy in rural America; because it lets off the hook some of our largest trade competitors, like China, India, Mexico and many others who, quite frankly, will in the next few years be competing with us on somewhat of a level playing field, but yet they will not have to abide by any of the emissions restrictions that this protocol would have us do here in the United States. I am also worried because it is projected to throw about 2.5 million Americans out of work. In my rural district, this is a huge problem, because we, unlike the cities, are not experiencing the economic prosperity that others are seeing today. So, meanwhile, in continuing our efforts to find political justification for this dangerously flawed treaty, the administration has been issuing these climate assessments that even the EPA says are nothing more than horror stories based on junk science. I want to make certain that we, in fact, do this the right way. Mr. Chairman, I am willing, with the approval of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg), to accept this amendment; and I sure look forward to continuing to work with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to continue our bipartisan efforts to ensure that the administration does not implement through the back door the very dangerous Kyoto Protocol before the constitutionally required advise and consent of the United States Senate. I thank the gentleman from Michigan very much for all his work.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Porter) for all the work he has done on this bill with the types of constraints we have this year. I think it is a shame that in his last year here in Congress we could not have made it easier for him, but I think he has worked real hard to fund important programs to improve the education, health, and well-being of all Americans. I commend him very much for the hard work that he has done to double NIH over the 5 years, increase funding for graduate medical education for children's hospitals, and in strengthening our Nation's community health centers. From one who represents a very poor area, a very rural area, the fact that he has been able to increase our community health centers by $81.3 million is a huge boost to those people who are underserved in my area, who do not have access to affordable health care, and every dollar that we spend on community health centers will help the insured have much more health care than they presently have. I also want to just mention quickly the $200 million increase for impact aid funding. These help reimburse our localities for revenues lost. I can tell the Members, with so much public land in my district, this is going to be a very big boost. I would ask my colleagues to support this bill.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of H.R. 3639, designating the Harry S. Truman Federal Building. I want to first commend Congressman Ike Skelton, a close dear friend of mine. He has worked tirelessly over the past few years in Congress to ensure that the only Missourian ever elected to serve as President of the United States is duly recognized for his great work to this country. I find it fitting that we are debating the naming of the headquarters of the State Department in honor of President Truman. Many of President Truman's greatest legacies center around foreign policy, from winning the war to winning the peace, to helping negotiate NATO and the creation of the national security council to the writing of the Marshall Plan, which assisted in the rebuilding of Europe following World War II. In 1899, Congressman William Duncan Vandiver, who was my predecessor in Congress, defined what it meant to be from Missouri, when he said, ``I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.'' No one better exemplified this sentiment than our own plain speaking President Harry S. Truman. I want to thank Mr. Skelton and Chairman Shuster for working to ensure that Missouri's brightest son gets the honor that he so greatly deserves.

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I speak in support today of H.R. 3639, designating the Harry S. Truman Federal Building. I really want to commend the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) who is a very dear, close personal friend. He has worked tirelessly over the past few years in Congress to make sure that the only Missourian ever elected to serve as President of the United States is duly recognized for his great work to this country. I commend the gentleman for the dedication and commitment he has made. I want to thank him for that. I also want to say that I find it very fitting that we are debating the naming of the headquarters of the State Department in honor of President Harry Truman. Many of President Truman's greatest legacies center around foreign policy, from winning the war to winning the peace to helping negotiate NATO and the creation of the National Security Council, to the writing of the Marshall Plan which assisted in the rebuilding of Europe following World War II. Back in 1899, Congressman William Duncan Vandiver, who was my predecessor in Congress, defined what it meant to be from Missouri when he said, ``I come from a State that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.'' No one better exemplified this sentiment than our own plain speaking Harry S. Truman. Let me again thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and, of course, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster) for working to ensure that Missouri's brightest son gets the honor that he so greatly deserves.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate the Farmington High School Wrestling Team for winning the Missouri state championship on February 19, 2000. The Farmington Knights earned their first place position early in the tournament and held this lead to the end. This early lead allowed the four finalists to relax and focus on their final bouts. Although only one of those finalists won his match for first place, the team sealed the victory against tough odds. You see, the Knights did not have the numbers of wrestlers that some of the other teams had going into the tournament, and they did not have the first place finishes many thought they would need to win a state championship. Because the team was successful as a whole, they were able to take the overall victory. In addition to the team, I wish special recognition for senior Doug Wiles, who was able to win his first place match for an individual state championship in his weight class. Doug was also the only participant of the tournament with an undefeated season. Congratulations to Mark Krause, head coach for the Knights, and the members of the Farmington High School Wrestling team as follows: Cory Husher (finished 2nd in state) Justin Peppers Nathan McKinney James Faulkner (State Qualifier) Josh Krause Caleb Smith Josh Hoehn (finished 3rd in state) Darin Johnson Barry Watson Dustin Wiles (finished 2nd in state) Michael Hahn (finished 2nd in state) Doug Wiles (finished 1st in state) Jared Bornell (finished 5th in state) Ryan Todd (finished 5th in state) Congratulations to all the wrestlers at Farmington High School for these outstanding accomplishments. Each individual on this team played a key part of the success they had as a whole.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I rise to honor a very special constituent on his day of retirement. Colonel Edward Owsley, a native of Missouri, is retiring after 10 years on the Rolla City Council. I have known Colonel Ed for twenty years and he has been a great inspiration to me as well as the city of Rolla. Colonel Ed has been a true leader for the City of Rolla, always searching for new opportunities and challenges. He has served on the service academy review board for both Bill and me, and has served as chairman of this group for the last 10 years. He has done a remarkable job in helping me select the finest individuals to serve our country in the service academies. Ed's love of the military has made him a tremendous resource for Rolla and the surrounding area in his official duties as liaison to Fort Leonard Wood and the U.S. Army. He is over 80 years old, yet he continues to remain on the cutting edge of knowledge about his community and Fort Leonard Wood. At the age of 18, Colonel Owsley joined Company I, 138th Infantry, Missouri National Guard and was First Sergeant of the Company when it was called to active duty on December 23, 1940. He served overseas during World War II as Second Lieutenant of Infantry on various troop and staff assignments in the Far East Campaigns. After he returned from the war, he served at Headquarters, Seventh Corps Area, Omaha, Nebraska as Executive for U.S. Army Recruiting for a five state area. He was promoted in 1948 to Lt. Colonel and assigned to the Missouri Military District as Deputy for recruiting, and Field Representative to the Selective Service System. He served at Fort Leonard Wood as the Assistant Chief of Staff during the Korean build-up and was promoted to Colonel. After serving in the Pentagon, Colonel Ed returned to Fort Leonard Wood for his final years of service. In addition to serving his country, this dedicated man has served Rolla, Missouri in so many ways, since he retired the U.S. Army in 1966. After serving as the Executive Director for the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce from 1967 to 1989, he helped form the Rolla Community Development Corporation. This non-profit organization aims at providing jobs and industrial development opportunities for the area. Col. Owsley still serves the RCDC as treasurer. While the City Council will miss Col. Ed, I doubt he is truly retiring. In his first 85-plus years, he has brought so much to those who have crossed his path. With his outgoing spirit and enthusiasm for life, I am sure he will continue to serve his community as long as he is able.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Amy Schlueter as an exceptional teenager from Rolla, Missouri. Amy was recognized yesterday at the Fifth Annual Prudential Spirit of Community Awards as one of Missouri's top two student volunteers for the year 2000. Amy received a $1,000 award, a silver medallion and her trip to D.C. for her exemplary volunteer service in her community. Amy Schlueter started reaching out to others at a young age. Amy, a senior at Rolla High School, implemented and organized a ``Random Acts of Kindness'' club at her school to challenge her peers to act with kindness, not violence. Since her club began, 89 students and faculty members have been rewarded for random acts of kindness, and in January, a two-week celebration in Rolla recognized hundreds of community members who made a difference by being kind to others. In Amy's words, ``Our nightly news provides us with images of savage car crashes, rapes, assaults, mutilated children, gang wars, telling us this is reality. It is exceptionally rare to hear about people doing good things for one another, and the reality is, random acts of kindness happen every day.'' This kind of maturity and dedication to a community is not often recognized in today's youth. As Amy said, we often hear about the bad behavior in our youth. I hope Amy will serve as an inspiration to today's youth as she demonstrates that it is cool to be kind to others, and youth can play an important role in their community. Next week is National Random Acts of Kindness Week. As we work on our annual spending bills, and go about our day-to-day business, I hope that my colleagues can follow Amy's example. I also hope we as a society can spend more time focusing on the Amy Schlueter's of the world when we watch the evening news so we will have good examples to follow.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, it is with pleasure that I speak in support of this essential Children's Health Act of 2000. There are many of us who have worked very hard to get to this day, and I applaud the Commerce Committee and Mr. Bilirakis and Mr. Brown for getting a consensus on this bill so it could come to the floor. I represent 26 rural counties in Southern Missouri. These counties are home to some of the most poverty stricken communities in the State. Most of them lack even basic health care services. And many lack decent roads and reliable phone service. Many people in these communities find themselves isolated from their extended family, their friends and their neighbors. Many young mothers-to-be in my rural district are isolated from family and friends--and they live miles away from nurses and doctors. This isolation often prevents them from getting prenatal care and adds to the fears and uncertainties that come along with being a new or expectant mother. Many American women fall through the cracks of our health system. Women throughout our nation face great challenges in securing healthy pregnancies and healthy children. Consider the following: At the turn of this century more American women died in childbirth than from any other cause except for tuberculosis. At the close of this century, after all of the medical advances made in this country, it's easy to assume that today pregnancy and childbirth are safer for American women and their babies. But this is a false assumption. Last June, the CDC released a report that makes it painfully clear that the promise of safe motherhood is eluding too many women. In fact, during the past 15 years alone, total maternal deaths have not declined one bit in our nation. Just think of it. Today, tuberculosis claims about one American life out of 1,000 a year. But 2-3 women out of 10,000 lose their lives each day due to pregnancy-related conditions. And out of 1,000 live births in our country each year, 8 babies die. More infants die each year in the United States than in 24 other developed nations. As a Member of Congress and as a mother of four daughters, this maternal and infant mortality rate is simply unacceptable. We've got to find out why safe motherhood is still out of reach for so many American women. I am very proud to join many of my esteemed colleagues in supporting this legislation that will have significant progress of maternal and infant health in this country. The legislation includes several provisions that my colleague Nita Lowey and I introduced as a stand alone bill, Safe Motherhood Monitoring and Prevention Research Act of 1999, which are especially beneficial to pregnant women, infants, and children. The Safe Motherhood Portion of the bill achieves 3 key goals, all necessary components to true progress in the enhancement of material and infant care. First, it expands CDC's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMA) so that all 50 states will benefit from a public health monitoring system of pregnancy-risk related factors. Second, this bill authorizes an increase in federal funding for preventive research, so we can identify basic health prevention activities to improve maternal health. The third and final component of this section of the bill directs the Secretary to help states and localities create public education and prevention programs to prevent poor maternal outcomes for American women. In addition, this bill emphasizes the need to expand existing prevention programs and pregnancy risk assessment systems to include those areas of the country where underserved and at-risk populations reside. Finally, I am also pleased that this bill includes many of the provisions in a bill I introduced last year called the Healthy Kids 2000 Act. This bill expands the opportunities for Pediatric Research by creating a pediatric research initiative within NIH, promotes the use of folic acid as a way to prevent birth defects, and creates a national Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. There are so many wonderful parts of this bill. On behalf of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens, I urge my colleagues to Vote for the Children's Health Act of 2000, and I urge the Senate to take action on this bill to move the process forward. Mr. TIERNEY, Mr. Speaker, I commend the bipartisan effort that has produced this important bill, H.R. 4365, the Children's Health Act of 2000. I understand that in the spirit of cooperation, many amendments to this bill were laid aside in order to bring this legislation to the floor and ensure that the urgently needed programs included in H.R. 4365 were not jeopardized by disagreements on other matters. I would like to mention one change to the bill that I believe is quite worthy and would not raise controversy. Had this bill come up under a rule rather than as a suspension, Mr. Weygand and I would have sought an amendment to include Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome under Section 2201 of the bill as one of the rare childhood diseases on which NIH would have to report its activities. This syndrome, commonly known as Progeria, is a genetic condition that manifests itself as accelerated aging in children. While it is quite rare, with an estimated incidence of roughly one in every 8 million newborns, Progeria is devastating. The average life span of an affected child is 13 years, and the disease is, without exception, fatal. Up until now, there has been little to no NIH research directly in this area. However, such research has the potential to benefit many individuals in addition to the victims of Progeria. According to Dr. Ted Brown, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Human Genetics at the New York State institute for Basic Research, ``Finding a cure for Progeria may provide keys for treating millions of people with heart disease associated with natural aging.'' Requiring the NIH report on activities relating to rare childhood diseases to include Progeria as one of those conditions is thoroughly consistent with the purpose of the bill before us today, and we thank the sponsors and managers of the bill who have been sympathetic to our suggested change. However, because of the process by which H.R. 4365 came to the floor, it was not possible to include this important and justified amendment. Mr. Weygand and I hope that the Senate's consideration of this legislation will proceed in a more deliberative manner, and we will work with our Senate counterparts to include Progeria language when this bill moves in the other Congressional chamber. It is our hope that the bill that emerges from conference will contain language bringing much-needed attention to this underrecognized and tragic condition.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I just want to take a few minutes to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) and the chairpeople of the respective committees for the great work that they have done. I have heard what the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) has said and the gentleman from Oklahoma about the fact that this might not be the best means by which to give people who have no access to any kind of signal at all the opportunity to find out if they have emergency flooding, whether a tornado is coming, whether like where I live an earthquake is perhaps going to happen. I just cannot tell the folks in my district, which is very, very rural and very remote in some areas, that it is not fair that people who live in big cities can get access to their local news; they can get it, but you cannot have it because nobody wants to come and give it to you. I do not know how to answer the thousands of questions that I have gotten about this without giving them the opportunity to have their local news provided by satellite, because they do not have any other way to get it, Mr. Speaker. So I would just ask my colleagues who come from more metropolitan areas to try to understand what it is like for those of us who represent people who not only do not have access to satellite and/or cable, certainly cannot get any local news because there are not any local news stations within 200 or 300 miles, but a lot of these people do not even have running water in their homes. They deserve to have a break and they deserve to be on a level playing field with all of our folks in the cities, and I am just very happy that we are going to pass today, I hope, a bill to give all Americans an equal shake.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation that will preserve drug price competition in the wholesale marketplace, prevent the destruction of thousands of small businesses across America and avoid a possible disruption in the national distribution of prescription drugs to nursing homes, doctors offices, rural clinics, veterinary practices and other pharmaceutical end users. As befitting such legislation, I am pleased to note that this bill has cosponsors from both political parties, a number of different committees and many different areas of the country. Our objective is to prevent and correct the unintended consequences to prescription drug wholesalers of a Final Rule on the Prescription Drug Marketing Act (PDMA) issued by the Food and Drug Administration in December, 1999. This regulation will require all wholesalers who do not purchase drugs directly from a manufacturer to provide their customers with a complete and very detailed history of all prior sales of the products all the way back to the original manufacturer. Absent such sales history, it will be illegal for wholesalers to resell such drugs. But in a true ``Catch 22'' fashion, the regulation does not require either the manufacturer or the wholesaler who buys directly from the manufacturer to provide this sales history to the subsequent wholesaler. In addition, the wholesaler who does not purchase directly from a manufacturer has no practical way of obtaining all the FDA required information needed to legally resell RX drugs. The result of this rule will be that most small wholesalers will be driven out of business. The FDA has estimated that there are about 4,000 such secondary wholesalers who are small businesses. The FDA's Final Rule will also upset the competitive balance between drug manufacturers on the one hand and wholesalers and retailers on the other by granting the manufacturers the right to designate which resellers are ``authorized'' and which are not, quite apart from whether the reseller buys directly from the manufacturer or not. The original intent of the PDMA was that wholesalers who purchase directly from manufacturers be authorized distributors, exempt from the requirement to provide the sales history information to their customers. However, the FDA's regulation has separated the designation of an authorized distributor from actual sales of product, and will allow manufacturers to charge higher prices to wholesalers in exchange for designating them as authorized distributors. Drug price competition will also be significantly reduced if thousands of secondary wholesalers are driven out of business. The result of the FDA's regulation will be that consumers and taxpayers will pay even higher prices for prescription drugs. Seems to me that the FDA is protecting the drug companies at the expense of the American public at a time when these companies must be encouraged to lower their outrageous prices so that our seniors and others in need can afford to pay for their medicine. Thus, while the Congress wrestles with difficult questions regarding drug pricing for seniors, expanded insurance coverage for prescription drugs and the like, the PDMA Rules is a drug pricing issue that is relatively uncomplicated, easy to solve and not expensive. The bill would make minor changes in existing language to correct the two problems described above. First, the bill would define an authorized distributor as a wholesaler who purchases directly from a manufacturer, making the definition self-implementing and removing the unfair advantage given to the manufacturer by the regulation. Secondly, the bill will add language to the statute which will greatly simplify the detailed sales history requirement for most wholesalers. If prescription drugs are first sold to or through an authorized distributor, subsequent unauthorized resellers will have to provide written certifications of this fact to their customers, but will not have to provide the very detailed and unobtainable sales history. For any product not first sold to or through an authorized distributor, a reseller would have to provide the detailed and complete sales history required by the FDA Rule. This would protect consumers against foreign counterfeits or any drugs which did not enter the national distribution system directly from the manufacturer, while eliminating a burdensome and expensive paperwork requirement on thousands of small businesses which has no real health or safety benefit in today's system of drug distribution. My cosponsors and I invite and encourage Members to add their names to this bill and look forward to its prompt enactment this year. Unless the FDA regulation is reopened and significantly modified by the agency, overturned in court or, as I hope, corrected by this bill, wholesalers will have to start selling off their existing inventories as early as May because the products will be unsalable when the regulation goes into effect in December 2000. This forced inventory liquidation will be accompanied by an absence of new orders by thousands of wholesalers, and the result could easily be disruptions in the supply of prescription drugs to many providers and end users. Let us then move quickly to fix this problem and save consumers, taxpayers and thousands of small business men and women across the land from higher drug prices, potential health problems due to supply interruptions and significant economic loss and unemployment.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 25, 2000, Pastor Harry G. Sharp, III is being honored by the Sikeston, MO Daughters of Sunset at their 16th Annual Recognition Program. I would like to extend my congratulations to Harry who is being recognized on this day for his community involvement. Harry is the son of Ruth Felker and the late H. Garwood Sharp, Jr. and is one of six generations of the Sharp family who have lived and been involved in the community of Sikeston, MO. Harry is the pastor of the Smith Chapel United Methodist Church in Sikeston. As the pastor of Smith Chapel and an active member of the Sunset community, Harry appreciates the work of those generations that helped make Sikeston a better place to live. Graduating from Sikeston High School, Harry attended and earned a degree from Westminster College and Florida State University. He is a Vietnam era veteran of the Army Corps of Engineers, has taught mathematics at Florida State and Spelman College, operated a consulting business in Atlanta, taught physics at Sikeston and Kelly High School, and consulted with the Sharper System. After two tours in the Army, Harry joined IBM Corporation in St. Louis. During most of his adult life, Harry has been involved in mission and outreach activities in countries from Korea to Russia, Haiti to Hayti, and he has found that people are much the same everywhere. His travel experience includes passing a peace pipe with the Menominee Indians one year before our Nation's bicentennial and talking about what this country has meant to each of us. Whether it was working with folks in the coal mining regions of Appalachia, hurricane ravaged people in the Caribbean, orphans in Korea, or refugees from Nicaragua, Harry found that volunteer hands accomplished much more than government programs. An early supporter of Sikeston area organizations such as Weed & Seed, Bootheel Healthy Start, and Save Our Children, Harry has continued his family's active involvement in their community. Harry has observed that his involvement as the pastor of a church in Sunset has prompted many people who didn't know each other to meet, enjoy fellowship, and strengthen ties across the community of Sikeston. To quote Harry's words, ``There are very few problems here, or anywhere, that cannot be solved if we just sit down to a meal of fellowship with one another.'' Harry and his wife Anita returned to Sikeston in 1993. His son, Woody, brought his family to Sikeston the following year providing the enjoyment of three grandchildren. Anita's son and daughter attend college in Georgia, and the couple has an adopted Russian daughter who has been part of Sikeston and has hosted Anita and Harry in Russia. Congratulations, Harry, on your recognition by the Daughters of Sunset. Your lifelong dedication to family, community and fellowship is an inspiration to us all.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday March 25, 2000, Janie Pfefferkorn is being honored by the Sikeston, Missouri ``Daughters of Sunset'' at their 16th Annual Recognition Program. I would like to extend my congratulations to Janie who is being recognized on this day for her community involvement. Janie was the valedictorian of her senior class at Chafee High School in Chafee, Missouri. She attended Central Methodist College and Southeast Missouri State University. She is the co-founder of the 1996 Christian block Party which evolved into the Mission Missouri. Today Janie is the executive director of Mission Missouri. Janie is currently affiliated with the Missouri School for the blind Board of Directors, Bootheel Healthy start, Breast Cancer support Group, Sikeston Middle School, the Diabetes Foundation-Missouri Delta Hospital Advisory Board, the Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce President's roundtable, and the Ministerial Alliance and inter-Agency Council of Scott County. Janie also has bee active in lifelong faith-based learning, receiving training as a Precept Inductive Bible Study Teacher and Group Leader and completing workshops on church growth, discipline training, outreach, administration, new membership integration. Janie also trained in family learning for parents of children with disabilities and has facilitated and participated in support group settings to address addictive behaviors and dysfunctional relationships. Janie is married to Dr. David Pfefferkorn. They are the proud parents of four beautiful girls, Molly, Corrie Jo, Abby and Maggie, and the proud grandparents of twins girls, Bylie and Kylie. Congratulations, Janie, on your recognition by the ``Daughters of Sunset.'' Your lifelong dedication your community of Sikeston, Missouri is an inspiration to us all.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 25, 2000, Elder Anthony G. Green I is being honored by the Sikeston, MO Daughters of Sunset at their 16th Annual Recognition Program. I would like to extend my congratulations to Elder Green who is being recognized on this day for his community involvement. Elder Green is a graduate of Sikeston High School. He earned an associate degree in engineering from ITT Technical Institute in St. Louis, MO and is currently attending Green Memorial Biblical University and Andersonville Baptist Seminary. Elder Green is currently chief executive officer and pastor of Rhema World Breakthrough International Ministries of Cape Girardeau, MO and is president of the Sikeston Branch of the NAACP. He was also honored by the Department of Justice National Symposium on Civil Rights in Washington, DC. Elder Green is the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the African American Informant, Inc. Newspaper of Sikeston, MO. His many community activities include the Neighborhood Improvement Association, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration Co-Coordinator, Citizens Home Mission tutor and mentor, Green Memorial Biblical University Board of Directors, and the Hundred Men Rally Committee speaker and co- coordinator. Elder Green also is a member of various organizations including the NAACP, Justice League, Weed & Seed Steering Committee, Jurisdictional Djutancy Church of God in Christ, and Bootheel Healthy Start. Elder Green has received training in a number of fields, including Community Development Training Ad Hoc Group Against Crime, Advisory Council Legislation Training, Missouri Division of Family Service-- seminar on recognizing child abuse, and Southeast Missouri State University seminars in time management, cultural diversity, and conflict resolution. Elder Green is married to Vanissa McCauley-Green and is the father of one son, Anthony Green II. Congratulations, Elder Green, on your recognition by the ``Daughters of Sunset.'' Your lifelong dedication to family and community is truly inspirational.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 25, 2000, Gearlene (Gerri) Luttrell is being honored by the Sikeston, MO Daughters of Sunset at their 16th Annual Recognition Program. I would like to extend my congratulations to Gerri who is being recognized on this day for her community involvement. Gerri is the daughter of Mattie Riggs and the late Hershel Riggs, Sr. and is a long time resident of Sikeston, MO. Gerri is the mother of four children, D'Ann, Delisa, Cheryl and Derek. She attended O'Brannon High School in New Madrid, MO and Richland High School in Gray Ridge, MO where she graduated in 1962. Gerri went on to graduate from the Licensed Practical School of Nursing in Sikeston, MO in 1964 and was employed with Missouri Delta Medical Center for over 20 years. Gerri retired from the Delta Medical Center this past December. Gerri is a member of Travelers Rest Missionary Baptist Church, pastored by Minister Sylvester Morgan. She is a member of the adult choir and holds the position of minister of music. In March 1999, Gerri accepted her call into the Preaching and Teaching Ministry. Gerri is also a member of the Daughters of Sunset and is the vice president and minister of music for Mission Missouri Organization. Congratulations, Gerri, on your recognition by the Daughters of Sunset. Your lifelong dedication to the health of your community and to the ministry in Sikeston, MO is an inspiration to us all.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to speak out for our rural American communities and to join my colleagues, Mrs. Clayton from North Carolina, Mr. Moran from Kansas, Mr. Pomeroy from North Dakota to celebrate the formation of the new Congressional Rural Caucus. This morning we held a press conference to formally announce the formation of our new Congressional Rural Caucus. We were joined by several Members of the Rural Caucus, the Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, former Representative Glenn English from Oklahoma who was representing the National Rural Network, and many Americans who live and work in our rural communities across our great nation. Those attending the press conference expressed such strong support for our initiative to review the Congressional Rural Caucus. It really says to me that there is a great deal of support for our rural American communities. That there's a real recognition of just how important rural America is to our nation. It tells me that we're on the right track here with our Rural Caucus. And there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that our Rural Caucus can and will help communities achieve real results. Since last August my colleagues, Mrs. Clayton from North Carolina, and Misters Moran from Kansas, and Pomeroy from North Dakota, have been hard at work laying the ground work for the Rural Caucus. And we've been hard at work recruiting Members to join and take an active part in the Rural Caucus. We set a goal of 100 Members by our kick-off date. We not only met our goal, we surpassed it. To date, there are well over 110 bipartisan Members of the Rural Caucus. And more Members are joining every day. We've all joined together to raise a loud voice for rural America on Capitol Hill. Think about it. With nearly a fourth of the House on board, that's one heck of a loud voice. And the list just keeps growing. To my Rural Caucus colleagues I want to say ``thank you.'' Thank you for standing up and speaking out for your rural communities. Together we can make a real difference for all of rural America, and I look forward to the work that lies ahead of us. Now to be honest, we couldn't have done this alone. It took a lot of work and assistance and support from the many, many organizations of the National Rural Network. To all of the groups who have supported our efforts for the Rural Caucus, thank you. Because of your experience, your knowledge, and your living connections with rural America, you all are an integral part of the success of the Rural Caucus. And I look forward to working with you on all that lies ahead. Now I want to briefly talk about why I think the Rural Caucus is so important and why I think it's needed here on Capitol Hill. You may know that about one in every four Americans--that's 62 million people-- live in rural America. That's also about the same number of people who live in inner cities. And an additional 15 million people live in small cities and towns. These 77 million Americans share many of the same problems of big city residents--such as poverty, high unemployment, and chronic underemployment. But rural Americans face unique challenges because they are dispersed over hundreds and thousands of miles. And despite the similarity of some of the issues faced in urban and rural America, rural communities consistently get the short end of the stick when it comes to federal funding. And this is across the board in all agencies and all sectors--from economic development, to health care, to education and everything in between and beyond. Now I represent a very rural district in Southern Missouri. And if you visited my district, I think many of you'd be amazed to see that white the American economy has been booming, communities in my district--like so many of our agricultural and rural communities across the nation--are being left behind. The past several years have been very hard on American producers. And the hard times on the farm and ranch don't stop at the gate. These hard times impact rural main street, from the local shops, to the communities, schools and homes. The fact is, our rural communities are faced with a Catch-22 situation. They don't have the infrastructure needed to attract new and high-tech businesses. At the same time, they don't have the resources needed to invest in the infrastructure that can attract new and high-tech businesses. The bottom line is that we simply must do all we can to ensure that rural communities have the tools they need to turn their challenges into real opportunities for growth and prosperity in the 21st century. Rural America is just too important to our nation to not do all we can. The Congressional Rural Caucus can play an important part in seeing this goal become a reality. After all, our rural American communities are our past, our present, and our future.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, Susan B. Anthony is remembered for her pioneering work to establish equal rights for women. As she fought to widen society's guarantee of equal rights to include women, she also sought to widen this guarantee for others as well. For Susan B. Anthony, this meant opposing slavery. And it also meant rejecting abortion, which she considered nothing less than ``child murder.'' Today, 180 years after Susan B. Anthony's birth which we commemorate today, we continue her legacy in promoting equality under the law for all, including the unborn. Susan B. Anthony rejected abortion because she championed equal rights for all. In Anthony's view, abortion violated the rights of both women and children for it deprived the unborn of their right to life, and exploited women. As Susan B. Anthony said: ``When a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is a sign that, by education or circumstance, she has been greatly wronged.'' On this the 180th anniversary of her birthday, let us recommit ourselves to fulfilling the pro-life and pro-women vision of Susan B. Anthony, moving toward that day when neither women nor children shall ever again be greatly wronged by abortion.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 3387, which mistakenly was put on it.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 1733, the Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Interoperability and Portability Act. I'd like to thank Chairman Larry Combest and Chairman Bob Goodlatte for bringing this bill to the floor today and for their strong leadership on this important issue. Interoperability of food stamp EBT systems makes sense both for recipients and retailers. As USDA moves from paper food coupons to EBT cards, interoperability ensures that recipients will retain the same portability as before. Recipients will be able to access stores nearest to their homes and retailers will be able to serve their customers regardless of state boundaries. In areas of the country near state lines, such as in my Congressional District in Southern Missouri, incompatible EBT systems have been a significant problem for both groups. I am very pleased that the bill before us today will resolve this problem and bring the best technology to the food stamp program. The government and the taxpayer, too, are well served by S. 1733, because it establishes a new mechanism for tracking and policing fraud and abuse in the food stamp program. In my home state of Missouri, the Department of Social Services estimates that an interoperable EBT system would save the federal government as much as $1 million annually in reduced fraud in Missouri alone. One aspect of S. 1733 that I would like to highlight is that it provides 100% federal funding of the costs associated with switching and settling interstate transactions. These costs will not be imposed on other entities, such as retail food stores, states, and food stamp households. This is entirely appropriate because these costs are directly related to administering the program on a nationwide basis, not within a particular state. Again, I would like to reiterate to my colleagues that this is a very sensible piece of legislation that deserves the support of this House. I urge a strong ``Yes'' vote.

Mrs. EMERSON

Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity to commend the Foster Grandparent Program of Southeast Missouri for recently completing its 26th year serving the senior citizens in the communities of East Prairie, Poplar Bluff, and Sikeston, Missouri. The Foster Grandparent Program of Southeast Missouri has had a tremendous impact on the senior citizens who serve as mentors to at- risk children in local elementary schools. This program serves as a way for these mentors to be significant change-agents in their communities during their golden years. In addition to providing an opportunity for seniors to feel a sense of self-worthy and responsibility within the community, let me also share with you some stories from teachers who have seen first-hand the tremendous impact of the Foster Care Program. One teacher from Mark Twain Elementary School in Sikeston, Missouri, spoke of a boy who suffered from a learning disability but progressed greatly with the help of a foster grandparent. ``With his foster grandma's help, this child has made tremendous progress this year, in spite of his disability. He has changed from a frustrated student who couldn't read or spell to a student who beams because now he can pick up first grade and second grade-level books and read them with fluency. The positive impact that this foster grandparent has had in this student's life with her genuine care and concern, and one-on-one tutoring, cannot really be measured.'' Another teacher spoke of a grandmother who worked one-on-one with several students throughout the school year. ``This woman is such a great asset to our school and my classroom. She fulfills these children's needs in every way possible, not to mention the invaluable assistance she provides me. Without her, I could not give the extra attention to the students with the class size being so large. This grandmother is wonderful and gives the children an extended family while away from home.'' I received dozens of letters from teachers, principals, participants, and mentors in the program, all of whom believe that this program is one of the most rewarding programs within their communities. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of programs like this that realize the potential of senior citizens to make significant contributions to our society, and I congratulate the Foster Grandparent Program of Southeast Missouri for their wonderful efforts over the past 26 years.