Anna Eshoo

Mrs. ESHOO

Mrs. ESHOO. Mr Speaker, I'm pleased to join my colleague Representative Pickering in introducing the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act of 2004, which authorizes programs and funding that will allow the Federal Government to better coordinate and increase our investment in efforts to prevent, treat, and care for persons with arthritis and related diseases. The bill represents the most significant Federal effort to address arthritis in a generation. The Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act of 2004 addresses this important issue by: Enhancing the National Arthritis Action Plan by providing additional support to federal, state, and private efforts to prevent and manage arthritis; Developing a National Arthritis Education and Outreach Campaign to educate the healthcare profession and the public on successful self-management strategies for controlling arthritis; Ensuring greater coordination and intensification of federal research efforts by organizing a National Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Summit to look at challenges and opportunities related to basic, clinical and translational research and development efforts; Providing greater attention to the area of juvenile arthritis research through the creation of planning grants for innovative research specific to juvenile arthritis, as well as the prioritization of epidemiological activities focused on better understanding the prevalence, incidence, and outcomes associated with juvenile arthritis; and Creating incentives to encourage health professionals to enter the field of pediatric rheumatology through the establishment of an education loan repayment and career development award programs. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. with 70 million Americans living with a form of the disease. With the aging of the baby boomers, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts the number of people over 65 with arthritis or chronic joint symptoms will double by 2030. Nearly 300,000 children in the United States are living with a form of juvenile arthritis. Arthritis is a painful and debilitating chronic disease affecting men, women and children alike. Currently, the Federal investment in juvenile arthritis research is only $23 per affected child. The CDC estimates that the annual cost of medical care for arthritis is $51 billion, and the annual total costs, including lost productivity, exceed $86 billion. Early diagnosis, treatment, and appropriate management of arthritis are critical in controlling symptoms and improving quality of life. In 1975, nearly 30 years ago, Senator Alan Cranston of California introduced the last major piece of arthritis legislation. It was signed into law by President Gerald Ford. The bill, the National Arthritis Act, set our Nation on an important path in the fight against arthritis. It led to the creation of an institute at NIH focused on arthritis, and laid the foundation for a national arthritis public health strategy. However, arthritis is still claiming the lives of millions of Americans and we must reinvigorate our research and education efforts to offer individuals with arthritis a better chance at life and eventually a cure. I believe the Arthritis Prevention, Control and Cure Act of 2004 will do just that.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to place in our Nation's Record the statement issued by the Leadership Conference of Women Religious on May 7, 2004, regarding the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious joins its voice with other faith-based organizations and human rights groups in expressing our abhorrence and shame at the abuse perpetrated on Iraqi prisoners by some members of the U.S. military. These inexcusable atrocities violate our common humanity. We do not accept the explanation of our government leaders that these acts were the behavior of a few individuals. Rather, we see these abusive actions as symptomatic of a deeper, pervasive sickness. All of us share the responsibility and the blame--the soldiers who performed these heinous acts, military officials who have oversight for the treatment of prisoners, U.S. government officials who ignored reports of these abuses, and all of us who have contributed in some way to our culture of violence. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, an organization representing 73,000 Catholic women religious in the United States, urges that the following actions be taken to begin to address these serious violations of human dignity and human rights: Now that President Bush has issued a late and limited apology for the abusive treatment of Iraqi prisoners, that there be a thorough investigation, and that the results be made public That this investigation include any personnel regardless of rank or office who had knowledge of these atrocities and allowed them to continue with impunity That any military, intelligence, or privately contracted personnel found to have engaged in or encouraged acts of torture or inhumane treatment be prosecuted That there be a complete and public Congressional oversight hearing and investigation into the treatment of all detainees held by the U.S. military anywhere in the world, an investigation which will allow Members of Congress to exercise their powers and rights to enable the balance of power to be restored That all prisoners held by the United States be granted access to international monitoring groups such as the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, Amnesty International, and the United Nations That U.S. government and military officials make a commitment to protect the human dignity and rights of the Iraqi people. As leaders of religious congregations we reach out to our Muslim sisters and brothers. We grieve with you. We share your outrage. We will continue to pray and work for social justice, peace, and respect for human dignity and human rights of all people. As a nation we share in the shame. Together we must work to assure that these abuses never happen again. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the words of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and all they represent as we work toward human rights for all individuals around the world.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I'm very disappointed that I can't support this legislation because there are parts of the bill that I do support and also because American industry needs to have a resolution to avoid debilitating trade sanctions and tariffs. I support the bill's extension of the Research and Development tax credit which is set to expire at the end of this month. I also strongly support the inclusion of incentives for corporations to repatriate their overseas profits which would stimulate the investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in our domestic economy. I've been a strong advocate of both of these provisions which were included in the alternative offered by Representative Rangel. In fact, the alternative includes language on repatriation of overseas profits that would provide even greater benefits than the bill before us. Unfortunately, with this bill, what began as an opportunity to correct the tax code and avert retaliatory tariffs has turned into a special interest handout for everything from tobacco to tackle boxes. None of the special interest provisions added have anything to do with amending international tax law but are merely an attempt to buy votes for this misguided bill. The bill also discriminates against small businesses, excluding them from many of the tax breaks granted to large corporation. Not only does this bill not do enough to create American jobs, as the title claims, but it adds $34 billion to our nation's deficit at a time when the Administration and the Majority in Congress are underfunding important priorities such as education, health care, and antiterrorism. In contract to this bill, Representative Rangel's alternative is a responsible approach and I'm pleased to vote for it. Instead of a $34 billion price tag, the alternative is revenue neutral; every provision in the bill is offset with other revenue. In addition to the Research and Development tax credit extension and reduced taxes on repatriated profits, the proposal also provides tax relief for domestic manufacturers--including small businesses and farms--to promote job growth here in America and boost our economy. I'm hopeful that the conference committee will report back to the House a bill that addresses the necessary reform of international tax law without creating special interest loopholes and exacerbating our record national deficits.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, we are debating an energy bill which does plenty for energy companies, but does precious little for energy consumers. The elephant in the room is still the failure to address the 2000- 2001 western energy crisis. Two weeks ago, CBS News broadcast tapes of conversations in which Enron employees bragged about stealing money from California during the energy crisis. They talked about shutting off power plants, they bragged about all of the money they stole from ``those poor grandmothers in California.'' Some of the language was so profane it could not be broadcast. The language was shocking and the facts in the transcripts chilling. They are part of a litany of widespread market manipulation. Today, we have the smoking gun memos in which Enron admitted how it gamed the market. We have today the transcripts of employees of Reliant Energy describing how they gamed the market. We have today 3,000 pages produced by the State of California. We have today the Department of Justice's indictments and plea agreements with many energy traders and producers. We have today even the language that FERC found ``significant market manipulation.'' What we do not have are refunds for the consumers who were gouged to the tune of $8.9 billion and $1.1 billion in the Pacific Northwest. The law requires that this money be refunded, but for 4 years consumers are still waiting. For 4 years this Congress has failed to investigate, and the administration has continued to perpetrate the myth first stated by Vice President Cheney that ``The basic problem in California was caused by Californians.'' Have you listened to the tapes, Mr. Vice President? For 4 years, the administration has lectured consumers about supply and demand and free markets. Now the Enron tapes make it clear that consumers in the West were robbed. I want to repeat that. Consumers in the West were robbed. Once again, in this bill the House is turning its back on these consumers by doing nothing to hold industry accountable, but then again we are living in an era of total unaccountability. It is a culture of unaccountability. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. It is deeply flawed, and it does nothing for consumers in this country.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the very distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce for yielding me this time. I rise today in support of this motion to recommit. And, Mr. Speaker, I do so for the following reasons. One of the great things about our country is that we recognize when mistakes have been made, when the American people have suffered an injustice, a wrong, and we stand to make it right. That is what this motion to recommit is all about. Two weeks ago the people of our country heard all over the airwaves the disgraceful and disgusting tapes, the audio tapes of the Enron traders and how they planned and how they executed the gouging and the manipulation of the energy market in the Pacific Northwest and in California. Time and again we have sought amendments. Time and again we have gone to the Speaker of the House. Time and again the three delegations from the Pacific Northwest and California have attempted to make this right. Today in this energy bill we ask that it be recommitted, and with this recommittal we will direct the Federal Energy Commission that is charged with the consumers' best interest to refund the dollars that were robbed out of greed from the American people. We are a great and good Nation. We can correct this. That is what the motion to recommit is all about. Every single Member of this House, Republicans and Democrats, have a stake in this. If they vote against the motion to recommit, they are saluting those that robbed American consumers. So stand with them. Do the right thing.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kelly Shea Gallo, the beloved wife, mother and teacher who lost her young life to breast cancer on May 3, 2004. Throughout her illness she was an inspiration to others, remaining strong despite the ordeal she was undergoing. Shortly after being declared cancer free, the disease recurred and she died at a San Francisco hospital, surrounded by her family. Kelly Shea Gallo was a sixth grade teacher, a basketball, volleyball and softball coach and a swimming teacher. As the San Mateo Times said of her, ``she brought cheer into the lives of those she met. Her infectious smile brightened classrooms and endeared her to the dozens of pupils who had the honor of sharing even a moment of her brief life.'' The Principal of Taylor School, where she taught, remembers her as the culture and spirit of the school, a teacher who had a unique and natural rapport with her students. Kelly Shea Gallo was born in San Francisco and was raised in South San Francisco and Millbrae. She was a graduate of Mercy High School, California State University, Chico, and earned her teaching credential from San Francisco State University. Kelly was the loving mother of Mia, age 7, and Chloe, age 3, and the devoted wife of Mark Gallo, whom she met and married in 1995. She leaves behind her loving parents, her brothers and her sister, as well as aunts, uncles and cousins. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our deepest sympathy to Kelly Shea Gallo's family. She was a treasure and a shining light and will be missed by all who knew her. Our community will long remember her as an extraordinary educator and a good and great woman.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, the export control amendments in H.R. 4200 will limit Presidential authority to effectively promote U.S. national security and will hobble the U.S. information technology industry by preventing it from selling commodity commercial products to our allies. This bill requires an export license for all exports of goods and technologies on the Military Critical Technologies List to all countries. This legislation would roll back export controls on computers below the levels implemented five years ago--thus preventing our technology industry from exporting computing products that are a few generations old. This amendment is so broad that it would immediately require export licenses for exports of things such as laptop and desktop computers, which can't possibly serve any national security interest. By passing this amendment, we are immediately cutting off American manufacturers from customers around the world, including key export markets such as Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia. The amendment is so arbitrary, and the list so outdated, that it bears no rational relation to U.S. national security, and threatens to derail America's economic recovery. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to protect our critical technology industry and vote against H.R. 4200.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, every day in America there are over 150,000 911 calls made from a cell phone. This represents more than 25 percent of all 911 calls made in our country. Each one of these calls is singly one of the most important ones that an individual will make. Yet most Americans would be shocked to learn that the majority of our country's Public Safety Answering Points still do not have Enhanced 911, or E- 911, technology needed to track the location of the emergency caller on their mobile phone. This is unacceptable. Most, if not all, mobile phone users buy them for the added security of knowing that if they need to make a 911 call, help will be on the way shortly. I am proud that the House, supported by the E-911 Caucus, passed legislation providing Federal grants to enhance our emergency communications system and make E-911 a reality. Now it is time for the other body to act. With so much weighing on these calls, we have to do everything we can to accelerate the deployment of this lifesaving technology.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my constituent Maeva Neale who passed away on May 8, 2004. She was a physician, leader, a poet, and a hero to those who lived in the coastside town of Pescadero, California. She lived a life filled with values, devoting herself to improving the lives of everyone around her. Maeva Neale was born in Chicago, the daughter of a minister and Spanish teacher. She majored in Russian studies at Cornell University and was fluent in Swahili, Spanish, French, German, and Arabic. She began medical school at the University of Chicago and completed her studies at the University of California at San Francisco. In the spirit of her thirst for knowledge and adventure, she moved to Kenya for a decade where she practiced medicine and raised her two children, Ama and Geoffrey. Looking for new adventure, she then moved to Saudi Arabia for two years. In 1989, our community was blessed with Maeva Neale's decision to move to Pescadero, where one of her first acts as a member of our community was to foil an attempt to drop sewage sludge above the ecologically vital coastal area of Pigeon Point. She spent ten years on the Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council, including one as the Chair, leading the drive to stop chemical spraying along Pescadero's roadways. She wrote volumes of beautiful poetry in several languages that were illustrated by local artists and was commended by President Clinton for her work on behalf of Russian children who were devastated by severe pollution. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise to honor the life of Maeva Neale. She brought our community together, no matter how divergent its opinions. She was an artist and a healer, and always was an inspiration to me. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring and remembering Maeva Neale for her extraordinary life of service to our community and humanity. We are better people because of her gentleness, her leadership and her incredible spirit.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, every American is appalled by the images and reports of the mistreatment of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, images which have now been shown around the world again and again over the past week. These criminal actions have greatly undermined America's credibility around the world, humiliated the prisoners and their families, besmirched the reputation of our Armed Services, and placed our troops and civilians at heightened risk. The good work of American troops has been diminished significantly and the Arab world is outraged. While it's highly appropriate for Congress to condemn these criminal actions, this Resolution does not go far enough in offering a remedy. The Resolution does not call for a full Congressional investigation. Indeed, the Majority has blocked the Minority today from adding a provision that would launch such an investigation. The Resolution ignores the necessity of an investigation to examine the role that intelligence officials and private contractors may have played in these crimes. We have to pursue the truth wherever it takes us and as high up the chain of command as we must go. Finally, the Resolution does not call on the Administration to be fully accountable and to report fully to Congress and the American people about the scope of this most serious issue. The Congress has been kept in the dark for months about the abuses in Abu Ghraib prison, yet no one from the Administration has informed Congress or offered an apology. In fact, Secretary Rumsfeld came to Capitol Hill to brief Congress on Iraq last week, but never even mentioned these serious abuses and the catastrophic fallout internationally against the United States. Mr. Speaker, there must be consequences. Reprimands aren't enough. The people in charge should be replaced, beginning with the Secretary of Defense. A year ago I traveled to Iraq and Kuwait and met with our troops and intelligence officers. The vast majority were doing their jobs superbly well under very trying and dangerous conditions. Their efforts have been made immeasurably more difficult by the actions of a small group. While we express our outrage, we must do more. There must be a full accounting and there must be consequences. Unfortunately, this Resolution demands none. I vote for this Resolution with all these reservations and concerns, but it cannot be the end of the story. We could have done so much better on a bipartisan basis, and it is regrettable that we did not. Congress now has its constitutional responsibility of oversight and investigation to bring out the entire truth and then move to shape policies that will help assure this doesn't ever happen again.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the members representing Silicon Valley, including Representatives Stark, Lantos, Lofgren, Honda and Farr, I rise to honor California State Senator John Vasconcellos, one of the most highly respected legislators in California, who is retiring this year after representing Santa Clara County in the California Legislature for nearly forty years. Senator Vasconcellos will be honored on Friday, April 30, 2004 by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party for his extraordinary public service career. John Vasconcellos is a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose and the University of Santa Clara, where he was the first person in the history of the institution to graduate as Student Body President, Valedictorian and recipient of a medal given to the outstanding member of the senior class. After two years in the Army, he returned to attend Santa Clara University Law School where he again was Class President and a top student. He practiced law in San Jose and served in the Administration of Governor Edmund G. ``Pat'' Brown. John Vasconcellos was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1966, where he served for 30 years before being elected to the State Senate. During his tenure in the Assembly, he served as the Chairman of the powerful Assembly Ways and Means Committee where he earned a reputation as a masterful negotiator and conciliator, and for the superior legislation he produced. In 1996, John Vasconcellos was elected to the California State Senate, where he has served on the Budget, Public Safety, and Energy, Utilities and Communications Committees and as the Chair of the Committees on Education, Economic Development, Preparing California for the 21st Century, and the Internet Caucus. He founded the California Task Force to Promote Self Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility. He has been called ``the conscience of the Legislature'' and ``the Johnny Appleseed of Self Esteem.'' He has made a commitment to recognizing California as the leader in the development of new technologies, the global economy, and to meeting the challenge of realizing the promise of our multicultural democracy, with every person being given the opportunity to fulfill her or his full potential his mantra. Mr. Speaker, we're proud to call John Vasconcellos our friend and our colleague in public service. This pragmatic idealist and visionary is a source of great pride to the Democratic Party, to our mutual constituents, to all Californians and to our entire nation. We ask our colleagues to join us in honoring and thanking Senator Vasconcellos for his lifetime of extraordinary service to California and our country. Because of him and his distinguished service, we are unmistakably a stronger, better and more decent nation.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the members representing Silicon Valley, including Representatives Farr, Honda, Lantos, Lofgren and Stark, I rise to honor California State Senator Byron Sher, one of the most highly respected legislators in California, who, after representing San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties in the California State Legislature for nearly a quarter century, will retire. Senator Sher will be honored on Friday, April 30, 2004 by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party for his career of extraordinary public service. Byron Sher graduated from Washington University, St. Louis, and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1952. He held academic teaching positions in law at Southern Methodist University, the University of Southern California, Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, and was a Fulbright Research Scholar in New Zealand. His elective public service spans from serving on the Palo Alto City Council with two terms as Mayor, to service on the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, the Committee on Environmental Quality for the National League of Cities, and the League of California Cities. In November, 1980, Byron Sher was elected to the California State Assembly where he served with distinction as the acknowledged leader of environmental policy for over fifteen years. In 1996, he was elected to the California State Senate in a special election to represent the 11th Senate District which currently spans three counties and stretches from San Carlos in the north to the City of Santa Cruz in the South, and which borders on both San Francisco and Monterey Bays. During his tenure in the California State Legislature, Byron Sher expanded his reputation as the foremost expert on environmental issues. He is the first Chairman of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, as well as the author of landmark laws to protect our environment and serve as legislative models for the rest of the nation. Among the laws he has authored are the California Clean Air Act, the Integrated Waste Management Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. He has strengthened the State's timber regulations with his Surface Mining and Reclamation Act and he has been at the forefront of computer recycling programs to ensure that the dangerous byproducts of the information age, such as mercury, don't contaminate our landfills and water supplies. Senator Sher also authored the Nation's first law to prevent toxic contamination of water supplies from leaking underground storage tanks. Virtually all his legislation is considered the gold standard for environmental conservation and protection laws in our country. Mr. Speaker, we're proud to call Byron Sher our friend and our colleague in public service. This quiet, humble, decent and brilliant man is a source of great pride to the Democratic Party, to our mutual constituents, to all Californians and to our entire Nation. We ask our colleagues to join us in honoring and thanking Senator Sher for his lifetime of extraordinary service to California and our country. Because of him and his distinguished service, we are unmistakably a stronger and a better Nation.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank our very distinguished ranking member, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman), for the time. Mr. Speaker, we are just about a year to the day that America with our very brave forces invaded Iraq. So it is coming up to the moment where we commemorate those that serve, those that did serve and lost their lives, through a resolution that is on the floor. This resolution has good parts to it. Of course, we commend our troops who are second to none. They are the best led, the best equipped, and the best performing troops in the world, the best military. But this resolution is not necessarily a celebration, nor should it be. Because what it does not include are the sacrifices that have been made: 558 American troops, 101 allied troops, and some 10,000 Iraqi citizens have died since this war began. They are not mentioned in this resolution. Where is our commitment in this resolution? It should be stated and restated in more than one ``whereas'' about the 115,000 troops in Iraq with all the protective gear that they should have. Nowhere in this resolution do we affirm or reaffirm our commitment to our troops and veterans. Today the House Committee on the Budget cut over $1 billion. So there is a bit of double speak to this. Nowhere in this resolution are the people that serve in our intelligence community, some of the most dangerous jobs that anyone could ever have, are they set apart and thanked in this resolution relative to Iraq. Turn on the TV sets. Iraq is not safe. There are more people that have lost their lives today. There are more fires; there are more blow- ups. So this is a very sobering resolution. And I think the good parts of it should be underscored. But we have not been allowed to add to it the things that I just stated that I think should be very much a part of it.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great Californian and distinguished American, Bert A. Tissier. Mr. Tissier was the loving husband of Mary Tissier and the dear father of Jerry Tissier of Arizona, Bradley Tissier, M.D. of Illinois and Adrienne Tissier, of Daly City, California. He was a proud and doting grandfather to Deborah, Todd, Troy, Michael and Carrie. Bert Tissier attended Polytechnic High School in San Francisco. At San Jose State University he was a member of Alpha Eta Rho International Aviation Fraternity and he went on to serve our country as a Major in the Army Air Force during World War II. He retired from the John Hancock Insurance Company's Special Activities Department after working for the company for 35 years. One of Bert Tissier's great sources of pride was his daughter Adrienne's public service career, seeing her elected to the Daly City Council, serving as Mayor, and in March of this year, seeing her elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. I am exceedingly proud to have her as my colleague and friend and I respect and admire Adrienne for all she's accomplished. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Bert Tissier for his service to his community and his country, and in extending our deepest sympathy to his entire family.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished Member from the Committee on Rules for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today urging my colleagues to oppose this rule and reject the Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act. I think this is a trivial bill about obesity lawsuits that have not resulted in a cent in damages against anyone. So this is not about fixing something that is broken. This is pursuing something that, most frankly, does not exist. In something that refers to the food industry, it is an old quote, an old hamburger ad, ``Where's the beef?'' There are more pressing issues for us to tackle, particularly regarding food safety. I want to direct my comments to this area of food safety, and I want to talk about lawsuits that have consequences and very serious consequences. Meat processors have sued the USDA to block the enforcement of food safety standards that are designed to protect the public from pathogens like e-coli and salmonella. The processors have either won or forced the government to settle these cases, and our food safety system has been terribly weakened. One of the processors failing to meet basic standards on three separate occasions was able to continue to sell meat for use in school lunches. To fight the impact of these cases, I have introduced a bill called Kevin's Law, named in memory of a 2\1/2\-year-old boy named Kevin Kowalcyk who died from e-coli poisoning in 2001. Kevin's law makes it clear that the USDA can set and enforce food safety standards for deadly pathogens. This is not radical policy. This is something that is supported by the National Academy of Sciences, and this legislation has bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. I thank my colleagues the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. English) and the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Hart) and Senators Harkin and Specter for cosponsoring and supporting this legislation. It is something the Congress should be advancing on. Mr. Speaker, 5,000 Americans die from food-borne illnesses every year in our country. The lawsuits this bill seeks to stop have not harmed anyone. In fact, as I said earlier and others have mentioned, this is about pursuing something that does not even exist. When we juxtapose what is taking place here on the floor today and what I described that threatens Americans today where 5,000 Americans die from food-borne illnesses, this is what we really should be pursuing. The American people would support that path to eliminate these pathogens that are actually taking American lives. So if we are talking about ending destructive lawsuits, the House should be debating Kevin's Law to put some teeth into our food safety system. If there is something that the American people I think have taken for granted are our very, very high standards in terms of food safety, but they do not necessarily exist any longer. So I urge my colleagues to defeat this rule and reject the underlying bill.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to place into our Nation's Record the tribute which was given by Art Honda at the memorial service for his sister-in-law, Jeanne Yoshida Honda, beloved wife of Congressman Mike Honda, on February 21, 2004. ``Jeanne would really be blown away with all of you being here (especially in this weather). She would also be a little embarrassed but pleased all the same. Thank you for being here to share this time with Mike and the family. I have strict instructions from Mike to keep this brief since he wants to reserve as much time as possible in order to share a moment or two with each of you personally. That might be difficult, but Mike always thinks big. In remembering Jeanne I'm sure my thoughts will mirror many of yours since Jeanne was pretty much the same person no matter who she was with. She was comfortable in her own skin, so to speak, and never tried to be anyone but herself . . . and although Mike casts a big shadow, both literally and figuratively, Jeanne was never overshadowed. She had her own life plan, developed her own career and went about it in her own unassuming but resolute manner. I remember Jeanne as one of those rare individuals who knew early on what she wanted in life and set about achieving them in her own quiet and measured way . . . I think that all she really wanted was to marry Mike, teach little kids and have a comfortable home where she could raise a family. She achieved all that, and I don't think she ever needed nor wanted anything more. I first got to know Jeanne when she began dating Mike over 40 years ago. We were all young then if that could be imagined. She was a 19- year-old freshman at SJS majoring in teaching. She adored Mike. As a brother, I couldn't see it, but, eventually, even I had to admit that Jeanne was a good judge of character. They were well suited to each other. They had a loving and playful relationship, they filled each other's voids, and their separate strengths--she being introverted, disciplined and structured and Mike being extroverted, spontaneous and hardly a slave to the clock--rather than being incompatible, they dovetailed perfectly and like fine joinery their union was strong and enduring. Now I have to say here that I'm younger than Mike--I try to point this out every chance I get--being the more youthful is one of the few things I have over him. He's got me in most every other area-- especially in that full head of hair. Anyway, I got married first--I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but one evening shortly after I got married, Jeanne visited Yoshiko and me at our little duplex apartment, and being Mike's brother, she wondered if I had any insights into his intentions as far as their future was concerned. Well, hoping to reassure her but not wanting to commit Mike to anything that he wasn't ready for, I told Jeanne that when Mike was ready to settle down, it wouldn't be with anyone but her. I told her that I thought it might be soon. She seemed OK with this, but a couple of months later there goes Mike, along with my credibility, joining the Peace Corps, and off to the jungles of El Salvador he went for the next 2 years. So things didn't always come easy for Jeanne, but resolute as always, she simply turned her full attention to her studies, finished school and got a job teaching kindergarten in the little town of Agnew and waited for Mike to come home. Two years passed and Mike, or someone that looked vaguely like Mike, finally came home--all 130 pounds of him--imagine a dark-skinned pumpkin-on-a-stick and you'll get the picture. He also morphed into an Asian Desi Arnaz speaking fluent Spanish and singing Latin love songs to his fiancee. But of course to Jeanne he was the same Mike and they married that following June of 1967; and with her home cooking and TLC, Jeanne got Mike back up to his fighting weight and then some. I think, though, that she deferred to Mike when it came to making the menudo. I'll let Mike tell you about their belated honeymoon when he took Jeanne to visit El Salvador, deep in the heart of Central America--by the way, they didn't fly . . . they drove round-trip . . . in his Volkswagen beetle. Talk about a tough lady. So just a month shy of turning 25, Jeanne had her man and she had her career. In a few short years she and Mike moved into their first and only home where she raised two kids and a German shepherd named Orejas. Jeanne was a full-time Mom by then and under her ever present guidance, Mark and Michelle grew into adulthood, graduated from college, married and embarked on successful careers of their own--and to Jeanne's delight--one grandchild on its the way. Once the heavy-lifting part of motherhood was completed, Jeanne returned to her other kids, this time at Baldwin School in the Oakgrove School District. I think she achingly missed her school kids as well as her colleagues this past year--the obvious became clear to me that school was a very big part of Jeanne's life. Just a brief mention about Jeanne's values . . . Anyone who knows her would agree that she had solid June Cleaver values and a kind of childlike innocence, but she also possessed common sense wisdom and carried a kind of moral authority about her that was both subtle and understated--and not at all preachy or controlling. It was evident in her conduct and sometimes, as I've experienced on occasion, in just a look or a well-timed comment or two. I think Mike would be the first to agree that he owes much of his success to Jeanne. The constancy and stability she provided helped him stay the course in a hectic public life that often overlapped into their private lives, something that Jeanne had long ago adapted to and accommodated with grace. But the title of Honorable didn't exist at home. Over the years, Jeanne kept Mike grounded in her gently assertive way. Her moral compass always pointed north and whenever Mike needed to check his bearings he never needed to look any further than his partner. Jeanne will always remain in his thoughts--one could be certain of that. Although Jeanne was very much a part of our family for all these years, she never stopped being a Yoshida. She continued to be a source of strength and a source of support to her mother, Rose Yoshida, who had been so extremely proud of her eldest and only daughter . . . and she never stopped being a big sister to her brothers, Stanley and Dick, whom she remained devoted to. Brother Dick and daughter Michelle were Jeanne's primary care givers over this past year--joined of course by Mike, who rushed home when she took a turn for the worse, and son Mark and his bride Mekar who both made repeated trips from LA, and not least of all Jeanne's son-in-law, Travis Phillips, who shuttled back and forth from Seattle. In the end Jeanne was surrounded by her family and by an abiding love that had its genesis in that 19 year-old freshman who began dating Mike over 42 years ago. In a very real sense Jeanne's life had come full circle. She wanted to go on of course and she fought the good fight, devoid of self-pity and with extraordinary courage and a stubborn optimism. But Jeanne prevailed long before the events of the past year, because she had attained the only things that were important to her. Those life accomplishments, and the values that she instilled, will live on. You did good, Jeanne. I know I speak for everyone here, family and friends, when I say thank you, Jeanne. Thank you for being part of our lives. We're all the better for it.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the extraordinary life of Jeanne Yoshida Honda and in extending our deepest sympathies to her beloved husband, our colleague, Congressman Mike Honda, their children and their entire family.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, because my flight, United Airlines #950 was cancelled due to mechanical problems, I was absent from votes on February 3rd. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yea'' on rollcall vote Nos. 12, 13 and 14.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to place in our Nation's Record the remarks made by William B. Gould IV, Charles A. Beardsley Professor of Law, Emeritus, Stanford Law School, and Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board from 1994 to 1998, at the Wilmington Riverwalk Watermen Sign Dedication. Thank you for your invitation to speak at this Riverwalk Waterman Sign Dedication here in Wilmington, North Carolina, the City of William Benjamin Gould's birth in 1837 and his escape from slavery 25 years later. Let me also give special thanks to Beverly Tetterton of the New Hanover Public Library for providing research and resource in my writing of Diary of a Contraband, and who has been a key organizer of this event. Also, I wish to acknowledge the members of my family present here today: my wife, Hilda Elizabeth Gould, and my sister, Dorothy Gerber and her husband, Hermann. They and my three sons, William Benjamin V, Timothy Samuel, and Edward Blair join in the honor and tribute to the brave men of September 21, 1862, particularly my great-grandfather, William Benjamin Gould. Throughout the South, there is scarcely a word noted about the great struggle for freedom and liberation undertaken nearly a century and a half ago in the War of the Rebellion. And there is little or no mention or acknowledgment of the black military involvement in this effort, the ``holiest of all causes'' as William B. Gould called it, to obtain the New World's central political and legal achievement. As I have traveled through the states of the former ``would be Confederacy'', as William B. Gould called it, I have been struck by the abiding omnipresence of Confederate statues and commemorative markers. Just this past weekend, we passed through Richmond's Monument Avenue to see again the memorials to Jefferson Davis, ``would be King Jeff' as William B. Gould called him, Stonewall Jackson and Jeb Stuart and the laud and honor given to their pursuit of ``constitutional principles'' and the Confederate Navy against which William B. Gould and his comrades fought and defeated. Thus it is meet and right that Wilmington, North Carolina, this day takes note of the perilous journey that William B. Gould and 7 other comrades began here at the foot of Orange Street on the night of September 21, 1862, and the wider complement of 14 others who left Wilmington in concert with those 8 who boarded the U.S.S. Cambridge. It is meet and right that we note their names, William B. Gould's comrades being Joseph Hall, Andrew Hall, George Price, John Mackey, Charles Giles, John Mitchell and William Chanse. These men were to use their knowledge of North Carolina and its waterways on behalf of our country to interdict supplies destined for Lee's army in Virginia. But as your sign properly notes, the September 21st escape involves others as well, many of them William B. Gould's associates and correspondents: Virgil Richardson (for whom one of William B. Gould's sons may be named) and Ben Greer who boarded the Penobscot, and Thomas Cowan, Charles Mallett and Frank Clinton of the Monticello. All of them boarded these North Atlantic Blockading vessels near the mouth of the Cape Fear River for the same purpose . . . freedom and participation in the war effort against slavery. Many of these men, both literate and skilled, became key players in Reconstruction, the South's first brief Nineteenth Century interlude with democracy. Many, though not William B. Gould, returned to Wilmington after its liberation in 1865. These men, part of the 8,000 who fled the Confederacy to fight for freedom in the U.S. Navy were part of a silent black exodus which transformed the war's nature. They made my life possible. And more than any other event since September 21, 1862, and its aftermath, here and now, 141 years and 1 month later, they provide hope for my grandchildren, Timothy Samuel Jr. and Joseph Jeremy and the generations of all mankind yet to come. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the words of William G. Gould IV and all they represent as he remembers his great- grandfather, William B. Gould.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to two extraordinary Americans and distinguished Californians, Paul and Sharon Elerick, who are being honored as Democrats of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee. Paul and Sharon Elerick met in 1958 at an ice cream shop in Michigan and have been utterly devoted to each other ever since. They have raised two children, Paul Jr. and Denise, who are now raising their own families in Santa Cruz County. Paul Elerick was elected Chair of the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee in 1998 and served in that position until 2003. In that time, he managed three Democratic Headquarters and has contributed mightily to create countless successful campaigns. Between them, Paul and Sharon Elerick have worked to elect some of the greatest leaders of Santa Cruz County, including Julian Comacho, John Bakalian, Leon Panetta, Bob Taren, Sam Farr, Dale Dawson, Gary Patton, Mardi Wormhoudt, Robley Levley, Ellen Pirie, Ron Ruiz, Bob Lee, Fred Keeley, John Laird and Bill Monning. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending to Paul and Sharon Elerick our sincerest congratulations as they are honored as the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee's Democrats of the Year. We are a better community, a better country, a better people and a stronger democracy because of them and all that they have done.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor California State Senator Byron Sher, the most highly regarded environmental legislator in California, who will be retiring this year after representing San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties in the California State Legislature for nearly a quarter century. Senator Sher will be honored on Friday, January 30, 2004 by the San Mateo County Democratic Party for his extraordinary public service. Senator Sher began his public service in 1965 when he was elected to the Palo Alto City Council where he served for nine years, including two terms as Mayor. He was a Commissioner of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission from 1978 to 1980, and served on the Committee on Environmental Quality for the National League of Cities and the League of California Cities. His work on these bodies would serve him exceedingly well in years to come. Byron Sher was elected to the California State Assembly in November, 1980, where he served with distinction as a leader on environmental policy for over fifteen years. He was then elected to the Senate in 1996 in a special election to represent the 11th District, which is geographically and culturally diverse, spanning from Belmont to San Jose, and which includes major portions of the South San Francisco Bay and the San Mateo County Coast. Throughout Senator Sher's legislative career, he has been regarded as the premier legislator on environmental issues. He is not only the first Chairman of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, he is also the author of countless benchmark laws that have led the State of California to enact some of the most significant environmental protection policies in our Nation. Among the laws he has authored are the California Clean Air Act, the Integrated Waste Management Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. He has strengthened the State's timber regulations with his Surface Mining and Reclamation Act and been at the forefront of computer recycling programs to ensure that the dangerous byproducts of the information age, such as mercury, don't contaminate our landfills and water supplies. Senator Sher also authored the Nation's first law to prevent toxic contamination of water supplies from leaking underground storage tanks. Virtually all his legislation is considered the gold standard for environmental conservation and protection laws throughout our country. Senator Sher is also considered one of the foremost experts on consumer protection and government ethics. He has consistently been ranked one of the State's top ten legislators for intelligence and integrity by the California Journal Magazine. Despite the many demands on his time, Senator Sher continues to serve as a member of the Steering Committee of the National Council on Competition and Electric Services, as a California Commissioner on the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, and as a member of the Wildlife Conservation Board. Byron Sher has also been an important part of the academic community. He was a Fulbright Research Scholar in New Zealand and held academic teaching positions in law at Southern Methodist University, the University of Southern California and Harvard Law School before coming to Stanford University. At Stanford, Senator Sher's passion for the rights of his fellow citizens could be seen in the coursework he taught as a professor of law: Consumer credit, consumer protection, as well as contract and commercial law. At Stanford he's been Chairman of the Human Relations Commission and the Faculty Senate, and was a member of the University Budget Priorities Advisory Commission. Mr. Speaker, I'm proud to call Byron Sher my friend and my colleague in public service. This quiet, humble, decent and brilliant man is a source of great pride to the Democratic Party, to our mutual constituents, to all Californians and to our entire Nation. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring and thanking Senator Sher for his lifetime of extraordinary service to California and our country. Because of him and his distinguished service, we are unmistakably a stronger and a better Nation.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished ranking member and my colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood) who, together we introduced this legislation, H.R. 3493. I appreciate always his cooperation and that of his staff. This is not the first effort where we have worked together and been successful. We are proud of that and proud of the work that has come out of our committee. This bill makes important technical corrections. While it may seem a little dull and dry, the technical corrections really enhance the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act which was a very important piece of legislation which allowed major new programs that really streamline the Food and Drug Administration's medical device approval process to be actually implemented. This bipartisan bill is about making sure that patients are, one, able to safely benefit from new medical technologies and, secondly, as quickly as possible. As medical technologies become more advanced, it takes more attention and resources to ensure that these products are safe and effective. Last year, the House overwhelmingly passed the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act which helps the FDA get lifesaving products to patients faster, as well as resources to the agency to assure this. Specifically under that law, and I think it is important to underscore what was in that law and why we are bolstering it, the importance of bolstering it today, the medical device industry agreed to pay fees to the FDA for every product it proposes to market. These fees will help the FDA hire additional staff, much needed, I might add, and to purchase needed equipment so that they can review the products on a timely basis. Secondly, the resources were increased for additional inspections of manufacturing plants and facilities, a very, very important part of that legislation, as well as the creation of an Office of Combination Products to shepherd advanced products, such as devices with drug coating, through the approval process. This new administrative flexibility allows the FDA to devote its resources to the devices that patients need most. Finally, the bill created a way to regulate what are known as reprocessed devices. Some people may have tuned into nationally televised programs where the national discovery was made that reprocessed devices were being used in hospitals unbeknownst to doctors and unbeknownst to patients. I did not like that when I heard it, and we addressed it in the bill. The bill requires that reprocessed products undergo additional scrutiny by the FDA and that they be held to the highest standards that the FDA can apply. It also required that doctors, who are often unaware that they are using a reprocessed device, be informed about the reused device so that they can, in turn, inform their patients about the reused device. This Technical Corrections Act is an important bill because it is ultimately, Mr. Speaker, about patients, and it will implement the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act as Congress fully intended. One of the best parts of doing something like this is to work with the very able people that helped make it possible, so I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin), chairman of our full committee; the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), our distinguished subcommittee chairman; the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), ranking member of our full committee; the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) and certainly my colleague, who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health. I also want to thank several staff people: Pat Ronan of Chairman Tauzin's staff; Alan Eisenberg of the office of the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood); John Ford of the office of the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell); and Anne Witt of the office of the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman). Without all of these good people, we would not be here today doing this. So we have come a long way, and I think we have created something that will serve our country very well. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this, to make it unanimous. We will then accomplish yet something else very good and important for the American people.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member and I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Ose) for this legislation. It is an important piece of legislation, and I am proud to be a cosponsor of it. This is the first fund-raising stamp in the United States, and it benefits the eradication of breast cancer. During the holidays at home wherever I was, whether it was a holiday party, in the grocery store, wherever I was, there was someone that came up to me and said I went to the post office to buy the breast cancer stamp, and was told that it is no longer available because Congress has not reauthorized it. People know, and they have become attached to this effort and very supportive of it for what it produces. The stamp was introduced in 1998, and the profits are split between the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense's Health Research Division, as called for by Congress. Over 450 million of these 45 cent stamps have been sold. I am very proud to say that of the $35 million raised, California continues to lead the way because we have contributed roughly 21 percent of the money that has been raised nationwide. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have expressed our collective concerns about the issue of breast cancer. Certainly during my tenure in the Congress I have been very proud to have worked on the causes of breast cancer, for the optimal treatments for breast cancer, and ultimately a cure for breast cancer. These have all been priorities of mine. I see that the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood) is here on the floor. We worked very hard together to pass the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act, which was introduced and passed in the 106th Congress. As one of my colleagues said, more than 2 million women in America are living with breast cancer today. During the time that we have been on the floor and making comments on this, three women in the United States have died as a result of breast cancer. The statistics we still carry with us. I think this is an important effort, and I thank everyone who is a part of this effort and urge all of my colleagues to vote for this measure and make it unanimous so we send a message out to Americans who have gone to their post office and not found this stamp available that Congress has reauthorized it.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to vote against the Conference Report on the Fiscal Year 2004 Consolidated Appropriations bill. This Conference Report does a disservice to our constituents and to our country's democratic principles because it fails to respect the votes of Members of Congress and abuses the appropriations process. For example: It weakens the prohibition against the new FCC media ownership rules, despite the fact that stronger restrictions were agreed to by both Houses of Congress. It allows the Labor Department's new overtime regulations to go forward, flouting the will of the House and Senate and jeopardizing overtime pay for over 8 million workers. It underfunds the No Child Left Behind Act by $8 billion. Net funding for the NIH is $145 million less than passed by the House and $182 million less than the Senate supported. This bill fails in other important ways: It cuts funds for state and local law enforcement by $500 million. It implements a controversial school voucher program in the District of Columbia. It provides $230 million less for veterans' benefits than Republicans have promised. It rescinds $1.8 billion in appropriations--largely from the Department of Homeland Security. Because of these and many other serious flaws, I cannot in good conscience support this bill and I urge my colleagues to oppose the Conference Report. We could be doing so much more for our country.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I support the conference report and thank the chairman and ranking member for their work in this effort. I'm particularly pleased that the serious shortcomings of the bill which I've raised at our committee have been addressed. The problem of spam has become so prolific that by the end of this year half of all e-mails sent will be spam. The numbers are staggering: 76 billion spam e-mails will be delivered in 2003; 50 percent of kids have received e-mails containing pornographic or sexually explicit information; and U.S. businesses will spend close to $10 billion to fight spam this year. And marketers have brazenly claimed that the success of the ``Do Not Call List'' will drive them to spam even more, costing U.S. businesses and consumers even more. I sponsored legislation to curb the epidemic of spam and crafted the original proposal to empower the FTC to replicate the enormous success of the ``Do Not Call List'' by creating a ``Cannot Spam List.'' I'm very pleased that a version of this measure has been included in the conference report, which I hope the FTC will implement soon after enactment of this bill. I'm also pleased that the conference report strengthens some of the weaknesses of the Senate bill, especially by giving greater authority to states to enforce these laws. This legislation does not end the entire problem of spam. I'll continue to fight for measures to prevent unauthorized and unwanted e- mail from flooding our inboxes and our computer networks. But this is a good start and important and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise against this bill which, in my view, I used the yardstick to measure it by my mother; and in doing the calculations, my mother, at 89\1/2\ years old, will be hurt by this, as will women her age across the country. She and they deserve so much better. It's with great disappointment that I rise today to express my opposition to this Medicare Prescription Drug legislation. As the daughter of a Medicare beneficiary, I know first hand how important prescription drug coverage is for America's seniors, and I held out great hope that this would be the year we finally succeeded in providing seniors with an affordable, stable benefit. Unfortunately, now that we have the long-awaited legislation before us, it is clear that it doesn't embody any of these important principles. This bill does nothing to lower drug costs for America's senior citizens. It provides an unstable insurance benefit, undercuts the viability of the employer-provided retirement health insurance, and fundamentally undermines the Medicare program that has served seniors so well for nearly 40 years. Specifically, the bill: Brings privatization to the Medicare program in 2010. Although this is being described as a ``demonstration project,'' this ``demonstration'' will affect as many as 7 million beneficiaries who will be forced to pay higher premiums and more money to keep the same benefits they have today if they don't join an HMO; has a $2800 gap in drug coverage that will leave millions of seniors without any help in paying for their drugs for part of the year, even though they will have to continue to pay their monthly premiums; Creates disincentives to employers to retain retiree drug coverage. An estimated 2 to 3 million seniors who have good drug coverage now through retiree health plans could lose it under the proposed plan. In California, this means more than a quarter of a million seniors may lose their employer-sponsored health care. Real reform would encourage employers to expand retiree coverage, not take it away; Purposefully creates, for the first time, disparities between seniors across the country. Seniors living in different areas of the country will pay different premiums for the exact same benefits. In another first, this bill links how much a senior earns to how much they will pay in premiums. If a senior makes more than $80,000 they will pay higher premiums than the rest of the Medicare population. Does not address the rising cost of prescription drugs for individuals, nor does it harness overall Medicare spending in future years. In fact, the bill specifically prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from negotiating with drug companies for lower prices. Jeopardizes coverage for cancer patients by drastically cutting funding for chemotherapy drugs. Finally, this bill dramatically changes Medicare by limiting the total amount of money that can be spent on the program--meaning services will be cut and premiums will increase. I do want to take a moment to highlight the few bright spots in this bill. The bill reverses a recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that threatened seniors' access to innovative treatments. For years biotechnology products, which often represent the most advanced treatments for diseases, were critically under- reimbursed. This bill ensures that these life-saving treatments will be available for all seniors by raising payment levels to an appropriate level. This bill also provides more speedy coverage of new medical device technologies and more streamlined processes by new technologies in the Medicare program. Second, the bill includes critical funding for relief from the devastating payment reductions to Medicaid disproportionate share hospitals. This is very important for California which has a severe budget shortfall. The funding in the Conference Report restores several hundred million dollars to safety-net providers in California over the next 10 years. With more than six million MediCal recipients and 6.3 million uninsured residents in California, Medicaid DSH funds are invaluable to the safety net hospitals that serve low-income populations. Unfortunately, these issues aren't enough to overcome the faulty foundation that this bill rests on. It's with a heavy heart that I say ``This Medicare Prescription Drug bill should be rejected.'' We have not honored the seniors who have done so much to make our country great, and I cannot justify a ``yes'' vote on a bad bill just for the opportunity to say we've succeeded in providing a drug benefit. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against the bill.