Sheila Jackson Lee

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. It is a special privilege to be on the floor tonight with a very distinguished Member of Congress and my coleader and cosponsor of this Special Order tonight, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke. Might I note the special presence, if you will, of a number of Members from the Congress who have already spoken and pay tribute to their presence here, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Congressman Al Green, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, for their passion and commitment and take note and pay special tribute to our speaker tonight, who rounds out the circle. And we appreciate her for her attentiveness to this very important discussion and debate. And, likewise, let me add an appreciation for the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, the officers and members, who have seen fit to be the conscience of this Congress. We have been particularly blessed by Congresswoman Clarke's presence because I think she represents really a particularly unique congressional district. It has a history of Shirley Chisolm, and of course her predecessor, Mr. Owens. But as the district has grown, I guess because of the initial history of Congresswoman Chisolm from the Caribbean. As the district has grown, it really exemplifies the tentacles of America. It is really, I guess, the cornerstone of what North and South America are about in the Caribbean because your district has this array of constituencies who represent South and Central America, the Caribbean, and other parts. It shows this unique place called America because when I say America, I am talking about South America, Central America, the Caribbean, this whole part of the world. For that reason, your insight is crucial. We have seen the neglect of the Caribbean over the last 8 years, frankly. And I don't think there would be any debate on that question. I do know that there are concerned persons in the administration. But, Congresswoman Clarke, I have sat in meetings at the White House, I have sat in meetings, frankly, with representatives or Assistant Secretary of the State Department that sit in hearings and, frankly, you had to argue with them about the circumstances. I guess one comes to mind, and I am going to focus on this food crisis, but I think I relayed to you one meeting in the White House that really required members of our caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, frankly, that song, I shall not be moved. It required persons not to be moved until we had an opportunity to speak to the President of the United States. Of course, that was the time of crisis in the removal of then-President Aristide. Of course, President Preval worked with him as a prime minister. Then we had an Assistant Secretary for Western Affairs who was in fact, how shall I call it, an outright argument about the rightness of what we were doing for Haiti. Frankly, I think as Americans representing such a diverse Nation, we should have a better attitude about allies, and Haiti is an ally. As you know your history, Haitians fought alongside of us. It is the oldest Democratic Nation in the Caribbean. Its independence was quick, was immediate almost, because of their great and wonderful founder, revolutionary that, of course, we saw many of his pictures, Toussaint Louverture, that we saw many of his pictures in Haiti. So I say all this to say why do we come to this? Why are we at this point? Why do we need to be on the floor of the House? Although these are not exactly pictures taken recently in Haiti, the children symbolize what we left in Haiti, because we had an urgent mission. We had to meet with President Preval. Certainly the rural areas were there, but because it was an urgent mission, we had to focus our trip on that. I can imagine when the President told us that 40 percent of the people in Haiti are eating one meal, and the word people, that means children, and everyone knows the results that occur when children go hungry. They are stunted in growth. They are certainly victims of malnutrition. They are stunted mentally. Who can go to school on a hungry stomach? One of the reasons we had the breakfast program and the lunch program here in the United States of America is the fact that we have studies that show the distinction between children who eat, nourished, and how they learn, versus a hungry child. See a quiet child, inattentive in a classroom, you can go to the source most likely. Can you imagine a country of children who are hungry? Of course, these faces, for all we know, represent children in Haiti, of which on this particular trip we were not able to see who may be huddled in the various mountains and hills looking for food. And so if I might just share with you that right now we know that there are 850 million people who are chronically or acutely malnourished. That includes the people of Haiti. Over 300 million of these individuals are children. Malnutrition caused by chronic hunger leads to the death of an estimated 5,600,000 children under 5 years old. According to UNICEF, an estimated 146 million children, roughly one in four children under 5 years old are underweight. According to a study conducted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of children who died after contracting measles were malnourished, as were 60 percent of children who died after contracting severe diarrhea. An estimate 168 million children under age 5 in developing countries face potential growth retardation, also known as stunting, as a result of chronic hunger and malnutrition. Approximately 42 percent of children under 5 years old are stunted in the world's least developed countries. So I lay the framework out for what we are facing in the country of Haiti and what President Preval has to deal with. You have a wonderful poster that indicates how high food is going. And so even now, where we used to be a high food donor country, but look what countries are having to pay for corn now, for soybeans, for wheat, and for rice. What a dilemma. And then, add insult to injure, if you would, as President Preval has indicated, infrastructure is needed and work is needed. All of us were moved by the mother who stood up, and didn't look 48 years old, and according to your numbers, she has only 8 more years to live. She had 10 children. In cultures like that, they are very dependent on families. Children then go out to work and give back to families, and parents, because they age quickly, I guess, can retire back or can sit back with the hope of their children supporting them. What did she say? She managed to send her children to school, and the two that are now out and ready, no work. No work. The food fight, the food riot, as the President indicated, or as we saw in the news, was really because people had no money and no work to buy food. And so people were rioting because of that. President Preval wants us to help. What is this administration doing? Not releasing money the way it should; fighting against TPS, which really makes a difference. Temporary protective status allows people to stay and work, Haitians who have suffered this unequal wet foot-dry foot scenario between our friends from Cuba, and they are our friends. It wasn't a law that they wrote. But it was written, and I must say this, all of our Cuban representatives that are here in the United States Congress have supported equalizing the Haitian disparity issue. We just can't get it passed; which is to say I have an immigration bill that would create parity. If you were Haiti, because of the political crisis, you get your foot on our soil, you too can say. But putting that aside, we don't have that. But TPS, the President begged us, President Preval. That would help the food crisis. Why? Because it would allow people who are here, sending back remittances, what, a fourth of their economy, to at least be able to send back to momma, grandma, somebody, so they can eke out a survival. So to the Congresswoman, so he asked us for infrastructure, clean- running water that helps you be able to at least cook decent food, creation of jobs, and if you were to put money in for infrastructure, people could work. Even though these prices are outrageous, they could at least minimally begin to bring food in. One of our colleagues said something that we heard, and that was the dumbing down of the rice industry, or dumbing down the traditional foods. President Preval said he would like to get Haitians back to traditional food, not because he wants to keep them from buying from us but because what we did is when rice was cheap, we dumbed them down from raising rice, meaning, Oh, I don't have to worry about raising rice. Let me raise something else. I don't know what the decision was because I am going to get what he called ``Miami rice.'' Look what happened. They stopped growing. I assume Miami rice has gotten way, way, way expensive. They are not growing the traditional foods. And look where we are. So, Congresswoman, I want to thank you for raising or giving us the opportunity. I am delighted to be your coleader and cosponsor because out of these discussions I hope it comes the finger on the phone, the finger on the e-mail, Haitians around the country pressing their phone buttons and calling Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to join us in our fight for the TPS. We know a number of our colleagues have been working on this issue, from Congressman Hastings, myself, you, Congressman Kendrick Meek from Florida, Congresswoman Corrine Brown. I may have left off someone. There's a number of people that understand the realities of that. So press your button wherever you are, get your e-mail out. We have to get relief with a temporary reprieve on TPS. The second thing is that the administration needs to make an immediate commitment for food relief and the releasing of dollars for Haiti, a country whose singular--who could have only one reason for us helping them is the blood they shed from our Freedom Fight, for our Revolution, the blood they shed when they stood alongside of us in the Revolutionary War. No one can take that away from them in terms of relationship with the United States. So I want to join you, and as I close yield to the gentlelady, just engage her in a question, because I would like to ask a question. I would commit our colleagues as well to H. Con. Res. 344. You are an original cosponsor. It is to say in any food aid, we need to prioritize children. Certainly I believe we can add pregnant women and mothers, nursing mothers, a vulnerable population. I think that would be an excellent addition. But I do think what happens to our children dictates what happens to the future of the country because if you have stunted children with inability to learn, what do you have in the future. I would ask the gentlelady, and so I hope people will come on the bill H. Con. Res. 344. I hope we can mark it up soon, get it to the floor of the House, and maybe expand on some aspects of it. I rise tonight, together with my colleagues Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, as well as the House Hunger Caucus, to address a grave and growing humanitarian crisis. With rising food prices threatening the health of millions of people throughout the world, it is vital that we look for both short-term responses to the crisis and long-term solutions to ongoing food instability. As my colleagues are aware, according to the United Nations, over 850,000,000 people in the world are chronically or acutely malnourished, and over 300,000,000 of these are children. The statistics are both shocking and tragic: Malnutrition caused by chronic hunger leads to the death of an estimated 5,600,000 children under 5 years old; according to UNICEF, an estimated 146,000,000 children, or roughly one in every four children under 5 years old, are underweight; according to a study conducted by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 45 percent of children who died after contracting measles were malnourished, as were 60 percent of children who died after contracting severe diarrhea; an estimated 168,000,000 children under age five in developing countries face potential growth retardation, also known as stunting, as a result of chronic hunger and undernutrition; approximately 42 percent of children under 5 years old are stunted in the world's least developed countries. Rising food prices have precipitated a crisis situation. On March 20th of this year, the U.N. World Food Program made an urgent appeal to the United States and other food aid donors for an additional $500 million to fill a funding gap caused by rising food and fuel prices. Since then, this gap has expanded, and is now an estimated $755 million. As food prices rise, children are the first to suffer. Earlier this month, with the support of 46 of my colleagues, I introduced H. Con. Res. 344. This resolution recognizes that we face a global food crisis, and that children will be disproportionately affected by rising food prices. The bill states that: (1) it is the sense of Congress that-- (A) in emergency situations, children have different needs than those of adults, and nutritional deficiencies disproportionately affect children; and (B) in the context of the current global food crisis, the nutritional needs of children must be a humanitarian priority; and (2) Congress-- (A) recognizes that we are facing a global food crisis caused by, among other things, rising fuel prices, increased diversion of land to biofuel production, drought, and increases in population; (B) recognizes that lack of adequate nutrition is particularly damaging to children, as it stunts their growth, leaves them more vulnerable to numerous diseases, and hunger affects children's ability to learn; and (C) calls for a world forum to be held, on the issue of rising food prices and international response, and for the United States to play an active role in alleviating the crisis. I urge all my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this important legislation. This issue has drawn the attention of the Congressional Children's Caucus, which I chair, because hunger and malnutrition have a particularly devastating effect on children. On May 8th together with Global Health Caucus Co-Chair Betty McCollum and Donald Payne, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, I hosted a briefing on the global food crisis and its impact on the world's children. Members, staff, and the public heard from expert panelists from UNICEF, WFP, World Vision, Save the Children, Christian Children's Fund, and the Congressional Hunger Center, as well as Danny Glover, actor, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the TransAfrica Forum. Lack of adequate nutrition stunts children's growth, leaves them more vulnerable to numerous diseases, and affects their ability to learn. Even temporary deprivation of essential nutrients can have a lasting impact on children's physical growth and intellectual potential, and, under current conditions, more and more children face the prospect of growing up malnourished. As a result of rising food prices, families throughout the world, particularly in developing nations but also here, in the United States, are increasingly facing a decision between quantity and quality when buying food. With incomes stretched thinner by the day, many families must either buy significantly smaller quantities of food, or purchase less nutritious food. In times of food crisis, families face cuts in expensive foods, such as meat, fruit, and vegetables. The loss of these nutritious foods, in favor of cheaper staples such as rice and maize, is extremely detrimental to children's development, putting them at greater risk of disease or stunted growth. The full extent of the consequences of deprivation of vital nutrients during essential stages of growth is not known. However, it is clear that once children's growth is stunted by malnutrition, they do not catch up to their peers. The effects will be lifelong. We now are facing a crisis of epic proportions. The World Food Programme, which fed over 19 million children in schools last year, finds its budget stretched to the limit, and now needs an estimated $755 million to cover the increased cost of food and fuel. To cite one example, WFP's Kenya programme faces having to cut food to 550,000 children in schools this year. And this is just one example, in one country. Rising food prices have caused riots in nations including Haiti, Bangladesh, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mozambique, and Senegal. In April, a week of unrest in Haiti began with violence in Les Cayes and spread to Port-au-Prince and other cities, in which at least six people were killed. Though the violence has ended, slum leaders in a nation where many people live on less than $2 a day have expressed their willingness to take to the streets if the crisis is not alleviated. Families are particularly affected. One woman, Jacqueline Emile, stated, ``I have 10 children. I cannot send them to school and I cannot feed them because I am not working. I would like the government to help me.'' A school in Port-au-Prince, the Saint Vincent de Paul primary school, which provides lunches of beans and rice supplemented with vitamins, reports that it can now can only feed 1,300 of its 2,100 students. The crisis is also deeply felt across much of Africa. According to the NGO Action Against Hunger, nearly 20 percent of children tested in Monrovia, Liberia were suffering from acute malnutrition. Brenda Kerubo, a housewife in Kisumu, Kenya, spoke of the need to cut back family meals, stating, ``the best thing to do for my family is to reduce meals taken in a day. I may give them a cup of tea with a piece of pancake for breakfast and two cups of porridge for lunch and then I cook beans and maize for supper. We hope prices will soon come down.'' Her family, like so many others, is substituting cheap starches for more nutritious (and more expensive) meat, fruits, and vegetables. The scope of this crisis spans the globe. In the wake of the devastating cyclone in Myanmar, children face risks from lack of clean water and poor sanitation, as well as inadequate nutrition. Under these conditions, children are increasingly susceptible to diarrhea, as well as mosquito borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. Women and children, who make up more than 60 per cent of Myanmar's population, and are likely to be gravely affected. Food aid to the children caught up in the midst of this terrifying situation must be a priority. According to the United Nations, the cyclone in Myanmar has damaged that nation's fragile ecosystem, with far-reaching effects on food production. Myanmar is currently a rice exporting nation, and farmers in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region produce two-thirds of the nation's rice supply. The U.N. has warned that if farmers in the cyclone-affected areas do not receive rice seed by June, Burma's rice harvest will fail. Another nation suffering is Cambodia. In the Sun Sun primary school, for example, teacher Taoch Champa says that ``Most students come to school for the breakfast,'' and principle Yim Soeurn adds that ``Students brought their brothers and sisters, 2, 3, and 4 years old'' for the WFP-provided free breakfast. Teachers also note that providing this free meal has vastly increased attendance, particularly by girls, and they fear that if the program ended, ``poor students would not come to school.'' However, 1,343 schools across Cambodia are within 1 month of running out of rice stocks, and soaring food prices have placed WFP's future activity in the country in severe doubt. According to comments made by Pakistani officials in recent days, that nation's production of wheat is expected to fall short of needs by a million tons. Authorities have issued warnings that people hoarding wheat will have their stocks confiscated if they refuse to sell it to government agencies. The United Nations has made ending global poverty a long term goal, included in the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, the U.N. has recognized the scope of the current food crisis, and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has proposed a task force, to be composed of the heads of United Nations agencies and the World Bank, to address the problem caused by soaring food prices. Ban Ki-Moon has also made closing the WFP funding gap a priority. Likewise, we are gathered here today in recognition of the looming crisis. Tackling worldwide hunger is a moral imperative which threatens the political and economic stability of a multitude of developing nations. The dramatic increase in food prices will continue to have a destabilizing affect in already unstable regions of the world where so many young lives are already vulnerable to ongoing conflicts and political turmoil. But I want to yield to the gentlelady and ask her and pose this question to her, and that is what have you seen, living in your great congressional district, listening to Haitians firsthand, have been the results of the unequal treatment of Haitians and Haiti? What are the results that are here in the United States, what do you see in your own constituents, what kind of questions are they asking the United States Congress on why we have not acted, and what does that say about America?

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Virginia and I thank him for his words of tribute, as I thank the distinguished gentleman from Iowa for his words of tribute, two distinguished gentlemen, and of course the chairman and ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Conyers and Mr. Smith. I rise today with great enthusiasm to be able to commemorate this year, the 100th birthday of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. I am glad that Mr. King offered the fact that much of the legislation that was monumental, there was bipartisan support. That was a talent of Lyndon Baines Johnson. He managed to craft a legislative agenda as a President that was remarkable, I would say unbelievable, and he did it by reaching across the aisle. So I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 354, commemorating President Lyndon Baines Johnson on the occasion of his centennial birthday celebration. I am proud to offer this legislation and to note that the President's official birth date is August 27, 1908. This will give us the opportunity to commemorate his legacy from this time until the month of August. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation is celebrating, however, the remarkable life and Presidency of this great man beginning today and the celebration will culminate with his family members and fellow former cabinet members and staff and supporters and Members of Congress, House and Senate, on this Wednesday, when the Senate will pass this concurrent resolution honoring President Johnson. It is an honor to recognize President Lyndon Baines Johnson, not simply because he was President, but because he represented an era, because he convened a time in America that was troubled. But he was a true champion of civil rights for all Americans and he led the Nation during very turbulent political times, from the Civil Rights movement, the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Vietnam War. But he was a teacher by profession in Texas. He proudly served the 10th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He was a commissioned officer in the Navy and valiantly served in World War II. He was a renaissance man, he was a whole man, he was an American person, an American man, if you will. During World War II he was conferred the Silver Star, the military's third highest medal, by General Douglas MacArthur. He was a United States Senator and served as both minority and majority leader. He holds the current distinction of being the youngest Senate majority leader at the age of 46. He was also Vice President, head of the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, and President of the United States. As President, as was noted, he nominated historically the first African American, the first minority to be nominated to the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall, who, of course, we all know argued that premier and prominent case civil rights legacy, Brown v. Board of Education, to the United States Supreme Court. All the world took note that this southern President from Texas could nominate an African American to the Supreme Court. That was Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was truly a great Texan and a great patriot and a great American. He was a devoted husband to Lady Bird Johnson, and we acknowledged her passing sadly this year, and, of course, a father to his two beloved children, Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb. History shows us that beside this giant of an a man, this historic legend, there were three great women. President Johnson never forgot his beginnings in Texas. My predecessor in Congress, the incomparable Honorable Barbara Jordan of the 18th Congressional District in Texas, developed a good working relationship with President Johnson, and he appointed her to serve on the Commission on Income Maintenance in 1968. In addition, after the 1965 Voting Rights Act was created, she along with many African Americans ascended to the United States Congress, for the Honorable Barbara Jordan had run before and had lost. With the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the redistricting that came about, she was able to be elected to the United States Congress, along with Andy Young, and the rest is history, as we have seen the numbers of African Americans and Hispanics come to the United States Congress, creating a more equal balance because of this legislation. Of course, Barbara Jordan in 1968 amended the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by adding Spanish language. Later Barbara Jordan would serve as a professor at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and she would accept an appointment to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at the university. As a teacher, Johnson believed segregation condemned the South to educational and economic backwardness. I think it is important to note, as I said earlier, he was a son of the south. This was a very difficult stance to take. He took it out of his heart. He did not agree with segregation, and coming to the United States Congress and Senate, it freed him to do what was right. In 1937, Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a liberal New Dealer allied with Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Johnson commemorated his legislative life in tribute to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, I truly believe, because he led on the War on Poverty. Johnson successfully championed civil rights when he successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1948. Even then, as I said, as a son of the south, he was unashamed of his belief against segregation. In 1957, when a civil rights bill came before Congress, Johnson favored the bill and worked hard behind the scenes to win its passage. He moved from one side to the other, persuading southern Democrats and northern liberals to compromise. The Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights legislation to pass since reconstruction, was signed by President Eisenhower in September 1957. Civil right was bipartisan in this body, and President Johnson knew that. In 1960, John F. Kennedy invited Johnson to join the Democratic presidential ticket as his running mate. Some would say there could not be two more different individuals. But what a match, what a wonderful match. And they went on to victory. As they went on to victory, they showed the world that different viewpoints can be united. When Johnson met Dr. Martin Luther King a few days after Kennedy's assassination, Dr. King told Johnson that racial tensions could no longer be tempered by compromise. Johnson appreciated King's powers of persuasion and decided to utilize his experience to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Dr. King and President Johnson continued to work closely to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act. It was difficult times. There were agreements and disagreements. But, lo and behold, the great and wonderful hopeful dream of Dr. Martin Luther King did his work and asked that President Johnson do his work, and together they did their work for America. Reminiscing on the trials and triumphs on her young years in the White House, his daughter Luci Baines Johnson stated that her legacy from the White House days were ``a thousand friendships, a deep and abiding love of country and public service, a passion for learning, and the recognition that getting in life is truly to be found in the giving and the belief that I should try to live each day as if it is my last.'' President Johnson signed these bills into law, as I indicated: the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and the Open Housing Act. President Johnson started Head Start, Job Corps and Medicare, among many others. And if you look at his time in Congress and his time as President, you will find not just a Presidency, but you will find an era. It is amazing the bills that President Johnson passed. I simply want to take note of them and will place into the Record two pages of legislation under the auspices and the administration of Lyndon Baines Johnson that included so many bills, the Kennedy Cultural Center, the Urban Mass Transit, Food Stamps, housing acts, Head Start and others. We understand we are going into a hot summer, a summer where youth are looking for jobs. President Johnson offered Job Corps, Youth Jobs, Medicare for those who are up in years, and, of course, he declared the War on Poverty, the first President to do so. He developed 40 programs to eliminate poverty, and his programs were intended to improve the living conditions of all Americans. Of course, he was a great educator. His daughter Lynda Robb once stated, ``But daddy wasn't as interested in the numbers of laws he helped enact as he was in the number of lives that he helped to enrich.'' I just want to show this body some of the pictures that show the working relationship with major civil rights leaders that worked closely with the President on these civil rights laws. It shows the passion that he had, that he was a-hands-on President. As he met with Dr. Martin Luther King, this picture shows him giving the pen which he signed the 1964-1965 bill, and as well the signing ceremonies that took place during that time. This, of course, shows Barbara Jordan and Vernon Jordan who stood with the President on many, many issues. Let me close by simply acknowledging one of the greatest moments I think this Congress had a chance to witness, and that was the President's speech to Congress as he dealt with this question of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. As he spoke to the Speaker and to the Members of Congress, he said, ``I speak tonight for the dignity of man and the destiny of democracy. I urge every member of both parties, Americans of all religions and of all colors from every section of this country to join me in that cause. At times history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Alabama.'' The President opened up his words by suggesting that we could do this together. These are his final words. ``So I ask you to join me in working long hours, nights and weekends, if necessary, to pass this bill. And I don't make that request lightly. For from the window where I sit, with the problems of our country, I recognize that outside this Chamber is the outraged conscience of a nation, the grave concern of many nations, and the harsh judgment of history on our acts.'' And, of course, he said ``We shall overcome.'' Mr. Speaker, I would say to you that President Lyndon Baines Johnson was the President of the United States, but he represents the compilation of all the dreams and aspirations of many who could not speak for themselves. He embraced the civil rights leaders. He understood as a son of the South that he could make a difference. He reached across the aisle and counted every vote. He knew how tough it was going to be to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and then ultimately after the violence of Selma, the 1965 Voting Rights Act. He opened the doors to many of us. I stand here as a true testimony to all that he has done. All of us who have had the doors of education opened, the doors of political process opened, the doors of poverty removed, opened and then shut, owe that to President Lyndon Baines Johnson. I started by saying that he is not just a President, but it is an era which we should remember. Joseph Califano said it is not a President that should be forgotten, but should be remembered. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation, and I ask them to do so enthusiastically. Mr. Speaker, I include the list of legislation mentioned earlier: Landmark Laws of the Lyndon B. Johnson Administration 1963 College Facilities, Clean Air, Vocational Education, Indian Vocational Training, and Manpower Training. 1964 Inter-American Development Bank, Kennedy Cultural Center, Tax Reduction, Presidential Transition, Federal Airport Aid, Farm Program, Chamizal Convention, Pesticide Controls, International Development Association, and Civil Rights Act of 1964. Campobello International Park, Urban Mass Transit, Water Resources Research, Federal Highway, Civil Service Pay Raise, War on Poverty, Criminal Justice, Truth-in-Securities, Medicine Bow National Forest, and Ozark Scenic Riverway. Administrative Conference, Fort Bowie Historic Site, Food Stamp, Housing Act, Interest Equalization, Wilderness Areas, Nurse Training, Revenues for Recreation, Fire Island National Seashore, Library Services, and Federal Employee Health Benefits. 1965 Medicare, Aid to Education, Higher Education, Four Year Farm Program, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Act, Social Security Increase, Deaf-Blind Center, College Work Study, and Rail Strike Settlement. Voting Rights, Fair Immigration Law, Older Americans, Heart, Cancer, Stroke Program, Law Enforcement Assistance, National Crime Commission, Drug Controls, Mental Health Facilities, Health Professions, and Medical Libraries. Vocational Rehabilitation, Anti-Poverty Program, Arts and Humanities Foundation, Aid to Appalachia, Highway Beauty, Clean Air, Water Pollution Control, High Speed Transit, Manpower Training, and Presidential Disability. Child Health, Regional Development, Aid to Small Businesses, Weather-Predicting Services, Military Pay Increase, GI Life Insurance, Community Health Services, Water Resources Council, Water Desalting, and Assateague National Seashore. Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area, Juvenile Delinquency Control, Arms Control, Strengthening U.N. Charter, International Coffee Agreement, and Retirement for Public Servants. 1966 Food for India, Child Nutrition, Department of Transportation, Truth in Packaging, Model Cities, Rent Supplements, Teachers Corps, Asian Development Bank, Clean Rivers, Aid-to-Handicapped Children, Redwoods Park, and Flaming Gorge Recreation Area. Food for Freedom, Child Safety, Narcotics Rehabilitation, Traffic Safety, Highway Safety, Mine Safety, International Education, Bail Reform, Tire Safety, New GI Bill, and Minimum Wage Increase. Urban Mass Transit, Civil Procedure Reform, Federal Highway Aid, Military Medicare, Public Health Reorganization, Cape Lookout Seashore, Water Research, Guadalupe National Park, Revolutionary War Bicentennial, and Fish-Wildlife Preservation. Water for Peace, Anti-Inflation Program, Scientific Knowledge Exchange, Cultural Materials Exchange, Foreign Investors Tax, Parcel Post Reform, Civil Service Pay Raise, Stockpile Sales, Participation Certificates, Protection for Savings, Flexible Interest Rates, and Freedom of Information. 1967 Education Professions, Education Act, Air Pollution Control, Partnership for Health, Social Security Increases, Age Discrimination, Wholesome Meat, Flammable Fabrics, Urban Research, and Public Broadcasting. Outer Space Treaty, Modern D.C. Government, Vietnam Veterans Benefits, Federal Judicial Center, Civilian-Postal Workers Pay, Summer Youth Programs, Food Stamps, Selective Service, Urban Fellowships, and Consular Treaty. Safety At Sea Treaty, Narcotics Treaty, Anti-Racketeering, Product Safety Commission, Small Business Aid, and Inter- American Bank. 1968 Fair Housing, Indian Bill of Rights, Safe Streets, Wholesome Poultry, Food for Peace, Commodity Exchange Rules, U.S. Grain Standards, School Breakfasts, Bank Protection, and Defense Production. Corporate Takeovers, Export Program, Gold Cover Removal, Truth-in-Lending, Aircraft Noise Abatement, Auto Insurance Study, New Narcotics Bureau, Gas Pipeline Safety, Fire Safety, and Sea Grant Colleges. D.C. School Board, Tax Surcharge, Better Housing, International Monetary Reform, International Grains Treaty, Oil Revenues for Recreation, Virgin Islands Elections, San Rafael Wilderness, San Gabriel Wilderness, and Fair Federal Juries. Candidate Protection, Juvenile Delinquency Prevention, Guaranteed Student Loans, D.C. Visitors Center, FHA-VA Interest Rate Program, Health Manpower, Eisenhower College, Gun Controls, Biscayne Park, and Heart, Cancer, and Stroke Programs. Hazardous Radiation Protection, Colorado River Reclamation, Scenic Rivers, Scenic Trails, National Water Commission, Federal Magistrates, Vocational Education, Veterans Pension Increases, North Cascades Park, International Coffee Agreement, Intergovernmental Manpower, Dangerous Drugs Control, and Military Justice Code. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 354, commemorating President Lyndon Baines Johnson on the occasion of his centennial birthday celebration. I am pleased to have the opportunity of being the original author of this resolution along with 59 House sponsors. I note that the President's official birthdate is August 27, 1908. However, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation is celebrating the remarkable life and presidency of this great man beginning today, and the celebration will culminate on this Wednesday when the Senate will pass its resolution honoring President Johnson. I would like to thank my staff for the hard work on this resolution. It is an honor to recognize President Lyndon Baines Johnson. He was a true champion of civil rights for all Americans, and he led the Nation during very turbulent political times from the Civil Rights Movement, the deaths of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Vietnam war. He was a teacher by profession in Texas. He proudly served the 10th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. He was a commissioned officer in the Navy and valiantly served in World War II, and was conferred the Silver Star, the military's third highest medal, by General Douglas MacArthur. He was a United States Senator and served as both Minority and Majority leader. He holds the current distinction of being the youngest Senate majority leader at the age of 46. He was also Vice President, head of the Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, and President of the United States. As President, he nominated Thurgood Marshall as the first African- American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. He was truly a great Texan. He was a devoted husband to Lady Bird Johnson and a father to his two beloved children: Luci Baines Johnson and Lynda Johnson Robb. These women give new meaning to the old adage, behind every great man is a great woman. History shows us that beside this giant, this historic legend, there were three great women. President Johnson never forgot his beginnings in Texas. My predecessor in Congress, the incomparable Honorable Barbara Jordan of the 18th Congressional District in Texas, developed a good working relationship with President Johnson and he appointed her to serve on the Commission on Income Maintenance in 1968. Later, she would serve as professor at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and she would accept an appointment to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at the University. As a teacher, Johnson believed segregation condemned the South to educational and economic backwardness. In 1937, Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a liberal New Dealer allied with Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Johnson successfully championed civil rights when he successfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1948. In 1957, when a civil rights bill came before Congress, Johnson favored the bill and worked hard behind the scenes to win its passage. He moved from one side to the other, persuading southern Democrats and northern liberals to compromise. The Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first civil rights legislation to pass since Reconstruction, was signed by President Eisenhower in September 1957. In 1960, John F. Kennedy invited Johnson to join the Democratic presidential ticket as his running mate. Johnson pushed the more liberal Kennedy to go further and faster on civil rights. When Johnson met with Dr. Martin Luther King a few days after Kennedy's assassination, Dr. King told Johnson that racial tensions could no longer be tempered by compromise. Johnson, who appreciated King's powers of persuasion, decided to utilize his experience to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Dr. King and President Johnson continued to work closely to pass the Voting Rights of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act. Reminiscing on the trials and triumphs on her young years in the White House, his daughter Luci Baines Johnson stated that her legacy from the White House days were ``a thousand friendships, a deep and abiding love of country and public service, a passion for learning, the recognition that the getting in life is truly to be found in the giving and the belief that I should try to live each day as if it is my last.'' Over a quarter century ago, while delivering the commencement address at Howard University on June 4, 1965, President Johnson posed this question: ``. . . what is justice?'' His response was ``It is to fulfill the fair expectations of man.'' Throughout his life and administration, President Johnson sought justice for all Americans. His administration produced the greatest outpouring of legislation in America's history. Laws were enacted to end discrimination and to fight poverty, to provide medical care to the old and to extend educational opportunities to the young. In addition, acts were passed to clean the air and water and reverse the pollution of decades, to preserve precious land for public recreation and to protect the natural beauty of the continent. Legislation protected the consumer in the marketplace and enabled art, music and theater to be brought to all parts of America. President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Open Housing Act of 1968. These Acts removed the barriers that restricted African Americans from using restaurants, restrooms, theaters, and other public accommodations; assured all citizens their constitutional right to vote; and provided African Americans and other minorities with the freedom to decide where they would live. President Johnson started Head Start, Job Corps, and Medicare, among many other landmark pieces of legislation and programs. With his Head Start initiative, 4 and 5-year old children from disadvantaged families attended classes and were provided with nourishing meals and medical attention, and a chance to learn in schools. Job Corps taught young men and women trades and vocational skills that would enable them to lead productive lives. His Medicare initiative provided health care to all Americans over 65. With the passage of the Medicare Act, the threat of financial doom was lifted from senior citizens, and also from the sons and daughters who might also otherwise have been burdened with the responsibility for their parent's care. His undertaking on the War on Poverty was expansive. He developed 40 programs to eliminate poverty, and his programs were intended not just to improve living conditions but to enable people trapped in the perpetual cycle of poverty the opportunity to lift themselves up out of poverty and improve their own conditions. President Johnson also added a prodigious number of laws that extended education to young people. ``More than 60 education laws were part of the vast number of legislative measures that made up the Great Society,'' his daughter, Lynda Robb once stated. ``But Daddy wasn't as interested in the number of laws he helped enact as he was in the number of lives those laws help enrich.'' Luci Baines Johnson stated, ``Nothing meant more to my father than education.'' Today we celebrate the life of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. He has given America many legislative victories. Importantly, his legislation had important elements of self-help that provided the people it was intended to serve with the opportunity to work to improve their own condition. Indeed, President Johnson ensured that all Americans would be assured their constitutional freedoms and that all Americans would enjoy the triumph against oppression and injustice. As President Johnson rightly said, quoting Winston Churchill on another triumph for freedom, ``it is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. That beginning is freedom and the barriers to that freedom are tumbling down. President Johnson's administration made tremendous strides in the garnering of civil rights of all Americans. Let us be reminded that the barriers to freedom are still tumbling. Indeed, it is not yet the beginning of the end. But it is the end of the beginning. The nation owes the end of the beginning to the leadership, foresight, and effectiveness of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. President Johnson and his administration have started the Nation on its trek to assure civil rights and freedoms to all, but the battle is not yet won, and we must continue to march on, in the courageous spirit of President Johnson, until victory is won, and all people are free. In his very eloquent speech to the full Congress, President Johnson echoed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous words, ``We Shall Overcome.'' President Johnson's delivered his speech on March 15, 1965, a week after deadly racial violence erupted in Selma, Alabama, as African Americans were attacked by police while preparing to march to Montgomery to protest voting rights discrimination. In his speech, President Johnson challenged the members of Congress, by stating ``I want this to be the Congress--Republicans and Democrats alike--which did all these things for all these people. Beyond this great chamber--out yonder--in fifty states are the people that we serve. Who can tell what deep and unspoken hopes are in their hearts tonight as they sit there and listen? We all can guess, from our own lives, how difficult they often find their own pursuit of happiness, how many problems each little family has. They look most of all to themselves for their future, but I think that they also look to each of us.'' This speech was historic not only in what it asked of Congress, but also, what it asked of the American people. I encourage everyone to read the text of this historic address in its entirety. I will close with the words that President Johnson delivered in his historic commencement speech on June 4, 1965 before Howard University: ``The Scripture promises: `I shall light a candle of understanding in thine heart, which shall not be put out.' Together, and with millions more, we can light that candle of understanding in the heart of all America. And, once lit, it will never again go out.'' President Johnson has lit the candle, let us today continue to carry it and make sure that it will never go out.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Again, let me thank the members of the Judiciary Committee, the chairman and ranking member and the manager of this bill, Mr. Scott. Mr. Speaker, this is a question of life or death. Many of us have traveled to Iraq. I just recently came back in the last couple of weeks. In fact, I was utilizing our delegation's Iraqi translators. We were out in the field, we were talking to Iraqi soldiers, and these translators were enormously important. They're utilized in Afghanistan as well. But it is not just the translators and others in this realm, in this era, that we speak of. We remember those who ventured out in the early stages of this war that was initiated by this administration, individuals who jeopardized the lives of their families and themselves to really align themselves with U.S. soldiers, necessary vital components of serving the soldiers in order to save the U.S. soldiers' lives. Some of these individuals still remain under threat in Iraq. This is a balanced approach. This is an approach order offered by Senator Kennedy along with a number of bipartisan Senators. And let me pay tribute to Senator Kennedy. He has always looked to balance our security along with benefit. I pay tribute to him, and I particularly pay tribute to him for this initiative because what it says is for those who have been caught in an abyss, who have been caught in between and in betwixt now have 5,000 visas to be able to utilize to provide a safety net for them and their families. There are millions of internally displaced persons in Iraq. It is a disruptive and an unstable situation. Those individuals who have lent their talents to the U.S. Government and the U.S. military face jeopardy. Many of their neighbors know what they have done. So I rise to support this legislation because I believe it is a partnership between the Homeland Security Department and the State Department, working together to ensure, as they vet these individuals, that they have access to the visas. The problem that this is fixing is that the loophole or the provision was closed, legitimately closed for legitimate requests, and individuals who were applying under an old process, that would not make them eligible. This simply clears up that problem. It vets the individuals to utilize the visas, and it helps to save lives. I ask, Mr. Speaker, that our colleagues support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2829, an act to make technical corrections to section 1244 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2008, which provides special immigrant status for certain Iraqis, and for other purposes. This bill addresses two problems with our ability to protect those who deserve our protection. In January, we enacted a new Special Immigrant Visa, SIV, program for Iraqis whose lives are at risk because of their valuable service to our government. The SIVs were supposed to be available beginning this fiscal year. But a drafting error rendered the SIVs unavailable until the next fiscal year. The bill fixes these errors. The bill also helps out a few hundred Iraqi and Afghan translators who, because of the error, continued to apply for visas under an older program. Although many of their applications have been processed and approved, they cannot come to the U.S. because of the 500 visa cap in that program has already been reached. This bill would create a 4-month transition period under which the Administration can allow persons with approved petitions in the older program to use one of the 5,000 visas in the new program. We owe a duty to protect foreign nationals who provide valuable services to our soldiers, diplomats, and other government officials overseas. These individuals risk their lives and that of their families, to assist and to protect our endeavors and our people. It is only right that we return the favor.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise as well to support the legislation, H.R. 5571, and to commend the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Immigration of the House Judiciary Committee for her leadership on this issue, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. I thank the manager of the bill, Mr. Scott, for his leadership; our chairman of the full committee; our ranking member of the full committee; and the ranking member of the Immigration Subcommittee, Mr. King of Iowa. This is an embracing and unifying initiative. Why? Because we all understand the necessity of health care in America. We understand the importance of providing access to health care no matter where you live. And I thank Mr. Blake Chisam and my staff, Mr. Arthur Sidney, for working on language that I proposed to emphasize the importance of the provision that these doctors receive and should be guided by language that indicate that they should be utilized in areas that are underserved, that there are doctors that are not serving the area. So that foreign doctors who will benefit from the waiver provisions, which means eliminating the need for foreign medical doctors to return to their native land, will be utilized or encouraged to be utilized in areas around the country. The language in particular reads: It is the sense of Congress that Federal programs waiving the J-1 home residency requirement for physicians are generally designed to promote the delivery of critically needed medical services to Americans lacking adequate access to physician care, and that when determining the qualification of location for a waiver petition, the Department of Health and Human Services should always consider the needs of vulnerable populations in low-income and impoverished communities, communities with high infant mortality rates, rural areas, and communities exhibiting other signs of a lack of necessary physician services. In my State of Texas, we have been fighting for this for a very long time. In the rural parts of Texas, we are lacking in medical services and physicians. It's very important when these waivers are given that these physicians are utilized where they can best serve, and that is in vast number of areas that do not have access to health care. I support this legislation, H.R. 5571, and I think as it comes to the floor, it contains all the elements that suggest a benefit that brings about a burden, but not a burden that is negative but a burden to serve those who are in desperate need. Many of our country are, and these physicians can help them. With that, I believe this is an important bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5571, to extend for 5 years the program relating to waiver of the foreign country residence requirement with respect to international medical graduates. The purpose of this bill is to extend for 5 years the program relating to a waiver of the foreign country residence requirement with respect to international medical graduates. I support this bill. The Immigration and Nationality Act allows for foreign doctors to train in the United States under the ``J-1'' visa program, otherwise known as non-immigrants in the ``Exchange Visitor Program.'' This Exchange Visitor Program seeks to promote peaceful relations and mutual understanding with other countries through educational and cultural exchange programs. Accordingly, many exchange visitors, including doctors in training, are subject to a requirement that they must return to their home country to share with their countrymen the knowledge, experience, and impressions gained during their stay in the United States. Unless U.S. Customs and Immigration Service approves a waiver of this requirement, the exchange visitors must depart from the United States and live in their home country for 2 years before they are allowed to apply for an immigrant visa, permanent residence, or a new non-immigrant status. A waiver of the 2 year foreign residency requirement is available for doctors who have trained in the United States under the J-1 visa if a State or an interested Federal agency sponsors the physician exchange visitor to work in a health manpower shortage area within the State for 3 years as a non-immigrant in H-1B status (temporary worker in specialty occupation). The Secretary of Health and Human Services determines which areas have a health manpower shortage. The availability of this waiver will sunset on June 1, 2008. H.R. 5571 would extend this waiver for 5 years to ensure that areas in the United States with a shortage of doctors have an option to hire a doctor with a J-1 visa for 3 years where there is no other doctor available to fill the job. I worked with Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren to ensure that the foreign doctors who will benefit from the waiver provisions, eliminating the need for the foreign medical doctors to return to their native land, will be required to work in impoverished and underserved inner-city and urban communities. I believe that this is important because Americans who need access to medical care, the poor and needy, will benefit. This would be a tremendous improvement in the U.S. medical system and would move us closer to garnering access to healthcare for all. Specifically, I worked to include the following language in the bill: It is the sense of Congress that Federal programs waiving the J-1 home residency requirement for physicians are generally designed to promote the delivery of critically needed medical services to Americans lacking adequate access to physician care and that when determining the qualification of a location for a waiver petition, the Department of Health and Human Services should always consider the needs of vulnerable populations in low-income and impoverished communities, communities with high infant mortality rates, rural areas, and communities exhibiting other signs of a lack of necessary physician services. Across this great Nation the health disparities between minority and majority populations are staggering. Most major diseases--diabetes, heart disease, prostate cancer, HIV/AIDS, low-birth-weight babies--all hit the minority communities harder. Minorities consistently have decreased access to care, and receive lower quality care, when they do have access. As the economy continues to falter and as the unemployment rate spikes, millions of Americans are losing their health insurance. That state of affairs will only make the health disparities worse. Consider these statistics: African-American women are nearly three times as likely to die from pregnancy complications and childbirth as White women. Native American, African-American and Hispanic women are most likely to receive inadequate prenatal care. Compared with White women, African American women are twice as likely and Hispanic women are nearly three times as likely to be uninsured. Furthermore, African Americans and Hispanics are much more likely than Whites to lack a usual source of care and to encounter other difficulties in obtaining needed care. Certain minorities also have much higher rates of diabetes-related complications and death, in some instances by as much as 50 percent more than the total population. It is truly an epidemic. Nearly 31 percent of African American girls in the 4th grade were overweight in 2001. Thirteen percent of Houston high school students are overweight and 17 percent are at risk. Thirty-four percent of African American women are obese, compared to 19 percent of White women. Forty-four percent of African American women are projected to be obese by 2020, and 47 percent by 2040. As of February 2006, African-Americans represented only 13 percent of the U.S. population, but accounted for 40 percent of the 944,306 AIDS cases diagnosed since the start of the epidemic and approximately half, 49 percent, of the 42,514 cases diagnosed in 2004 alone. African-Americans also account for half of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses in the 35 States/areas with confidential name-based reporting. The AIDS case rate per 100,000 population among African-American adults/adolescents was nearly 10.2 times that of Whites in 2004. African-Americans accounted for 55 percent of deaths due to HIV in 2002 and their survival time after an AIDS diagnosis is lower on average than it is for other racial/ethnic groups. HIV was the third leading cause of death for African-Americans, ages 25-34, in 2002 compared to the sixth leading cause of death for Whites and Latinos in this age group. African-American women account for the majority of new AIDS cases among women, 67 percent in 2004; while White women account for 17 percent and Latinos 15 percent. Among African-Americans, African- American women represent more than a third, 36 percent, of AIDS cases diagnosed in 2004. Although African-American teens, ages 13-19, represent only 15 percent of U.S. teenagers, they accounted for 66 percent of new AIDS cases reported among teens in 2003. It is my hope that the language that I worked to get included in the bill will promote the delivery of critically needed medical services to Americans in low-income and impoverished communities, rural areas, and communities that are in desperate need of physician services. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Virginia for his leadership, and I appreciate greatly the leadership of Dr. Kagen of Wisconsin for this enormously thoughtful legislation for it is focused, if you will, on moving the ball forward for suffering constituents, whether they're in Wisconsin, Virginia, Texas. Even oil- and gas-producing States such as Texas are facing the crisis of oil shortages, gasoline high prices and difficulties for working men and women. Why is this thoughtful? I serve on the Antitrust Task Force on the House Judiciary Committee, and we're looking at broad-based issues, domestic and international, on how prices are being either constrained or expanded by the idea of maintaining price controls. And so OPEC itself, being with many of its members who are part of the WTO, certainly can be subjected to the question that is raised by this legislation. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to establish a Department of Justice petroleum industry antitrust task force, very thoughtful and forward-thinking. This task force has the responsibility to develop, coordinate and facilitate the implementation of the investigative and enforcement policies of the Department of Justice related to the petroleum industry. We must do something, and this is a complement to the very important work that the Democrats did moving forward very important energy legislation that deals with alternatives, that really spoke to Mom and Pop, that spoke to the truck drivers. And I look forward to working with my colleagues as we move this legislation forward to address the question of whether OPEC is manipulating prices. Certainly, it can be a better approach on what happened over the last couple of days when we know that one of the OPEC members simply said I'll give you a few pennies on the market by offering up an extra couple of barrels of oil. This is a reasoned perspective, and so I would reach out to the administration to work with us. The energy bill is languishing. Why? Because we hear that the administration will, in fact, veto it. There are some ideas that I think are important. Those of us on the gulf region have supported a safe, environmental process of exploring in the gulf. Some of us do believe that there can be a moratorium on gasoline taxes if it comes from someplace other than the Highway Trust Fund. Dr. Kagen's bill is meaningful; it is forthright. It says what it wants to do, and it gives the procedures for doing so with an important task force that questions OPEC and its ability to manipulate prices. It is answering the question of those Americans who are in need of relief, those truck drivers who are in need of relief, and I ask my colleagues to support again this very thoughtful legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6074, the ``Gas Price Relief for Consumers Act of 2008.'' I support this bill. The purpose of this bill is to amend the Sherman Act to make oil- producing and exporting cartels illegal and for other purposes. The bill makes it illegal for any foreign state or instrumentality to act collectively or in combination with any foreign state, to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product. It also makes it illegal to set or maintain the price of oil or natural gas, or petroleum product or otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for such products. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to establish in the Department of Justice a Petroleum Industry Antitrust Task Force. This Task Force has the responsibility to develop, coordinate, and facilitate the implementation of the investigative and enforcement policies of the Department of Justice related to the petroleum industry. The bill authorizes the Task Force to provide an annual report to Congress describing the investigatory and enforcement efforts. The bill also requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study evaluating the effects of mergers addressed in merger consent decrees on competition within 1 year of enactment of this bill. This bill is an important effort to address the oil crisis faced by the United States. Americans are in desperate need of relief. Increasingly, as the economy spirals into a recession, Americans must choose between food, energy, and gas. This crisis is of national and international importance. Oil prices have not been regulated since the Reagan Administration; however, the market situation since 2004 has yielded little excess capacity. Because OPEC determines the supply of oil vis-a-vis demand, it plays a significant role in the determination of the price of oil in the world market. Whereas OPEC is comprised of approximately 13 countries, it has 75 percent of the world's oil reserves, which affords it considerable control over the global market. OPEC produces 40 percent of the world's oil needs with approximately 30 million barrels of oil per day. The rest of the oil refineries in the world are producing at full capacity. Given their large oil reserves, OPEC countries have considerable capacity, which if utilized could ameliorate the current oil crises. The weakening value of the dollar, political uncertainty and unrest in places such as Nigeria, Venezuela, India, and China exacerbate the problem. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, member countries of OPEC, have the capability of producing more oil. In addition, another OPEC member country, Iraq, has the capability of producing more oil. Despite this excess capacity, the OECD countries and other major oil importers such as Japan and the EU, are paying higher prices for oil. Worse still is the plight faced by the developing world. While the developed world is facing high oil prices, the developing world is facing even higher prices with the weakening value of the dollar. Food prices all over the world are rising and instability is growing. Something must be done and this bill is a first step. In Houston, Texas, retail gas prices are above $3.60 a gallon and will likely continue to rise this summer. Many analysts see prices peaking closer to $4 a gallon. Gas prices are rising on concerns about supplies and demand. Analysts say refiners have cut back on gasoline production because of low profit margins; the rising price of crude means it costs them more to refine gas. Demand for gasoline is expected to fall by 85,000 barrels a day this summer compared to last because of high prices and the weak economy. This would be the first summertime decline in gasoline demand since 1991. To date, however, falling demand has failed to deflate surging gas prices, which are putting more pressure on consumers. Consumers are already suffering from higher food prices, falling home values, and a tight job market. This important bill seeks to address the oil crisis from a domestic standpoint. It is an important first step. While the bill amends the Sherman Act to make oil-producing and exporting cartels illegal, I believe more can be done, and I work to ensure that all Americans will benefit from affordable oil and gas prices. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Virginia. It is of great necessity that we rise today to stand against this horrible and devastating act, and that is, the desecration of our veterans' or our fallen soldiers' graves. So I rise in support of H.R. 3480, the Let Our Veterans Rest in Peace Act of 2008, in honor and tribute to Jeremy Burris of Texas, whose grave site was desecrated. Might I also suggest that on the eve of the commemoration of Memorial Day, when we acknowledge and honor and pay tribute to our fallen soldiers, this is enormously important legislation. Because the desecration of veterans' graves is becoming so pervasive, States have acted by replacing the stolen markers with aluminum markers instead of the brass and bronze markers they once used. How insulting, how low. And so it is important that this Congress say to the American people, and those who would do such dastardly deeds, we will accept it no more. With the price of aluminum sharply on the rise, it is expected that aluminum that is being utilized instead of the bronze may also be stolen. So this important legislation is asking for enhanced penalties to make a very strong statement that this is an intolerable act and an unacceptable act. As we mourn our most recent dead, those who have fallen in Iraq, how much more can families tolerate to know that they buried their loved ones, and then someone desecrated their graves? It is important that this legislation pass today to recognize again the great debt of gratitude and the great debt of appreciation that we owe our fallen soldiers. As the great British leader, Winston Churchill, famously stated, ``Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'' We owe, many of us, all of us, so much to the few who have fallen on behalf of this great Nation. And so I support, enthusiastically, the legislation sponsored by our good friend, Representative Carney from Pennsylvania, the Let Our Veterans Rest in Peace Act of 2008. Let this be an important statement that we will not tolerate the continuation of such desecration. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3480, the ``Let Our Veterans Rest in Peace Act of 2008.'' This important piece of legislation is an effort to stop the theft of Veterans' grave markers. Increasingly, these grave markers are being sold to scrap yards and recycling centers as scrap metal. The bill directs the Sentencing Commission to review and enhance the laws that currently protect Veteran grave markers. Because the desecration of veterans' graves is becoming so pervasive, States have acted by replacing the stolen markers with aluminum markers instead of the brass and bronze markers they once used. However, with the price of aluminum sharply on the rise, it is expected that these will soon be stolen also. The May Our Veterans Rest in Peace Act of 2008 will bring attention to this issue and increase penalties for this crime so that thieves no longer consider robbing grave markers for scrap metal as easy money and will think twice about desecrating the tombstone of a fallen war veteran. I firmly believe that we should celebrate our veterans after every conflict, and I remain committed, as a Member of Congress, to ensuring that we respect our fallen veterans. Veterans have kept their promise to serve our Nation; they have willingly risked their lives to protect the country we all love. We must now ensure that we keep our promises to our veterans. Currently, there are 25 million veterans in the United States. There are more than 1,633,000 veterans living in Texas and more than 32,000 veterans living in my Congressional district alone. On this Veterans Day, I hope we will all take the time to show appreciation to those who have answered the call to duty. As the great British leader Winston Churchill famously stated, ``Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'' With the approval of legislation on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars. Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, himself a decorated veteran of war, issued the first ``Veterans Day Proclamation'' which stated in part: ``In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.'' It was with that endearing spirit that America celebrated the first Veterans Day. We must always remember the debt that we owe our fallen veterans that have paid the ultimate sacrifice. From the four surviving World War I veterans known to be living in the United States, to the over 300,000 veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom we expect to see by the end of 2008. Our gratitude must continue to be unwavering to our fallen soldiers and veterans. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, ``As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.'' It is not simply enough to sing the praises of our Nation's great veterans; I firmly believe that we must demonstrate by our actions how proud we are of our American heroes. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I believe it is necessary for the Nation to act now so that we all can pay respect, tribute, and homage to the lives of the fallen armed services veterans who have fought to keep America free and have fought to make sure that all people and nations partake in the universal freedoms that we find so important in this country. These individuals have given so much and have paid us the ultimate sacrifice: the sacrifice of their lives. The least that we can do, is ensure that these veterans rest eternally in peace and that their grave markers are not stolen for the profit of a few. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res 1142, Recognizing May 25, 2008, as National Missing Children's Day. First, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague, Nick Lampson of Texas, for introducing this important legislation. The sole purpose of this bill is to build awareness around the issue of missing children for the purpose of finding children who are currently missing and to prevent future abductions. National Missing Children's Day honors our Nation's obligation to locate and recover missing children by prompting parents, guardians, and other trusted-adult role models to make child safety an utmost priority. It is important to create a voice within Congress on the issue of missing and exploited children and introduce legislation that would strengthen law enforcement, community organizing and school-based efforts to address child abduction. In the United States, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing a year, more than 58,000 children are abducted by non-family members, and more than 2,000 children are reported missing every day. It is also reported that 1,682,900 children ran away or were thrown away, while over 200,000 children were abducted by family members. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has been instrumental in improving the recovery rate from 62 percent to 96 percent. Between 1979 and 1981, a series of high-profile missing-children cases became national headlines. Three such cases contributed to the shock of the Nation's consciousness bringing attention to the seriousness of child victimization and forever changing the response by law-enforcement agencies to reports of missing children. For almost 3 years, national media attention was focused on Atlanta, GA, where the bodies of young boys and girls were discovered in lakes, marshes, and ponds along roadside trails. By the time a suspect was arrested and identified in 1981, 29 bodies were recovered. The suspect was apprehended, convicted, and now serves a life sentence in prison. On May 25, 1979, Etan Patz disappeared from a New York City street on his way to school. Even before cases of missing children routinely garnered national media attention, Etan's case quickly received a lot of coverage. His father, a professional photographer, disseminated black-and-white photographs of Etan in an effort to find him. The massive search and media attention that followed focused the Nation's attention on the problem of child abduction and lack of plans to address it. The tragedies of these children and others exposed a fundamental flaw. There was no coordinated effort between Federal, State, and local law enforcement; no national response system in place; and no central resource to help searching families. When it came to handling missing- children cases, the United States was a nation of 50 States often acting like 50 separate countries. Mr. Speaker, I recognize National Missing Children's Day and request that all Americans join together to plan events in communities across America to raise public awareness about the issue of missing children and the need to address this national problem. One of the most important tools for law enforcement to use in the case of a missing child is an up-to-date, good quality photograph. It is important we urge all parents and guardians to follow this important precaution, and I acknowledge that National Missing Children's Day should remind Americans not to forget the children who are still missing and not to waver in the effort to reunite them with their families.

Ms JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1132, Supporting the goals and ideals of Peace Officers Memorial Day, introduced by my distinguished colleague from Texas, Representative Ted Poe. Peace officers, the sworn, public-sector officers entrusted with law enforcement authority and the power of arrest, risk their lives daily to protect our Nation. These individuals, who are responsible for safeguarding the rights and freedoms we enjoy as Americans, are true heroes. Peace Officers Memorial Day honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and security of their communities and our Nation. Created by Public Law 87-726, signed by President Kennedy in 1962, this day gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and pay our respects to those who, through their courageous deeds, have fallen in the line of duty. Mr. Speaker, on thursday, May 15, 2008, our Nation will come together to honor, remember and record those law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty during the year of 2007. Mr. Speaker, one of the names of the fallen heroes added to the list last year was Officer Rodney J. Johnson of the Houston Police Department. Officer Johnson, a 12-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, was killed September 21, 2006, while taking a suspect in custody during a traffic stop. He leaves to honor his memory his beloved wife, Houston Police Department Officer Joslyn Johnson, and five teen-aged children; three daughters and two sons, ages 14 to 19. Officer Rodney Johnson was born in Houston and served in the U.S. Army as a military police officer until being honorably discharged in 1990. He then went to work as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and then as a jail attendant. He graduated from the Houston police academy in 1994. As a member of the department's Southeast Gang Task Force, Officer Rodney Johnson earned two Lifesaving Awards and one Medal of Valor from the State of Texas. In January 1998, Officer Rodney Johnson rescued a physically challenged driver trapped in rising floodwaters, and later that year he rescued mentally challenged people trapped inside of a burning house. Officer Rodney Johnson, who stood 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed nearly 300 pounds, served on his union's board of directors. As Hans Marticiuc, the president of Officer Johnson's union stated, ``he was big and he was intimidating-looking, but he was as gentle as a baby bear.'' Although the number of officers killed in the line of duty has declined in recent years, the fact that one officer is killed every 2\1/2\ days in our country is a sober reminder that protecting our communities and safeguarding our democracy come at a heavy price. Last year, the total number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty was represented by 17,917 names engraved on the Memorial, representing officers from all 50 States, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and Federal law enforcement and military police agencies. This resolution supports the goals and ideals of National Peace Officer Memorial Day, which honors Federal, State, and local peace officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. This service will honor the 181 law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty during 2007, as well as the 900,000 officers who continue to serve in Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies nationwide. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important resolution:

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow, and further, that when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 19, for morning-hour debate.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. The Merida initiative is funding for this horrible drug war between Mexico and its own citizens that's spilling over into the United States. I am appreciative of these dollars, but, my friends, we have got to stop the utilization of drugs here in the United States. It looks like it's McDonald's where they send these various drugs. When I say that, I am not talking about McDonald's, but I am suggesting that the pinpoints of where these drugs are dropped off in the United States, it is tragic. As we send more money and more money to Mexico, we have got to begin to devise a new policy for drug opposition here in the United States. Vote against the funding for the war. The underlying other amendments are very good. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1197, Rule providing for the consideration of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2642-- Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008. While I offer my support for amendments No. 2 and No. 3, I must oppose amendment No. 1. While amendments 2 and 3 contain provisions beneficial to the American people, designed to improve our economy and protect our young men and women, amendment 1 continues a disastrous policy of providing unrestricted funding to continue the Bush administration's war in Iraq. I oppose amendment No. 1 because I stand with the American taxpayers who have paid over $600 billion to finance the misadventure in Iraq. I stand with the 4076 fallen heroes who stand even taller in death because they gave the last full measure of devotion to their country. Last May, I was proud to vote for H.R. 1591, a supplemental spending bill that would have provided funds for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, which included a timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops. Though this bill passed the House by a clear majority, the President opted to veto this legislation. Madam Speaker, I must oppose amendment No. 1. This amendment provides a total of $162.9 billion for the Department of Defense for FY 2008 and FY 2009, funds that are handed over without any strings. The amendment does not withhold funding for the Iraq war, a war that so many of my colleagues in Congress oppose, and which only 32 percent of Americans now support. The amendment does not require that war funds can only be used for the responsible redeployment of American troop's home from Iraq. Madam Speaker, I voted against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution. I am proud of that vote. I have consistently voted against the administration's practice of submitting a request for war funding through an emergency supplemental rather than the regular appropriations process which would subject the funding request to more rigorous scrutiny and require it to be balanced against other pressing national priorities. I cannot support legislation that provides the President with the resources to prolong his ill-advised war effort unrestrained. I rise today in strong support of amendment No. 2. This amendment lays out a responsible U.S. policy toward Iraq, requiring that troops begin redeployment from Iraq within 30 days, with a goal of completing the withdrawal of combat troops by December 2009. As a Member of both the Out of Iraq and the Progressive Caucuses, I am proud to vote for legislation that, like other measures passed by this Congress, begins the process of withdrawing U.S. men and women from Iraq. In addition, Madam Speaker this legislation specifically requires that any agreement between the United States and the government of Iraq committing future U.S. forces must be specifically authorized by Congress. The governments of Iraq and the United States announced their intention to forge a ``strategic framework agreement,'' a long-term, bilateral pact, to be completed by July 31, 2008. This negotiated agreement is to be based on the ``Declaration of Principles for a Long- Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America,'' signed November 26, 2007, by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Bush. Under the Declaration of Principles, the parties will negotiate a security agreement, under which the United States will support the Iraqi government and security forces in providing security and stability and fighting al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The Declaration of Principles envisions an agreement setting forth a wide- ranging set of commitments, which will cover issues including politics, economics, and security. In hearings before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, administration officials have indicated that the President intends to negotiate this agreement as an executive agreement, not subject to Congressional approval. It is essential that any agreement which commits future U.S. troops to the defense of Iraq is outside the purview of existing authorizations, and such an agreement must be submitted to the Congress for approval. This legislation also prohibits the establishment of permanent bases in Iraq. Madam Speaker, amendment No. 2 requires that the Iraqi government step up and pay its share of Iraqi reconstruction efforts. I am concerned that the United States has paid and continues to pay a disproportionate amount for Iraq reconstruction, especially when the Iraqi government reportedly has a $25-30 billion budget surplus this year. To date the United States has appropriated more than $45 billion for Iraq reconstruction. American funded reconstruction programs have included: the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces. Iraq is a resource-rich nation. Though still facing problems including a lack of technology, damage from previous mismanagement, the effects of looting, and water intrusion, Iraqi oil production is currently at around 2 million barrels per day. The price of oil has skyrocketed to over $100 a barrel and Iraqi oil exports are generating an estimated $56.4 billion this year alone, according to the GAO, yet it is U.S. taxpayers who continue to foot the bill for Iraqi reconstruction. The government of Iraq is stashing its money in global banks, including a reported $30 billion in the U.S., instead of investing this money in the development of crucial Iraqi infrastructure. This legislation requires the Iraqi government to take responsibility for the future of its own nation. There are a number of other key provisions in this amendment. It requires the President to reach an agreement with Iraq to subsidize fuel costs for U.S. Armed Forces operating in Iraq so that our military pays what Iraqis pay. It requires that troop's meet the Pentagon's definition of ``combat ready'' before they are deployed to Iraq; Prohibits troops from being deployed longer than Pentagon guidelines recommend; and requires that troops spend adequate time at home between deployments. This legislation makes substantial strides toward cleaning up contracting in Iraq, expanding current law to make all contractors working in war zones subject to prosecution for offenses that would otherwise be in violation of U.S. law; extending the statute of limitations for fraud cases during wartime; and amending the Federal criminal code to prohibit profiteering and fraud involving contractors overseas. In addition, it prohibits interrogation techniques not authorized in the Army Field Manual, a provision necessary in eliminating torture. Amendment No. 3 Madam Speaker, the third amendment to H.R. 2642 provides over $21.2 billion for much needed domestic programs and foreign aid. By extending unemployment benefits, expanding veterans' education benefits, and placing a moratorium on the Bush administration's seven Medicaid regulations; this amendment gets us closer to where the Economic Stimulus package should have taken us. This amendment will provide increased funds for food aid, military hospitals, and the reconstruction of the Louisiana levees. international food aid As many of you know, we are facing an international food crisis. According to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, global food prices have increased an average of 43 percent. In fact since March 2007, wheat has increased by 146 percent, soybean has increased by 71 percent, corn by 41 percent, and rice prices have increased by 29 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many factors have played into this crisis. In China, India, and other emerging markets experiencing rapid economic growth, consumers are increasing their demand for food, oil, and energy supplies. Rising energy costs have directly raised the cost of agricultural production. Adverse weather-related events have lowered crop yields, particularly affecting wheat harvests. Depreciation of the U.S. dollar accounts for part of the increase in U.S. food prices, while increased production of biofuel has raised the price of corn. Sadly, approximately 1 billion people--or one sixth of the world's population--subsist on less than $1 per day. Of this population, 162 million survive on less than $0.50 per day. Overall, increased food prices particularly affect developing countries, and the poorest people within those countries, where populations spend a larger proportional share of income on basic food commodities. That is why I, along with other Hunger Caucus members hosted a forum on the food crisis and what it is doing to our children. We met with leaders of the international aid community to come up with pragmatic solutions to the global hunger crisis, both in the short-term and the long-term. In my district I submitted an appropriations request for the Houston Food Bank to expand their collection and distribution of food to the good people of Houston. We each have to do our part, not only in our district by supporting much needed programs and organizations, but across this great Nation and the rest of the world. This amendment would give $9.9 billion, $496 million above the President's request for the State Department, USAID and International Food Assistance. It is simply unacceptable in this day and age that children are going hungry. We have millions of dollars to bailout Bear Stearns, let's find that same money to help our families and our children. Expanded GI Benefits for Veterans Education As champion for veterans, I am especially pleased to see the expansion of education benefits to veterans under the GI bill. Extended Unemployment Compensation The number of Americans looking for work has grown by 800,000 over the last year, and the number of American jobs has declined by 260,000 since the beginning of 2008. This supplemental would extend unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their benefits by up to 13 weeks in every state as well as an additional 13 weeks in states with high unemployment. protecting the medicaid safety net act of 2008 (h.r. 5613) The Bush administration sought to cut services and payments to American families by adding seven different Medicaid regulations to the stimulus. This amendment places a much needed moratorium on those regulations giving back to our seniors, families, and those with disabilities as well as cut payments to safety net providers. refugee assistance $675 million, $454 million above the President's request, to address the refugee crisis in Iraq and elsewhere. Merida This amendment would give $461.5 million, $88.5 million below the President's request for the initiative to provide counter narcotics and law enforcement assistance in Mexico, $400 million, and Central America, $61.5 million. Military Construction The $4.6 billion for military construction, $2.2 billion over the President's request, including $939 million for BRAC, over $210 million for the military child care centers that the President announced in the State of the Union but never funded, and $992 million for military hospitals to prevent the types of problems that faced Walter Reed. bureau of prisons This $178 million urgently needed to meet rising incarceration costs and growing inmate population. The administration would have paid for these costs with cuts to state and local law enforcement funding. Cleaning up Contracting (H.R. 3928 and H.R. 5712) Increases accountability and transparency in Federal contracting by requiring companies that receive more than 80 percent of their revenue from the Federal Government to disclose the names and salaries of their top officers, and requires Federal contractors to report violations of Federal criminal law and overpayments on contracts over $5 million.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise enthusiastically to support this very important rule. I congratulate the very strategic design of the Appropriations Committee. This is tough, and I thank the Rules Committee for listening to us as we presented our amendments. But I rise today to say that war is ugly. But we applaud and appreciate the young men and women on the front lines. We forever honor them. Just a few minutes ago I was in a room listening to returning war veterans from Iraq, and they gave us these words, horrible stories, such as calling the Iraqis hajis or sand niggers, telling us about the impact on their families, how many families were destroyed, how many have attempted to commit suicide. I offered an amendment that many focused on the idea that everything we have asked the soldiers to do under the 2002 resolution has been done, and, therefore, it should expire. The President has no more authority to continue this war. Then I wanted to debunk the actions of what happened to the Vietnam vets and call for a national day of celebration, a national day of honor for all the returning war heroes that will come home. This is what we should be doing today as we vote against the funding of this war in Iraq. It is important to stand for these soldiers. But I am glad that we have extended GI benefits for veterans' education. Some of them were telling us that they are now being denied these benefits because of a general discharge, because of their opposition to the war. Yes, it is valuable because we move on to help Americans in this bill as well, extending unemployment compensation, getting rid of these cuts in Medicaid and making sure that we don't damage specialty hospitals that are in our rural and inner city areas who are helping us. I am grateful to what the Appropriations Committee did on world and food hunger. It is a disaster, and they moved it up higher than what the President asked for. We had a briefing on world hunger and it was appalling what is going on around the world. I am grad that we have monies for refugee assistance and the Merida funding.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman. I rise in opposition to one more dollar being spent on the war in Iraq but many, many dollars spent on the brave men and women. I thank the leadership and I thank this committee for allowing us to spend dollars because of a responsibility to our troops with the GI Bill. I also offer to my constituents, but also to this body, that we have an emergency, as well, with our summer jobs program. And I hope that we will find a way to fund a summer jobs program for our youth. Let me say that there is not a tax burden in this bill, and I thank our leadership for understanding PAYGO. This is nothing more than an opportunity for those who make over $1 million to experience the burden, if you will, of the sacrifice this Nation is making on behalf of our troops. The moneys that are expended, only $500 for those making over $1 million and more, will be given to our troops with the GI Bill of Rights. Where do we stand? I stand with the flag on behalf of the American troops. This is a great bill. Vote against the funding for the war and vote for the redeployment of our troops, a better domestic plan, and yes, an opportunity to pass the GI Bill of Rights, the GI Bill for our young men and women. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the continued funding of the Iraq war. While I offer my support for Amendments No. 2 and No. 3, I must oppose amendment No. 1. While amendments 2 and 3 contain provisions beneficial to the American people, designed to improve our economy and protect our young men and women, amendment 1 continues a disastrous policy of providing unrestricted funding to continue the Bush administration's war in Iraq. Last night, I offered three amendments to this legislation in the rules committee. My first amendment would have added three sense of Congress paragraphs: ``(1) The war in Iraq should end as safely and quickly as possible and our troops should be brought home; (2) the performance of United States military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan should be commended, their courage and sacrifice have been exceptional, and when they come home, their service should be recognized appropriately, including through the observance of a national day of celebration; and (3) the primary purpose of funds made available by this Act should be to transition the mission of United States Armed Forces in Iraq and undertake their redeployment, and not to extend or prolong the war.'' This amendment is borne from my deeply held belief that we must commend our military for their exemplary performance and success in Iraq. As lawmakers continue to debate U.S. policy in Iraq, our heroic young men and women continue to willingly sacrifice life and limb on the battlefield. Our troops in Iraq did everything we asked them to do. We sent them overseas to fight an army; they are now caught in the midst of an insurgent civil war and continuing political upheaval. The United States will not and should not permanently prop up the Iraqi government and military. U.S. military involvement in Iraq will come to an end, and, when U.S. forces leave, the responsibility for securing their nation will fall to Iraqis themselves. However, whether or not my colleagues agree that the time has come to withdraw our American forces from Iraq, I believe that all of us in Congress should be of one accord that our troops deserve our sincere thanks and congratulations. I very strongly believe that our Nation has a moral obligation to ensure that our veterans are treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve. One reason we are the greatest Nation in the world is because of the brave young men and women fighting for us in Iraq and Afghanistan. They deserve honor, they deserve dignity, and they deserve to know that a grateful Nation cares about them. The second amendment that I offered explicitly states that the goals laid out by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, AUMF, have all been achieved by our troops in Iraq. As my amendment describes, the brave men and women of our military have done everything we asked them to do. The United States Armed Forces successfully toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein and captured the key cities of Iraq in only 21 days. Because of the skill and dedication of the members of the Armed Forces, the entire world has now been assured that Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction that could threaten the United States or any member nation of the international community. The Armed Forces performed magnificently in conducting military operations designed to ensure that the people of Iraq would enjoy the benefits of a democratically-elected government governing a country that is capable of sustaining itself economically and politically and defending itself militarily. In June 2004, the Armed Forces facilitated the transfer of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the interim Government of Iraq, which governed Iraq until December 2005 when national elections were held in which more than 8 million Iraqi men and women voted in elections that were free and fair. While our troops have achieved the objectives for which they were sent to Iraq, they are now caught in the midst of a sectarian conflict. Unfortunately, there is no military solution to Iraq's ongoing political and sectarian conflicts. This is a war without end. Though President Bush continues to rely on a strategy that seeks to stabilize and reconcile Iraq by force, only the Iraqi government can secure a lasting peace. Thus far, the Iraqi government has demonstrated an inability or an unwillingness to deliver on the political benchmarks that they themselves agreed were essential to achieving national reconciliation, which was the rationale and stated objective of the recent troop surge. Continuing to put the lives of our soldiers and our national treasury in the hands of what by most informed accounts--even by members of the Bush Administration--is an ineffective central Iraqi government is irresponsible and contrary to the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the American people. The third amendment that I offered would provide funds for summer youth employment and training activities under the Workforce Investment Act. Unfortunately, many of our youth have to help out their families in these troubling economic times. Many of the youth who could obtain skills and training in their summer jobs state that they would either be sitting around watching television or getting into trouble if they were not in their communities working. For more than 30 years, beginning in the 1960s, the Federal Government saw the enormous benefit of providing summer jobs to millions of disadvantaged youth across America. But since 2000, the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program, SYETP, has lost its direct funding, and is now effectively buried among 10 competing programs within the Workforce Investment Act, WIA. With unemployment soaring and the summer heat approaching, there is an urgent need to bring back summer jobs for youth. We need to be cognizant of the fact that many families count on their children working during the summer to raise money for college. Families are facing a foreclosure crisis, the rising cost of gas, and health care; this amendment provides more money for workforce preparedness among our youth. When we invest in our youth and foster a sense of responsibility it will last a lifetime, aiding not only them, but their families, and our communities. This amendment would give our youth the skills and training they need to enter the workforce, and the money they and their families need to make it in these tough economic times. However, the legislation we are considering today contains many important provisions, but, unfortunately, the first amendment continues funding for a war that I strongly oppose. I oppose amendment No. 1 because I stand with the American taxpayers who have paid over $600 billion to finance the misadventure in Iraq. I stand with the 4076 fallen heroes who stand even taller in death because they gave the last full measure of devotion to their country. Last May, I was proud to vote for H.R. 1591, a supplemental spending bill that would have provided funds for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, which included a timetable for the redeployment of U.S. troops. Though this bill passed the House by a clear majority, the President opted to veto this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I must oppose Amendment No. 1. This amendment provides a total of $162.9 billion for the Department of Defense for FY 2008 and FY 2009, funds that are handed over without any strings. The amendment does not withhold funding for the Iraq war, a war that so many of my colleagues in Congress oppose, and which only 32 percent of Americans now support. The amendment does not require that war funds can only be used for the responsible redeployment of American troops home from Iraq. Mr. Speaker, I voted against the 2002 Iraq War Resolution. I am proud of that vote. I have consistently voted against the Administration's practice of submitting a request for war funding through an emergency supplemental rather than the regular appropriations process which would subject the funding request to more rigorous scrutiny and require it to be balanced against other pressing national priorities. I cannot support legislation that provides the President with the resources to prolong his ill-advised war effort unrestrained. I rise today in strong support of Amendment No. 2. This amendment lays out a responsible U.S. policy toward Iraq, requiring that troops begin redeployment from Iraq within 30 days, with a goal of completing the withdrawal of combat troops by December 2009. As a Member of both the Out of Iraq and the Progressive Caucuses, I am proud to vote for legislation that, like other measures passed by this Congress, begins the process of withdrawing U.S. men and women from Iraq. In addition, Mr. Speaker, this legislation specifically requires that any agreement between the United States and the Government of Iraq committing future U.S. forces must be specifically authorized by Congress. The governments of Iraq and the United States announced their intention to forge a strategic framework agreement, a long-term, bilateral pact, to be completed by July 31, 2008. This negotiated agreement is to be based on the Declaration of Principles for a Long- Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America, signed November 26, 2007, by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and President Bush. Under the Declaration of Principles, the parties will negotiate a security agreement, under which the United States will support the Iraqi government and Security Forces in providing security and stability and fighting al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The Declaration of Principles envisions an agreement setting forth a wide- ranging set of commitments, which will cover issues including politics, economics, and security. In hearings before the Committee on Foreign Affairs, administration officials have indicated that the President intends to negotiate this agreement as an executive agreement, not subject to Congressional approval. It is essential that any agreement which commits future U.S. troops to the defense of Iraq is outside the purview of existing authorizations, and such an agreement must be submitted to the Congress for approval. This legislation also prohibits the establishment of permanent bases in Iraq. Mr. Speaker, amendment No. 2 requires that the Iraqi government step up and pay its share of Iraqi reconstruction efforts. I am concerned that the United States has paid and continues to pay a disproportionate amount for Iraq reconstruction, especially when the Iraqi government reportedly has a $25-30 billion budget surplus this year. To date the United States has appropriated more than $45 billion for Iraq reconstruction. American funded reconstruction programs have included: the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces. Iraq is a resource-rich nation. Though still facing problems including a lack of technology, damage from previous mismanagement, the effects of looting, and water intrusion, Iraqi oil production is currently at around 2 million barrels per day. The price of oil has skyrocketed to over $100 a barrel and Iraqi oil exports are generating an estimated $56.4 billion this year alone, according to the GAO, yet it is U.S. taxpayers who continue to foot the bill for Iraqi reconstruction. The government of Iraq is stashing its money in global banks, including a reported $30 billion in the U.S., instead of investing this money in the development of crucial Iraqi infrastructure. This legislation requires the Iraqi government to take responsibility for the future of its own nation. There are a number of other key provisions in this amendment. It requires the President to reach an agreement with Iraq to subsidize fuel costs for U.S. Armed Forces operating in Iraq so that our military pays what Iraqis pay. It requires that troop's meet the Pentagon's definition of combat ready before they are deployed to Iraq; Prohibits troops from being deployed longer than Pentagon guidelines recommend; and requires that troops spend adequate time at home between deployments. This legislation makes substantial strides toward cleaning up contracting in Iraq, expanding current law to make all contractors working in war zones subject to prosecution for offenses that would otherwise be in violation of U.S. law; extending the statute of limitations for fraud cases during wartime; and amending the federal criminal code to prohibit profiteering and fraud involving contractors overseas. In addition, it prohibits interrogation techniques not authorized in the Army Field Manual, a provision necessary in eliminating torture. Amendment No. 3 Mr. Speaker, the third amendment to H.R. 2642 provides over $21.2 billion for much needed domestic programs and foreign aid. By extending unemployment benefits, expanded veterans' education benefits, and placing a moratorium on the Bush Administrations' seven Medicaid regulations; this amendment gets us closer to where the Economic Stimulus package should have taken us. This amendment will provide increased funds for food aid, military hospitals, and the reconstruction of the Louisiana levees. International Food Aid As many of you know, we are facing an international food crisis. According to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, global food prices have increased an average of 43 percent. In fact since March 2007, wheat has increased by 146 percent, soybean has increased by 71 percent, corn by 41 percent, and rice prices have increased by 29 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many factors have played into this crisis. In China, India, and other emerging markets experiencing rapid economic growth, consumers are increasing their demand for food, oil, and energy supplies. Rising energy costs have directly raised the cost of agricultural production. Adverse weather-related events have lowered crop yields, particularly affecting wheat harvests. Depreciation of the U.S. dollar accounts for part of the increase in U.S. food prices, while increased production of biofuel has raised the price of corn. Sadly, approximately 1 billion people--or one sixth of the world's population--subsist on less than $1 per day. Of this population, 162 million survive on less than $0.50 per day. Overall, increased food prices particularly affect developing countries, and the poorest people within those countries, where populations spend a larger proportional share of income on basic food commodities. That is why I, along with other Hunger Caucus members, hosted a forum on the Food Crisis and what it is doing to our children. We met with leaders of the international aid community to come up with pragmatic solutions to the global hunger crisis, both in the short term and the long term. In my district I submitted an appropriations request for the Houston Food Bank to expand their collection and distribution of food to the good people of Houston. We each have to do our part, not only in our district by supporting much needed programs and organizations, but across this great Nation and the rest of the world. This amendment would give $9.9 billion, $496 million above the President's request, for the State Department, USAID and International Food Assistance. It is simply unacceptable in this day and age that children are going hungry. We have millions of dollars to bail out Bear Stearns, let's find that same money to help our families and our children. Expanded GI Benefits for Veterans Education As champion for veterans, I am especially pleased to see the expansion of education benefits to veterans under the GI bill. Extended Unemployment Compensation The number of Americans looking for work has grown by 800,000 over the last year, and the number of American jobs has declined by 260,000 since the beginning of 2008. This supplemental would extend unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their benefits by up to 13 weeks in every State as well as an additional 13 weeks in States with high unemployment. Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008 (H.R. 5613) The Bush Administration sought to cut services and payments to American families by adding seven different Medicaid regulations to the stimulus. This amendment places a much needed moratorium on those regulations, giving back to our seniors, families, and those with disabilities as well as cut payments to safety net providers. Refugee Assistance $675 million, $454 million above the President's request, to address the refugee crisis in Iraq and elsewhere. Merida This amendment would give $461.5 million, $88.5 million below the President's request, for the initiative to provide counternarcotics and law enforcement assistance in Mexico, $400 million, and Central America, $61.5 million. Military Construction The $4.6 billion for military construction, $2.2 billion over the President's request, including $939 million for BRAC, over $210 million for the military child care centers that the President announced in the State of the Union but never funded, and $992 million for military hospitals, to prevent the types of problems that faced Walter Reed. Bureau of Prisons This $178 million urgently needed to meet rising incarceration costs and growing inmate population. The administration would have paid for these costs with cuts to State and local law enforcement funding. Cleaning up Contracting (H.R. 3928 & H.R. 5712) Increases accountability and transparency in federal contracting by requiring companies that receive more than 80 percent of their revenue from the federal government to disclose the names and salaries of their top officers, and requires federal contractors to report violations of federal criminal law and over-payments on contracts over $5 million.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce to the American people that their voices have been heard. Today, this House voted down the $180 billion war funding bill that the President requested. It is time now for Americans to be heard and for this Congress to move forward on the safe redeployment of our troops. In addition, Mr. Speaker, I offered amendments to declare the authorization of 2002 expired. I hope we will address that question and to announce or to establish a national day of honor in celebration to bring our troops home. With the utilization of the $180 billion, we can begin an economic stimulus package that would include the work that the Congressional Black Caucus and Majority Whip Clyburn and myself have been supporting, and that is to provide for $1 billion or $500 million for summer job programs. This is an emergency. Our young people are finding the doors of opportunity closed. Many of them support their families. They need money for books. We need a summer job program. With the defeat of this $180 billion spending program for the war, we can do better. The war should end. We've defeated the spending.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I missed the vote on the Altmire amendment to the Waters housing bill last week. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6200, To suspend the acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and for other purposes, introduced by my distinguished colleague from Vermont, Representative Welch. This legislation suspends the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the rest of the year, as long as the price of crude oil remains above $75 per barrel, and is an important first step in addressing America's current energy crisis. Mr. Speaker, we are all painfully aware of the devastation high energy prices have had on American families. This New Direction Congress, of which I am proud to be a part, is fighting to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and bring down record gas prices, and launch a cleaner, smarter energy future for America that lowers costs and creates hundreds of thousands of green jobs. In addition to being a representative from Houston, Texas, the energy capital of the world, for the past 12 years, I have been the Chair of the Energy Braintrust of the Congressional Black Caucus. As such, I recognize that energy is the lifeblood of every economy, especially ours. Producing more of it leads to more good jobs, cheaper goods, lower fuel prices, and greater economic and national security. Today, as the national average of gas has reached a record high of $3.72 a gallon, this legislation is an imperative step in addressing a burgeoning crisis. Each day, it takes 70,000 barrels of oil off the market to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which at 97 percent full is at it highest level ever. While the President last week stated that he did not believe suspending filling the reserve would affect prices, in 2006 when he was about to apply the same strategy we seek today, he stated, ``One way to ease price is to increase supply . . . . I've directed the Department of Energy to defer filling the reserve this summer. . . . So by deferring deposits until the fall, we'll leave a little more oil on the market.'' Despite calls from both sides of the aisle and both bodies of this Congress, President Bush has failed to listen to the will of the American people. As such, today the Senate passed a similar provision by a vote of 97-1, and this House intends to do the same. Not only will suspending the fill of the SPR work this time, it has in the past when it was utilized by President George W. Bush, President Clinton, and President George H.W. Bush. By temporarily diverting the 70,000 barrels of oil that go into the SPR a day, this legislation could reduce gas prices from 5 to 24 cents a gallon, helping American families, businesses, and the economy as a whole. In 2006, when President George W. Bush deferred deliveries from the SPR, he stated, ``Our Strategic Reserve is sufficiently large enough to guard against any major supply disruption over the next few months.'' Today, we have 702 million barrels of oil in the SPR, which is 14 million more barrels of oil than the 688 million in the SPR when President Bush suspended deliveries two years ago. I also believe we should put a moratorium on gas taxes through payment by energy company profits. The President has the legal authority to suspend the fill of the SPR and help already suffering American families during this period of economic downturn. Because the President has ignored our requests to address this crisis, it is our duty to support this legislation and help the families, businesses, and economy of the United States. As such, I strongly support this legislation and urge my colleagues to join me and do the same.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 789, honoring public child welfare agencies, nonprofit organizations and private entities providing services for foster children. I first would like to thank my distinguished colleague, Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, for introducing this important legislation. This resolution acknowledges the importance of foster parents and other community partners who care for hurting children. Children are placed in foster care because of society's concern for their well-being. Any time spent by a child in temporary care should be therapeutic but may be harmful to the child's growth, development, and well-being. Interruptions in the continuity of a child's caregiver are often detrimental. Repeated moves from home to home compound the adverse consequences that stress and inadequate parenting have on the child's development and ability to cope. Adults cope with impermanence by building on an accrued sense of self-reliance and by anticipating and planning for a time of greater constancy. Children, however, especially when young, have limited life experience on which to establish their sense of self. In addition, their sense of time focuses exclusively on the present and precludes meaningful understanding of ``temporary'' versus ``permanent'' or anticipation of the future. For young children, periods of weeks or months are not comprehensible. Disruption in either place or with a caregiver for even 1 day may be stressful. The younger the child and the more extended the period of uncertainty or separation, the more detrimental it will be to the child's well-being. The observance brings sharply into focus the critical needs of foster children and the importance of our foster parents who respond so faithfully and selflessly to the children's needs. Some children are placed in foster care briefly while a family crisis is resolved. Others remain in care for longer periods of time, depending upon the circumstances that led to their removal from their family's home. Over 500,000 children in the United States are currently in foster care which is twice as many as 20 years ago. The majority of these children and youth have been removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. Our foster parents deserve special praise because they open their homes and their hearts to foster children and love them unconditionally. They understand that a safe, secure home is very important to the healthy development of a child. An increasing number of young children are being placed in foster care because of parental neglect. Neglect has very profound and long- lasting consequences on all aspects of child development--poor attachment formation, understimulation, development delay, poor physical development, and antisocial behavior. Being in an environment in which child-directed support and communication is limited makes it more difficult for a child to develop the brain connections that facilitate language and vocabulary development, and therefore may impair communication skills. Recent findings in infant mental health show how development can be facilitated, how treatment can enhance brain development and psychological health, and how prevention strategies can lessen the ill effects of neglect. Adoption by foster families has the potential to benefit not only the child being adopted, but also the foster family and the child welfare agency. There are a number of reasons that a child's foster parents may be the best adoptive parents for that child. Foster parents have a greater knowledge of a child's experiences prior to placement and know what behaviors to expect from the child. If they have sufficient background information about what happened to a child before this placement, some knowledge of how children generally respond to such experiences, and extensive information about this child's specific behavior patterns, the foster family is better able to understand and respond to the child's needs in a positive and appropriate way. Foster parents usually have fewer fantasies and fears about the child's birth family, because they often have met and know them as real people with real problems. Foster parents have a better understanding of their role and relationship with the agency--and perhaps a relationship with their worker. Foster children experience a number of unique challenges based on instability in their home and school environments. Just over half of all foster children complete high school, 40 percent continue to rely on public assistance into adulthood and 25 percent will experience homelessness at one point in their lives. Numerous public child welfare agencies, nonprofit organizations and private entities work tirelessly to recruit loving foster families and improve the lives of foster children. These groups strive to consider the best interest of each child and focus on keeping families together when possible. They provide invaluable resources to foster families as well as teachers, counselors, physicians, clergy, and others who work closely with children in the foster care system. Mr. Speaker, I recognize and honor the contributions of all public child welfare agencies, nonprofit organizations and private entities dedicated to finding homes for foster children and assisting foster families in securing their future success.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1181, expressing condolences and sympathy to the people of Burma for the grave loss of life and vast destruction caused by Cyclone Nargis. I would like to thank my colleague Representative Crowley of New York for introducing this important legislation that reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the people of Burma who have been victims of the natural disaster caused by Cyclone Nargis. Mr. Speaker, Burma has been a region of serious political unrest and economic changes. As my colleagues may know, in the evening of May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis struck the coast of Burma leaving in its wake catastrophic destruction. It was reported that an estimated 1.5 million people were severely affected by the cyclone. With winds reaching 190 kilometers per hour and an 11.5 foot storm surge that swept across affected areas, the world could only fathom the damage that was inflicted in horror. It has been projected that the damage caused by the cyclone significantly exceeds the government's ability to provide full relief for the victims and it has indicated its acceptance of assistance from the international community. It is my sincere hope that the military-backed caretaker government currently in power in Burma will promptly lift the state of emergency in the remaining regions and move expeditiously to allow foreigners to administer vital care and aid to the people. At this dire state, our deepest concerns in supplying aid to all the people affected should be directed to Burma's willingness to openly allow international efforts. In this key period of political change, one that will hopefully allow for a more free and fair democratic Burma, the nation has been hit by an unthinkable natural disaster that has affected the country. The country's infrastructure is in shambles and it is estimated that there are 22,000 dead with 41,000 missing. In the midst of the rice shortages that South Asia is experiencing, the most productive agricultural lands and crops of Burma have also been destroyed. It will take an estimated two years for Burma to be able to produce food for its people and will need continued assistance and support throughout that time. As a member of the international community, it is in the best interest to provide humanitarian services and aid to those in need in Burma. The United States must offer its full support and continued aid in restoring the country's self-sufficient agricultural sector to reduce the strain on food shortages in the entire region. It is imperative to cultivate harmonious relations between the United States government and that of Burma to help facilitate the mission of international peace. I believe that it is crucial that the United States government express its heartfelt sympathy and support to the people of Burma in the wake of this terrible disaster. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and to further their efforts to ensuring the complete restoration of the well-being of Burma.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1134, supporting the goals and ideals of Mental Health Month. I would first like to thank my distinguished colleague, Representative Grace Napolitano of California, for introducing this important legislation. This legislation designates the month of May to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of mental wellness for all. The mental health and well-being of Americans is a critical issue that affects not only the quality of life, but also the health of our communities and our economic stability. Since the turn of this century, thanks in large measure to research- based public health innovations, the lifespan of the average American has nearly doubled. Today, our Nation's physical health has never been better. Moreover, illnesses of the body once shrouded in fear--such as cancer, epilepsy, and HIV/AIDS to name a few--increasingly are seen as treatable, survivable, even curable ailments. Yet, despite unprecedented knowledge gained in just the past three decades about the brain and human behavior, mental health is often an afterthought and illnesses of the mind remain shrouded in fear and misunderstanding. Much remains to be learned about the causes, treatment, and prevention of mental and behavioral disorders. Obstacles that may limit the availability or accessibility of mental health services for some Americans are being dismantled, but disparities persist. Still, thanks to research and the experiences of millions of individuals who have a mental disorder, their family members, and other advocates, the Nation has the power today to tear down the most formidable obstacle to future progress in the arena of mental illness and health. That obstacle is stigma. Stigmatization of mental illness is an excuse for inaction and discrimination that is inexcusably outmoded in 1999. The burden of mental illness on health and productivity in the United States and throughout the world has long been profoundly underestimated. Data developed by the massive Global Burden of Disease study, conducted by the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and Harvard University, reveal that mental illness, including suicide, ranks second in the burden of disease in established market economies, such as the United States. Mental illness emerged from the Global Burden of Disease study as a surprisingly significant contributor to the burden of disease. Mental illness is the term that refers collectively to all diagnosable mental disorders. Mental disorders are health conditions that are characterized by alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior-- or some combination thereof--associated with distress and/or impaired functioning. Alzheimer's disease exemplifies a mental disorder largely marked by alterations in thinking, especially forgetting. Depression exemplifies a mental disorder largely marked by alterations in mood. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder exemplifies a mental disorder largely marked by alterations in behavior, over activity, and/or thinking, inability to concentrate. Alterations in thinking, mood, or behavior contribute to a host of problems--patient distress, impaired functioning, or heightened risk of death, pain, disability, or loss of freedom. Suicide is a major, preventable public health problem. In 2004, it was the eleventh leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for 32,439 deaths. The overall rate was 10.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. An estimated eight to 25 attempted suicides occur per every suicide death. Suicidal behavior is complex. Some risk factors vary with age, gender, or ethnic group and may occur in combination or change over time. Older Americans are disproportionately likely to die by suicide. Of every 100,000 people ages 65 and older, 14.3 died by suicide in 2004. This figure is higher than the national average of 10.9 suicides per 100,000 people in the general population. Non- Hispanic white men age 85 or older had an even higher rate, with 17.8 suicide deaths per 100,000. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are very high among veterans from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to suicide rates even higher than combat deaths. Since October 2001 in Iraq and Afghanistan wars fought about 1.6 million U.S. soldiers, about 4500 of them died, according to Defense Department. The Rand study has found that 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or depression, but only half of them get treatment. Comparing these figures it becomes clear that troops suffer from post- traumatic stress disorder complications more than from actual war. Soldiers with combat traumas are more likely to suffer from post- traumatic stress disorder. Of these troops 53 percent have received mental care during the last few years, but Rand report says that half of them did not receive adequate care. This is one of leading causes leading to depression development in veterans. There are currently 300,000 soldiers suffering from mental illnesses and they need new innovative treatment for depression or PTSD treatment. Mr. Speaker, I support the goals and ideals of Mental Health Month in order to emphasize scientific facts and findings regarding mental health and to remove the stigma associated. I recognize that mental well-being is equally as important as physical well-being for our citizens, our communities, our businesses, our economy, and our Nation. I encourage all organizations and health practitioners to use Mental Health Month as an opportunity to promote mental well-being and awareness, ensure access to appropriate services, and support overall quality of life for those with mental illness.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5916, the Security Assistance and Arms Export Control Reform Act of 2008, introduced by my colleague Mr. Berman. I would like to thank the chairman for his leadership on this important legislation, which will make important reforms to U.S. arms exports. I would also like to thank the chairman and the committee staff for working with me to incorporate two important amendments that I offered to this bill, both of which will encourage respect of basic standards of human rights in countries receiving security assistance and arms exports. I believe that these two amendments improve this legislation by taking steps to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not being used to arm governments contributing to or engaging in massive violations of human rights, including genocide. My first amendment, which will be inserted as section 406 of this legislation, states that ``It is the sense of Congress that the United States should not provide security assistance or arms exports to nations contributing to massive, widespread, and systematic violations of human rights or acts of genocide, particularly with respect to Darfur, Sudan.'' This Congress has already taken remarkable strides to condemn the genocide in Sudan, now entering its fifth year, and to work to ensure that the people of this Nation are not unwittingly supporting these human rights abuses. My amendment reaffirms that it is the sense of Congress that violations of this nature, which are gross, widespread, and systematic, are a serious issue, and that the United States should not be providing security assistance to countries that are contributing to such abuses. In addition, I offered a second amendment, which would also serve to reinforce the respect for basic human rights under this act. Section 103 of this legislation requires a ``comprehensive and systematic review and assessment'' of the U.S. arms export controls system by the President, to be completed not later than March 31, 2009, and sets forth a number of elements that such a review must contain. My second amendment adds an additional element to this report. It states that the President's report must also: ``(F) assess the extent to which export control policies and practices under the Arms Export Control Act promote the protection of basic human rights.'' This language will ensure that Congress will remain apprised of the implications of U.S. security assistance and arms exports on basic human rights. Through the inclusion of this amendment, we will ensure that Congress has all the information it needs to fully understand the impact of our security assistance. Because this amendment only requires an assessment of current human rights practices, it does not run the risk of restricting assistance to nations that, like Liberia, have a poor history of human rights but now, under new leadership, have made important strides toward respect of basic human freedoms. Mr. Speaker, I believe that a nation's human rights record should be one element that the United States uses when determining whether security assistance or arms trade will be extended to that nation. My two amendments to this legislation seek to ensure that the United States is not arming governments that are contributing to or committing the grossest violations of human rights, like genocide, and to collect information on how our security assistance policies are affecting human rights in nations to which we are providing arms. Mr. Speaker, the legislation, H.R. 5916, we are considering today includes a number of important provisions which will strengthen and reform U.S. security assistance and the defense trade licensing and review process. Congress has jurisdiction over oversight of both the U.S. arms export control process and individual sales, under the Arms Export Control Act, while the Department of State has primary responsibility to ensure that arms exports are in line with U.S. foreign policy and security objectives. Unfortunately, the State Department arms export process has broken down, and there is now an accumulated backlog of approximately 10,000 unprocessed applications for arms export license. Due to mismanagement and an underallocation of resources, the State Department process has proven dysfunctional. This legislation contains a number of important provisions which will alleviate this serious and ongoing problem. It sets up a strategic review, to be conducted by the President, to determine the effectiveness of the current export control regime, and to make improvements where necessary, including in the efficiency in export licensing. Further, it establishes performance goals for the export licensing process, ensuring adequate staffing, flexibility in use of exporter annual registration fees for administrative purposes, regular Inspector General audits, and regular review of items for inclusion/ deletion from the U.S. Munitions List. Finally, this legislation authorizes a special up-front licensing regime for spares and components for weapons systems previously sold to U.S. allies, and increasing licensing process transparency measures to facilitate Congressional oversight. In addition to these important provisions, this legislation will strengthen vital security relationships with a number of U.S. allies. It adds South Korea to a list of countries already receiving expedited Congressional review, including NATO nations, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. This move recognizes the critical importance of South Korea to U.S. security and regional stability, and it is a significant symbolic move. This legislation also extends the same recognition to Israel, and it authorizes the initial phase-in of the Foreign Military Financing formula agreed on by the United States and Israel last year. Further, this legislation requires the administration to empirically assess, on an ongoing basis, the State of Israel's Qualitative Military Edge against conventional or non-conventional security threats. This provision codifies a principle that has been stated by every President since Lyndon Johnson, and requires the administration to provide an assessment to Congress every 4 years, to be used in reviewing arms exports to other Middle Eastern countries. These provisions continue U.S. assistance to Israel, and they provide for increased congressional oversight of this assistance. Mr. Speaker, this legislation also allows for a waiver of Section 102 (b) of the Arms Export Control Act, commonly known as the Glenn Amendment, in the case of the North Korea nuclear program. The Glenn amendment, adopted in 1994, prohibits all U.S. economic and military assistance to any state that carries out a nuclear explosion and that is, under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, defined as a non- nuclear weapon state. In light of the nuclear disablement and dismantlement activities agreed to in the Six-Party Talks, this waiver will grant the administration the ability to request appropriations directly to the Department of Energy for these activities, rather than its current practice of channeling such assistance through the State Department's Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund, which has other high-priority demands on its funding and personnel. I support this provision because I believe that it is in the vital national security interest of the United States to continue to disable and hopefully remove North Korea's means to make more nuclear weapons, weapons or material that may be used against our interests or even transferred to other states. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I support a provision in Title V of this legislation, which will grant to the government of Pakistan naval vessels, including the Oliver Hazard Perry class guided missile frigate McInerney (FFG-8). I believe that the continuation of U.S. assistance to Pakistan is particularly vital at this moment, following the February 2008 Pakistani elections in which two main opposition parties won a majority of seats. At this crucial time for the new Pakistani Government, I believe that the continuation of U.S. assistance is vital if we are to see crucial reforms and ongoing strides in the global fight against terrorism. Mr. Speaker, this legislation will strengthen and reform the process of U.S. security assistance and arms exports. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in offering my deepest sympathy and that of the constituents of the 18th Congressional District to the people of Mainland China, the People's Republic of China, for the enormous tragedy that they are now facing. There are 12,000 expected dead and more, some 19,000 still buried. And what has been the singular tragedy is innocent children sitting in their classroom seats and having a building collapse upon them. We are told that if this earthquake had occurred in the United States, it would range from Maine to Arizona. We can imagine the enormity of this tragic situation. I would hope that the United States is moving quickly to be of assistance and that we will keep the people of China, the People's Republic of China, in our thoughts. And as we offer them our prayers and thoughts, let us be reminded of those in the United States who suffered through the terrible tornadoes that our country has been experiencing over a period of time. I hope we will keep all in our prayers.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of H.R. 5834, the North Korean Human Rights Reauthorization Act of 2008, introduced by my colleague Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen. I believe that this legislation makes important improvements to the North Korean Human Rights Act, passed in 2004. Mr. Speaker, between 1994 and 1998, about 2.5 million people died during a period of famine in North Korea. During this period, large numbers of North Koreans began crossing the border to China in search of refuge. At current count, the U.S. State Department estimates some 30,000-50,000 North Korean refugees currently live in China, while some non-governmental organizations put this figure as high as 300,000. Also according to the State Department, those North Koreans who are repatriated face harsh punishments, ranging from forced labor to execution. Despite China's obligations under international refugee law, China continues to view North Koreans resident in China as economic migrants rather than political refugees, and, on this basis, refuses to grant U.N. agencies, including the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), access to these populations. Also because of its refusal to recognize North Koreans as refugees, China has argued that, under a bilateral 1986 repatriation agreement with North Korea, it must return all border crossers. While at times this bilateral agreement has, in practice, been ignored, The government of China is actively locating and deporting border-crossers back to North Korea. The practice of returning North Koreans who have fled to China is particularly worrisome, because, under the North Korean judicial system, to leave the country without state permission is considered as an act of treason. North Koreans who flee to neighboring nations, including China, face a high risk of execution should they ever return. Mr. Speaker, North Korea is an extremely closed society, and millions of North Koreans live in desperate conditions. The regime is classified by Human Rights Watch as being ``among the world's most repressive.'' The government controls virtually all aspects of life, and political, economic, and religious freedoms are nonexistent. Without guarantees of due process and fair trials, citizens live in fear of arbitrary arrest, and of torture and execution by the state. The state controls all access to information, utilizing their control of the media to manipulate the population. Following the famine of 1994-1998, food shortages persist, and many residents are to this day suffering from hunger. Large numbers of North Koreans have fled these conditions, a significant percentage of which would likely fit the legal definition of refugees. The percentage of these refugees who are women is strikingly high, with recent estimates putting the figure potentially as high as 75%, an enormous increase from an estimated 20% only four to five years ago, though the reasons for this trend are unclear. Female refugees throughout the world face specific challenges, and, in China, any children born to North Korean women face an extremely uncertain future. In 2004, Congress passed the North Korea Human Rights Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, in an effort to refocus U.S. attention on the people of North Korea. This legislation provided humanitarian assistance to the North Korean people, as well as improved access to information through radio broadcasts and other activities and resources to help refugees fleeing the oppressive regime. This legislation also required the President to appoint a special envoy on North Korea. This legislation that we are considering reauthorizes this important bill, extending the North Korean Human Rights Act through fiscal year 2012. This doubles the original funding authorization for human rights and democracy programs enhancing the role of the special envoy position, making it a full-time ambassadorial rank post. I believe that this bill makes necessary improvements upon the original North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004. I am a tireless advocate for human rights worldwide as my continual involvement in promoting human rights for countries such as Syria, Iran, Sudan, and Vietnam is a testament of my dedication towards human rights. I believe those fleeing North Korea should be provided with vital support and aid by the United States Government. Mr. Speaker, this legislation makes an important statement about Congress's commitment in addressing violations of human rights, wherever they occur. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation in giving these people hope in humanity.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in 2007, Texas ranked fourth behind California, Florida and Illinois in pre-foreclosures. We're reminded of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who said we have nothing to fear but fear itself. We certainly have to face fear and to be able to respond to this collapse in mortgages and our economic markets, by resolve and not fear. And so this is not a bailout. It's a helping hand. It's what Franklin Delano Roosevelt did to restore this country, and it worked. We survived. And so this tells us that we can survive, providing $10 billion in low-income tax credits for low-income homeowners and to also build rental properties. We also give a $7,500 tax credit for first time home buyers and a $700 tax credit for those who are paying property taxes. And it does fix the GSEs. It does provide an opportunity to get us out of this mortgage foreclosure hold, but it does it in the right way. It's not scandalous. It's not illegal. It allows us to be able to have the mortgage owner sell it back to FHA at a lower price; the lower mortgage is then backed by FHA, and it isn't a gimmick. It's not a flipover. Any profit made by the homeowner comes back to the government if the property is later sold. And we protect our disabled veterans, those who have fallen upon hard times. They can still be in the program even if they are in bankruptcy. Mr. Speaker, this bill responds to the homeless and the helpless. What it does say is those who are living from hand-to-hand, who are living in their parents' homes, who have been thrown out of their home, who have been thrown out because they're in rental property, this is a fix and the life and the spirit of what America is all about. We don't believe in giving a fish. We believe in giving a fishing rod. This is an even-handed, balanced way between the House and the Senate to provide tax relief but also to be able to provide the construct and the infrastructure to get our houses back together, along with our stabilization bill that says we're going to buy back foreclosed homes and give them to people who need them. Is there anything wrong with America rising to be higher angels and helping our fellow brothers and sisters? Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3221, the ``American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008''. This momentous legislation would jump-start the market for mortgages by establishing a true market value for the securities backed by these loans. H.R. 3221 responds directly to the current housing crisis facing this country, while providing the tools to prevent a repeat of these problems. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated in 1933, ``the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.'' We must do just that. We must move forward and that is exactly what H.R. 3221 seeks to do. This legislation will begin to repair, not bail out the economy, restoring confidence in the markets, limiting the damage to families and neighborhoods, and rejuvenating the communities with new affordable housing. Ironically, we celebrate the bailouts of yesteryear, when we believed that the power of the federal government was needed to get the country out of the Depression. Were the banking reform laws, emergency relief programs, work relief programs, and agricultural programs, the Social Security Act, and programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers--were these bailouts? Many of the New Deal programs under President Roosevelt were considered bailouts at that time. And yet, these programs brought our country out of the Depression, rejuvenated our economy, and gave hope as we sought to deal with the War overseas. Texas In 2007, Texas ranked fourth behind California, Florida, and Illinois in pre-foreclosures. Last year, Texas held the top seat for active foreclosures. H.R. 3221 helps homeowners and only homeowners, not speculators or lenders. We cannot continue to stand by as things get worse. Texas reported 13,829 properties entering some stage of foreclosure in April, a 16% increase from the previous month and the most foreclosure filings reported by any state. The state documented the Nation's third highest state combined foreclosure rate--one foreclosure filing for every 582 households. Many homeowners in my district are worried about missing their next house payment or their next home equity mortgage, or their interest rate going up. These families are under stress and in constant fear of losing their homes. While this bill should not be the last word in housing legislation, it is a great beginning. This bill coupled with H.R. 5818, the Neighborhood Stabilization Act, provides a good starting point in providing Americans with relief. Texas and what HUD is Doing In March, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced the Texas State Program and the cities of Houston and New Braunfels will receive a total of $234,868,077 to support community development and produce more affordable housing. HUD's annual funding will also provide down-payment assistance to first-time home buyers; assist individuals and families who might otherwise be living on the streets; and offer real housing solutions for individuals with HIV/ AIDS. While HUD is working to help Americans, we must all do our part. We need to pass H.R. 3221, and we need to continue to push in a bipartisan manner, legislation that will ease gas and energy costs, the rising costs of food, and the ever-rising cost of health care. We are spending billions of dollars on the war in Iraq. I support our troops but I am dismayed at how our support for a war that needs to become less military and more diplomatic in nature, has disrupted our ability to take care of things at home. Conclusion Thank you Mr. Speaker for your leadership in this area, I urge my colleagues to support American families by supporting, H.R. 3221. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1175, the Rule Providing for Consideration of H.R. 3221, the ``American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008.'' I am pleased to support this much needed Housing and Urban Development legislation, to help States purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed homes to stabilize as many properties as possible. All Americans--homeowners, lenders, communities--indeed our entire economy is worse off when a foreclosure occurs and when significant quantities of homes are foreclosed in a short amount of time. H.R. 3221 responds directly to the current crisis facing middle class Americans while providing the tools to prevent a repeat of these problems. Modernizing the FHA and reforming the Government Sponsored Entities, GSEs, will provide crucial liquidity to our mortgage markets now, and also strengthen regulation and oversight for the future. This legislation will begin to repair not bailout the economy, restoring confidence in the markets, limiting the damage to families and neighborhoods, and rejuvenating the communities with new affordable housing. Texas There are five steps in the foreclosure process: Step 1: delinquency; Step 2: Notice to cure, where the lender notifies borrower of delinquency and gives him 20 days to amend the problem; Step 3: Default notice and posting--in Texas, foreclosure sales occur on the first Tuesday of the month; Step 4: Foreclosure sale--if borrower is unable to cure default, the property is sold; and Step 5: Active foreclosure. While there are five steps there are only two stages: Preforeclosure and active foreclosure. In looking at those two stages we see where Texas stands. Last year, Texas ranks fourth behind California, Florida, and Illinois in preforeclosures. Active foreclosures are foreclosed properties sold at auction and now in the lenders' real estate owned accounts. Texas held the top seat in 2007 for active foreclosures. While being number one is something Texans usually strive for, in this case we'd prefer to be much farther down the list. Texas reported 13,829 properties entering some stage of foreclosure in April, a 16 percent increase from the previous month and the most foreclosure filings reported by any State. The State documented the Nation's third highest State combined foreclosure rate--one foreclosure filing for every 582 households. Dallas County documented the most new foreclosure filings of any county in the region and a foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 320 households, an 18 percent increase from the previous month. Texas and what HUD is Doing In March, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, announced the Texas State Program and the cities of Houston and New Braunfels will receive a total of $234,868,077 to support community development and produce more affordable housing. HUD's annual funding will also provide downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers; assist individuals and families who might otherwise be living on the streets; and offer real housing solutions for individuals with HIV/ AIDS. The funding announced includes: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds; HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) funding; American Dream Down payment assistance; Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG); and, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). Amendment I Title I--The FHA Housing Stabilization and Homeownership Retention Act--Creates a voluntary FHA program to provide mortgage refinancing assistance to allow families to stay in their homes, protect neighborhoods, and help stabilize the housing market. Program--if the current lender agrees to take a substantial write down on the existing mortgage, the FHA lender will pay off the current lender and issue to the borrower a new FHA-insured mortgage at that lower amount. Profit-sharing--to help defray the Government's costs and prevent unjust enrichment, e.g., borrower flipping, will require the borrower to share with the Government a substantial portion of any profits from selling or refinancing the house. No speculators--only owner-occupied primary residences will qualify for the program, which also contains protections to exclude persons who have committed mortgage fraud. Risk reduction--to further protect the Government: The FHA will charge higher fees to build up a loss reserve; the new FHA loan will substantially reduce the borrower's monthly payments, thus reducing default and foreclosure risk; and in addition to other underwriting requirements, riskier borrowers must make at least 6 months of payments at the new rate before closing on the new FHA mortgage. Sunset--program expires in 2 years (with possible 6-month extensions not to exceed 2 years). Additional provisions--creates an Office of Housing Counseling within HUD and authorizes additional FBI and DOJ funds to combat mortgage fraud. Title II--FHA Modernization Loan limits--makes permanent the temporary FHA loan limit increases in the economic stimulus bill, setting FHA limits at the lower of (a) 125 percent of the local area median home price, or (b) 175 percent of the nationwide GSE conforming limit. Fee protections for lower income and lower credit borrowers--directs HUD to serve borrowers with slightly higher credit risk, raises fees to cover the additional risk, and provides for a refund if borrower makes 5 years of on-time payments. Reverse mortgages--expands FHA reverse mortgage loan program by authorizing a nationwide loan limit equal to 132 percent of the current GSE conforming loan limit; capping and reducing loan origination fees; and adding consumer protections. FHA personal property manufactured home loans--modernizes and rejuvenates the FHA manufactured loan program for personal property manufactured homes. FHA condo and manufactured home loans--makes changes to rules to make these loans more flexible, while retaining basic underwriting protections. Maximum FHA loan term--extends the maximum FHA term from 35 to 40 years. Integrity of appraisals--strengthens protections against inflated appraisals, authorizing penalties on parties to FHA loans who improperly try to influence appraisal values. Borrowers lacking sufficient credit history--creates a pilot program for credit-worthy borrowers that lack a credit history through the normal credit reporting process. Downpayment simplification--Simplifies the basic FHA downpayment calculation, while generally preserving the current FHA loan to value, LTV, levels. Foreclosed FHA multifamily properties--preserves the affordability of such properties, by requiring FHA to use accurate appraisals reflecting the cost of rehabilitating the units. Title III--Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) Reform Includes the House-passed bill to reform prudential and mission oversight of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks (the ``GSEs''). Strong independent regulator--brings GSEs under a single independent regulator with broad safety and soundness powers, including conservatorship and receivership authority. Enhanced housing mission--enhances Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's housing mission through improvements in targeting of their affordable housing goals and duties in underserved markets. New affordable housing fund--establishes a new affordable housing fund modeled on the Affordable Housing Programs of the Federal Home Loan Banks. Increased loan limits--makes permanent the increases in conforming loan limits included in the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Limits in high cost areas would be set based on area, rather than national prices, with conforming loan limits for each area set at 125 percent of the local area median, capped at 175 percent of the national median. Title IV--Castle/Kanjorski Facilitation of Loan Modifications H.R. 5579, The Emergency Loan Modification Act of 2008, adopted by the Financial Services Committee on April 23, 2008: Provides clarity for servicers, consistent with existing servicing contracts, about their duties when making loan modifications for troubled mortgages. Provides protection from investor lawsuits to servicers who make specified long-term loan modifications. Does not limit other loss mitigation efforts by servicers, and does not prevent borrowers from pursuing claims against lenders, services, or others involved in the mortgage process. Title V--Miscellaneous Housing Provisions Protecting disabled veterans in bankruptcy from discrimination-- ensures that a governmental unit that has a mortgage loan program may not deny a disabled veteran the benefits of such program because the veteran is or was a bankruptcy debtor. The Bankruptcy Code currently prohibits various forms of discrimination against bankruptcy debtors by governmental units and others, including a denial of a student grant, loan, loan guarantee, or loan insurance to someone because he or she is or was a bankruptcy debtor. Public welfare investments--the bill broadens the types of permissible public welfare investments for national and state member banks, restoring the pre-2006 standard for eligible types of affordable housing and community and economic development investments. It also grants thrifts similar authority to make public welfare investments of up to 15 percent of their capital and surplus. Amendment 3 Brad Miller-LaTourette Amendment--affirms the right of States to prevent abusive foreclosure practices and to establish rules concerning the foreclosure process by clarifying that this Act, the National Bank Act and the Home Owner's Loan Act do not preempt State laws regulating the foreclosure of residential real property or the treatment of foreclosed property. Conclusion Thank you, Madam Speaker, for your leadership in this area, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1175 providing for consideration of H.R. 3221.

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?

Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Madam Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.