Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, and colleagues, I rise today to recognize Art Lujan, as he is honored by the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO for his leadership in the San Diego labor movement. As the Business Manager of the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, Art has worked many years at uniting the twenty-six diverse building trade unions in San Diego. As an officer of the Labor Council, he has brought that commitment to promoting a strong labor movement in the County. Art successfully secured a Project Labor Agreement with the County Water Authority resulting in over $700 million in construction projects throughout the next eight years. As a result of these efforts, Art won a $750,000 grant from the Workforce Partnership to establish a groundbreaking pre-apprenticeship program that will create new pathways for low-income San Diegans--particularly women and people of color-- into skilled construction jobs that pay living wages. My congratulations go to Art Lujan for these significant contributions. I can attest to Art's dedication and commitment and believe him to be highly deserving of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO Leadership Award.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to recognize the 30th anniversary of Dr. Howard Carey's commitment to the Neighborhood House Association and to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer since 1972. Dr. Carey brings more than 35 years of experience in the field of social work, from both administrative and program perspectives, to this leadership position. Serving more than 300,000 San Diego residents, Neighborhood House is one of the largest non-profit organizations in San Diego, a multi- purpose social welfare agency whose goal is to improve the quality of life of the people served. Since Dr. Carey assumed leadership, Neighborhood House has grown from a budget of $400,000 and a staff of 35 to the current budget of $50 million with 800 employees. Its multitude of services to strengthen families and to assist them in becoming self-sufficient include not only the two for which it is best known--Head Start which reaches 6500 preschoolers in 70 centers and its Food Bank Program which collects and distributes 12 million pounds of food annually--but also housing, counseling, adult day-care centers, emergency food and shelter, an inner city youth-enrichment program, employment training services, health services for the mentally ill and elderly, and a senior citizen service center. Dr. Carey's motto--being a good neighbor--is emulated by the extended family of employees at Neighborhood House and reaches from the Mexican border to the northern reaches of San Diego County. His legacy is one of excellence. A professional in the best sense of this word, he is a man of honor, strength, and determination. He is dedicated to service and to making life better for his neighbors who are in need. Dr. Carey is a native of Lexington, Mississippi, a graduate of Atlanta's Morehouse College, and holds graduate degrees from Atlanta University and United States International University. He became enchanted with San Diego during his four years of military service with the United States Navy and returned with his wife, the former Yvonne Arnold of Newnan, Georgia, a graduate of Spelman College. Dr. Carey and his wife are the parents of two adult children who are themselves graduates of Morehouse and Spelman. One would think that his service to the community through his work at the Neighborhood House would fill his days. But Dr. Carey's service extends to leadership and participation in many community organizations and local activities. He is Chairman of the Board of Neighborhood National Bank, a San Diego based community bank which spurs development in inner city neighborhoods. He was a founding member of Union Bank of California's Community Advisory Board to advise bank managers on the financial needs of low income and under-served communities. He has held policy-making and advisory positions at the Neighborhood Development Bank, San Diego Unified School District, United Way, the Minority Relations Committee, the Black Leadership Council, former San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Connor's Black Advisory Committee, a Congressional Black Affairs Subcommittee, the Black-Jewish Dialogue, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the Coalition for Equity, and San Diego County's Child Care Task Force. Professionally, he has contributed as a Professor at San Diego State University, as Lecturer at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and at National University of San Diego, and as Instructor for Wooster College in Ohio and at San Diego City College. His further professional associations include charter membership in LEAD, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Association of Black Social Workers, founding member of the San Diego Chapter of Alpha Pi Phi Fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Delta, Morehouse College Alumni Association (San Diego Chapter), San Diego Dialogue, and the National Conference of Social Welfare. As impressive as this list is, it does not do justice to Dr. Carey. It is his passion for service that leads him into these activities. He knows that extraordinary measures are sometimes needed to strengthen communities and families, and he is willing to go that extra mile. Because Dr. Carey and the work of Neighborhood House reaches deep into the hearts and minds of his neighbors and changes lives, his contributions to the community are far-reaching, long lasting and immeasurable. I sincerely appreciate this opportunity to honor Dr. Carey and his many contributions to San Diego during the past three decades.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. We all oppose child pornography. We all want to fight drugs. But why include provisions to cut our Customs officers' pay in this important bill? This does not make sense! How can you ask Customs employees--who enforce more laws than any other federal officers--to be more effective when you open the door to cutting some of their pay up to $96 a week? Giving employees $5,000 less pay in a year is an incentive to help them do their jobs better? The bill undermines the partnership that has flourished between Customs personnel and their managers in the successful drug interdiction efforts. How does cutting Customs employees pay for working their regular night shifts help bolster our War on Drugs? I support the provisions of H.R. 1833 that would increase the number of Customs Service employees along the border and provide Customs with state-of-the-art drug detection equipment. I support the $10 million to prevent the imports of on-line child pornography. But I reject the provisions that cut Customs hazardous pay for essential nighttime shifts. H.R. 1833 gives us tools to fight the War on Drugs, but puts those who will use the tools in straitjackets. We will lose the War on Drugs and waste taxpayers' money if we spend money on expensive, cutting-edge equipment at the same time we undermine employee morale and labor standards. I support the frontline soldiers in the War on Drugs--our Customs personnel--and urge support for legislation that enhances, rather than detracts, from their good work.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak about democracy, a form of government which was invented in the 5th century B.C. by the Greeks in Athens, great city of Athens. The British honor democracy through their parliament, the Japanese have their Diet, the Duma serves the Russians, and of course here in the United States democracy is exercised right here on the floor of Congress. Democracy still remains the best hope for troubled humanity throughout the world. With the end of the Cold War, Madam Speaker, we have seen a great expansion of the boundaries of democracy. The world is a better place today because many former Soviet republics now enjoy self determination and are given their rightful seats in the Hall of Nations. But auspicious as has been the forward march of liberty, the world remains far from being free. Nations remain in captivity. The color of one's skin still bars some from feeling our common humanity. But the hope that we can rise to the challenge of total equality is enduring. People of goodwill are risking their lives against great odds. They know the rewards are worth the risks. Madam Speaker, on May 24, 1999, just a few days from now, a nation whose voice has been silenced for too long will convene its first congress, unfortunately not in its own land but in Brussels, Belgium, and 150 delegates from around the world representing the Kurdish people of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the former Soviet republics will assemble for the purpose of raising their voice for their brothers and sisters who are denied a voice in Kurdistan. I salute the birth of this congress that represents a people as old as the dawn of history. Madam Speaker, the Kurds are natives of the Middle East who inhabit a mountainous region as large as the State of Texas. They speak Kurdish, which is distinct from Turkish and Arabic but is closely linked with Persian. Having survived in mountain strongholds and ancient empires, they are now persecuted, denied their identity and forced to become Turks or Arabs or Persian by the states that were born in the early 20th century. Thirty million strong, they are viewed as beasts of burden or as cannon fodder, but never as Kurds who should enjoy human rights that we take for granted in this country. It is a crime to be a Kurd in Turkey, Madam Speaker. Saddam Hussein has used chemical and biological weapons against them in Iraq. The theocracy in Tehran often machine guns the Kurdish dissidents in the city squares. The poignancy of the Kurdish situation hits closer to home when we realize that our own government is sometimes involved in their misery. Turkey boosts of American F-16 fighter planes, Sikorsky attack helicopters and M-60 battle tanks. Saddam Hussein, according to some declassified U.N. documents, had the support of 24 European companies to produce his deadly chemical fumes and biological fumes. Tehran's opposition to the Kurds has gone beyond Iran with the assassination of Kurdish leaders in Vienna and Berlin. We all revere the words of Thomas Jefferson when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence: ``When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.'' Madam Speaker, given the lot of the Kurds, it is more than understandable that they set up their own Congress and take charge of their own destiny. They have the people, the resources and the political understanding to succeed in their dream of statehood. Madam Speaker, I need also at this time to address the situation of Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish leader who, according to a recent New York Times article, was handed over to the Turks with the help of our intelligence services. As you may recall, he had ventured to Europe from his home base in the Middle East to seek a political solution to the enduring Kurdish struggle for basic human rights. I spoke on this floor welcoming his declaration of cease-fire and hoped, it now seems against hope, to see the debate on the Kurdish question change from war to peace and from confrontation to dialogue. Mr. Ocalan, denied a refuge in Rome, was promised the safe passage through Greece to the Hague where he intended to sue the Government of Turkey at the International Court of Justice for its crimes against the Kurds. But the laws of granting asylum to political figures, as old as the time of prophets, were suspended in this case. Abdullah Ocalan, the most popular Kurdish figure of the day, was arrested. Through a deal that smacks of political venality at its worst, he was handed over to the Turks and now awaits his most likely execution as the sole inmate in the Imrali Island prison in the Sea of Marmara. Madam Speaker, it is unbecoming of this great power to aid and abet dictatorships which are merely disguised as democracies. Those who imprison duly elected representatives such as Layla Zana in Turkey for testifying before a standing committee of this Congress cannot and should not enjoy our support. Leaders such as Abdullah Ocalan, despite his violent past, still hold the promise of peace and reconciliation for the Kurds with their neighbors. The euphoria that we all felt for the freedom of captive nations in the former Soviet Union now must extend to our allies and their subjects as well. So we welcome the convening of the National Congress of Kurdistan. They are dreaming what to many may seem an impossible dream, the dream of a united Kurdish people in the Nation of Kurdistan.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his efforts. We are in Europe today, in Kosovo, because of humanitarian concerns for the people of Kosovo. Surely, we should have some humanitarian concerns for those people who live in our hemisphere who 6 months ago were subject to one of the greatest disasters in our recorded history. Let us be humanitarian in our hemisphere, as well. Let us pass this motion to instruct on the emergency supplemental, which will give money to our hemisphere in order to do what we must do now. If we do not do it now, our Central American neighbors will lose hope. They move backwards from the progress they have made in political and economic stability. Their infrastructure repairs will be delayed. Displaced persons will remain stranded. School construction refurbishment will be stalled. It is time to be a humanitarian in the western hemisphere. Please support this motion to instruct.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening in honor of National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day and the suffering that those with this disorder endure. In honor of this day, I just introduced the Access to Disability Insurance Act with the hopes of ending the suffering that those with this disorder experience at the hands of insurance companies. It is estimated that 6 to 12 million people suffer from fibromyalgia. 75 percent of those with this disease are women. The illness affects people between the ages of 20 to 60, often striking people in their 20s and 30s. Although nearly all of those with the disorder suffer from both muscular pain and fatigue, the vast majority also experience insomnia, joint pain and headaches. For many, the suffering they experience with fibromyalgia is just the beginning. When they try to collect on their private disability insurance because their symptoms are debilitating and prevent them from working, they are denied by their insurance company. To add insult to injury, they are then denied the ability by law to appeal their denial. This denial is easy and is commonplace by insurance companies because of the way that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is written. This act, known as ERISA, prevents an individual from appealing an insurance company's denial of a claim unless the person can prove that the insurance company, and I quote, abused its discretion. That is difficult to do because insurance companies have often stated that physician diagnoses of fibromyalgia are, in their words, subjective because the doctor had to rule out a number of disorders in order to arrive at this fibromyalgia diagnosis. My bill, the Access to Disability Insurance Act, would allow appeals of insurance company decisions without having to demonstrate the hard to prove standard of abuse of discretion. Picture this: You and your employer have paid into disability insurance for years, hoping that you will never have to use it. Then you do get sick and fight to get well, but are unable, constantly dealing with uncontrollable pain and fatigue. Then you have to stop working. All the while, your physician is struggling to determine what has gotten you sick. In many cases, it takes 5 years, 5 years, for accurate diagnoses. After all of this, your disability insurance company denies your claim. Under current law, there is no recourse, no ability to appeal that denial. Why should a doctor's painstaking diagnosis be brushed off by an insurance company claims administrator? Because, I believe that patients have a right to appeal that decision, the same right they would have if they applied for governmental Social Security disability benefits, I am introducing this legislation tonight. This is not an isolated problem. Approximately 30 to 40 percent of fibromyalgia patients have paid into long-term disability plans while they were working, hoping as we all do that we will never need to use this insurance. It is bad enough that people have to suffer from this illness. They should not have to suffer through a disability process that closes the door on them before even hearing an appeal. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring the Access to Disability Insurance Act and to celebrate National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, here we go again! Once again, we hear that the Republican party wants real managed care reform, but what we see coming to us in legislation from your party is just a shell offering few real patient protections. The bill Republicans tout as their solution to the pleas we hear from our constituents--many of whom have been the victims of harmful decisions meted out by managed care administrators--makes its mark by its failings. Rather than protect patients, the Republican bill should be more correctly titled the ``Insurance Industry Protection Act.'' The bill leaves medical decisions in the hands of insurance company accountants and clerks, instead of doctors; fails to provide access to care from specialists; fails to provide continuity in the doctor-patient relationship; fails to provide an effective mechanism to hold plans accountable when a plan's actions or lack of action injures or kills someone; fails to respect doctors' decisions to prescribe the drugs they believe would provide the best treatment; fails to prevent plans from giving doctors financial incentives to deny care; and allows health maintenance organizations to continue to penalize patients for seeking emergency care when they belief they are in danger. Most importantly, the Republicans' bill will not even provide its ``shell'' protection to more than 100 million of the American people-- it fails to cover two-thirds of all privately insured people in the United States. As you can see, the Republicans' bill has many failings! On the other hand, Senate Bill 6 and H.R. 358, part of the 1999 Families First (Democratic) Agenda, will deliver real protections to millions of American families. These bills, which have the backing of dozens of consumer groups, include these vital protections--and more. They provide a vital mechanism for a timely internal and independent external appeals process--an essential tool when someone's life is in the balance! But the Republicans' bill is deliberately deceiving--it was introduced in the Senate after the Democratic-sponsored bill that contains real safeguards (and is also co-sponsored by Senate Republicans,) yet those promoting this ``protection-in-name-only'' bill gave it the same name, ``The Patients' Bill of Rights.'' The Republicans and the high-powered health insurance industry are trying to scare everyday working Americans, telling them if Congress mandated the protections that the Republicans left out--and which are contained in the Democrats' bill--then health care premiums would increase. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, however, estimates that each person would only pay $2 a month more for the protections in the Democrats' bill. The reality is that the cost of the Republican bill is too high. It would continue the present system of administrators making health care decisions, exposing countless more people to inadequate care that could injure or kill them; it would force Americans to pay their own emergency room bills unless a doctor or nurse first told them to go there; and it would fail to allow doctors to freely practice medicine without the constraints of gag rules or limitations on prescription drugs. Two dollars a month for these important patient protections is a reasonable cost for access to quality care! Let us stop this destructive game of trying to convince people that they are better off with a reform bill that is ``reform'' in name only--that lacks the substance and real protections! To offer so-called ``protections'' with few safeguards to back them up is a deadly game we should not be playing!

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I recognize the importance of supporting our troops during the current conflict in Kosovo. It is essential that these men and women who are putting their lives on the line for the safety and freedom of the ethnic Albanians be provided with the tools necessary to perform their work. Nonetheless, I strongly object to the Coburn/Toomey/Sanford amendment which pits the current needs of our military services against the health care needs of our veterans. The VA budget for Fiscal Year 2000 is already almost $2 billion dollars less than is needed to provide health care to our current veterans. This tells not only our nation's veterans, but those currently serving in Kosovo, that our government will provide them with the ammunition they need to fight a war, but should they be harmed as a result, we may not be able to take proper care of them when they return. This is the wrong message to send to our fighting men and women in Kosovo and around the world. A vote for this amendment is a vote against our nation's veterans. I urge my colleagues to defeat this measure.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate 25 years of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, what is widely known as WIC. WIC is not just a program that makes a lot of sense, it saves millions of dollars, too. Every WIC dollar spent for pregnant women results in the savings to the Medicaid program of anywhere between $2 and $4. Well-fed mothers and children are healthier people. Children who eat a nutritious diet grow up to be stronger, better-adjusted adults. WIC allows high-risk young families to properly feed their children during their critical months of growth and development. WIC helps to assure normal childhood growth, reduces early childhood anemia, increases immunization rates, improves access to pediatric health care and prepares children for learning. What more can we ask for? It truly proves the maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. WIC, it is a good program for America.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to place into the Congressional Record a Resolution from the California State Assembly, Assembly Joint Resolution No. 15 relative to Filipino World War II veterans: Whereas, The Philippine Islands, as a result of the Spanish-American War, were a possession of the United States between 1898 and 1946; and Whereas, In 1934, the Philippine Independence Act (P.L. 73- 127) set a 10-year timetable for the eventual independence of the Philippines and in the interim established a government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines with certain powers over its own internal affairs; and Whereas, The granting of full independence ultimately was delayed for two years until 1946 because of the Japanese occupation of the islands from 1942 to 1945; and Whereas, Between 1934 and the final independence of the Philippine Islands in 1946, the United States retained certain sovereign powers over the Philippines, including the right, upon order of the President of the United States, to call into the service of the United States Armed Forces all military forces organized by the Commonwealth government; and Whereas, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Executive order of July 26, 1941, brought the Philippine Commonwealth Army into the service of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East under the command of Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur; and Whereas, Under the Executive Order of July 26, 1941, Filipinos were entitled to full veterans benefits; and Whereas, Approximately 200,000 Filipino soldiers, driven by a sense of honor and dignity, battled under the United States Command after 1941 to preserve our liberty; and Whereas, There are four groups of Filipino nationals who are entitled to all or some of the benefits to which United States veterans are entitled. These are: (1) Filipinos who served in the regular components of the United States Armed Forces. (2) Regular Philippine Scouts, called ``Old Scouts,'' who enlisted in Filipino-manned units of the United States Army prior to October 6, 1945. Prior to World War II, these troops assisted in the maintenance of domestic order in the Philippines and served as a combat-ready force to defend the islands against foreign invasion, and during the war, they participated in the defense and retaking of the islands from Japanese occupation. (3) Special Philippine Scouts, called ``New Scouts,'' who enlisted in the United States Armed Forces between October 6, 1945, and June 30, 1947, primarily to perform occupation duty in the Pacific following World War II. (4) Members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army who on July 26, 1941, were called into the service of the United States Armed Forces. This group includes organized querrilla resistance units that were recognized by the United States Army; and Whereas, The first two groups, Filipinos who served in the regular components of the Unites States Armed Forces and Old Scouts, are considered United States veterans and are generally entitled to the full range of United States veterans benefits; and Whereas, The other two groups, New Scouts and members of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, are eligible for certain veterans benefits, some of which are lower than full veterans benefits; and Whereas, United States veterans medical benefits for the four groups of Filipino veterans vary depending upon whether the person resides in the United States or the Philippines; and Whereas, The eligibility of Old Scouts for benefits based on military service in the United States Armed Forces has long been established; and Whereas, The federal Department of Veterans Affairs operates a comprehensive program of veterans benefits in the present government of the Republic of the Philippines, including the operation of a federal Department of Veterans Affairs office in Manila; and Whereas, The federal Department of Veterans Affairs does not operate a program of this type in any other country; and Whereas, The program in the Philippines evolved because the Philippine Islands were a United States possession during the period 1898-1946, and many Filipinos have served in the United States Armed Forces, and because the preindependence Philippine Commonwealth Army was called into the service of the United States Armed Forces During World War II (1941- 1945); and Whereas, Our nation has failed to meet the promises made to those Filipino soldiers who fought as American soldiers during World War II; and Whereas, The Congress passed legislation in 1946 limiting and precluding Filipino veterans that fought in the service of the United States during World War II from receiving most veterans benefits that were available to them before 1946; and Whereas, Many Filipino veterans have been unfairly treated by the classification of their service as not being service rendered in the United States Armed Forces for purposes of benefits from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs; and Whereas, All other nationals who served in the United States Armed Forces have been recognized and granted full rights and benefits, but the Filipinos, as American nationals at the time of service, were and still are denied recognition and singled out for exclusion, and this treatment is unfair and discriminatory; and Whereas, On October 20, 1996, President Clinton issued a proclamation honoring the nearly 100,000 Filipino veterans of World War II, soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, who fought as a component of the United States Armed Forces alongside allied forces for four long years to defend and reclaim the Philippine Islands, and thousands more who joined the United States Armed Forces after the war; Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States during the First Session of the 106th Congress to take action necessary to honor our country's moral obligation to provide these Filipino veterans with the military benefits that they deserve, including, but not limited to, holding related hearings, and acting favorably on legislation pertaining to granting full veterans benefits to Filipino veterans of the United States Armed Forces; and be it further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Assembly transmit a copy of this resolution to the President and the Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of the officers and inspectors of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Customs Service and other Federal agents and various agencies and ask that they be accorded the full Federal law enforcement status, as outlined in legislation I recently introduced. This bill will finally grant the same status to the U.S. INS and Customs inspectors as to all other Federal law enforcement officers and fire fighters. It is in the public's interest to end the unfair, unsafe, and expensive practice of excluding these inspectors from the law enforcement category. Because of the current lopsided law, INS and Customs lose vigorous, trained professionals to other law enforcement agencies. The agencies also lose millions of dollars, as they have to train other inspectors to take the place of those who have just departed. Customs and Immigration inspectors are law enforcement officers. They are law enforcement officers. They carry firearms and are the country's first line of defense against terrorism and smuggling of drugs at our borders. I represent the City of San Diego at the border crossing between Mexico and the United States; and right there in my district, 125,000 people per day, 125,000 people per day cross through the point of entry. It is the busiest border crossing in the world. And inspectors there daily face felons. They disarm people who are carrying sawed-off shotguns, switch-blade knives, and handguns. They have been run over by cars and have had shoot-outs with drug smugglers. Forty-three courageous U.S. Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service inspectors have been killed in the line of duty. We owe it to their memory, and to the men and women who now serve in the same dangerous jobs that their predecessors died performing, to provide inspectors with the full law enforcement status. The sad irony in this fight is that the inspectors who were killed in the line of duty eventually achieved law enforcement status when they died by having their names inscribed in the granite of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington, D.C. Mr. Speaker, I say this is too long to wait and way too high of a price to pay for law enforcement status for the Customs Service and Immigration and Naturalization Service inspectors. We have the opportunity to provide inspectors parity and recognition now, while they live and protect us from terrorists, drug dealers, and fugitives. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Immigration and Customs inspectors daily put their lives on the line. It is time that we value those lives. I urge support of H.R. 1228, legislation to correct the unequal treatment of these Federal law enforcement officers.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to pay tribute to Mike Madigan, who is returning to his roots in the public sector after spending 21 years with Pardee Construction Company. Mike has retired as the Senior Vice President, Development Coordination for Pardee and agreed to coordinate a massive redevelopment project for the City of San Diego in the East Village--a redevelopment project that includes San Diego's new home for our National Baseball League Champion Padres. Mr. Speaker, I have had the pleasure of knowing Mike Madigan for many years and found that we have many similarities. I am a life-long Democrat, while Mike belongs to the other party. Mike served San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson for more than five years, while I served Senator Hubert Humphrey. Mike is a former Naval officer and graduate of San Diego State University. I taught at San Diego State for more than 20 years. Mike and I also share a deep commitment and dedication to our community. Mike has demonstrated his sense of civic duty in numerous ways. As a testament to his leadership, Mike has chaired the following organizations: the California Water Commission, the San Francisco Bay Delta Advisory Committee, the Bay Delta Oversight Council, Children's Hospital Health Center of San Diego, the San Diego Library Commission, the Board of Directors of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, the San Diego Armed Services YMCA, the San Diego County Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the San Diego Unit of the American Cancer Society, the San Diego County Water Authority and the San Diego County Council for Equality. I had the honor of working with Mike Madigan in a number of these capacities. Mike taught me much about land use planning, water policy, and the development of high quality and affordable housing. It was my honor to work with Mike during the development of Pardee's California Terraces project in my Congressional district. The California Terraces project had to overcome a number of obstacles before it could become reality. Mike had to fully utilize all of his skills and expertise to make this project happen. In the face of opposition on environmental grounds, Mike negotiated with environmental activists, planners and regulatory agencies to preserve needed open space while developing a profitable, yet affordable housing product. Through his efforts, Pardee Construction became a partner with local school districts and as a result, the San Ysidro School District will construct its first elementary school in decades. Mike also helped Pardee establish and support a childcare program operated by the Borderview YMCA. I know that Mike has the same deep concern and affection for Southern San Diego County--and it shows in his pride of the diversity of the homeowners that have selected California Terraces as their new neighborhood. Mr. Speaker, Mike Madigan has been a true civic leader in San Diego. As an adviser to Mayor Wilson, as a library or water policy ``wonk'', as chairman of numerous non-profit organizations, and a representative of Pardee Construction, Mike has been one of the most influential San Diegans of his generation. I know that the City of San Diego will benefit from his skills and knowledge as he helps re-develop the East Village and our new ballpark. I hope that my colleagues will join me in extending our best wishes on his new endeavors.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, following is the testimony I gave on April 22, 1999 to the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education of the Committee on Appropriations: Thank you for the opportunity to testify this morning on behalf of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program. There is virtually no disagreement that one-third of the homeless men in this country are veterans--and that approximately 58 percent of those individuals are veterans of the Vietnam era. In my home town of San Diego, it is estimated that 40-50% of the homeless served in our Armed Forces. This means, Mr. Chairman, that tonight in this great country of ours, more than 275,000 veterans who served their country with honor will sleep in doorways--in boxes--in alleys--and on grates in our cities--and in barns--and lean- tos--and on the ground in rural America. This is a troubling and shameful image and a troubling and shameful reality. Since 1987, the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP), a modest, cost-effective program designed to help homeless veterans reenter and succeed in the job market, has proven its worth. More than 46,000 homeless veterans have received help and support from the community-based organizations funded under HVRP, and many were placed in jobs at a cost of less than $1,500 per veteran. Few government programs can claim to have achieved so much with so little. At its fully authorized level of $10 million, HVRP is profoundly underfunded--and the $5 million funding level included in the Administration budget, although a welcome increase over past years, is woefully inadequate. The Department of Labor estimates that $5 million will enable HVRP grantees to assist more than 6,000 veterans and actually place 3,500 homeless veterans in jobs. I ask that you provide the maximum authorization of $10 million for this program so that more than 7,000 veterans may return to economic self- sufficiency and independence. Mr. Chairman, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that 550,000 veterans are homeless over the course of a year. This, to me, is an absolutely staggering and tragic statistic--and to limit funding to $10 million for the only program that focuses on employment of veterans who are homeless makes no sense. Consequently, I introduced legislation on Tuesday that would authorize $50 million for HVRP for each fiscal year through 2004. The need is enormous--and the need is real. I know there are those who ask why we can't simply serve veterans along with other homeless populations. They want to know why we need veteran-specific programs. The answer is rooted in the uniqueness of the shared active-duty military experience--in the discipline, sacrifice, and camaraderie associated with military service. When they go through basic training, young recruits quickly learn that their lives could some day depend on the guy in the next bunk--and that they themselves may be responsible for the lives of their comrades. They learn that they must work together if they are to succeed in their mission--and they will succeed as a group only if each servicemember exercises the self-discipline required to perform responsibly. As a result of this training, homeless veterans respond to, and trust other veterans, and they succeed in programs that replicate the military structure. I expect that the non-veteran homeless population might not benefit from the organization and discipline of veteran-specific homeless programs, but veterans do thrive in this environment. One of the key factors in the success of HVRP is the outreach to homeless veterans that is most often done by formerly homeless veterans. They are best able to reach out to and convince homeless vets to seek services and assistance. They are best able to recognize the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and arrange for the necessary treatment. They are best able to determine when their fellow veterans are ready to get a job--and to keep a job. And, perhaps most importantly, they are the best possible role models for success. In a recent conversation about the importance of veteran-specific homeless programs, someone said to me--``If one-third of the homeless men in this country spoke only Latin, would it make any sense for homeless providers to speak to them only in English?'' And the answer is--of course not! Veterans speak the same unique language, and they share the same unique experiences. The programs that are based on the principle of ``vets helping vets'' are most likely to succeed with homeless veterans. The Department of Labor is currently funding HVRP programs ion New York, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Texas, and California--and I hope that the members of this Subcommittee who represent those states will make a point of visiting their HVRP grantees and seeing their good work first hand. Mr. Chairman, I listened closely to the impressive testimony I heard from the veterans' service organizations who testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee over the past few months--and I sense an urgently and frustration that I've not heard before. America's veterans are telling us that they have done more than their fair share--and now they expect us to be their advocates. They are reminding us that America is safe and free only because of the generations of men and women who willingly endured the hardships and sacrifices required to preserve our liberty. I urge you to demonstrate your commitment to America's veterans and provide full funding for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program and help bring homeless veterans home.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today in strong support of this legislation to honor one of my heroes and a great American, the venerable Rosa Parks. On a wintery afternoon in December 1955, Rosa Louise Parks could not have known she would soon become a national symbol and civil rights icon. But in standing her ground and demanding her fair and equal treatment on that bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks became the first lady of civil rights and the mother of the freedom movement. Her simple action and committed resolve that day empowered a people, ignited a movement and changed the course of American history. The events that followed Ms. Park's protest that day--her arrest, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the eventual integration of the bus system--set the stage for Dr. Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Act. As a young college student, I was inspired by the stories of Ms. Park's courageous action. I traveled to the south as a ``freedom rider'' in support of the blossoming civil rights movement, and I too was jailed for my actions. Rosa Parks determination and tenacity that day continues to be an inspiration to all those committed to non-violent protest and change more than 40 years later. She continues to be a symbol and tireless advocate for justice and equality throughout America. She is a priceless lesson on the ``power of one.'' Mr. Speaker, Rosa Parks is a national treasure. Our debt to her is great, and awarding her the Congressional Gold Medal is an honor long overdue. I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join me in awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to my hero, Rosa Louise Parks.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, and colleagues, I rise today in support of homeownership and the mortgage interest tax deduction that makes it possible for millions of American families participate in the American Dream. Today, when Americans are paying taxes and we debate changing the tax code, we need to be vigilant to protect the part of the code that helps millions to improve their lives and secure their future. Two-thirds of all American families own their own homes--a rate that would be impossible without the mortgage interest deduction. Homeownership is essential to the strength and vitality of America, providing a foundation of family security, stability and prosperity. Our communities are strengthened because of the pride of ownership and the vested interest homeowners have in their neighborhoods. So today, let us vow to protect the mortgage interest tax deduction, and help to guarantee a strong future for American families and communities.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, this conference agreement on the Republican resolution is a slap in the face to our Nation's veterans, those who have given us our country's freedom. It slashes health care funding every year after the year 2000. We do have a 1-year increase of $1.6 billion, but that is it, only 50 percent of what the veterans' organizations in this country said was absolutely minimal, for what was necessary for the veterans' health care system. They recommended a $3 billion increase for every year. My colleagues gave them $1.6 billion for the first year and then started cutting them every year after that. Over 10 years, the conference agreement cuts veterans funding by $2.3 billion below a 1999 level. We will see hospitals in danger of closing. We will see veterans with hepatitis C not receive treatment. We will see long-term care decreased. Research will be severely underfunded. Buildings will deteriorate. The chairman of our committee, a Republican chairman, said that if we have a straight line budget, we will compromise access to quality of care. Vote ``no'' on the slap in the face of the Veterans Administration.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Budget Resolution for FY 2000. There are many reasons why we should oppose this Resolution, and one of the major reasons is what it does to our nation's veterans. The budget figures for veterans are completely unacceptable especially in the area of health care. Under the Budget Resolution, the Republicans who have been criticizing for weeks the President's budget, have done no better--the VA health care system is drastically underfunded and in danger of actual collapse. This is a drastic problem which demands serious, substantial solutions. What I think is worst about the Budget Resolution, as it affects veterans, is the disingenuous manner in which it is crafted. In FY2000, the budget outlay increases for the discretionary budget where VA health care is funded, from $19.2 to $20.9 billion--a seemingly significant increase. But if you look beyond 2000, it immediately drops to $19.1 billion, then to $19 billion, then to $18.9 billion. How can we maintain health care for our increasingly older veteran population with shrinking numbers? We need more funds, not less, to reverse the trend of decimating psychiatric, substance abuse and other mental health problems. We need to increase long-term care to increase the options for our growing population of elderly veterans. We need to eliminate the practice of discharging veterans who are Alzheimer's patients. New health care initiatives for veterans suffering from Hepatitis C-related illnesses have been proposed, with no new dollars to pay for them. We will be unable to absorb the additional Persian Gulf War veterans who will be eligible for health care under a new law. I have carefully studied the Independent Budget for Fiscal Year 2000, a comprehensive policy document created by veterans for veterans and endorsed by over 50 veterans' service organizations. In this budget, I sense an urgency and frustration that I've not heard before. America's veterans are telling us that they have done more than their fair share--and now they expect us to be their advocates. They are reminding us that America is safe and free only because of the generations of men and women who willingly endured the hardships and sacrifices required to preserve our liberty. For many, many years, America's veterans have been good soldiers. They have done their duty and been conscientious, responsible citizens. Every time the Veteran's Affairs Committee was handed a reconciliation target, it met that target. Billions of veterans' dollars have been handed over in order to balance the budget and eliminate the deficit. Time and time again, America's veterans answered their nation's call. The country needed their support, and America's veterans gave all that they could give. Well, the budget deficit has been eliminated. That battle has been won. I believe that this year, it is time for America's veterans to come first. We, as a nation, owe them that. It is the duty of Congress to pass a responsible budget and to do so, we must lift the VA budget cap in order to provide a budget that is worthy of our veterans. The United States and the freedom our country represents around the world have persisted and flourished because of the sacrifices of our veterans. We must remember the men and women who made those sacrifices as we vote on the budget for veterans.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is talking about the President's budget. That was a suggestion that is long past. This is the Republicans' budget now. Stop talking about the President's budget. The Republican budget has underfunded over 10 years veterans' health care by almost $2.5 billion. The Republicans increase it the first year, I will give them that, but they have put it on a freeze for the next decade. They are harming the health of our Nation's veterans.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall) for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in support of H.R. 1143, which establishes assistance to microenterprise programs in developing countries. This bill is very important for a number of reasons which we have already heard. It establishes in law our support for microenterprise. Congress has not provided full authorization up until now for microenterprises in developing countries. Second, this bill sets aside increased resources for microenterprise programs for the next 2 years. Third, it ensures that half of the funding goes to programs which serve the very poor in loans of $300 or less. I recently saw some of these programs in Petra in Jordan, and in Marrakesh in Morocco. I have been a longtime supporter of microenterprise lending. Several years ago, my senior legislative assistant went to Bangladesh to view the Grameen Bank and microenterprise at work in that country. As many know, the Grameen Bank was one of the first to establish such a program and to make microloans available to the poorest of the poor. The premise of the Grameen Bank and other microenterprise programs is that the capitalist system in these countries does not have to be only for the rich, and credit should be seen as a human right. If we are looking for one single action that will enable the poor to overcome their poverty, we should choose credit. Charity and handouts help maintain and deepen poverty by taking away initiative. Human beings thrive on challenges, not on charity. The Grameen Bank is now owned by the poor people of Bangladesh and it works exclusively with poor people. The less one has, the higher priority one has for loans. If one has nothing, they get the highest priority. Ninety percent of the shares are owned by the borrowers. The board of directors consists of 13 members, nine of whom are elected by the borrowers and shareholders. It serves over 2.4 million borrowers, and the payback rate is 98 percent, money which can then be re-lent to others. So far, this program has lent out and has been repaid with over $2 billion in Bangladesh alone. There are many examples of how these microloans have changed the life of the borrower. My legislative assistant spoke to a woman in a village in central Bangladesh. Five years earlier when she was living in complete poverty with her six children starving, she turned with some hesitation to the Grameen Bank. Five years after her first loan, she graciously invited my assistant into her home, introduced her children who are all in school, and proudly showed off the cow that she had bought and the material she retails to support her family. The first years were not easy. In fact, she told of selling the milk from her cow when her children were still hungry, but she knew she had to repay the bank loan to get another one and she knew that that was the way out of her poverty. As my assistant left, she asked for her to pray that there would be no more widows in her village because life for a widow is just too hard. In a neighboring village, a young woman of 26 owned two goats, one cow, ten hens and two acres of land and was earning twice the national average income. Her son was in the eighth grade in a country where not quite half the children complete the fifth grade. She had had a hard life as she was abandoned at 3 months by her parents, raised by a neighbor, married at 12, abandoned again at 13, this time by her husband when she was pregnant. She had never earned more than $37 a year and owned no land. After her visit to the Grameen Bank, she began her own career which allowed her children to get to school and her to have a living wage. Replicated throughout the world and now in the United States also, microcredit programs are working to eliminate poverty worldwide. Working in partnership with groups like Results, they have set a goal of reaching 100 million of the world's poorest families. This bill is very important. It is a crucial piece that will help us reach our world and national goals. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1143.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, seeing the world from the right is a very different perspective. But it is clear that we all see this as not only a bonding experience for all of us, but to come together around the issues of fighting discrimination and ending racism is something that bonds us all together. There is no aisle when it comes to these issues. And like all of the other Members who were on this incredible weekend pilgrimage, we thank especially John Lewis for leading us in a religious experience. We were with, I think we all know, an authentic American hero, someone who really changed American history, changed the course of history through his own personal witness, his willingness to stand up for righteousness and for the truth and against racism; who was beaten down, was imprisoned, and yet got up and is here in Congress to lead us into a new understanding. Madam Speaker, we thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), all of us, for reliving those experiences. The changes that I saw, and I had not been in Alabama for 30 years, were incredible political changes, social changes. It reminded us of the progress that we made, but it also reminded us I think of the ways we have got to go. We were in Selma, and a small town takes a long time to change. We saw how changes had to be made there. But what struck me as someone who had been there 30 years ago was the incredible courage that was evidenced, the tremendous courage evidenced by the young people and the older people at that time. I got to go back to college after a summer in jail. People had to stay there and take the hardship and the challenge and the threats of death.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt) for his remarks.

Mr. FILNER. I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina.

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan, and I thank all of us for being able to put this together. I wish those who were viewing this from their offices and from around the country could see that we are a bipartisan group standing on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of H.R. 15, the Otay Mountain Wilderness Act. This area should be designated as a wilderness area so that we can preserve its natural wonders and safeguard the many treasures it has to offer for future generations. The gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray) and I are part of the San Diego congressional delegation that has been working hard with the U.S. Border Patrol, the California Department of Forestry, the California Department of Fish and Game, the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego and the U.S. Attorney's office, all together, to try to make H.R. 15 a reality. All of us have come together despite our differences to make sure that we preserve the pristine beauty of this natural wilderness for our children and our grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, it would be truly a shame if future generations could not enjoy this natural gem. What does it mean to designate the Otay Mountain region as a wilderness area? It means that the land will be protected by the Federal Government from any activities that could harm the plant and animal life or the landscape in general. This will ensure the protection of this land for all of us, both today and tomorrow. The Otay Mountain region, which is located in southwestern California near the U.S.-Mexico border, is an extraordinary landscape with many diverse natural, scientific and scenic values. The amazing diversity of this land includes both desert and coastal areas and boasts a number of plant species which can grow only in this area. In fact, the directory of Federal Natural Areas lists at least 15 plant species that are candidates for Federal listing as Threatened or Endangered Species. The Tecate Cypress, coastal sage shrub, oak woodlands and a number of other vegetative associations are only a few of the plant species which grow only in small isolated populations in California and Mexico. These species play a critical role in San Diego's multi-species conservation plan, a national model for maintaining biodiversity. Not protecting these species would be a travesty. The Otay Mountain region was designated as the Otay National Cooperative Land and Wildlife Management Area back in 1962, and later, in 1980, two wilderness study areas were designated by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the Bureau of Land Management. Many people in our community know and have known for years that the Otay Mountain region is a valuable asset that we cannot lose. My colleagues and I would like to take this a step further by designating it as a wilderness area. There are other reasons why it is absolutely critical that we preserve this beautiful place in America. Because the area is located near the busy city of San Diego and on the U.S.-Mexico border, the danger of pollution not only from smog and other toxins but also from binational travelers is very real. Moreover, the border location of this region is the focus of important law enforcement and border efforts to curtail illegal immigration. These additional strains can cause very real degradation to our environment. Finally, the area presents unique fire management challenges. The designation as a wilderness area will actually help us to manage all of these issues. The lands within the Otay Mountain region represent some of the last pristine wilderness areas in western San Diego County, California. There are many benefits to designating this area as a wilderness area. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 15, the Otay Mountain Wilderness Act.