Alcee Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), my very good friend. (Mr. NADLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), my very good friend.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for a unanimous consent to the gentlewoman from Kansas City, Missouri (Ms. McCarthy). (Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa), my good friend. (Mr. HINOJOSA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5\1/2\ minutes. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from Ohio for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, what we have just seen is a powerful demonstration of women and two men that represent nearly 13 million people in the United States of America. One would think that this highly contentious Head Start reauthorization bill would be the kind of thing that would allow us to not have this kind of undertaking. One would think that this would be a simple four-step process involving the systematic introduction of a bill that increases funding and expands Head Start services; followed by committee markups to ensure the bill includes bipartisan interests; next, it is placed on the calendar; and, finally, a 15-minute vote with the passing of Head Start reauthorization. But since the Republicans are in control of the House, it is never that simple. Instead, I wind up opposing the rule and the underlying bill on Head Start. Head Start is America's best known Federal program. Of the more than 20 million children and families that are enrolled in Head Start nationwide, there are 2,574 Head Start children in my congressional district alone, including 41 Head Start centers with a total of 127 classrooms. Of those Head Start children in my district, 98 percent of them live in families that receive public assistance or have incomes that are below the Federal poverty line. These kids receive a gamut of services which include medical and dental care, mental health services, disability assessment and treatment and family assistance. In fact, studies have shown that Head Start narrows the gap between disadvantaged children and other children, narrows that gap in vocabulary, writing skills, and social behavior. Head Start children are less likely to repeat a grade, require special education or be convicted of a crime. And I underscore, 80 percent of all of the children who start and end Head Start do not wind up in prison. These children show IQ gains compared to low-income children who are not in the program and are more likely to graduate from high school and college. Mr. Speaker, I cite these statistics to simply say it seems to me that, as one of the gentlewomen said, If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This seems to be a solution in search of a problem. Although Head Start has a well-documented record of improving the education and health of participating children, Republicans seek to begin its evisceration. The current proposal by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is completely without reason. While H.R. 2210 does seek to reauthorize Head Start funding, it also seeks to undermine and erode the foundation of Head Start programs through its proposed change. We need legislation that will build upon and ensure Head Start's continued success. We would not be building upon its success if we passed a bill that begins the state-by-state dismantling of Head Start programs by establishing block grants in eight States, Florida included. We would not be building upon its success if we passed a bill that promotes discrimination in hiring by ignoring civil rights laws and lowers Federal standards. We would not be building upon its success if we passed a bill that literally and figuratively shortchanges teachers by not mandating an increase in pay and denies services to eligible children through an insignificant increase in funding. Mr. Speaker, I might also add that of the 25 amendments that we heard in the Committee on Rules that were offered by Democrats, only two were allowed, and the one Republican amendment by arguably the most qualified Member of the House on this particular matter, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy), a child psychologist, was also rejected. This is shameful, and, frankly, sinister. You Republicans really know how to kick a kid when he is down. First the child tax credit, now this. What is next? Maybe there is a Republican bill out there that outlaws kickball or stickball. Mr. Speaker, this body owes the American people a reauthorization that significantly increases funding and allows for the expansion of Head Start and Early Head Start. We will be doing a disservice to lower-income families and the future of America to pass the bill on the floor today. I urge rejection of this Draconian rule and of the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown). (Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis). (Mr. DAVIS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro). (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter). (Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. Christensen). (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton). (Ms. NORTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur). (Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo). (Ms. ESHOO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis). (Mrs. DAVIS of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Harman). (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson). (Ms. WATSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez). (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Linda T. Sanchez). (Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis). (Ms. SOLIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps). (Mrs. CAPPS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez). (Ms. VELAZQUEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick). (Ms. KILPATRICK asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Roybal-Allard). (Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren). (Ms. LOFGREN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to discuss a very serious issue--the failure of North Korea to comply with a number of non-proliferation treaties and agreements, and the failure of the President to effectively resolve the escalating tension between the United States and North Korea. So far, little has been achieved and Pyongyang continues its race to manufacture nuclear weapons. The existence of a North Korean nuclear weapons program poses a real and imminent threat to the populations of South Korea, Japan, and North Korea, and to the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in that region. But most importantly, it poses a threat to global security interests. Given the escalating tensions with North Korea, I have introduced an amendment to the Foreign Operations Bill that urges the President to work towards a peaceful resolution to this impasse before the situation escalates any further. My amendment simply says, ``It is the sense of Congress that the President of the United States is called upon to utilize all diplomatic options to redirect North Korean efforts away from nuclear weapons proliferation.'' I know that most Members of Congress deeply believe that engagement, be it bilateral or multilateral, with North Korea is needed to defuse the tension between the two countries, and prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It will take a concerted effort to transform the conflict, engaging many different parts of the system simultaneously, over a period of time. A diplomatic track could pave the way to North Korea ending its nuclear program. Engaging rhetoric, alliance building, diplomatic efforts aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear program are all options to successfully redirect North Korean efforts away from nuclear weapons proliferation. My amendment calls on the President to use coalitions, arms-control accords, and weapons inspections because these are methods of conflict resolution he has often ignored. If we don't incorporate all available nonproliferation tools to redirect North Korean efforts away from nuclear weapons, then military intervention will again be the only national security policy at our disposal. Unless we do develop a plan, this standoff will continue until tensions soar even further. Now is the time for resolute diplomacy that sends a clear message against nuclear proliferation; now is the time for the President to actively engage in renewed dialogue. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.