Vito Fossella

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 375 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. ``Convened in remembrance of the victims and heroes of September 11, 2001, and in recognition of the courage and spirit of the City of New York. ``This gift to Federal Hall from the Congress of the United States of America was made from a section of Aquia Creek, Virginia, sandstone and used as an original building material of the United States Capitol. It was removed on the East Central Front extension in 1958.''

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 7(c) of rule XXII, I hereby announce my intention to offer tomorrow a motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 3210. The form of the motion is as follows: Mr. Fossella moves that the managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 3210, be instructed to agree to the provisions contained in section 11 of the Senate amendment, relating to satisfaction of judgments from frozen assets of terrorists, terrorist organizations, and the state sponsors of terrorism. Mr. Speaker, I intend to offer this motion on behalf of myself and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for yielding and on the outset commend him strongly for his leadership in really bringing this to fruition and being a vanguard in this House and Congress to ensure that we have this session. So I thank him and on behalf of the people of the City and State of New York and, indeed, the country. We are appreciative of your efforts, as well as the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman). In particular, let me echo those who thank the leadership, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), and, of course, the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker Hastert) and those in the other body who really want to do the right thing here. It is fitting, I think, that what we are talking about is honoring the victims and the heroes, and, in a way, celebrating what they gave to this country, how they sacrificed last year on September 11, whether it be the Pentagon or Flight 93, and, of course, the World Trade Center; and we must never ever forget those sacrifices. We are now a stronger country as a result of what happened on that day. While we have our differences of opinion here in this body and I guess outside, we belong to different parties, and we have a lot of different views on a lot of different things, but is it not wonderful in this country that we can come together to unify, to stand together in the face of that evil that attacked freedom on September 11? That we, as a Congress, the elected representatives from across this country, can go to New York and stand shoulder to shoulder with all of those New Yorkers who showed the world why we believe we are the capital of the world. We showed the world what a great place this is. Mr. Speaker, this is a day on September 6 that is going to indicate to the rest of the world that the United States of America did not shudder. We may have been hit hard and a lot of us lost a lot of close friends and a lot of close family members and relatives or just neighbors, good honest people lost their lives for the sake of freedom. So how appropriate that we meet in Federal Hall, Federal Hall that over 200 years ago when we established the Bill of Rights, the freedoms that we should enjoy, when those freedoms were attacked, how appropriate that we go back as a reaffirmation that this country is the greatest institution in the history of the world, and that those victims who lost their lives and the heroes we praise, shall never be forgotten. And it is not just going to be September 6, it will be 50 years from now, it will be 200 years from now; but this, I believe, is fitting. So let me thank again the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the leadership of this House, the New York delegation, Mayor Bloomberg who has been very helpful and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for really leading this effort.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am not recorded on rollcall Nos. 319, 320, 321, 322, and 323. I was unavoidably detained and was not present to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall Nos. 319, 320, 321, and 323. I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 322.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. I also commend him for his leadership on this initiative, and I think it is going, as he said, to serve well for those thousands who lost their lives on September 11. In particular, I would like to commend my colleagues, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel), for their leadership in paying honor to so many who lost their lives. Earlier today, I heard, I think, a right discussion to bring attention to the Battle of the Bulge, and we heard some Members come forward to express decades later how this country honors those who have sacrificed. In a way, this is a similar attempt to do the same thing. We are attempting to honor hundreds, if not thousands, of people who were either doing their job on September 11, who were on their way to rescue, which was and is the largest rescue effort in the history of the United States. We had firemen rushing to these burning buildings who never escaped. Some were on the job. Rescue 5 on Staten Island, all but one of their people who rushed into that fire died, people like Mike Esposito, whom I grew up with, and so many of his colleagues. Their families are still looking for closure, and we are trying to help. People who were not even working that day, a guy, Stephen Siller on his way to play golf with his brothers, like he did on a regular basis, heard the call, saw the burning buildings, rushed into the trade center never to come out. Some firefighters on the job for just a few days, one of their first calls was the trade center, young guys with families, never to return. Then we had those who were just doing an honest day's work, young people like Jason DeFazio, married to my cousin, newlyweds, about to raise family. He was doing his job, a good kid. He will not ever see the light of day again. The way this all comes about is because people like the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) and the people he represents, and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Israel) and so many other of us in this House who represent more than Staten Island, where alone over 200 people were killed on September 11, and what this Congress fortunately is doing today in a small but I think symbolic and significant way is saying they are heroes, and the gold medal represents that. It will not bring back the loved ones, no, but I think it sends a signal to those families, people that live just a few blocks from me, Captain Marty Egan and his wife Diane live just a couple of blocks away. I hope Diane, when she gets this gold medal, understands that the entire Nation, through its elected representatives, says, Diane, your husband was a hero, or again, to people like my cousin who lost their young husband and in a similar sort of way with some hard evidence that this country, through its representatives, says thank you. Mr. Speaker, I think that this is highly appropriate, and I again commend the gentlemen and ladies who made this possible and a way to say thanks to so many people who lost their lives on September 11.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding me this time, and I thank the gentleman from Missouri for his words. This was said last week at the closing ceremony of the Fresh Kills Landfill: ``As grass grows green again on Fresh Kills, teach us that life, not death, has triumphed.'' That was the Reverend Jack Ryan who spent, it seemed like almost every day for the last 10 months, up at the landfill that has been mentioned by my colleagues, where more than 1,000 workers and volunteers really did the Lord's work, trying to help some families come to closure. As was mentioned, 54,000 personal items, such things as wedding rings or wallets, identifications, pictures, and the like were recovered and given to many of the families. The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) mentioned that 188 of the victims were identified from the work at Fresh Kills. Over the past 10 months, I visited the landfill many times and witnessed for myself the work which has taken a physical and an emotional toll on the men and women there. But they never stopped pushing themselves. They never stopped, because they knew what they were doing was making a positive difference in the lives of people who suffered greatly. They brought peace of mind and a sense of healing to many, and a grateful Nation offers its thanks to these tireless and dedicated workers. Many of the workers sustained personal losses themselves on September 11 and were perhaps searching and working to find any remnant that would help bring their own loved one to rest. They were working in honor of their own family, friend, or coworkers; others simply worked for our country and to provide some element of closure to fellow Americans. The sacrifice of all of these workers and their willingness to give of themselves to help others has shown that the best attributes of mankind may emerge, even as a result of the worst mankind can do. Through their efforts, people such as Police Investigator James Luongo, the coordinator of the recovery effort at Fresh Kills, FBI Special Agent Richard Marx, Firefighter John Tedesco, Port Authority Police Lieutenant Brian Tierney, Dominick Bilotto of the New York City Sanitation Department, and hundreds like them gave families such as Bill and Camille Doyle some comfort by returning their 25 year-old son, Joseph's, driver's license and credit cards which were retrieved at Fresh Kills. For now, it is all the Doyles have of their son, a driver's license and credit cards. But even for that, they are extremely thankful to those who worked at the landfill. I think a clear demonstration of how much their work at Fresh Kills means to the people of Staten Island, New York City, the State, and the Nation is illustrated by the actions of a Staten Islander, Daya Madison of St. George who, on the day of the closing ceremony, stood at the foot of the road leading out of the landfill, holding up the same signs she has held up at the site for almost 10 months straight, wishing the workers well and thanking them. As a Nation, we must remember that while over 1,200 families, 1,200, have had the remains of their loved ones returned to them. There are over 1,600, 1,600 families who lost a loved one on that unimaginable day of September 11 at the Trade Center who have not recovered anything. These families do not have a grave site to visit, ashes to scatter or something of their loved one to lay to rest. Almost a year later these families are still hoping and praying every day that their loved one will be identified and returned to them. We must also remember to keep these families in our hearts and prayers. For over 50 years the Fresh Kills Landfill in Staten Island served as a dumping ground for New York City, now and forever more will serve as a hallowed ground; and we will always remember how the good in people was exhibited there. It is often said that closure does not have an end and we do not necessarily move on, but move forward. These workers at Fresh Kills Field should forever remain proud in knowing that they helped many more than they will ever know to move forward. Again, as Father Ryan said, ``As grass grows green again on Field Kills, teach us that life not death has triumphed.''

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am not recorded on rollcall numbers 249, 250, 251, and 252. I was unavoidably detained and was not present to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall numbers 249, 250, 251, 252.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey), a leader in, among other things, the battle for public health and public health awareness in this House.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 438) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that improving men's health through fitness and the reduction of obesity should be a priority.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on House Resolution 438.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise in support of House Resolution 438 to express the sense of Congress that improving men's health through fitness and reduction of obesity should be a priority. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey) is absolutely correct. Obesity is a major health problem for our society. We must help inform the American public about these risks so that they can take corrective actions to make changes in their food consumption and exercise behaviors. Over 61 percent of U.S. adults are overweight, along with 13 percent of children. Approximately 300,000 American deaths a year are associated with obesity. What is frightening is that this trend is exponentially increasing. Since 1980, obesity among adults has doubled, and overweight children and adolescents have tripled. Americans need to know that being overweight places people at a higher risk for heart disease, cancer and stroke, all top killers in America, in addition to arthritis, breathing problems, and depression. New research has revealed that obesity can lead to Type 2 diabetes in children as well. There is hope, however, because obesity is preventable. Americans should not needlessly place themselves at risk. Personal responsibility is key to ending this trend. Most Americans recognize that exercise and a healthy diet helps one stay fit and trim. Dieticians have made it perfectly clear: one truly can eat any food in moderation and remain perfectly healthy, but Americans are choosing not to eat foods in moderation and are all too often shortchanging vitamins and nutrients that are essential to fighting disease. Americans are also choosing not to exercise. Americans have literally hundreds of options available to them to help lose weight and stay fit. We must help inform Americans about the risks that obesity imposes on their overall health and that fighting obesity will help save lives. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey) for raising the level of attention on this important issue. I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time. I thank Members on both sides, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), as well as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for supporting this resolution. Mr. Speaker, it is my strong belief that Italian Americans have contributed greatly to the United States and continue to contribute proudly as well. We know Columbus discovered America. Two Italians signed the Declaration of Independence. Enrico Fermi split the atom, and Captain Don Gentile, the fighting ace, was described by General Dwight Eisenhower as a ``one-man force.'' He, like so many other Italian-Americans, did and were willing to give their life in defense of freedom and liberty and supporting these great United States. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to spend a few minutes today to honor an Italian American and former Staten Island resident who is often overlooked, as announced already, and his name was Antonio Meucci. The 19th century was a time of great technological innovation, as its birth heralded the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. However, unlike the century just ended and the new one we are beginning to explore, the rough-and-tumble of our young Nation had yet to develop information exchange to the extent we enjoy today. The Founding Fathers made America a guarantor of unprecedented and, to this day, unmatched liberty. This liberty included again an unprecedented appreciation for intellectual property rights. Today with our study of historical records and ability to examine many disparate sources of information, we now know it is likely the invention of what we know today as a telephone took place in the middle of the 19th century rather than its end, and its creator is believed to be Antonio Meucci. He worked for years to develop a new system of electronic communication. However, poor and sick, he was unable to keep the patents enforced and died before the courts could decide with finality whether he or Alexander Graham Bell was the true inventor of the telephone. It is known that Meucci demonstrated his device in 1860, that a description appeared in New York's Italian language newspaper, and that Western Union received working models from Meucci but reportedly lost them. It is also known that Meucci, due to his limited means, settled for a caveat, a one-year renewable notice of an impending patent, first filed in 1871, but which he was unable to pursue after 1874, while Alexander Graham Bell was not granted a patent until 1876. Finally, it is known that the Supreme Court of the United States directed the case to proceed to trial but Meucci died a short time later, rendering the case moot. So with these facts before the House today, I ask for the passage of this resolution to honor the life and achievements long overdue of Antonio Meucci, a great Italian American and a former great Staten Islander.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to add and commend the two gentlemen, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) and especially the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) for a very strong and passionate defense in support of the life of a great American and great inventor and merely add to the course, so to speak, that he was emblematic and remains so as a representative of all those who have come to this country to seek a better life and an opportunity and, in particular, to those Americans of Italian descent who have and will continue to make this the greatest country in the history of the world and in a small way and a long overdue way but in a small measure. I would ask my colleagues to support it.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize that the resolve of our nation was strengthened by the courage of the thousands of brave rescue and recovery workers who used their own hands to remove rubble from the site in order to locate those trapped and buried beneath the debris of the World Trade Center for the past eight months. These workers also inspired the American people with their extraordinary bravery and heroism, often risking their own life and limb to help find the remains of those who perished on September 11th. Many rescue and recovery workers were not just searching for a stranger but rather their lost son, daughter, aunt, uncle, brother, sister, husband, wife, mother, father, lifelong friend, or co-worker. Additionally, each of these workers was helping to clear the debris just hoping to come across any of their loved ones. I want to thank Congresswoman Maloney, Congressman Crowley, Congressman King, Congressman Serrano, Congressman Meeks, Congressman Owens, Congressman Sweeney, Congressman Towns, and Congressman Weiner for cosponsoring and supporting this legislation. I also want to give special thanks to Congresswoman Maloney for taking the time out of her busy schedule to come to the floor tonight and speak in favor of this resolution.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I hereby request that these comments be placed in the appropriate part of the Congressional Record: This past fall, the Staten Island Advance, the Staten Island Children's Campaign and my office joined together to raise money for families of victims of the World Trade Center tragedy. We established a non-profit named The Staten Island September 11th Fund and were successful in raising more than $1.2 million for families of victims from Staten Island. The person who made the whole program work, the one who dealt with every family and every single application received, was Eileen Kavanagh. Without relinquishing or compromising any of her myriad daily duties serving as executive secretary to the editor of the Staten Island Advance, she took on for six months the tremendous amount of work associated with The Staten Island September 11th Fund. That work included reviewing and processing the more than 200 applications received, handling all inquiries concerning benefits and donations and serving as the liaison between the Fund and the bank handling the account. This work included receiving and creating computerized records of thousands of donations totaling almost $1.3 million, sending written acknowledgments to all donors, making necessary bank deposits and, in the end, writing the almost 200 checks that the fund dispensed. Perhaps most importantly, she showed the ability to balance both the sensitivity needed to deal with families of the September 11th attacks and the objectivity needed to reflect the strict requirements established for the administration of the Fund. From trying to explain the fund to a widow who lost her firefighter husband and who is struggling to raise their children alone and at the same time consoling and empathizing with her to explaining it to a woman who lost her father and is doing everything she can to help her mother to accepting thousands of donations from To sum it all up, Eileen Kavanagh was able to do all of this with accuracy, understanding and compassion. She made the very difficult situation for many family members seeking financial assistance a lot easier for them because of that compassion. Sometimes, a family member of a victim just wants to hear a friendly voice on the other end--to talk--to be understood and listened to--Eileen did this gracefully. She did not do it for any monetary compensation, or for public attention, but simply to help her friends, neighbors--fellow Staten Islanders who were so devastated by the tragic events of September 11th. She provides us with an excellent example of the goodness that truly does exist in people--a goodness that we should all strive to share and attain. Staten Island suffered a great loss on September 11th. Hundreds of men and women were lost--husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, friends, neighbors and loved ones. All of our lives were forever changed--but the deeds of people like Eileen have eased the burden a bit--and have given us all a little more strength to carry on and hope for the future.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), and I join, I think, with the entire country to introduce a House resolution to pay tribute to the hundreds, if not thousands, of workers who have responded to the World Trade Center since that fateful day on September 11. As a Nation, we need not be reminded, but in a way we always need to be reminded, of what happened that day; of the loss of life, of those who lost loved ones, aunts, uncles, sons, daughters who were lost, fathers, mothers. We know the tragedy, and it will forever be written of. But out of that tragedy really came a resilience and strength in this country, and some of that was demonstrated by the workers who reported immediately to ground zero and have been there almost every day since. Believe it or not, Mr. Speaker, the recovery and ultimate redevelopment of the World Trade Center, which just a few months ago was thought to be almost impossible, will be coming to a close. In just the next few short days there will be a ceremony in New York City to honor and to pay tribute to those who have responded. For someone who was there on September 11, I can tell my colleagues that the dedication and the commitment of these individuals has been unbelievable. But with all that, all the work that they have done, the 1.6 million tons of debris, some of it, sadly, tragically, containing the remains of those who perished in the Trade Center, a lot of it ending up on Staten Island, so it hits close to home for all of us, I cannot tell you how proud we should be of them. They responded. They give their time, sometimes working 16, 18, 20 hours a day, many of them looking for their loved ones. You can just read the papers. Take the time necessary and see of those fathers who responded day in and day out hoping to find their sons, or those hoping to find a sister or a wife. Perhaps as we look back, this will be one of the darkest, if not the darkest, spot in American history. But if we look for a silver lining to it, it is the fundamental belief that there were those who responded heroically, with honor, with a sense of purpose to rebuild this country. When we were attacked on September 11 at the Trade Center, we began the process of rebuilding almost immediately, all with the sense of honor to those who lost their life. I can only tell my colleagues, as someone who lost almost 300 people from the district that I am very privileged to represent, and I think I can speak for a lot of those families, that each one of those individuals who have been at the Trade Center, Ground Zero as it has become known, we say thank you. I think the entire Congress of this country has said thank you. Everybody across this country has responded wonderfully, Members on both sides. All 50 States have offered their advice, guidance, support, financial, emotional, spiritual, and it is not underappreciated. But this is the way we formally say thank you. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) for really articulating, I think, the sentiments of many. As we saw those firefighters rush in or the police officers, the Port Authority police officers or the construction trades, the ironworkers, the steelworkers, the carpenters, as she has indicated, selflessly, without fear for their own life in an attempt to help others, they have been there since day one. There is no question that this was a terrible, terrible moment. There is no question that so many lives were lost and that we need to honor them every day. There is also no question that we need to pay tribute as so many Americans really have come to Ground Zero to pay their respects, to really offer a helping hand to the good people of New York, New York City. This is one way really Congress just does it formally. To the local businesses that had opened their doors to those volunteers to sleep on cots or on the floor, to have a meal, or to get something to drink or just simply to sit and pray, we say thank you to them. I thank my colleagues on both sides for being so supportive of New York financially, in helping us to rebuild, and also paying honor to those at the Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island where so much of this, of the trade center, is sent on a daily basis and continues to be sent on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We have hundreds of professionals and volunteers going through with the utmost delicacy and utmost respect for the human beings that were lost on that fateful day. They should be honored as well. But tonight we pay tribute to those at the trade center. As we have indicated, there will be a ceremony and they will know that the United States House of Representatives says thank you. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 127, I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea''.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am not recorded on rollcall Nos. 81 and 82. I was unavoidably detained and was not present to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall Nos. 81 and 82.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment as well. I commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), and, of course, the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Tauzin). I think the issue in the overall arching legislation comes down to where do we go from here and what is the role of government in deploying broadband across the entire United States; and rather than start here in Washington or in Congress, let us start back in my home town of Staten Island. We got a call recently from a gentleman who said he does not have access to cable television but would like a DSL line in his home. We called the local Bell, and there is no plans whatsoever to deploy that to his home. So the issue then becomes what to do. Well, nothing as far as he is concerned, unless this legislation were to pass. We cannot compel the local Bell to deploy broadband. We cannot compel the local cable operator to deploy broadband. What we can do and what I think what this legislation will do will encourage the deployment of broadband and then ultimately mandate it after 5 years. So that gentleman, not unlike more than 90 percent of the people across America, will now have a choice. Now if I were to visualize it, there is a highway. There is a ramp that goes on that highway. That highway is the broadband, that highway is access, that highway is just innovation, that highway is access for small business to communicate with other small business or family members to communicate with other family members, not just across Staten Island but across the world. But that access is limited to less than 10 percent of the American people and, by the way, most of whom are affluent. What we have not done and, unless this legislation is passed, we will not encourage or actually mandate the construction of new ramps to allow more Americans, indeed all Americans, access to this wonderful thing we call the highway of broadband. Now, we can sit here and we can whistle Dixie or we can sing until the cows come home and say we hope for those ramps to be built, but unless this were to be passed that would not happen. Let us remove the obstacles. Let us encourage the private sector and let competition reign and let the deployment of broadband take hold across the country. Let those ramps be built. At the same time, what the amendment seeks to do is say and to stipulate to those Bells, for example, that if you violate any of these telecommunications laws you will be penalized and penalized severely. Is that not what it is all about? So it brings it back home for that gentleman that called and said, when am I going to get it? Unless this bill is passed with this amendment, he may never get it. But if this bill is passed, then we will see broadband being deployed across the United States and America retain its rightful place as the leader in telecommunications and information technology and leave it up to the private sector to make those calls. Right now, that is the case.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am not recorded on rollcall Nos. 483, 484, and 485. I was unavoidably detained and was not present to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on all three measures.