Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me, and I thank him for his service to our Nation's veterans as ranking member of the Committee on Veterans Affairs. Mr. Chairman, a source of particular satisfaction to me as a Member of Congress has been my service on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Veterans are special and unique members of our American family, and it has been an honor to work on their behalf. I am also privileged to represent the extraordinary residents of San Diego, CA, who have earned a nationwide reputation as a community committed to service to homeless veterans. It was the city of San Diego that created the Stand Down, a program which provides health care, legal assistance, dental treatment, clothing, and employment assistance for homeless veterans. This program has been replicated all over the country, and thousands of veterans have benefited because of the creativity and commitment of the veteran community in San Diego. Mr. Chairman, this amendment offered by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Evans] and myself extends this kind of benefits to homeless veterans all over this Nation. So on behalf of the good and caring citizens of San Diego, on behalf of America's homeless veterans, I urge my colleagues to support the Evans-Filner amendment.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Patricia Worthy Oyeshiku, a distinguished teacher from my home town 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. Tomorrow, she will receive 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 Shell Oil Co., the award ceremonies tomorrow are an opportunity to generate greater public awareness and appreciation of excellence in teaching. This is not the first time that Dr. Oyeshiku has been recognized for her outstanding contribution to our young people. She was the California Teacher of the Year in 1981 and also 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 cochairperson for all English department Chairs in the San Diego unified school district, 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 multicultural education. She has lectured throughout the State of California on issues related to education. Dr. Oyeshiku has always been an outstanding role model for many years. She served in the Peace Corps in Brazil, and received the John F. Kennedy Award as the outstanding Peace Corps volunteer in 1966. She is a member of the Readathon Advisory Board of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Like those before her who have received this high honor, Dr. Oyeshiku 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 of the Morse High School Tigers, to recognize Dr. Oyeshiku for receiving this prestigious award and to commend her and applaud her efforts.'' Mr. Speaker, every student deserves the opportunity to succeed, and every student deserves a teacher like Dr. Oyeshiku. I am pleased that her efforts are recognized with the 1997 Western Regional Excellence in Teaching Award.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, and colleagues, I rise today to pay tribute to Rev. James H. Hargett, who is retiring after 42 years in the ministry, the last 10 years as Pastor of the Christian Fellowship Congregational United Church of Christ. Dr. Hargett, as he is known by his parishioners, friends and colleagues alike, always makes it a point to blend African-American history with theology. In his sermons or during his numerous public speaking engagements, Dr. Hargett will always discuss the present conditions of African-Americans in the context of the history of almost 250 years of slavery. ``A son of the South'', Dr. Hargett was born in Greensboro, North Carolina 67 years ago. He grew up to march with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and participated in numerous civil rights demonstrations and causes. ``It was at this time,'' noted Dr. Hargett, ``that I got the chance to witness the system of separate but equal from a close up point of view.'' He recognized that a system based on segregation and bigotry would weaken our society. From that moment on, Dr. Hargett dedicated his life to fighting prejudice and injustice wherever it exists. Dr. Hargett married Louilyn Funderburke Hargett. Together, they have three adult children and five grandchildren. Since graduating from North Carolina A&T and the Yale Divinity School in the Mid-1950's, Dr. Hargett had ministries in Hawaii, North Carolina, Los Angeles, New York, and New Jersey before moving to San Diego a decade ago. He was active in the effort against Proposition 209, the anti- affirmative action initiative that was approved by California voters in 1996. He still believes that through strong leadership and organization, equal opportunity will continue to be the cornerstone of this democracy. Dr. Hargett has been a man of vision and dedication. He has been a minister and a teacher--a conscience for us all. Mr. Speaker, I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in paying tribute to Dr. James H. Hargett on this special occasion.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, and colleagues, I rise today to pay tribute to an organization in my district which has made innumerable contributions toward improving the lives of everyday citizens in the community of San Ysidro. Today, I ask all my colleagues to join me in recognizing the 25th anniversary of Casa Familiar. In 1972, Casa Familiar was formed by the San Diego Chapter of Trabajadores de la Raza, a group of local citizens, who were motivated by shared concerns for the residents in their community. Casa Familiar was founded to primarily serve Spanish-speaking residents, but today, it makes these services available for all the residents of south San Diego County. Casa Familiar provides numerous services to enhance the quality of life for its residents. Through its education department, Casa Familiar not only provides classes for teens and the elderly, it also serves as an advocate for quality education for both youth and adults. As part of its commitment to the community, Casa Familiar, provides counseling, case management, translation, and citizenship assistance to neighborhood residents. Casa Familiar recently began to offer programs to promote affordable housing. Casa Familiar has developed innovative partnerships with owners of multifamily complexes to provide safe, decent, and affordable shelter. These partnerships have resulted in rental referral programs, which are vital in helping people search for housing. The transitional housing program has been successful in providing local residents an opportunity to achieve the American dream--a home. Casa Familiar is located in San Ysidro, at the southern end of San Diego County--adjacent to the United States-Mexico border. The community consists of working families and new immigrants who contribute their share to the greatness of our Nation's economy. San Ysidro is California's gateway to international trade and commerce. In our community Casa Familiar is known as a leader, a voice for our community. Since its inception, Casa Familiar has remained true to fulfilling its mission of building the community by advocating on behalf of community interests. Mr. Speaker, I hope that my colleagues will join me in saluting Casa Familiar's 25 years of community service.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, August 15, 1997 will mark the 50th anniversary of India's independence, and I, as a United States Congressman, am excited about it. Why am I excited about another nation's independence? For the sane reasons that all Americans should be excited. As the largest democracy in Asia, India is celebrating the very same liberties and values which America cherishes. Over 500 million people turned out for India's free elections. 500 million. That is twice the population of the United States. India is not just a democracy--it is a democratic powerhouse. I am also excited about India's development as an economic market. As one of the top 10 emerging open markets, India has crossed the threshold of global commercial competition. Large U.S. enterprises such as Coca-Cola, GM, Enron, and Sun Microsystems, among others, are expanding to the Indian Subcontinent, creating employment opportunities for Americans and Indians alike. Mr. Speaker, America has maintained a strong relationship with India that began long before its independence in 1947. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt both championed a free India. We must continue to uphold this friendship and help celebrate this momentous occasion. I urge all Members of Congress and the people of America to join in the festivities sponsored nationwide by Indian-Americans to commemorate India's 50th anniversary of independence. Through this participation, we will strengthen the democratic bonds between our countries and realize the value and potential of India.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Annual Community Mobilization Conference and Training on Gangs, Violence and Drugs which was recently convened in my hometown of San Diego, CA. This was the eighth annual conference convened by Nu-Way Youth and Social Services, a local community-based organization. The conference was a national, collaborative event that brought parents, educators, law enforcement officers, probation officers, prosecutors, health and social service providers, together with civic, political and spiritual leaders to discuss the latest technologies and strategies for combatting juvenile crime in our communities. I would also like to give recognition to the National Crime Prevention Council [NCPC] and the Bureau of Justice Assistance [BJA] of the U.S. Department of Justice for their support and cosponsorship of NuWay's Eighth Annual National Conference. the NCPC and the BJA added programmatic support and technical assistance. By doing so they provided Nu-Way access to greater numbers of nationally recognized trainers, and broader participation. Conference participants came from throughout the United States and Canada. This support further strengthened the Educating, Motivating, Organizing and Mobilizing [EMOM] process and demonstrated the effectiveness of the partnership between community and government. This conference was a true collaborative project. And by its very nature, it reinforced the notion that ``it takes a village to raise a child''--and it challenged all of our citizens to accept the responsibility and join in our struggle to keep our youth free from the influence of gangs and drugs. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that Nu-Way, a valuable resource in the fight against gangs, drug abuse and violence, is based in my Congressional district, and I applaud the efforts of Nu-Way and the Community Mobilization Conference for their important role in our fight against juvenile crime.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in a discussion of NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, because it is of significant importance, not only to our country, but to my district in particular. NAFTA's rationales of the global economy, world trade and environment, are really local issues for those of us, as I do, that live along the United States-Mexico border. I represent part of the city of San Diego; I represent a good part of the California-Mexican border; and I will tell my colleagues that from our observation on the scene, NAFTA has failed the environmental test. NAFTA has failed the environmental test. The region that I represent includes Tijuana, the fastest growing city in Mexico, thanks to NAFTA and the Maquiladora program. In Tijuana, over 100,000 people work at approximately 1,000 of these plants that we call maquiladoras. Most of them are United States-owned. These factories range from low-tech to very-high-tech. They produce televisions and VCR's, electric components and metals, automotive parts, textiles, and furniture. The four largest manufacturing sectors exist in Tijuana, and these are also the largest users of toxic chemicals. Having such a large number of industries in a relatively small area poses a real threat to residents not only in Mexico but on the United States side of the border as well. NAFTA supporters promised that industrial growth would occur throughout Mexico, but in fact the majority of growth continues to be concentrated along our border. In 1993, before NAFTA was passed, I had the opportunity to tour Tijuana, along with several of my congressional colleagues. We visited abandoned lead smelters, new industrial parks, and nearby residential areas. We witnessed the very poor environmental health conditions that existed at that time. Many of us, including myself, fought hard to ensure that NAFTA included detailed strategies to improve the environmental and labor conditions faced by people who lived along the border region. However, despite the side agreements and the mechanisms which were promised to solve these issues, the situation has simply not improved. Industry continues to grow in areas with little or no infrastructure to support the environmental health and safety needs of the working people and the residents in these areas. Just a few weeks ago, Madam Speaker, there was a tremendous hazardous waste fire in Tijuana, an unfortunate example of the many environmental hazards which NAFTA did not address. That fire, at a United States- owned plant called Pacific Treatment, which is a transfer station for hazardous industrial waste, ignited a mixture of chemical substances. Firebombs exploded over the neighboring residential areas and factories adjacent to what we call the Otay Mesa Industrial Park. Not only did the Pacific Treatment facility lack the necessary emergency systems, such as sprinklers, but the entire industrial park, filled with manufacturing and chemical storage plants, contained not one fire hydrant. This industrial park is located only a few miles south of the United States-Mexico border. Over 200 tons of hazardous waste burned in the blaze, including organic solvent such as toluene, acetone, paint dust, and xylene, just to name a few. The blaze released a dark cloud of toxic fumes that blew directly in the residential neighborhood less than 300 yards away. Nearby residents complained of strong odors during the fire, and in the days that followed, they reported headaches, vomiting, eye and skin irritation. We all know that exposure to the chemicals released can lead to long-term health repercussions ranging from reproductive problems to damage of internal organs and the nervous system. The Tijuana Emergency Response Team was also put at risk by their dire shortage of equipment and inadequate preparation. They arrived on the scene with only 44 breathing apparatuses for 200 fire fighters. As a result, 50 fire-fighters suffered from smoke inhalation and 5 were hospitalized. No one should be surprised by this calamity. We are only lucky it was not worse. There are many changes that we need to make to protect both the United States and Mexican sides of the border. NAFTA must be revisited to address these environmental issues. NAFTA should not be expanded without first making sure that adequate infrastructure is in place to handle the resulting industrial growth. NAFTA's environmental side agreements should be brought back to the table and amended to include such items as, No. 1, that the United States and Mexico must create a truly effective system to track hazardous materials and waste from beginning to end, providing freedom of access to both countries' data. Madam Speaker, I include for the Record my remaining recommendations and look forward to a further discussion of the issues of NAFTA. NAFTA has failed the environmental test. The United States and Mexico must create a truly effective system to track hazardous materials and waste from beginning to end, providing freedom of access to both countries' data so that industry is more accountable and people are aware of the hazardous materials in their neighborhoods; the current HAZTRAKS system fails to meet these requirements. We must also create a binational emergency response system so when disasters such as the pacific Treatment fire occur, the impact of dangerous chemicals can be mitigated. The binational efforts currently in place, such as the Border XXI Program, have had no real impact on the border region. Let's not continue to just study the problems, but instead let's take action. The money currently spent on Border XXI studies and conferences should be spent on cleaning up known contaminated sites and preventing new disasters. Mr. Speaker, the environmental, health and safety problems that existed before NAFTA have not gone away. In fact, many of the conditions we witnessed three years ago have worsened. More people are at risk, more people are suffering the effects of industrialization without an adequate infrastructure. That is why we must not expand NAFTA. We must solve the very real health and safety problems that exist along the United States-Mexico border before we consider expansion of this trade policy.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. I understand that. But this authority has not yet passed on it. Many of those decisions were based on an environmental impact statement, which is being challenged in court right now as being, at the least, dishonest and, at the worst, deliberately misrepresenting the facts in terms of the environmental impacts. So other authorities have ruled. I would like this Congress to rule.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I do not want to prolong this debate beyond a couple more minutes. I want to point out to my good friend from California, Mr. Packard, here is a copy of the BRACC report. It specifically says, ``and change a previous recommendation that says that these helicopters may be moved to other air stations consistent with operational requirements.'' That is, the BRACC report opens the door to several other alternatives. Those alternatives do exist. We have heard the gentleman from California [Mr. Cunningham] saying that was his change. My other colleague, the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis] has suggested other alternatives, and other communities who are negatively affected by base closures want these helicopters. It is not inconsistent with BRACC.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I would hope with the gentleman's support, he can get his side, I will get my side, and we will get it passed.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's kind words. The gentleman has been fighting this for longer than I, and we have fought together. I would just suggest to the gentleman that with his support we could get it through.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I would be happy with a friendly amendment from the gentleman. I agree with the gentleman there seem to be better places for these helicopters. I have been asked by several people why I am micromanaging a Defense Department decision. I do not call a decision which affects over 600,000 residents, thousands of businesses, and 154 schools micromanaging. These helicopters will fly at 1,500 feet or below. The potential for loss of civilian life and property is great. Just recently, Mr. Chairman, in Okinawa, Japan, the Pentagon said to the Japanese, who had concerns about these helicopters in their area, they will build a floating heliport to separate the helicopters from jet fighters, saying it would be extremely difficult to control the traffic of the slower choppers with fixed wing aircraft. It was a safety concern. If the Pentagon is willing to spend money in Japan to significantly reduce the burdens and threat to the people in Okinawa, why will they not do the same thing for my constituents in San Diego? We are being treated differently, and I do not know for what reason. These helicopters will discharge 1,600 tons of air pollutants per year. That significantly affects our quality of life but, even more importantly, may bring the city of San Diego into a worse classification in terms of our air quality and, therefore, bring restrictions which will slow our economic growth. We should not allow such environmental impacts to affect our economic growth. Most of the residents near this Miramar Naval Air Station oppose the relocation of helicopters. They believe the Navy misrepresented the facts in their environmental impact statement. One resident said to me, ``What is going on here? These marine helicopters are noisy, dangerous, polluting weapons of war. They have no business flying over densely populated areas. They are a disaster waiting to happen. The Pentagon's thinking is inexplicable.'' Now, Miramar Naval Air Station is not directly in my own district, but my constituents will be affected by the pollution, by the potential slowing of economic growth because of that pollution and, equally important, I have in my district a naval helicopter station now. We understand that to somehow meet the concerns of the folks who live around the Miramar Naval Air Station, they might want to conduct some of their flight training in my district. So bringing these helicopters in affects the noise levels of tens of thousands of people, it affects the quality of life, it affects our environment, it affects the safety. This is not a decision that ought to be ratified by this Congress, and my amendment would prevent any funds from being used to transfer those helicopters.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, this is a bill affecting the national security of the United States. I thank the Chair and the ranking member for all the work on this bill. I have an amendment which pertains to my home town of San Diego, an amendment which I believe will protect the citizens of my city by preventing the serious negative impacts to their health, safety, and environment associated with the arrival of a Marine Corps helicopter fleet. Mr. Chairman, the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, as we call BRACC, specifically eliminated the mention of Miramar Naval Air Station as a receiving base for the helicopters under discussion. That is to say, this amendment has nothing to do with a BRACC decision. The BRAC Commission realigned Miramar Naval Air Station to Miramar Marine Corps Station, but said nothing about these helicopters. So we are not in this amendment interfering with any BRACC decision. Miramar Air Station is situated in the middle of a populated area of San Diego, a populated area now scheduled to receive up to 163 of these helicopters, 163 huge 99-foot CH-53 Super Stallions, CH-46 Sea Knight transport helicopters. Now, I have heard from some folks that such amendments should not micromanage what the Defense Department is doing.

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

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to introduce an amendment that is critical to the economic development not only of San Diego, my own district, but other communities throughout this Nation. My amendment will appropriate $490,000 for the section 511 railroad loan guarantee program in order to leverage approximately $10 million in private sector loan guarantees necessary to help reestablish and rehabilitate small regional freight railroads like the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad. I repeat, this is a loan guarantee which leverages approximately 20 times that amount of private sector funding. Reestablishment of this railroad is on the top of everyone's priority list in San Diego and enjoys wide bipartisan support. Several colleagues from San Diego County on the other side of the aisle support this, as do the city of San Diego, the County Board of Supervisors, the San Diego Association of Governments, the Port of San Diego, the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce and the San Diego Economic Development Corporation. All agree that reestablishing this rail link is the area's highest priority for economic development. Many of our Nation's regional and short line railroads find it difficult to obtain private financing because of high interest rates and short terms. Government assistance in the form of loan guarantees often becomes the only viable means to rehabilitate these vital links in our transportation infrastructure. I believe that the section 511 program, because it is not a grant program, it is not even a loan program but a loan guarantee to leverage private sector loans, is precisely the type of public-private partnership this Congress ought to encourage. Unfortunately, this program does not receive any funding in the bill before us. Mr. Chairman, the economies of communities like San Diego and others would be greatly helped by rehabilitation of these small freight railroad lines, and they need help now. I hope my colleagues can support this investment in economic growth.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me, and, Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill, and I will be supporting it. The constraints that the committee has are well known and the attempts they have to fund infrastructure have been done under very difficult situations. I would like to comment, however, on one disappointment I have with our transportation funding, and that has to do with funding projects along the international border between the United States and Mexico. I represent part of the city of San Diego. I represent the district which has much of the California-Mexico border. The attention that this Nation should pay to building up that infrastructure for our economic future has not been done. Federal mandates that deal with trade and immigration have placed a tremendous strain on our roads and bridges and highways and rail lines that simply cannot accommodate the increased traffic that results from Federal decisions in trade and in immigration. It is critical, Mr. Chairman, that we find the Federal funding for these highway and rail projects without affecting California's Federal highway assistance. I have introduced legislation along with Senator Boxer in the other body to establish a $500 million border infrastructure fund to pay for these improvements to try to make sure that we realize the potential of the international trade that the passage of NAFTA and other actions have caused. Let me just give my colleagues a couple of examples of what I am talking about. By Federal order, all of the commercial truck traffic between California and Mexico goes through what we call the Otay Mesa, a border crossing which is in my district. Something like 3,000 trucks a day now traverse across the border through the border crossing, and yet there is no highway of interstate standards that connects that highway, connects that border crossing with our interstate highway system. At first we only had a two-lane city street, it has been enlarged to four lanes and soon to six lanes, but it cannot handle the 3,000 trucks a day that NAFTA and other actions by this body have created. It is time that the Federal Government address the infrastructure problems that have burdened the city and county of San Diego as we contribute our part to increasing international trade and growing the economy in this Nation. Another example which I will have an amendment on later: If San Diego's port could establish a direct rail link with eastern railway systems, the whole economy of southern California would be transformed for the better. The transformation of our economy requires that we rehabilitate an old shortline railroad that was built in 1912 or so between San Diego and Arizona. It does not take a lot of money in the scheme of things to rehabilitate that railroad, and the Federal Government can contribute not through any grants, not through any loans, but through merely a loan guarantee that could leverage 20 times what we would appropriate. With the rehabilitation of that railroad, the port of San Diego becomes a working commercial port, thousands and thousands of jobs are created, San Diego finds a new way of economic growth that is not dependent on the defense budget, and southern California and all of America profits from that. These are the examples that I am talking about, Mr. Chairman, that hopefully in the future the Subcommittee on Transportation of the Committee on Appropriations will include in their efforts. We need on the international border, and I speak not just for California now, but for Texas and New Mexico and Arizona, we need attention paid to the infrastructure projects along the border. They are not local pork projects, they are not just provincial kinds of requests. The infrastructure that is required benefits the whole Nation, and as I said earlier, comes from the mandates that Federal trade policy has put on us. While understanding the constraints we have, I would argue that in the future some attention be paid to these border infrastructure projects, and we begin to really grow the economy of this country in new ways.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I am very grateful for the support from people from both sides of the aisle and different parts of the country. I hope the chairman and the ranking member would seriously consider these aspects in coming years. I understand the pressures they are under, the debate that we see here, especially with the San Diego situation. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I continue to yield to the gentleman from Alabama.

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

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule, also. Like the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm], I believe that this rule prevents real debate on the real issues. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Evans] who just spoke offered an amendment last night that would protect the benefits earned by America's veterans from permanent reduction. Remarkably, this amendment was defeated on a party line vote by the Committee on Rules last night. As written, H.R. 2003 would decimate the benefit programs our grateful Nation has provided for America's heroes, our veterans. It does not protect them. It does not protect service-disabled veterans. It does not protect those who suffered in the Persian Gulf War and who are now sick as a result of that service. I urge my colleagues to defeat the rule so that we can all have the opportunity to vote on the important amendment of the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Evans] and tell our veterans that we support them.