Bob Filner

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Fiscal Year 2005 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The bill includes several projects that will benefit my district. Imperial County in my Southern California district is a desert farming community located on the California-Mexico border. The county is one of the top agricultural counties in California. It produced over $1.2 billion of agricultural products in 2002. The county is a leading producer of agronomic and winter vegetable crops, as well as livestock. This bill contains language that directs the Under Secretary for Rural Development to give consideration to projects that would directly benefit my constituents: The Imperial Valley Sugarcane/Renewable Energy/Ethanol Project-- Environmental and water conservation issues are of grave concern to the agricultural producers in my district. Alternative, higher-value commodities must become available to ensure the best economic and environmental use of the land and water. This rural development project could provide such an alternative to many of our farmers while producing sugar, ethanol, and renewable energy. My constituents are pursuing an economic development project to develop sugarcane production and processing capabilities, along with ethanol and renewable energy production, in the Imperial Valley. The number one crop in the Imperial Valley is alfalfa, which has a much lower dollar value than sugarcane. Due to a rural-to-urban water transfer that has reduced the number of acres that may be planted in the Valley, my rural constituents searched for an alternative to alfalfa--and found it in sugarcane. The economic conversion project includes development of sugarcane acreage in the Valley, as well as construction of a new sugarcane processing facility on the site of an existing sugar beet processing facility in the Valley. The current sugar beet facility, which currently only operates four months of the year, employs approximately 300 people (100 full-time and 200 seasonal employees). Opening the new sugarcane processing facility would allow year-round processing at the site, dramatically increasing the number of full-time job opportunities at the facility. The project would also allow the creation of a power plant reliant on renewable fuels, principally from residue from the production and processing of sugarcane. Further, the project includes plans for ethanol production from the sugarcane. Due to California's phase-out of MTBE as a gasoline oxygenate, the state requires a stable supply of ethanol, and a local supply will dramatically reduce transportation costs for ethanol purchasers. Sugarcane-to-ethanol production in the Imperial Valley will greatly benefit the economic well-being of my constituents--as well as reduce renewable and clean fuel costs for the nation while protecting environmental quality. Environmental Technology Business Park--The County of Imperial is working to catalyze development of an EcoPark for location of renewable energy and ``green technology'' industrial projects. An investment in this project would leverage funding already allocated for development of biomass-to-ethanol projects in Imperial County over the past three years by local, state and federal agencies. The EcoPark is expected to attract more than $400 million in private investment and sustain more than 4,000 jobs in the related industry and agricultural sectors. Further, a variety of new and established firms are interested in bringing additional technologies to the EcoPark, such as methane digesters, minibiorefineries for biodiesel, nutraceutical manufacture, liquid natural gas production, and solar power generation. The EcoPark will be a beacon of economic and environmental development for renewable fuels projects. Desert Farming Institute and The National Center for the Study of International Trade in Agriculture--My constituents are interested in establishing a ``California Desert Farming Institute'' at the San Diego State University's Imperial Valley campus. The Imperial Valley of California is one of the most successful examples of desert farming in the world. San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, is located on the border with Mexico and thus a logical site for a Center charged with studying the international aspects of agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated the campus as a ``National Center of Excellence.'' The Institute's primary mission would be to compile, analyze, and disseminate information on desert farming and its commercial viability; to study the environmental and health issues related to desert farming; to compile, analyze, and disseminate information on international trade in agriculture, including trends in agricultural production around the world; and to form collaborative research partnerships with other institutions around the world to encourage research in the development of desert farming. A significant part of the world, including major parts of the United States, is desert land with little productivity. However, the application of state-of-the-art technology to farming and the development of modern agriculture have made desert farming a viable and, in some cases, a necessary activity. Any major expansion of desert farming could have a significant and positive effect on the global competitiveness of the American farmer, as well as positive impacts throughout arid regions of the world. Neighborhood House of Calexico Youth Center--Throughout the past 66 years of its service, Neighborhood House of Calexico has targeted low- income families in the community, serving an average of 7,000 low- income persons per year. The Neighborhood House provides services such as day care, youth violence prevention, micro-business development, and shelter for homeless and abused women and children. The Neighborhood House Youth Center has been successful in interacting with at-risk youth, in diverting gang activities and helping youth obtain job skills, conflict resolution skills, increased level of interaction between adult role models and youth, and recreational activities. The City of Calexico is experiencing a significant increase in gang activity and potential for intensification with the downturn of availability of jobs, a 22 percent unemployment rate, and reduced level of training opportunity for youth and adults. Funding for this project would provide youth mentoring, assist youth in obtaining job training, and creating youth employment opportunities. Calexico Telemedicine Center--Calexico, California is a very poor community located in rural Imperial County along the U.S.-Mexico border. Unfortunately, this community does not have a hospital. Pioneers Memorial Hospital and the Heffernan Memorial Hospital District, the two major healthcare providers located in other cities in the county, have partnered to open an urgent-care center in the vacant Calexico Hospital building, which could be wired for telemedicine. Locally, this project has the support of all the stakeholders, government leaders, health boards, and businesses. Funding for this project would provide for the equipment needed to start a telemedicine center. Imperial County has a low number of medical professionals, and the residents of the city of Calexico are especially medically underserved. Telemedicine will allow patients to have appropriate medical treatment without having to travel across the county, or to other counties, states, or even countries, for service. This bill also contains language to uphold funding for the Agricultural Research Station in my district. The Brawley Research Station performs crucial research work under the arid saline conditions of the Imperial Valley in support of U.S. agriculture in desert and arid environments. For example, crop salinity trials are conducted in conjunction with the U.S. Salinity Lab based in Riverside, California. The salinity work done at Brawley could not effectively be performed at Riverside because smog negates the scientific validity of the findings. Such research has worldwide application as saline soils are a constant challenge to farming practices in many regions. Further, the station is strategically located to provide quick response support to biosecurity and agroterrorism detection work. It is situated less than 90 miles from six border crossings, one of which is the busiest passenger crossing in the world. The constant supply of host crops and high international traffic puts Imperial County on the front line of protection of the American food supply from foreign introduction of diseases, insects, and many invasive species. The Brawley Field Station currently headquarters research facilities and personnel from USDA and the California Department of Food & Agriculture, which can quickly implement control and eradication programs in coordination with local authorities--thereby making use of the best capabilities of local, state, and federal agencies. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and these important agricultural and rural development projects.

Mr. FILNER

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman and look forward to that work and urge support of the bill.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the chairman, on an issue which I would hope to have seen more about in this bill, and that is the restoration of the Salton Sea. As we know, an earlier version of the bill provided for a feasibility study and $300 million in restoration funds. We all know about the importance of the Salton Sea in our ecology and in our economy. It is critical for the Pacific flyway for migratory birds, as well as the Colorado River's delta, and is home to a variety of wildlife, including fish, birds, microbes, and wetlands species. The sea also provides many recreational opportunities such as camping, bird watching, fishing, boating, hiking, hunting, and off-roading. If the sea were no longer able to support life, it would cause irreparable harm to Southern California's ecosystem and economy. The Salton Sea lies mostly in my district in Southern California. It is the third largest saline lake in the nation, and the largest inland body of water west of the Rockies. The Sea is an important natural resource, one that is valued not only by residents of the area, but also by the many who come from around the country to enjoy its bounty. The Salton Sea does not have an outlet to keep the water fresh, so as water evaporates from the saline lake, the salt left behind continues to concentrate. As the salinity of the Sea continues to rise, and the environmental quality continues to decline, it will no longer be able to support life and will begin to die. If that were to happen, it will cause irreparable harm to Southern California's ecosystem and economy. The surrounding areas of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys rely on the Sea to support their agricultural and recreational economies. I share the concerns of many about what might occur if the elevation of the Sea drops, becomes too saline to support fish or birds, and further impairs air quality due to blowing sediment. The Salton Sea is also an essential link in increasing and diversifying our domestic water resources, and therefore needs funding for restoration. A recently signed federal water transfer agreement between Southern California water agencies will reduce flows to the Salton Sea. While the water transfer will assist Southern California in staying within its Colorado River water allocation, inflows to the Sea may be reduced dramatically. With that diminished amount of inflow, the Salton Sea presents a particularly difficult challenge in protecting and restoring it, while at the same time reducing California's use of Colorado River water. The gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) has been very supportive of the Salton Sea and has been involved in this issue for well over a decade. I would like to inquire as to further support of the Salton Sea as part of the CALFED legislative process, and would ask for the gentleman to comment on that.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, we all know that pollution knows no boundaries. As much as we wish they could, the Border Patrol is not able to stop air pollution from coming over our international borders. Right now, communities on our international border are being bombarded with pollutants from our neighboring countries. It is making air quality along the border even worse and leaves those communities with no recourse. I introduced a bill, H.R. 4774, to provide Federal assistance to combat air pollution at the border, to ensure that our communities are not unfairly penalized. Imperial County in my Southern California district, which takes up much of the U.S. Mexico border in the State, is severely impacted by air pollution because it sits in the middle of an air basin that straddles the international border with Mexico. Mexico simply does not have the same strict air quality standards as does the United States. Imperial County has not met national and State air quality standards as a result, so any air pollution created in the international air basin has serious consequences for the health of my community's citizens. I have deep concerns about a recent Federal Court ruling regarding the air quality of Imperial County and the subsequent actions on the part of the Environmental Protection Agency. Imperial County has demonstrated to EPA that the county would have only moderate pollution were it not for serious air pollution from Mexicali, Mexico. EPA agreed. However, outside groups took EPA to court and they ruled in turn that Imperial County's air pollution should indeed be classified as serious. This is a devastating ruling for Imperial County. Unemployment averages 20 to 30 percent. The ability to attract new employment opportunities will be greatly hindered. Economic development will be halted. Agricultural activities will not be able to begin. The chaos and expense to Imperial County will not address the real cause of nonattainment: cross-border pollutants. Imperial County has an asthma rate that is off the charts, the worst in the State, probably the worst in the Nation. Asthma-related hospitalization rates are five to six times greater than the overall rate in California. This statistic is a statistic that I and many others in our community are fighting to change, but we cannot change it if we are not pushed to work with our neighbor to the south. For that reason, I introduced the bill H.R. 4774, the FAIR Air Act, fair meaning the Foreign Air Impact Regulation, which will compel the United States at the Federal level to work more closely with our neighbors in trying to reduce air pollution. This bill says that if pollution from another country causes nonattainment of pollution regulations, EPA and the Secretary of State should work together to lower it; do not put it on the backs of the farmers and the working people in Imperial County. My bill would direct the Secretary of State to negotiate with his or her counterparts in the foreign country to develop a plan to improve air quality. It requires EPA to deliver a report to Congress that lays out the agreed-upon binational steps with binational funding to back it up, those steps to improve the air quality in the region; and directs the EPA to take action to help the region implement the plan; and, finally, delays EPA's authority to move border air quality regions to a higher pollution nonattainment status until the previous items have been completed. We simply cannot put this international problem on the backs of those who simply happen to live along the border. There truly needs to be a binational cooperative solution. We live in the same air shed, and we are interested in good neighborly relations. I am fighting to help our binational communities come into compliance with air quality standards with help from both sets of governments. It is only with cooperation and working together to achieve a common goal that we can indeed reduce air pollution and keep the children in Imperial County from suffering from asthma. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4774, the FAIR Air Act, will help to achieve that purpose. I urge my colleagues to support that bill.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 326, I was unavoidably detained in my Congressional District, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 327, I was unavoidably detained in my Congressional District, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to spend a few minutes to talk about some developments recently in the country of Turkey, some of which we celebrate, some of which we have great concern about. Let me first, by the way, extend my condolences to victims of yesterday's terrorist bombings in Turkey and to the families of the victims. Certainly we want the perpetrators brought to justice quickly. But I rise to celebrate a small, but very important, victory for human rights that took place last week. Four human rights prisoners in Turkey were released. Leyla Zana, a prominent Kurdish advocate for human rights, and her colleagues, Hatip Dicle, Slim Sadak and Ornhan Dogan, were released from prison following a June 9 appeals court ruling in their favor. These were Kurdish citizens of Turkey. These were citizens who were elected by majority vote to the Turkish Parliament. These were Kurds who had the nerve to speak their own native language, Kurdish, in the Turkish Parliament; and they were arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Amnesty International declared them prisoners of conscience. They have been there 10 years. Leyla Zana was probably the best known of the four prisoners. She was the first Kurdish woman elected to Turkey's Parliament who openly and proudly identified herself as a Kurd. In fact, the European Parliament awarded her a Sakharov Prize in 1995 for defending human rights. I had the great pleasure of getting to know her husband, Mayda, who traveled around the world to talk about the injustice of his wife being in prison. I spent time with her son Ronee who was for a short time a student in Los Angeles. This was a whole family dedicated to human rights for all, and especially to the Kurdish minority who has been denied them in Turkey. The release of these prisoners of conscience was a result of international pressure, and I want to thank the 21 Members of Congress who joined with me in H. Res. 302 that called for the release of these four parliamentarians. The Kurdish community in the United States, as well as human rights advocates across the country, played an important role in gaining their release. So we welcome the release of these prisoners of conscience, as well as other reforms in Turkey, including the introduction of public broadcasting in minority languages. However, serious human rights and repression of the Kurds continue in Turkey. From June 8-10, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Federation for Human Rights joined with Turkish human rights groups in a joint delegation to investigate the situation in Turkey. They heard continuing allegations of torture and violations of freedom of expression, assembly, association, religion, and the right to a fair trial. They expressed concern about prisons, national minorities, the lack of independent investigations into human rights violations, and internal displacement. The State Department human rights report, released just in February, also found that serious human rights problems exist. The report says that security forces killed 43 people last year and participated in widespread torture, beatings, and other abuses. The Turkish Government continued to limit free speech in the press and, in particular, restricted expression by people sympathetic to Kurdish cultural or nationalist viewpoints. So we are pleased at the release of Leyla Zana and her colleagues, but we are not placated by this good news. We demand greater progress. The European Union should insist that Turkey take greater strides to improve its human rights record and treatment of the Kurds before joining the European Union. Turkey needs to realize that its Kurdish citizens enrich the country rather than threaten it. President Bush will visit Turkey for a NATO summit next week. He should use this opportunity to press for greater respect for human rights. I would hope that he meets with Leyla Zana and shows his respect for human rights for the Kurdish minority in Turkey.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of the order.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman speaks from the East Coast, I would like to add support for the gentleman's remarks from the West Coast. And thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender- McDonald) for her leadership on this amendment. I represent San Diego, California--a large Navy port. I used to say we are the biggest Navy port in the world, but the gentleman says it is in Virginia, so we will have to fight over that later. We have three nuclear reactor aircraft carriers sitting in our harbor and a nuclear submarine base right there. I think it is generally acknowledged that port security is the weakest link that we have in our system right now and where the lowest amount of resources relative to need has been put. We simply have got to do a better job. The gentleman from New York was talking about containers, and the chairman of the subcommittee said we are talking about port security. I would note that in most of the ports of the United States there are millions of empty containers sitting around and we have no idea what is really in them. We call them empties because they supposedly have been unloaded, but according to the experts on this, and that is the dock workers and the longshoremen of America, the potential for these containers to be security risks are very great. It seems to me that we should incorporate the inspection of these into our notion of port security and give the power to do this to our Coast Guard or other port security officials.

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I would concede the point of order.

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

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, although this amendment is not in order, and I recognize that, I would just like to tell the chairman that I have proposed it out of frustration with what is going on at the border between California and Mexico. I represent that total border, and I would say that in our rush after September 11 to secure the border and protect the homeland, we have made very many important steps, many necessary steps; but we also made some wrong decisions, decisions which in fact harm our national security, harm our close relationships with Mexico, and in fact set us back in our attempt to be secure. I refer specifically today to the practice that has been abolished at the border of giving discretion to port directors to allow children for either medical or humanitarian or cultural reasons to cross the border on a 1-day visa; to grant a waiver to the normal visa requirements, a waiver of normal requirements where we are beyond the reach of many poor people in Mexico. They cross the border for important reasons. For example, in my district in the city of Calexico, there is a clinic called the Valley Orthopedic Clinic. For over 40 years it has treated poor children for deformities and birth defects, which gives them a future; and, in fact, they have treated over 125,000 low-income children from Mexico. The practice had been for decades to allow the port director the discretion to grant this 1-day visa, a 1-day humanitarian waiver to allow that child to get treatment, to correct a cleft palate or a clubbed foot or a pinky that was not there at birth, to give children who could not afford it in their homeland an opportunity for a future. After September 11, that authority, discretionary authority for humanitarian waivers, was taken away from the port director. And so children in need of medical help, school children who would march with their counterparts in America on Christmas parades, visit the world famous San Diego Zoo, go to other cultural events with American counterparts, that was taken away. That has not helped the security of our Nation. These children are not terrorists. These children are, in fact, engaging in diplomatic relationships that strengthen our two countries' relationships, strengthen our border and give us more security; and yet we have denied now that authority to the port director under the name of homeland security. So all my amendment would do, and I am sorry we cannot talk about it today, would have said the port directors at the seven or eight ports of entry in my district, others in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, would have the authority to grant these humanitarian waivers. The amendment would not make it easier for terrorists that come to the country. The amendment would not affect the number of legal or illegal immigrants living in our country. The amendment would not force immigration officials to offer waivers. So I hope as we go through our appropriations and our authorization process for homeland security we take a rational approach, we do not go overboard in taking away discretionary authority from our border officials in the name of homeland security, which actually sets us back. So I hope that this body will take that issue up in the future. I thank the body for giving me a few minutes to talk about what is going on at the border, and I hope that we can do things that really strengthen our security and not weaken it in the future. Amendment Offered by Mr. Obey

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

Mr. FILNER. I understand what the chairman is saying. I would argue with great respect that the so-called empty containers lying around the ports are part of our port weakness. Container security is port security. Longshoremen have shown that the way that we inspect, for example, ``an empty container'' is through an optical system that leaves almost one-third of the container completely invisible to the so-called inspection. In addition, most of the inspection techniques do not allow us to really know what is inside. I was going to do a press conference that would show, after an inspection of an empty container, a longshoreman jumping out with an Uzi and showing that we can actually bring in weapons of mass destruction in these seemingly empty, innocent things. So we have got to do a better job. The amendment of the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) ought to be supported, and I appreciate the comments of the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, I rise to honor a truly great San Diego leader. Judge Earl B. Gilliam made a positive impact on San Diego as a judge, a teacher, and a community leader. I have introduced a bill (H.R. 4474) that will appropriately honor him by putting his name on a new post office in my district. Earl Gilliam grew up in southeast San Diego. His parents owned a fish market on Imperial Avenue where he worked when he was not attending San Diego High School. He went on to complete his undergraduate education at San Diego State University before moving on to Hastings Law School. Shortly after being admitted to the California Bar in 1957, he was appointed Deputy District Attorney in San Diego. He became the first African-American judge appointed to the San Diego bench 6 years later and was named Presiding Judge of the San Diego Municipal Court in 1971. Governor Jerry Brown named him to the California Superior Court in 1975 and President Jimmy Carter appointed him to serve on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California in 1980. He served there for over 20 years, until his passing in 2001. In his long, distinguished career Judge Gilliam presided over numerous noteworthy trials of regional and national importance: Whether these cases dealt with drug trafficking, fraud, tax evasion, bribery, or civil matters, Judge Gilliam's fair and professional approach to the law laid the foundation for his solid reputation both within and outside the legal community. In addition to his contributions in the courtroom, Judge Gilliam also made his mark in the classroom. The Thomas Jefferson School of Law recruited Judge Gilliam as an adjunct professor. With his background in business, economics, and civil, criminal, and trial law, he proved to be an inspirational and devoted instructor for the numerous courses he taught there over the next 24 years. So much so that the school's moot courtroom has been dedicated in his honor. Judge Gilliam gave his time and effort to his community in countless ways. He served on the boards of numerous organizations ranging from the San Diego Urban League to the University of California, San Diego to the Y.M.C.A. The community, in turn, has honored Judge Gilliam repeatedly with an unbelievably long, diverse list of awards that attest to his unrelenting success in making a difference in San Diego. In 1982, the San Diego African American Lawyer's Organization honored Judge Gilliam by changing its name to the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association. Today, they carry on his legacy by working within our community to defend the rights of African-Americans, combat racism and poverty, and foster integrity in the legal community. Judge Gilliam truly was a hero who worked for all of San Diego. I am glad to have the privilege of introducing this legislation to name a post office in his honor and I hope my colleagues will support me in celebrating his many achievements.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr Speaker, I rise today to urge support of H.R. 4603, the Eminent Domain Relief for the Little Guy Act. I have introduced this bill to address a current law that makes the hardship of being forced to sell property to the government under eminent domain even more difficult. The use of eminent domain is authorized in the Constitution and has been used throughout our Nation's history to acquire the property necessary to build roads, schools, military bases, and government buildings. However, that these projects serve the greater good must seem little consolation to an owner whose property comes under threat of eminent domain. Eminent domain can derail a property owner's life plan, erasing years of hard work spent getting a business off of the ground or building a home. The Constitution makes it clear that a property owner forced to sell under eminent domain is entitled to ``just compensation.'' While it is debatable whether any compensation can be truly just, it seems that, at the very least, the government owes a seller a fair price for their property and the opportunity to rethink their plan and to move on with their life. Current tax law related to gain on sale of property under eminent domain denies sellers the opportunity to decide how they would like to move on with their life. It mandates that sellers must pay taxes on income from sale under eminent domain unless they reinvest their money in real estate within 3 years. So not only is the government forcing property owners to sell their property, it is also telling them what to do with the money from that sale. The Eminent Domain Relief for the Little Guy Act will remedy this by removing the current requirement that a seller must reinvest in real estate. This will make sale of all real property by an individual or a small business under eminent domain tax exempt, meaning that the seller can use their income to start a business, invest in the stock market, save for retirement, or, if they choose, reinvest in real estate. Many will indeed choose to buy a new home or to move their business to a new location. But fairness dictates that this should be their decision. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4603 and make sure the little guys and gals who are forced to sell under eminent domain are allowed the flexibility in spending their income that they need and deserve.

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 252, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Amendment No. 2 Offered By Mr. Chabot

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 255, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 254, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Stated against:

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 253, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Udall of New Mexico

Mr. FILNER

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 248, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.'' Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Tancredo

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 249, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' Amendment Offered By Ms. Hooley of Oregon

Mr. FILNER. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 250, I was unavoidably detained, and I missed the vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''