Eliot Engel

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman from California and also the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding to me. I rise in support of the resolution. Mr. Speaker, I have become increasingly concerned with the direction of Turkey in the past few years. It has elected an Islamist government which has pushed the country toward Iran and into conflict with Israel. While I am relieved that Ankara is now taking a strong stand against the repression in Syria, finally, much needs to change in Turkey. In particular, Turkey, which has such a profound connection with the birth and growth of Christianity, has today expropriated church properties, harassed worshipers, and refused to grant full legal status to some Christian groups. In fact, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom placed Turkey on its watch list for the third straight year, and concluded that ``the Turkish Government continues to impose serious limitations on freedom of religion or belief, thereby threatening the continued vitality and survival of religious communities in Turkey.'' I, therefore, rise in strong support of H. Res. 306, which urges Turkey to return stolen Christian churches to the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian and Syriac communities and to end discrimination against surviving Christians.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend for yielding time to me. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2105, the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Reform and Modernization Act of 2011. Madam Chair, many years ago we sponsored legislation to slap sanctions on Syria. I'm sorry to say we were clairvoyant, but here it is nearly 10 years later, and some things never change. So here we are back again when Syria is murdering its own people, saying that we were right back in 2003 and 2004, and sanctions are what is necessary in order to prevent this regime from murdering its own people and threatening others with destruction. And so I'm happy to join with you and Mr. Berman in doing this. When nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons get in the hand of regimes which lead these rogue states, it's not only a danger to the U.S., it is a danger to all our allies in the Middle East, Asia, and around the world. What this important bill does is it strengthens existing U.S. sanctions against foreign entities that provide nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons components to Iran, North Korea, and Syria. When Israel destroyed a Syrian facility, we found that that facility was planned and arranged and done by North Korea. So there is this collusion of these rogue regimes all throughout the world. Importantly, for the first time, this bill imposes sanctions on foreign entities that provide to or acquire from these countries any goods or technology that could be used for military applications. So I, therefore, strongly support this bill in the hope that we can prevent Iran, Syria, and North Korea from getting their hands on more unconventional weapons. And I say again, people say Republicans and Democrats can't agree on anything. This is something that we agree on because we understand that it is not only a threat to the United States, but it's a threat to the entire world when these rogue regimes have these kinds of weapons of mass destruction.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support of H. Res. 440 which congratulates H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and the Honorable Ben Gilman for winning the 2010 World Peace Prize. Recently, I introduced this resolution to highlight the awarding of the World Peace Prize to both H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and Congressman Gilman. The World Peace Prize is a very distinguished honor granted by the World Peace Council in recognition of individuals who exemplify selflessness in their devotion to humanity. I commend H.H. Dorje Chang Buddha III and the Honorable Ben Gilman for their multiple contributions to our society and urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 440.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, today is the second anniversary of the unfair and brutal incarceration by the Cuban regime of Alan Gross, an American citizen; and I urge his immediate release. Alan Gross is 62 years old and, in a trumped-up trial, was given 15 years in prison. Alan Gross has worked in international development in over 50 countries through the past several years and was in Cuba to aid the tiny Jewish community with telecommunications and Internet services when he was arrested and accused of being an American spy. This is a new low even for the Cuban regime. This is a new low even for the Castro brothers. Alan Gross's wife and family need him. His mother was just diagnosed with inoperable cancer, and his daughter was also diagnosed with cancer. They need him back. We demand him back. He is an American citizen, and we are watching and the whole world is watching. Alan Gross should not be incarcerated for doing nothing except trying to help a very tiny community in Cuba. And I demand his immediate release.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend from New York. I rise in strong opposition to this piece of legislation. With all due respect, I always enjoy listening to my Republican friends lecture us about fiscal responsibility. May I remind them that when Bill Clinton left office we had record surpluses, and in 8 years of George Bush, record deficits. And may I remind my Republican friends that for 6 of those 8 years, during the Bush years, Republicans controlled both Houses of the Congress. So if we were going to do the right thing and attempt to balance our budget, we could have done so then. But what did we do then? We fought two wars on the credit card; we had tax cuts for the wealthy, which we're now paying for in terms of our deficits now; a prescription drug program unpaid for. And so it seems to me that if we have the resolve to do it--you know, I love people who have newfound religion, but when they controlled the place, we went from massive surpluses to massive deficits. Now, this Congress needs to work with the President in passing a jobs bill. This Congress should be passing a robust transportation bill. This Congress should get out of the business of attacking our labor, attacking seniors, and attacking women, and do what the American people want us to do: Put people back to work. A balanced budget amendment will ultimately lead to either draconian cuts in the social safety net for some of our Nation's most cherished programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, or significant tax hikes on the Nation's middle class. This is nothing more than a gimmick to garner headlines while avoiding the tough decisions that the people have asked us to make. You know, there may be times in the future when we need to run a surplus, there may be times when we need to run a deficit to stimulate the economy. This amendment handcuffs us and puts us in a straitjacket where we have nowhere to move. I care and my constituents care very much about preserving Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. I think that if we're going to get our budget to balance, it's not only cuts in programs that we need, although my friends on the other side of the aisle fret about defense cuts. We need to cut spending, yes. We also need to raise taxes on those who can most afford to do it, the 1 percent. I think that's something we should consider. So while we think this is one size fits all, and we can all go home and say, well, we tried to save the Republic, what I think this does is handcuff us for generations to come, makes it impossible for us to stimulate the economy, and makes it impossible for us to continue those social service programs that the American people have come to rely on-- Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. I think we need to meet in a sensible center, not have something like this that's draconian. Let me finally say, what's truly absurd is that we require only a simple majority to send our men and women in uniform into harm's way, and yet the Republican majority would require a supermajority to raise the Nation's debt ceiling. We all saw how close our economy came to disaster with only a simple majority vote to raise the debt ceiling the last time. So I would say to my colleagues, vote ``no.'' Let's do the job that we were elected to do. Let's make the tough choices. We don't need a balanced budget amendment.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 45th year of Mr. Stephen Jerome's work as president of Monroe College, who has given four and a half decades to providing service to the faculty, staff, and students. Mr. Jerome's efforts have been truly outstanding. Because of his work, Monroe has become a regionally-accredited college that provides a core value of unmatched personal and professional service to more than ten thousand students. He achieves this by providing an environment that solidifies the fullest potential of each student. As President, Mr. Jerome has fostered many new applications to the university. These new programs include the introduction of the college's championship-caliber athletic programs and a unique foundation that can only be described as an excellent work environment; this has lead to the college becoming the number one provider of undergraduate degrees to minority students in New York State. As well as supporting award-winning student academic organizations, Mr. Jerome is thoroughly involved in the community. He has helped to provide lighting, security, street cleaning, and holiday parties for children. Mr. Jerome also provides entrepreneurial assistance to the local neighborhood residents and businesses. In accordance with his community efforts, Mr. Jerome has offered college-level classes at the high school level, through the Jumpstart program, to encourage young students to attend college. Even as the active President of Monroe College, Mr. Jerome continues to assume many leadership roles. He is currently the President of the New York State Association of Proprietary Colleges and has held this position for over two decades. He also holds a position as a Trustee of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Jerome has formerly been a member of the College Presidents' Council for the Governor's office on New York State Financial Aid and been the former Commissioner of the Accrediting Commission of the Association of Independent Colleges and Schools. As a former member of the New York State Education Commissioner's Advisory Council on Higher Education and the former President of the Fordham Road Area Development corporation, it is apparent that no amount of work can deter Mr. Jerome's efforts in providing for the community and improving many systems of education. With all of the years of service Mr. Jerome has given, and all of the leadership positions that he has taken upon himself, he still remains a family man. With his wife Leslie, he instills the importance of hard work and education to their three children: Marc, Evan, and Laura, who pass along his teachings to his 9 young grandchildren. Stephen Jerome has gone above and beyond for Monroe College and the community. This 45th anniversary of his time at the college can act as a reminder to all who were ever inspired, given an opportunity, or thrived within the higher standards he implemented that these effects came from the hard work and drive of one man, the President of Monroe College, The Leader of many institutions, the family man, Mr. Stephen Jerome.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, neighborhoods become true communities when people band together for their common good. In Riverdale this happened when the Riverdale Community Center, a non-profit, grass roots, multi- cultural, multi-service agency was founded in 1972 by the Parents' Association and principal of MS/HS 141, Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy, the school where it is located. Since then the RCC has provided cultural, recreational, academic and developmental activities for area residents and students with many youth programs provided at no cost through the generosity of state and city government agencies, private foundations, individual donors and elected officials. Each year, more than 1,000 children, teens, adults and seniors enjoy activities at the Center. Among the programs offered are an adult and youth education center with classes in wellness, languages, life skills, leisure activities, and arts and music among many others; after school programs for middle schools, including a comprehensive, holistic program that focuses on the whole child and assists young people in developing a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging, and empowerment; and for high school they have programs designed to help teens stay in school and on track towards graduation; a teen theater, teen action programs offering young people the opportunity to make a difference in their school and their community; and a career readiness workshop teaching valuable life skills that help students identify careers interests. RCC's primary mission today is the same as when it was founded: To provide within the community cultural, recreational, and developmental activities and entertainment, instruction, athletics, sports and other wholesome activities for children and adults, under supervision and guidance in order to aide and maintain the physical and mental health of the people in the community, as a basis and preventative means of combating delinquency and as a means of bringing people together under proper supervision in appropriate surroundings. The RCC is hugely successful in fulfilling its mission by contributing so much for so long to the community. I enthusiastically join in congratulating this fine organization on its fortieth anniversary for the many and varied contributions it has made to the community, and wish it many more years of success.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Susan S. Gordon has, for more than 50 years, lived and has been active in Pomona where she and her husband, Dr. Edmund W. Gordon, raised four children and where she was active in her school district, her community and as a pediatrician. She graduated from the Howard University College of Medicine and is a Licentiate of the American Board of Pediatrics and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She was also named an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, initially at New York Medical College and then at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. From 1978 to 1981 she was a member of the National Panel on the Measurement of the Program Effects of Head Start. For eight years she served on the Board of Education of the East Ramapo Central School District, where, for three years, she was also president. She also served, for 20 years, on the board of the Lexington School for the Deaf where the Health Center was named in her honor. She added to her humane service resume by travelling to West Africa for four summers to train workers in providing educational and health services and in Nicaragua she trained local people in family planning and child health maintenance. Both she and her husband are in the Rockland County Hall of Fame. Dr. Gordon is being honored by the Howard University Alumni Association for their life's work and outstanding contributions to society. I join with HUAA in honoring Dr. Gordon for her outstanding record of accomplishment, in Rockland and Westchester and throughout the world.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, our communities thrive when their citizens contribute to the common good and general betterment of their home towns, serving for the love of their community. Phil Tisi is such a man. He has held, with distinction, many positions in the educational field as a leader, an educator, administrator and college adjunct instructor. After serving for 38 years in the school system and in various capacities at the high school and the Ramapo Central School District, he recently retired as Chairman of the Suffern High School Social Studies Department. In addition, for over a decade he has served as Deputy Supervisor, Interim Supervisor, and Assistant to the Supervisor in the Town of Ramapo. When organizations are successful quite often it's because of one person making a difference, and in many cases in Ramapo that person is Phil Tisi. He has helped many communities and their leaders in the Town of Ramapo, as well as individuals, and non-profit agencies throughout Rockland County. He is an integral part of successful patriotic and community events and town programs in general. He is especially helpful to veterans organizations, including, and perhaps especially, the Fred Hecht Post of the Jewish War Veterans, who are honoring him. He has served as Co-Chair of all of their past thirteen concert programs of the Support the Troops and Salute to the Veterans. With his help, more than $550,000 was raised to ship gift-paks and GI travel/ hygiene kits to our troops overseas in the Middle East and our Wounded Warriors in military hospitals. Phil Tisi has been commended 33 times for his good work with veteran groups, civic organizations and government agencies. He was born in Dobbs Ferry and he and his wife, Alicia Cameron Tisi, a retired Registered Nurse, have three sons and a daughter. I am proud to join in recognizing Phil Tisi for being an outstanding citizen and civic leader who has worked for his community and for our brave men and women serving in our Armed Forces. He is a shining example of what a citizen can accomplish for his community.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, Professor Edmund W. Gordon is among the most distinguished behavioral pedagogical scientists in the United States and one of the very few in the world to hold two endowed Ivy League professorships at Columbia and Yale universities. More directly related to my Congressional District, he is Senior Scholar in Residence at State University of New York Rockland Community College as well as at the College Board. His distinguished career encompasses not only professorial practices but scholarship, clinical and counseling psychology, research, author, editor, and minister. Besides Columbia and Yale, he has held appointments at Howard and Harvard Universities. He has written text books that are considered classics in their field, as well as more than 200 articles in scholarly journals and he is still going in his eighties. He and his wife, Dr. Susan Gordon, have lived in Rockland County for more than 55 years and with whom he co- founded CEJJES Institute and Conference Center in Pomona. Their four children attended the local Ramapo schools and both parents were very active in the PTA, school board elections, and other community matters. Dr. Gordon is being honored by the Howard University Alumni Association for his seemingly unending contributions to society. As a former teacher I join with HUAA in congratulating Dr. Gordon for these contributions which have advanced education in our society over the course of generations.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, the education of our children is one of our most important tasks, preparing them for adulthood. At the Riverdale Temple the staff has been enormously helped by Rabbinic Intern Steven Altarescu, who has taught 3rd through 5th grades as well as an adult education course on Relationship in the Torah--Love, Sex and Violence; Parents and Children, Husbands and Wives, Siblings, Lovers, Us and God. The course is so popular that the congregants look forward to him returning next year to teach it. He lives in Riverdale and is in his fourth year of rabbinical school at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a pluralistic seminary in Riverdale. He has also taught fourth, fifth and second grades at Temple Beth Shalom in neighboring Hastings-on-Hudson for thirteen years. He is married and the father of two grown daughters, three stepdaughters and one stepson. Steven brings a passion for Jewish spirituality, prayer and Torah study to our Temple and has contributed to a successful year in ways far beyond his actual responsibilities as our Rabbinic Intern. Steven has participated in worship services, preached, chanted Torah, and-- behind the scenes--been the most generous, gracious and always available member of our synagogue staff. The Riversdale Temple is grateful and proud to publicly acknowledge Steven's many, many contributions to the congregation, and to wish him every success in the rest of his rabbinic education, and in his future service to the Jewish community. I am proud to join the Riverdale Temple in this recognition and in the knowledge that his presence as a member of the rabbinate is a source of strength.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of Illyria, the Albanian-American newspaper. Illyria has been in the forefront of supporting the aspirations of the Albanian people in The Balkans for 20 years. As the Albanian people of Kosova in the former Yugoslavia emerged from the domination of Serbia, and Albania emerged from the shadow of communism in 1991, Albanian-Americans were in need of information about their homeland, and a common voice to bring their community together. In that time of great transition, Harry Bajraktari, an Albanian immigrant from Kosova who had built a successful real estate business from scratch in the Bronx, founded and published Illyria, and published it twice weekly in both English and Albanian. From the beginning, Illyria provided a valuable bridge among Albanians in the U.S. and abroad, and our leaders in the United States. Through the dedication and passion of Mr. Bajraktari and his colleagues, Illyria championed the causes of human rights, democracy and freedom for the people of Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and for a free and independent Republic of Kosova. During the Yugoslav wars and the struggles of Albanians in Kosova against the regime of Slobodon Milosevic, lllyria promoted peaceful solutions for Albanians and their neighbors. Diplomats at the United Nations, members of Congress, officials at the State Department, the White House and think tanks in Washington were among those who used Illyria as a resource. Now in more peaceful times for Albanians, Illyria, true to its immigrant roots, continues to build ties between the Albanians and the United States, promoting friendship between our countries and highlighting the contributions of Albanian immigrants to the United States. The long list of distinguished Albanian-Americans introduced to readers by lllyria includes a Nobel-Prize winner, an engineer who oversaw the flight of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, a former NASA astronaut who flew into space on the Space Shuttle Endeavour, famous actors, directors and TV personalities, and successful professionals of various fields. The torch of owning and publishing Illyria was passed from Mr. Bajraktari to Ekrem Bardha, a successful Albanian-American businessmen from Michigan and then to Vehbi Bajrami, a dedicated publisher. Through two decades and three owners, Illyria has been a consistent voice for tolerance and truth. As lsmail Kadare, the internationally-renowned Albanian writer said, Illyria has kept ``only one passion as sacred: its dedication to the freedom and the happiness of the Albanian people.'' Mr. Speaker, these are two of the principles that have made this country the greatest democracy in the world, and which unite Albania and the United States in friendship today. With thousands of readers from New York to Alaska, lllyria newspaper is truly an American institution--politically independent and true to the best values of American journalism. In short, Illyria embodies the American dream. I join with Harry Bajraktari and with Albanian- Americans in the United States and around the world, in wishing a happy 20th anniversary to Illyria newspaper.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, Social Security is such an integral part of so many lives in our communities that it is with some sadness that I congratulate William Gonzalez, the Operations Supervisor of the West Nyack office on his retirement after 35 years of exemplary service. He has faithfully served the people in my district for those years, starting as a Claims Development Clerk in the Baychester district office in the Bronx. After a short time, he rose to Claims Representative. He later served as a Field Representative and became an Operations Supervisor in 1989. He was reassigned to the West Nyack, NY district office in 1996 and established himself, over many years, as a liaison for a number of community and social agencies such as the Department of Social Services, Housing and Urban Development and as a contact for law enforcement in Rockland County. He received many performance awards throughout his career including recognition for his pivotal role in the Region's Bi-Lingual Interviewing Skills Training initiative and for his participation in supervisory training for his peers. He always managed to find time for many community service endeavors. He chaired the Suffern Community Development committee from 1998 through 2004. He was an original member of the Suffern Community Foundation and participates in the Friends of Sloatsburg organization. He currently serves as an elected member of the Ramapo Central School Board, coached little league for many years and, most recently, has coached the Suffern High School varsity bowling team. Bill and his wife Ada have two children; Eric a graduate of Syracuse University, and Alexandra, attending Siena College. I want to congratulate Bill Gonzalez for his great service over so long a period to the people of New York. He has truly earned a happy retirement.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, Deaconess Mattie Lee Dixon Davis didn't arrive in New York City until she was 39 but still she has lived here for 61 years and is celebrating her 100th birthday today. She was born in Alabama on April 11, 1911 to Willie and Elar Dixon who had a farm in McWilliams. After graduating from Conecuh County Training School she married the Reverend Albert A. Davis, II who was pastor to many of the leading African Methodist Episcopal Churches. He served as Presiding Elder of Troy and then joined the larger Ozark District where Mrs. Dixon served as District Adviser of the Women's Missionary for nine years. She worked as a substitute teacher in public schools and thanks to her earlier training she was seamstress and hairdresser to her family, her church family, and to her friends and neighbors. In May, 1950, Rev. Dixon came to the St. Luke A.M.E. Church in New York City's Sugar Hill neighborhood where for 16 years Mrs. Dixon served as Advisor to the Missionary Society and President of the Women's Club. The Missionary Society became so large that she reorganized it into five `circles,' a structure that continues to this day. Missionary work was always her main interest and she held several statewide offices in the New York Conference Branch Missionary Society including Second Vice President for three years, and Treasurer for eight years. She also served as President of the New York A.M.E. Ministers Wives and Widowers Alliance and Secretary of the Interdenominational Ministers Wives and Widows Alliance. She and the Rev. Dixon moved to St. Steven Community A.M.E. Church where the Rev. Dixon served until he died 16 years later. Her ambition was always to become a nurse, but raising their five children and missionary work made that impossible. But several years ago she helped a friend, a nurse, operate a `House of Love' where patients discharged from hospitals, but too ill to go home, stayed. Here she not only helped with the daily care and feeding of these gravely ill people, but learned how to give medications and to handle injections. She was finally nursing, helping people in this hospice precursor. Around this time she was consecrated a Deaconess at the Allen Cathedral A.M.E. Church by Bishop Franklin Norris. I join her community in honoring this wonderful woman who gave a century of love and good works to the world. We are blessed to have her.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition--and I must say honest bafflement--to this so-called ``Protect Life Act.'' I'm baffled because it truly stretches the limits of the rational mind to imagine why the Republican majority--a group of people who supposedly say they make it their mission to limit government involvement in every way possible--why they continue to insert themselves--and the government--into the personal health care decisions of Americans across the country. What's even more baffling is that for 30 years Federal law has prohibited funding of abortions. It's one thing to say the government won't pay for abortions, but quite another, as we're doing here, to say that women can't use their own dollars to pay for abortion coverage. Here we are with this absurd song and dance that has no basis in reality, is entirely about scoring political points with the Republican base once again while, as my colleagues have said, doing nothing to help employment and create jobs in this country. If this bill stopped at being absurd, it would be one thing. But more than absurd, this cruel legislation would actually allow hospitals to refuse to provide a woman abortion care even if she would die without it. Now, my colleagues who claim they want smaller government and say they want to get the government out of people's lives, this is a hell of a way to do it or to prove it. I urge my colleagues to fight for common sense, to protect women from this harsh attack, and to vote ``no'' on H.R. 358. The gentleman before was talking about public funding being used for abortions. What is that--using taxpayers' money for incest, or to save the life of a woman, or for rape? Would we deny women the right to have an abortion if they were raped or if it would save their lives? I think not. I think the American people can see through this one. This is nothing more than playing to the base. It's bad policy for this country. Let's get the government out of people's lives. Vote ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, on October 10th, the Republic of China (Taiwan), one of the closest friends of the United States in the Pacific, will be celebrating its 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Revolution. I would like to congratulate Taiwan on this historic milestone, and I urge my colleagues to do the same. October 10th, 1911 marks the beginning of what was the Wuchang Uprising, which ultimately brought an end to the Qing Dynasty's 268- year rule in China. The fall of the Dynasty's resulted in the establishment of the Republic of China (Taiwan), which was then immediately recognized by the United States as the sole and legitimate government of China. In these 100 years, Taiwan has evolved into a shining example of democracy. As the country liberalized and opened up to the world, its political system has progressed into one of the strongest democratic systems in Asia, evidenced most recently by holding free and fair presidential elections. While these significant achievements took place, the U.S.-Taiwan relationship transformed from one based solely on shared interests to one based on shared values. Our mutual respect for human rights and dignity, and our belief in a strong democratic system of government has allowed this relationship to flourish. I congratulate the Taiwanese on this historic 100-year occasion, and I look forward to helping further develop the close relationship between the United States and Taiwan as we move forward into the 21st Century.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding to me, and I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 2608, the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012. I oppose playing political games with FEMA disaster funding while American citizens are recovering from recent natural disasters that have wiped out homes, businesses, and lives. In an unprecedented move, the Republican majority requires an offset for FEMA funding. FEMA must be fully funded so that my constituents can continue recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Irene. By requiring this offset, we're playing politics with the lives of those who need our assistance most. Let me tell my Republican colleagues that if you want an offset, let's get rid of the Bush tax cuts for the rich. That's an offset that you won't want to get rid of. This bill presents a false choice: that we need to cut off one hand to save the other. The bill slashes funds from a program that would reinvigorate the manufacturing sector and decrease our reliance on foreign oil to fund FEMA. We can do both, and we need not buy in to this ridiculous logic. In times of disaster, we must always take care of our citizens and our country first, period. Try telling my constituents who are struggling in the aftermath of a hurricane, sorry, you'll have to wait till we find an offset. Sorry, we really don't care about your problems. We have other pressing things to do. Reasonable Democrats and Republicans maintained the practice of helping constituents in the past. Why this policy has changed is beyond me. Madam Speaker, disasters are not associated with one political party, and helping our citizens should be a top priority of both. I urge a ``no'' vote on the CR, and urge the majority to bring a bill to the floor that fully funds FEMA and doesn't harm job creation and does the right thing.

Mr. ENGEL. I do know that. Unfortunately, it's been difficult passing things in the Senate because, quite frankly, the minority filibusters everything to death, and getting the 60 votes is very, very difficult.

Mr. ENGEL. I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you, Mr. Deutch for pointing that out because, unfortunately, I said before that the U.N. had been a kangaroo court against Israel time and time again. Israel cannot get a fair shake in the United Nations. I do hope that we are able to block the votes in the Security Council where the United States, the Obama administration, has said that the President will do a veto of any kind of resolution, and I hope that it won't even come to that because I hope that they do not get the requisite number of votes to even pass it. And then the Palestinians might then go to the General Assembly. They say they are going to do that. And while the General Assembly cannot admit a Palestinian state, it can upgrade their status, which would allow them to run around and harass Israeli leaders in the different international courts. I just think the U.N. better be careful. It sits in my hometown of New York, and we have always been proud that the U.N. is in New York. But I think the U.N. is on the verge of discrediting itself very, very badly. There was resolution 242, which talked about land for peace in the Middle East. I would say that the Palestinians, by trying to get recognition unilaterally in the U.N., they are repudiating the land for peace. They're certainly repudiating the Oslo Accords, which said that both states have to sit down, the Palestinians and the Israelis have to sit down and hammer out an agreement. As I mentioned before, it even repudiates the very basis of the initial partition of Palestine in 1947 and '48 into a Jewish state and an Arab state. And we talk about the Palestinian refugees. They have been used as pawns by the Palestinian leadership--and frankly by all the other Arab states in the world. And we ought to mention this because it's very, very important. Jewish refugees from North Africa and all over the world, from Europe, from all over the world, came to Israel and were integrated into Israeli society through the years. The Palestinian refugees could have and should have been integrated in the various Arab countries, but the Arab leaders decided to leave them in these horrendous conditions in these camps, to use the Palestinian refugees as pawns in the Palestinian camps. It wasn't done by the Israelis. It was done by the Palestinians themselves and by the Arab nations themselves to use them as political pawns. So I think we should look at the people who are really suffering here and say why they're suffering. They're suffering because they've had a leadership that has failed them for more than 60 years. So I'm very proud of the United States of America. I'm proud of our country for standing up for freedom. I'm proud of our country for standing with Israel. I'm proud that the President said the bond between Israel is unbreakable. We have to understand that this is not a fight between two groups that are sort of equal in being concerned about democracy. Israel shares our values. Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East. What's important to Israel is important to the United States. That's why we have to stand with Israel because if we don't do it, nobody else will. We've shown time and time and time again that the international community, particularly the United Nations, is biased against Israel; and unless the United States stands squarely with Israel, Israel will never get a fair shake. So I am proud that we are doing that now at the United Nations. I am proud that we have taken a stand. I am proud of this Congress, on a bipartisan basis, for taking a pro-Israel stand. The United States--and I would say this to the people of Israel--will always stand with our friends and allies, Israel, who care for the basic human rights and concerns and democracy and democratic values that we care about as well. So as we see this unfolding, I would just say to the Palestinians, if you really want your state, if you really want a two-state solution-- which I believe you are entitled to--then sit down with Israel face to face across the negotiating table, no preconditions, and talk peace. The Israelis are ready to do it. We're still waiting for the Palestinians. Thank you, Mr. Deutch.

Mr. ENGEL. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding, and before I talk about these issues, let me first compliment the gentleman from Florida. He hasn't been in Congress very long, but he certainly made his mark very strongly, particularly on the U.S.-Israel relationship. He has been a stalwart supporter and a very articulate spokesperson for the U.S.-Israel relationship. I know that Mr. Deutch has been very, very effective, and it is an honor to do this Special Order with him this evening. Madam Speaker, I agree with everything that every one of my colleagues said. Let me first say, because we are Democrats having this Special Order, there has been a lot of fighting in Congress, but one thing we don't fight about, Democrats and Republicans, we agree that the U.S.-Israel relationship must remain strong. If there is one thing that unites this Congress and unites Democrats and Republicans, it's strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship. Many of my colleagues have made very, very good points, many of which I want to reiterate, but I think the most important thing to reiterate is this: If there is a dispute anywhere around the world, the only way you can resolve that dispute is getting the two adversaries face to face in direct negotiations to hammer out all of the areas of disagreement and hopefully come to a peace agreement. That happened in Ireland, in Northern Ireland, a place that we never thought would get peace but did, because both sides made the commitment that they preferred peace over war and over misery that had gone on for far too long. So they sat down face to face, with a little prodding from other countries, including the United States, and were able to hash out an agreement. That, I'm convinced, is the way that the Middle East difficulties will come to fruition, only by face-to-face negotiations. The Palestinians, in my estimation, have attempted to throw so many preconditions at Israel before they will even sit down and negotiate that it has made it impossible for Israel to be able to sit down and talk with them. Boundaries like 1967 boundaries or settlements or expansion of neighborhoods, all these are final status issues. These are not issues where one side says to the other side, you have to unilaterally agree with our position before we will even sit down and negotiate with you. That makes no sense whatsoever. So face-to-face negotiations are the only way that we can have peace. I would argue that going to the United Nations by the Palestinians actually sets back the cause of peace because if the United Nations were to declare a Palestinian state, say on the basis of the 1967 lines, which is what the Palestinians want, well, that is a guarantee that there can never be peace with an agreement like that. First of all, if the United Nations were to agree to that, no Palestinian leader in the future could ever accept anything less. And the Israelis can never accept, and will never accept, a return to the 1967 borders, which were indefensible. Israel fought wars because those 1967 borders were not defensible. And so these preconditions, and this going to the United Nations, actually sets back the cause of peace. Now I just think a little bit of history is important because it's so easy to go on college campuses or to try to delegitimize Israel and the United Nations or to have statements that aren't really true. The fact of the matter is that Israel has always been prepared to make painful concessions for peace. I was in this Congress during 2000-2001 when President Clinton helped negotiate what we thought was a peace, the Oslo Accords, and what we thought was a peace between Israel and the Palestinians. I remember in 1993 on the White House lawn with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin shaking hands. I remember being there with my 8-month pregnant wife in 95-degree weather, and we all had such high hopes. But what has happened? Abba Eban used to say the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. And there have been many opportunities for peace. In 2000-2001, Israel agreed to a peace. Arafat, who was the Palestinian leader, said no. And what did Arafat turn down at that time? He turned down a Palestinian state, part of Jerusalem, 97 percent of the West Bank and billions and billions of dollars of aid. Israel said yes. He said no. I think it's important to put that in perspective. Then the Palestinians talk about the right of return. They want to flood Israel with Palestinian refugees--not refugees that left in 1948, when Israel was founded--but their descendants. And that's a pipe dream because that could never happen. It would undermine the essence of a Jewish State of Israel. So if there is going to be peace in the Middle East, we need to go back to what the partition of Palestine in 1948, the original resolution, said in the U.N. It said Palestine is to be partitioned into an Arab state and a Jewish state. And here we are, some 63 years later, and the Palestinians and most of the Arab world won't even recognize Israel as a Jewish state. That's where the problem lies, not with Israel. And the attempt to go to the United Nations and sort of do an end game around Israel will not work. Finally, and then I'd be happy to discuss this further with my colleague from Florida (Mr. Deutch), let me just say this, and we have heard some rumblings about it with some of our colleagues here. This Congress will not continue to fund the Palestinian Authority. It's not going to be a blank check. If the Palestinian Authority doesn't want peace and doesn't show that it wants peace, we are not going to continue to fund them. I introduced a resolution in the Foreign Affairs Committee which came before the State Department markup which passed unanimously on a roll call vote withholding money, ending money to the Palestinian Authority if they come to the United Nations for a vote. It passed unanimously-- every Democrat, every Republican. And so this Congress is not going to be a fool. Either the Palestinians want peace or they don't. But they cannot have it both ways. They cannot say they want peace and refuse to sit down and talk to Israel face to face at a negotiating table. So, Mr. Deutch, I want to thank you for doing this. I think it is very, very important that all people of good will, Democrats and Republicans, stand together in support of Israel. I think the President's speech today at the United Nations was a very good speech where he talked about the bond is unbreakable between the United States and Israel. And we have to make sure that the Palestinians live up to their commitment. Israel is willing to live up to its commitments. Israel wants to live in peace. We're now waiting to see what the Palestinian and the Arab states want to do. Finally, let me say this. There are two factions in the Palestinians: One is Fatah, which is Abbas' faction, and one is Hamas. Hamas controls Gaza. Hamas is a terrorist group. Hamas doesn't recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas certainly doesn't recognize the right of a Jewish state to exist. How can we expect our ally Israel to sit, negotiate, and make peace with an entity that denies its very right to exist and an entity whose whole reason for being is to destroy the Jewish state? We wouldn't ask that of ourselves. We shouldn't ask that of Israel.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Madam Speaker, as we speak now, in my hometown of New York, United Nations leaders from all over the world are coming in. The major issue is the Palestinian claim they're going to go to the United Nations to have a declared state of their own. I have news for the Palestinian leadership. The only way they can have a state of their own is to sit down face-to-face with Israel in face-to-face negotiations and hammer out an agreement, an agreement which is the two-state solution, an Israeli Jewish state and a Palestinian Arab state. The Palestinians cannot try to impose any kind of solution that doesn't work. If two adversaries want to hash out a disagreement to come to an agreement, then they need face-to-face negotiation. This has happened in the past. Each time Israel has accepted it, and the Palestinians have said no. The United Nations should not discredit itself even more and continue to be the usual kangaroo court against Israel. I'm glad that the United States and the President are standing up and saying that we will veto a resolution if it comes before the Security Council.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I came back from a trip to Israel, and I wanted to share with my colleagues some of the things that are going on currently in the Middle East and some of the things that will happen within the next couple of weeks. First of all, it's always a pleasure to visit Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. It's a pleasure to watch. Last Saturday night there were demonstrations throughout Israel, the young people, in the democratic way, voicing their feelings about important issues, just like we do here in the United States, and the people in Israel who are doing this. In a region where you have governments in Syria killing their own people, demonstrations and soldiers firing on people in Libya and Egypt, in Israel you have peaceful demonstrations and no fear of the police or the military the harming people because Israel is a full- fledged democracy, just like we are, just like the United States is, and it was a pleasure to be in that country. There are several things that are happening during the next few weeks, and a number of them are at the United Nations in my home city in New York. The Palestinian leadership has decided that it will go to the United Nations to try to get a declaration of statehood. Now, that is something that I believe, and any reasonable person believes, should be decided in face-to-face negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. In any dispute anywhere in the world, the only way that you can resolve the issue is if the two adversaries sit down and hammer out the issues--not by going to the United Nations, which is, frankly, a kangaroo court against Israel. There are so many resolutions that get passed year in and year out against Israel. Israel can never have a fair shake. And thinking the Palestinians are thinking that if they go there somehow or other they will have a state, in reality it will make it even worse. Because what happens is if the United Nations declares a Palestinian state, that shows that there need not be any negotiations. And down the line, the Palestinian leadership will not be able to settle for anything less than what the resolution says. And no Israeli government, frankly, can agree to what a likely resolution is likely to say. And it will set back the cause of negotiation and the cause of peace even greater. So I would say to the countries of the United Nations not to do a knee-jerk reaction, but to think about what will really bring peace to the region. A two-state solution, which I support--a Palestinian state and Israel living side by side in peace--that is what we want. And I should say the Jewish State of Israel and an Arab-Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace. If the Palestinians truly want peace, they can get it. They can get it by face-to-face negotiations, not by running to the United Nations and having a resolution that will set back the cause of peace for many, many years to come. Now, another thing that's happened in the region has been frankly the belligerence of Turkey with Israel. Turkey is a NATO nation, but for some reason the leadership in Turkey has decided that they want to look away from democracy. They want to look towards Iran and towards the Middle East. So they have become increasingly hostile towards Israel. And we have, of course, the flotilla incident where Israel has a blockade of Gaza because the Hamas terrorist organization is in Gaza and in control of Gaza, and Israel has to be very, very sure that it protects its citizens from terrorism. We have had rockets and rockets and rocket barrages fired into Israel from Gaza, Israeli citizens being killed. No country would ever allow that to happen. If we had a situation where terrorists were firing missiles at us from any of the border countries, Mexico or Canada, we wouldn't stand for it for a second. We would go in and clean out the terrorists that are threatening our civilian population. Israel has the absolute right to do that. And the United Nations, in a rare instance where it agreed with Israel, just came out with a report saying that the Israeli blockade of Gaza to prevent weapons and weaponry from killing Israeli citizens was legal. So of course we had the flotilla. It came from Turkey. And there was an incident that they were trying to break the blockade. And there was an incident. And of course what happened with it was the people were killed. And Turkey has used that as an excuse to be belligerent against Israel. I would say to Turkey they ought to stop the nonsense, act more like a NATO country, and act more like a country that wants to go into the European Union, not a country that is sympathetic to extremism and not a country that is saying the most belligerent things. Just tone down and scale back its diplomatic recognition with Israel. I ask Turkey to act like a NATO nation.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, the American people sent us here to work together and are tired of the partisan bickering and the finger- pointing. I think it's very important tonight, as we listen to the President talk about creating jobs, that we work together to work with him; and I hope my Republican friends on the other side of the aisle don't summarily reject what the President is saying just to play politics. We need to create jobs in this country. Many years ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided that, in order to get America back to work, he would create infrastructure jobs from the government. I think that is something that we should do, and I hope the President mentions it tonight. We have crumbling roads, crumbling bridges, and all kinds of things that could put America back to work. Let's not have a repetition of what happened a month or so ago when Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States in terms of finances. Let's work together. Let's work with our President. Let's support him as he tries to create more jobs. Less finger-pointing, more working together. That is the American way.

Mr. ENGEL

Mr. ENGEL. I thank my friend from New York for yielding to me. I rise today in opposition to the Budget Control Act amendment. Over the past months, I have been urging for a clean vote to raise the debt ceiling, a vote that has taken place 75 times since FDR was President, 18 times under Reagan, eight times under Bush. And I think that's what we should have done, and then put our heads together. You see, I disagree with my friends on the other side of the aisle. It isn't just entitlement reform that we need; although, we do need entitlement reform. It isn't just for government to spend less that we need; although, we do need government to spend less. But what happened to fairness? Why are we asking this bill to balance our budget on the backs of the middle class and poor people? Why do we not have anything in this bill that makes millionaires and billionaires, who can afford to pay a little bit more, pay a little bit more? Why don't we close tax loopholes so that Big Oil and gas and other corporations pay their fair share? Why don't we do any of that whatsoever? So this bill is unbalanced to begin with. Now we are talking about some supercommittee, even amounts of Democrats and Republicans, even amounts from the Senate and the House. To me, that's a recipe for gridlock. And I guarantee you, my colleagues, we're going to be here at that point after Thanksgiving when nothing is going to happen, and we are going to wind up with entitlement cuts that are going to hurt my seniors and your seniors with Medicare and graduate medical education in New York, which is so important. Hurt that, hurt the providers. Who are we kidding? We're going to cut from the providers, the hospitals and think it's not going to impact on patient quality and patient care? What about the doc fix, when our doctors say, We're not taking Medicare patients anymore? This bill, to me, is a pig in a poke, and I'm not willing to buy a pig in a poke.