Hank Johnson

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor today to hail the efforts underway to heal past wounds between the Republics of Turkey and Armenia. For several years, the two countries have quietly been meeting, with the assistance of Switzerland, to come to an agreement to normalize diplomatic relations and open the borders between Armenia and Turkey. I am quite pleased that these negotiations have been fruitful. I also encourage the two countries to continue to work together to finish the process quickly since it will not only benefit the citizens of these two countries, but the region and the world as well. I would like to put into the Record an article by Hugh Pope from the International Crisis Group who calls this recent action by Turkey and Armenia as taking, ``. . . a brave and statesmanlike step. Like the International Crisis Group, I too am optimistic that these efforts will lead to greater stabilization of the region and am proud to stand here today and congratulate the governments of Armenia and Turkey on their efforts to date and offer our friendship and help as they move on to the next steps in the process. The EU-Turkey-Cyprus Triangle: ``Turkey and Armenia Vow to Heal Past Wounds'', by Hugh Pope 1 September 2009 It's been a long time coming, but Turkey and Armenia's vow on 31 August to establish diplomatic relations, open their long-closed border and begin to talk seriously about the past is excellent news. As laid out in our 14 April report Turkey and Armenia: Opening Minds, Opening Borders, normalization between Turkey and Armenia will benefit not just the bilateral relationship. If successful, it could win back for Turkey and its AKP government much of their recently faded prestige as domestic reformers, as regional peace-makers and as a country seriously intending to push forward with its accession process to the European Union. The brief joint announcement from Ankara, Yerevan and the Swiss mediators in Bern said that two protocols had been initialed on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the development of bilateral relations. The two sides committed to seeing the protocols through to parliamentary ratifications within six weeks--that is, two days before a 14 October World Cup qualifier match between Armenia and Turkey due to be played in the western Turkish provincial city of Bursa. Turkey hopes that Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian will accept its invitation to attend, just as Turkish President Abdullah Gill initiated the current process by attending the first round match in Yerevan in September 2008. Texts of the two protocols circulating in Turkey and Armenia set out a fully rounded and reasonable plan. In a ``Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations'' the two sides promised to establish diplomatic relations on the first day of the first month after ratification; to exchange diplomatic missions; to reopen the border within two months of ratification; and to mutually recognize the existing border. In a ``Protocol on Development of Relations''--to go into effect simultaneously with the diplomatic opening--the two sides promised to promote cooperation in all areas from energy infrastructure to tourism; to set up a mechanism of regular foreign ministry consultations, including a main intergovernmental commission and seven sub-commissions; to act jointly to preserve the cultural heritage of both sides; and to establish consular cooperation. The protocols are accompanied by a detailed timetable, in which all steps and commissions would be fully implemented and in motion within four months. On the vexed question of how to describe the Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians in the First World War--widely known as the Armenian genocide, a label rejected by Turkey--the ``Protocol on Development of Relations'' agreed to ``implement a dialogue on the historical dimension with the aim to restore mutual confidence between the two nations, including an impartial scientific examination of the historical records and archives to define existing problems and formulate recommendations.'' The timetable adds that this dialogue will be conducted under the aegis of the main intergovernmental commission in a ``sub-commission on the historical dimension . . . in which Armenian, Turkish as well as Swiss and other international experts shall take part.'' In short, Turkey and Armenia have taken a brave and statesmanlike step. Both will win if it succeeds. Armenia will overcome the sense that it is surrounded and under siege, will open a new commercial and psychological gateway westward to Europe, will be able to look better after the interests of the many tens of thousands of Armenians working in Turkey, will be able to market its electricity surplus and have easier access to the many Armenian cultural and religious sites in eastern Turkey. For Turkey, the gains are just as significant: the ability to show European and Western partners that it is working toward closure with Armenians on the contested matter of the First World War massacres; to add a new plank in its efforts to bring stability, prosperity and cooperation through relations with all three of its Caucasus neighbours; and, finally, to achieve the satisfaction of full and public Armenian recognition of its borders. The 31 August step towards normalisation was originally expected in April, but Turkey backed away from the deal. All that could be announced on 22 April 2009 was a vague road map. This hesitation was apparently due to pressure from Azerbaijan--a major supplier of cheap gas to Turkey, and with which Turkey shares close linguistic ties--and continued nationalist opposition to compromise with Armenia inside the Turkish political system. This coincided with a period in Turkey in which reforms towards EU accession had virtually halted; in which Prime Minister Erdogan appeared disengaged with EU ambitions and to be pursuing alternatives in Russia and the Middle East; and in which Turkey appeared to be taking sides in Middle Eastern issues, with notably harsh criticism of Israel. Turkey also appeared to side fully with Azerbaijan against Armenia, and it remains unclear what will happen to Erdogan's 14 May promise to the Azerbaijani National Assembly that there would be no opening of the Armenia-Turkey border until there is an Armenian withdrawal from occupied Azerbaijani territory. The news that normalisation with Armenia is back on track, therefore, is a signal that Turkey may be changing direction again. In the past few months, Turkey and the AKP leadership have also begun to push hard for progress on two other difficult dossiers, coming to terms with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq and firmly setting out a framework of reconciliation with its own substantial Kurdish community. Progress towards Turkey-Armenia normalisation has also been helped by the unusual way that the US and Russia appear to have been working separately toward a similar compromise outcome, and pushing more actively for progress toward a settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh. The fact that Turkey is now leaning back towards a reconciliation with Armenia will do much to clear doubts about the country's posture and the priorities of Prime Minister Erdogan. It will also do proper credit to the polls that showed 70 per cent of the Turkish population supported President Gu's gesture of visiting Armenia for last September's first round football match, and the great strides Turkey's intellectual and political elites have taken in the past decade to dismiss the old-fashioned narrative of nationalist denial towards the catastrophic Armenian massacres of 1915. Normalisation with Armenia will also give real substance to new Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's stated goals of ``zero problems'' and ``peace in the neighbourhood''. However, while reconciliation with Armenia will rightly attract great positive attention in Europe, the next test will not be long in coming. Turkey has to find a way to expedite a solution to the long-running Cyprus solution in the next several months, or see its EU accession process effectively grind to a halt.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I am honored to bring to the floor the Judicial Survivors Protection Act of 2009. The bill would provide a limited six month period for incumbent Federal judges to opt into the Judicial Survivors' Annuities System (JSAS) and begin contributing toward an survivors' annuity for their spouses and dependent children. The JSAS is a critical optional benefit for Federal judges. Currently, unlike the survivors of other Federal employees, judges' spouses and dependent children receive no survivor income benefits unless the judge elects to participate. In addition, the judge must have specifically elected JSAS for a spouse to continue health insurance coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program after the judge's death. The judges of our Federal judiciary frequently give up lucrative jobs with many benefits for the honor and privilege of serving on our judiciary. Allowing a JSAS open season is a small way to allow judges to provide for their families despite the financial sacrifice of accepting a Federal judgeship. Judges are bound by their initial decision regarding contributing to JSAS for the remainder of their career. However, circumstances change, and while initially judges may have chosen not to opt into the program due to financial pressure at the time, conflicting priorities such as the need to pay the expense of a dependant education, or simply the failure to plan ahead, this leaves the survivors of forty percent of Article III and non-Article III judges at risk. Currently only sixty percent of Article III and non-Article III judges participate in JSAS. This bill would provide those forty percent of active or senior Federal judges, who did not initially enroll in JSAS, a limited open season to enroll in the program. To compensate for the Judge's delay in opting into the program, new enrollees who previously declined to participate in JSAS would pay an enhanced contribution rate of 2.75 percent of their salaries to preserve the financial integrity of the JSAS Fund. Should these new enrollees later retire from the bench, they, like all other retired judges participating in JSAS, will pay the contribution rate of 3.5 percent of their retirement salary. Additionally, the bill would authorize Federal judges to voluntarily increase their contributions to JSAS in order to enhance the value of their survivors' annuities. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill would carry a negligible cost as any impact on the JSAS system by the new enrollees would be entirely borne by the new enrollees. Congress has previously authorized such a JSAS open season three times: in 1976, 1985 and 1992. It has been seventeen years since the last open season, and this bill is but a small step towards lightening what is often the financial burden of judicial public service. The Senate unanimously passed this important legislation. I am proud to join the Senate and send this important measure to President Obama.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of the bill (S. 1107) to amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for a limited 6-month period for Federal judges to opt into the Judicial Survivors' Annuities System and begin contributing toward an annuity for their spouse and dependent children upon their death, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 29) expressing the sense of the Congress that John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson should receive a posthumous pardon for the racially motivated conviction in 1913 that diminished the athletic, cultural, and historic significance of Jack Johnson and unduly tarnished his reputation, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, there are some Republicans and some Blue Dog Democrats who care more about protecting the profits of insurance companies than they do about bringing health care reform to the Nation. Health care premiums have doubled in 9 years and are growing at three times the rate of wages. Meanwhile, 46 million people remain uninsured, and they can't see a doctor to take care of their chronic condition like breast cancer, like diabetes. So what's more important? Dollars and cents or life? I am pro-life, and that's why I support health care reform.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, today I am honored to introduce the Judicial Survivors Protection Act of 2009. The bill would provide a limited six month period for incumbent federal judges to opt into the Judicial Survivors' Annuities System (JSAS) and authorizes federal judges to voluntarily increase their contributions to JSAS to enhance their survivors' annuities. The JSAS is an important optional benefit for federal judges. Unlike the survivors of other federal employees, judges' spouses and dependent children receive no survivor income benefits unless the judge elects to participate. Also, for a spouse to continue health insurance coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program after the judge's death, the judge must have elected JSAS. Currently only sixty percent of Article III and non-Article III judges participate in JSAS. While, the system is an opt-in system, in general, judges are bound by their initial decision for the remainder of their career despite changes in life circumstances. This leaves the survivors of the remaining forty percent of Article III and non-Article III judges at risk. This bill would simply provide those forty percent of Judges, who did not initially enroll in JSAS, a limited six month open season window to enroll in JSAS. To compensate for their delay, new enrollees who previously declined to participate in JSAS would pay an enhanced contribution rate to preserve the financial integrity of the JSAS Fund. Finally, it would authorize federal judges to voluntarily increase their contributions to JSAS in order to enhance the value of their survivors' annuities. Over the years, Congress has authorized such an open season three times: in 1976, 1985 and 1992. It has been seventeen years since the last open season and this bill is but a small step towards lightening what is often the financial burden of judicial public service.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to send to the desk a resolution and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I would yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my dear colleagues, Chairman Rangel and Judge Poe out of Houston, Texas, and also my friend from Georgia, Dr. Broun--or Bron. I call him ``Congressman,'' but we have a great relationship, and I enjoy his fellowship. I wish to associate myself with the comments of all three of these gentlemen. It's rather ironic that 56 years after the Korean War ended we are on the verge of, perhaps, another Korean war, and I don't think that the times could be more tense in South Korea than they are now. I had the opportunity to visit about 6 months ago, and the mood and the heavy feeling of impending war will remain heavily etched on my heart. I am hopeful that this administration can lead us and can lead the world out of this conflict. This is just one of many, but I will tell you my personal experience as a young boy. I didn't get challenged too much, but whenever anyone did step to me, I would have to take defensive action. If I had my hands tied behind me, that would not be a fair fight, and if I had not been working out a little bit and if my muscles had not been in shape, I would not have been able to handle the conflict or deter it. Mr. Speaker, I will report to you that I only had about 10 fights and lost only one, and I'll tell you that those were the things that helped me to ward off any future belligerence. Certainly, in this country and in this world, we would be remiss as a Congress, as a legislative branch, if we did not prepare for the worst. With respect to our defense, it means that we have got to have a strong military and one that is well equipped to meet whatever the challenge may be. We cannot assume that there will not be another Cold War, because you could not assume, at the end of World War II, that the Chinese and the Russians would get together and gang up. I did not know that for sure, and then, boom, it happened. Things are unexpected. It seems like, every 50 years, there is something big that happens, and we're at 56 years now. We simply cannot afford, as a Nation, to be caught without our defenses as tight as they can be. That means our firepower, our sea power, our power in outer space, our cyberspace, and our infantry. All of these aspects of our defense have to be up to par, so I am happy to serve on the Armed Services Committee where I can be a spokesperson and a proponent of making sure that this country remains strong. I want to thank all of the veterans. My dad served in World War II, and today, he is 86 years old and is not doing too well, but I am proud of him serving his country, and I am proud of every other serviceman and -woman who has served this country. I look forward to a peaceful world; but if not, we have to do what we have to do. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague and my mentor, Representative Rangel, as much time as he may consume. (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2632, the Korean War Veterans Recognition Act, would amend the Flag Code to include Korean War Veterans Day among the times and occasions for display. Section 6(d) of title IV, the United States Code, states that the flag should be displayed on all days, but singles out a number of days for special recognition. Among those days are the birthdays of President Washington, President Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans Day, to name a few. It is more than appropriate that we add to this list Korean War Veterans Day. Doing so will provide a fitting reminder for all of us to remember and to honor the men and women who served so honorably in the Korean war. The Korean war has been referred to as America's ``forgotten war'' because it came on the heels of World War II and was later overshadowed by Vietnam, but although fighting between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea lasted a mere 3 years, from June 1950 until July 1953, it was ferocious. At least 2.5 million people lost their lives. The war brought the United States into battle with the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. And with the Soviet Union having recently joined the United States in developing nuclear weapons, there was a very real concern that the war it might escalate into would be a nuclear conflict. The Korean war cost more than 54,000 American lives in that 3-year period, almost as many as who died in the 16 years of the Vietnam war. In addition, more than 103,000 American soldiers were wounded in Korea. It's more than fitting that this Nation remember and honor the service of our Korean war veterans, and this legislation will provide a poignant reminder of that service. I especially want to commend my colleague, the gentleman from New York, the Honorable Charles Rangel, for introducing this legislation. He is, himself, a veteran of the Korean conflict, having served in the Army from 1948 through 1952, and also the United States Civil War, which ended back in 1865. He served in that war as well. And I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time. And I believe that my humor has gone over the heads of those who occupy the Chamber at this particular time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2632) to amend title 4, United States Code, to encourage the display of the flag of the United States on National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly agree with the comments of my good friend from Texas, Judge Poe. And he knows from practical experience what it means to a family when their loved one goes missing and then there is a positive outcome. And he's also aware of those situations that do not end on a positive note. I also have the same experience in life, but fortunately, it's not due to a personal experience. But I just can't imagine how traumatic it must be for a mother or a father to be waiting at the bus stop for their child to disembark, and then that child is not on that bus. I can imagine the horror of waking up one morning, and my dear grandmother, who is mentally declining, has apparently been able to open the door and exit. And these are things that none of us wish on anyone. And this bill, H.R. 1933, will hopefully add to the positive results that we have as we look for our missing children and our missing adults and the elderly. And so, Mr. Speaker, having emphasized that I fully support this bill, I will yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. With that being the case, Mr. Speaker, I will close when my friend, Judge Poe closes. And by the way, before I do that, I would like to extend my humble congratulations to the Congresswoman for the birth of her first grandchild. That's great.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how many more speakers my colleague on the other side would present?

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I will reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself so much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1933, the A Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center Act helps address the terrifying experience of when a family member or friend ``goes missing.'' Under current law, there are programs such as AMBER Alert to help missing children who are abducted or victims of foul play. But these programs do not extend to situations where a child or elderly person becomes missing in other, more innocent ways. H.R. 1933 fills this gap by authorizing money for annual grants to the A Child is Missing Alert and Recovery Center. This national nonprofit program provides assistance to local law enforcement throughout the country in all situations of missing persons, not only those involving criminal activity. Mr. Speaker, the center helps when a small child fails to come home after school or a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's disease walks out of her home in the middle of the night. When the terrifying event of a missing person is reported to the police, the responding police officer can call the center, which operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Based on information from the call, the center quickly prepares a recorded message that includes a description of the missing person, along with the location where the person was last seen. And within minutes, the center sends this recording to thousands of phones within a radius of the last known location. This activity can save lives, as well as conserve critically needed enforcement resources that would otherwise be spent in extended searches for missing persons. The bill before us today will make a significant contribution to the protection of children and vulnerable adults throughout the United States. I thank the sponsor of this bill, my good friend, Ron Klein of Florida, for his leadership on this important legislative issue. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1933) to direct the Attorney General to make an annual grant to the A Child Is Missing Alert and Recovery Center to assist law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children, and for other purposes.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I come to the floor today to urge the U.S. to join in the efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the dispute in Cyprus. The United States, United Nations, United Kingdom, European Union are just a few countries and international organizations who have long been engaged in the efforts to bring about a negotiated compromise to the dispute in Cyprus. I feel it is time that such an agreement is reached. Moreover, I'm pleased that at the end of last year, the Greek Cypriot Leader, Demetris Christofias, and Turkish Cypriot Leader, Mehmet Ali Talat, began U.N.-sponsored peace talks to try to find a solution to the ongoing situation in Cyprus. I believe this Administration should also take an active role to bring about a solution that would be beneficial for both Cypriot communities. This ongoing disagreement pits two NATO allies, Greece and Turkey, against each other, and therefore, we must quickly find a mutually agreed upon solution. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, testified that ``resolution of the Cyprus problem will have a tremendous impact on the region by strengthening peace, justice, and prosperity on the island, advancing Turkey's European Union accession, improving NATO-EU cooperation and removing a source of friction between two NATO Allies, Greece and Turkey.'' I agree with the Assistant Secretary Gordon's sentiments and hope the Administration takes the appropriate actions to ensure that an accord is achieved. Any agreement must lead Cyprus to an independent government where both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities have equal political rights similar to the 1994 Annan Plan. The Annan Plan would have set up a confederation of two component states--the Greek Cypriot State and the Turkish Cypriot State. Both Cypriot communities would be joined together by a federal government mirrored after the Swiss federal model. The plan included a federal constitution, constitutions for each constituent state, and a string of constitutional and federal laws. It also provided for a Reconciliation Commission to bring the two Cypriot communities closer together and resolve outstanding disputes from the past. Such a bi-zonal and bi-communal agreement is the best approach and I urge the Administration to actively participate in the peaceful re- unification process in Cyprus.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I thank Congressman Ellison. We're having or they are having a TEA party outside one of my district offices on Friday, and I would venture to speculate that many of those people who will come don't have health insurance or recently lost their health insurance and they are frustrated. They feel like this is going to cost them some money, but actually, when you stop and think about it, some folks have only the choice of going into the emergency room when their illness becomes so dire that the family makes them come, and that's the only health care that they have. But with this bill, with a strong public option, those folks will be able to choose whether or not to be enrolled in that program or not. And if so, then they will get coverage for their medical throughout their lives. And that's exactly what we need in this country because this plan that would enable a public option will keep the insurance companies honest because it will be competitive, and so we're talking about lowering the cost of health care, taking some of that 88 percent of health insurance, rising cost, off the backs of the middle class.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Thank you Congressman Ellison. And I want to also recognize my great freshman colleague, when we came in--now we're all sophomores--Ms. Donna Edwards, who's been a real champion on this, as you have, Mr. Ellison. And Mr. Speaker, I just want to respond. It is a civil rights issue. It's just not racial. It is a matter of demographics. It's a matter of who has insurance and who does not. And you'll find, looking at it, you'll find that most poor people and most, at this point, I would venture to argue, middle class people have no health insurance coverage. And so the question is, after spending $780 billion in a Wall Street bailout, do we have the will to handle and to address this civil rights issue that is so fundamental to our country? And to me it's mind-boggling. We just heard reports of Goldman Sachs hitting the jackpot for $3 billion in profits over the last quarter, of the taxpayers' money. And people want to know, well how much does this health care plan cost? Well, I'm going to tell you, it's going to cost us a whole lot more if we do nothing, like my colleagues on the other side, if we do nothing, it's going to cost us a whole lot more. You know why? Because health care costs are going to continue to skyrocket through the roof. In 2005, a study by Families USA and the Center for American Progress showed that the cost of treating the uninsured added $330 to the average individual plan in Georgia, and $900 for the average family plan. That's close to $1,000, Mr. Speaker, every year. And high costs are what block access to health care because people don't have the insurance coverage to be able to become healthy individuals. And certainly, for our economy, Mr. Speaker, we can't have a majority of the people in this country sick with some kind of a chronic illness that, if left untreated, will kill them, and that, if there were preventive measures to keep those chronic diseases from happening, or if there were some treatment regimens to address and arrest these chronic diseases, then you would find that the American people would be ready to, our children would be ready to, go to school and learn and become great individuals who carry our economy into the 21st century. And that's simply one of the items that we're addressing here. Are we going to just continue to do business as usual, tax cuts for the rich and famous and wealthy, as is advocated by my friends on the other side? Are we going to continue to do that? We see where that has left us. We see where we are now, and we're in a bad situation. And so we've got to take some important steps to address it, and people didn't--the same folks who supported the Wall Street bailout, now they're talking against our investing in the lives of people in this country who should be in a position to save us money by having-- everyone having health care, that demand will drive down expenses in and of itself.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Like I said earlier, to quote you, this is a civil rights issue, and 100 years from now people will be looking back and seeing what a fundamental change in the delivery of health care in this Nation was accomplished by the 111th Congress. And so we cannot continue as things have gone in the past--17.7 percent of Georgians do not have health insurance, and those that do, their premiums have increased 88 percent since the year 2000. This is a big number that cannot be sustained, Congressman Ellison, and we just simply must do what is right. And I will feel proud about being on the right side of this issue, along with my fellow Members of the Congressional Black Caucus. You know, we've got rising bankruptcies across the Nation; 62 percent of those involve medical bills that have resulted from a catastrophic illness or even just--not even catastrophic, but an illness, and more people going into bankruptcy because of this. Bankruptcy courts are overwhelmed with new bankruptcies. I would like to also address this issue of small businesses. As small business is defined by the broadest definition, which means basically any individual with as little as $1 of small business income, those people will not be impacted by a health care surcharge whatsoever. In fact, 96 percent of small businesses will not have to pay any surcharge at all, and those that make basically $250,000 or less, they won't pay anything. If you make over $250,000 in payroll, then you would have, I believe it's $500, those employers who don't offer health insurance would have to pay about $500 per year, and it goes on up. The folks that make $1 million or more would sustain a responsibility of--it's close to $1 million a year, like $900,000 a year. If you have payroll, you're going to pay that much. And so those are the same folks who got the tax breaks back in 2001, a cut in their capital gains taxes with more spending in this Congress by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle which caused the humongous deficits that we are experiencing today, and we have nothing to show for them except for the people suffering.

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1037 to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a five-year pilot project to test the feasibility and advisability of expanding the scope of certain qualifying work-study activities under Title 38 of the United States Code. I would like to thank my colleague Representative Herseth Sandlin from South Dakota for introducing this important piece of legislation. I support this legislation because it provides the resources necessary to study the expansion of the federal work-study program available to veterans. This bill expands qualifying work-study activities to include positions on-site at educational institutions, a valuable source of support for our veterans at colleges, universities, and vocational schools across the country. Additionally, this pilot program will assess the feasibility of the long-term expansion of this program. The federal government has been taking steps to enhance the education of our veterans since the passage of the GI Bill in 1944. Today, the federal work-study program is an invaluable resource for students as they struggle to pay their bills. This bill will extend that same resource to our veterans as they enhance their education, a small step towards increasing support for our veterans in return for the sacrifices they have made for our freedom. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting our veterans and this legislation.