Vito Fossella

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman as we consider H.R. 1461, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act, I would like to urge my colleagues to support the inclusion of a provision to provide an increase in Conforming Loan Limits for high cost Metropolitan Service Areas, MSAs. Since 1980, the price of homeownership in New York has increased by 492 percent, and continues to escalate in the current housing market. With drastically higher prices than other parts of the country, homeownership in the area has limited access for lower and middle income New Yorkers. The GSE's chartered mission is to expand homeownership for low to middle income Americans, and this should apply to Americans regardless of the geographic region in which they reside. In working towards achieving this mission, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are restricted in their ability to participate in these high cost areas because significantly fewer mortgages fall within the conforming loan limit. The current loan limit is set at $359,650. The median price of a home in the New York area, however, is $435,200--considerably higher even for entry level home prices. While the current loan limit has been raised to the lesser of 150 percent of the statutory limit or the median home price in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Virgin Islands, high cost metropolitan areas like New York City have been left out. Language included in HR 1461 would increase loan limits in high cost areas to the maximum of the area's median home purchase price, capped at 150 percent of the current limit. Raising these limits will help lower to middle income residents in high cost areas like Staten Island gain access to the lower interest mortgage rates Fannie and Freddie are able to provide--mortgage rates that, compared to jumbo loans, can save my constituents as much as $135 a month. Fannie and Freddie are able to provide lower interest rates to homebuyers and expand homeownership through the contributions of the American taxpayer. It is time the taxpayers in high cost areas like New York City realize the benefits of their contributions through access to lower interest mortgages. The current disparity is undeniable. I urge my colleagues to support the Conforming Loan Limits language and vote no on attempts to remove it from the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 479 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. FOSSELLA

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

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairmen of the subcommittee and the full committee for their efforts here. First at the outset, let me commend the great men and women of the United States Coast Guard for what they do. In Staten Island and Brooklyn, we are privileged that they are watching the Port of New York and the hundreds, if not thousands, of personnel who dedicate their lives to helping us and saving many and protecting us. And after a very aggressive summer boating season, many of them have been redeployed to the gulf region and serving once again with honor and distinction and rescuing many and really serving full support to the United States Coast Guard. The amendment I have offered today deals with what happened several years ago in Staten Island. On October 15, 2003, the Staten Island Ferry boat, the Andrew J. Barberi, was on a regularly scheduled trip from Manhattan to Staten Island, as it does 365 days a year; but on that day, it collided with the maintenance pier at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. The tragic accident resulted in the death of 11 people, 11 innocent people with over 70 injured, many severely. Despite the exceptional report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board, which conducted a very thorough investigation, we still do not know the full story of what happened on that tragic day. The N.T.S.B. concluded a probable cause of the incident was ``the assistant captain's unexplained incapacitation.'' The unwillingness of those with knowledge of what happened in the wheelhouse to talk unfortunately ensures that the full story of that tragedy will never be known. In light of these circumstances, the amendment I have offered today requires that voyage data recorders, or VDRs, not too unlike the famous, or infamous, black boxes that exist in every airplane cockpit, be installed in ferries carrying more than 399 passengers. For a point of fact, that is probably more than 50 ferry boats nationwide. The devices are similar to the black boxes. In addition to recording all communication and navigation data in a ship's wheelhouse, the devices can also be used to track vessels en route and determine whether or not a ship is veering off course, which would have arguably prevented this tragic accident as well. In addition to helping determine whether or not ships may be on a dangerous course, the devices also provide critical information in the event of future accidents that will give investigators a more complete understanding of events and in helping investigators understand root causes, such as greatly assist them in offering recommendations for safety improvements. The amendment sets forth very practically to allow these VDRs in passenger ferries of 399 or more passengers. The Staten Island Ferry in and of itself carries tens of thousands people every day. I think it is a commonsense measure. Furthermore, I want to commend the chairmen of both the full and the subcommittee for agreeing to continue to dialogue, to figure out ways we can prevent such accidents from occurring. One of the other issues that clearly happened here was the pilot in control basically provided fraudulent physicals. And we need to find a way that we can effectively protect the public from those pilots, and I would argue physicians that provided false medicals to allow people who really do not belong in a wheelhouse to be responsible for the lives of tens of thousands of people on a daily basis. I urge support of this commonsense amendment.

Mr. FOSSELLA

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

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment, along with the gentleman from New York (Mr. King) as well as the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez). Very simply, it deals with disseminating the truth in Havana, Cuba. Many have different opinions as to how this country should deal with Cuba; and for the record this, in my opinion, has nothing to do with travel or trade or some of the more contentious issues that surround our relationship with Cuba. In my opinion, this is very clear and unequivocal. In Cuba right now, there are fugitives from justice. The reality is, for those who do not know, Cuba is a haven or sanctuary for cold- blooded killers like Joanne Chesimard, who murdered a police officer in cold blood in New Jersey. She now goes by the name of Assata Shakur, so I am told. She is living peacefully in Cuba. The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Ms. Chesimard. William Morales is a bomb maker who was affiliated with the FALN terrorist organization that wreaked havoc not just in New York but throughout the country. Victims of the FALN included three New York City police officers, Detective Anthony Senft, Detective Richard Pastorella, as well as Officer Rocco Pascarella. New York City is offering $50,000 for information leading to the capture of Mr. Morales. And those two are not alone. The fact as we know it, while so many are oppressed under the communist regime, there are scores of people on the FBI terrorist watch list who live peacefully in Cuba. What this amendment does, very simply, is it empowers and encourages the Havana section, the United States Interests Section, Havana to announce the names of those fugitives believed to be living in Cuba and any rewards for their capture. Plain and simple, the Cuban people should know that these fugitives live among them and they should know there may be rewards upwards of $1 million of a bounty for the return of these fugitives to be tried in this country for cold-blooded murders, for bombings, for hijacking, for air piracy, and scores of other crimes. The people of Cuba should know that. I would hope that everybody would support a very simple message of dissemination of truth to the Cuban people and the swift return of those fugitives who wreaked havoc on individuals and this Nation. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me just say I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), and all those who encouraged support of this amendment. And if there is one thing this body can agree upon, very simply, it is justice. And that is all this would ultimately bring about, justice for those who lost loved ones and the belief that the Cuban people should be given the truth as it relates to those murderers and fugitives that live among them.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me this time and for bringing the resolution to the floor, along with the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos); and I urge its unanimous adoption. Mr. Speaker, on September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked, and Britain stood with us. This was not only an attack against America, but against the civilized world; and Britain understood this. On July 7, 2005, the terrorists struck again, this time at our ally, Britain, in London. Over 50 people are believed dead and more than 700 wounded in these horrific attacks. These terrorist attacks have once again been directed towards innocent civilians, except that instead of New York and Washington, D.C., the targets were in London. We have seen this deliberate targeting of civilians by terrorists in other places, like Bali, Istanbul, Madrid, and beyond. This message really goes to the people of Britain, the citizens of London, but especially to the families who lost loved ones last week. In 2001, when not just the United States of America came together but the rest of the global world stood with the United States and the families who lost loved ones on 2001, it was a show of appreciation, respect, sympathy, and condolences for those who lost their lives to terror. Out of the pain and the sorrow for many of those families, and I know this because I represent about 300 who lost loved ones on that fateful day on September 11, one of the saving graces from all of that was the outpouring of support from around the world that let them know that they did not stand alone; that let them know that our allies, whether Great Britain or beyond, stood with them and that the best days, hopefully, would come. Today, we stand as a body, as elected representatives, but really speaking for those people we represent to send those same sympathies and condolences to the people of London. Yes, we will prevail. Yes, this web of terror, and if there is not a point in time we can say, it let now be the time, this web of terror must be destroyed, whether it is Bali, or the World Trade Center, or the Khobar Towers, or Nairobi, or Jakarta, or any other place around the world where innocent people still must fear for their lives because of these radical terrorists who think nothing of taking innocent lives, including their own. The people of London have now been Exhibit A in the latest chapter in the war against terror. But the free people of the United States, the free people of Great Britain, and the free people around the world, with our brave men and women in the United States Armed Services and those who are willing to step up and give their life, will prevail against these rogue terrorist punks.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for yielding me this time and the ranking member for their support. And today I request the House approve the naming of a post office in my district after Vincent Palladino. Vincent, who passed away last December, was the president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors for 12 years, ending in 2004. He was also a native of Staten Island, New York, in my district. Vincent was kind-hearted, compassionate, outgoing, and had an unquenchable thirst for helping his friends and neighbors. Vincent made his community a better place to live and touched the lives of those around him. And although his professional obligations carried him far and wide, his heart was always in Staten Island. He began his career as a letter carrier in the Rosebank Post Office in 1962. He held numerous supervisory positions in Staten Island, including station manager of the Rosebank Post Office and operations manager for all Staten Island post offices. In 1986, he was elected secretary of the National Association of Postal Supervisors, which represents more than 35,000 active and retired supervisors, managers, and postmasters who work for or who retired from the United States Postal Service. In 1992, he was elected president of NAPS and held that post for 12 years. Vincent brought his life lessons learned on the streets of Rosebank and Arlington to that position and was a strong advocate for all those postal workers he led. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those postal workers for the job they do every day. I know Vincent would stand up and correct me if I failed to mention them and how much he appreciated, like we all do, their work. I would also like to thank Vincent's family, especially his children, Anthony, Nicholas, Regina, Renee, and Mary Lou, for their support of this fine man. Born in 1935, Vincent also served his country in the Armed Forces, that is, in the United States Air Force, from 1955 to 1959. Today we honor Vincent's lifetime hard work and achievement by asking the House to approve the measure to rename the Rosebank Post Office in his honor, where he got his start. And might I add, he also happened to be my family's letter carrier in the early 1960s when he started. I would like to thank the fellow members of the New York delegation for their unanimous support of this legislation and all those who have cosponsored the bill. Like many American success stories, and Vincent Palladino was one of them, he never forgot where he came from. He may have lived his last years in Arlington, Virginia, but his heart and his family will always be in Staten Island. I thank the Members for their support.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the stellar softball season for the Tottenville Girls Softball Team on their recent City Championship victory. The Tottenville Pirates dominated the Public School Athletic League this season with an amazing 189 runs scored while only allowing an even more stunning 6 runs. More than 200 fans showed up to see if Tottenville was in fact for real. They went about their business as usual and recorded a 1-0 victory for the school's first Metro Bowl softball title--and they did it against arguably the top program in New York City. Tottenville coach said they have prepared for this by playing against the top competition throughout New York City. And after the championship game, it was obvious that play against the best paid off. On behalf of family, friends, fans, and the entire 13th Congressional District of Staten Island and Brooklyn, New York, I would like to again congratulate the Tottenville Girls Softball Team for their outstanding season. Each player, coach, and fan should be very proud of their efforts. I commend them for their drive, desire, and sportsmanship that they revealed throughout the season. The Girls Tottenville Roster is as follows: Stefani Allen, Lauren Bello, Samantha Bennett, Ashley Brandow, Erin Dailey, Tara Dolton, Kim Ferraiolo, Megan Gardella, Michelle Gardella, Jessica Herrera, Alison Holtermann, Karisa Pietromonico, Nicole Pomponio, Christine Rode, Rebecca Sloan, Diana Stout, Brittney Stratton, Samantha Wagner. Coaches: Cathy Morano, John Leverock, Victor Vazquez, Gene Castellucci, Joanna Pellecchia.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall Nos. 322, 323, 324 and 325, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on all four votes.

Mr. FOSSELLA

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I too support the spirit and intent of the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle). And if there ever was common sense, it is the fact that taxpayer money should not be used to provide Viagra and similar medications to convicted sex offenders, those among the worst in the country. So this is a short-term solution; but we need a long-term solution, a bill that I have introduced; and it is understood that the chairman will move that legislation. It focuses on drug utilization review programs that provide the States with the flexibility to prevent convicted sex offenders from obtaining Viagra with taxpayer money.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

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

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I understanding we are in tight fiscal times. However, given the circumstances the workers face, will you work with me and my New York colleagues and others as we move towards conference and think creatively on this issue and work with the administration to attempt to find a restoration of this much-needed funding?

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

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

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler).

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney).

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes. First, I want to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula) for not only the great work he does but also entertaining this, allowing us to submit this amendment and engaging in a colloquy. We all know that September 11, 2001, was many things. It was the worst attack in our country's history. It was a devastating loss. Almost 3,000 individuals lost their lives. We are still recovering from the ravages of what happened on that day; and after that, bringing America together, Congress, along with the President of the United States, committed itself to New York. This has been appreciated. But sadly, what has happened is for many people who rushed into Ground Zero selflessly, not thinking of themselves or their well-being, in an effort to rescue others who could have been victim to that dreadful attack, they became the heroes of our time. What has happened is many of those individuals who were injured immediately have been dealt with, whether it is worker's compensation or providing for their health care; but there is that segment of the population, those heroes, thousands of them perhaps, who rushed into Ground Zero who are now discovering the health effects of having to give almost their lives to rescue others. We also know that it could be weeks, months, or years before some of these side effects show up, perhaps a respiratory problem, perhaps leg or arm injuries, that will only get worse over time. What we intend to do today is to seek the restoration of $125 million to this appropriations budget. We believe, in a bipartisan way, that 9/ 11 is not over. Many, many people who thought nothing about giving of themselves for the sake of their fellow man are now just coming to learn that they may need our help. Congress, rightly, responded to say to New York, we will be there to help; we will continue in our efforts to ensure that happens. It is imperative that this at least $125 million be restored, that the rescission that occurred be undone; and it is, I think, paramount that we stand united to show and to demonstrate to anybody who rushed into those burning buildings on 9/11, that this country will not forget the heroics, will not forget their efforts, and we will stand with them as long as they need our help. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney), my colleague.

Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from upstate New York (Mr. Walsh), who has really led the effort to secure the funding for New York since 9/11.