Elton Gallegly

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute a longtime friend and former colleague who will be leaving the city of Simi Valley to become Ventura County's chief administrative officer. When I joined the Simi Valley City Council in 1979, one of our first objectives was to find an administrator who could lead the city into the next decade while restoring the fiscal and personal security city residents expected and deserved. Lin Koester was that administrator. In more than 15 years on the job, he has established a list of accomplishments and successes that would be the envy of any manager in the private or public sector. Through Lin's tenure, Simi Valley has earned the respect of other municipalities from around the State for its strong record of fiscal conservatism and financial stability. With an annual budget of more than $88 million and more than 500 employees, the city has weathered the economic downturn that has plagued southern California and the entire Nation over the past few years and has emerged in good financial shape with a $14 million general fund reserve. But Lin's achievements are hardly limited to the area of financial management. While he has served as city manager, Simi Valley has established a statewide reputation for its innovative efforts and programs in the areas of recycling and hazardous waste management. Under Lin's leadership, the city has maintained its reputation as one of the top three safest cities of its size in the entire country. It has also financed and built a new city hall and senior center and has helped establish a local DMV office, a new county courthouse and a library. The city has also seen the construction and opening of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, while construction continues on a new cultural arts center--scheduled to open later this year. A new, state-of-the-art, police facility is expected to open within the next 3 years. None of these things happened by accident. They happened because of strong, thoughtful leadership and an ability to get the most from a well-chosen, well-organized professional staff. As Lin moves on to put his time-tested talents to work for the county, Mr. Speaker, I would like to join many of his former colleagues and friends in wishing him well. I know that Simi Valley is a much better place today because the years Lin spent at the helm. I am confident that, years from now, we will be able to look back and say the same thing about Ventura County.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute a selfless community leader and educator who has spent his life helping those around him find strength and guidance through two principal sources-- education and religion. Dr. Raymond M. Olson was born nearly 85 years ago on a farm near Eagle Grove, IA. But those of us who make our homes in Ventura County are grateful for the fact that he found his way out West and has selflessly dedicated himself to improving the lives of the people around him. In his long, distinguished and varied career, Dr. Olson has served as a teacher, a pastor [[Page E1164]] in the Lutheran Church, president of the National Lutheran council and president of the California Lutheran College in Thousand Oaks. He now holds the title of president emeritus of California Lutheran university and continues to maintain his ties to the school. Dr. Olson's impressive career accomplishments are rivaled only by a tireless dedication to his community and extensive record of public service. He has served on the Ventura County grand jury, the board of directors of the Conejo Valley Historical Society, the United Fund of Ventura County, various boards of education, the Cultural Center Planning Committee and has been a member of the Thousand Oaks Rotary Club since 1963. In addition to these numerous professional and philanthropic commitments, Dr. Olson and his wife of nearly 60 years, Helen, have raised two daughter and a son. In short, Mr. Speaker, I believe that Dr. Raymond M. Olson has truly served his family and his community through a lifetime of service and selflessness. He was recently selected as the 1995 Patriotic Citizen of the Year by the Conejo Valley chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars and was presented with the Chapter's Silver Patrick Henry Medallion. This recognition was truly appropriate, because one of the basic tenets of the organization is that it is better to serve than to be served. Dr. Olson has lived his life in strict adherence to this belief and has backed up this opinion with an unparalleled record of action and dedication to others. I commend him to all in this body and congratulate him on his award.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, I stand in strong support of this budget.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a selfless philanthropist, a successful businessman, a good friend, and recipient of the 1995 Horatio Alger Award--Bert Boeckmann. A native Californian, Bert established early in life a commitment to hard work and a spirit of entrepreneurism that have served him well and have endured to this day. In his early teens, when many of his peers were focused on the simple pleasures of youth., Bert began mowing the lawns, cleaning the basements, and washing the windows of local estates. He later put himself through the University of Southern California by working a weekend maintenance job and the graveyard shift at Lockheed Aircraft. He took a job as a car salesman at Galpin Ford in 1957 and--less than 4 years later--was promoted to general manager of the company. His leadership ushered in an unprecedented period of prosperity for the struggling dealership, which he acquired in 1968. Galpin has ranked first in profits among all Ford dealerships for 21 of the past 25 years, which is not surprising given Bert's dedicated leadership and the fact that he has created an environment that encourages his best people to stay with the company. Top Galpin managers have tenures ranging from 17 to 36 years, a nearly unheard of record of commitment in the industry. But life for Bert has hardly been just about business. A husband and proud father, he has demonstrated time and time again that he cares more about others than he does about himself--that no demand is too great when there are people out there in need of assistance. In 1991, Bert and his wife Jane joined Secretary of State and Mrs. James Baker in honoring Mother Theresa with the Prince of Peace Prize. Bert also helped raise $1 million in medical supplies, food, and clothing for Mother Theresa's charities. Two years ago, Bert responded to a desperate plea from Russian farmers for seeds needed to ensure an adequate harvest. Not only did he orchestrate the donation of 56,000 pounds of seeds from several American companies and arrange for their transport by the Department of Defense, Bert and Jane met distribution. Mr. Speaker, these are only a few examples culled from a lifetime spent serving people. As his friend, I know that Bert is the kind of person who, when faced with a challenge, never wonders whether something can be done. He is the kind of person who is always willing to do whatever it takes to make a difference.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a selfless public servant who--in addition to a long list of other accomplishments and commitments--has served for the past year as president of the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. Ron Meek moved to Simi Valley 15 years ago and in that relatively brief period has established a record of community service to which lifelong residents should aspire. The father of two young sons, Ron has always placed a major emphasis on children and has been a strong local advocate of the Boy Scouts of America, the Simi Valley Boys and Girls Club and has also served as a little league coach. His wife Jan is president of the Simi Valley Unified School District PTA and, together, they cook meals for the homeless each month. As managing general partner of the Oakridge Athletic Club, Ron is also a local businessman who has successfully merged his professional life and his desire to make his city a better place to live. He has donated health club equipment to the local schools, has supported the Simi Valley Education Foundation and, in his own right, has been a loyal chamber member. As chamber president, Ron has compiled a long list of accomplishments that will endure far beyond his 1-year term. He formulated a business retention and development division to ensure that the chamber was doing all it could to attract new businesses to Simi Valley and to retain existing ones. He introduced several new initiatives aimed at encouraging individual members to be more creative and to allow the chamber to capitalize on that creativity. He initiated a program to honor long-term members and--through his leadership--made the chamber more likely to attract new members. Mr. Speaker, Ron Meek has established himself as someone who does more than pay lip service to his desire to help his friends and neighbors. In both his personal and professional life, Ron has proven that he is willing to do the hard, often thankless, work necessary to get results and to improve the quality of life for those around him. I would like to thank him for his efforts on behalf of his community, congratulate him on a successful term as chamber president and wish him all the best in the future.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to salute the American biotechnology industry, which continues to dominate the world market in producing breakthrough medicines based on cellular and molecular biology--bringing relief and cures to millions of patients around the world. Although other nations, notably Germany, Great Britain and Japan have renewed their efforts to narrow the biotech gap, America's leadership in this vital field continues to be overwhelming. Although it has existed for little more than a decade, the biotechnology industry has already made tremendous advances in science and research. Today, there are more than 1,000 biotech companies in the United States, most in the research stage of their development. Many of these companies are located in my home state of California and one, Amgen Inc. of Thousand Oaks, is located in an area that was formerly part of my congressional district. It is through Amgen that I first became aware of this burgeoning industry and that I continue to stay apprised of its development and progress. We in California are especially proud of this industry, which brings so much hope and promise to the economy of our state and nation. In fact, in the face of military and corporate cutbacks that have truly challenged the state of California and its residents, biotech represents one of the few industries to actually grow over the past decade. Mr. Speaker, in a recent column in the Los Angeles Times, An American Upbringing for Promising Industry, February 12, 1995, James Flanigan detailed the dynamics of the biotechnology industry and explained some of the reasons why it holds so much potential for real gains in medicine and is expected to have such a positive influence on the nation's economic growth. In his article, Mr. Flanigan singled out Amgen as an example of the awesome medical potential of biotechnology, both in the immediate and long-term future. As someone who is acutely aware of the progress Amgen has made in this truly progressive field, I find this recognition quite appropriate. Just this past December, Vice President Al Gore presented Amgen with a Presidential National Medal of Technology for its pioneering role in this new industry and its success in bringing remarkable medicines to patients around the world. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include Mr. Flanigan's article in the Record to share with you and my colleagues information about an industry that will surely play a larger role in all of our lives in the coming years. [From the Los Angeles Times, Feb. 12, 1995] An American Upbringing for a Promising Industry (By James Flanigan) With professional investors pumping billions of dollars into Amgen Inc. stock last week on rumors--later denied--of a takeover that would have cost at least $12 billion, ordinary folks must wonder what connection there could be between mega-deal speculation and lower prices for prescription drugs and medical treatments. But there is a connection, just as there is a more obvious link to fresh investor interest in biotechnology, an industry scarcely 20 years old that speaks volumes about U.S. methods of financing discoveries and innovations. In fact, dozens of biotech companies are starting up these days, thanks to a new research technology. And in a larger context, though there may be no single cure for cancer, the outlook for Amgen and the biotech industry says remedies to alleviate cancer symptoms and those of AIDS. Alzheimer's and other afflictions are in the works. Amgen's stock shot up 21% in two days last week, from under $63 a share to more than $76, on rumors that Bristol-Myers Squibb, maker of Bufferin and other such products as well as prescription medicines, would offer $90 a share for Amgen's stock. Amgen's price fell back when Bristol denied the rumor--it closed at $68.44 on Friday. But speculation about buyouts is sure to continue in an atmosphere in which Glaxo Holdings recently paid $500 million for Affymax, a biotech company, and is offering $14 billion for Wellcome, which makes a leading AIDS treatment. The big companies' intent is to acquire research capabilities and the rights to promising drugs at a time when hard bargaining by corporate benefit managers are driving down drug prices and big company laboratories are becoming expensive luxuries. ``The big companies are well equipped to handle worldwide marketing and clinical trials for the Food and Drug Administration,'' says Viren Mehta, managing partner of Mehta & Isaly, an investment firm specializing in health issues. ``But their research laboratories have been less productive of successful new drugs.'' Thus Amgen is particularly attractive because it has two of the most successful new compounds: Epogen, which stimulates production of red blood cells to alleviate anemia in kidney patients on dialysis, and Neupogen, which stimulates white blood cell production to guard against infections in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. On growth and development of those two products alone, Amgen's earnings could rise 13% a year for the next five years, says Eric Hecht, a physician and a security analyst for Morgan Stanley. The drugs are economically effective because they reduce the need for costly blood transfusions and medically effective because they bolster the immune systems of patients, thus reducing risk of often fatal infections. And they are called biogenetic because they use synthesized genes to stimulate the body's own curative processes--blood cell production from the bone narrow, for example. Biotechnology, though a young industry, already contains some 700 companies, most of them in the United States, and already has gone through several cycles of exaggerated hopes--and sky-high stock prices--followed by returns to realistic expectations. Born in the wake of President Richard Nixon's War on Cancer, biotech's first aim was to find a single cure, a ``silver bullet'' to cure the dread disease. But through the years, a growing realization that cancer and AIDS and afflictions of the brain such as Alzheimer's are complex, changeable and unpredictable has humbled drug companies and investors. Now efforts are undertaken one step at a time. For example, Amgen, in partnership with a small company named Regeneron, is in clinical trials with a genetic compound intended to slow the degenerative processes of Lou Gehrig's disease. Hopes of finding compounds to restore lost functions due to sclerosis or stroke are for the future. The very fact that biotech research is at the frontier of science has made it difficult for big company laboratories with corporate budgets and procedures. So biotech has grown as a decentralized industry, encouraging university and medical center researchers to join business managers in entrepreneurial companies. That's why major biotech centers are clustered near university complexes--in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego, in Cambridge and Boston, Mass., Princeton, N.J., and the Texas Medical Center in Houston. Venture capital firms offer initial financing in such places and, when markets are receptive, bring companies public with new stock. But it's a tough field to predict. Even the renowned scientist Jonas Salk's company, Immune Response Corp., has been plagued by worsening losses and a sinking stock price. Yet new companies are being formed at a furious pace in California and elsewhere. The reason is a technological mouthful called combinatorial chemistry. It uses the techniques of semiconductor manufacturing and super-computing to screen thousands of molecules for potential sources of new genetic drugs. The effects could be dramatic. ``Combinatorial chemistry will make it much quicker and cheaper to identify attractive new drugs,'' writes James McCamant, editor of Berkeley's Medical Technology Stock Letter. ``Over the next 10 years it will change the nature of the pharmaceutical industry.'' Drug companies are aware of that: Marion Merrell Dow has already acquired Selectide and Glaxo has bought Affymax, two pioneers in combinatorial chemistry. There will be many more buy-outs and start-ups to come in the normal ferment of a new industry. The promise is that biotechnology will bring down the costs of prescription drugs and medical treatments as it brings entrepreneurs and investors opportunities in small companies as well as large ones like Amgen. A good example of the ability of U.S. industry, academia and government to adapt to scientific discovery and changing circumstances, biotech is a field to watch.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his kind words and also recognize his great wisdom. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California [Mr. Berman].

Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico.

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, this amendment merely reimburses the States for the failure of the Federal Government to enforce its borders. The cost of this failure to California alone is well in excess of $100 million a year. Clearly, California and States that are impacted by this policy cannot afford to continue to pick up the tab for the fact that the Federal Government has shirked its responsibility to enforce its borders and the law. Mr. Chairman, while I wholeheartedly support this amendment, I certainly do not want it, at least my position, to be construed that this should be an substitute for aggressively enforcing the issue of unchecked illegal immigration into our country. I think as the debate goes on in the days and weeks to come, Members are going to find that this Congress is going to very aggressively tackle that issue. But on this amendment, I would ask my colleagues to strongly approve this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman form California [Mr. Dreier].

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is really just a commonsense change in the legislation that would ensure that prison construction grants wind up in the areas that have the greatest need for them. these grants based solely on population and not on the violent crime rate. This amendment would change that, and allocate these funds to the areas that are facing the greatest challenge in terms of violent crime and in keeping violent criminals behind bars. H.R. 667 is designed to reduce crime in our communities by ensuring that we have enough room in our prisons to house the violent felons who belong there. Surely, it makes sense to base the level of funding to any one area on the level of violent crime occurring there. I think we all share the desire to make the most of these grants and to make the streets as safe as we possibly can through the prison construction they will support. It only makes sense to add prison capacity where a clear need has been established rather than simply as a virtue of how many live in any one State. Mr. Chairman, these grants are intended to help us fight violent crime by locking up violent criminals. They are not just another feel- good Government entitlement to be blindly doled out. When we are confronting an issue of such tremendous concern to the American people, an extremely challenging issue that poses such a serious threat to our very way of life--we have to be a little smarter with our resources than we sometimes are around here. This is not the time for us to indiscriminately hang a sign on the government trough reading, ``Open for business.'' It is time for us to do the work necessary to insure that these precious funds wind up in the hands of those who have the greatest need for them. It is in that spirit I urge support of this simple, commonsense amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, we have no other Members seeking time. I would urge support and yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico.

Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. GALLEGLY. I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Richardson] for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise on behalf of House Joint Resolution 50, which will rename the visitor center at the Channel Islands National Park in California after my good friend and former colleague, Bob Lagomarsino. When I was first elected to Congress in 1986, it was my privilege to represent the district just adjacent to Bob's. My experience in politics was limited to the Simi Valley City Council at that time, and Bob gave graciously of his time and counsel as I learned the ropes here in Washington. Those who served with him will remember Bob as an insightful legislator and one of our hardest working Members. Although he has retired to his home in California, Bob continues to produce a quarterly newsletter and many of his friends and former colleagues continue to benefit from his valued advice. During his long and distinguished career in public service--as a councilman, a mayor, State senator, and Congressman--Bob Lagomarsino paid particular attention to preserving our natural resources. In his role as ranking Republican on the National Parks Subcommittee, he provided leadership that was guided by a strong ethic of stewardship. In his 19 years in Congress, Bob Lagomarsino stood for a lot of things, but probably no single issue was closer to his heart than the protection of the string of islands located just to the west of his district--the Channel Islands. Bob earned the title, ``Father of the Channel Islands National Park,'' by persuading his colleagues to designate the islands as a national park in 1980. In light of this achievement, and his long record of service to his constituents and in this very Chamber, I feel it is appropriate that we honor him by giving this facility its rightful name--``The Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center.'' As a nearly lifelong resident of Ventura County, I am in a unique position to appreciate the wisdom of Bob's desire to preserve the islands and create this park. The isolation of these islands and their unique geography have created an incredibly diverse natural environment. More than 800 species of plants and animals--including dozens of species of marine mammals--are found in the park, making this national treasure one of our most important ecosystems. Without Bob Lagomarsino's leadership, it is doubtful that the Channel Islands would be a national park today. This is a noncontroversial bill, which the Congressional Budget Office has found will have no budgetary impact. Resources by a voice vote. Some of you may remember that in the 103d Congress, full Committee Chairman George Miller and Parks Subcommittee Chairman Bruce Vento supported this proposal and agreed to move it forward. Although the legislation was passed by the House, it did not make it through the other body before the end of the year. I would like to thank the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young] and the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] for acting so promptly this year to move this legislation through the House Committee on Resources. I urge my colleagues to give this bill unanimous support in recognition of Bob's outstanding record of environmental conservation. I would like to note that my colleague form California, Mrs. Feinstein, has introduced a similar bill in the other body and I look forward to quick passage there. Hopefully, our moving the bill forward early in the 104th Congress will allow this legislation to be enacted quickly and give Bob the recognition he deserves.

Mr. GALLEGLY. I want to join all of my colleagues who joined today in recognizing Bob Lagomarsino. Particularly I want to thank you, Bill. If we felt about so many more issues in this body on a bipartisan way the way we feel about Bob, we could get a lot more done around here. I thank you very kindly for yielding, and urge the support of all of our Members on this issue.

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration in the House of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 50) to designate the visitors center at the Channel Islands National Park, CA, as the ``Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitors Center.''

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of three selfless and tireless public servants who, for many years, have made it their business to make life better for the people of Port Hueneme. Dorill B. Wright, Ken Hess, and James Daniels have spent a combined total of 44 years on the Port Hueneme City Council and, as anyone who has held locally elected office knows, these years were filled with countless meetings, weekend obligations and late night phone calls. But the commitment of these three officials to their friends and neighbors in Port Hueneme hardly ended with their official city duties. All three took additional steps to even further involve themselves in a variety of county and statewide activities that benefitted a much larger constituency. Dorill Wright, for whom the city named its cultural center in 1988, served on the council for 24 years, 16 as mayor. A past director and president of the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce, he has served on the Ventura County grand jury, the California Coastal Commission, local hospital boards and a wide variety of civic and governmental groups far too numerous to list individually. Ken Hess, who served on the council for 12 years, has also been an active and involved member of his community. He has been a member and chairman of the Ventura County Association of Governments, a member of the county's Drunk Driving Task Force and a past president of the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce. Jim Daniels, a Port Hueneme resident for more than 40 years, spent 8 of those years on the city council and has more than lived up to the designation he earned back in 1963, Port Hueneme Citizen of the Year. With Dorill and Ken, he helped the council develop the city's cultural center and the Ray Prueter Library, helped supervise the renovation of the Orvene Carpenter Community Center and the badly needed widening of Pleasant Valley Road. In addition to his council duties, Jim has played a leadership role in many community groups and advisory boards. Mr. Speaker, these three men have made a difference in their community, the county and their State through their hard work and dedication. I ask my colleagues to join me in saluting their efforts today and wishing them all the best in the future.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, we are honored to pay tribute today to a talented and tireless public servant who has fought for the people of Ventura County for nearly three decades--the past 16 years as the county's chief administrative officer. Richard Wittenberg has clearly left his mark on Ventura County and, in a broader sense, southern California. As the principal advisor to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and the person charged with carrying out the board's decisions, he has helped see the county through the good and the bad, the rich years and the lean ones. Through Richard's tenure, and thanks in no small part to his management style, Ventura County has served as a model for other municipalities around the State and Nation. His thoughtful leadership, his professionalism, and the fact that he truly cared about the fate of his 750,000 employers made Richard one of the most effective administrators to manage this or any county. In addition to his numerous professional accomplishments, Richard and his wife Joyce have raised three very successful children and have played an active role in the social, cultural, and philanthropic fabric of the county and surrounding areas. Mr. Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us today in saluting Richard Wittenberg, who is leaving Ventura County to become chief administrative officer for Santa Clara County. We are sorry to see him go, but thank him for the very positive impact he ha made in Ventura County and southern California. We wish him all the best in his new position.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I have today reintroduced legislation aimed at addressing a problem that most Americans now recognize as a pressing threat to our way of life and the continued success of our Nation. That problem is illegal immigration and I hope that the package of reforms I propose will--once and for all--help establish firm control over our borders and make it much more difficult for those who enter our country illegally to benefit by breaking the law. Illegal immigration was first recognized as a drain on public funds and a detriment to public welfare in the border States where it has been most prevalent over the years. In recent years, though, more and more Americans from a much wider geographic area have come to understand the overwhelming burden placed upon law-abiding taxpayers by those who enter this country illegally. For years, citizens in border States have demanded a Federal response to this problem and, for years, the Federal Government has turned a deaf ear to the plight of those legal residents asked to house, school, treat, and feed those with no legal right to be here. The response has been so dismal, in fact, that over the past year some border States have actually sued the Federal Government in hopes of retrieving some of the billions of dollars spent attending to the needs of illegal immigrants. But the apex of the public outcry against illegal immigration, I believe, was reached this past November, when nearly 60 percent of California voters supported a statewide initiative aimed at eliminating the benefits awarded to those who break the law when they enter this country. The overwhelming passage of proposition 187 sends a clear message to those who write the laws governing life in this Nation that--on this issue--the people have had enough and they want something done. Illegal immigration is perhaps the only situation I know of where those who openly and knowingly break the law not only escape punishment, they are in fact rewarded beyond their wildest dreams. Until we combine tougher border enforcement with the elimination of benefits awarded those who enter this country illegally, we will never be able to end the drain on public resources and to protect opportunities for those legal immigrants who seek to make a life here and to capture their share of the American dream. Mr. Speaker, illegal immigration is a complex and divisive issue and I recognize that no single legislative package could ever fully address its many facets and implications. I hope, however, that the bills I introduce today will provide a foundation for an appropriate Federal response to this crisis. As the head of a congressional task force on immigration that you created, I look forward to working with all of my colleagues on this issue and particularly with my good friend Representative Lamar Smith, chairman of the Immigration and Claims Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. The time has come for national immigration reform. We in the 104th Congress owe it to those who put us here to recognize this and to take appropriate action, instead of continuing to ignore a crisis that threatens to undermine the very foundation of the society we have worked so hard over so many years to create.

Mr. GALLEGLY

Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I am today re-introducing legislation to designate the visitors center at the Channel Islands National Park, CA, as the Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitors Center. In 1980, Bob Lagomarsino successfully guided legislation through Congress which established the Channel Islands National Park in Ventura County, CA. He then worked tirelessly during the next dozen years to obtain land acquisition funds to buy the islands from their previous owners. Because of his efforts, virtually all of the islands are now protected, ensuring that they will remain free of development and in their pristine state which will be open to the public for generations to come. Unquestionably, without Bob Lagomarsino's perseverance, it's safe to say that the islands would not be protected today. It's only fitting that the visitors center at Ventura Harbor serve as a living monument for the outstanding service Bob Lagomarsino provided to Ventura County residents for almost 35 years in public office. Identical legislation was passed by the House in the 103d Congress; regrettably it was not considered in the Senate prior to adjournment. I urge my colleagues to support and to cosponsor this legislation.