Anna Eshoo

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute Cadence Design Systems led by their extraordinary President and Chief Executive Officer, H. Raymond Bingham, on the occasion of their ninth Stars & Strikes Charity Bowling Tournament to be held in San Jose, California on Sunday, October 14, 2001. Since its inception in 1990, Stars & Strikes has become among the largest fundraisers of its kind in Silicon Valley, with Cadence donating 100% of all proceeds to deserving charitable organizations in the Bay Area. Working in partnership with other local corporations and individuals, Cadence has raised more than $1.7 million dollars for programs in the Bay Area. This year's event, featuring members of the San Jose Sharks hockey team, is expected to raise $500,000 to benefit the San Jose-based Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT), a non-profit organization serving more than 4500 teachers in Bay Area. In an unprecedented effort to assist those affected by the recent terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Cadence has pledged to match all funds raised for RAFT with a contribution to the American Red Cross and to the New York Firefighters' 9-11 Disaster Relief Fund. In doing this the company will build upon a long-standing tradition of community involvement and an abiding sense of corporate and civic responsibility. Under the able stewardship of Ray Bingham, Cadence has transformed itself from a $369 million supplier of electronic design automation tools to its current $1.3 billion position as one of the world's leading suppliers of electronic design automation products, methodology services, and design services. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Cadence Design Systems great success with this year's Stars & Strikes Charity Tournament. I pay tribute to and honor Ray Bingham for his special leadership and I thank all Cadence employees for their contributions to our community and our country.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, it is with a deep sense of sadness that I rise today to honor the life of Naomi Solomon, a victim of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center. Naomi Solomon, beloved daughter of Herbert and Lottie, sister of Jed and Mark, aunt and friend, grew up on the campus of Stanford University where her father was a professor and today a Professor Emeritus of Statistics. Upon graduating from Henry Gunn Senior High School in Palo Alto, California, as class valedictorian, she attended Stanford University. Naomi touched the lives of everyone who was blessed to know her. She was a talented classical pianist, an avid traveler and a successful businesswoman. In her professional life, she worked hard and smart, and she accomplished much. In the mid-1970's she was recruited by Bank of America where she worked for 13 years, becoming one of the very few female vice presidents. She then went on to work for Chase Manhattan for nine years and most recently worked for Callixa, a San Francisco based software company, where she was Vice President of Business Development. Naomi was attending a conference in the North Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11th when the terrorists viciously attacked our Nation. Naomi was committed and found great joy in her professional life, but her greatest devotion was to her family. No matter where she was in the world she always made time to call her mother every day. She loved her brother Jed's children as though they were her own, calling them several times a week just to chat. Her brother Mark and his wife recently welcomed their first child into the world and while he will never know his Aunt Naomi, he has been named Nathaniel after her. Mr. Speaker, Naomi Solomon enriched the lives of everyone she knew and loved. We grieve with her family, one of the finest families I've ever known and whom I have an enduring friendship, and who I have the privilege of representing. I ask my colleagues to join me in offering our deepest sympathy and that of our entire Nation to the Solomon family. We give gratitude for her all-too-brief life and we commend her into God's hands.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished ranking member and the distinguished chairman of the committee for their work and for the bipartisan bill that they have brought forward. Mr. Chairman, this is never an easy bill for a ranking member and a chairman to work out, so I salute them, and I recognize the work that has gone into this. But I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Istook). Let me tell the Members why. The amendment cuts the Centers for Disease Control. It is the account, not an account but the account that funds the CDC's disease detectives who are right now looking for anthrax in Florida. It speaks to the dollars that are spent for controlling infectious diseases: tuberculosis control, research into birth defects and childhood disabilities, and asthma treatment and prevention. Mr. Chairman, I want to zero in on another area of this budget, and what this amendment would essentially cut and really hurt, and really hurt. That is the issue of breast and cervical cancer screening. In the last Congress, if there was one thing that I worked harder on than anything else with my Democratic and Republican colleagues, it was to come up with a bill that would take care of those women that are underinsured or not insured at all, because when the CDC screened for breast and cervical cancer, that was one part of it, but the part that the Congress had never finished, had never done, was the next chapter. That was that once there was detection, that we would help them. We cannot afford to have that effort go down the drain. Mr. Bliley was the chairman of the committee. There were over 300 cosponsors to that bill. It was a great bipartisan effort. Everyone embraced it. They understood that we could in fact take the next step and make a difference for women and their families in this country. I think it is one of the great accomplishments of the last Congress. This amendment hurts that. It does not have to be the case. The gentleman's amendment is not bragging about how much the 100 percent increase over last year is already taken care of in the bipartisan bill, going from $20 million to $40 million. Maybe that is not my top priority, what the gentleman is doing, but I salute him for what he cares about. But do not do this at the cost of the anthrax cases that we need to look into, breast and cervical cancer screening, and the care of women that absolutely need it and depend upon it. There is tuberculosis control. These are all things that the American people rise up and say, good job, Congress. Vote against the amendment. It hurts. It is not necessary, and it is wrong.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, as a cosponsor of the Working Lands Stewardship Act, I rise in strong support of the Boehlert-Kind- Gilchrest-Dingell amendment to H.R. 2646. Like the Working Lands Stewardship Act, this amendment will substantially increase resources for farm conservation. American farmers are the most productive in the world and are responsible for the largest export sector in our economy. Yet our farmers are also sensitive to the environment on which they depend for their livelihoods. The competition for federal farm conservation programs proves this fact. Three of every four applications for conservation programs are turned down because of a lack of funding. Clearly, American farmers want to be good stewards of the environment and want greater funding for conservation programs. This amendment provides these resources. The amendment will also provide more equity to farmers who do not grow traditional commodity products, such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. In my district, farmers grow specialty crops, such as brussels sprouts, which are eligible for commodity assistance. Through this amendment, more of these farmers will be eligible for federal assistance under conservation programs. This investment will not only benefit our farmers, it will benefit our environment, protect wildlife habitats and wetlands, and promote organic and environmentally friendly farming techniques. I urge my colleagues to vote for the Boehlert-Kind-Gilchrest-Dingell amendment.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. In May, the House passed legislation, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act that authorized both the release of the $582 million and a third installment of $244 million. However, two weeks before the House considered the bill, the United States was removed from the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. The House responded by adopting an amendment conditioning the third installment on the U.S. return to the commission. This legislation repeals that amendment and reschedules the untimely repayment of our U.N. dues. As a delegate of the United Nations and Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, Eleanor Roosevelt once said, ``Without the United Nations our country would walk alone, ruled by fear instead of confidence and hope.'' I believe that the American people want to walk in confidence with the U.N. The majority of Americans consistently show a readiness to pay U.N. dues in full. Most recently a Zogby poll found that 62 percent of Americans believe that we should pay our delinquent dues. Another poll showed that 53 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. should not hold back dues as a means of pressuring the U.N. It's regrettable that the U.S. lost its seat on the Human Rights Commission but I firmly believe there will never be an appropriate venue for this country to deny its responsibility. Instead of disengaging ourselves from the U.N., I believe that we should do just the opposite and support it with all our vigor. I'm proud to support this legislation and I will continue to do all that I can to support full payment of our Nation's U.N. dues.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, this is one of the first steps that we are taking as a result of the hell that descended on America over a week ago. I think that as we take these steps, we need to look very carefully at the larger picture. Of course aviation is one of the most critical industries in our country. And I think today we are more fully appreciating everything that is related to the airlines. But I want to remind my colleagues that left out of this bill are the steps that we are going to have to take and take soon. The planes will not stay in the air no matter how much we spend. What we put up in terms of the Federal dollar will not really do what we are seeking it to do unless we restore the confidence of the American flying public to get into these planes, as we are, and that it is safe to do so, and that the workers that help put those planes in the air be taken care of as well.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American and distinguished Californian, Mary Curtis Davey, who is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award for local service on Saturday, September 22, 2001, in Los Altos Hills, California. In 1966, Mary Curtis Davey became the first woman to serve on the Los Altos Hills City Council. during her 6-year tenure, she distinguished herself through her unparalleled support of open space and fair housing. Through her civic and community involvement, Mary Curtis Davey has improved countless lies on the Peninsula, by focusing on housing for low-income residents, basic services for the elderly, and encouraging others to engage in volunteer work, non-profit organizations and local government. Among the organizations that have benefited from her effective leadership are the United Way of Santa Clara County, the American Red Cross, Avenidas, Bay Area Action, and Committee for Green Foothills. At the request of legendary humanitarian Josephine Duveneck, Mary Curtis Davey joined the Board of Trust for the Hidden Villa environmental Preserve in 1966 where she served for 20 years, including four as its president. A 1600-acre oasis for both children and adults, the Hidden Villa provides a forum for participants to take part in educational and community-building programs that teach social justice and respect for all living things. In 1971, Mary Curtis Davey organized the Friends of Hidden Villa to continue fund raising, and in 1997 she chaired the annual Duveneck Awards Dinner for multicultural programs. Mary Curtis Davey helped found the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District in 1972, an invaluable organization created to safeguard, protect and preserve open space in and around the urban areas of Silicon Valley. The District's 23 preserves are open to the public free of charge. Mary Curtis Davey now serves on the Board of Directors for the District, representing the communities of Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Los Altos Hills and Stanford. Since 1960, when she and her husband, Jack, and their three children first arrived in California from Maryland, Mary Curtis Davey has championed thee and other causes among a host of volunteer and non- profit organizations. She has been an exceptional voice and a passionate advocate for improving the quality of life in our community. It is therefore fitting that Mary Curtis Davey is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring this great and good woman who has given so much to our community and to our environment. We are indeed a better nation, a better society and a better people because of her.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a proud American, William McDonough, who is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award for national service on Saturday, September 22, 2001, in Los Altos Hills, California. Recognized in 1999 as a ``Hero for the Planet'' by Time Magazine, William McDonough was the recipient of the first and only Presidential Award for Sustainable Development in 1996. An architect by training, he has dedicated his life to reconnecting our citizens with their surrounding environment. The founder of William McDonough & Partners, William McDonough's architectural firm was created to celebrate the creativity of the human spirit and the abundance of nature. Through his work and his advocacy, William McDonough has consistently displayed an abiding respect for ecology, social equity and economy. Heeding an ultimate objective of removing potential poisons from all products, factories, and the natural landscape, William McDonough creates consumer goods with biodegradable and synthetic materials that can be recycled for future use. Many of the buildings he has designed create more energy than they use in their own operation, an extraordinarily important innovation for California and the rest of the nation. William McDonough has designed products and office buildings for Nike, The Gap, and Palm, Inc. William McDonough has dedicated his professional life to strengthening the economic and spiritual ties between our environment and ourselves. It is therefore fitting that he is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues today to join me in honoring this special man who has given so much to our community and our environment. We are indeed a better country, a better planet and a better people because of him.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great American and distinguished California, Marthelia Hargrove, who is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award for regional service on Saturday, September 22, 2001, in Los Altos Hills, California. Named the National Principal of the Year for 2000-2001 by the National Alliance of Black School, Educators Marthelia Hargrove has distinguished herself as a passionate advocate of students and the disenfranchised, and as a model of excellence in teaching and administration. A native of the segregated South, Marthelia Hargrove traces her commitment to education back to a one-room schoolhouse near Oxford, North Carolina. A child growing up in the wake of the depression, her parents endured great sacrifice in order to ensure that Marthelia, her sister and her brother received a decent education. Marthelia Hargrove earned a scholarship to study at Virginia Union University in Richmond and a Master's Degree in early education form Petersburg's Virginia State University. Having married while in Richmond, Marthelia and her husband relocated to Santa Clara 28 years ago where they've lived ever since. In 1981, Marthelia Hargrove was appointed principal of the Brentwood Oaks School in East Palo Alto. Nine years later, she took the helm at Costano School, determined to transform this low-achieving elementary school into a premier teaching institution. During her eleven-year tenure, she has more than succeeded. Last year, Costano's score in the California Academic Performance Index was 142 points higher than the previous year and 84 points higher than the state median. The recipient of the Ravenswood Principal of the Year Award, Marthelia Hargrove has also been honored by the Mid-peninsula NAACP, the San Jose University Department of Teacher Education, the Ravenswood Community Nguzo Saba Committee, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department and the City of East Palo Alto. A member of the National Political Congress of Black Women, she also serves on the Board of the East Palo Alto Kids Foundation. Marthelia Hargrove has dedicated her life to building extraordinary educational institutions that involve students, parents and community members as stakeholders and beneficiaries. She has worked hard to provide a brighter future for underprivileged children and for children of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. It is therefore fitting that Marthelia Hargrove is being honored with the 2001 Josephine and Frank Duveneck Humanitarian Award. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring this great and good woman who has given so much to our young citizens and to our educational institutions. We are indeed a better nation, a better community and a better people because of her.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, my colleague, and my congressional neighbor, the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of this resolution. I do it with a heavy heart because of what has been imposed on our Nation. We did not seek this, but we must act. I do not believe that we act, and I know that I do not, in taking this vote, out of vengeance, because the American people are good and they are decent. They are loving, and they have once again exhibited this face and this character this week in one of the most tragic and challenging moments in our Nation's history. I believe that this resolution is consistent with the War Powers Act, and that it reiterates the President's authority under the Constitution to take action to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States of America. I know that this will be long and difficult. I pledge my allegiance to the magnificent people of our country, and I say to the constituents of my magnificent congressional district that we will move ahead united and do what we must in the name of those that gave their lives this week. I ask God to bless our Nation and to guide our President.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con Res. 225 a resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that, as a symbol of solidarity following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, every citizen is encouraged to display the flag of the United States. It's vital that our nation be united as never before as we emerge from these terrible events. The symbol of our unity is our flag. I urge every business and home to raise their flags high in support of the victims and their families of this atrocity. By doing so, each of us will send a signal to the world that as a nation we will not be deterred by the vicious attack, and we will move through this together strengthening each other. I thank the sponsors of this resolution.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, we have all come onto the floor of the distinguished House and looked at whomever is in the chair, and then raised our eyes just a little higher and looked at the words that are above, ``In God we trust.'' I think it is very important today for our Nation to look at those words again and repeat them, either out loud or silently, as a prayer for our Nation, for those whose lives have been taken, in God we trust that they are living in the face of God this evening; and to their families, in God we trust; and ourselves, that we will help to heal one another; and that in God we trust, have entrusted our lives in the noble Americans that we have seen on the face of television that have moved to take care of those that have fallen. So in God we trust today in the ingredients of our democracy, that are imprinted and engraved in the wood of the bench here that surrounds the place where the President comes to address the Nation, and where the Speaker, in our democracy in this House of Representatives, resides. It says ``Union,'' and we believe in our Union. Mr. Speaker, I recall the ingredients of our democracy. As I say this, the entire world should pay attention to what the ingredients of our democracy are: union, and make no mistake about it, we are unified; in justice, that is at the desk, and those who are less than animals who have done this to our people will be brought to justice; for tolerance, our tolerance as we debate and that we will bring tolerance to what these outcomes are; to liberty and understanding that there are those who have to pay a price for that; and for peace, peace of mind, peace in this land. Mr. Speaker, in God we trust that we will honor the ingredients, that we will honor those whose lives have been taken, that we honor the Capitol Police tonight, and our staffs, I would like to thank because they have worked very hard to take care of us, and to all of us we must say in God we trust that our deliberations will bring about the results that this magnificent Nation and our democracy deserves.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Andrea Ravinett Martin, an extraordinary leader, a national treasure and a great friend. Andrea Martin is the founder, the Executive Director and the living soul of The Breast Cancer Fund, a national public trust nonprofit established to innovate and accelerate our nation's response to breast cancer. A native of Memphis, Tennessee, Andrea graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans and went on to earn a Masters degree in French before moving to San Francisco, California in 1969. Three years later, she entered law school at the University of California Hastings and began a career in litigation which would last until 1980, at which point, Andrea opened a Memphis-style barbeque restaurant called Hog Heaven. Years later, having sold the popular San Francisco establishment, Andrea participated as a fellow in the Coro Foundation's City-Focus program, a year-long training program in civic leadership. In May 1988, Andrea, the proud mother of her daughter Mather, married her second husband, Richard Gelernter. Just eight months after their wedding day--and two weeks after losing her sister-in-law to breast cancer--Andrea discovered a seven centimeter invasive tumor in her right breast. Told she had a 40 percent chance of survival and less then five years to live, Andrea Martin underwent six rounds of chemotherapy, a mastectomy, six weeks of radiation, and a final eight rounds of another chemotherapy protocol. Just one month after the completion of her treatment in 1990, Andrea went back to work, joining Dianne Feinstein's campaign for governor of California. Two months into the campaign, however, the nightmare returned, when Andrea discovered a tiny lump in her remaining breast. Just as quickly as before, she opted for a mastectomy and returned to work two weeks later. Throughout both her personal and professional life, Andrea Martin has consistently strived to transform her personal adversity into a triumph for humankind. While working for Feinstein, Andrea also began raising money to combat breast cancer, organizing a series of events and activities to heighten awareness and increase funding for the prevention and treatment of this devastating disease. In October 1992, Andrea Martin founded the Breast Cancer Fund, a national public trust nonprofit that has grown and become one of the preeminent organizations nationwide dedicated to fighting breast cancer. The Fund operates through a wide variety of activities to raise awareness and new sources of funding for cutting-edge projects in breast cancer research, education, advocacy and patient support. Andrea works full time directing the Fund and traveling across the country to give talks and to consult with researchers, health care providers and breast cancer organizations. A reliable and expert source on breast cancer prevention and treatment, Andrea Martin is frequently called upon by Members of Congress as well as state and local governments to share her insights and counsel on major public policy endeavors. A member of the External Advisory Board to the Breast Cancer SPORE at the University of California in San Francisco, Andrea also serves on numerous advisory committees to the California Division of the American Cancer Society. In addition to her Breast Cancer Fund activities, Andrea Martin has an extraordinary history of accomplishments, honors and achievements. She's a model of courage for the thousands of women who are diagnosed each year with breast cancer. In 1995, Andrea joined 16 fellow breast cancer survivors in climbing 23,000-foot Aconcagua in the Argentine Andes. Today Andrea faces another extraordinary challenge in addition to the many she has overcome * * * a malignant brain tumor. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in honoring a woman who has brought hope and courage to millions of women around the world, and as we honor her and her work, we promise our prayers as she fights to overcome this challenge successfully.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a distinguished American, an extraordinary Californian, a beloved friend and an institution in San Mateo County--Eleanore Druehl Nettle, who passed away in June of this year. Eleanore Nettle served for thirty-three years as a Trustee on the San Mateo County Community College Board, longer than any other trustee in the history of the District. During her tenure she attended almost 800 Board meetings and served as President of the Board nine times. She was the driving force in fostering the growth of the District from a single campus to three, and from 2,700 students to more than 30,000. Half-a- million students attended the college while she sat on the Board. Eleanore Nettle gave generously of her time and talents to the League of Women Voters and the American Association of University Women. She was recognized throughout California as a leader in community college affairs and received many awards and honors, including the Trustee of the Year Award given by the California Community College Trustees Association. Eleanore was appointed by Governor Edmund G. ``Pat'' Brown as a community college representative to the Coordinating Council for Higher Education and re-appointed by Governor Reagan. Eleanore was a graduate of the College of San Mateo and an active and faith-filled member of her church since 1950. She was the devoted wife of the late Lester Nettle and the proud mother of a daughter, twin sons and a granddaughter. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to a great and good woman, Eleanore Druehl Nettle and offer the condolences of the entire House of Representatives to her family. We are a better community, a better country and a better people because of her.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the bill offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), which is the real patient protections bill. For many years, we have been trying to bring the pendulum back to the center to bring some accountability to the process of health care, where patients are enrolled with an insurer to give them the kind of rights that they need; to bring the physician and the patient relationship back to the sacred center where it belongs. Last night something happened. The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood), a dentist, brokered something with the White House, and we are being asked to trust. I want to tell the Members something, I want to verify for my constituents. This is the group that has voted to permit more arsenic in drinking water. This is the group that supports offshore oil drilling. This is the group that wants to drill in ANWR. This is the President that rejects a global warming treaty. This is the group that will not ratify biological warfare bans. Do Members know what? I do not trust that record. I do not think this is the group I want to go with. I want real patient protection rights. We should reject this attempt to dress it up as something that it is not.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in obvious support of this amendment. To the rest of the country, I want to say this evening that California really feels what is being placed on her shoulders in terms of the burdens. We had a piece of legislation that has caused us more than a migraine headache. But here in the Congress, the only place that can address price, that is why we raise our voices. This is not a price cap. You can say it until the cows come home that it is, but it is not. For those that have served 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, 50 years in the Congress, where were you objecting to what is an 85-year-old tradition in terms of cost-of-service base for the rates in our country? You were nowhere. You are not there to help us with refunds, you are not there to help with price relief, and you are not there in terms of environmental issues. That is why we get up tonight and we say all over again that Californians should have cost-of-service-based rates. We do not trust the FERC because they have been on a sit-down strike. For those that raise their voices and say, This is going to muck up the market, I have fought for markets, for free and open markets, for markets that work. This market, as the FERC has acknowledged, is dysfunctional. It is not working. We do not want to penalize new generators in California; we want them to come online, but we also plead and raise our voices for what is reasonable and what the FERC will not do and that is cost-of- service-based rates.

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding time, and I rise with all of my California colleagues today in support of this amendment. Now, what would bring the entire delegation together? We want to rid ourselves of MTBE. It causes cancer in animals; it can cause cancer in people. It has contaminated 10,000 groundwater sites in California, and knowing this, California is attempting to eliminate MTBE from its fuel supply by 2003. Sounds simple, makes sense, both for the environment and for human beings. So what is going on? Why do all Members of Congress not want to recognize that? Well, others want ethanol. Ethanol is going to be the monopoly of choice for California. Why? Because we tried to get a waiver from the administration. They said, it is either poison or pollution. So today the delegation is saying to all States in the Congress, all Representatives in this House, is it not fair to exercise a choice while still maintaining the highest standards of the Federal Clean Air Act? That is what this debate is about. So for those who are interested in competition, they should be voting with us, because if they vote against it, they are in support of a monopoly. I congratulate my colleagues from Texas and those from the Midwest. Of course they want a monopoly, either for MTBE or for ethanol. What we are talking about is exercising good judgment, not placing this kind of a burden on Californians or other States, and asking them to give us a choice. Vote for this amendment. It is a good, solid one.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule. First, this energy bill in my view is about yesterday, not about tomorrow. With its focus on fossil fuels, oil, gasoline and coal, the bill is mired in the Stone Age. When it comes to tax credits for conservation or anything to do with conservation, they are not paid for, so it simply will not happen. Secondly, the Committee on Rules disallowed a very important amendment that we offered which the gentlewoman from California just described. The FERC has been on a sit-down strike with regard to California's energy crisis. Yet they are responsible for the energy consumer in the country. They acknowledge that the rates that Westerners have paid are unjust and unreasonable; and yet they still side with the gougers, not the consumers. They have left Californians waiting, waiting on interim orders to become final, waiting for FERC to make us whole again, waiting for the FERC to act. Every day the cash register rings in California out of our general fund up to $50 million a day to pay for electricity. As the fifth largest economy in the world, this administration and this House I think is going to regret this bill, because it does not speak to California and it does not speak to the future of our Nation.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me time. I rise in support of the Markey-Boehlert amendment. Let me state why. In the voices of my children, who are 32 and 30 years old, this debate is really about yesterday. What this amendment represents is tomorrow, is the future. It is exactly why people are attracted to America. So what we are battling is yesterday with this amendment. The sham automobile efficiency provision in this bill is the proverbial drop in the oil bucket. They are talking 5 billion gallons of gasoline saved. We are talking 40 billion. How anyone can say this is about jobs and the American automobile industry, it is a joke. This is enough to say that the Edsel is making a comeback. The Congress can do better. The automobile industry is saying one thing. I understand that. We are not the automobile industry, we are the Congress of the United States. And when we vote this in, we are voting in less dependence on foreign oil, we are voting in high standards for our environment, we are saying you do not have to drill in ANWR, and we are saying that we have the technologies today to put into tomorrow's automobiles. Support this amendment. It is a step toward the future. We will be better off as a result of it. announcement by the chairman pro tempore

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. I would like to thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood) for the work they have done on this amendment, which I rise in support of. Let me say why, Mr. Speaker. For years, U.S. physicians, researchers, and scientists have searched for cures to the diseases that have afflicted so many of our families and our friends, and friends of our friends. These physicians, these scientists, and these researchers in my view are the real, true American heroes of our era. As we stand on the brink of finding the cures to diseases that have plagued so many, so many millions of Americans, unfortunately, the Congress today in my view is on the brink of prohibiting this critical research. As we debate this bill, scientists in my congressional district in the heart of Silicon Valley are using one method of research, therapeutic cloning, to make critical breakthroughs that could lead to cures for Alzheimer's, for Parkinson's, even for spinal cord injury. Without therapeutic cloning, there is no way to move stem cell therapies from the lab to the doctor's office. Stem cell research, as most Americans know, is not about destroying lives, but about saving them. My friends on the other side of this issue keep talking about embryos, embryos, embryos, embryos. Well, if one is embryocentric, this is not the bill. Neither is the Stupak-Weldon approach about that. The only reason they used the word ``embryos'' is to try to do an overlay to the debate. This is not about embryos and embryos coming out of stem cells. There is not any such thing. The Weldon-Stupak bill goes in another direction. It actually places an outright ban on this critical work, and it makes the research that could cure some of these diseases even illegal. Are we going to take these great American heroes, and in fact, Dr. O'Connor from my district, and throw him in jail? I think not. I think that is going too far. It is unconscionable for us not to continue to be the merchants of hope in terms of the business that we are in. So I think we need to support the Greenwood-Deutsch approach and throw out the other. It is a march to folly.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Chairman, after catering to a host of special interests on the issues of tax policy and energy, it's amazing the reasons that the majority have come up with to stop legislation that is clearly in the public interest. In this case, the majority wants to block efforts to protect citizens from arsenic in drinking water. Anyone who's read an Agatha Christie mystery knows that arsenic is a poison. We've spent 17 years extensively reviewing and studying the lethality of this element. We've learned that even low levels of arsenic exposure pose a public health risk. Earlier this year, the EPA approved an arsenic standard of 10 parts per billion instead of the current standard 50 parts per billion. The Bush administration rescinded this regulation pending further review by the National Academy of Sciences. Do we really need more review? The standard has been on the table for decades. In fact, the U.S. Public Health Service first advanced it in 1962. Is this debate really about sound science? Or is it really setting the public interest aside? No matter where one lives in this country, we should be assured of safe drinking water. We cannot delay making this a reality. We must adopt the Bonior amendment.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Bill Nack, an extraordinary citizen of San Mateo County, CA who is being honored by the San Mateo Central Labor Council at its 22nd Annual COPE Benefit Dinner on July 27, 2001. For over 30 years, Bill Nack has been an active member of the labor movement, a dedicated community leader, and an environmentalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has worked tirelessly to improve the health, the job safety and the economic conditions of workers in San Mateo County and throughout the nation. Bill Nack currently serves as Business Manager and Executive Officer of the San Mateo County Building and Construction Trades Council, an association comprised of 26 construction unions and a membership of over 15,000 craftspeople. For over 20 years, Bill Nack was an aircraft jet engine mechanic for United Airlines and a rank and file member of the International Association of Machinists, Local 1781. In 1987, he left United Airlines to work with the Santa Clara Central Labor Council and soon became the Deputy Executive Officer of the Santa Clara and San Benito Counties Building and Construction Trades Council. As a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bill Nack is a highly regarded member of the environmental community. Governor Gray Davis appointed him to the Bay Conservation and Development Committee (BCDC) to help ensure the protection of San Francisco Bay and in 1997, Bill became Chairman of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Advisory Council. Bill Nack's involvement in our community is deep and broad. As a board member of Mid-Peninsula Rebuilding Together, he plays an integral role in helping to rehabilitate the homes and community facilities of low-income citizens, of the elderly, and for the disabled. He's also an active member of many other community organizations, including San Mateo County's United Way, and the San Mateo County Peninsula Policy Partnership, as well as the Bay Area Economic Forum. Bill is married to fellow activist, Rayna Lehman, Director of AFL-CIO Community Services for the San Mateo County Central Labor Council and they are the proud parents of twin sons, Patrick and Benjamin. Mr. Speaker, we are a better country, a better community, and a better people because of Bill Nack. It's a privilege to know him, to serve him as a constituent, to call him a friend, and to honor hi for his extraordinary leadership and I ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to him for all he has chosen to do.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Alice Pena Bulos, an extraordinary citizen of San Mateo County who is being honored by the San Mateo Central Labor Council at its 22nd Annual COPE Benefit Dinner on July 27, 2001. Alice Bulos has played an integral role in our nation's political arena and our community's heritage for decades. She has worked tirelessly to encourage the participation of minorities in the political process and the empowerment of Filipina and other Asian- American women in their personal and professional lives. As a long-time political activist and as an adviser to President Clinton on the Federal Council on Aging, Alice Bulos has given voice to the concerns of millions of disenfranchised and needy Americans. Alice Bulos is known as the ``Godmother of Filipino American Politics.'' Together with her late husband Dony Bulos, she founded the Filipino American Grassroots Movement, a voter registration drive designed to involve Filipinos in the political process. She continues to serve as Chair of the Filipino American Caucus and has been outspoken on the rights and benefits due Filipino veterans who served during World War II. Alice has also served as the Charter President of the Fil-Am Democratic Club in San Mateo County, the Regional Chair of the National Filipino American Women's Network, and as a Board member of the National Asian/Pacific Democratic Council. Community work is synonymous with Alice Bulos. Very few have done as much. She's a Board Member of the San Mateo County Chapters of the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Red Cross. She also serves on the Board of the Community Initiative on Multiculturalism and the Northern California Disaster Preparedness Network. Alice Bulos has been an effective advocate on behalf of a number of other under-represented groups. She has led the effort to secure rights for workers at San Francisco International Airport by helping them join and organize labor unions. Alice has also worked to organize a coalition for Asian Pacific women to provide them with forums for education and business, and she has also established a support group for widows, focusing on self-esteem, self-respect, and independence. In 1993, President Clinton appointed Alice Bulos to the Federal Council on Aging where she advised and assisted the President on matters relating to older Americans. Recognizing her exemplary work, the President again called upon Alice Bulos to serve in another advisory role--this time as a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. Alice is the widow of Donnie B. Bulos, a distinguished lawyer, and fellow political activist. She is the proud mother of Elizabeth, married to Carlos Ramilo, and has three magnificent grandchildren, Charity, Charles, and Clarke. Mr. Speaker, Alice Pena Bulos is an extraordinary individual, a respected political and community leader, and a dearly valued friend. We are a better county, a better country, and a better people because of her. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring this distinguished woman for all she has done and continues to do to make the American dream come true for others and to help keep the promise of democracy to everyone.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record an op-ed piece written by Mr. William B. Gould IV that appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on Monday, July 23, 2001. Mr. Gould wrote the article upon his return from China where he conducted a series of lectures at local universities. I share it with my colleagues in the hope that they will find it as instructive as I did. [From the San Jose Mercury News, July 23, 2001] Workplace Reformers Are Stirring in China (By William B. Gould IV) On an uncomfortably hot June afternoon in Shanghai, university students giggle as they complete their mandatory military exercises before departing for the summer. The coexistence of these out-of-uniform drills with the mirthful laughter of students mirrors much of the paradox of Chinese free market policies alongside Communist Party controls. The free market has meant a labor market that has witnessed more than an incremental expansion of freedom to hire and fire--millions of dismissed Chinese public enterprise workers who have not found re-employment in the newly expanding private sector can testify to the latter. The same environment affects rural migrant workers who have streamed to the job-filled urban centers with a resolve that sometimes borders on the desperate. Their unemployment and second class status mean worker protest and government scrutiny of it. Like South Africa and Poland in the '80s, China has the potential for a mobilized worker discontent that could cut across most of the sectors of political and economic life. Last year, for instance, 20,000 miners in the northeast went on a violent rampage of burning and window smashing as they faced dismissal. Workers in a state-owned silk factory confronted with the same prospect, called for a new and independent union. Standing in the way of such spontaneity are not only the security apparatus but also the Communist Party government unions, which perform none of the representative functions normally present where there is freedom of association. The Chinese government, though it signed last month a Decent Work agreement with the Geneva-based International Labor Organization, defiantly proclaims its continued hostility to the right of workers to choose their bargaining agents. Yet advocates of reform are stirring and American policy makers on Capitol Hill considering China's preferential trade status need to be aware of them. As the military drills fade into the languid Shanghai air, labor law reform expert Dong Bao Hua tells me, ``The essence of reform is to try to persuade policy makers that we want to have a government with open and societized features.'' This approach seeks to protect both rural migrants and those dislocated public enterprise workers through a number of avenues. One is to provide a ``hotline'' with legal advice for workers with labor complaints, pregnant female employees who are unfairly dismissed, and those who have suffered workplace accidents. Dong and his students have organized events in public squares to advertise their services. They use the courts and China's expanding government arbitration process. The cases move quickly by Western standards, most of them brought to conclusion within 60 to 90 days of a complaint's filing. The arbitration mechanism, admittedly government controlled, resolves a variety of workplace disputes. (The so-called neutral third party is a Labor Ministry employee.) Workers can retain lawyers and in half of the cases in Shanghai they do so. The bad news is that workers have difficulty getting their frequently fearful fellow employees to testify on their behalf. The Communist Party official government unions are of no or little help to them. As a Shenzen employment lawyer said to me: ``No representatives of workers are in the arbitration process.'' No one can completely anticipate the stress that the transition will place on China's workforce. The government's response to Tianannen Square illustrates the likely reaction to any new challenge or to an outcry against its unapologetic use of forced labor. Yet the workplace democratic impulse is an international one. In South Africa and Poland, it had its origin in institutions far more modest than those that ultimately brought sweeping change. And Chinese officials may ultimately find comfort in the examples of Hungary and the Czech Republic, where reform did not include new Solidarity-type mass movements. One of China's many puzzles lies in the prospects of and the government's answer to the new workplace reformers who have come on the scene.

Ms. ESHOO

Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, rarely are there times that one vote can fundamentally turn the tide of political history. I think today is such a moment. Our generation of political leadership can shape a new future, a future which will be free from the influence of unregulated and unlimited contributions. Mr. Speaker, I think that we must make it a relic of the past where every issue we consider and every issue we ignore, from health care reform to energy policy, is determined by the clout of one special interest or another, and where the Congress has become more a marionette than a Legislature. Mr. Speaker, is it any wonder that less than half of the people of our Nation turn out on election days? Weak substitutes allowing soft money and third-party advertising to continue will only foster a disconnect between the people and those who represent them. I do not like the push to raise the limits for hard dollars because I think this debate is about limiting the influence of money and politics and not increasing it. But this issue is larger than what my concerns are. We should go back to what our Founders both dreamed about and built when they founded the greatest democracy in the history of the world. We should reform the system. We should defeat this rule, and we should adopt real, meaningful campaign finance reform.