Jesse Jackson

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in strong support of the gentlewoman's generosity in supporting the Payne amendment. I want to just share with the full committee some of the views of the members of the subcommittee, because I think their views need to be taken into account. While we overwhelmingly support the gentleman's amendment for an increase in $50 million, the offset does have the effect, Mr. Payne, of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The committee worked very hard to increase the child survival account, which is another health care account that includes maternal health, that includes malaria accounts, and we worked very hard to increase the ESF account, which does impact profoundly sub-Saharan Africa, Afro- Colombian programs, and Israel and Egypt. And while these funds are extremely important, the subcommittee did the best that it could in the original mark to increase funding for tuberculosis, particularly the extremely drug-resistant strands of tuberculosis. So I rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment, and I also rise in strong support of the committee's initial mark, which did everything it could within its power to increase child survival and ESF funds.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to how much time exists on both sides, please.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, the language in the bill provides the President flexibility, not mandates. The gentleman's amendment seems to be more interested in bean-counting than saving and treating those with HIV/AIDS. Is it more important to make sure that 33 cents out of every dollar, according to the gentleman's amendment, go to abstinence or that we give the President some flexibility if, that is if, he needs it? We all know that HIV/AIDS prevention programs must be targeted to the group that we are seeking to influence and when abstinence programs may be appropriate for some groups, including the very young. I want to raise to my colleagues' attention that the underlying language in the bill that provides flexibility enjoys broad support from groups that are working on the ground. I have a letter from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatrics AIDS Foundation urging a ``no'' vote on the Pitts amendment. I have a letter from CARE, one of the world's leading NGOs providing AIDS care and prevention services, urging a ``no'' vote on the Pitts amendment. I have a letter from the General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church urging a ``no'' vote on the Pitts amendment. I urge my colleagues and their counsel and to vote ``no'' on the Pitts amendment. In fact, Mr. Chairman, I would like to quote the distinguished ranking Republican member who said this on the floor last night: ``I believe this bill has the potential to do a lot of good, and I want to say that this bill will help save a lot of lives not only here but around the world. This is the work of the Lord. And I know Members are going to come down here and they're going to be against this bill. And I hope that we can change some of the things to prevent a veto, but this bill eventually when it passes, and it will pass, assuming it will be vetoed, is really about feeding the poor, the hungry, the naked and the sick. Almost a better title would be the Matthew 25 bill. So it has the potential to do a lot of good and I hope to work with the chairwoman to ensure the State Department has what it needs to do these things.'' Matthew 25 is very clear, Mr. Chairman: Then the king will say to those on his right, ``Come you who are blessed by my father, take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came after me.'' Then the righteous will answer him, ``Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see a stranger and invite you in? Or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison or did we go visit you?'' The king will reply, ``I will tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it unto me.'' Mr. Chairman, the people need medicine, not self-righteousness. Reject the Pitts amendment.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I offer a unanimous consent request to give the gentleman an additional minute.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I'd like to offer a unanimous consent request to yield the gentleman an additional minute on both sides, and if the gentleman will accept my UC, to yield a minute.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I asked a unanimous consent request to yield both sides an additional minute in the debate.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. If the gentleman would be so kind as to yield.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Would the gentleman please share with the committee the specific provision in Ms. Lowey's amendment that says funds are being used for this purpose, the specific provision.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. If the gentleman would continue to yield. I'm asking specifically about the language in the statute that the gentlelady is advancing in her amendment. Could you show us the specific language in the statute, the recommended statute?

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I have a parliamentary inquiry about the remaining time on both sides.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Specifically, Mr. Chairman, under my unanimous consent request, an additional minute was given to their side and an additional minute to our side, and I wanted to make sure that the additional minute has been calculated in the remaining time.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the Chairman.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the ranking member for yielding. I think that clearly the ranking member is one of the extraordinary Members of this Congress, who has enormous credibility across a wide range of issues. But I think, given that the ranking member's arguments in committee are so substantive and so sound, I want to make it clear, at least for Members, about the context of the debate. And if the chairman would correct me if I'm wrong. Many of the NGOs that we are talking about are also the same NGOs that provide primary care in many of these villages for which the language is directed. If we provide them with Child Survival funds, are these medicines fungible for the same NGOs? In many of these villages in the Third World, it's not that there are three or four doctors in the village, it's the same doctor. There is a shortage of doctors and nurses. It's the same doctors being sponsored by the same NGOs on the ground in these villages. They're either providing primary care, preventive care, making recommendations to people within the village on how they should behave and/or what are necessary to address their primary care issues. If we provide them with AIDS treatments, are those same AIDS treatments fungible? And how is it that we can sit here and argue, at least from Washington, a different reality that is taking place on the ground where these issues are taking place? If the chairman would respond. I ask for the committee's indulgence.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. I don't plan to use all of the 2 minutes. This amendment jeopardizes greatly the national security of the United States. It devastates program increases in key diplomatic functions that the Secretary of State has requested, in particular in the State Department. This bill is already $700 million below the President of the United States' request. And for the gentleman to offer an amendment to cut this bill $2.9 billion across the board has profound implications for the committee product. I would encourage Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to reject this amendment.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. While talking about how we arrived at this deficit for new Members who are joining the body can be long and drawn out, but the number of tax decreases that we have voted on in this Congress under their leadership which greatly contributed to the enormous deficit that we presently confront, it would require several hours of discussion and probably pull some scabs off of some wounds that aren't worthy of discussion. I do want to talk about the implications, however, of this particular cut on this bill. This bill is already $700 million beneath the President's request. The last I checked, the President of the United States is not from the majority party. The President of the United States is from the minority party. He is already suggesting that the bill itself is beneath the funding levels that he is requesting for the national security of the United States. But don't believe me. Believe the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Wolf, who said last night that he believes this is a good bill, that this bill has the potential to do a lot of good. I quote him: ``And I want to say that this bill will help save a lot of lives, not only here but around the world. This is the work of the Lord. And I know Members are going to come down here, and here they come, and they are going to be against this bill. And I hope that we can change some of the things to prevent a veto. But this bill eventually, when it passes,'' as the ranking member said, ``assuming it will be vetoed, is really about feeding the poor, about the hungry, the naked and the sick. Almost a better title would be the Matthew 25 bill. So it is has the potential to do a lot of good, and I hope to work with Chairwoman Lowey to ensure that the State Department has what it needs to do these things, the war on terror, to provide humanitarian assistance to the most needy, and to improve human rights around the world.'' And the gentleman offers a cut to the ranking member's acknowledgment of how important this product is. So, Mr. Chairman, if this is the Matthew 25 bill, according to Matthew 25, which I repeated earlier, and these gentleman who obviously have come down here at the 11th hour to message on this bill, they missed this part of the statement when I read it earlier, but I will be happy to read it again: Then the king will say to those on the right: ``Come you who are blessed by my father. Take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.'' Then the righteous will answer him: ``Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in? Or needing clothes to clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison go to visit you?'' The king will reply: ``I tell you, whatever you have done for the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me.'' Reject the gentleman's amendment. The gentleman's amendment goes to the heart of this bill, which is designed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and liberate the captive.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise to voice my strong support for H.R. 2764, The State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations bill. I can think of few things we do on an annual basis that are more important and crucial to the success of U.S. foreign policy than passing this bill. I would be remiss if I did not begin my comments by thanking the chairwoman, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the first woman to chair this subcommittee and, in a very short time already, its most extraordinary chairman. I also want to thank Ranking Member Wolf and the majority and minority subcommittee staff for helping to produce a great bill. Despite the fact that the allocation for this bill is $700 million below the President's request, this is a well-written, well-measured bill, taking into account the concerns of both the majority and the minority. However, I am worried about the amendments I have seen that want to cut some of the vital programs in this bill in the name of fiscal discipline. I am worried, Mr. Chairman, because yesterday around the world nearly 15,000 to 20,000 people died of extreme poverty. Today around the world 15,000 to 20,000 people will die of extreme poverty. Tomorrow around the world 15,000 to 20,000 people will die of extreme poverty. Extreme poverty like malnutrition and disease are claiming tens of thousands of lives every day. This bill has a real opportunity to reverse these facts. Look at what has been done to date with our foreign aid bill. Smallpox eradication began in the 1960s; control of river blindness in the 1970s; increased child immunizations in the 1980s; initiatives to fight Guinea worm, trachoma, and leprosy in the 1990s; and the effort to end polio in this decade. Measurable results produced with the dollars in this bill. Mr. Chairman, let me point out some of the highlights of this measure. This bill before us today makes significant improvements in our aid package to Colombia, especially for Afro-Colombians, by emphasizing alternative development and rule of law, programs that work. This bill, Mr. Chairman, provides increases for both our multilateral and bilateral peacekeeping obligations. These funds will provide security for trouble spots like the Darfur region of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This bill provides increases for global health programs that fight the scourge of HIV, TB, and malaria. This bill provides increases for development assistance programs. Some of these funds are educating children and providing clean drinking water and sanitation around the world. The increases in this bill are the least we can do. I don't understand why some Members plan to offer amendments that cut some of the increases in key development programs, tearing apart the majority party as tax and spenders. Our former colleague from Illinois, my friend John Porter, used the term ``noblesse oblige,'' the belief that the wealthy and the privileged are obliged to help those who are less fortunate. In Luke chapter 12, verse 48, Jesus simply says, ``To whom much is given, much is expected.'' In Matthew chapter 6, verse 21, Jesus said, ``For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'' If this verse is true, what does it say about these amendments that want to cut these crucial programs that are improving millions of lives around the world? I have a master's degree in theology from the Chicago Theological Seminary, and I have read my Bible from cover to cover. And nowhere does it say, ``only clothe the naked and feed the poor after you have cut taxes for very wealthy people.'' In 1984, referring to Marxist-ruled Ethiopia, President Ronald Reagan said, ``A hungry child knows no politics.'' All he knows is that he is hungry. I urge my colleagues to vote for H.R. 2764, the State, Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. I hope that Democrats and Republicans will rally behind an extraordinary product created by the chairman of this committee, the ranking member of this committee, and the extraordinary Foreign Operations staff.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, let me first thank my friend from Georgia (Mr. Bishop) for his remarks and for his leadership in bringing this topic to the attention of our colleagues. I would also like to recognize the timeliness of his comments, as National HIV Testing Day is on June 27. The gravity of this issue cannot be understated, and I hope to work with Mr. Bishop and lend my support to address the veterans who suffer from this interminable disease. Chicago is the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in Illinois. Roughly 70 percent of reported AIDS cases in the State are in Chicago. Minorities account for approximately 69 percent of the city's total population, but represent 81 percent recently diagnosed AIDS cases. Minorities constitute 20 percent of veterans in Illinois; yet the trend of HIV/ AIDS among the State population and the higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS among veterans in general demonstrates minority veterans are disproportionately affected by this disease. HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact on veterans across the country. Combating the spread of this disease through testing and education is not only important to our communities, but vital for the health of all Americans. I want to thank the chairman for yielding me the time and thank Mr. Bishop for his leadership.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2025, naming a post office building in the Roseland community of Chicago, Illinois, as the Willye B. White Post Office Building. Willye B. White was born to run. She was a five-time Olympic track and field athlete from Money, Mississippi. She was the best female long jumper of the time. She made Chicago her home in 1960 until her untimely death in February, 2007. She wasn't a household name, but she should have been, especially if your household happens to be one of the millions that includes a female athlete. Or an athlete of color. Or a once or future Olympian. She was better known for her actions than her name, better known for her deeds than her medals. At 16, she competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games and became the first American woman to ever medal in the long jump, earning a silver medal. She participated in the next four Olympiads as well, and is the first American to compete on five Olympic track and field teams. She won another silver medal in the 1964 Tokyo Games in the 4-by-100- meter relay. Ms. White competed in more than 150 nations as a member of 39 different international track and field teams. Over the years, White remained active in the field of sports. She represented track and field on the U.S. Olympic Committee, coached athletes in the National Sports Festival in 1979 and 1981, coached and managed at the 1981 World Cup Track and Field Championship Games in Brussels and Rome, and served as the head coach for the 1994 Olympic Sports Festival. Born on December 31, 1939, in Money, Mississippi, and raised by her grandparents, White discovered her talent for running and jumping at age 10. In 1959, White graduated from Broad Street High School in Greenwood, Mississippi, the same year she set an American record for the long jump, which stood for 6 years. Breaking loose from the poverty of the racially segregated delta, she attended Tennessee State from 1959 to 1962, and achieved national acclaim with the Tigerbelle team that produced Wilma Rudolph. She moved to Chicago in 1960 and began working as a nurse in 1963, first at Chicago's Cook County Hospital and then at the Greenwood Medical Center. In 1965, White became a public health administrator at the Chicago Health Department. She graduated with a B.A. in public health administration from Chicago State University in 1976. White was one of 21 people on President Ford's Commission on Olympic Sports, a panel that restructured the U.S. Olympic movement. She lobbied extensively for Title IX and raised money for the Women's Sports Foundation. She worked for nearly four decades for the City of Chicago, devoting much of her time to children's recreation and creating sports programs for girls. In 1990, White found WBW Hang on Productions, a sports and fitness consultancy. A year later, she founded the Willye B. White Foundation helping children develop self-esteem and become productive citizens through such initiatives as the Robert Taylor Girls Athletic Program. This program taught sports and teamwork to children living in the Nation's largest housing project and provided summer day camp and health care in the form of immunizations and dental and medical checkups. White was the first American to win the world's highest sportsmanship award, the UNESCO Pierre de Coubertin International Fair Play Trophy. She is a member of 11 sports halls of fame, including the National Association of Sport and Physical Education, Black Sports, Women's Sports Foundation, and National Track and Field. She was chosen by Sports Illustrated for Women in 1999 as one of the 100 greatest athletes of the century and by Ebony in 2002 as one of the 10 greatest black female athletes. Ms. White passed away from pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, February 6, 2007. It is with great pleasure that the U.S. House of Representatives acknowledges Willye B. White not only for her outstanding athletic abilities, but for her tireless service to the community and to the young girls on the South Side of Chicago, indeed young women everywhere. Finally, I would like to thank my staff, especially my legislative assistant, Ms. Megan Moore, for her hard work on this bill.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman asked for a unanimous consent request. The minority rejected it, and now I understand that the Clerk continued the reading, and I get the impression that we are moving to a vote. My inquiry is, because the unanimous consent request was brought up under unanimous consent and there was an objection, isn't that the end of it? That is my parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. So we're moving to a vote now on the amendment that was objected to brought up under unanimous consent. I'm asking for an inquiry. If the Speaker would kindly just explain to me what process we're in.

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. I thank the Speaker. So we're voting on the Thompson amendment.