Anna Eshoo

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Radio Station KALW for its continuing service to the people of the San Francisco Bay Area and to congratulate KALW on its fifty-fifth anniversary of operations. KALW began broadcasting in 1941. It was the first FM radio station in San Francisco, the first educational FM station in the United States, the second non-commercial FM station in the country and the first non- commercial FM station west of the Mississippi River. In a time of media consolidation, KALW maintains its independence and its dedication to local news. Its programs reflect the extraordinary richness and diversity of the people of the Bay Area. KALW has received more than a dozen national excellence awards in the past five years for its exemplary news coverage. In its programs it draws on the expertise of a brain trust of local community members, including scholars, job coaches, musicians, independent bookstore owners and many others. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to a remarkable national resource, radio station KALW, and extending to everyone involved with the station our congratulations on its fifty- fifth anniversary.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 136, the Rancho Corral de Tierra Golden Gate National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Act, which will add approximately 4,700 acres to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, also known as the GGNRA. There has been a long journey in the effort to secure the passage of this bill. I was proud to cosponsor the legislation when Congressman Lantos first introduced it in May of 2001 and testified in the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks in support of the bill 5 long years ago. The bill sets aside precious environmental spaces for the benefit of the broader community. It has undergone changes over the years to safeguard local agriculture in San Mateo County, and as a result, there is broad local support for this legislation. These efforts don't just happen, it takes people of vision at the local level to recognize the need, to develop a response, and rally support. We have the best, Audrey Rust, the President of the Peninsula Open Space Trust, POST. Ms. Rust has demonstrated great determination and flexibility in the many years of working on this bill, and she and POST deserve our thanks, recognition, and gratitude. Acquiring this land is an environmental victory because it is habitat for several rare, threatened, endangered species. Future generations will respect and enjoy the fruits of our efforts and that's why I urge all my colleagues to vote for this critical legislation. I salute Representative Lantos for his work and thank Senator Feinstein and Representative Radanovich for their efforts to see this legislation through.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I think this evening is really a very sad moment for our country. I think that we have hit, unfortunately, sadly, a new low. This Republican bill can be summed up as follows: tax cuts for the most privileged in our country come first. That is their priority, and what is on the other side of this? What is on the other side of this? Child support enforcement and Medicaid, which is the safety net of health care. Mr. Speaker, who bears the burden of this? Where do these cuts fall? On the most vulnerable people in our society. America can do better than this. This is not just a cut in program. This is a cut in our moral fiber. This is a cut. It cuts to who and what we are as a society. This is wrong. This is wrong, and I think many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle understand that as well. We are asking Americans at the bottom of the scale of our Nation to bear the heaviest burden, and the tax cuts deliver almost 80 percent of their benefits to the top 3 percent of our people. That is not who and what we are. We can do so much better. I urge all of my colleagues to stand up for what the best of the American people is all about, and that is not in this bill.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Farr and I rise today to honor an extraordinary citizen of our community, Jack Baskin. Throughout his life, Mr. Baskin has made significant contributions to the betterment of Santa Cruz County and he is held in the highest regard throughout our region. Jack Baskin, now a retired engineer and general contractor, was born in upstate New York, the son of immigrants. During the Great Depression his family made many sacrifices in order for him to go to college, and he was the first member of his family to do so. He attended the University of Colorado where he studied mechanical engineering, later transferring to New York University where he earned his B.S. in aeronautical engineering. After serving as an aeronautical engineer during World War II, Mr. Baskin moved West and in 1948, acquired his California Professional Engineers License. He settled in Central California, and founded Jack Baskin, Inc., focusing on building affordable housing in the San Francisco area, in Santa Cruz and in Watsonville. Jack Baskin is dedicated to his community and has given generously to it. Among the local organizations that are beneficiaries of Mr. Baskin's time and donations are Cabrillo College and Dominican Hospital. He was the founder of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County, and he has participated in many other organizations for children, families, and senior citizens. The University of California, Santa Cruz, UCSC, has been a long time recipient of Mr. Baskin's extensive contributions. His donations have supported computer engineering, instruction in the arts, the Institute of Marine Sciences, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, an endowed chair in psychology, and a scholarship in literature. Mr. Baskin chaired the UC Santa Cruz Foundation for 2 years and remains a trustee. His commitment to education is memorialized by two prominent buildings named in his honor on the UCSC campus. Jack Baskin is a model citizen and a highly respected member of the community. Thousands of individuals have benefited from his generosity and dedication to higher education and community health care. Mr. Speaker, Jack Baskin's life is an eloquent statement about what one committed citizen can do. We ask all our colleagues to join us in honoring him for all he has done to strengthen our community and to make our country better.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on Friday, October 28, 2005. Had I been present, I would have voted on the following votes: On rollcall vote No. 555 I would have voted ``yea''; on rollcall vote No. 556 I would have voted ``yea.''

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a distinguished congregation, St. Stephen's Armenian Apostolic Church of Hartford-New Britain, Connecticut, which is celebrating its eightieth anniversary on November 6, 2005. The Church is also honoring in memoriam Aram ``Otto'' Bayramian, a beloved parishioner and extraordinary leader. St. Stephen's is the oldest Armenian church in Connecticut and one of the oldest in our Nation. Armenians began immigrating to the United States in large numbers in the late 19th century when troubles in their historic land, now part of Eastern Turkey, began mounting. They brought their Christian faith with them and began conducting religious services in rented churches. Fundraising for St. Stephen's began in 1912, but it was interrupted several times by world events. The groundbreaking took place in 1925, the culmination of many years of arduous work. St. Stephen's is honoring extraordinary parishioners during its 80th birthday celebration and the event's special honoree is Aram ``Otto'' Bayramian, who died in 1996. He served St. Stephen's with distinction for more than 20 years. Otto's father, Umrah Bayramian was one of the founders of St. Stephen's. Otto, a lifelong resident of New Britain, was one of the most respected business and community leaders in the region. He was a decorated veteran of World War II, flying eight subpatrol and 40 missions successfully, retiring as a Captain in the Air Force. Upon returning home, Otto joined his father in the family business, founding the Epicure Market in Farmington, Connecticut. It became known as the ``gold standard'' in the food business throughout Connecticut. Otto graced the stage of the theatre, including the New Britain Repertory, the Mark Twain Masquers, the Producing Guild, and the Waterbury Civic Theatre. He was an organizer and Charter member of the Joel Eshoo Post 1 Assyrian American War Veterans which was established in 1946. His great love was St. Stephen's Church and he did everything possible to strengthen its future. It is highly appropriate that as St. Stephen's celebrates its founding 80 years ago, that the life of Otto Bayramian and his countless contributions to the betterment of St. Stephen's is celebrated as well. It is also fitting that the Church's three archdeacons, Aram-Sumpad Khachoyan, Sebouh Asadourian and Edward Varjabedian are being honored for their 25 years of dedicated service on the altar. The Annual Youth Award recipient is choir member Maral Firkatian, and parishioners Dirouhi Avakian, Mary Boornazian and Susan Shabazian will each be presented with certificates of appreciation. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring St. Stephen's Armenian Apostolic Church of Hartford-New Britain on the occasion of its 80th anniversary, honoring the life and contributions of the beloved Otto Bayramian, and in extending thanks to those being honored at the anniversary celebration. Our Nation has been enriched by the lives and the faith of generations past, as well as parishioners of St. Stephen's today. We are unmistakably a better community and a more decent Nation because of the Church, because of Otto Bayramian and because of the contributions the Parish continues to make.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor William ``Bill'' Lawrence, retired letter carrier and member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, San Francisco Branch 214, who is being honored by the Letter Carriers at their Biannual Congressional Breakfast. Bill Lawrence began his service to our country when he enlisted in the Navy at the age of 16. After serving in China, he was honorably discharged and settled in San Francisco in 1927. He worked for several years as a cable car conductor, one of the few union jobs in San Francisco at the time. In July 1938, he began his career as a Letter Carrier, immediately joining Branch 214 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. Bill served as Secretary of Branch 214 for 6 years, and delivered mail on the streets of San Francisco for 35 years, until he retired at age 65. In 1970, Bill Lawrence was elected to the non-partisan City Council of nearby Brisbane, California, and over the next two decades, served twice as Mayor. After his tenure on the City Council, Bill pursued his dedication to public service as the Legislative Liaison for the California State Association of Letter Carriers. Bill has always said that his love of politics stems from the rewarding feeling he gets from helping people. Now at age 97, Bill continues to delight children of all ages when he dresses as Santa Claus during the holidays. I've always been proud to call Bill Lawrence my friend. He is a kind and generous man, and without his support and that of his wife, Honey Bee, I would not have been elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and to Congress. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Bill Lawrence's countless contributions to our community and our country. Because of him and his distinguished service, we are unmistakably a better and more decent nation.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. I thank our distinguished ranking member for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule. I want to point out something that is in the underlying bill which authorizes the President to designate Federal lands that might be suitable for the construction of an oil refinery. Once he has made a designation, the land must be leased for the construction of a refinery. The refinery would be permitted under expedited procedures with limited judicial review. Although the manager's amendment requires the President to conduct an analysis of the suitability of the site, there is no obligation that he take the analysis into account before designating Federal property as suitable for a refinery. So there is no requirement that there be an opportunity for citizen input. The sponsors of the bill did bar the President from designating lands that are part of the National Park System, the National Wilderness System and national monuments. But they failed to place language in the bill that would protect millions of acres of other equally sensitive lands, including national forests, the National Wildlife Refuge System, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, the National Wild and Scenic River System, the National Trail System, and the National Landscape Conservation System. I offered an amendment that was turned back by the Committee on Rules that would have protected these lands which have been set aside for the American people. I cannot imagine why a President would want to clear the path for building a new refinery in Chincoteague, Virginia; the Great Bay Refuge in New Hampshire; or in Arkansas's Cache River Refuge. My question is, why would Congress want to give him the chance? Vote against the rule. This is a bad bill for the American people.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the bill and in support of the Democratic substitute. I would like to start out by saluting the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) for having the courage as a Republican to stand up and to take the position that he has. I think it is a sad day when the Republican Party is no longer holding on to the environmental mantle. One of my predecessors, Pete McCloskey, was a great champion in the Congress on those issues, and I think it is regrettable that that is where the Republicans are today, because if there were more that would stand up, we would be able to put into place a bill that would really serve the American people well. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita only exacerbated what has been happening to consumers in our country for the past year. Weeks before Katrina hit, consumers were paying higher and higher prices at the pump. In California, prices climbed $1 between January and August. They rose 50 cents in a month's time between July and August, with prices rising to well over $3 a gallon. I paid close to $4 a gallon in my congressional district just a week ago. Consumers in other parts of the country have seen similar hikes. If we look at what the Washington Post recently reported, it is painfully evident that the oil industry and the refiners have profited handsomely. The money going to crude producers has climbed 46 percent over the last year. For refiners, revenues have increased 255 percent in one year, from September 2004 to September 2005. The last time I remember seeing revenue increases like this was when Enron, Reliant and other gougers were raking in their profits during the so-called California energy crisis. And the explanations are also too familiar. We are being told again we are paying the price for having too little capacity. It is not the case, Mr. Speaker. The record shows otherwise. It is economics, not regulations, that have led to the shortfall in capacity. I hope everyone will support the Democratic substitute. It is the legislation that will really put the gougers' feet to the fire and do something about it. I urge everyone to vote for the substitute and against the base bill.

Ms. ESHOO of California

Ms. ESHOO of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise to oppose the Pombo bill and in support of the reforms in the substitute amendment offered by Representatives George Miller and Sherwood Boehlert. The Endangered Species Act is a cornerstone of environmental protection. I'm very proud that one of my predecessors in the Congress, Pete McCloskey, was a leader in enacting this bipartisan law. After more than 30 years, it's worth reevaluating and updating this law to better meet its objectives. I understand some of the frustrations that constituents have with the current law, but I don't think we should throw ``the baby out with the bathwater'' as the underlying bill would do. While critics rightfully point out that we need to do more to help endangered species recover so they can be removed from the endangered list, the fact is the Endangered Species Act has been highly successful, with 99 percent of species listed under the ESA being saved from extinction. I have very deep concerns about the bill before us today. First, the bill requires the Federal Government to pay developers' costs in complying with the Endangered Species Act whenever even a portion of a property is impacted. There's no limit on the compensation payments that would be paid. The Congressional Budget Office has said this is a new entitlement that will increase spending by billions of dollars and establish a dangerous precedent. Imagine, for example, the Federal Government paying a factory owner for the costs of complying with the Clean Air Act when a decision is made to expand the plant. That's the principle this bill will establish. It's an extraordinary mistake. Second, the bill removes protections against the use of hazardous pesticides. It's estimated that 67 million birds die each year from the effects of pesticides. These protections must be kept in place. One of the reasons the Endangered Species Act was adopted in the first place was to address declines in the population of the bald eagle caused by DDT. Third, the bill strips the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of its role in administering the Endangered Species Act, transferring it to the Department of Interior with no assurance whatsoever that this agency will have the resources or the expertise to take on this responsibility. Fourth, the bill reduces the role of science by ending the current requirement that Federal agencies consult with wildlife biologists before undertaking actions that might harm endangered species. The Miller-Boehlert Substitute makes great sense if we want to capitalize on the successes and the lessons of the last 30-plus years. The substitute will repeal the current requirement that the Secretary designate ``critical habitat'' for endangered fish, wildlife, and plants before formulating a plan for species recovery. Instead, the substitute requires real habitat recovery efforts to conserve rare and threatened fish and wildlife. It ensures that recovery plans include the best possible science and that they're enforceable. The substitute directs the Secretary to first determine whether public lands are sufficient to protect and save the endangered species before taking other measures that will impact private landowners. The substitute will help small landowners who may not have the resources to comply with the Act. It will provide dedicated funding for technical assistance for these private property owners and establish a conservation grants program for landowners who help conserve the species on or near their property. It contains requirements that private citizens get timely answers from ESA enforcement agencies and insists on reporting requirements so that we know how many applications are really going unanswered. The reforms in the substitute make sense and they should be adopted. The base text should be rejected.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Peter Uccelli, Jr., who died on Thursday, September 22, 2005, at the age of 84, in California. Pete Uccelli was born and raised in South San Francisco and served our Nation with the Army Corps of Engineers in the Philippines during WorId War II. He moved to Redwood City in 1949, and in 1954, purchased property that became Pete's Harbor. In 1973, he and his wife Paula opened the Harbor House Restaurant. I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Pete Uccelli during my tenure on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and I've always been proud to call him my friend. He was a kind and generous man who was deeply devoted to his community and extraordinarily generous to individuals and organizations. The list of community groups that benefited from his largesse is long and broad, a reflection of his big heart. Pete was the beloved husband of Paula, loving father of Richard, Sharon and Patricia, father-in-law of Debra and Ron, grandfather of Stephanie, Rhonda, Dot, Veronica and Michelle, and great-grandfather of Becky, Ryan and Ariana Rose. He was the dear brother of Alice Marsili and Norma Falletti and also leaves behind many loving nieces and nephews. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our sympathy to Paula Uccelli and the entire Uccelli family. Pete Uccelli was a national treasure, someone who loved his community and his country abashedly and gave all of himself to make them better. He will always be missed but never be forgotten.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Andrea Leiderman, an extraordinary resident of the 14th Congressional District who was taken from us at the age of 46 on Sunday, September 11, 2005. Andrea Leiderman graduated from Gunn High School and Vassar College, and went on to earn two master degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. She was a dedicated community activist and a committed public servant. She worked to serve others from the age of 10, when she started a childcare group in her parents' living room, to her work in public and government relations for Kaiser Permanente. Andrea Leiderman served her community as a trustee of the Foothill- DeAnza Community College District, and served on the boards of the Mission City Community Fund, San Jose Chamber of Commerce Local Issues Advocacy Committee and the College of San Mateo President's Council on Advancement. She served as chair of the Working Council of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and as a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our deepest sympathy to Hayes Anderson, Andrea's loving husband, Drs. Herb and Gloria Leiderman, Andrea's distinguished parents, to her brother and sisters, and to all those who had the privilege of knowing Andrea. She will be missed and never forgotten.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the San Mateo County Medical Association as it celebrates a century of service to the people of San Mateo County, California. In response to an invitation from the California Medical Association, a handful of Peninsula physicians met in the front parlor of the Union Hotel in the City of San Mateo, California., on December 22, 1904, to discuss the creation of a local society. The doctors reconvened on January 16th of the next year and elected the distinguished Dr. Harry Garritson Plymire of South San Francisco as their temporary President. The first official meeting of the San Mateo County Medical Society was called to order on September 12, 1905, and 16 physicians were listed as charter members. The constitution of the new organization stated that its purpose was to ``promote the science. and art of medicine while conserving and advancing public health.'' The Society incorporated as the San Mateo County Medical Association in 1992 and it continues its constitutional mission of promoting the art and science of medicine and advancing public health. It publishes a pictorial directory of physicians as well as 10 editions of a bulletin each year. Various Association committees examine medical issues to interpret current practices and foster new professional insights. Together with the California Medical Association, the San Mateo County Medical Association shares the primary goals of organized medicine for the State of California: To educate and serve physicians, promote quality health care for the people of the State and create a strong voice on health care issues. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the San Mateo County Medical Association and all of its members, both past and present, for their extraordinary service to our community and out country.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Edward Leo Coyle as he celebrates the centennial of his life on September 27, 2005. Edward Leo Coyle, known to his friends as Ed, was born on September 27, 1905, on Mount Pleasant Avenue in Columbus, Ohio. He was the youngest of five children born to William and Anne Bradley Coyle. Ed Coyle attended Catholic schools and after graduating from high school he attended Ohio State University. After graduation from Ohio State, he followed in his older brother's footsteps, attending the University of Cincinnati Law School. He passed the Bar in 1930 and entered the legal profession at the start of the Great Depression. He joined his brother William in the practice of law, and served as Special Counsel to the Ohio Attorney General. Ed Coyle married Winifred S. ``Teddy'' Johnson in 1936. The couple had two children, a son Ed and their daughter Nancy, now Mrs. Joseph Huber, a resident of the 14th Congressional District. He now has four grandsons, Michael and Jim Coyle and David and Matthew Huber, as well as three great grandsons, Jacob, Justin and Ryan Coyle. Ed Coyle was employed as a lawyer for the Curtiss-Wright Company during the war, and then practiced law in his own office until 1950 when he and his family moved to southern California. He joined Bank of America and served as a Trust Officer in charge of the Glendale District Trust Department until his retirement in 1970. In 1976, Ed and Teddy moved to Palo Alto where Ed became a member of the Senior Group at the Palo Alto Golf Course, playing until he was 90. He gave generously of his time and talents as a volunteer at the Senior Center, counseling others on financial issues. Today although he suffers from neuropathy, he keeps up with his grandsons and walks each day at the Stanford University Track. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Edward Coyle on his 100th birthday and recognizing his countless contributions to our community and our country.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Lewis Platt, the leading Director of the Board of the Boeing Company and the former Chairman, CEO, and President of Hewlett Packard, who died unexpectedly on Thursday, September 8, 2005. With Lew's death, our nation has lost one of the leading lights of the business world, a prominent member of the Silicon Valley community, and a wonderful human being. Lew's death at the age of 64 is a shock to those of us who were privileged to work with him and know him well. He was a person whose example and guidance will be greatly missed. His decency, his integrity, and his common touch made him stand out in a business world known for the archetypal hard-charging executive. Lew's legacy will be most closely linked with Hewlett Packard, where he worked for more than 30 years. He began his career there as an engineer and rose through the ranks to lead the company from 1992 to 1999 as its CEO. Lew was a product of the ``HP Way,'' the ``walking-around'' style of management pioneered by Bill Hewlett and David Packard that encouraged employees to bring their ideas to top management. He embraced the HP Way and was known to eat lunch regularly with employees in the company's cafeteria. He eschewed the privileges enjoyed by most executives of major corporations and unlike most, he always flew coach. He knew the dividends that the HP Way could bring, and he was able to guide the company to tremendous growth during his tenure. Business Week named him Top Manager in 1995. Lew was also a pioneer in working to elevate women to top executive posts and was recognized with the Catalyst Award in 1991 for his efforts. In writing about Lew this Monday, Business Week praised him again: ``Platt was respected, admired, and just plain liked by HP employees, customers, and even rivals. Platt was genuine, self-effacing, and honest. He was quick to give personal accolades to others, and to accept criticisms . . . with grace.'' It was his integrity, I think, that brought Boeing to seek his leadership at a time when it was beset with controversy at its highest levels. Leading the company's Board, he was able to provide critical stability when it was needed most. Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure to know Lew Platt and to work with him. He was a gentle man with a superb intellect. He was taken from us too soon and had so much more to give, but he leaves a rich legacy of family, of leadership and of extraordinary contributions to our community and our country. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and work of this good man and extending to his wife and entire family our deepest and sincere sympathy.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, nearly 5 years in the making, the energy bill passed by the House should have provided a vision for addressing our long term energy needs. Instead, the bill sacrifices our long term economic, national, and environmental security for the short term advantage of oil companies and other energy producers. Thankfully, some of the most extreme provisions were deleted from the final bill. The provision to give oil refiners liability protection for the damage done to drinking water supplies by the gasoline additive MTBE was removed from the bill. If this provision had been adopted, local communities would be responsible for $29 to $85 billion in cleanup costs resulting from MTBE contamination. The provision opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling was also dropped, but the Majority leadership has promised to pass it in separate legislation. Despite these omissions, the bill remains deeply flawed. New provisions were added and key policy challenges were not addressed. The bill fails to address our growing dependence on foreign oil. Today we import more than half of the oil we use, and in 20 years, nearly 70 percent of our oil will come from overseas--whether or not this bill is signed into law. By doing little to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we're making ourselves dependent on OPEC and countries that might not share our interests. This is a concern shared by a number of national security experts of diverse political viewpoints. In a letter to the President sent on March 24th of this year, the Energy Future Coalition (which includes former Reagan Administration National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane, former CIA Director James Woolsey, former Reagan Administration Assistant Defense Secretary Frank Gaffney, and former President George H.W. Bush's Counsel C. Boyden Gray) stated: The Unites States' dependence on imported petroleum poses a risk to our homeland security and economic well-being. With only two percent of the world's oil reserves but 25 percent of current world consumption, the United States cannot eliminate its need for imports through increased domestic production alone. Since 40 percent of the 20 million barrels of oil we burn every day is used in passenger automobiles, we should be increasing automobile fuel economy requirements, but efforts to add those requirements to this bill were rejected. Compounding the problem, the bill doesn't invest sufficiently in renewable alternatives. Only about 20 percent of the bill's $11 billion in tax incentives will go toward developing renewable energy resources which can replace fossil fuels. The bill fails to address high gasoline prices. Rather than reducing gas prices, the bill guarantees that they'll go up by requiring that at least 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol be blended into gasoline by 2012-- triple the current level. According to the Energy Information Administration, the independent forecasting agency within the Department of Energy, this mandate could force consumers to pay an extra $1.7 billion per year once it's fully implemented. The bill weakens coastal protections and threatens the environment. The bill requires an inventory of oil and natural gas resources in offshore areas where drilling is now prohibited, allowing pre-drilling activities in these areas. This includes Coastal California. The bill undermines the ability of states to ensure that liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminals are properly sited and operate safely. The bill provides oil and gas drilling operations exemptions under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. The bill fails to address global climate change. The bill fails to compensate Western consumers for overcharges by electricity generators. The National Energy Policy developed by Vice President Cheney was billed in part as a response to the Western ``energy crisis'' of 2000 and 2001, but there was never an effort to compensate consumers for the market manipulation that occurred in California and the western U.S. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission arbitrarily limited the amount of refunds consumers could receive. My repeated efforts to add language to fully compensate consumers were rejected. Conclusion. Energy touches all aspects of public policy: Public health, the environment, the economy, and national security. In the coming years and decades, the global competition for non-renewable energy resources will become more frantic. The bill passed by the Congress does not respond to that challenge, and it is comprehensive only in the sense that it contains a hodge-podge of special interest provisions that will benefit each segment of the energy production industry. Supporters of the bill have said that after 5 years we can't afford to kick the can down the road. With this bill, that's exactly what's happened.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, for 4 years we've been debating what to do about the malpractice premium crisis. We clearly have a problem but what's not so clear is what the solution should be. I'm a Californian, and in my State, we have a law titled the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act, MICRA, that has been mentioned many times on the floor. This law was passed by a Democratic legislature and signed by a Democratic governor in 1975. It's been on the books ever since, without a single change. MICRA has contributed to stabilizing premiums in California, but without other reforms, we would still be facing the same skyrocketing increases as other States. The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare, HEALTH, Act of 2005 has been described as a Federal version of MICRA. I respectfully dispute this assertion. The HEALTH Act places a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages for suits against physicians, insurers, HMOs and nursing homes as well as drug and medical device manufacturers. MICRA limits that cap solely to physicians. The Health Act also places a cap on punitive damages. MICRA does not. One of the reasons MICRA has worked is because it's prescribed in its scope. If we're to get to the heart of exorbitant medical malpractice insurance, we have to focus our efforts on those who truly need our help. I'm concerned that extending these provisions to those outside of the physician community may have a harmful effect on patient care and on our legal system. Patients must also be fairly compensated for any wrongs that befall them, but this bill also uses MICRA's cap level of $250,000, which has not been updated for inflation since the law was passed in California in 1975. When adjusted for inflation, $250,000 from 1975 is now worth only approximately $68,000. This bill also does not contain any mechanism for studying the insurance industry and its role in the premium crisis. A review of the insurance industry is critical to understanding the problem and possible solutions. While MICRA was enacted in 1975, premiums in California continued to rise. MICRA did not address, collectively, the problem of rapidly escalating premiums faced by California doctors. Only because California voters enacted stringent insurance rate reform after tort reforms failed did doctor's premiums fall. In 1988, California enacted insurance reform law, Proposition 103, which has saved physicians and other medical providers hundreds of millions of dollars by regulating the premiums insurance companies are allowed to charge. Premiums dropped and stabilized in the years following passage of Proposition 103. I urge my colleagues to accurately look to the experience in California. My State enacted both tort limits and insurance reform. This is a multi-faceted problem. If we are to truly help physicians, we have to look at this issue from all angles and implement solutions across all levels. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to oppose the HEALTH Act.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Paul Edward ``Ed'' Hughes who died Sunday, July 17, 2005, at his home in Sunset Beach, North Carolina. Mr. Hughes, who retired to Sunset Beach in 1992, was serving his third term on the Sunset Beach City Council. He was born in Pennsboro, West Virginia in 1926 to John and Mary Hughes, and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. Ed served in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War and later graduated from Loyola College, where he was named an All-American in lacrosse, playing on the All-South team in 1948 and 1949. He later received his master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Ed Hughes moved to Wilmington, Delaware in 1958, where he taught at Tower Hill School for 34 years, chaired the History Department and served as Dean. Over the course of his tenure he introduced anthropology to the school curriculum and headed the summer school program. He wrote a book about his founding of the Junior Humanities program for gifted inner-city students, a model project for which he received the Hollingworth Award. He was a head basketball coach for 14 years, coached football, and started the golf team. Ed Hughes was a candidate for President of the City Council in Wilmington, Delaware and chaired the Republican City Committee. He was a frequent lecturer on current events and world affairs at Crosslands in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and was a longtime manager of the Hagley Museum on the Brandywine River. He was a devoted husband, a proud father of five, a golfer, and in later life, a painter. He loved crossword puzzles, his golfing buddies and a good steak. Ed Hughes is survived by his wife of 54 years, Jody Hughes, his daughters Mary and K.C. Halpern, his sons Paul, John and Mark, as well as seven grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, I had the pleasure of knowing Ed Hughes. He was a gentle man with a superb intellect and a wonderful wit. He was a man who was content with his life and achievements, most of all his magnificent children and theirs. Ed Hughes loved his family, his community and his country. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the life and works of this good man and in extending to his wife and entire family our most sincere sympathy.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Further reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a few comments about H.R. 3423, the Medical Device User Fee Stabilization Act, which is being considered today. I am the lead Democrat, along with my colleague, on the committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), who is also my neighbor across the hall from me in the Cannon House Office Building. In 2002, former Representative Greenwood and myself introduced the Medical Devices User Fee Modernization Act. It passed the House unanimously, and it was signed into law by the President. The goal of the bill was to eliminate FDA's backlog in approving new medical devices so that doctors and patients could more quickly benefit from them. While the law required device manufacturers to contribute toward FDA's cost in evaluating and approving new devices, the program was contingent on the Federal Government paying its fair share. If Federal funding did not reach the trigger level, the program would be eliminated. This legislation fixes the trigger so that the user fee program can continue. Specifically the bill will reduce the rate of user fee increases to the single-digit range for the remaining 2 years of the program. It will help small medical device companies, which is very important, because the small companies operate differently under different circumstances than the larger ones. The small device companies, it helps them to afford the cost to submit new medical devices for FDA review and approval. And finally, the bill will enhance labeling and tracking of reprocessed single-use devices. So this legislation before us only authorizes the program for 2 more years. It really is a significant accomplishment, and it allows us to now concentrate on making the device approval process even better in 2007. And I know that both of my colleagues, both the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Deal), the subcommittee chairman, as well as my colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), are committed to that. I want to thank Ryan Long with Chairman Barton's staff; John Ford, who is seated here to my left, with Ranking Member Dingell's staff; and for Vanessa Kramer of my staff who has worked so hard on this. And it is because of all of them and their hard work that this bill has successfully reached the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hayes) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Georgia?

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I do not intend to object, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia to explain his unanimous consent request.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to pay tribute to the excellent work being carried out daily by the men and women at NASA Ames Research Center, located in my district in California's Silicon Valley. For over half a century, NASA Ames has been one of the world's premiere research labs, leading the scientific community in a wide range of endeavors as it provides vital support to NASA's core missions. Located in the Silicon Valley, our nation's cutting-edge technology center, NASA Ames has created partnerships with leading universities and high-technology industry leaders, and brought the scientific, academic, and business communities together in multifaceted efforts to expand knowledge and explore the unknown. As NASA begins to rise to the challenges laid out in the new Vision for Space Exploration, NASA Ames will lead the way in mission-enabling research within its core competencies of astrobiology, advanced supercomputing, intelligent adaptive systems, entry systems, and air traffic management systems. All but entry systems are uniquely resident at NASA Ames, and they represent the critical skills, facilities and people that are needed to meet NASA's mission, including the Vision for Space Exploration. Over the last decade, NASA Ames has taken full advantage of its strategic location to create new partnerships between the private sector and federal researchers. Following the disestablishment of the Naval Air Station Moffett Field in 1991, NASA took the initiative to develop on existing federal property the NASA Ames Research Park, which today is home to over 30 companies and over 13 universities conducting collaborative research with NASA. Thanks to this forward-thinking model for federal land reuse, major new construction plans are in motion, including a plan by the University of California to build a 120,000 square-foot Bio-Info-Nano Convergence Research & Development Lab, a project which I have been proud to support. Mr. Chairman, I, along with many of my colleagues, have expressed deep concerns in recent months over proposed cuts to science funding within NASA's budgets. While some shifting of funding priorities is to be expected as NASA prepares to implement its new Vision for Space Exploration, my core concern has been the danger we face in losing the long-term viability of NASA's Science mission, and the risk we face in harming our Nation's ability to lead the rest of the world in scientific and high-technology innovation. I'm pleased that the bill before us addresses my concerns in three key areas. The increases in science funding will go a long way toward ensuring the long-term viability of NASA's in-house research and development capability. To protect NASA's top-notch talent and critical skills, the bill protects Civil Service workers by blocking any layoffs until February 2007. To ensure we honor our commitment to the International Space Station, the bill expresses the Sense of the Congress of the important need to complete the centrifuge aboard the station, an important component of the Space Station Biological Research Project, which has the potential to yield enormous benefits for human systems understanding, a critical need if we are going to safely send astronauts to Mars and back. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill for NASA and our nation's innovation capability as a whole. I consider NASA, and the irreplaceable staff, expertise, and abilities housed at NASA Ames Research Center a national treasure, and one that deserves our fullest support as it continues to shape the technologies and understanding that will guide our nation in the 21st Century.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished ranking member for yielding me this time. One of the most prudent things, in my view, that Congress did in passing the original PATRIOT Act was to sunset certain provisions, thus ensuring that a future Congress would review and revise them and have a very healthy and sobering debate. Rather than sunsetting these provisions again, this bill makes permanent 14 of the 16 provisions set to expire without addressing the important civil liberty issues. I am somewhat taken aback as I listen to different parts of the debate on the floor. One would think that the Constitution is something that can be set aside when it is not convenient to follow. The Constitution is the soul of our Nation. There are magnificently written constitutions around the world, but their countries do not heed their constitution. The American people take our Constitution seriously. And so this debate, not allowing the sunsets in the future, I think is very, very important to bring up today. The bill continues to allow the FBI to get financial, telephone, Internet and consumer records relevant to an intelligence investigation without judicial approval. Prior to the PATRIOT Act, these requests had to be directed at agents of a foreign power. Under the PATRIOT Act, they can be used against anyone, including American citizens. The bill continues to allow the FBI to execute a search and seizure warrant without notifying the target of a warrant for 6 months if it is deemed that providing advance notice would interfere with the investigation. This section is not limited to terrorism investigations and is not scheduled to sunset. The bill does not sufficiently address the issues in section 206 which deal with the roving John Doe wiretaps. Under the PATRIOT Act, the FBI can obtain a warrant and intelligence investigations without identifying the person or the phone in question. This bill dose nothing to protect library records and bookstore receipts. I offered an amendment in the Intelligence Committee to modify Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act to prohibit the FBI from using this section to obtain library circulation records, library patron lists, book sales records, or book customer lists, but the amendment was not allowed by the Rules Committee. In conclusion, the American people love and cherish their liberties, and they want and deserve to be safe. I think we can do both. I do not believe this bill does both. We need a better bill.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Ms. ESHOO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer this amendment expressing the sense of Congress that our government should recognize the unique challenges facing Iraq's indigenous Christian communities, including the Chaldeans, Jacobites, Armenians, Assyrians and Greek Orthodox Christians. I am a first generation American of Assyrian and Armenian descent. My grandparents fled their ancestral homeland in the early part of the 20th century. In fact, my mother received her First Communion in Baghdad in 1919. I am the only Assyrian American serving in Congress today, and one other did many years ago, the distinguished Adam Benjamin of Indiana. There are approximately 250,000 Assyrian Americans in the United States, representing the largest population of Chaldo-Assyrians outside Iraq. All Chaldo-Assyrians are Christian. Because they are, they have been subjected to persecution in their homeland. Today, there are between 1 to 1.5 million Christians remaining in Iraq, mainly in the Nineveh plain in the north around Mosul. They live in villages that can trace their history back over 2,000 years. And a large number, because of their geography, have now come under the authority of the Kurdistan Regional Government. Among indigenous Iraqi Christians, the Chaldeans represent the oldest rite under Rome. Along with the Assyrians who worship with the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East, they represent the oldest surviving Christian population in the world and one, without help during this critical transition period, that could be on the brink of extinction. These communities have welcomed the opportunity before them since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime to move toward greater prosperity and stability by cooperating in the development of a democratic, pluralistic state. Unfortunately, religious and ethnic tensions as well as discrimination continue to plague these Christian communities. I continue to receive troubling reports from religious leaders indicating that Iraq's Christian population is not receiving their fair share of development assistance. Because they are such a small minority, the indigenous Iraqi Christian population has one independently elected Chaldo-Assyrian in the entire Iraqi National Assembly, Younadam Kanna, whom I have met with and hold in high regard. Within the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, representatives from Iraqi Christian communities hold five out of 100 seats. Because the Assyrian community is so very small, such a minority in Iraq with one representative in national politics, funding for reconstruction, housing and education are parceled out to those who control the villages and the regions where they reside without sufficient transparency to ensure the proper parity. The visible result of these misallocations has been the emigration of as many as 80,000 Iraqi Christians since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. The majority of these individuals, approximately 50,000, have fled to Syria, while others have spread out to Jordan, the Gulf Emirates and Turkey, all living in desperate circumstances as refugees from their homes. This needs to be dealt with. If a fully functioning and sustainable democracy is to emerge in Iraq, the basic rights and needs of all minority groups must be safeguarded. My amendment seeks to affirm that commitment by ensuring that all relevant U.S. Government agencies and departments pay special attention to the needs of this minority and ensure that they will continue to reside and thrive in their ancestral homeland. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I want to particularly thank Tim Carey of my staff for the very hard, diligent and closely held sincere belief in this issue. Without him, I do not think I would be on the floor today with this amendment. Iraqi Christians Find Safety in Syria--Religious Violence Prompted Many To Flee Homeland (By Joshua E.S. Phillips) Damascus, Syria.--Seated in his parish office, Father Sarmad Yousef reflected on his hard choices: to disobey his archbishop by remaining in Syria or to return to Iraq, where his name has appeared on a death list. ``After the Americans came, I was one of the people telling the Iraqi Christians not to leave,'' he said. ``After the violence started, I stopped telling them that.'' Christians all over Iraq face a similar dilemma as relentless violence engulfs the country, some directly targeting them. Staying in the midst of the threats is dangerous, yet leaving means abandoning communities, church property and a heritage with centuries-old roots. Before the U.S.-led war, roughly 750,000 Christians lived in Iraq, out of a population of 25 million. Most were Chaldean and Assyrian, but there also were Armenian, Jacobite and Greek Orthodox Christians and a small number of Protestants. Most of them lived either in Baghdad or in northern Iraq around Mosul. Since then, 15,000 to 20,000 Christians have fled to Syria, according to Christian groups, out of ``about 700,000'' Iraqis, most of them in flight from the war, according to the U.N. high commissioner for refugees. Yousef, a 30-year-old Chaldean Catholic who came here in August 2004, was the parish priest of Baghdad's St. Pathion Church, with 800 families under his stewardship. Today, he occupies a simple office in Damascus, decorated with small portraits of St. Therese, the patron saint of his new church, cradling a bouquet of pink roses. He says he actively supported the United States when coalition troops first entered Baghdad in April 2003 and helped organize community meetings on their behalf. Such support came with grave risks, and he narrowly missed two drive-by shooting attacks. But when the Abu Ghraib prison scandal came to light, Yousef says, his view changed. Nor was he alone. ``Before that, Iraqis loved Americans,'' said Yousef, his eyes lowered. ``Directly after that--those photos, that scandal directly destroyed the dignity of Iraqis.'' Muneeb, an Iraqi Christian parishioner of St. Therese who didn't reveal his last name because he said he did not want to attract local attention, said general resentment toward the Americans was transferred to Iraqi Christians. ``Americans are Christians,'' he said, ``so we're automatically considered to be part of them.'' Christian-owned liquor stores and beauty salons were attacked. While kidnapping has soared--both for terrorism and financial gain--Christians felt particularly targeted since they are often associated with successful businesses and financial support of families living abroad. With the rise of Islamic militancy, Muneeb said, his sister, a doctor, was ordered to wear a veil outside her home--a requirement that didn't exist, he said, when Saddam Hussein was in power. ``I never thought of leaving Iraq,'' Muneeb said. ``But as a minority, we have no support.'' Emmanuale Khoshaba, a member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, who regularly commutes back and forth to Iraq, is more optimistic. Through his job as the movement's Syrian representative, he promoted Iraq's Jan. 30 elections among absentee voters in Syria. ``Don't see the glass half-empty,'' said Khoshaba, who is the organization's Syrian representative. ``Now, we have rights: We have our names, we have members of the National Assembly, and we have 35 schools that teach Syriac.'' Under Hussein, teaching Syriac--the language used by Assyrians and other Iraqi Christians, and one of the Middle East's oldest languages--was strictly forbidden. ``We have coexisted for thousands of years,'' Khoshaba said. ``The problem was the repressive regime, and today we are in a transitionary stage. But one has to stay and sacrifice something for it.'' There have been many examples of such sacrifice. One Sunday last August, a spate of bombings that struck five churches in Baghdad and one in Mosul left 11 dead and scores wounded. Yousef's church was spared, but he said Iraqi Christians increasingly had started to leave soon after. When Yousef took a previously planned trip to Damascus, he learned his was one of 18 names on a death list. Thirteen of those people had been killed the previous month. ``I decided not to go back--I felt that I was too young to die,'' said Yousef. He left behind friends, family and his parish. The archbishop of Baghdad instructed him return to his post, but he stayed in Damascus to fill an opening at St. Therese. Yousef's new church, wedged within Danlascus' Old City of cobblestone streets and crumbling houses, overflows with worshipers during Sunday Mass. Of the 2,000 families now connected to St. Therese, 90 percent are recent Iraqi refugees. Just outside the church doors, a group of parishioners from Yousef's old Baghdad parish discussed how their lives have changed. ``Life was better--we didn't have any problems,'' said Jamila Tama, referring to the relative peace between religious sects under Hussein. ``There's killing, bombing and kidnapping. We have nothing now--even our house is sold.'' Her son, Bassam Bahnam, was grateful for the haven in Syria. ``But I have three boys who worked in Baghdad, and they're all unemployed now,'' he said. Bahnam and his family want to return to Iraq--when the violence ebbs. ``Of course there's no place like home,'' said his younger brother, Hisham Bahnam. But he criticized Christian leaders' calls to stay in Iraq. ``They're asking us to stay, but they're not giving us any solution,'' he said. ``Even Christian leaders need an army to protect them whenever they go outside.'' George Abona, a former priest who attended a seminary with Yousef, agrees. ``When my Christian leaders say, `Don't leave your heritage,' what are they going offer me?'' he said. ``What will heritage do for me and my son?'' In Iraq, Abona worked for the United Nations for seven years, before and during the war, and was in its Baghdad compound when it was bombed in August 2003. He survived, but the blast killed his brother, along with the top U.N. envoy in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 20 other U.N staffers. Then last October, he was kidnapped for 19 days. He was released after another brother paid a $20,000 ransom. Despite all that, he said, ``The security issue is not a big issue-- it's that I'm not ready to raise my son in an extremist Islamic society.'' Syria has relaxed immigration rules for its Arab neighbors. But aside from Palestinians, refugees are not allowed to hold jobs in Syria, forcing most Iraqi newcomers to live off their savings. Government assistance--especially health care--is limited, and the refugees must return home periodically to get their temporary visas renewed. Yousef tries to provide his new community in Syria with food and money for medical needs. The main reason he and other Christians have fled Iraq, he said, is ``because we don't feel it is our country any more.'' ``I have bad memories now,'' he said of events since the invasion. ``Most of my friends were killed there, and we only saw cruelty and blood. I don't think I'll ever be able to go back.'' Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cardoza), who represents a very large community of Assyrian Americans in his congressional district.