Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, we who serve as members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs have many responsibilities. Our primary commitment, however, is to those men and women who are disabled while serving on active duty in America's Armed Forces and to their families. Accordingly, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2367, the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 1997. Under this measure, more than 2\1/2\ million service-disabled veterans nationwide, and their surviving spouses, will receive an increase in their disability-related benefits on December 1 of this year. In the great State of California alone, more than 220,000 veterans injured in service to our country will receive this enhanced benefit. I am privileged to serve on the Veterans' Affairs Committee and to work on behalf of those whose sacrifices have protected the freedoms on which our Nation is founded. We, as free men and women, owe a unique debt to our veterans, and I urge my colleagues to join me in fulfilling this special obligation by supporting H.R. 2367.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a fellow Congressman and a fellow professor of humanities, not to mourn Walter Capps, but to remember him. In many ways, a lot of us thought that Walter seemed out of place here. In a place that prided itself on action, Walter was reflective; in a place that prides itself on hardball, Walter was gentle; in a place that prides itself on its magnetism, Walter was moral and ethical. In a place where supposedly nice guys finish last, Walter was nice. Yes, he was out of place here, but even in his short time, he made this a better place. His own example did that. Lois, we loved him; we love you. We will miss him.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 25th anniversary of Smythe Elementary School. For 25 years, Smythe Elementary School has been a vibrant center for the San Ysidro community. The faculty and staff at Smythe Elementary have made a commitment that encompasses far more than the school day, and the school provides programs that address a multitude of needs of the students, parents, and the larger community. After-school programs sponsored by the U.S. Border Patrol and the YMCA provide children with a safe and healthy atmosphere in which they can do homework, improve their reading skills, and engage in fun activities. Now that more and more homes are headed by a single parent, or by two working parents, activities that keep our children safe and active after school are absolutely essential. During school hours, education is supplemented with programs like Read Aloud, which focuses on developing reading skills and a love for books; Drop Out Prevention, which starts early to keep kids from ending their education early; and Gifted and Talented Education [GATE], which harnesses the energy and dedication of young scholars. Health and safety programs like D.A.R.E. teach kids important lessons about staying away from drugs and crime. The teachers at Smythe understand the dangers that our children are exposed to, and they are working to prevent our kids from trouble before trouble starts. Smythe Elementary is located in an ethnically and socially diverse community, and the school strives to answer to the complex needs of this area by providing citizenship classes, English classes, parenting classes, and a whole host of programs aimed at increasing community awareness. Many of the programs I have mentioned today are possible because of funding provided by the Federal Government and, unfortunately, many of these programs are constantly threatened with extinction. I urge my fellow members to revisit the schools in their home districts and reacquaint yourselves with the programs they provide. Like Smythe Elementary, many of our schools have become very important community centers, and our continued support is not only necessary for the safety and quality education of our children. It is necessary for the maintenance of our communities and our way of life. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in celebrating and honoring Smythe Elementary for its continued contributions to the community of San Ysidro.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the importance of a vital and often overlooked national program. The week of October 20 through October 24 marks the 51st anniversary of the National School Lunch Program, which has served to provide nutritional meals to three generations of American schoolchildren. In California's 50th Congressional District, as in many other communities across the country, school lunches provide the only balanced meal that many of our children can count on. Sadly, their young voices are not always heard as Congress debates the necessity of this program. The National School Lunch Program provides the most basic need of our young people--a healthy, balanced meal to give them the nutrition and energy necessary to learn and succeed in school. School lunches provide the sustenance for the body that enables children to learn and provide sustenance for their developing minds. Incredibly, this beneficial and cost-effective program is under constant attack. Such short-sided logic is a threat to the health and welfare of our children and our Nation as a whole. Many of my colleagues remember attempts to designate catsup as a vegetable and other attempts to eliminate the program entirely. These are not examples of cost-effective government, they are not examples of leadership, they are examples of child neglect--both criminal in intent and cold at heart. Mr. Speaker, in honor of National School Lunch Week, I ask that my colleagues rise and join with me in support of the National School Lunch Program to continue this important nutritional lifeline to our children.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with many of my colleagues to reaffirm our commitment to the education of our children and to our role in supporting local initiatives for strong neighborhood public schools. One fine example of a local initiative which has fostered the success of thousands of children in my home State of California is the Parent Institute for Quality Education which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary. The primary emphasis of the Institute and its founder, Vahac Mardirosian, is the involvement of parents in their children's education. The Institute provides parents with the skills and knowledge necessary to become actively involved with their kids both at home and in their children's schools. The Institute works with schools that have the most at-risk students. By building partnerships between parents, teachers and school administrators, the work and efforts of each are strengthened and every measure of quality education is demonstrably improved. Plans to increase parental involvement in all our schools are included in the Democratic agenda for first class public schools. I encourage my colleagues to support this agenda which reaffirms our commitment to our children and to public education in our Nation.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Stump] and the ranking member of the committee, the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Evans] for bringing this to the floor in such a rapid fashion; and also thanks to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Stearns], the chairman of the subcommittee, and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Gutierrez], its ranking member, for their leadership on these issues. Madam Speaker, homelessness among our Nation's veterans continues to be a significant and troubling problem across the country. Informal surveys indicate that up to 275,000 former members of our Armed Forces sleep on America's streets or in homeless shelters every night. H.R. 2206, as has been described, provides for the extension and improvement of programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs which have assisted thousands of these men and women. I am proud to say that my city of San Diego was one of the first to reach out to its homeless veterans, originating the creative program of ``Stand Down.'' Also, the Vietnam vets of San Diego run an incredibly effective housing program. But no city has the resources to address the crisis without Federal assistance and cooperation. The programs which are being extended under H.R. 2206 will enable the good and caring citizens of San Diego and every other American city to continue to provide shelter, transitional housing and other support critical to the survival and rehabilitation of homeless veterans. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the fine work of one of the largest nonprofit children's programs in the great State of California, the Rolling Readers Volunteer Tutoring Program. Rolling Readers is one of the Nation's premier volunteer children's literacy organizations. Back in 1991, after realizing the benefits of reading aloud to his sons, San Diego resident Robert Condon began Rolling Readers by volunteering to read to children at a local homeless shelter. From this simple beginning, the Rolling Readers Tutoring Program was developed in partnership with the San Diego County Office of Education. Under executive director Condon, the Rolling Readers Program takes volunteer readers from the community and trains them to become weekly story-time readers for an hour each week at local schools and community organizations. A professional site coordinator is available to help the tutors succeed. Over 2000 Rolling Readers volunteers now read to and tutor 50,000 children each and every week. That is 2,000 readers and 50,000 children. Each volunteer in the Rolling Readers Program reads to the same group of children each week, establishing a continuity not only in tutoring but in inspiring minds, touching imaginations, developing language skills, and assuring a positive impact on the children's lives. Because of financial contributions to Rolling Readers from many individuals, both those who read to children and those who are not able to volunteer their time, the volunteer readers are also able to give new books to the children three times a year. Millions of dollars worth of new books have now been given, each book a gift from the volunteer to the child. Offices, phones, postage, printing, and delivery trucks are also donated. In these ways Rolling Readers is an organization unlike any other. The vision of Rolling Readers is very clear: We have a major crisis in our country. For 30 years literacy rates have been falling, with the biggest decline occurring amongst the population already in the bottom half in reading test scores. Spend a few minutes thinking that over and you will realize how devastating that situation is and how important is the work of the Rolling Readers volunteers. I am excited that the Rolling Readers Program is further expanding in my 50th Congressional District in San Diego. I salute this fine organization and its volunteers for the outstanding contribution they are making to our communities. What can happen for our kids through reading can be truly magical.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remind my colleagues that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to recognize California's Breast Cancer Early Detection Program Partnerships for making available to all California women timely clinical screening, mammography, and treatment for newly detected breast cancers. This remarkable accomplishment has been made possible by the cooperation of health care providers through the federally funded Breast Cervical Cancer Control Program [BCCCP]. Through the BCCCP, volunteers join with public and private providers in making available clinical examinations, mammography, education and outreach efforts, epidemiology, and the provision and funding of treatment for women in need of these services. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and far too often the lack of preventative care and examinations serve as a death sentence to low-income women and women of color. Sadly, many women lack the necessary resources to obtain screening services. In the 3 years, since its inception through March 1997, the San Diego/Imperial County Breast Cancer Early Detection Program Partnership has funded screening services for greater than 5,000 women and has diagnosed many cases of breast cancer among women who may not have received breast cancer screening services without the partnership. Through March 1997, the partnership has funded outreach and educational efforts to an additional 14,500 women. Ongoing education and outreach projects are expected to reach thousands more in 1997 and 1998. Generous grants from the California endowment and donated services from local hospitals and providers regularly ensure that all women diagnosed with breast cancer who do not qualify for other private or public funds receive state-of-the-art treatment. Many cancer survivors join with other volunteers to provide a helping hand to newly diagnosed women. I want to also salute Ms. Rebecca Charles, a resident in my 50th Congressional District, who serves as the co-chair of the Volunteer and Recruitment Committee of the Board of Governors of the Scripps Green Clinic for the Early Detection Breast Cancer Awareness Program. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in support of these exemplary efforts to reach each and every woman with needed services before it is too late. Every Woman Counts!

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today in support of legislation to attack one of the most critical problems facing the residents of San Diego County and California--illegal immigration. My Eliminating the Magnet for Illegal Immigration Act gets at the root of the problem. It will stop people from trying to cross the border in the first place by removing the attraction--jobs offered by unscrupulous employers that entice people to come to the United States. My bill finally clamps down on employers that encourage illegal immigration by violating our laws and knowingly hiring undocumented workers. In San Diego, I represent the district that runs along the border and has the most border crossings--both legal and illegal--in the world. I am acutely aware of the strain illegal immigration puts on communities in my district, and I have always been a firm believer in gaining control of our borders. In the last 2 years, we have made significant progress. We have increased the number of Border Patrol agents and have begun to give them the tools and technology to get the job done. But these changes have had limited success in stopping illegal immigration. The critical next step in the fight to stop illegal immigration is to eliminate the magnet and enforce our laws against the hiring of illegal immigrants. In 1986, Congress underscored the need to eliminate the job magnet and made it illegal to hire undocumented workers--but these laws have been largely ignored. The INS simply has not had the resources to do its job. Some employers hire undocumented workers because their status makes them easy targets for exploitation and abuse. These employers know they can force them to work in substandard conditions. These employers know they can get away with paying them substandard wages. Is it any wonder that we have this problem. My legislation gives the INS the resources it needs to aggressively enforce employer sanctions and gives the Department of Labor the resources to aggressively enforce wage and hour laws. And most importantly, it directs the two agencies to combine forces and target those industries notorious for hiring undocumented workers and forcing them to work in unacceptable conditions. My bill gets tough on employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers by imposing stronger sanctions and doubling those penalties against employers also caught violating labor laws. It also helps employers by reducing the number of documents workers can use to verify their eligibility. I want to fully acknowledge that there is an inherent danger that this kind of approach could lead to discrimination against workers--and evidence shows that this has indeed been the case in some instances. Thus my bill will also stiffen the penalties against employers that discriminate and give the Department of Justice the resources it needs to thoroughly investigate incidents of discrimination. We will also provide programs to educate employers about their responsibilities in this area. My bill takes a balanced, comprehensive approach to the problems created by illegal immigration. As a border Congressman, I am well aware of both the positive and the negative effects of immigration. And I promised myself, and the people that I represent, that we would deal with the negative impacts without retreating from the values that have made this the greatest country in the world. I challenge Congress to get past the scapegoating that has become so politically profitable. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this critically important initiative and show your commitment to truly stem the illegal immigration that affects so many of our communities. I ask you to join me and cosponsor the Eliminate the Magnet for Illegal Immigration Act of 1997.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to Mr. Rizal Agbayani, a veteran of World War II and a former member of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East. He died of a heart attack last week at the Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, near Washington, DC. He is survived by his wife, Criselda, and his eight children. Mr. Agbayani came to Washington as part of the 37-veteran delegation from Hawaii attending the gathering of the National Advisory Council of Philippine-American Veteran Leaders. Almost 300 Filipino veterans were in our Nation's Capital last week, gathered together for the first time, working with a united front to achieve equity for all Filipino World War II veterans. Mr. Agbayani actively took part in meetings with several Members of Congress. He was also one of the hundred demonstrators at a rally in front of the White House organized by National Advisory Council members and the 130-member Equity Caravan, a 6-city, 2-week march to Washington designed to call attention to the Filipino Veterans Equity Act (H.R. 836) and urging Congress to pass this bill. Mr. Agbayani was named after Jose Rizal. A national hero of the Philippines, Rizal was executed for his fight to free the Philippines from colonial Spain, and this year marks the observance of the centennial anniversary of Rizal's death. Like his namesake, Mr. Agbayani died while fighting for justice, and today his body is being flown to the Philippines to his final resting place. I want to take this opportunity to commemorate the life and struggle of Mr. Agbayani and the thousands of other Filipino World War II veterans whose participation was so crucial to the outcome of World War II. Too few Americans are familiar with this chapter in our Nation's history. During this war, the military forces of the Commonwealth of the Philippines were drafted to serve in our Armed Forces by Executive order of the President of the United States. Filipino soldiers defended the American flag in the now famous battles of Bataan and Corregidor. Thousands of Filipino prisoners of war died during the 65-mile Bataan death march. Those who survived were imprisoned under inhuman conditions where they suffered casualties at the rate of 50 to 200 prisoners a day. They endured 4 long years of enemy occupation. The soldiers who escaped capture, together with Filipino civilians, fought against the occupation forces. Their guerilla attacks foiled the plans of the Japanese for a quick takeover of the region and allowed the United States the time needed to prepare forces to defeat Japan. After the liberation of the Philippine Islands, the United States was able to use the strategically located Commonwealth of the Philippines as a base from which to launch the final efforts to win the war. One would assume that the United States would be grateful to their Filipino comrades, so it is hard to believe that soon after the war ended, the 79th Congress voted in a way that can only be considered to be blatant discrimination, as they took away the benefits and recognition that the Filipino World War II veterans were promised. Mr. Agbayani and his comrades have been fighting over 50 years to regain this recognition that they so deserve. Their sons and daughters have joined in the fight, wishing desperately to restore the honor and dignity to their fathers while they are still alive. The urgency is real, Mr. Speaker. At least six Filipino World War II veterans are dying each day. Mr. Agbayani's journey to Washington last week was his final journey in search of this recognition for his Filipino World War II comrades. As a tribute to Mr. Agbayani and the thousands of other veterans already gone before us in death, I urge my colleagues to take a serious inventory of this issue, to cosponsor 836, and to correct a monumental injustice by restoring the benefits that were promised to the Filipino World War II veterans for their defense of democratic ideals.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I thank the chairman and the ranking member. The amendment orders the IRS, because they have refused to do it informally, to stop the printing of Social Security numbers on the front of mailings to taxpayers or on their refund checks. This allows a practice that has become known as identity theft. People steal your Social Security number and then steal your money. So I appreciate the Chair and the ranking member for accepting this amendment to stop the IRS complicity in identity theft. Mr. Chairman, I stand to offer an amendment to the Treasury/Postal Appropriations bill because our constituents cannot wait to have the Internal Revenue Service protect them from identity theft. It is up to Congress to safeguard them from a serious attack on personal privacy-- an insidious practice that has become known as identity theft--which is facilitated by the IRS. My amendment to the Treasury/Postal Appropriations bill will forbid the IRS from visibly printing our Social Security numbers on the mailing labels of the tax booklets the IRS mails to us every year. It will also stop the IRS from printing Social Security numbers on the refund checks that millions of people receive annually in a way that they are visible through the window envelope. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes of the 1990's. Identity thieves make off with billions of dollars each year, and each day more than 1,000 people are being defrauded. With just your name and Social Security number, a thief can open credit lines worth $10,000, rent apartments, sign up for utilities, and even earn income. Your credit rating is ruined, you risk being rejected for everything from a college loan to a mortgage, and it's up to you to fix it all. Law enforcement generally will not pursue identity theft cases. That is why it is crucial that we act now--to prevent the IRS from making identity thieves' work even easier by allowing public view of Social Security numbers on their mailings and refund checks. I don't like to ask the Congress to pass judgment of a relatively simple issue. When I asked the IRS to change this practice, all I got was a bureaucratic runaround. I was told that this was a very complex issue and there is no way that they could correct it before the 1999 filing season. I find it incomprehensible that neither the agency nor its contractor can change a computer program for booklets that will be mailed in 1998. The IRS apparently has decided to be the conduit for identity theft--with the Postal Service as a de facto accomplice. My amendment will force the IRS to make this change in time to protect one of the most precious keys to our personal information--our Social Security numbers--before the coming tax filing season. To do any less would expose millions of us to devastating personal and financial losses, and the most important loss of all--our good name.

Mr. FILNER. I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. FILNER. I thank my colleague; I thank the Chair and the ranking member. The CHAIRMAN pro tempore [Mr. LaTourette]. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from California [Mr. Filner].

Mr. FILNER. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. FILNER. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a friend and longtime member of the San Diego educational community--Dr. Carroll Cannon. Dr. Cannon died on Sunday, September 7, 1997 at the age of 80. As well as a lifelong interest in education, he also had a passionate interest in international affairs--and he traveled throughout the world promoting world peace. He authored the book, ``Shaping Our Future Together: the U.S., the U.N. and We, the People'' and was in the process of writing his autobiography, ``Born to Grow, From Local Village to Global Village,'' at the time of his death. He received his bachelor of arts degree at Harding University in Searcy, AR, where he met his wife, Nona. He earned masters of arts degrees from Pepperdine and New York Universities and his Ph.D. at New York University. Dr. Cannon served for 14 years at California Western University [CWU] from 1958 until 1972, becoming provost in 1965. He was named provost emeritus of the CWU and the U.S. International University in 1992. His earlier days in education were spent as an administrator and teacher from elementary school through college. Carroll and Nona were instrumental in developing the first junior college in Japan in the early 1950's. Dr. Cannon's support for the United Nations dates back to 1945 when he witnessed the signing of the U.N. Charter in San Francisco. He served as president of the San Diego County chapter of the United Nations Association from 1978-1982, and he became national chairman of the Council of Chapter and Division Presidents of the association in 1983. He attended the ceremony which marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the U.N. Charter, also in San Francisco. He participated in the U.N. World Conference on Human Settlements in Vancouver and on Women in Copenhagen. He and his wife were often introduced in numerous speaking engagements for the United Nations as the ``Cannons for Peace''. At the time of his death, he had become a respected local voice for world peace. Friends knew Dr. Cannon as one of the most gracious, loving, and caring individuals they were privileged to know--and a true world peace patriot. My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Nona, to his two daughters and three grandchildren, to his friends, and to the larger community which was touched by his presence. We will all miss him.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Gary Karnopp, an exemplary representative of the San Diego region. Mr. Karnopp is being honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the San Diego Building & Trades Council for his dedication to working Americans. Mr. Karnopp is a carpenter and skilled tradesman, and as such has represented his brothers and sisters of the Carpenter's Union in a wide variety of positions, always working to promote higher standards of employment for building trades workers. He has been a member and leader of his union during his entire career. For the past 24 years, he has been a business representative and office in a local union. He served 17 years as financial secretary for Carpenters Local 2398, and earlier this year was elected financial secretary of local 547. He has been a delegate to the San Diego District Council of Carpenters for 15 years. He has served both as a delegate to the Southern California Conference of Carpenters and to the Southern California-Nevada Regional Council of Carpenters. He is currently business representative for the southern California-Nevada region. In addition, Mr. Karnopp is a long-time member of the East County Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Committee, the San Diego County Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Committee, and the Southern California Carpenters Overall Joint Apprenticeship Committee. He has served for two decades as a delegate to the San Diego Building Trades Council, 10 years on the executive board. He is also a 20-year delegate to the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council. His service extends to the greater community, as chairman of the personnel commission for the city of El Cajon, the east county advisory board for United Way, and a member of Masonic Lodge No. 576. I want to sincerely congratulate Gary Karnopp, his wife Cynthia and their two children, Lindsey and Alyssa--and I want to recognize his contributions to San Diego County and his achievement in receiving the Distinguished Service Award from the San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jack Ward, a labor leader, community activist, humanitarian, sportsman, and patriot. Mr. Ward is being recognized by the San Diego Building and Trades Council as Labor Leader of the Year. His more-than-full-time job is secretary-treasurer and principal executive officer of Teamsters Local 36. Before he was elected to this top position in his local union, Mr. Ward was president, vice president, trustee, and shop steward while employed by Bechtel Construction Co. He has also been on staff as a business representative since 1984. He has served in several capacities with the Teamsters--as delegate to Joint Council 42 and the Southwest Building Material and Construction Council He has also been a delegate and committee member at conventions of the Teamsters International Union. In addition, he is delegate and officer of the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council and an executive board member of the San Diego-Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO. His activities in the wider community include volunteering in political campaigns, serving on the board of the United Way, helping collect and distribute food for needy families with the letter carriers, giving of his time at Children's Hospital and at the Polinsky Center. He has been president of Pop Warner and Little League. As a Member of the House of Representatives Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I would like to especially acknowledge his service as a marine veteran of Vietnam. I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Ward for his hard work, dedication, and contributions to the San Diego region. I am also pleased to recognize his selection as Labor Leader of the Year by the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council. My sincere congratulations go to him, his wife, Janet, and their two sons, Jack Jr. and Jeff.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment called the community schools preservation amendment. It is an amendment designed to stop crime before it happens. The appropriations bill we are considering terminates funding for the Community Schools Youth Services and Supervision Program. Currently, that program funds 54 community schools and projects all around the Nation. My amendment would restore full funding to this valuable program. Mr. Chairman, according to the Administration on Children and Families, because of their unique structure, the community schools projects around this Nation will not receive funding without a direct appropriation and they will close, community schools across the Nation will close. Section 30403(a) of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act authorized modest funding for these projects which are finding innovative solutions to the problems of drug abuse, crime, and violence in our communities by working collaboratively with citizens, schools, and law enforcement. Mr. Chairman, as my colleagues know, funding for this amendment must be offset by reduced spending in other areas. Reluctantly, I have chosen to try to transfer $12.8 million from the administration of this department. I hope that is clear. I have a different amendment than what was earlier published. This transfers money from the administration account and not from the community schools block grant. Again, I am transferring money for this program from the administration account and not from the community schools block grant. In San Diego, which I represent, the Mano a Mano program has been successfully addressing problems in Barrio Logan in San Diego. Children participating in services provided by Mano a Mano have higher school attendance rates, higher grades, and better classroom behavior. Conflict resolution and management skills provided have resulted in less suspensions from school and fewer visits to school administrators, stopping the behavior that leads to juvenile crime before it happens. Additionally, the Federal funds provided to this project have allowed them to develop partnerships with other crime prevention organizations in the area. This project is so important that the city attorney of San Diego and other local officials have contacted me expressing the serious need for this community schools project. I encourage my colleagues to support this amendment. It provides funding for local projects that are finding local solutions to problems of drugs, crime, and violence in our young people. We are bringing, Mr. Chairman, long-term crime rates down, and we will keep them down with these local projects. It is imperative that we see our at-risk communities as a national priority. I hope my colleagues with join with me to save these truly community schools.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. It sounds, from the earlier statements, in the last few years that the Senate, or the other body, has been a little bit more prescient than us in this program. So I appreciate the gentleman's statement of trying to win their support again. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. McIntyre], the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Lofgren], the gentlewoman from Michigan [Ms. Stabenow], for their support, and the dozens of other Members, the gentleman from New York Mr. Lazio and [Mr. Weldon] on the other side, who have expressed support. But, Mr. Chairman, based on the ranking member's statement, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment at this time.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Patricia Worthy Oyeshiku, a distinguished teacher from my hometown of San Diego who has made a positive impact on thousands of young lives in our community. I am proud to recognize Dr. Oyeshiku, an outstanding teacher at Morse High School in my congressional district where she has taught since 1971. Mrs. O, as all her students call her, has just received the 1997 Western Regional Excellence in Teaching Award by the National Council of Negro Women. This excellence in teaching award is designed to raise awareness and involvement of African-American parents, educators and community leaders in meeting the educational needs of African-American youth. The award recognizes exceptional public school teachers of African- American students who are living the philosophy and legacy of the National Council of Negro Women. Funded by the Shell Oil Company, the award ceremonies are an opportunity to generate greater public awareness and appreciation of excellence in teaching. This is not the first time that Mrs. O has been recognized for her outstanding contribution to our young people. She was the California Teacher of the Year in 1981 and also a National Teacher of the Year finalist that year. She was honored as the Headliner in Education by the San Diego Press Club in 1981. She serves on the California Academic Partnership Program Advisory Board, is an Evaluation Team Leader of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, has served as past Cochairman for all English Department Chairs in the San Diego Unified School District. She is a member of the Advisory Committee in Reading for the San Diego Unified Achievement Goals Program and of the Advisory Council to an Interdisciplinary Approach to Multi-Cultural Education. She has lectured throughout the State of California on issues related to education. Mrs. O has always been an outstanding role model for many years. She served in the Peace Corps in Brazil, received the John F. Kennedy Award as the outstanding Peace Corps volunteer back in 1966. She is a member of the Readathon Advisory Board of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. When I was a member of the San Diego School Board from 1979 to 1983 and its president, Mrs. O helped me a great deal to understand the needs of students throughout our school district and advised me very closely on matters of raising the achievement of all the students in our district. Like those before her who have received this high honor, Mrs. O has worked tirelessly for the benefit of every student in her classes. Her principal, Dr. Shirley Peterson, told me that she is honored on behalf of all the Morse High School Tigers to recognize Mrs. O for receiving this prestigious award and to commend her and applaud her efforts. Madam Speaker, every student deserves the opportunity to succeed and every student deserves a teacher like Dr. Patricia Worthy Oyeshiku. I am pleased that her efforts are recognized with the 1997 Western Regional Excellence in Teaching Award.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents have alerted me to a serious attack on our personal privacy, and that is an insidious practice that has become known as identity theft. Amazingly enough, this theft is facilitated by a public agency, the Internal Revenue Service, which aids and abets this theft not through the Internet or any high-technology means but through the U.S. Postal Service. Yesterday I introduced a bill which I entitled the Stop the Theft of Our Social Security Numbers Act. This will prohibit the IRS from including our Social Security numbers on the mailing labels of the tax booklets the IRS mails us every year. It will also stop the IRS from printing Social Security numbers on the refund checks that millions of people receive annually in a way that numbers are visible when mailed. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes of this decade. Identity thieves make off with billions of dollars each year and each day more than 1,000 people are being defrauded. With just your name and your Social Security number, a thief can open credit lines worth $10,000, rent apartments, sign up for utilities, and even earn income. Your credit rating is ruined, you risk being rejected for everything from a college loan to a mortgage, and it is up to you to fix it all. Law enforcement will generally not pursue these identity theft cases. In light of this, making it even easier for identity theft by allowing public view of Social Security numbers on IRS mailings and refund checks seems criminal. Yet that is precisely what the IRS is doing. Taxpayers all know that their Social Security number appears just above their full name and address on tax booklets. It appears the same way on refund checks and is clearly visible through the window on the envelope. What more can the IRS do to aid the theft of your identity? Hand mail the thieves and unscrupulous people who might handle your mail your mother's maiden name? When I brought this to the attention of the IRS, I was told that there is no way that IRS can change this practice before the 1999 tax season. I find it incomprehensible that neither this agency nor its contractor can change a computer program for booklets that will be mailed out for 1998. The IRS apparently has decided to be the conduit for identity theft with the Postal Service as a de facto accomplice. My bill will force the IRS to make this change in time to protect one of the most precious keys to our personal information, our Social Security number, before the coming tax filing season. To do any less would expose millions of us to devastating personal and financial losses and the most important loss of all, our good name.