Darrell Issa

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. If the gentleman will yield, Mr. Chairman, I have made that.

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Chairman, I offer a preferential motion.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize all the faithful here in Los Angeles for the Forty-fifth Archdiocese Convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. In welcoming the diverse spiritual leaders of the Church that are gathering together, I especially want to recognize His Excellency, Issam Fares, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. This biennial convention is an opportunity to share the history, cultural heritage and religious dedication of the members throughout North America. The convention is an opportunity for the Archdiocese to discuss social issues facing families today. The work of Antiochian Orthodox Church through such programs as the International Orthodox Christian Charities, the bone marrow testing drive, health fairs and the Jerusalem Project, are the finest examples of the religious freedom that only we share in the United States. I wish to congratulate the members of the Antiochian Orthodox community on their efforts and wish them many years of success in their work throughout the United States.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and send my personal greetings to all those gathered for the forty-fifth Archdiocese Convention of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. In welcoming the diverse spiritual leaders of the Church that are gathering together, I want to especially welcome His Excellency, Issam Fares, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. I would like to commend the Antiochian Archdiocese for using this convention to search for ways to help young people and families struggling with the challenges of our society. This biennial convention is an opportunity to share the history, cultural heritage and religious dedication of the members throughout North America. The work of Antiochian Orthodox Church through such programs as the International Orthodox Christian Charities, the bone marrow testing drive, health fairs and the Jerusalem Project, are the finest examples of the religious freedom that only we share in the United States. I wish to congratulate the members of the Antiochian Orthodox community on their efforts and wish them many years of success in their work throughout the United States.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 1892, the ``Family Sponsor Immigration Act of 2001.'' I thank Congressman Ken Calvert, author of this bill, Chairman Sensenbrenner, Chairman Gekas, and the Immigration Subcommittee staff for their leadership and assistance on this bill. This bill will correct the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to allow another family member to become a sponsor of an applicant by signing an affidavit of support if the original sponsor has died. Current INS regulation, set up by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA), allows sponsors to sign an affidavit of support to transfer sponsorship of an applicant. Unfortunately, if a sponsor dies without signing an affidavit of support, the applicant must start the long process over again. Due to the immense number of applicants filing for permanent residency, the application process for the INS can take more than a decade. I first became aware of this problem in the IIRAIRA of 1996 when my district office told me of a constituent, Myrna Gabiola, who wanted to sponsor her two brothers after her father passed away. The family was so focused on the health of the father that they did not realize that the father had to sign an affidavit of support allowing another family member to take over the application while he was still alive. There was no indication of a problem until Renan and Ben Patao had interviews and did not have the required affidavit of support. They were subsequently denied because their father had passed away before the interviews took place. The Gabiola family waited over sixteen years to be granted an interview for permanent residency but were then sent to the back of the line to begin the process over again. I urged my staff to explore every possible avenue to assist Ms. Gabiola through the administrative process, but upon further exploration, there was none. I contemplated a private bill, but after discussing the possibilities with the Immigration Subcommittee staff for the Judiciary Committee, they revealed that Congressman Ken Calvert had draft legislation to correct a similar situation. After talking with Congressman Calvert, he explained that he had a constituent in a similar situation and wanted to bring forth legislation as soon as possible. After being introduced on May 17th of this year, this bill passed the Judiciary Committee's Immigration subcommittee and the full committee by voice vote. H.R. 1892 has received tremendous bi-partisan support from Members and the INS, and is supported by the White House. This bill will keep families together and help avoid the possibility of having two tragedies stemming from one unfortunate event. Again, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise and came here with the profound desire to speak just a few moments in support of the very courageous legislation of the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher). I, like the gentleman, was not alive and did not participate in World War II but what I do understand, having dealt with people from around the world and especially in Asia, that this is exactly the kind of a bill that Japan, for their own sake, needs to make sure is paid. The people of Japan are very interested in face. They are also a people who never fail to pay a just debt. This is a just debt. When people work in any capacity, they need to be paid. No Japanese employer, not Mitsubishi, not any of the heavy industry companies that we are talking about here today, not one of them would fail to pay a worker for a day's work. This is the only time in which these companies have gotten labor for which they have not yet paid. I absolutely support the legislation of the gentleman. I commend him for something that has been long overdue for bringing it to the forefront. I am pleased to be one of the cosponsors; and I look forward to pushing this through the Congress to, in fact, remind the Japanese people that this is the only way they will put the war behind them is to pay the debts that they know they owe, have the corporations pay what they need to pay, with interest, and move on. That is what we do in a civilized society. Japan is now one of the great nations of the civilized world, and we need them to free themselves of the burden of this past debt. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to thank the gentleman once again for authoring this bill with the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda). And I look forward to seeing it on the floor and enacted.

Mr. ISSA. Here in America, we have unlimited and permanent liability. There are cases on the American books where a lathe maker who made products in the 1930s had to pay for damages caused to a worker in the 1980s. That is not always considered fair, but corporations understand that one of the advantages they get for that pride of having a plaque that says 50 years or even 100 years in business is in fact that they have to have paid off all of their debts, including the ones that have not yet arisen. That kind of obligation is understood here in America and very much understood in Japan. As a matter of fact, it is probably more understood in Japan.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, most of us go throughout the day without noticing that many of the products we use are a direct result of biotechnology. Everything from important medical breakthroughs like insulin and many HIV drugs to household detergents and cleaners and the like can be attributed to the discoveries made by biotechnology. It is time we recognize the biotechnology community for the numerous achievements and discoveries that have improved the quality of life for people around the globe. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to introduce bipartisan legislation recognizing the benefits of biotechnology. I hope my colleagues will join the many cosponsors of this bill which recognizes biotechnology for its contributions of the past and for the amazing potential this technology holds for the future.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise not just in opposition but in absolute dismay that for the last hour my colleagues have spoken so many disingenuous statements that I absolutely had to come to the well. I did not plan on speaking today. It was only watching this from my office that made me realize how important it was that somebody come here without a prepared speech but with a few of the facts that can set the record straight. First of all, I think the most important one is when Members start to talk about dollars given to the President, they should be very careful not to say they came from companies. In fact, President Bush accepted no soft dollars. He did not receive a single penny from the utility companies, as was alleged, or from any other companies. My colleagues simply looked at the employers of individual contributors, or the sources of employees, individual employees from PACs who gave to President Bush. If we went to the other side, any of the other candidates, we would find the same. It is wrong to talk about money as being tainted when it comes from individual Americans, as every penny President Bush received did. Additionally, my friends forget to note that Governor Gray Davis showed an absence of leadership for 2 full years on this subject, and President Clinton showed an absence of any regard for California as our prices skyrocketed. It was only when President Bush was sworn in that the FERC, under his leadership, began ordering price rollbacks and refunds for excess charges. More importantly, I am here to speak for the President, not because I have his permission, but because he will not speak for himself. He will not defend himself. He has led both sides of this aisle, and refused to disparage those who disparage him. President Bush has made an unprecedented reaching out to the other side to ask for what they want done, and he has tried to grant every single request he could. In the President's first 100 days, he invited Republicans and Democrats to the White House on more than ten occasions. Once, the entire House was invited. One of the most heinous of all lies that was told here tonight, maybe unintended but certainly untrue, was that these prices have skyrocketed. When they quote the prices that are available on the spot market, they quote the last kilowatt, the last megawatt, that was purchased on a daily basis. I think it is only fair that the people of California and of Oregon and of Washington recognize that these companies that deliver power now have the power to lock in long-term rates again. Those companies in California, such as the city of Los Angeles and other municipal authorities, enjoy much lower prices because they have long-term commitments and buy very little on the spot market. Even today, most of the private power under the Governor's control in the State of California is bought on the spot market. Once the Governor shows the leadership to get those long-term contracts in place, those contracts are at dramatically lower prices, nearly where they should be. There was a claim here tonight of criminal collusion, of conspiracy. I challenge my colleagues here tonight to find any evidence of that, and if they do, I will challenge the administration and the Attorney General to prosecute. But to simply sit on the floor and claim that unlawful behavior is going on is intolerable. The President in his first 100 days has taken on conservation, and in a big way. The President has announced that, unlike the previous administration that for 8 years did not improve CAFE standards a bit, that he will improve vehicle economy, fuel economy, and environmental standards, if for no other reason than that it is the right thing to do. He has announced that SUVs in the near future will no longer be exempted, as they once were. They will not be treated as light trucks, they will soon be treated as automobiles, thus bringing an end to one of the most illogical growths in gas guzzlers ever to face America. I have little time here tonight, and so much that I could rebuff. I wish I could go on longer, because the people of California need to know and need to hear that lower prices will come from leadership, which has not been shown in California and has been shown in Washington.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, during National Biotechnology Week, to commend the biotechnology community for its many contributions to science, healthcare, and technology. Biotechnology has contributed enormously to the success of the United States as the global leader in research and international commerce. It will unquestionably be an important vehicle for high-tech job creation throughout the 21st century. Today, biotechnology is widely used in many fields, including agriculture, food processing, and energy production. It has been largely responsible for improving quality of life all around the globe through its utilization in water quality protection, conservation of topsoil, and improvement of waste management techniques. Through its many innovations in pharmaceuticals from penicillin to AIDS drugs, biotechnology has paved the way for finding cures to many of the world's devastating diseases. Mr. Speaker, I commend and thank the biotechnology community for its many contributions to our nation and the world.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to strongly oppose the Lantos amendment, which represents a major step backward in Lebanese-American relations. The aid which we provide Lebanon is an investment in a future stability of Lebanon and the well-being of a people who only wish peace in the Middle East. I share with the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) the feeling of frustration that the south of Lebanon is today not secure and that, in fact, the south of Lebanon is being operated often by terrorists; but I must remind the gentleman from California that for over 20 years, the best trained and best equipped army in the Middle East, the Israeli Army, with billions of dollars of resources, was unable to completely quiet that aggression originating out of Iran. How would we expect an army that we fund at $600,000 to do so? After the defeat of this amendment, I strongly hope the gentleman from California and I can work together to develop a funding package for Lebanon that would enable it to make some real dent in enforcing its borders.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Gary Youmans, a constituent of mine from Fallbrook, California. Mr. Youmans has been named National Financial Services Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. This prestigious award recognizes Mr. Youmans for his continued service to small businesses and his effort to encourage the flow of investment capital to small ventures. I would like to take a moment to describe some of the many contributions that Mr. Youmans has made to advance the interests of small businesses. In 1991, Mr. Youmans started with Community National Bank and, in 8 years, established an SBA loan department ranked in the top 25 banks nationwide in overall lending. For over 20 years, he has been involved with SCORE, a volunteer business consulting counseling program. He is also a founding director and original board member of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, an organization created to represent the interests of the small businesses lending community, who utilize SBA and other government guaranteed programs. In San Diego, Mr. Youmans organized a consortium of 11 lenders of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce to financially support the ``Small Business Today'' page that appears monthly on the San Diego Union Tribune. In addition to all of his business-related service, he also finds time to volunteer at a local church and the Boy Scouts of America.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 103, I was outside the Electronic Paging Zone. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I would like today to take my 2 minutes and use it a little differently than the other Members. I would like to put a face on the nobody that was talked about here earlier. I am one of those nobodies who will pay the tax. I came to this body, after 20 successful years in business, just 90 days ago. I am not particularly concerned about how much money the government takes from me, because I have sold my business in order to come to this body; but I am concerned about businesses like the one that my wife and I built over 20 years. Twenty years ago, I left the Army with a 1967 Karmann Ghia and a couple thousand dollars. Over those 20 years, with incredibly hard work and luck and the participation of nearly 200 men and women in our company, we built our business to $100 million in sales. It took 4 years to structure a termination of that business from ownership of my wife and myself. People within my company now own stock, and a leverage group came in and helped; but it took a long time, and I have 5 years of obligation to make sure that my company goes on. Had I died on December 31, instead of leaving as a CEO to come join this body, they would have taken an immediate tax hit of over $55 million on the company just at a time at which its value would have plummeted, its marketability would have been terminated. In the America that I grew up in, one's dreams, in fact, are rewarded by government, not punished. Most importantly, in the America I grew up in we do not determine what size business is good, what size business is good to be public, what size business is good to be private. In the America I grew up in, we reward people who build businesses because they create the jobs that Americans work at. Please vote down the substitute. Vote for the bill itself, because in fact it supports the ability for companies like my wife and I built to be able to support American jobs.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and while many will speak of the importance of remembering this tragic episode and many will speak of solutions to be found in this body, I do not rise for that purpose. I believe that the solution to this problem is not found in this body and will not be. Much like President Lincoln, more than 6 scores ago, when he came to Gettysburg and people expected him to talk only of the burial ground and the loss of life, I would hope that we would all commit ourselves here today and throughout the United States to use this resolution as a moment to think and reflect on those ways in which all Americans could in fact, prevent this in the future, not by adding to the 1200 laws already on the books in California but on personal responsibility. It is my fervent belief that if each of us evaluates how we could eliminate violence in our own home, the access of guns, of knives, and of anything else that is pervasive in our homes that could cause harm if poorly used, take responsibility for locking them up, and personally educate our children, then we could personally address the issues of hate, anger and the other menaces that have led to these types of disasters in the past, and most certainly, if not dealt with, will lead to them in the future. It is the loss of life of the past and loss of life here today that all Americans should focus on and take internally the obligation to see that these lives, this tragic loss of life will not have occurred in vain.

Mr. ISSA

Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, on Rollcall Nos. 37-38 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea''.