Stephanie Jones

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, another opportunity to be here on the floor on Monday night during the Congressional Black Caucus message hour, and you are in the chair. What a privilege. I rise tonight, Madam Speaker, during this message hour to pause to address an ongoing crisis in Darfur. For many years now we have seen the devastating atrocities taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan. With the support of the Sudanese Government, the janjaweed militia has ravaged the people of Darfur, raping, torturing, murdering and forcing hundreds of thousands of Darfuris to flee to refugee camps in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. We saw the same devastation in Rwanda over a decade ago; and the American people have made their voices heard on this issue, vowing never again to remain silent when humanity is threatened. The Congressional Black Caucus has been a leader on this issue. I, along with many of my Congressional Black Caucus colleagues, were some of the first Members of Congress to speak out about this issue. We have been to the Sudanese embassy to protest. Many were arrested. We have visited the region numerous times and we have repeatedly addressed this issue with President George Bush in meetings, asking him to take immediate action. Yet, once again, we come to the House floor to challenge this administration to take a stand in Darfur. Madam Speaker, today's Washington Post had this to say about our progress in Darfur: ``A year and a half later, the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed. More than two million displaced Darfuris, including hundreds of thousands in camps, have been unable to return to their homes. The perpetrators of the worst atrocities remain unpunished. Despite a renewed U.N. push, the international peacekeeping troops that Bush has long been seeking have yet to materialize. Just this weekend, peace talks in Libya aimed at ending the 4-year conflict appear to be floundering because of a boycott by key rebel groups. ``Many of those who have tracked the conflict over the years, including some in his own administration, say Bush has not matched his words with action, allowing initiatives to drop because of inertia or failure to follow up, while proving unable to mobilize either this bureaucracy or the international community.'' I continue to quote from the Washington Post: ``The President, who famously promised not to allow another Rwanda-style mass murder on his watch, has never fully chosen between those inside his government advocating more pressure on Sudan and those advocating engagement with the Islamist government. So the policy has veered from one approach to the other.'' Today, I am pleased to say that the House passed three resolutions on Darfur, which I will discuss as I come back to the microphone. I am pleased to be joined again this evening, Madam Speaker, by one of my colleagues and good friends, Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California. She has been out front, particularly on this issue. We have had an opportunity to have press conferences with several leading Hollywood- types who have really been with us on the issue. Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield such time as she may consume to the great woman from the great State of California (Ms. Lee).

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I include for the Record from today's Washington Post, October 29, 2007, this first part of the article entitled, ``U.S. Promises on Darfur Don't Match Actions'' by Michael Abramowitz. [From the Washington Post, Oct. 29, 2007] U.S. Promises on Darfur Don't Match Actions (By Michael Abramowitz) In April 2006, a small group of Darfur activists--including evangelical Christians, the representative of a Jewish group and a former Sudanese slave--was ushered into the Roosevelt Room at the White House for a private meeting with President Bush. It was the eve of a major rally on the National Mall, and the president spent more than an hour holding forth, displaying a kind of passion that has led some in the White House to dub him the ``Sudan desk officer.'' Bush insisted there must be consequences for rape and murder, and he called for international troops on the ground to protect innocent Darfuris, according to contemporaneous notes by one of those present. He spoke of ``bringing justice'' to the Janjaweed, the Arab militias that have participated in atrocities that the president has repeatedly described as nothing less than ``genocide.'' ``He had an understanding of the issue that went beyond simply responding to a briefing that had been given,'' said David Rubenstein, a participant who was then executive director of the Save Darfur Coalition, which has been sharply critical of the administration's response to the crisis. ``He knew more facts than I expected him to know, and he had a broader political perspective than I expected him to have.'' Yet a year and a half later, the situation on the ground in Darfur is little changed: More than 2 million displaced Darfuris, including hundreds of thousands in camps, have been unable to return to their homes. The perpetrators of the worst atrocities remain unpunished. Despite a renewed U.N. push, the international peacekeeping troops that Bush has long been seeking have yet to materialize. Just this weekend, peace talks in Libya aimed at ending the four-year conflict appeared to be foundering because of a boycott by key rebel groups. Many of those who have tracked the conflict over the years, including some in his own administration, say Bush has not matched his words with action, allowing initiatives to drop because of inertia or failure to follow up, while proving unable to mobilize either his bureaucracy or the international community. The president who famously promised not to allow another Rwanda-style mass murder on his watch has never fully chosen between those inside his government advocating more pressure on Sudan and those advocating engagement with its Islamist government, so the policy has veered from one approach to another. Meanwhile, a constant turnover of key administration advisers on Darfur, such as former deputy secretary of state Robert B. Zoellick and presidential aide Michael Gerson, has made it hard for the administration to maintain focus. ``Bush probably does want something done, but the lack of hands-on follow-up from this White House allowed this to drift,'' said one former State Department official involved in Darfur who did not want to be quoted by name criticizing the president. ``If he says, `There is not going to be genocide on my watch,' and then 2\1/2\ years later we are just getting tough action, what gives? He has made statements, but his administration has not given meaning to those statements.'' Since the United States became the first and only government to call the killing in Darfur genocide, Bush and his aides have grappled with how to provide security for civilians in a large, remote area in the heart of Africa. While almost everyone involved in Darfur policy agrees that an African Union peacekeeping force of just 7,000 troops is not up to the task, the United States has refused to send troops and, despite promises of reinforcements, has yet to secure many additional troops from other countries. At the same time, it has been unable to broker a diplomatic resolution that might ease the violence. Even Bush has complained privately that his hands are tied on Darfur because, with the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, he cannot be seen as ``invading another Muslim country,'' according to people who have spoken with him about the issue. ``It's impossible to keep Iraq out of this picture,'' said Edward Mortimer, who served as a top aide to then-U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and says resentment over Iraq caused many countries to not want to cooperate with the United States on Darfur. Bush advisers argue that the lack of success reflects the limitations of working through institutions such as the United Nations, NATO and the African Union. They cite the billions of dollars of U.S. relief aid that has kept millions of Sudanese alive. They say U.S. pressure has kept the issue on the world's agenda. ``If there was ever a case study where the president sees the limitations and frustrations of the multilateral organizations, it is the issue of Darfur,'' said Dan Bartlett, former White House counselor. ``Everybody for the most part can come to a consensus: Whether you call it genocide or not, we have an urgent security and humanitarian crisis on our hands. Yet these institutions cannot garner the will or ability to come together to save people.'' There is no doubt that responsibility for inaction on Darfur can be spread around. The Sudanese government has resisted cooperation at every step in the saga and has been shielded at the United Nations by China, its main international protector. Few other Western nations, with the notable exception of Britain and some Nordic countries, have shown much interest in resolving the crisis. The process of raising peacekeepers from U.N. members has proved tortuously slow. ``There's an enormous stain on the world's conscience,'' said Mitchell B. Reiss, former State Department policy planning chief. ``We collectively stood by and let it happen a decade after it happened in Rwanda.'' A President's Passion In late 2005, Bush gathered his most senior advisers to discuss what to do about Darfur. He wanted to know whether the U.S. military could send in helicopter gunships to attack the militias if they launched new attacks on the refugee camps. Could they also shoot down Sudanese military aircraft if necessary? he asked. His aides worried that the United States could get involved in another shooting war, and the president backed off. ``He wanted militant action, and people had to restrain him,'' said one senior official familiar with the episode. ``He wanted to go in and kill the Janjaweed.'' The meeting underscored both Bush's personal investment in Sudan, dating back to the beginning of his administration, and his instinct, which aides have kept in check, to take direct action. Many close to Bush believe that this intense interest in the issue was heavily influenced by American evangelicals, who have adopted the cause of Christians in southern Sudan. Even before the crisis in Darfur, in western Sudan, one of Bush's foreign policy goals was to try to end the civil war between the Muslim government in Khartoum and rebels in the south, a conflict that had lasted more than two decades and cost more than 2 million lives. Former Senator John C. Danforth (R-Mo.), whom Bush appointed as his special envoy for Sudan, said the president's interest in the country is rooted in a larger sense of morality. ``This isn't a country that has much strategic interest for the United States,'' he observed. Bush's initiative to broker a north-south deal worked. Despite difficult negotiations, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir agreed in January 2005 to a plan to share power and oil revenues with the rebels--and even gave the south the right to secede in six years if the leadership could not reconcile their differences. But by then a separate conflict had exploded in Darfur, as long-standing conflicts between African farmers and Arab herders over land, and a failure by the Khartoum government to redress local grievances, boiled over into armed rebellion. The government turned to a tactic it had employed in fighting the southern rebels: arming local Arab militias, the Janjaweed, to carry out a counterinsurgency on its behalf. The militias rampaged throughout Darfur starting in mid-2003, burning hundreds of villages, raping women and summarily executing African villagers, according to numerous human rights reports. More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since the crisis erupted, according to U.N. estimates. Some estimates place the figure as high as 450,000. Many familiar with Sudan believe that Bush and his aides initially averted their gaze to the flaring violence in Darfur because raising the issue might interfere with the difficult negotiations with Bashir. Some U.S. officials saw another reason for the reluctance to get involved: preserving a burgeoning intelligence relationship with Khartoum, which had begun sharing critical information about al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists. ``There was a tendency not to see Darfur initially for what it was,'' said Gerard Gallucci, who served in 2003 and 2004 as the top U.S. diplomat in Khartoum. It was well known among Western governments, he said, that Sudan ``was using terror to cleanse black Muslim Africans from land that they had promised the Janjaweed.'' Such claims are vigorously contested by Danforth and other Bush advisers, who say the president repeatedly warned Bashir about the consequences of sending Arab militias after defenseless civilians. Over time, Bush has become increasingly outspoken about the situation in Darfur, raising the issue with foreign leaders and meeting privately with dissidents and other little-known political players in Sudan to encourage a solution. In recent months, he has singled out Bashir for harsh condemnation, accusing him of subverting efforts to bring peace to Darfur. Meeting with the Darfur activists, Bush acknowledged that Sudan had cooperated in anti-terrorism initiatives--but he insisted that Khartoum could not ``buy off'' the United States, Rubenstein said. Last spring, when the White House worked on a new plan to try to press Sudan's government to accept international peacekeepers, it was the president himself who was the driving force in the interagency process, many officials involved the debate said. According to national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley, Bush refused to accept a program developed to confront Sudan because he was concerned that it was not tough enough. He kicked it back to the bureaucracy. ``I've had it with this incrementalism,'' Hadley quoted the president as saying in the Oval Office. ``We're going to lead, and if people don't want to follow us, they're going to have to stand up and explain why they are willing to let women continue to be raped in Darfur.'' At one point, one senior official said, Bush wanted action to crimp Sudan's booming oil business, a move that would have severely aggravated relations with China--and that no one else in the government favored. There was stunned silence in the room, the official said, when Hadley disclosed Bush's idea to other government officials. Hadley made clear he was not interested in having a discussion, but the administration never went as far as the president seemed to be demanding. Instead, Treasury officials came up with a sanctions plan aimed at tracking and squeezing key individuals and companies in the Sudanese economy, including the oil business. I want to thank the gentlewoman from California, my good friend Barbara Lee, for her leadership on so many issues. As we come to the floor tonight, I want to thank her for her work that she has done in Darfur and thank her for joining me again in this hour. As has been said previously, there were three pieces of legislation on Darfur that were voted on on the floor today, and one of those resolutions happened to be a resolution authored by my colleague and good friend Sheila Jackson-Lee from the great State of Texas. She has had many great opportunities to take the lead on some of these issues as well. I have to say she and Barbara Lee have been wonderful about helping me with this CBC message hour every week. I am happy to yield to my colleague and good friend Sheila Jackson- Lee of Houston, Texas.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I want to thank both of my colleagues for their leadership. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, all that you've done around this issue and so many other issues, thank you so much and again for joining me as we do this Congressional Black Caucus message hour. I'm so pleased today that the House passed the three resolutions on Darfur. One of them, H. Res. 573, recognizing and commending the efforts of the United States public and advocacy groups to raise awareness about and help end the worsening humanitarian crisis and genocide in Darfur, Sudan, and for other purposes. H. Res. 726, calling on the President of the United States and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad and the Central African Republic. And, finally, H. Res. 740, condemning in the strongest terms the attacks on African Union peacekeepers that occurred in Haskanita, Darfur, Sudan, on September 29, 2007. I want to reference back for a moment to the person that Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee mentioned and that was my friend from ECOWAS, and ECOWAS is an acronym for the Economic Commission of West African States, and my friend who went to Case Western Reserve Law School as I did is Dr. Muhammad Chambas. Was there something else you wanted to say about Dr. Chambas?

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. The Congresswoman is referencing H. Res. 573, and I want to add my comments to encourage the young people on the college campuses across this country. Many of us recognize in the history of the United States many of the great movements were begun by young people, by students sitting at lunch counters and just the involvement of so many young people. One of the things that people often have said about young people these days is that they're self-centered and only concerned about what's going on in their own lives. I found that not to be true, and I had the opportunity even as recently as this weekend, I happened to be in Iowa campaigning for my candidate for President. And while I was campaigning there, campaigning for Senator Clinton, I met with a group of young University of Iowa students who were complaining about the fact that nothing has happened in Darfur and that they are expecting this government to step up on their behalf. So I want to join my colleague in commending college students, as well as all of the nonprofit organizations across the world who are trying to focus a light or shine a light on what's happening in Darfur. I want to talk for a moment about the whole issue of sex crimes against women and girls in Darfur. One of the worst things to happen to a woman, and particularly a young woman, is for her to be sexually abused or raped. We recognize in this country the impact that this has had. In fact, we recognize it such that we passed the VAWA Act which is the Violence Against Women Act, to help address the issue of violence against women. When you begin to think about the fact that there are thousands of women and girls in these various refugee camps and the things that happen, all we need do is to focus on what happened with Katrina. We had people of the United States of America in a football stadium, and the stories about what happened to young women that were raped right there in Louisiana, in New Orleans, being raped. So you can imagine, if you exponentially take a look at that and see how many thousands of women and children are there, and these women venture out just to get things to help themselves and to continue to live and the fact that they would be subjected to rape and others does not make sense. I can only think about that movie, ``Time to Kill,'' where that young girl in the South who was like 7 or 8 years old got raped by three men and raped her such that she was never able to have any children. It just makes no sense that we would not focus, and let me give you a few statistics. During war, rape and sexual violence are often used systematically as a weapon of intimidation, humiliation, terror and ethnic cleansing. We know right here in America that generally rape is not about sex. It really is about being in control, being in charge. It has nothing to do with the sexual act itself. I won't say ``nothing.'' In many instances, when you're involving children, it does in fact have to do with the sexual act, but it means being in charge. It's estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women and girls were raped during the genocide in Rwanda. On September 2, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda found Jean-Paul Akayesu guilty of rape and held that rape and sexual assault constitute crimes against humanity. On October 31, the United Nations Security Council adopted Security Council Resolution 1325, calling on all parties to an armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which entered into force July 1, 2002, states that rape and any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity may constitute both crimes against humanity and war crimes. Since 2003, mass rape committed by members of the Sudanese armed forces and affiliated militia with the support of the Government of Sudan has been a central component of the Government of Sudan's violence and ethnic cleansing in Darfur. Can you imagine this is the army, the militia of a country just having their way, going into camps and violating women and girls, thousands of women and girls who have been violated as a result. Women and girls leaving internally displaced persons camp in Darfur and refugee camps in Eastern Chad to seek firewood, water or outside sources of income are often attacked and subjected to rape. My colleague already spoke to that issue. It is just outrageous that this could continue to happen. On March 9, 2007, members of the United States-United Nations High Level Mission on the Situation of Human Rights in Darfur reported that rape and sexual assault have been widespread and systematic, terrorizing women and breaking down families and communities and that women are also attacked in and around refugee camps in eastern Chad. Think about this: systemic, widespread, terrorizing of women and girls. Systemic. That is just something that I can't even imagine that we would continue to allow happen in another country. We know how great the impact of rape and sexual assault on women and girls in our country over time, and imagine what it would be in a country where they don't have available to them what our women and girls have available to us. Be it counseling, medical care, long-term mental health counseling, it just doesn't happen. So I'm just so happy that the House passed by way of suspension bills today three resolutions around Sudan. Finally, I think that what I would say at this point is that the people of America and all of these nonprofit organizations and the children across this country, women and children and students, must stand up. They must speak up about what's going on in Darfur, and you all know that old statement, that piece of speech that someone gave, and I can't think of the author, and it said, if you're quiet when they come for other people, who's going to speak up when they come for you? And that is what we should all be thinking about, that we need to speak up on behalf of the people of Darfur and say enough is enough; we're not going to have this happen anymore. The United States, under the leadership of George Bush, who's been talking loud and saying nothing on this issue and not moving forward, should move forward to make sure that there are people and peacekeepers going into this area and making sure that these people are taken care of. With that, I would again commend the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, for her leadership and thank her for giving me the opportunity to lead the Congressional Black Caucus message hour every Monday evening and to give us the opportunity to step up, speak out, and really shine a light on issues that the Congressional Black Caucus is concerned about and that the people of America, regardless of their color, are concerned about. Again, thank you very much, Madam Speaker. It's always good to be leading a Special Order when you're in the chair. I thank you for your leadership as well.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I would like to thank my colleague, the gentleman, John Tanner, for yielding me time. I just came from a memorial service for one of our former colleagues from Ways and Means, Charlie Vanik. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of legislation calling on the President of the United States and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad, and the Central African Republic. For many years now we have seen the devastating atrocities taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan. With the support of the Sudanese Government, the janjaweed militia has ravaged the people of Darfur, raping, torturing, murdering, and forcing thousands of Darfuris to flee to refugee camps in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. Today, we highlight some of those most vulnerable of these victims in Darfur, women and girls. We saw the same devastation in Rwanda over a decade ago, where it is estimated that between 250,000 and 500,000 women and girls were raped during the genocide in Rwanda. The American people have made their voices heard on this issue, vowing never again to remain silent when humanity is threatened. To date, there have been numerous reports of rape. On July 19, 2004, Amnesty International reported that it collected the names of 250 women who have been raped in Darfur and information on 250 additional rapes. On January 25, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, in a report to the U.N. Secretary General, reported numerous cases of mass rape throughout Darfur. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We must do all that we can to ensure that no more women and girls are violated. So today we give voice to the voiceless. Today we speak up for those who are often overlooked and ask that in this country we do all within our power to stop the rape and sexual violence against the women of the Darfur region. I would like to add my support to the other pieces of Darfur legislation discussed today and applaud all the groups who have truly been on the front line of this issue, particularly the students, who have been so passionate in their support. It is my hope that we will be able to work with the people in the 11th Congressional District and across this country to continue to let our voices be heard on the issue. I encourage my constituents to contact me with your ideas and resources. I know that I'm speaking on another piece of legislation, but they all affect Darfur, and it gives me an opportunity to be heard.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to my colleague and good friend from the Ways and Means Committee, Allyson Schwartz, from the great State of Pennsylvania.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. There is a piece of poetry that starts like this, ``I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one any day, I'd rather one should walk with me than just to show the way. ``The eye is a better pupil and more willing than the ear; Advice may be misleading, but examples are always clear. And the very best of teachers are the ones who live their creeds.'' It goes on to talk about how you can deliver lectures, but I would rather get a lesson by observing what you do. I am saying to my colleagues, Democrat and Republican, the children of America are listening to us gibe at one another about whether they deserve health care. They deserve health care, and we could give it to them today. They deserve health care because many of them are spending so many hours in an emergency room, costly, many of them are spending times at home when they could be educated. Many parents are not at work because they are staying home with their children. Health care should be a right in America, and our children are saying they would rather see a sermon than to hear one. They want us to walk and give them health care and stop talking about it.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield 1 minute to one of our new Members from the great State of Florida, Mr. Tim Mahoney.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, we continue to reserve our time.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, at this time I seek unanimous consent to have the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark), the Chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee, manage the balance of the time on this bill.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I wish to submit a letter from the Congressional Budget Office, dated October 25, 2007, to Speaker Pelosi. And it specifically says under current law individuals who apply for Medicaid and claim to be U.S. citizens are required to provide certain documents, passport or birth certificate, in order to receive any such health care. ``Section 211 would allow States the option to either use the requirements created in the DRA for citizenship documentation under Medicaid or instead verify an individual's name and Social Security number with the Social Security Administration. Some States have reported a drop in enrollment since implementation of the DRA because some Medicaid applicants have had difficulty satisfying the documentation requirement. Available evidence, based on State reports and other information provided by State officials, suggests that virtually all of those who have been unable to provide the required documentation are U.S. citizens.'' U.S. Congress, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC., October 25, 2007. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, October 25, 2007. Dear Madam Speaker: As you requested, I am providing additional information on CBO's estimate of the budgetary impact of section 211 of H.R. 3963, the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, as introduced on October 24, 2007. Under current law, individuals who apply for Medicaid and claim to be U.S. citizens are required to provide certain documents (such as a passport or birth certificate, and, in certain circumstances, a driver's license or other documentation that establishes identity) to demonstrate that they are citizens. That provision was enacted in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA, Public Law 109-171), and has been effective since July 1, 2006. (Before the DRA provision took effect, those individuals were permitted to attest to their citizenship, under penalty of perjury.) Section 211 would allow states the option to either use the requirements created in the DRA for citizenship documentation under Medicaid or instead verify an individual's name and Social Security number with the Social Security Administration. Some states have reported a drop in enrollment since implementation of the DRA because some Medicaid applicants have had difficulty satisfying the documentation requirement. Available evidence, based on state reports and other information provided by state officials, suggests that virtually all of those who have been unable to provide the required documentation are U.S. citizens. Under H.R. 3963, CBO expects that most states would use the option to rely on the Social Security Administration to verify eligibility. CBO estimates that change would result in an additional 500,000 enrollees in Medicaid in fiscal year 2008 and an additional 200,000 enrollees in subsequent years. If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Matt Kapuscinski and Eric Rollins. Sincerely, Peter R. Orszag, Director. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Audubon Ohio Urban Conservation Crew Summer Camp at the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland. The Ohio program of the National Audubon Society is working hard to ensure that children in the central city have the opportunity to connect with nature and, in doing so, improve both their educational achievement and their sense of community and self-esteem. During the recent August recess I had the good fortune to visit the Ohio program of the National Audubon Society which is also a program in my own district. The program, a free summer camp for neighborhood children ages 8 to 11, is known as the Urban Conservation Crew. Through this program, Audubon Ohio, in less than five weeks, has succeeded in developing a group of budding scientists who have mastered the fine points of bird identification and behavior, focusing on the birds and plants of their own neighborhood. Audubon Ohio chose as its location for the camp the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is located in the heart of Cleveland's historic Glenville neighborhood. Owned and operated by the City of Cleveland, the Greenhouse's official function is to develop plants for indoor and outdoor use at other city properties. But the facility includes classroom space, extensive gardens (including a community garden), and a large meadow ringed with mature trees that makes an excellent habitat for birds. I grew up near the Greenhouse, yet during my visit I learned a lot of new things about it. Chief among these was the fact that the Greenhouse property immediately adjoins an ``Important Bird Area,'' or ``IBA.'' IBAs are part of an international network of areas that are important to the survival of migratory birds. This network was created by a European-based organization, Birdlife International. Audubon is the Birdlife partner responsible for designating and protecting IBAs in the United States. The Greenhouse sits next to one of 63 IBAs that Audubon has designated in Ohio. Specifically, it is next to the ``Doan Brook/Dike 14 IBA,'' a key migratory corridor that connects the coast of Lake Erie with the upland Shaker Lakes on the western edge of the Appalachian Plateau. In practical terms this means that a lot of interesting birds pass through the area, with many species nesting in it. This in turn creates an opportunity for children in Glenville to explore an important natural area right near where they live. From what I saw of the camp, Audubon Ohio is taking full advantage of the location of the Greenhouse and the convergence of a central city neighborhood with an interesting natural area. During the first four weeks of the camp, children walked the Greenhouse grounds and the surrounding neighborhood with Audubon instructors who taught them how to identify birds both by sight and by sound. Audubon also took advantage of the plant life inside and outside of the Greenhouse to teach the children about what plants they could grow in their neighborhood and how the birds of the neighborhood would both help the plants survive by eating pests and, in turn, benefit themselves from the seeds and berries produced by the plants. During my visit the children showed off the knowledge that they had picked up in only a few weeks. They explained to me the concept of ``field marks'' of birds and how I could use field marks to distinguish different species. They identified the various body parts of birds and explained how I could distinguish the sexes of different species, such as the Northern Cardinal. They told me what kind of food birds could find around the neighborhood and how people could help birds by supplying this food. And they explained how to protect birds from man- made threats, such as plastic ``six pack'' holders that, they said, I needed to cut up so that birds would not get their necks stuck in them and choke. Beyond the knowledge and conservation values that the children were displaying, I was impressed by the passion with which the children were discussing the birds and plants of their neighborhood. I kept having to remind myself that these children were all less than 12 years old, some as young as eight, had no previous interest in birds, let alone experience in identifying them. These children were learning complex fundamental scientific techniques, including observation, distinction, grouping by similarities, understanding food chains and identifying threats and barriers. Introducing children to birds and plants was a great way of teaching them science by drawing on children's inherent desire to explore and understand the natural world around them. Cleveland is blessed with a number of outstanding institutions that have offered nature-based education to children over the years. These include our fabulous Metro Parks network as well as stand-alone institutions such as The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Education Center. These institutions have gone to great lengths to reach out to the central city by bringing children out to their suburban and exurban facilities. I appreciate all of the efforts they have made over the years, and I hope they continue. What distinguishes Audubon Ohio's Urban Conservation Crew is that it is being conducted right in the neighborhood where the children live. Given the enthusiasm I saw in the children during their visit, I am confident that they will continue to explore Rockefeller Park, looking for birds, plants and other animals, long after the camp is over. After my visit I learned that Cleveland is not the only location where Audubon has been offering programs like the Urban Conservation Crew to central city children. In Columbus, Audubon is developing the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, a nature-based education center slated to open in 2009 in a central city neighborhood just a mile south of downtown. Audubon already has similar facilities at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and in Debs Park in East Los Angeles. Another urban center, known as ``the Rio Salado Center,'' is under development in the heart of Phoenix. It is notable that Audubon Ohio produced the Urban Conservation Crew program almost entirely with private funds. Support came from the Cleveland Foundation, the Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust, and the Shaker Lakes Garden Club. Audubon Ohio did, however, receive a small amount of federal money, specifically a $5,000 grant from the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service. It goes to show how a relatively small amount of federal dollars can be leveraged to produce great results. I commend Audubon, Ohio for helping to re-connect children with nature, particularly in the central city. Audubon and its Ohio program deserve high marks for their creativity and skill in doing so at the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland and elsewhere. They provide great hope for the future.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Audubon Ohio Urban Conservation Crew Summer Cap at the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland. The Ohio program of the National Audubon Society is working hard to ensure that children in the central city have the opportunity to connect with nature and, in doing so, improve both their educational achievement and their sense of community and self-esteem. During the recent August recess I had the good fortune to visit the Ohio program of the National Audubon society which is also a program in my own district. The program, a free summer camp for neighborhood children ages 8 to 11, is known as the Urban Conservation Crew. Through this program, Audubon Ohio, in less than five weeks, has succeeded in developing a group of budding scientists who have mastered the fine points of bird identification and behavior, focusing on the birds and plants of their own neighborhood. Audubon Ohio chose as its location for the camp the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse. The Greenhouse is located in the heart of Cleveland's historic Glenville neighborhood. Owned and operated by the City of Cleveland, the Greenhouse's official function is to develop plants for indoor and outdoor use at other city properties. But the facility includes classroom space, extensive gardens (including a community garden), and a large meadow ringed with mature trees that makes an excellent habitat for birds. I grew up near the Greenhouse, yet during my visit I learned a lot of new things about it. Chief among these was the fact that the Greenhouse property immediately adjoins an ``Important Bird Area,'' or ``IBA.'' IBAs are part of an international network of areas that are important to the survival of migratory birds. This network was created by a European-based organization, Birdlife International. Audubon is the Birdlife partner responsible for designating and protecting IBAs in the United States. The Greenhouse sits next to one of 63 IBAs that Audubon has designated in Ohio. Specifically, it is next to the ``Doan Brook/Dike 14 IBA,'' a key migratory corridor that connects the coast of Lake Erie with the upland Shaker Lakes on the western edge of the Appalachian Plateau. In practical terms this means that a lot of interesting birds pass through the area, with many species nesting in it. This in turn creates an opportunity for children in Glenville to explore an important natural area right near where they live. From what I saw of the camp, Audubon Ohio is taking full advantage of the location of the Greenhouse and the convergence of a central city neighborhood with an interesting natural area. During the first four weeks of the camp, children walked the Greenhouse grounds and the surrounding neighborhood with Audubon instructors who taught them how to identify birds both by sight and by sound. Audubon also took advantage of the plant life inside and outside of the Greenhouse to teach the children about what plants they could grow in their neighborhood and how the birds of the neighborhood would both help the plants survive by eating pests and, in turn, benefit themselves from the seeds and berries produced by the plants. During my visit the children showed off the knowledge that they had picked up in only a few weeks. They explained to me the concept of ``field marks'' of birds and how I could use field marks to distinguish different species. They identified the various body parts of birds and explained how I could distinguish the sexes of different species, such as the Northern Cardinal. They told me what kind of food birds could find around the neighborhood and how people could help birds by supplying this food. And they explained how to protect birds from man- made threats, such as plastic ``six pack'' holders that, they said, I needed to cut up so that birds would not get their necks stuck in them and choke. Beyond the knowledge and conservation values that the children were displaying, I was impressed by the passion with which the children were discussing the birds and plants of their neighborhood. I kept having to remind myself that these children were all less than 12 years old, some as young as eight had no previous interest in birds, let alone experience in identifying them. These children were learning complex fundamental scientific techniques, including observation, distinction, grouping by similarities, understanding food chains and identifying threats and barriers. Introducing children to birds and plants was a great way of teaching them science by drawing on children's inherent desire to explore and understand the natural world around them. Cleveland is blessed with a number of outstanding institutions that have offered nature-based education to children over the years. These include our fabulous Metro Parks network as well as stand-alone institutions such as The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center and the Cuyahoga Valley National Park Education Center. These institutions have gone to great lengths to reach out to the central city by bringing children out to their suburban and exurban facilities. I appreciate all of the efforts they have made over the years, and I hope they continue. What distinguishes Audubon Ohio's Urban Conservation Crew is that it is being conducted right in the neighborhood where the children live. Given the enthusiasm I saw in the children during their visit, I am confident that they will continue to explore Rockefeller Park, looking for birds, plants and other animals, long after the camp is over. After my visit I learned that Cleveland is not the only location where Audubon has been offering programs like the Urban Conservation Crew to central city children. In Columbus, Audubon is developing the Grange Insurance Audubon Center, a nature-based education center slated to open in 2009 in a central city neighborhood just a mile south of downtown. Audubon already has similar facilities at Prospect Park in Brooklyn and in Debs Park in East Los Angeles. Another urban center, known as ``the Rio Salado Center,'' is under development in the heart of Phoenix. It is notable that Audubon Ohio produced the Urban Conservation Crew program almost entirely with private funds. Support came from the Cleveland Foundation, the Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust, and the Shaker Lakes Garden Club. Audubon Ohio did, however, receive a small amount of federal money, specifically a $5,000 grant from the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service. It goes to show how a relatively small amount of federal dollars can be leveraged to produce great results. I commend Audubon, Ohio for helping to re-connect children with nature, particularly in the central city. Audubon and its Ohio program deserve high marks for their creativity and skill in doing so at the Rockefeller Park Greenhouse in Cleveland and elsewhere. They provide great hope for the future.

Ms. JONES of Ohio

Ms. JONES of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a remarkable man, a 26-year veteran of this distinguished body and an outstanding American. The Honorable Charles Albert Vanik worked tirelessly to promote the civil rights of all people. His dedication to this cause extended further than the boundaries of our country and touched countless lives. The Congressman felt it necessary that every individual throughout the globe should fully enjoy the natural rights of mankind. This commitment was most evident in his decision in 1968 to shift to the 22nd Congressional District following redistricting to allow a then up and coming African American politician by the name of Louis Stokes to run for and ultimately win the 21st Congressional District seat. Charles Vanik was a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He represented my city and my extended community in a distinguished fashion. Serving as a councilman, a judge and a member of the state legislature before joining the United States Congress, he developed a reputation as a caring individual. Congressman Vanik was wholeheartedly a representative of the people. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, he felt that both individuals and enterprises alike should equally contribute to society. The respect that his friends and fellow Members of Congress held for him, presented several opportunities for his policy objectives to be adopted in statutes relating to both taxes and trade. Most importantly, this son of immigrants personified all that is great about our Nation and our people. He cared for his neighbors, he was passionate about freedom and he wanted to help those in need. I had many opportunities to personally speak with Representative Vanik. The most memorable of these meetings was when the National Institutes of Health dedicated their new laboratory facility in honor of my predecessor Congressman Louis Stokes. It is with great respect and admiration that I ask this esteemed body to keep his wife, Betty, and children, John and Phyllis, in our hearts and prayers. May we all rejoice in having known such a great man and cherish both our memories and his legacy.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. It gives me great pleasure at this time to call upon my sister, my good friend, the gentlewoman from California, and she happens to be from the State of the Senator who voted this, whose vote was determining in voting this nomination out of the committee. But I will leave for her the discussion on that issue. I give you the great gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been a leader on so many, many issues that I can't even recount them all at this time. And I will yield her such time as she may consume.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Before you leave, Congresswoman Lee, how many African American members are there in the California delegation?

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. To your knowledge, did Senator Feinstein even bother to contact you, any of you, with regard to this particular nomination and her vote?

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. In addition to the four African American members of the California delegation, how many Hispanic members of the delegation are there?

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. In fact, a significant number of the issues that the African American community raises around civil rights are some of the very issues that the Hispanic community raises around civil rights issues as well.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I thank you very much for your time and your attention and your leadership around so many issues, Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Once again, I have an opportunity to invite another one of my wonderful colleagues to join me this evening for the CBC Message Hour under the leadership of our Chair, Congresswoman Carolyn C. Kilpatrick. The next colleague that I call upon is a former judge. She has been serving on the Judiciary Committee for the past 13 years. She has shown leadership around so many issues. I want to compliment you this evening, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, on your presentation and the work you did during the Judiciary Committee hearing last week around the Jena Six. Unfortunately, I couldn't be at the hearing, but over the weekend I watched the replay of the C-SPAN presentation. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the Chair, our good friend from Detroit, Michigan (Mr. Conyers), but I also want to commend you on the work that you do in and around that area. I will yield you such time as you will consume.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, over the past 9 months, the Congressional Black Caucus has been at the forefront of many major issues here in Congress, from raising the minimum wage, to the Don Imus debacle, to the upcoming Southwick nomination vote that will be taken up in the Senate this week. We have been at the forefront of raising the issue about the need to cover 10 million children under SCHIP. And we've been at the forefront as well raising issues with regard to the war in Iraq and the number of people who have been killed, as well as the recent Jena Six situation. Tonight, however, we will be focusing in on the Southwick nomination. And as we focus in on that nomination, we always remember that for people of color the court has been the place of last resort. Many of the opportunities that we've had to raise issues with regard to school desegregation, civil rights, economic opportunities, equal employment opportunity, have come through the courts. And it is that reason that we are particularly raising our voices with regard to this nomination. I am joined this evening by my colleague and good friend, the Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, Mr. BENNIE THOMPSON. And Judge Southwick, the nominee, actually is a resident of Mississippi and being considered for that seat which oversees Mississippi and several other States where the population of people of color is significant. I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague and good friend, the Chair of the Homeland Security Committee, BENNIE THOMPSON.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Mr. Chairman, just for a moment, I recall only a few months ago that you and the Chair of our Congressional Black Caucus, Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, were actually over at the Senate side when this was in committee.

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. Can you recount for us briefly what you encountered in that hearing?

Mrs. JONES of Ohio. I want to thank you, Chairman Thompson, for your leadership not only in the State of Mississippi but also here in the Congress. Recently, I had a chance to be in Greenville, Mississippi, with you with an elementary school friend of mine, Jaribu Hill. I am just so happy to see the kind of leadership you are showing, and I thank you for joining me this evening for this Special Order.